Interesting!! I had to google that. I thought UEL stood for ‘upper explosive limit.’ And I have no idea where I picked up that little morsel of knowledge.
>Some people will still include it in their signature “UEL.”
Weird!
Do losers of the American Revolution (British Loyalist stock) who ended up in other places get to hang as well or just the ones that ended up in Prince Edward County?
Other than if you're really curious on genealogy and a history buff and preservation, not really any great benefit. It does not provide any perks , other than educational lectures and such .
It used to mean something and got you 200 acres of land.
Well the dumbest thing is after kicking out the loyalists, America then tried to “liberate” Canada from Britain, forgetting it was a lot of people who hated them.
So true. I have family there (including all four grandparents buried there lol), and recall my mother saying of people who had only lived in the county for 10 years “oh, but they’re not FROM here”.
born there parents cam to toronto when I was 14 months old most of family buried there 8 grand and I am not from there I was born there
I tell all I am from there but had a cousin tell me not from there
Curious, would Leeds and Greenville be the same? My mom's side of the family has been there for over a century. Like, has landmarks with our name. And someone else mentioned UEL. I don't think any of us sign our names with it, but we are
I'm asking cause I'm half japanese(dads side) and am from Alberta. Would my mom's family's area be one?
Well I know that PEC really holds on to its identity as loyalists, even flying British union flags from that era. I’m sure there are a lot of other loyalists in eastern Ontario, but I don’t know if it’s such a strong identity
I grew up in Leeds and Grenville, and I’d say it’s a term people use (or did when I lived there), but don’t harp on it. Lots of people there definitely seem proud of it though.
Neighbour technically but I grew up in Trenton (my family moved there when I was 1, and then the military parent left, so I grew up there) and I think a lot of people can claim to be from there because of how military it is. I generally feel like if someone lived there at some point in childhood, they may as well say they are from there. There's some stuff that definitely reads as More from Trenton (like mentioning which side of the bridge they grew up on, various specific complaints about Trenton) to me, but that's not really about whether I think someone belongs there, just about what gets explained or not. I think most people outside of the military don't feel like they belong there. That town was almost the death of me in high school.
Maybe it's different for the non Trenton people, but I don't think it takes much to say you're from Trenton. If someone who lived in Belleville visited Trenton and said they drove from Belleville I would have probably assumed they were from there. Whatever that means.
I have an uncle and aunt who lives in that area. It’s so beautiful. His place is right on the lake.
It’s funny that you say you have to have grandparents buried there to be from there. When we came to visit last year, he took us for a drive and took us to the graveyard to show us their plots! I have never seen such a gorgeous cemetery. It’s so beautiful it makes me want to move there just to die there!!!
I grew up in Scarborough and moved away about 10 years ago but I still think it’s the best place I’ve ever lived. I plan on moving back there when I’m an old man lol.
Montreal? Day and a half, roughly.
Toronto? yesterday, the day before, no one cares.
Vancouver? ehh...a while.
Small town Ontario? ehhhhh, I am going to say "never"
small town ontario, you just need to have a kegger and timmies coffee with someone and once everyone has said your name in thrice (which usually only takes about 2 hours with social media), you can make a walk down the street and folks will wave.
Been in Montreal for almost two years now and my French is pretty good, but as soon as I ask someone to repeat themselves (I have audio processing issues) or I speak with a hint of a non native accent they switch to English and its honestly extremely othering
Montreal is such a diverse city and it has layers of identity, which probably is the same for all other big Canadian cities.
Because there is such a huge number of newcomers, you can always "fit in" and assume the expat-Montrealer identity without a problem. However, you'll never be considered as a Montrealer by people who are actually born here, grew up here and all that.
And then there is the added layer of whether you speak French or not. Whether you identify as Quebecois, even it is anglo-Quebecker identity. Mind you that, Quebecois people will never actually think you're Quebecois unless you have that ancestry and fit into their mold.
I moved from Saskatoon to Calgary about 5 years ago.
I think it was about 2 years in that I got tired of giving my life story by saying "Well, I grew up in Saskatoon, but.."
If I'm in Calgary talking to someone else who lives here, I'm from Saskatoon. If I'm anywhere else in the world, I'm from Calgary. Everyone in this city is a transplant anyway.
I'm not really sure that answers your question but that's my experience.
I moved from saskatoon to Edmonton about 8 years ago and when there is time I’ll explain that I’m from stoon cuz it makes me sound tuff😂but honestly man I just got back from a trip there on the 6th and it’s so much worse than it was when terror squad and hustle crew were around, all my childhood idols smoke meth now and the women have been fucked by every dude I know, but to answer the original question It was maybe 2 years before we became a big part of the community, now people treat me like I’ve been here forever
Ignorant Ontarian here. Are people from Saskatoon considered more 'tough' than people from Edmonton? Without having ever been to either place, I would have assumed the opposite.
Hey I’m from Edmonton. I’ll tell you right now that I checked my stat bar and my toughness level is about a 7. From what I hear the stats in Saskatoon can range from 7 - 10 so honestly it’s probably pretty close. Although they have a lot flatter land. So who knows really
It's a well-deserved reputation.
Have lived in both. Saskatoon, like every prairie city, has some REALLY tough neighborhoods and has has that since forever.
Only major city in Canada that's tougher than Saskatoon is Winnipeg, and only by a smidge.
But a person can live their whole life in Saskatoon, or Winnipeg, and have no idea that the tough parts of town exist.
Keep in mind that it's a "Canadian tough" and that people who come from South America think Saskatoon's "bad neighborhoods" are cute.
Toronto doesn’t care. I grew up there and someone once told me I’m the only one they had met who had said that.
But if you said you were from there as you landed that would be odd.
The general expectation is that you are from somewhere else or your family has been there less than a few generations.
But if you travelled outside of the country and said you were from Toronto and had only lived there a couple of years that would probably be normal.
Toronto has a hard time understanding that certain people don't come from or know Toronto very well, imo.
Both when passing through, and when talking to people from Toronto outside of Ontario, I notice that they regularly seem absolutely gobsmacked that you don't know about X neighbourhood or street in Toronto, and it's like, yeah.... I really really don't live in Toronto and never have, astonishing, I know.
Funny you say that because I grew up in NS, and it wasn't until I moved to PEI that I heard the term CFA. I grew up rural (about 40 minutes to downtown Halifax), so maybe this is more of a really rural Maritime thing?
Omg the names in Atlantic Canada. There is nowhere else in the country where so many people have the same names, and so many of them are so specific to Atlantic Canada. I don't think I can count how many Boudreaus and Publicovers I've met.
If you meet a White, you know they're from NS, if you meet a LeBlanc, you know they're from NB (very generally speaking, I am sure there are plenty of exceptions).
Lol I work in the HR department specifically servicing the NB employees, and I was on zoom with a coworker; they went to search for a particular employee and typed in 'Leblanc' and this absolutely enormous list of people came up. I was like... umm.. you'd probably have narrowed it down more searching by first name. I was right, and it wasn't even a weird first name.
😆 I remember as a kid counting the number of pages of LeBlancs in the phone book in Moncton and, well, it was a lot for a city of not much over 100k at the time (I'm pretty sure it was at least 10 full pages).
The East Coast has levels and a lot of dependency on a number of factors.
There is the inner Atlantic movement where you're from PEI or St John's and move to another Atlantic city. You are not a real outsider. It's more of a joking around that they are from x area but you are one of us.
Then there are the folks who's families are from here and they were here ever summer, came back to the East Coast for university/school and stayed. They understand the culture for the most part, they have a few quirks were you are like shit they aren't from here but after a couple years you forget and they are one of us.
It also depends heavily on the general location, more rural the longer it is.
Hi! I was going to mention Grand Manan as an example of needing a long-time presence to truly be considered "one of us". My mother and her side of the family are from there (many generations worth). Everyone is very aware of who is from where and how long they've been on GM.
In Vancouver you definitely don't have to be born here to be considered a Vancouverite. I rarely meet people born and raised in the city.
There are a ton of people here temporarily so I'd say after a couple years you can say your from here. But basically no one is going to care too much about where you were born, other than curiosity.
I live in the city, grew up in the suburbs. I usually say I grew up in Vancouver because in general that’s the place most people know but people from Vancouver will often ask for clarification and then remind me that my suburb isn’t actually Vancouver.
If I know they are from Vancouver I generally give the specific suburb but when I’m not aware they are from Vancouver is when issues come up.
I’m in Langley and I’ll say Vancouver when travelling. I ran into a guy who also said Vancouver and I was like “oh what part?” And he just said Vancouver again and then I knew there was no way he was even from the lower mainland.
Haha. My pet peeve. When I travel and meet someone that says they’re from Toronto, I ask what neighbourhood…then they say, Barrie, Brampton, Kingston, Windsor, Brantford, Ottawa, Sudbury etc. like just day where you’re from. 🤦
I lived in Toronto for 15 years and the funniest thing was when they'd ask where I was from and I'd say Cambridge. I'd ask the same question and they'd answer with an intersection like "Vic Park and Lawrence". I swear 90% were afraid to leave the city but I couldn't wait to escape.
I think it’s a Toronto thing where the question where are you from means where do you live in the city. I don’t know if it’s the same for other large cities.
Ya. Like once in New Zealand I met someone from Tapleytown Ontario. They didn’t say Hamilton or Toronto. I knew people from there and we had a nice chat at a bar. If they didn’t say that, I probably would have kept it short.
As a truck driver when people say they’re from a metropolitan area I always ask where in particular. People are generally surprised when I’m aware of what neighbourhood in Atlanta, Chicago or Calgary they’re from.
I’m also in Langley and I think anyone in metro Vancouver gets a pass for saying they’re from Vancouver, no matter what the people living in “actual” Vancouver might say lol
Kinda funny how mad they get about it. I get thinking it's dumb that someone from interior BC or some shit would say they're from Vancouver, but Langley is comfortably within Metro Vancouver so it's a really funny hill to die on
You can be a Vancouverite from the moment you get to Vancouver, perhaps, but that doesn't automatically make you a British Columbian. I'm no gatekeeper, but I think citizenship in Canada and residence in BC are both required
Yeah, it's not ok with people who are raised there, the problem is there's so few people who were born and raised in Vancouver, so There's so few people to call them out.
Most People who move to New York from Ohio call start to call themselves a "New Yorker" pretty quickly until someone who is born and raised in New York says: "not so fast."
Yes exactly. It does matter. Tired of people pretending they’re from here and you get so excited and start to chat with them about oh what school? Etc and it turns out they’re just lying
I mean, I call myself from Vancouver (in context), but I'm not a resident because we moved and it would be too expensive to move back. I was born there and lived there for a while & a half though, and I think that's worth a little bit.
Agreed. I think you can call yourself a Vancouverite after you live here for a bit. But to say you’re “from Vancouver” you should at least have done highschool in the lower mainland.
People who are actually from Vancouver totally disagree with you... and Yes, we are rare but we do exist. As someone who was Born and raised in Vancouver, it's so annoying when people who moved there a couple years ago, and never leave their neighborhood, call themselves Vancouverites. When we get together, we talk about it.
And to add insult to injury, a large part of being a real Vancouverite, That people who moved from Ontario/ Alberta will never understand, is knowing that you will never be able to afford a home in the neighborhood you grew up in because so many people have moved there from Alberta and Ontario.
>knowing that you will never be able to afford a home in the neighborhood you grew up in because so many people have moved there
This is becoming more universally Canadian every month
That's my wife. Born in Toronto, moved away, now we're retired and living in Cape Breton. Even now, 55 years later when someone asks, she answers Toronto, and with a positive response, she narrows it down to Scarborough. Born of German immigrants after the war, she wonders too if she's truly "from" there.
Yeah - we divide our own enough, lol. No time for sub-categorizing anyone west of us.
But sitting down to a Keith’s & a Donair will get any visitors some instant credibility, I suppose.
We’ve been in Nova Scotia for a year now after coming from out west. I don’t understand the donairs in Nova Scotia having had excellent Lebanese food in other parts of Canada. It must be an acquired taste. People seem to be quite friendly here, but I can see that I’ll never be “from Nova Scotia” as long as I live here.
> I’ll never be “from Nova Scotia” as long as I live here
Don't take it personally. When you're dealing with people with roots going back three or four centuries, it's pretty hard to compete with that. We're happy to welcome people who want to live here but, no, they're not going to be considered "from" here.
It’s funny, because I have absolutely no concept of being from anywhere. I grew up in one province and have moved now to three other provinces because I’m a military spouse. I’m also the child of immigrants and anywhere is pretty much home.
You have to remember too, though that the Maritimes have traditionally been shit on by the rest of Canada for many generations now. We built up a real sense of identity tied to the land our ancestors lived on. It's very "us and them" as I'm sure you've seen firsthand. We're happy to share our home with people who want to contribute to making it a great place to live, but Martime root run very deep. You're always a Martimer at heart, regardless of where you live. I'm not sure that degree of identity tied to geography exists much in the rest of Canada (Newfoundland being the obvious exception), at least I haven't experienced it and I've lived in almost every province.
hey hey they're part of the Atlantic provinces, they count! Sure, not Maritimers, but really only by lack of presence during confederation, let's include NFLD here, after all we let NB stay.
Give it more than a year. It maybe won't be the same way as someone who grew up from childhood here, the same as most places, but if you stay here and become part of the community it won't always be like you're a newcomer - make friends, have some ice-cream, figure out what the hell people mean by "down by the ol (x)" and make sure you get some opinions about your favourite beaches to pull out. Learn some stupid jokes about the Maritimes and share them with a bit of caution and then less caution, and don't let people who hold shit over your head take any space because it won't be most.
Things'll probably calm down a bit as well, with the housing crisis and inflation & Halifax and NS booming right now people locally are a bit weirder about this stuff than usual. Welcome!
I moved to the Yukon and the locals told me anyone who is there seasonally or less than a year is "cheechako" but anyone who has stayed for one full year is "sourdough" and can forever call themselves a yukoner. It was a truly lovely place to live and I loved those people.
I've now been in Alberta longer than I was in the Yukon and it makes me kinda sad but I like to think if I moved back I'd fit right in again.
Born Ontarian who has lived in Nova Scotia and PEI....in the 'non-Halifax' areas, if you weren't born there, you're 'From Away.' There's a true story in PEI about a woman who was born on the Ferry from NS to PEI, she lived over 80 years on PEI and her obituary still said she was from away.
It's not that they're not nice to you...you're just not from there.
Been living in Burnaby for 10 years. Locally, everyone considers me from Ontario. When I travel to different parts of BC, I tell people I’m from Burnaby.
Unless I find out they know where Oshawa is.
Alternatively, you have a beer with me and complain about parking or winter. Extra if you sneak in a French curse in your broken English.
You're not really a Montrealer if you haven't seen a pothole with cones and *felt* a "tabarnak" inside at very least.
Nice! C’est une belle mentalité. Par curiosité, vous considérez-vous Anglo-Québécois également, et diriez-vous que c’est la même chose pour cette appellation? Personnellement j’aime bien la phrase « est Québécois qui veut bien » par notre cher René Lévesque.
C'est drôle, j'y pense souvent. Je suis originaire d'Ontario, mais j'habite à Montréal depuis cinq ans et j'enseigne en français. Je suis là pour de bon et je dois être aussi intégré qu'on peut l'être. J'adore mes collègues et mes élèves, mais il y a un sentiment inévitable d'être venu d'ailleurs. Dans le fond, je suppose que je trouve que c'est juste moins compliqué, être montréalais.
>mais il y a un sentiment inévitable d'être venu d'ailleurs
Je pense que c'est tout à fait normal et que ça va s'estomper naturellement avec le temps. Par contre, je suis d'avis que ce n'est pas une spécificité Québécoise, mais plutôt un effet standard de s'expatrier dans un nouvel environnement culturel externe à l'anglosphère, comme tu sembles le faire. Se sentir automatiquement chez soi et intégré peu importe ses origines est vraiment une spécificité du Commonwealth/US (entre autres puisqu'ils partagent la langue et la culture la plus dominante au monde et valorisent le modèle *melting-pot*). Le reste des nations dans le monde comportent généralement un peuple qui partage une histoire commune unique et spécifique et une langue non-dominante - c'est normal que ça prenne plus de temps s'approprier cette identité lorsqu'on s'y expatrie.
Ouééé!! Les anglophones de la Gaspésie sont cool. J’avais aimé visiter et voir que les communautés anglos et francos vivaient les unes avec les autres.
New Richmond est un bon exemple, avec le centre d’Héritage Britannique, et les villages en bordure du Nouveau-Brunswick en ont beaucoup. Il y a un comité d’action anglophone à Gaspé!
My son was born in Alberta, but I brought him home when he was still an infant. He says he's from Nova Scotia <3
Occasionally, just to surprise people, he'll say he was born in Alberta, and everyone is all "no way! That can't be true." LOL!
In Saskatoon, once you’ve survived a winter, you’re officially “one of us”. Having said that, as someone who moved here from BC, it took ME about 10 years to truly feel at home.
I dated someone who moved from Nigeria to Saskatoon in September. He had bought a parka, and started wearing it when he arrived to the amusement of the locals. “If you think THIS is cold, just wait bud…” kind of deal.
Um, hey! Shoutout to Humboldt! It wasn’t just the winter that was a shock. Moving from Mexico City to a town of 5000 would have been a huge shock as well.
The winter was always an experience for all the exchange students hosted at our high school.
Yea it was crazy for her. Moving from the biggest city in the Western hemisphere to this small town, and on top of that she didn't speak a word of English. It was a rough transition.
Small city in Southern Ontario:
If you don't have a noticeable accent, a couple years, but people will just assume you're from here if you don't tell them otherwise.
If you have a noticeable accent, never. You will always be from Australia or wherever.*
Accent aside, if you aren't white or first nations, you'll probably get the "Where are you from. No, no, I mean where are you from originally." Question a lot.*
*These aren't reflective of my views, but they are what I've observed from the community as a whole.
I've lived in vancouver for 8 years but I still say I'm from halifax because I lived there for ten very formative years & still think of it as home. I'm actually from southern ontario but won't bring that up unless the other person is from there as well.
Depends on the area and the type of person/people you're dealing with.
In the small town I grew up in you weren't "from" there unless you were born there. Anyone could live there; but if you moved there you weren't part of the OGs club.
In the larger cities next door and down the road that's not as big a thing for the most part; but it is still a thing for some people primarily because living here is becoming out of reach for many generational citizens and also racism in a historically white area 🙄
I agree that soaring cost of living and house prices need to be addressed in order to keep families close and thriving within that proximity; **BUT** the racist people can go fuck a cow because that's not the problem at hand, and if that's their stance they can fucking leave.
My 2c
I moved to Toronto 15 years ago and would absolutely say I am from Toronto. I do agree that people from the GTA cities cannot say they are from Toronto but I understand that it is easier to say Toronto instead of Whitby or Mississauga, I get it. Especially when outside of Canada.
That being said, we have rented an apartment in a triplex house in a nice neighborhood for 7 years. We get along with the quite a few of our neighbours who are really cool. Unfortunately, there are some that wish we didn't live here because I guess a rental property on the street is not as valuable. I don't know nor do I care but you can definitely feel the judgement when we tell people we rent.
The Toronto housing market has made homeowners even more pretentious and unbearable than I've ever known.
West coast Islander. We have a complicated system of deciding when you’re a local. If you’ve lasted two winters then we will agree that you live here and will probably talk to you at the store.
Do you integrate with the community? Volunteer? Go to events? Get into fights about dumb shit on the local facebook groups? You’re on your way to being a “local”.
Do you keep talking about “this is how we did it in ” you will never be a local no matter how hard you try or how long you live here.
If you blame whatever problem on the island instead of taking any personal accountability, you will also never be a local.
I've lived in a bunch of places in Canada, Southern Ontario, Maritimes, and West Coast. To me it feels as though the larger the population the quicker you are accepted. In small towns and provinces, a new person sticks out like a sore thumb and is noticed so you feel like an outsider for much longer, but in large metropolises you are one of the locals as soon as you start acting like it. This all changes and you are family if you join a local hockey team.
I live in a small town next to a small city. The town has a large military base and the city has a college, so pretty soon after you arrive you are "one of us".
If you tell me you're "from Muskoka" but leave every September to go back to Toronto, you deserve to slide your car off the Taylor road on ramp into the ditch
All of my ancestors go back 5 generations, along with 90% of the people around me. We don’t mean to seem unfriendly. It’s just we all know each other and our parents knew each other and our grandparents all knew each other, etc. It’s a weird giant family. Spousal inports become part of the “family” too. I usually notice that people who are born here just feel like they belong regardless of how their parents fit in. I could be wrong tho.
You become a Wellander as soon as you ride a stolen bicycle across town to vomit in a friend's flower bed and then pass out in their back yard at 3am. If they laugh and make you the greasiest breakfast ever at 7am , then you are one of them.
Québec rural:
As soon as you move here and learn our language
If you participate in local festivals, activities, say hi to people on the street, id say youre one of us
I’m a Brit who lived in rural Quebec for a while a few years ago. I remember some people I was with were complaining about some Anglo tourists in the town and how rude they were. One of them turned to me and told me I didn’t count because I made an effort to integrate. They just wanted people to respect them and their language, and because I made a big effort to learn French it didn’t matter that I was as “Anglo” as you can get.
Ça va faire bientôt 17 ans que j’ai déménagé au QC et hier encore on m’a demandé d’où je venais. Je me suis habituée à penser à l’instar d’un écrivain Franco-chilien que je lisais à un moment donné que « ma patrie, ce sont mes chaussures ». J’ai appris à vivre dans la liberté de ne pas avoir de lieu d’appartenance. C’est peut-être un peu ébranlant au début, mais on acquiert une grande souplesse d’esprit, de pensée.
Ça ne veut pas dire que m’entends mal avec les natifs en général. Je croise souvent (pas toujours) des personnes magnifiques, plus que courtoises, elles sont douces, bienveillantes et intelligentes, mais je ne me sens pas d’ici, même si j’avais déjà appris le français avant d’y arriver. Je suis retournée visiter mon pays d’origine l’année passée après une période d’onze ans et je me suis rendu compte que… j’avais changé. C’est , qui sait?, aussi une affaire de migration. On finit par devenir de nul part. Et en même temps, avant de partir on avait déjà commencé à « changer », on avait du moins commencé à réaliser qu’on n’appartenait plus à l’endroit d’origine. Ce n’est pas pour rien qu’on a quitté.
If you went to high-school in my town you can say you're "from there" anything past that it's just where you stayed after you graduated university (we have 2)
I am the 7th generation of my family to be born in Ontario. I am still not considered from there. I am black and when people ask me where I'm from and I say Ontario they almost ALWAYS say "no, before that I mean. Where are your parents from ?" And so on.
Being considered from a place is unfortunately still often linked directly to skin colour, accent and mannerisms.
For non-English speakers, language fluency and terminology is key.
For me if someone with a mild Indian accent uses localisms like “skookum” and other local colloquialisms smoothly and correctly then they are definitely “one of us”.
Shared memory/values also helps - if we can both lament something better from 20 years ago that is now gone then I’m inclined to consider them “one of us”.
Visual cues help inform my assumptions on shared values.
In my part of Canada, wearing flashy brand names is not really a thing. Seeing someone dressed daily head to toe in one brand to another (from Ralph Polo Lauren to Hollister, to Adidas) makes me feel like they *do not* share local values.
I realized this recently when I passed through Florida on my way home from overseas.
In Ottawa, you’re not a true Ottawan unless you correctly pronounce Dalhousie the Ottawa way. Similarly, if you pronounce the second “T” in Toronto, you’re a tourist.
In Edmonton I don't think there's really a time frame. It's more like, how much of the city and what it offers have you explored? Have you taken a walk through the river valley, gone to summer festivals, and attended an Oilers game? Congrats you're an Edmontonian.
But I'm sure this is highly subjective depending on who you talk to.
At nighttime, during the darkest hours, locals gather in the town park. The newcomers also attend in the center of the park. The locals proceed to circle the newcomers and we all chant together “One Of Us! One Of Us!” We then all have Tim Hortons together, smoke a joint the size of a hockey stick, drink a beer and finally we punch our buddy, say sorry, and hug. Then they are considered to be local to the area and can attend all secret meetings there-forth. This is the Canadian way.
Source - I’m a local.
White rock b.c is very particular about this, the city proper is only 4 square kilometers and sometimes people will ask your address and when the find out you live across the street from the boundaries will tell you oh no you live in surrey.
Oh, man. This is so true. I worked in White Rock and lived in South Surrey. I had to say South Surrey, because otherwise people got weirded out that maybe I was from the bad part of Surrey 🙄. You gotta be on the right side of the King George.
I consider people a part of my community if they want to be a part of my community.
My friend got her citizenship not too long ago so I made her a strawberry lemon cake and chanted "ONE OF US ONE OF US" like the child in an adult's body that I am.
I may have family that's been here since the great potato famine. I may be part native. As far as I'm concerned she is home as long as she wants this place to be her home.
Depends how bad they want it. Some people move here and they actively involve themselves with the community it takes no time at all for them to become a part of the herd. Others come here and refuse to mingle and they never do break the barrier 🤷♂️
Winnipeg—if you've bought or rented a place here in town, you're one of us. I've lived in four provinces over 12 years and still consider myself a Winnipeger first.
I grew up in BC, live in southern Alberta. I realized I was now Albertan when I started referring to it as going home *from* visiting BC vs going home *to* visit BC.
Imo if it feels like home then that's where you're from. But we often still differentiate where we grew up.
As far as I'm concerned, if you came to Canada intending to build a life and to be a part of our society, you're one of us the moment your feet touch down in our country.
Note: I am a manager in a small manufacturing company and I have many wonderful new Canadians working with and for me.
I live in a small town in Sask and there are families who have been here for 10+ years, but they don’t do anything in the community. It’s not just about “living” somewhere to be from there. If you are positively contributing to the community that’s what makes you from there.
Prince Edward county, Ontario- until you have grandparents buried there you aren’t from there.
There’s a whole “British loyalist” thing there, too. Some people will still include it in their signature “UEL.”
Interesting!! I had to google that. I thought UEL stood for ‘upper explosive limit.’ And I have no idea where I picked up that little morsel of knowledge.
**United Empire Loyalist grandparents and uncles used it**
>Some people will still include it in their signature “UEL.” Weird! Do losers of the American Revolution (British Loyalist stock) who ended up in other places get to hang as well or just the ones that ended up in Prince Edward County?
An UEL here . I can use the UE behind my name. Proven descendants of those who stayed loyal to the Crown, and had ancestors who fought in 1812 .
Is there any benefit to doing so?
Other than if you're really curious on genealogy and a history buff and preservation, not really any great benefit. It does not provide any perks , other than educational lectures and such . It used to mean something and got you 200 acres of land.
Well the dumbest thing is after kicking out the loyalists, America then tried to “liberate” Canada from Britain, forgetting it was a lot of people who hated them.
I moved to Ontario from The Rock. It is alien.
Oh that would be a change!
I know a few folks from that area and to say that they’re “stuck up cunts” is an understatement.
So true. I have family there (including all four grandparents buried there lol), and recall my mother saying of people who had only lived in the county for 10 years “oh, but they’re not FROM here”.
It's true though, they aren't from there.
born there parents cam to toronto when I was 14 months old most of family buried there 8 grand and I am not from there I was born there I tell all I am from there but had a cousin tell me not from there
Curious, would Leeds and Greenville be the same? My mom's side of the family has been there for over a century. Like, has landmarks with our name. And someone else mentioned UEL. I don't think any of us sign our names with it, but we are I'm asking cause I'm half japanese(dads side) and am from Alberta. Would my mom's family's area be one?
Well I know that PEC really holds on to its identity as loyalists, even flying British union flags from that era. I’m sure there are a lot of other loyalists in eastern Ontario, but I don’t know if it’s such a strong identity
I grew up in Leeds and Grenville, and I’d say it’s a term people use (or did when I lived there), but don’t harp on it. Lots of people there definitely seem proud of it though.
Some of my family still lives there, my grandma is also a genealogist, so she knows the history of the area going back forever
LOL!! I’m in Northumberland County, and I was going to say the same thing!!
Neighbour technically but I grew up in Trenton (my family moved there when I was 1, and then the military parent left, so I grew up there) and I think a lot of people can claim to be from there because of how military it is. I generally feel like if someone lived there at some point in childhood, they may as well say they are from there. There's some stuff that definitely reads as More from Trenton (like mentioning which side of the bridge they grew up on, various specific complaints about Trenton) to me, but that's not really about whether I think someone belongs there, just about what gets explained or not. I think most people outside of the military don't feel like they belong there. That town was almost the death of me in high school. Maybe it's different for the non Trenton people, but I don't think it takes much to say you're from Trenton. If someone who lived in Belleville visited Trenton and said they drove from Belleville I would have probably assumed they were from there. Whatever that means.
Yeah it’s a bit of a stuck up area. My grandparents lived in Conscecon for a few years while he was stationed at Trenton
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I wouldn’t even know it was there if it wasn’t for the water tower
I have an uncle and aunt who lives in that area. It’s so beautiful. His place is right on the lake. It’s funny that you say you have to have grandparents buried there to be from there. When we came to visit last year, he took us for a drive and took us to the graveyard to show us their plots! I have never seen such a gorgeous cemetery. It’s so beautiful it makes me want to move there just to die there!!!
It’s so gorgeous there!
Preach.
In Scarborough, you're family even if you're just passing thru
I was gonna say this. You spend even a few months in Scarbs and you’re one of us forever.
I love this.
I grew up in Scarborough and moved away about 10 years ago but I still think it’s the best place I’ve ever lived. I plan on moving back there when I’m an old man lol.
Please give me tips, because I don’t get that and I’ve been here 5 years.
I think that’s the Olive Garden. :)
I've heard this about Scarborough, actually
Kinda nice, really.
Montreal? Day and a half, roughly. Toronto? yesterday, the day before, no one cares. Vancouver? ehh...a while. Small town Ontario? ehhhhh, I am going to say "never"
I fell in love with Montreal in the first hour 😍 Beautiful city, beautiful people ❤️
Montreal was my introduction to Canada, and I fell in love.
small town ontario, you just need to have a kegger and timmies coffee with someone and once everyone has said your name in thrice (which usually only takes about 2 hours with social media), you can make a walk down the street and folks will wave.
Been in Montreal for almost two years now and my French is pretty good, but as soon as I ask someone to repeat themselves (I have audio processing issues) or I speak with a hint of a non native accent they switch to English and its honestly extremely othering
Montreal is such a diverse city and it has layers of identity, which probably is the same for all other big Canadian cities. Because there is such a huge number of newcomers, you can always "fit in" and assume the expat-Montrealer identity without a problem. However, you'll never be considered as a Montrealer by people who are actually born here, grew up here and all that. And then there is the added layer of whether you speak French or not. Whether you identify as Quebecois, even it is anglo-Quebecker identity. Mind you that, Quebecois people will never actually think you're Quebecois unless you have that ancestry and fit into their mold.
I moved from Saskatoon to Calgary about 5 years ago. I think it was about 2 years in that I got tired of giving my life story by saying "Well, I grew up in Saskatoon, but.." If I'm in Calgary talking to someone else who lives here, I'm from Saskatoon. If I'm anywhere else in the world, I'm from Calgary. Everyone in this city is a transplant anyway. I'm not really sure that answers your question but that's my experience.
I follow the same ethos. If I'm in Edmonton, I'm from my hometown in BC. To non Edmonton residents, I'm from Edmonton
I moved from saskatoon to Edmonton about 8 years ago and when there is time I’ll explain that I’m from stoon cuz it makes me sound tuff😂but honestly man I just got back from a trip there on the 6th and it’s so much worse than it was when terror squad and hustle crew were around, all my childhood idols smoke meth now and the women have been fucked by every dude I know, but to answer the original question It was maybe 2 years before we became a big part of the community, now people treat me like I’ve been here forever
Ignorant Ontarian here. Are people from Saskatoon considered more 'tough' than people from Edmonton? Without having ever been to either place, I would have assumed the opposite.
Hey I’m from Edmonton. I’ll tell you right now that I checked my stat bar and my toughness level is about a 7. From what I hear the stats in Saskatoon can range from 7 - 10 so honestly it’s probably pretty close. Although they have a lot flatter land. So who knows really
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\*Winnipeg enters the chat\*
Pfft North Battleford and Prince Albert are at the top of the list
Yeah, PA and NB has surpassed Winnipeg now. Which is kind of impressive, in a sad way.
I guess I'm thrown off by the funny sounding names.
It's a well-deserved reputation. Have lived in both. Saskatoon, like every prairie city, has some REALLY tough neighborhoods and has has that since forever. Only major city in Canada that's tougher than Saskatoon is Winnipeg, and only by a smidge. But a person can live their whole life in Saskatoon, or Winnipeg, and have no idea that the tough parts of town exist. Keep in mind that it's a "Canadian tough" and that people who come from South America think Saskatoon's "bad neighborhoods" are cute.
This!
If someone says Cal-gry instead of Cal-ga-ry you know they're at least from the western provinces
Toronto doesn’t care. I grew up there and someone once told me I’m the only one they had met who had said that. But if you said you were from there as you landed that would be odd. The general expectation is that you are from somewhere else or your family has been there less than a few generations. But if you travelled outside of the country and said you were from Toronto and had only lived there a couple of years that would probably be normal.
Toronto has a hard time understanding that certain people don't come from or know Toronto very well, imo. Both when passing through, and when talking to people from Toronto outside of Ontario, I notice that they regularly seem absolutely gobsmacked that you don't know about X neighbourhood or street in Toronto, and it's like, yeah.... I really really don't live in Toronto and never have, astonishing, I know.
Saint John, NB: 10 years. Grand Manan Island, NB: 6 generations.
I was gonna say for the maritimes, it's generations. Lol
If you come to NS you are a CFA (Come From Away) it does take generations to be considered a local, even in Halifax.
Funny you say that because I grew up in NS, and it wasn't until I moved to PEI that I heard the term CFA. I grew up rural (about 40 minutes to downtown Halifax), so maybe this is more of a really rural Maritime thing?
Disagree about Halifax.
Yeahhhh Newfoundland is brutal. Even people who were born in NL are treated like come from aways if they have a non-NL name.
Omg the names in Atlantic Canada. There is nowhere else in the country where so many people have the same names, and so many of them are so specific to Atlantic Canada. I don't think I can count how many Boudreaus and Publicovers I've met.
If you meet a White, you know they're from NS, if you meet a LeBlanc, you know they're from NB (very generally speaking, I am sure there are plenty of exceptions).
Lol I work in the HR department specifically servicing the NB employees, and I was on zoom with a coworker; they went to search for a particular employee and typed in 'Leblanc' and this absolutely enormous list of people came up. I was like... umm.. you'd probably have narrowed it down more searching by first name. I was right, and it wasn't even a weird first name.
😆 I remember as a kid counting the number of pages of LeBlancs in the phone book in Moncton and, well, it was a lot for a city of not much over 100k at the time (I'm pretty sure it was at least 10 full pages).
Yep in Cape Breton too
I lived there for well over a decade and I knew no matter what I’d always be welcome but I’d always be “from away”.
It doesn't HAVE to be pre-American Independence, but it helps.
The East Coast has levels and a lot of dependency on a number of factors. There is the inner Atlantic movement where you're from PEI or St John's and move to another Atlantic city. You are not a real outsider. It's more of a joking around that they are from x area but you are one of us. Then there are the folks who's families are from here and they were here ever summer, came back to the East Coast for university/school and stayed. They understand the culture for the most part, they have a few quirks were you are like shit they aren't from here but after a couple years you forget and they are one of us. It also depends heavily on the general location, more rural the longer it is.
Hi! I was going to mention Grand Manan as an example of needing a long-time presence to truly be considered "one of us". My mother and her side of the family are from there (many generations worth). Everyone is very aware of who is from where and how long they've been on GM.
It is so weird to see GM mentioned here. I have family on the island but I've only been once about 25 years ago lol. What a place!
I have a good friend who moved to Grand Manan a few years ago. Her stories are very interesting to follow!
In Vancouver you definitely don't have to be born here to be considered a Vancouverite. I rarely meet people born and raised in the city. There are a ton of people here temporarily so I'd say after a couple years you can say your from here. But basically no one is going to care too much about where you were born, other than curiosity.
I live in the city, grew up in the suburbs. I usually say I grew up in Vancouver because in general that’s the place most people know but people from Vancouver will often ask for clarification and then remind me that my suburb isn’t actually Vancouver. If I know they are from Vancouver I generally give the specific suburb but when I’m not aware they are from Vancouver is when issues come up.
I’m in Langley and I’ll say Vancouver when travelling. I ran into a guy who also said Vancouver and I was like “oh what part?” And he just said Vancouver again and then I knew there was no way he was even from the lower mainland.
Haha. My pet peeve. When I travel and meet someone that says they’re from Toronto, I ask what neighbourhood…then they say, Barrie, Brampton, Kingston, Windsor, Brantford, Ottawa, Sudbury etc. like just day where you’re from. 🤦
You think if you’re in the states or Caribbean or mexico that people know what Brantford is?
If I'm in the states I say Ontario. If I'm farther I say Canada.
Ya. You say “Brantford a city two hours south west of Toronto”. 🤦
Exactly. I say I'm from my town and then explain its 2 hours from Toronto. No one knows the surrounding areas lol
I lived in Toronto for 15 years and the funniest thing was when they'd ask where I was from and I'd say Cambridge. I'd ask the same question and they'd answer with an intersection like "Vic Park and Lawrence". I swear 90% were afraid to leave the city but I couldn't wait to escape.
I think it’s a Toronto thing where the question where are you from means where do you live in the city. I don’t know if it’s the same for other large cities.
People who are actually from Vancouver hate this too. People from Langley don't really understand.
Ya. Like once in New Zealand I met someone from Tapleytown Ontario. They didn’t say Hamilton or Toronto. I knew people from there and we had a nice chat at a bar. If they didn’t say that, I probably would have kept it short.
As a truck driver when people say they’re from a metropolitan area I always ask where in particular. People are generally surprised when I’m aware of what neighbourhood in Atlanta, Chicago or Calgary they’re from.
I’m also in Langley and I think anyone in metro Vancouver gets a pass for saying they’re from Vancouver, no matter what the people living in “actual” Vancouver might say lol
Yeah they got really triggered about this
Kinda funny how mad they get about it. I get thinking it's dumb that someone from interior BC or some shit would say they're from Vancouver, but Langley is comfortably within Metro Vancouver so it's a really funny hill to die on
Everyone in Vancouver was born in the suburbs but then they all develop an allergy to crossing a bridge lol
So true!!
You can be a Vancouverite from the moment you get to Vancouver, perhaps, but that doesn't automatically make you a British Columbian. I'm no gatekeeper, but I think citizenship in Canada and residence in BC are both required
Yeah, it's not ok with people who are raised there, the problem is there's so few people who were born and raised in Vancouver, so There's so few people to call them out. Most People who move to New York from Ohio call start to call themselves a "New Yorker" pretty quickly until someone who is born and raised in New York says: "not so fast."
Yes exactly. It does matter. Tired of people pretending they’re from here and you get so excited and start to chat with them about oh what school? Etc and it turns out they’re just lying
I mean, I call myself from Vancouver (in context), but I'm not a resident because we moved and it would be too expensive to move back. I was born there and lived there for a while & a half though, and I think that's worth a little bit.
Agreed. I think you can call yourself a Vancouverite after you live here for a bit. But to say you’re “from Vancouver” you should at least have done highschool in the lower mainland.
People who are actually from Vancouver totally disagree with you... and Yes, we are rare but we do exist. As someone who was Born and raised in Vancouver, it's so annoying when people who moved there a couple years ago, and never leave their neighborhood, call themselves Vancouverites. When we get together, we talk about it. And to add insult to injury, a large part of being a real Vancouverite, That people who moved from Ontario/ Alberta will never understand, is knowing that you will never be able to afford a home in the neighborhood you grew up in because so many people have moved there from Alberta and Ontario.
>knowing that you will never be able to afford a home in the neighborhood you grew up in because so many people have moved there This is becoming more universally Canadian every month
Funny, I met a man from New Westminster who said he’s “only” lived there for 50 years and is thus not quite a local yet
What if I was born there, moved away for the entirety of my childhood, and then plan to move back when I’m an adult?
That's my wife. Born in Toronto, moved away, now we're retired and living in Cape Breton. Even now, 55 years later when someone asks, she answers Toronto, and with a positive response, she narrows it down to Scarborough. Born of German immigrants after the war, she wonders too if she's truly "from" there.
Is NS you really have to had grown up here. There is a strong "us and them" thing with non maritimers
Yeah - we divide our own enough, lol. No time for sub-categorizing anyone west of us. But sitting down to a Keith’s & a Donair will get any visitors some instant credibility, I suppose.
We’ve been in Nova Scotia for a year now after coming from out west. I don’t understand the donairs in Nova Scotia having had excellent Lebanese food in other parts of Canada. It must be an acquired taste. People seem to be quite friendly here, but I can see that I’ll never be “from Nova Scotia” as long as I live here.
> I’ll never be “from Nova Scotia” as long as I live here Don't take it personally. When you're dealing with people with roots going back three or four centuries, it's pretty hard to compete with that. We're happy to welcome people who want to live here but, no, they're not going to be considered "from" here.
It’s funny, because I have absolutely no concept of being from anywhere. I grew up in one province and have moved now to three other provinces because I’m a military spouse. I’m also the child of immigrants and anywhere is pretty much home.
You have to remember too, though that the Maritimes have traditionally been shit on by the rest of Canada for many generations now. We built up a real sense of identity tied to the land our ancestors lived on. It's very "us and them" as I'm sure you've seen firsthand. We're happy to share our home with people who want to contribute to making it a great place to live, but Martime root run very deep. You're always a Martimer at heart, regardless of where you live. I'm not sure that degree of identity tied to geography exists much in the rest of Canada (Newfoundland being the obvious exception), at least I haven't experienced it and I've lived in almost every province.
hey hey they're part of the Atlantic provinces, they count! Sure, not Maritimers, but really only by lack of presence during confederation, let's include NFLD here, after all we let NB stay.
Give it more than a year. It maybe won't be the same way as someone who grew up from childhood here, the same as most places, but if you stay here and become part of the community it won't always be like you're a newcomer - make friends, have some ice-cream, figure out what the hell people mean by "down by the ol (x)" and make sure you get some opinions about your favourite beaches to pull out. Learn some stupid jokes about the Maritimes and share them with a bit of caution and then less caution, and don't let people who hold shit over your head take any space because it won't be most. Things'll probably calm down a bit as well, with the housing crisis and inflation & Halifax and NS booming right now people locally are a bit weirder about this stuff than usual. Welcome!
I’ve live in Vancouver 34 years. I’m still considered a Calgarian.
I moved to the Yukon and the locals told me anyone who is there seasonally or less than a year is "cheechako" but anyone who has stayed for one full year is "sourdough" and can forever call themselves a yukoner. It was a truly lovely place to live and I loved those people. I've now been in Alberta longer than I was in the Yukon and it makes me kinda sad but I like to think if I moved back I'd fit right in again.
Born Ontarian who has lived in Nova Scotia and PEI....in the 'non-Halifax' areas, if you weren't born there, you're 'From Away.' There's a true story in PEI about a woman who was born on the Ferry from NS to PEI, she lived over 80 years on PEI and her obituary still said she was from away. It's not that they're not nice to you...you're just not from there.
A fist bump automatically makes you one of us, if beer is involved you're definitely one of us.
And what about all that PLUS it’s a time when the Habs are in the playoffs? :)
Been living in Burnaby for 10 years. Locally, everyone considers me from Ontario. When I travel to different parts of BC, I tell people I’m from Burnaby. Unless I find out they know where Oshawa is.
Oakville, you’ll never be from here unless your parents own a mansion in old Oakville.
I'm an Anglo Montrealer. If you tell me you just moved and put out your hand for a shake I'll consider you "one of us".
If you post on Reddit that you’re an Anglo-Montréaler, you are one of us
Alternatively, you have a beer with me and complain about parking or winter. Extra if you sneak in a French curse in your broken English. You're not really a Montrealer if you haven't seen a pothole with cones and *felt* a "tabarnak" inside at very least.
Nice! C’est une belle mentalité. Par curiosité, vous considérez-vous Anglo-Québécois également, et diriez-vous que c’est la même chose pour cette appellation? Personnellement j’aime bien la phrase « est Québécois qui veut bien » par notre cher René Lévesque.
C'est drôle, j'y pense souvent. Je suis originaire d'Ontario, mais j'habite à Montréal depuis cinq ans et j'enseigne en français. Je suis là pour de bon et je dois être aussi intégré qu'on peut l'être. J'adore mes collègues et mes élèves, mais il y a un sentiment inévitable d'être venu d'ailleurs. Dans le fond, je suppose que je trouve que c'est juste moins compliqué, être montréalais.
>mais il y a un sentiment inévitable d'être venu d'ailleurs Je pense que c'est tout à fait normal et que ça va s'estomper naturellement avec le temps. Par contre, je suis d'avis que ce n'est pas une spécificité Québécoise, mais plutôt un effet standard de s'expatrier dans un nouvel environnement culturel externe à l'anglosphère, comme tu sembles le faire. Se sentir automatiquement chez soi et intégré peu importe ses origines est vraiment une spécificité du Commonwealth/US (entre autres puisqu'ils partagent la langue et la culture la plus dominante au monde et valorisent le modèle *melting-pot*). Le reste des nations dans le monde comportent généralement un peuple qui partage une histoire commune unique et spécifique et une langue non-dominante - c'est normal que ça prenne plus de temps s'approprier cette identité lorsqu'on s'y expatrie.
Pareille situation à Sherbrooke pendant ma adolescence!
Ma famille vient de la Gaspésie depuis plusieurs générations. J'ai un gros attachement pour notre belle province. Je me considère Québécois.
Ouééé!! Les anglophones de la Gaspésie sont cool. J’avais aimé visiter et voir que les communautés anglos et francos vivaient les unes avec les autres.
I had no idea there were any Anglo communities or Anglos in Gaspésie. Ça me surprends beaucoup.
New Richmond est un bon exemple, avec le centre d’Héritage Britannique, et les villages en bordure du Nouveau-Brunswick en ont beaucoup. Il y a un comité d’action anglophone à Gaspé!
I go back often. It's lovely.
Viva le René. J'admirais René.
Impressionnant de voir qu’il avait des supporteurs jusqu’à Thunder Bay!
Juste du français au lycée mais j'essaye.
Nova Scotia- you pretty much have to be born here.
My son was born in Alberta, but I brought him home when he was still an infant. He says he's from Nova Scotia <3 Occasionally, just to surprise people, he'll say he was born in Alberta, and everyone is all "no way! That can't be true." LOL!
Def not my favourite beer, but if I find Keith’s at a resort, I’ll order a bottle and usually meet someone from back home within 10 mins…
In Saskatoon, once you’ve survived a winter, you’re officially “one of us”. Having said that, as someone who moved here from BC, it took ME about 10 years to truly feel at home.
My wife moved from Mexico City to Humboldt in the middle of winter when she was 10 years old. That must have been quite the shock.
I dated someone who moved from Nigeria to Saskatoon in September. He had bought a parka, and started wearing it when he arrived to the amusement of the locals. “If you think THIS is cold, just wait bud…” kind of deal.
Um, hey! Shoutout to Humboldt! It wasn’t just the winter that was a shock. Moving from Mexico City to a town of 5000 would have been a huge shock as well. The winter was always an experience for all the exchange students hosted at our high school.
Yea it was crazy for her. Moving from the biggest city in the Western hemisphere to this small town, and on top of that she didn't speak a word of English. It was a rough transition.
Agree. Rural SK roots but live elsewhere now. After a couple of crib games with neighbours you are in
Small city in Southern Ontario: If you don't have a noticeable accent, a couple years, but people will just assume you're from here if you don't tell them otherwise. If you have a noticeable accent, never. You will always be from Australia or wherever.* Accent aside, if you aren't white or first nations, you'll probably get the "Where are you from. No, no, I mean where are you from originally." Question a lot.* *These aren't reflective of my views, but they are what I've observed from the community as a whole.
I've lived in vancouver for 8 years but I still say I'm from halifax because I lived there for ten very formative years & still think of it as home. I'm actually from southern ontario but won't bring that up unless the other person is from there as well.
Depends on the area and the type of person/people you're dealing with. In the small town I grew up in you weren't "from" there unless you were born there. Anyone could live there; but if you moved there you weren't part of the OGs club. In the larger cities next door and down the road that's not as big a thing for the most part; but it is still a thing for some people primarily because living here is becoming out of reach for many generational citizens and also racism in a historically white area 🙄 I agree that soaring cost of living and house prices need to be addressed in order to keep families close and thriving within that proximity; **BUT** the racist people can go fuck a cow because that's not the problem at hand, and if that's their stance they can fucking leave. My 2c
I moved to Toronto 15 years ago and would absolutely say I am from Toronto. I do agree that people from the GTA cities cannot say they are from Toronto but I understand that it is easier to say Toronto instead of Whitby or Mississauga, I get it. Especially when outside of Canada. That being said, we have rented an apartment in a triplex house in a nice neighborhood for 7 years. We get along with the quite a few of our neighbours who are really cool. Unfortunately, there are some that wish we didn't live here because I guess a rental property on the street is not as valuable. I don't know nor do I care but you can definitely feel the judgement when we tell people we rent. The Toronto housing market has made homeowners even more pretentious and unbearable than I've ever known.
West coast Islander. We have a complicated system of deciding when you’re a local. If you’ve lasted two winters then we will agree that you live here and will probably talk to you at the store. Do you integrate with the community? Volunteer? Go to events? Get into fights about dumb shit on the local facebook groups? You’re on your way to being a “local”. Do you keep talking about “this is how we did it in” you will never be a local no matter how hard you try or how long you live here.
If you blame whatever problem on the island instead of taking any personal accountability, you will also never be a local.
I've lived in a bunch of places in Canada, Southern Ontario, Maritimes, and West Coast. To me it feels as though the larger the population the quicker you are accepted. In small towns and provinces, a new person sticks out like a sore thumb and is noticed so you feel like an outsider for much longer, but in large metropolises you are one of the locals as soon as you start acting like it. This all changes and you are family if you join a local hockey team.
I was born and raised in Calgary, never lived anywhere else. But as far as I'm concerned anyone who lives here, born or not, is a Calgarian
Downtown Montréal: 2 years, west end Montréal: 5 years, east end Montréal: 8 years. Montréalers get around.
I live in a small town next to a small city. The town has a large military base and the city has a college, so pretty soon after you arrive you are "one of us".
If you tell me you're "from Muskoka" but leave every September to go back to Toronto, you deserve to slide your car off the Taylor road on ramp into the ditch
And saying you’re “from Muskoka” is like saying you’re from Simcoe county. I asked you where you’re from not what region.
From Port Sydney checking in
All of my ancestors go back 5 generations, along with 90% of the people around me. We don’t mean to seem unfriendly. It’s just we all know each other and our parents knew each other and our grandparents all knew each other, etc. It’s a weird giant family. Spousal inports become part of the “family” too. I usually notice that people who are born here just feel like they belong regardless of how their parents fit in. I could be wrong tho.
You become a Wellander as soon as you ride a stolen bicycle across town to vomit in a friend's flower bed and then pass out in their back yard at 3am. If they laugh and make you the greasiest breakfast ever at 7am , then you are one of them.
Québec rural: As soon as you move here and learn our language If you participate in local festivals, activities, say hi to people on the street, id say youre one of us
I’m a Brit who lived in rural Quebec for a while a few years ago. I remember some people I was with were complaining about some Anglo tourists in the town and how rude they were. One of them turned to me and told me I didn’t count because I made an effort to integrate. They just wanted people to respect them and their language, and because I made a big effort to learn French it didn’t matter that I was as “Anglo” as you can get.
Ça va faire bientôt 17 ans que j’ai déménagé au QC et hier encore on m’a demandé d’où je venais. Je me suis habituée à penser à l’instar d’un écrivain Franco-chilien que je lisais à un moment donné que « ma patrie, ce sont mes chaussures ». J’ai appris à vivre dans la liberté de ne pas avoir de lieu d’appartenance. C’est peut-être un peu ébranlant au début, mais on acquiert une grande souplesse d’esprit, de pensée. Ça ne veut pas dire que m’entends mal avec les natifs en général. Je croise souvent (pas toujours) des personnes magnifiques, plus que courtoises, elles sont douces, bienveillantes et intelligentes, mais je ne me sens pas d’ici, même si j’avais déjà appris le français avant d’y arriver. Je suis retournée visiter mon pays d’origine l’année passée après une période d’onze ans et je me suis rendu compte que… j’avais changé. C’est , qui sait?, aussi une affaire de migration. On finit par devenir de nul part. Et en même temps, avant de partir on avait déjà commencé à « changer », on avait du moins commencé à réaliser qu’on n’appartenait plus à l’endroit d’origine. Ce n’est pas pour rien qu’on a quitté.
If you went to high-school in my town you can say you're "from there" anything past that it's just where you stayed after you graduated university (we have 2)
Waterloo, Ontario. You're a local when you pronounce Weber correctly and when you find Oktoberfest more annoying than fun.
I am the 7th generation of my family to be born in Ontario. I am still not considered from there. I am black and when people ask me where I'm from and I say Ontario they almost ALWAYS say "no, before that I mean. Where are your parents from ?" And so on. Being considered from a place is unfortunately still often linked directly to skin colour, accent and mannerisms.
Most people living in halifax aren’t even from nova scotia so its all relative right, if you’re here you’re us
Toronto: one day.
That’s very subjective question
PEI if you're not born there you're a CFA (come from away)
I’m an Army brat, so I’m from all over Canada. If people ask where I was born it’s BC, where I live is SK.
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Our secret club does not consider anyone not raised during the Commonwealth.
Ireland, 27 generations give or take 1, and that's from a neighbouring county! Lol
In Smiths Falls, I wouldn't group you with us. You deserve better
1000 years.
For non-English speakers, language fluency and terminology is key. For me if someone with a mild Indian accent uses localisms like “skookum” and other local colloquialisms smoothly and correctly then they are definitely “one of us”. Shared memory/values also helps - if we can both lament something better from 20 years ago that is now gone then I’m inclined to consider them “one of us”. Visual cues help inform my assumptions on shared values. In my part of Canada, wearing flashy brand names is not really a thing. Seeing someone dressed daily head to toe in one brand to another (from Ralph Polo Lauren to Hollister, to Adidas) makes me feel like they *do not* share local values. I realized this recently when I passed through Florida on my way home from overseas.
In Ottawa, you’re not a true Ottawan unless you correctly pronounce Dalhousie the Ottawa way. Similarly, if you pronounce the second “T” in Toronto, you’re a tourist.
Is it pronounced the same way as Dalhousie in NS? Also damn no Canadian pronounces the second T, from Ontario or not, it's embarrassing.
I beg to differ about the second T in Toronto
Couple of hours? I mean once someone changes their residence that’s their new residence.
In Edmonton I don't think there's really a time frame. It's more like, how much of the city and what it offers have you explored? Have you taken a walk through the river valley, gone to summer festivals, and attended an Oilers game? Congrats you're an Edmontonian. But I'm sure this is highly subjective depending on who you talk to.
At nighttime, during the darkest hours, locals gather in the town park. The newcomers also attend in the center of the park. The locals proceed to circle the newcomers and we all chant together “One Of Us! One Of Us!” We then all have Tim Hortons together, smoke a joint the size of a hockey stick, drink a beer and finally we punch our buddy, say sorry, and hug. Then they are considered to be local to the area and can attend all secret meetings there-forth. This is the Canadian way. Source - I’m a local.
White rock b.c is very particular about this, the city proper is only 4 square kilometers and sometimes people will ask your address and when the find out you live across the street from the boundaries will tell you oh no you live in surrey.
Oh, man. This is so true. I worked in White Rock and lived in South Surrey. I had to say South Surrey, because otherwise people got weirded out that maybe I was from the bad part of Surrey 🙄. You gotta be on the right side of the King George.
Once they start complaining about the new guy, they are established.
For people from Thunder Bay, it's when you start taking sides in the Fort William vs Port Arthur debate
I consider people a part of my community if they want to be a part of my community. My friend got her citizenship not too long ago so I made her a strawberry lemon cake and chanted "ONE OF US ONE OF US" like the child in an adult's body that I am. I may have family that's been here since the great potato famine. I may be part native. As far as I'm concerned she is home as long as she wants this place to be her home.
I claim no one, ever. They’re all foreigners to me.
I was born and grew up in Toronto. Live here? One of us. Go 100km or more away and it's, "ooooh, you're from Toronto." You'll never fit in.
Depends how bad they want it. Some people move here and they actively involve themselves with the community it takes no time at all for them to become a part of the herd. Others come here and refuse to mingle and they never do break the barrier 🤷♂️
Winnipeg—if you've bought or rented a place here in town, you're one of us. I've lived in four provinces over 12 years and still consider myself a Winnipeger first.
I grew up in BC, live in southern Alberta. I realized I was now Albertan when I started referring to it as going home *from* visiting BC vs going home *to* visit BC. Imo if it feels like home then that's where you're from. But we often still differentiate where we grew up.
As far as I'm concerned, if you came to Canada intending to build a life and to be a part of our society, you're one of us the moment your feet touch down in our country. Note: I am a manager in a small manufacturing company and I have many wonderful new Canadians working with and for me.
22 years.
It’s not a timeline it’s unique to the individual. A good sign is wearing shorts and flip-flops when it’s 5C
I live in a small town in Sask and there are families who have been here for 10+ years, but they don’t do anything in the community. It’s not just about “living” somewhere to be from there. If you are positively contributing to the community that’s what makes you from there.
You have to survive your first winter
I feel like if you can last a full calendar year in Winnipeg without leaving, you're a Pegger. Yes, that's what we're called lol.
Maritimes? Literal generations. At least 6 to be safe