The little local tells

[niwell]

Despite sounding rustic (and most are), I’ve visited “camps” that are just as big as many muskoka “cottages”.

[MonctonRad]

In NS and PEI, summer vacation homes are all cottages, and are usually located on the beach or on a lake (if in NS).

In southeastern NB, vacation homes are mostly cottages too, and are located on the beach too.

In the rest of NB, if the vacation home is on a river, and not too far off the beaten path, it is frequently referred to as a cabin.

If the vacation home however is in the deep woods, and the main source of recreation is fishing or hunting, then it is called a camp.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

I always thought "freeway" was a California-ism, although Angelenos also will say "the 405" just like Torontonians say "the 401"; in the Northeast, for instance, you never say "the 95".

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

No, but you will get "the I-95" though.

We'd need some Americans to confirm here, but since we're picking nits, I'm pretty sure people say "I-94" without the definite article, i.e. "we took I-94 through Chicago."

I'm under the impression that they say "the interstate" a lot as well.

Google evidence:
Chicago + "take the freeway": 297,000 results
Chicago + "take the interstate": 1,430,000 results

(We weren't comparing "freeway" to "interstate," but this merely suggests that "interstate" is something people do say, at least in Chicago.)

[ssiguy]

One thing that is very unique to Canada compared to almost every other country is that we do not have electricity but rather Hydro.

Canadians say pop not soda and in Canada there is not such thing as a candy bar. Everything is a chocolate bar regardless of whether there is actually any chocolate in it.

[esquire]

^ Do people say hydro even in provinces without much hydroelectric generation? I'm assuming not...

[Hackslack]

We don’t refer to it as Hydro here in AB

[SignalHillHiker]

We even have Hydro, and a company named Newfoundland Hydro, but don't say it.

Newfoundland Hydro owns the generation facilities, but Newfoundland Power delivers it to everyone except a handful of rural residents.

So people say power, light, or electricity bill. Never, ever, ever "hydro bill".

[jamincan]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

We even have Hydro, and a company named Newfoundland Hydro, but don't say it.

Newfoundland Hydro owns the generation facilities, but Newfoundland Power delivers it to everyone except a handful of rural residents.

So people say power, light, or electricity bill. Never, ever, ever "hydro bill".

Funnily enough, Ontario is the opposite. Ontario Power Generation is a crown corporation that runs generating stations (but not all of them), while Hydro One is concerned with transmission and distribution.

[quall]

Originally Posted by thewave46

My camp's in the bush versus my cottage in the woods.

Exactly!

[lio45]

Originally Posted by rousseau

We'd need some Americans to confirm here, but since we're picking nits, I'm pretty sure people say "I-94" without the definite article, i.e. "we took I-94 through Chicago."

I'm under the impression that they say "the interstate" a lot as well.

Google evidence:
Chicago + "take the freeway": 297,000 results
Chicago + "take the interstate": 1,430,000 results

(We weren't comparing "freeway" to "interstate," but this merely suggests that "interstate" is something people do say, at least in Chicago.)

Correct, that's my experience as well.

In Quebec we do exactly like you guys: how to go to Sherbrooke from Montreal? "Take the 10."

For Americans the difference is that you swap "the" with "I-". As you correctly point out, you don't "drive down the 95 to FL", you "drive down I-95".

(Pronounced either "eye-95" or "interstate 95", depending on how casually you're speaking.)

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Do people say hydro even in provinces without much hydroelectric generation? I'm assuming not...

Depends on the province. NS doesn't have many hydroelectric plants and power here is never referred to as hydro. It's "power" or "electricity".

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Hali87

Depends on the province. NS doesn't have many hydroelectric plants and power here is never referred to as hydro. It's "power" or "electricity".

That's what I figured. But I do take ssiguy's point... for most Canadians (BC, ON, QC, MB), "hydro" is basically synonymous with "electricity" from a consumer standpoint.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by esquire

That's what I figured. But I do take ssiguy's point... for most Canadians (BC, ON, QC, MB), "hydro" is basically synonymous with "electricity" from a consumer standpoint.

I've noticed that. It makes sense, but I find it jarring tbh.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

One thing that is very unique to Canada compared to almost every other country is that we do not have electricity but rather Hydro.

Canadians say pop not soda and in Canada there is not such thing as a candy bar. Everything is a chocolate bar regardless of whether there is actually any chocolate in it.

Most of BC is covered by BC Hydro, but there is one exception - New Westminster, where we have the New Westminster Electric Utility. I don’t know if locals here say “hydro” but I find it curious that the utility provider here doesn’t have “hydro” in its name.

My mom is from Alberta originally and she always says “power”.

[Hali87]

Here's one: Kindergarten. We don't have that in NS, it's always been "Primary" (or "Grade primary") since as long as I can remember. "Pre-K" would not make sense to most people. Schools are referred to as P-12 (for example) rather than K-12.

[quall]

Originally Posted by Hali87

Here's one: Kindergarten. We don't have that in NS, it's always been "Primary" (or "Grade primary") since as long as I can remember. "Pre-K" would not make sense to most people. Schools are referred to as P-12 (for example) rather than K-12.

As far as I know "pre-K" is an American thing. At least in Ontario it's junior and senior kindergarten (JK/SK).

[Razor]

Opening Christmas gifts late Christmas Eve night vs Christmas morning.

A Quebec thing?

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Most of BC is covered by BC Hydro, but there is one exception - New Westminster, where we have the New Westminster Electric Utility. I don’t know if locals here say “hydro” but I find it curious that the utility provider here doesn’t have “hydro” in its name.

My mom is from Alberta originally and she always says “power”.

In Castlegar we have both BC Hydro and Fortis hydro dams. In fact one each within city limits.
And our hydro bills come from Fortis.

[begratto]

Originally Posted by Razor

Opening Christmas gifts late Christmas Eve night vs Christmas morning.

A Quebec thing?

A thing Quebec shares with other catholic-influenced areas of the world. I.e. most French and Spanish speaking places. The main celebration is on Christmas Eve with the entire family.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Razor

Opening Christmas gifts late Christmas Eve night vs Christmas morning.

A Quebec thing?

It's mixed here. If you have young children, they seem to always open theirs Christmas morning, but I get the feeling you're expected to grow out of it. My grandparents' always opened theirs Christmas Eve, my parents always did most of theirs Christmas Eve after I was asleep, and now as an adult the three of us do it Christmas Eve and the morning is just nothing - we have a bunch before noon and that's it. A lot of Christmas mornings I'd wake up and just go home, come back for Christmas dinner.

*****

RE: Camp/Cottage

If someone says camp here, it means they're a rotational worker talking about some worksite in the northern woods of mainland Canada. Like the crowd who go to Alberta, many of them work in camps. That's really the only interpretation possible here I think? Though we do say camping and campsite. I assume in Labrador they probably use it the mainland way, they usually do any Canadian thing that's rural and northern.

Cottage definitely marks you as not being a local. It's too pretentious a word here. People call them cabins, whether it's plywood walls and a wood stove or a literal second home. The only ones I know called "cottages" are when it's in the formal name of an historic home.

Likewise... village and hamlet are unheard of here. Everything is a Town (incorporated), which can also be called an outport if small enough, or a City (20,000+ AND granted permission by the provincial government, so we have at least one that meets the population threshold but hasn't changed to a City yet, the Town of Conception Bay South).