Does US have/Does Canada have...?

[WebmasterMaryJo]

No, we don't have A & W's

Does Canada have Olive Garden Italian restaurants?

Jim

We have A&Ws in Los Angeles



Not very many basements, though. Our houses are made of wood & all above ground -- those earthquakes, you know.

 

[ibouncetoo]

Yes, Canada has Red Robins
Does US have Earls?

Didn't see an answer to this (at least not on the same page). Yes, we have Earls in Phoenix....LOVE their food!

 

[damo]

Kindergarten is called Primary in Nova Scotia and I'm pretty sure it's optional. I think we're the only folks who call it that, which is a bummer if you want to find books about starting school because they all say Kindergarten. We say Grade 1, Grade 2, etc all the way up to Grade 12. In Nova Scotia, we have elementary school to grade 6, junior high to grade 9 and three years of high school.

M.

Are you sure? I used to think it was mandatory in Ontario too until my kids got there and I realized it was optional.
http://www.cesc.ca/pceip/App1en.pdf
http://www.childcarecanada.org/ECEC2001/NS.pdf


Does the US have those baby chairs with wheels that you can put a baby in and they can toddle around without being able to walk? Canada outlawed them due to kids flying down the stairs in them, but they sure were popular!

 

[maddiel]

Sorry about that, my source must be incorrect! I wonder if it is optional in the other provinces I stated as well?
http://www.cesc.ca/pceip/App1en.pdf

No problem! I don't know anyone who didn't go to primary or have their kiids go, so I had to double check.

I have one: I call the bill for electicity the power bill or the light bill. In Ontario they call it the hydro bill. What do you call it in the US?

And how do you heat your home? (We use oil-fire forced air) Is it more expensive to heat it or cool it? (Heat it for sure here!)


M.

 

[Saffron]

Cool thread!!!!!

 

[Meriweather]

Fun...I have only got in the last page or so...and the first couple.
Very interesting.

I'm in WA....grew up in CA....

We have poutine here at some places to the north....almost in Canada
Stove is the whole unit....stove top of cooktop ....oven the box to bake in. Range is used very seldom, but I would know it.

Couch or sofa both used. Davenport and chesterfield less often, but I would know them. My parents called it by those names occasionally.

Soda.
Candy bar.....because not all candy bars are chocolate
Grill of BBQ for the actual tool.
Snowmobiles are abundant.
Basements...probably half and half.
We don't have cable or DSL....but that is unusual.....
We have A&Ws, but not as many as there used to be.
Electric bill.....but that is just what it is for us We have a well, so no water bill.

 

[ibouncetoo]

And how do you heat your home? (We use oil-fire forced air) Is it more expensive to heat it or cool it? (Heat it for sure here!)

M.

To heat your home here in Phoenix......open the window!

Actually, we do have to turn on the heat in the winter, for anwhere from a couple of weeks to a month or so. Electric, forced air at my house. Now keeping the place cool can be an expensive proposition. I think it's going to be 111 today And we call it "the (insert curse word of your choce) Electric bill".


Do you have Claim Jumper restaurants in Canada (perhaps in the western provinces)?

 

[Albertan mom]

I have never heard of Claim Jumper restaurants.

We call it grade 9, grade 10, grade 11, grade 12. We dont use the terms Junior, senior, freshmen etc... how are they used? What grade= what term?

 

[ibouncetoo]

Freshman = grade nine OR 1st year of college

Sophomore = grade ten OR 2nd year of college

Junior = grade eleven OR 3rd year of college

Senior = grade twelve OR 3rd year of college

Terms are used for both high school and college.

 

[JVL1018]

Um...yeah. That's because I don't think any other countries were trying that hard.

FYI-French Fries with cheese and gravy is a staple in NJ diners--I've had more orders of them than I care to count in my lifetime. LOL
It is DELICIOUS!
We just call it fries with cheese and gravy though, no special name. LOL

 

[Albertan mom]

In the States, where it snows, how long typically is your snowy winter season?
Does it ever get cold cold, like down to -30 like here?

Here in Canada, it usually starts in late October and goes until Mid-March.

 

[njzieglers]

Is Red Green still on the air in Canada? He's very hard to find around here.
Also does Canada have drive-in movies?

 

[Albertan mom]

In the States, where it snows, how long typically is your snowy winter season?
Does it ever get cold cold, like down to -30 like here?

Here in Canada, it usually starts in late October and goes until Mid-March.

I should correct that to say "here in Alberta....."

 

[cabmom]

Yes, we have drive-ins. Yes, Red/Green is still on, on CBC.

What flavour of chips do you have? We have Salt and Vinegar, Dill Pickle, Cheese, BBQ, Ketchup, Buffalo Wing, Plain, etc.

I've never seen Smarties in Florida, do any other States have them?

Marilynn

 

[jonestavern]

In the States, where it snows, how long typically is your snowy winter season?
Does it ever get cold cold, like down to -30 like here?

Here in Canada, it usually starts in late October and goes until Mid-March.

It snows here in south central New Hampshire--here in the town of Washington we are only about 1500 feet up--from about late Nov/Dec to March/earlyApril. Up further north for a longer season. Yes, it can get down to the minus twenties here, usually not for an extended time. In my particular location we get a stiff breeze off the Lempster Mt Road, wonderful in summer, a little too invigorating in winter!
We are a gardening zone 4 here, w/ the NW side of our house a zone 3. We can, usually, safely set out veggie starts after May 31.
Are there many 'living history' museums in Canada? What are some favorite family vacation spots?

Jean

 

[MosMom]

I think this thread is funny because as an American who lived in Canada I'm answering all these questions as I read them.

A few little tidbits....

A&W in Canada & A&W in the US have different menus and make their food entirely different.

Corn Pops are different as well. In Canada corn pops are a hard yellow ball...like a yellow coco puff. In the US they are odd shaped and soft.

Smarties in the US are different than Smarties in Canada - Here, smarties are a sweet & sour type candy, in Canada they are similar to an M&M but they are a bit bigger and have a harder candy shell.

At least for my DH's high school, Prom wasn't a separate event. They had graduation and that is where they dressed up and had a dance. There was no separate prom.

Hmmmm I'll try to think of some more.

 

[cynsaun]

Smarties in the US are different than Smarties in Canada - Here, smarties are a sweet & sour type candy, in Canada they are similar to an M&M but they are a bit bigger and have a harder candy shell.

My grandmum would bring Smarties from England for me when she would go visit. Mmmm, those were good! And, the colors were SO much prettier than M&Ms!

 

[MosMom]

Popular chocolate/candy bars up there are...

Aero - Chocolate with air bubbles throughout it
Coffee Crisp - Coffee, Chocolate, & Wafers
Crispy Crunch - Like a Nestle Crunch
Caramilk - No idea...never had one
Wunderbar

Big companies were - Nestle, Cadbury, & Neilsons

Ooooh and Thrills Gum...it tastes like soap. It is awful!

Nabisco isn't Nabisco...it is Christie but the logo looks the same.

Kraft Mac & Cheese is known as Kraft Dinner

 

[Albertan mom]

Favourite family vacations spots for us:

Banff and Jasper for skiing, hiking etc..
BC lakes-gets very hot there.
Calgary Zoo is huge and teriffic, CalawayPark in Calgary is lots of fun too.

West Edmonton Mall-the biggest mall in the world! It is apparently still bigger then the Mall of America. In it there is a waterpark with bungee jumping and a wave pool, an amusemtent park with a bunch of rides and carnival games, 3 mini-golf courses, an underwater submarine, a huge boat, over 800 stores, restaurants. The anchor stores there are Old Navy, Winners, Sears, The Bay, Zellers. There is a regulation size ice skating rink where the Edmonton Oilers occasionally practice. There use to be a dolphin show there with 4 dolphins, but now it is a sea lion show-very cute. It is a huge huge mall. Very cool.
We stay mostly in Alberta, but there are tons of beautiful parks and lakes in Canada, and lots to do!

 

[MosMom]

Where in Alberta are you mom? DH is from Coaldale (near Lethbridge) and we lived in Calgary.