🗣 Canadian English: cheque

🧣 In Canada, the paper order you sign to pay money from your bank account is a cheque. That's the preferred Canadian spelling, the same as in the UK. Americans write it check.

🔊 Say it: CHECK (sounds exactly like "check", rhymes with "neck")
🔜 "My landlord still wants the first month's rent by cheque."

🌎 Same thing, different English:
🇨🇦 cheque 🇺🇸 check 🇬🇧 cheque

✏️ Canadian spelling: Only the bank payment gets the "-que". A check mark and the verb "to check" are spelled check in Canada too.

💡 Careful: "Please check the cheque" is correct Canadian English: "check" is the action, "cheque" is the piece of paper.

🇨🇦 @canada

🥐 Where to eat in Edmonton: Duchess Bake Shop

A much-loved French-style bakery on Edmonton's 124 Street. The signature is the macaron, and the croissants are made the traditional way with imported butter.

🔹 Try: macarons ($2.95 each: salted caramel, pistachio, lemon, rose, vanilla), classic croissant ($5), pain au chocolat ($7), a gift box of 7 macarons ($26). Prices before GST.
🔹 Hours: Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun 9 a.m.–5 p.m. From Nov. 1 winter hours start and it closes an hour earlier every day.
🔹 Address: 10718 124 Street NW, in the 124 Street shopping strip west of downtown. A smaller sister shop, Little Duchess, is in Ritchie Market (9570 76 Avenue).

💡 Tip: Want a whole cake? Preorders need at least 48 hours and are picked up at the 124 Street shop only.

📍 Google Maps: Duchess Bake Shop

🇨🇦 @canada

🍁 Where to go in British Columbia: The Butchart Gardens, Brentwood Bay (near Victoria)

Open year-round, and autumn is a quieter time to go: red and golden Japanese maples, chrysanthemums, dahlias and seasonal pumpkin and gourd displays fill the grounds.

🔹 Admission (incl. tax): Nov. 1–30 adult $28.60, youth (13–17) $14.30, child (5–12) $3; through Oct. 31 adult $36.75
🔹 Gates: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. to Oct. 31, then 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m. daily in November; the grounds stay open one hour after the gates close
🔹 About 22 km from downtown Victoria: BC Transit bus #75 from Belleville St. at Government (about 50–60 min, $6 DayPASS), or a 35–45 min drive

💡 Tip: Staff-led greenhouse tours run on weekends from Oct. 31 to Nov. 29. From Dec. 1 it switches to evening Christmas hours (3–9 p.m.).

📍 Google Maps: The Butchart Gardens

🇨🇦 @canada

🚨 BREAKING: Ottawa to invest up to $1.6B in Toronto-based AI company Cohere

🔹 Carney announced it in Montreal at the Canada-EU summit; funding comes in stages, alongside private investors including Nvidia and Bell
🔹 Cohere commits to at least 1,000 new Canadian tech jobs and $1.7B in computing infrastructure by 2030, and will keep its HQ in Canada

🇨🇦 @canada

🎸 JUST IN: Bryan Adams releases "Lake Ontario," a song rejecting the push to rename the lake

🔹 The Kingston, Ont.-born rocker answers the U.S. order calling it "Lake America": "Lake Ontario is forever"
🔹 It's on his new album How's It Goin', out Nov. 6

🇨🇦 @canada

🗣 Canadian English: washroom

🧣 In Canada, the polite everyday word for a toilet room, especially in a public place like a mall, restaurant or office, is the washroom. Asking "Where's the washroom?" works anywhere from Halifax to Vancouver.

🔊 Say it: WASH-room (just "wash" + "room")
🔜 "Excuse me, are the washrooms past the food court?"

🌎 Same thing, different English:
🇨🇦 washroom 🇺🇸 restroom / bathroom 🇬🇧 toilet / loo

💡 Careful: Many Canadians also say "bathroom," especially at home. In the US, "washroom" still exists but sounds old-fashioned, and in the UK, asking for the "toilet" is normal and not rude at all.

🇨🇦 @canada

🥯 Where to eat in Winnipeg: Gunn's Bakery

A North End institution on Selkirk Avenue, baking old-country-style kosher breads, bagels and pastries since 1937. Locals come for the apple jacks (apples and cinnamon in flaky pastry), cinnamon buns baked in syrup, butter tarts and braided koilech, also known as challah.

🔹 Price: online menus list a 6-pack of bagels at about $7.60 and an apple jack at about $4.70 (delivery-app prices; in store may differ)
🔹 Hours: weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Fridays until 5), Saturday 7 a.m.–3 p.m., closed Sunday
🔹 Address: 247 Selkirk Ave, Winnipeg, MB, in the city's North End

💡 Tip: Go in the morning for the best choice of bagels and buns, and remember it's closed on Sundays.

📍 Google Maps: Gunn's Bakery

🇨🇦 @canada

🍁 Where to go in Ontario: The Distillery Historic District, Toronto

A national historic site a short walk east of downtown. The old Gooderham & Worts distillery began here in 1832, and its Victorian brick buildings and cobblestone lanes are now a car-free village of shops, galleries, cafés and theatres.

🔹 Free to walk around; district hours Mon–Wed 10am–8pm, Thu–Sat 10am–9pm, Sun 11am–8pm (open 364 days a year)
🔹 55 Mill St; 504A King streetcar to Distillery Loop, or walk from Union Station
🔹 Paid Green P parking on site; dog-friendly lanes on a leash

💡 Tip: The Distillery Winter Village Christmas market runs Nov 12 to Jan 3. Entry is free Mon–Wed until Dec 13, but tickets (from $16 plus HST) are needed from 4pm Fri–Sun, so go early.

📍 Google Maps: The Distillery Historic District

🇨🇦 @canada

🚢 BREAKING: Ottawa fast-tracks $5.9B Roberts Bank Terminal 2 port expansion in Delta, B.C.

🔹 Listed as a "project of national interest," it would add 2.4 million containers a year, about 50 per cent more Port of Vancouver capacity
🔹 Ottawa says it could open in 2035, not 2039, and support about 17,000 jobs

🇨🇦 @canada

🎤 JUST IN: Some Backstreet Boys fans say their new Toronto seats are no better

🔹 Presale seats for the Rogers Centre residency were later flagged as obstructed; some moved fans told CBC their new seats are farther back and still blocked
🔹 Live Nation apologized; the 12 shows run Feb.–March 2027

🇨🇦 @canada

🗣 Canadian English: parkade

🧣 In Canada, a parkade is a building with several levels where you leave your car. You'll hear it at malls, hospitals, airports and downtown offices: "I'm on level 3 of the parkade."

🔊 Say it: par-KADE (rhymes with "parade")
🔜 "It's snowing, so let's park in the parkade instead of the street."

🌎 Same thing, different English:
🇨🇦 parkade 🇺🇸 parking garage 🇬🇧 multi-storey car park

💡 Careful: The word is a blend of "park" and "arcade." Many Canadians also say "parking garage," and a flat outdoor lot is a "parking lot," not a parkade. Outside Canada, the word is also used in South Africa.

🇨🇦 @canada

🐟 Where to eat in St. John's: Ches's Famous Fish and Chips

A Newfoundland institution since 1951, when Ches Barbour started frying the cod he caught himself that morning. Still family-run, it's a classic stop for crispy battered cod and hand-cut chips.

🔹 1 pc fish and chips $14.99, 2 pc $19.99 (menu prices, before HST)
🔹 Order "chips, dressing and gravy" the Newfoundland way: Poutine & Dressing $15.99, fishcake fritters from $4.99
🔹 Hours: Sun–Wed 11am–9pm, Thu–Sat 11am–10pm
🔹 Original shop: 9 Freshwater Road

💡 Tip: Leave room for a slice of lemon meringue or coconut cream pie ($5.99). There are four more locations around St. John's, Mount Pearl and Bay Roberts.

📍 Google Maps: Ches's Famous Fish and Chips

🇨🇦 @canada

🌳 Where to go in Quebec: Mount Royal Park, Montréal

The mountain in the middle of Montréal is the city's big green escape. The park was inaugurated in 1876, so 2026–27 is its 150th anniversary year, with events running until May 2027. Walk up through the woods to the Kondiaronk lookout for the classic view over downtown and the St. Lawrence, then wander down to Beaver Lake (Lac aux Castors).

🔹 Price: free entry; the park's parking lots are paid
🔹 Hours: open every day, 6 a.m. to midnight
🔹 Walk: Chemin Olmsted is an 8.3 km walking trail to the summit; or take the stairs from Rue Peel and Avenue des Pins
🔹 Transit: Metro Mont-Royal, then bus 11 west to Remembrance/Chemin du Chalet or Lac-aux-Castors

💡 Tip: In winter the same park has tubing, sledding, skating and snowshoe trails. Stay on the marked trails to protect the forest.

📍 Google Maps: Mount Royal Park

🇨🇦 @canada

🕑 JUST IN: Most of Eastern Canada turns clocks back an hour tonight, but the West won't

🔹 Most of Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces fall back at 2 a.m. Sunday as daylight saving time ends.
🔹 Most of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba and the N.W.T. no longer change clocks, joining Yukon and Saskatchewan. Quebec says it plans to end the switch too.

🇨🇦 @canada

🎤 JUST IN: Drake bankrolled k-os's first album in 11 years

🔹 The Toronto star put hundreds of thousands of dollars into "BLackneck" and is listed as executive producer, k-os told The Canadian Press
🔹 Much of the album was recorded at his parents' farm near Whitby, Ont.

🇨🇦 @canada

🗣 Canadian English: poppy

🧣 In Canada, "a poppy" in November usually means the small red lapel pin worn to remember those who died in war. Millions of Canadians wear one from late October until Remembrance Day, November 11.

🔊 Say it: PAH-pee (rhymes with "floppy")
🔜 "I picked up a poppy at the mall and pinned it on my left side, over my heart."

🌎 Same thing, different English:
🇨🇦 Remembrance Day 🇺🇸 Veterans Day 🇬🇧 Remembrance Sunday

📜 Remembrance Day is also called Poppy Day. The symbol comes from "In Flanders Fields," written in 1915 by Canadian Lt.-Col. John McCrae.

💡 Careful: In the U.S., poppies are mostly worn on Memorial Day in May, not on Veterans Day.

🇨🇦 @canada

🌭 Where to eat in Vancouver: Japadog on Robson Street

Vancouver's most famous street snack: hot dogs with Japanese toppings. It began in 2005 as one cart at Burrard and Smithe, when city rules let street vendors sell little more than hot dogs.

🔹 Order the Kurobuta Terimayo: pork sausage, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, fried onions and seaweed (about $11–12 plus tax on delivery apps)
🔹 Sides: "shaked" fries in butter and shoyu or seaweed flavour, takoyaki, matcha desserts
🔹 Hours (official site): Mon–Sat 10am–10pm, Sun 10am–6pm
🔹 530 Robson St, downtown, a short walk from Vancouver City Centre station (Canada Line)

💡 Tip: The Robson store has the fullest menu and a roof over your head, handy on a rainy November day. The original cart is still at 899 Burrard St.

📍 Google Maps: Japadog Robson St

🇨🇦 @canada

🍁 Where to go in Manitoba: The Forks, Winnipeg

Where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet, people have gathered for over 6,000 years — Indigenous traders first, then fur traders, settlers and newcomers. Today it is a national historic site with riverside paths, a busy indoor market and a food hall, right in downtown Winnipeg.

🔹 Free to walk around, open year-round · Market building 7am–10pm daily · Shops Sun–Thu 10am–6pm, Fri–Sat to 7pm · Food hall Sun–Thu 11am–9pm, Fri–Sat to 10pm · 1 Forks Market Rd
💡 Tip: Come back in deep winter, when the frozen Nestaweya River Trail can stretch up to 10 km for skating — check trail conditions first.
📍 Google Maps: The Forks

🇨🇦 @canada