The following is excerpted from a website. It is a good topic to talk about with your students. Do you have more to add? Send them to eslministries@gmail.com.
What are some (more) unwritten rules in Canada?
- Don’t raise your voice in public places. It’s done in another English speaking country that shall remain nameless, but it’s considered vulgar and crass here.
- Always remove your shoes when entering someone’s home.
- Say sorry a lot, even if somebody else bumps into you, still say sorry. (So should they, if they are Canadian.) You’ll understand better when you’re here.
- Do not say or make any jokes about Canadians saying “aboot” instead or “about”. Nobody says that; it’s a myth created by Americans. This cultural distortion is not appreciated.
- We are a very polite culture. Use please and thank you more than you might think you need to. It will be appreciated and you will be viewed in a kind light.
- Tip waiters. Without tips they can’t get by. Start at 15% of your total bill for average service and adjust up or down depending on the quality of service.
- Do not be taken aback by someone approaching you in French. We are a bilingual country. Depending on which region you are in it could happen. Just smile and say, “I’m sorry, I don’t speak French”. Be nice about it, they may not speak English, especially in eastern Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick.
- I live in Ottawa, the federal capital and a tourist town. I’m always happy to help out lost tourists. That is if they are polite and pleasant. I have had tourists come up to me for help without even saying please. I just tell them I don’t know.
- In stores, the price of an item is fixed. You cannot barter with the cashier. The price is the price; take it or leave it.
2 replies on “Unwritten Rules In Canada”
Some of these are incorrect.
2. Some people in Canada ask people to leave their shoes on.
4. Newfoundlanders say aboot.
Western English and Eastern French social culture are very different.
Western culture’s proper service is very thorough and a lot of questions will be exchanged. Good service is educational. BC people are very friendly. It may feel invasive if you are from Eastern Canada. But People from Victoria BC are somewhat reserved.
Montreal’s culture is hands off, friendly when approached but unobtrusive. Unless a tourist engages, services will not approach tourists or ask how they are enjoying their time or offer help. Tourists often struggle as no information in English and few posters of advice (in French) in comparison to the west. They may be unaware but are naturally cautious about overstepping what might be someone’s bounds. They assume their own culture is the normal perspective when dealing with tourists.
Ottawa is most formal because it is the National Capital. Formality through manners is expected. Ottawa’s residents were insulted when western Canada imposed themselves on parliament by blaring air horns. Ottawa saw this not as a freedom but abuse of a privilege to disturb residents. Ottawa is a mix of west and east. Western Canadians and Central Canadians should have known better. There is an unspoken rule that you don’t let your children be noisy in the morning before 8:30-9:00 in tight urban settings. Yet rural people from the west with Sizable yards broke this rule were seen as acting like entitled children. They did mistook privilege and tolerance and disrupted the businesses, tourism, work and residents in Ottawa. This was during the Freedom Convoy.
In Western Canada not ever speak loudly on a telephone in a tightly shared public place. Especially a bus or closed space. Do not speak loudly or party loudly in a restaurant unless it is very busy or is a sports bar.
Canadians are not strictly a low context culture like Italians nor a High context culture like Japanese.
Canadians are more a mix of high and low. A kind of the middle of the road and it takes skill to really understand.
We are slow to be confrontational. But those lacking positive communication skills will communicate in an abrupt or passive aggressive manner if one to one with a stranger when significantly annoyed.
Canadians are polite and tolerant in public and often do not speak their mind until they become exasperated. Most Canadians will just leave a public environment or situation they find disrupting. But if it comes to that point know that they have spoken up for not only themselves but those around them.
Canadians are neither high nor low context culture. They are a middle context culture. Unlike high context cultures they may become direct if they are angry but rarely raise their voice with services or with those they trust when in public.
Those born into Western Canadian culture middle European roots typically especially speak in public with nuances, expressions, idioms, and have spent most of their life in the city can be less to the point than parts of Eastern Canada like Montreal or eastern islands.
Canadians are generally compassionate and accommodating or helpful. Many women will be offended by men who pull rank socially or at work. Misogyny is not accepted and often not tolerated as genders are deemed equal. Most western and eastern Canadians will report obvious public abuse.