Canada Day

I just got back from the Port Coquitlam Canada Day celebration fireworks in Citadal Park, I have been going to these since they started a few years ago. Every year they get better and better. This is a fund place for family, I watched the families with small children, as the children  played with their light sabers and the parents watched them and relaxed. There was not any sign of drinking, or pot smoking that I could see and there were tons of families with small children.

The organizers need to be congratulated for the wonderful day and the firefighters should be congratulated for their work on the actual fireworks. It was fun watching the crowds pulsating back and forth. Technology is interesting when the fireworks started, people would wonder back and forth searching for their friends, today people stand and phone their friends, asking where are you, with the discussion going back and forth about how to identify the spot where their friends are or have move to.

As I watched the fireworks, there was a pause and then I noticed that off in the distance I could see more fireworks and I realized that I was watching the fireworks from Surrey, and I thought this is great, two for the price of one.

The fireworks ended, the rain held off  and the crowd slowly started to leave wanting more--many will come back next year and hopefully bring their friends and family. A wonderful day and a wonderful way to celebrate the day. I hope you enjoyed the celebrations.

Something to think about

Canadian English has words or expressions not found, or not widely used, in other variants of English. Additionally, like other dialects of English that exist in proximity to francophones, French loanwords have entered Canadian English. This page comprises words — proper English terms, French loanwords, and slang words — that are distinctive for their relatively widespread use in Canada. Here sis a partial list of Canadian words with our own definitions. For more go to http://www.canadaka.net/content/page/124-canadian-slang--english-words

Canadian English words, expressions, and terms


ABM, bank machine: a common term for an automated teller machine. Short for automated bank machine.

allophone: a resident whose first language is one other than English or French. Used only by linguists in other English-speaking countries, this word has come to be used by journalists and broadcasters, and then by the general public, in some parts of Canada.

bachelor: bachelor apartment ("They have a bachelor for rent").

Bunny Hug: Term used in Saskatchewan that is a hooded sweatshirt with or without a zipper that has a pocket in the front. Also refered to as a Hoodie in most other provinces

Bytown: the original name of Ottawa before its designation as national capital, often still used in the same context as Hogtown for Toronto or Cowtown for Calgary.

Canuck: A slang term for "Canadian" in the U.S. and Canada. It sometimes means "French Canadian" in particular, especially when used in the Northeast of the United States and in Canada. Adopted as the name of the National Hockey League team in Vancouver. Sometimes jokingly pronounced can-OOK (not used this way for the hockey team, aka "the Nucks").

chesterfield: a sofa or couch. Used somewhat in Northern California; obsolete in Britain (where it originated). Sometimes (as in classic furnishing terminology) refers to a sofa whose arms are the same height as the back, but more usually to any couch or sofa. The more international terms sofa and couch are also used; among younger generations in the western and central regions, chesterfield is largely in decline.

Chinook: a warm, dry wind experienced along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. Most common in winter and spring, a chinook wind can result in a rise in temperature of 20 C° (36 F°) in a quarter of an hour. In Alaska, the word is pronounced with an affricate ch instead of the fricative sh sound as used in Canada, and means an extremely wet, warm, constant southwesterly, which actually is the same weather pattern as the drying wind that it becomes when it hits Alberta. The use of the word to mean a wind is from the Chinook Jargon, "i.e., the wind from the direction of the country of the Chinooks" (the lower Columbia River), as transmitted to the Prairies by the francophone employees of the North West Company, hence the Frenchified pronunciation east of the Rockies. A Chinook in BC is also one of the five main varieties of salmon, and can also mean the Chinook Jargon, although this older usage is now very rare (as is the Jargon itself).

concession road: in southern Ontario and southern Quebec, one of a set of roads laid out by the colonial government as part of the distribution of land in standard lot sizes. The roads were laid out in squares as nearly as possible equal to 1,000 acres (4 km²). Many of the concession roads were known as sidelines, and in Ontario many roads are still called lines.

dayliner: a Budd Rail Diesel Car, a self-propelled diesel passenger railcar on the former British Columbia Railway, also called "Budd Car" after the company who made them (the dayliner is now out of service). Dayliners also saw service in Ontario on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the Canadian National Railway (CNR).

deke: A word derived from decoy and used to decribe a fake or feint intended to deceive a defensive player, often drawing that player out of position, usually in hockey, as in "I deked him out and scored."

double-double: a cup of coffee from Tim Horton's with two creams and two sugars

eaves troughs (also Northern & Western U.S.): grooves or channels that attach to the underside of the roof of a house to collect rainwater. Known to most Americans and to Britons as gutters.

eh: a spoken interjection to ascertain the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc., of the person or persons addressed ("That was a good game last night, eh?"). May also be used instead of "huh?" or "what?" meaning "please repeat or say again." Frequently mis-represented by Americans as A, or hey. May have its origins from the French hein, which is pronounced in a very similar fashion.

Family Compact: a group of influential families who exercised substantial political control of Ontario during part of the 1800s. The Quebec equivalent was the Chateau Clique.

fire hall: fire station, firehouse

fishfly: mayfly

garburator: a garbage disposal unit located beneath the drain of a kitchen sink.

homo milk: homogenized milk, particularly with a fat content greater than 2%, usually 3.25%. Referred to in the U.S. as whole milk.

humidex: measurement used by meteorologists to reflect the combined effect of heat and humidity.

hydro: (except Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the Maritimes) commonly as a synonym for electrical service. Many Canadian provincial electric companies generate power from hydroelectricity, and incorporate the term "Hydro" in their names: Toronto Hydro, Hydro Ottawa, etc. Usage: "Manitoba Hydro... It's not just a Power Company anymore."; "How long did you work for Hydro?" "When's Hydro gonna get the lines back up."; "The hydro bill is due on the fifteenth."; "I didn't pay my hydro bill so they shut off my lights." Hence hydrofield, a line of electricity transmission towers, usually in groups cutting across a city, and hydro lines/poles, electrical transmission lines/poles.

joe job: a low-class, low-paying job. Not to be confused with the American term joe job.

Kokanee: British Columbian name for a species of land-locked salmon (accent on first syllable). Also the name of a popular beer made in the Kootenay district, also known as "Blue Cocaine."

Kraft Dinner: Kraft macaroni and cheese. Sometimes called "Krap Dinner" or "KD".

loonie: Canadian one dollar coin. Derived from the use of the loon on the reverse.

lumber jacket: A thick flannel jackeolett either red and black or green and black favoured by blue collar workers and heavy metal/grunge afficinados. This apparel is more commonly referred to as a mackinac (pron mackinaw). In parts of British Columbia, it is referred to as a doeskin.

Nanaimo bar: a confection named for the town of Nanaimo, British Columbia and made of egg custard with a Graham-cracker-based bottom and a thin layer of chocolate on top; however, this term is now common in the United States and elsewhere, thanks to the efforts of Starbucks in popularizing them.

Newfie, Newf: A colloquial, often derisive term used to describe one who is from Newfoundland and Labrador. Historically used with light humour in "Newfie Jokes", similar to "Dumb Blonde Jokes". Use of the word is now considered to be offensive and in very bad taste.

parkade: a parking garage, especially in the West.

pencil crayon: coloured pencil.

pickerel: This is a slang word for walleye.

pop: the common name for soft drinks or soda pop.

quiggly hole and quiggly town: remains of First Nations underground houses in the Interior of British Columbia

rad: Short for radiator in a car or home heating, but pronounced like the first sylable of 'radical'.

regular: used to denote a coffee with one cream, one sugar ("I'll have two double doubles and a regular")

runners: running shoes, sneakers, especially in Central Canada. Also used somewhat in Australian English.

serviette: a small square of cloth or paper used while eating, a napkin. Derives from British English.

Timbits: a brand name of donut (doughnut) holes made by Tim Hortons that has become a generic term

toonie: Canadian two dollar coin. Modelled after loonie (q.v.). Also spelled tooney, twooney, twoonie, twonie, or twoney

tuque: a knitted winter hat, often with a pompon on the crown. Sometimes misspelled "toque", which is in fact an unrelated type of hat.

washroom: the general term for what is normally named public toilet or lavatory in Britain. In the U.S. (where it originated) mostly replaced by restroom in the 20th century. Generally used only as a technical or commercial term outside of Canada. The word bathroom is also used; the term toilet is generally considered somewhat indelicate in Canada and is avoided. [1]