I feel the same way about Guam

Hi. I like Canada. I have questions, though. I have never
actually been to Canada but I am gullible and from what I have read and heard
from all over the place, it is better than America. I don’t like America. 🙂 So,
yeah. Questions. Do I need to speak French to live in Toronto? I am going to
take a semester of Intro French I next semester because the sucky-ass school I
go to now doesn’t offer anything more intensive than that. I know that Montreal
is a lot more French-y than Toronto is, but still… how important is French in
Toronto? Maybe it isn’t and I am stupid for asking. 😉 Like I said I am
transferring from the states and I am trying to decide between UofT and McGill
(hence my concern for French). I will not ask you to compare that stuff because
I read the questions other people ask. =) But my other question is… I am
completely American-raised. Please school me on Canadian basics. What are some
Canadian colloquialism? Is the “aboot” thing really true? Anything
else pronounced weird? Also, is that British-style English you guys speak? I see
things like “programme” and “centre” and I worry that I will
get many points taken off in my essays when I say “program” and
“center.” Sorry my question is so long. Feel free to cut out the
useless babble if you do get around to posting it. 😉 Anyway, cool site and
thanks for your honest answers, they really help.

canada is swell. thanks for your vote of confidence. i recommend taking a trip up to the great white north before you decide, to check out the schools and culture and whatnot. canadian culture is a funny thing. our culture consists mostly of debating about whether or not there is a culture. i think i will ramble for a while about canadian culture, because i have some time, and maybe it will be helpful.
as to the french/english culture clash: i suppose you’ve never read an ounce (or as we say in canada, a millilitre) of canadian history in your life. this is an assumption of course, but i’ll bet i am correct, right? canada was founded (unlike america’s puritans) by french explorers. they started trapping and dealing in fur pelts, creating a great fur trading market. the british got wind of it and started to do the same thing. they were in neck and neck competition for a long time, and the territorial claims of the two countries often oveerlapped (this was during the massive colonization movement of the wealthy european countries). eventually, the french and british went to war, as they always seem to (up until the 20th century). the british won a major battle on the plains of abraham in what is now quebec city, and took possession of the french colony. so, the explored part of canada was very small at that time, and was separated in upper canada (british) and lower canada (french). these two areas eventually became the provinces of ontario (primarily english) and quebec (largely french). there are french people in ontario and english people in quebec, of course. and in my experience, in montreal, most french people speak english, but a fewer ratio of englsih people speak french. the two cultures have existed in an often uneasy relationship with each other for hundreds of years, and it often still flares up, usually in politics, and sometimes in social activism (we had terrorist activity back in the 60’s culminating with the flq crisis in 1970). there are other french settlements outside quebec that many people forget about. for example, up in northern ontario along highway 11, many of the small towns are primarily french speaking, as well as a large french settlement in manitoba.
when it comes to french culture in montreal, quebec, all i can tell you is that my friends at mcgill don’t have to speak french. it is an english school (mcgill is a scot name, not a french one), and i’ve heard that the mcgill bubble is surrounded with english. you will be recognized as an english person immediately, but it is possible that you will pick up some french as you go, especially if it interests you. montreal is an amazingly fun city. you can tell the difference between montreal culture and toronto culture, so go to both cities (they’re about a six hour drive apart) and see them both.
french is not important in toronto. you don’t need to speak it here. i hear more extra-continental languages on the streets than i hear french.
as to colloquialisms, they aren’t anything that you won’t pick up. people say “guy” here a lot instead of dude. it sounds just as stupid. watch the movie “canadian bacon” to see a parody on the differences between canada and the states. i can hear your accent, so you can probably hear mine. we say “roof” instead of “ruff”. we say “hockey” instead of “hackey”.
we do spell some things different here, and i can’t say what your profs will think, but you can buy a canadian oxford dictionary. websters dictionary is american, so leave yours at home. here are some examples of things to be aware of: civilization vs civilisation; grey vs gray; colour vs color; metric vs imperial (metric is better); axe vs ax; cheque vs check (the noun not the verb).
canadian culture is a strange topic in canada. many people argue that we don’t have a culture. at least they used to. many people think that we don’t have a national identity, because eacha area of the country is so different from all the rest. (can’t a personality be multi-faceted?) many people argue that we are just becoming americans, but colder. i am not going to take one side or the other. however, let me dispell some common rumours about canadian life. we don’t all live in igloos. most of the country does have electricity. we do have eskimos, but they aren’t call eskimos anymore, they’re call inuits and they now have their own territory. we don’t have a president. his name is not jean poutine. there are no grizzly bears wandering the streets of toronto, but watch out for the vicious squirrels and the obese racoons. the snow does melt in some parts of the country.
i hope this clues you in on canculture a little bit. canada has its problems and drawbacks, but they’re not as extreme as america. probably because we are not a disgustingly wealthy superpower, but are merely a relative disgustingly wealthy hanger-on who lives in the shadow of said superpower. at least we have more than two political parties (not to discount ralph nader’s green party, but no one really expects him to win. but then again, no one really expects the ndp to win anyway).
cheers,
askastudent