Most: Edmonton, Ottawa and Moncton for most of the reasons others have already listed. I’ve found all three to be friendly, welcoming and proudly Canadian. They represent ‘peace, order and good government’.
Least: Calgary - again for the reasons mentioned by a Calgarian above. Visiting does feel like going into a pocket of something different.. hmm, gotta think about this one a bit more.
Victoria - well, living here colours my perspective, but for so many reasons it feels different, not sure if that makes it less Canadian, who knows, maybe we’re the most Canadian - yah, no. Victorians are proudly Canadian as much as you’ll find anywhere, but Canadian is defined by the ideals that we stand for and less so the way of life, culture, attitudes, etc.
Partly a reality of living on an island, and an island where it’s very time consuming and/or expensive to arrive or leave. It does lead to an island mentality, which at times can be limiting, on the other hand it does result in greater local innovation and creativity. Victoria elects Green Party politicians federally and provincially, in some tidings the leading two candidates are the NDP, then Green, followed by Liberals and finally the Conservatives. So there is that massive overriding left leaning, and environmental perspective, whatever you think of that.
It doesn’t feel or look like the rest of Canada - you can see the geographical difference when you arrive back in Victoria and you can feel it too. While a lot of people enjoy going over to the mainland for the weekend as soon as they drive off the ferry there is a sigh of relief.. things are slower and more grounded.
What makes it feel less Canadian - a disdain of large companies, chain restaurants, anything large scale really. When we have colleagues visit from Edmonton they all want to go to Earl’s, Cactus Club or Milestones without fail. We snobbishly judge them - those places are for tourists who don’t know better. BTW, I swear Edmonton is the most meat and potatoes city ever when it comes to liking basic food. Even finding a restaurant large enough to handle larger work groups (more than 8!) is a near impossibility, usually means going to a pub right after work and having them put a few tables together. Unlike other Canadian cities I’ve been too most of the restaurants here a little holes in the wall, with limited seating. The smaller the better, it’s deemed as more authentic - Victorians don’t like to see anything get too big and successful because then it’s a sign of being a capitalist sellout.
Other things just look different here - billboards are not allowed, the only advertising you’ll see is at bus stops, business signs also face strict size limits, so it leaves a less cluttered look. Also, Victoria has by the far the highest percentage of people who walk or bike to work, bike traffic is everywhere, as are walkers, runners, joggers, water based activities. You really notice that difference compared to other cities.
Watching Canadiana on TV - can’t relate when they speak to the stereotypes - the cold, the wide open prairies, kids playing on frozen ponds and rivers. Tired of seeing that on hockey broadcasts with Ron McLean (maybe the most Canadian person ever - although he’s annoying as heck). We have no frozen rivers or lakes (although some years there is one field in town that gets flooded with enough water and then can freeze allowing kids to skate for a few days). The only outdoor hockey is street hockey or indoors - which probably explains why Victoria has supplied only 19 players ever to the NHL, only four of whom have over 200 career points.
While the origins were British, Victoria looks more to Asia for inspiration even though that population is lower than Vancouver. In many ways Victoria is cautious.. we built one commie block back in the 1970s and it still haunts and influences what happens today. We’re sceptical of any new trend or style, we only know for sure ‘we don’t want to be like Vancouver’. As a result, new development is small scale, and at times feels quite random and quirky. Unlike Vancouver, Victoria did not go in for the all glass condos. I’m sure there’s more, but that’s enough wild generalizations and anecdotal stories for one day, lol.
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