Canadian Slang that can prove useful to know before visiting

lorisolan
Jan 14, 2018
3 min read

As with many countries throughout the world, there seems to be a use of slang that the locals have adapted to and use on a daily basis. As a first time visitor to Canada outside of my youth, it took me a short while to understand what was being said and with the help of my brother and some locals, it became more familiar as the days went on. Here is a short list that may be useful before planning a trip there.

CANUCK

The term Kanuck first came about in 1865 when the Americans were said to have called the Dutch and Frnech Canadians by this. It was not long after in 1850 when it was changed to begin with a 'C' for whatever reason that is not apparent. This is a common day term now used throughout America and Canada to describe all Canadians. It is also the name of the ice hockey team in Vancouver - Th Vancouver Canucks.

LOONIE/TOONIE

Loonie is the word that is used to describe the Canadian $1 coin. It was first introduced in 1987 (the year I was born!) and got the name as the Canadian loon bird can be seen on the front of the coin. The toonie is pretty straight forward as it is just a combination of the words two and loonie, very clever!

TIMMIES

Most countries have their go to coffee chain, Starbucks in USA, Costa Coffee in the UK, Gloria Jeans in Australia. Well here they have Tim Horton's which is commonly know to the Canadians as Timmies, nice and simple.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE

This saying was coined by Timmies (Tim Hortons) coffee chain. Double-Double basically means you would like two creams and two sugar. I don't know why anyone would want two sugars in their coffee however it must be a fairly common order seeing as they have their own saying for it.

GTA

Nope, this is not the Canadians talking about the ever famous Grand Theft Auto, it does in fact meat the Greater Toronto Area. This is the most populated area of Toronto, home to almost 6 million people. It includes the suburbs of Mississauga and Oakville, and east to include Ajax, Pickering, and Whitby.

CLICKS

Clicks is the Canadians term for kilometres. "How many clicks away are we?"

MICKEY

I do wonder where words like this derive from but this one means a flask size bottle of liquor that you can get in the LCBO. One thing to note about Toronto is you can't just get liquor anywhere like a supermarket or 7/11 as you can do in South East Asia. There are special establishments for this type of purchase. The LCBO (The Liquor Control Board of Ontario) is your one stop shop, actually only shop for all types of alcohol and then you have the separate wine shops which yes you guessed it, where you can buy wine. These are few and far between and depending where you live you could be looking at a drive to get there or if no car, a long walk!

KERFUFFLE

This is a word I have been using for quite some time as I think it is a great word used to describe a healthy fuss or argument however I did not know it originated and is used quite regularly in Canada. "That was quite a kerfuffle". It is just a fun word and helps to make light of any situation. The below sums it all up perfectly in my estimations!

STAG/STAGETTE

Whilst Stag is used commonly throughout the world to describe a man before his up and coming nuptials, Stagette is used only in Canada to relates to the bride to be. It does make a lot more sense than Hen.

RIGHT?

This one is used at the end of a sentence. It is a rhetorical kind of thing. "This is a good beer, right?", "It's freezing, right?". Everyone knows right well it's cold but they still add 'right' at the end to exaggerate their point.

BUDDY

This word is not so much slang, just a commonly used friendly term that Canadians call each other. I thought it would be a nice addition to the list as it does help to give a picture of just how friendly the Canadians are.

So there you have it, just a small touch of the slang used across the country of Canada. There is a lot more I am sure and probably would become more apparent if you lived there but for now this should get you by, right?!