I have tried very hard to resist the temptation of not attributing Most/Least Canadian status based primarily on places that are perceived as being most or least influenced by or similar to the U.S.

Because if we were to go by those metrics only, places like Quebec City, Montreal and St. John's would be the most Canadian places.

As such, there are almost two ways of looking at this.

In terms of life as typically experienced by most Canadians, it would be hard not to pick a place in English-speaking Canada (perhaps in southern Ontario) as the "most Canadian".

Like it or not, spending Dec. 31 with Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve is a more common partaking for more Canadians than indulging in Le Bye Bye is.

The other angle of course is places where life is more focused on pursuits and interests that are native to Canada and not necessarily (as) common in other places.

Yep. I think we can nearly all agree that one of these two ways yields Ottawa and Moncton as top candidates for "most Canadian".

Since I am a native French speaker and Québécois culture is very familiar to me, I don't happen to feel I am in a non-Canadian place when in Quebec City. Or Chicoutimi or Rimouski.

Just because the "Canadian" label is discreet or even replaced by a Québécois one doesn't mean that what I am surrounded by is not "of Canada".

If I let my guard down a bit when it comes what I've said in this thread, I'd say places in Anglo-Canada that are highly Americanized generally feel less Canadian to me. Especially ones that are closer to the border.

Sometimes when I am there it feels like a ton of foreign stuff has simply skipped over the border. (I realize that Canada shares a lot of things in common with the U.S. We've discussed that ad nauseam here. But sometimes, especially in some places, the acculturation just seems a bit over the top.)

The "Frenchness" of Quebec City has been alluded to as non-Canadian on here, but to me at least, highly francophone places in Canada don't feel anywhere near as "imported French" as places like Windsor or Niagara feel "imported American".

Just read only a few of these posts... I think everyone would agree, this thread highlights one of the best things about Canada, how very diverse it is that stretches right across the country!

Yep, if we choose as our metric of Canadianness that we're looking for the place that has the highest % of Canadian/homegrown features, cultural traits, and habits, while having the lowest % of foreign/imported features, cultural traits, and habits, among major Canadian cities I think it's clear Quebec City is on top, Montreal second. In southern Canada at least (which is pretty much the same thing as saying we're only looking at major cities).

Least Canadian:
Calgary
-geography: not on a commercially navigable waterway, high altitude, straddles a transition from plains to mountains neither of which are traditionally Canadian landscapes, big hills, not set in a forest, far from US border, very far from major US population
-climate: arid, sunny, rapidly changing, highly reliant on man made water supply infrastructure
-history: very recently explored and settled,not explored by boat, never part of a British or French colony, no connection to fur trade, most influential figures were not connected to government, early history dominated by an American like homesteading boom engineered by a railway company
-economy: railways, ranching and oil are industries associated with the USA, not Canada. Economy never built on protectionism. Boom and bust against a country that seeks moderation and stability. Economic cycles generally out of sync with rest of country
-culture (biggest difference): self invented city built around capitalism rather than around institutions and therefore strongly influenced by external economic factors like the price of oil. Post modern in the sense that influences are not local - commonality with other invented cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas. Minimal provincial and federal government presence. Didn't have a university until the 1960s. Didn't experience significant influx of residents from outside of AB of SK until the late 70's
-politics: lack of relevance of traditional Canadian insitituions like the Tory or Liberal parties. Birthplace of upstart political movements like Social Credit, CCF and Reform. Traditionally Canadian political foundations like distinctiveness from the USA and French - English relations have never held much currency

Kelowna
-geography: very western US like, surrounded by mountains on a land locked lake (Okanagan River cannot carry commercial traffic from the Columbia), built up hillsides, not sited on a mainline transportation corridor
-climate: arid, climate actually attracts residents
-history: very recently explored and settled
-economy: originally built around orchards and forestry, more recently on wealthy residents moving in from elsewhere many of whom earn little active income
-culture: also post-modern as largely shaped by external events like Vancouver housing prices
-politics: also largely outside the influence of traditional Canadian institutions, very non-Canadian like polarization more similar to US west coast

Most is easy:

Whistler
Mississauga
Asbestos

Needs no explanation.

Least is more difficult. If something is less Canadian, it implies that Canada would be more Canadian without it. Given that Canada's Canadianess is derived from all of its parts, it can't be more Canadian with less Canadian parts. I'll instead re-frame least Canadian as most not-Canadian and tell you the not-Canadian part.

Winnipeg, Canada's most South African city.
Whistler, Canada's most Australian city.
Niagara Falls, as Canada's worst city, is our most American.

Most Canadian are Edmonton, Winnipeg and Montreal. All 3 have the harsh winters the world associates with Canada and the local take it with a smile. Montreal is the heart of French Canada and is an indelible part of our social and cultural fabric.

The Least Canadian are Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna. BC doesn't usually get the harsh weather that the rest of the country does and the residents are quite soft to it. All 3 of these cities act like they are in California or on the Mediterranean and rarely shut up about it lol. The people are still nice, but there is a snobbyness to it.

Most:

London. London is "middle Canada" economically, demographically, and socially. This is why London has always been Canada's "test market city". If it is appealing to Londoners it can be applied elsewhere. This is why it has one of the first McDonalds', the first TV cable service in Canada, and the first downtown mall in NA. London, like Canadians, are reserved but progressive and the city has ALWAYS been a Liberal bastion support Canada's "natural governing party".
Montreal. Cold, snowy, and blends French, English, and ethnic/racial minorities.
Winnipeg. Very cold, snowy, embraces it's winters, sprawl but a strong downtown, and a leftist, progressive mindset.

Least:
St.John's. Totally different mindset, history, culture.
Toronto. It's exceptionally cosmopolitan nature does not reflect the reality of the rest of the country.
Van/Vic. Different climate, looks to Asia/China while the rest of the country still looks back to Europe. huge Chinese population, thinks it's California.

Quebec City is one of the cradles of what would eventually become modern day Canada. I believe that Toronto is not Toronto, global, multicultural and cosmopolitan, without there first having been a Quebec City.

Unknown to some, Les Canadiens is not an ode to the country but rather to the inhabitants (Habs) of New France that pre-dated confederation.

Most Canadian - Quebec City.

But it really depends on context. If this is about which cities are most "on brand," (aka The World Needs More Canada or whatever) then fine - Least Canadian - Quebec City.

I suppose the city that most demographically represents Canada would most likely be Ottawa.

Most Canadian: Okotoks
Least Canadian: Okotoks

I'd agree with London if the question was "what's the quintessential Anglo-Canadian city".

Moncton is a better test market for any business that wants to get a feel of how its product will perform in (all of) Canada. (Moncton, or Montreal. Or Ottawa. All better fits than London.)

I think Quebec is one of the leas Canadian cities. It's historic, urban form, and 100% French culture and ethnic make-up is completely different from anyother city in the country. It's strong support of the independence movement exemplifies this further. Just because a city is the oldest doesn't mean it represents the country.

Montreal yes, Quebec definatly not.

I like how the cities end up just being a proxy for people to define their version of what "real Canada" is.

"The coldest, blandest, neutral place is most Canadian"....haha

Probably the only clear expression of our national identity: things to do.

All I can say is that there's a huge difference between Canadians with ancestry dating back a hundred or more years and first and second generation like myself. Toronto fits as both the most and the least. I felt the same about other major Canadian cities.

Cool idea for a thread. It's just beyond me.

;)

Most Canadian: the Montreal Canadiens. 24 Stanley Cups. Beat that, Red Deer.

Some thought experiments:

Canada annexes the Turks and Caicos islands and in a fit of imperial exuberance adopts many of their symbols on our money. We get a brown pelican on our $20 bill, etc. Are the Turks and Caicos suddenly on the "most Canadian" list because of this redefinition?

Canada annexes Greenland. Newfoundland is no longer at a geographical/cultural extremum. Does SSP start listing the "least Canadian" places as Windsor ON and Nuuk, with St. John's dropping off of the list?

Most: London, KW, Stratford

Depends what neighbourhood: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver

Least: Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver

If you're hanging out with old stock Canadians (roots go back to 1600-1840s) then parts of Toronto still feel Canadian - Leslieville, the Beach, the Junction. Similar areas exist in Vancouver and Montreal.