Things you only find in Canada, so you will know where you are if you are lost.
Everything is labeled in English and French.
Everything is measured in metric. (No, the temperature does not drop fifty degrees when you cross the border, and the speed limit doesn't double.)
Milk comes in plastic bags as well as in cartons and jugs.
There's hockey gear everywhere. A guy can get onto a bus wearing goalie pads, a helmet -- everything but the skates -- and nobody gives him a second look.
Restaurants serve vinegar with French fries.
There are $1 and $2 coins. The paper currency is in different colors, and it's pretty.
The Trans-Canada Highway -- Canada's analogue to the US Interstates -- is two lanes wide for most of its length. (There are great big huge wide highways around the major cities. The 401 north of Toronto is sixteen lanes wide in places.)
There is still the occasional musical variety show on network TV, and such a show that was on until recently was hosted by a very, very large woman (Rita McNeil).
The CBC's evening news anchor is bald and doesn't wear a toupee.
When new coins are introduced to replace paper currency, people actually use the coins.
Contests run by anyone other than the government have "skill-testing questions" that winners must answer correctly before they can claim a prize. These are usually math problems, and are administered to get around the law that only the government can administer lotteries.
The following gas stations are around (and don't exist in the US):
Esso (instead of Exxon -- a visitor suggests "Esso" comes from the "S" and the "O" of Standard Oil)
Petro Canada
Irving (only in eastern Canada, and a visitor advises me that there's now at least one in Maine)
Canadian Tire
Husky
Mohawk (primarily in western Canada)
These are the biggest department stores:
The Bay (the Hudson's Bay Company, the oldest company in North America and possibly the world -- it was incorporated on May 2, 1670)
Zellers -- owned by the Bay, Zellers is similar to KMart (which recently pulled out of Canada) or Target (which isn't in Canada at all).
These are the big banks:
TD Canada Trust
Bank of Montreal
Royal Bank
The Bank of Nova Scotia
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
The National Bank of Canada
The HongKong Bank of Canada
These banks are national and have branches all over the country. One sure sign you're in Canada: the federal government has blocked two big bank mergers (the TD wanted to merge with CIBC, and BMo wanted to merge with the Royal), ostensibly because reduced competition is bad for Canadians. Wow.
Credit unions are also popular in Canada, especially in Quebec, where they're called caisses populaires.
These are the most well-known Canadian restaurant chains:
Harvey's -- fast food burger joint
Mr. Sub -- similar to Subway
The Keg (Le Keg en français) -- a big, high-end yet still generic steakhouse
Pizza Pizza -- similar to Domino's
Tim Horton's -- do(ugh)nuts! See below.
Swiss Chalet -- sit-down chicken and ribs place
Robin's -- another do(ugh)nut chain, popular in western Canada.
The big mass-market beers are Molson and Labatt, and they're a lot stronger than US beers. Molson Golden was recently reintroduced to the Canadian market, but I hardly ever see anyone drinking it -- I get the feeling Molson ships most of it to the States and tells the Americans it's good.
The major cigarette labels are Player's, Craven A, DuMaurier, Matinee, and Export A. Canadian cigarettes are milder than American ones.
Mountain Dew has no caffeine.
Coke and Pepsi use real sugar instead of corn syrup.
Instead of seeing Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores, you see Coles and SmithBooks and Chapters and Indigo.
There are lots and lots of do(ugh)nut shops, especially ones called Tim Horton's (named after the hockey player who started the chain). (The number of Tim Horton's diminishes as you go further west, but I'm assured there are lots of them in Edmonton.)
When you step on someone's foot, he apologizes. (This really happened.)
There are billboards advertising vacations in Cuba, and Cuban cigars are freely available.
Nobody worries about losing a life's savings or a home because of illness.
In pharmacies, you can buy acetaminophen or ASA with codeine over the counter, but you can't buy hydrocortisone ointments or creams without a prescription.
When you go to the dentist to get a cavity filled (or worse), she or he puts a needle in your mouth first to "freeze" it. (Asking for Novocaine (a brand name) immediately pegs you as an American.)
At county fairs and the Canadian National Exhibition, red ribbons indicate first place and blue ribbons indicate second. (Canadians: it's the other way around in the States.)
