One year in Toronto

So here we are. The earth has completed a full orbit of the sun since we collected our work permits at Toronto Pearson Airport, and we’re delighted that they’ve been successfully renewed for another twelve months. So, to mark a full year since our first blog post, here are some of the things we’ve learnt in Canada:

·       There’s more than one way to make a bagel. In New York they are boiled in water then baked. In Montreal they are boiled in honey-water then baked in an open woodfire oven. And this has been enough to cause a rivalry between the two cities for over a century.

·       Ukrainian-Canadian speed-folk music is a thing. And for one weekend during the year you can hear it in St. John’s.

·       Whether encouraging drivers to ignore red lights or issuing all official pronouncements in at least two languages, Canadians are pretty relaxed about finding the most efficient way to do things.

·       That said, we English do not use language in an obvious way. Try saying ‘you might like to’ do something in a Canadian office, and watch as absolutely no-one does.

·       Canada’s capital was chosen by Queen Victoria, not for its strategic or economic significance, but because any invading Americans would likely get lost on the way.

·       European treatment of Canada’s First Nations is a sorry tale. For instance in Vancouver there’s a museum containing bowls and masks designed for potlaches – lavish Indigenous ceremonies that were outlawed in 1884. By the time the ban was repealed in 1951, many valued ancestral traditions had been lost.

·       Canadians dress for comfort. Fashion matters less when it’s twenty degrees below freezing.

·       Talking of freezing, ice wine was created by German monks in the 1800s, who plucked the grapes on cold February nights when the temperature dipped below -8 degrees. Today the tradition is faithfully followed in the vineyards of Niagara.

·       At 351 metres, the CN Tower is home to the world’s highest wine cellar.

·       The country’s narrowest street – Victoria’s Fan Tan Alley – is only 90cm wide.

·       Brexit can grab headlines even thousands of miles away from Europe – making Canadians feel just a little bit smug, and expats despair.

·       But if you start to think we’re becoming too settled here, know that you can wait 35 years to buy a house in Toronto – at least if you want to live on Toronto Islands. With space for only 600 residents and stunning views of the Toronto skyline, there are far worse places to live.

Here’s to another happy year!