Trip Report: 10 Interesting Things About Canada That You Likely Didn't Know

Just back from Canada, thought we would share 10 interesting things about our neighbor to the north. First of all, you probably used to receive a Canadian penny in your change every once in awhile but not lately. The Canadian penny was eliminated in 2012 and they operate without it. Credit card transactions still use the denomination but if you're paying cash, the price is rounded up or down to the nearest nickel. They keep talking about doing this in the U.S. but it seems unlikely because we love our pennies!

In the United States you'll find a Walgreens or CVS on all major intersections but in Canada it's all about Shoppers Drug Mart stores (called Pharmaprix in Quebec). I think there's more than 1300 of them across the country.

In some U.S. cities there is a Dunkin Donuts on every other block but in Canada it's all about Tim Hortons! Canadian's can't live without their fresh donuts and hot coffee. If you're a fan of the latter, you can now find Tim Hortons coffee at Publix and Winn-Dixie!

In Canada the word "aspirin" is still a brand name owned by Bayer. In the United States, Bayer lost their copyright to the name "aspirin" and any company selling aspirin can call it that. For competitors in Canada, they can only call their product acetylsalicylic acid or ASA but never aspirin.

In the United States, Exxon-Mobil was only allowed to use the Esso name in several eastern states so instead they rebranded all their gas stations nationwide to the Exxon brand. However, outside the United States including in Canada they can and do use the Esso name. Esso is how you would pronounce the initials S.O. which stands for the iconic name Standard Oil.

In Canada, all products have bilingual labeling in French and English.

While some stores in Canada do sell milk in plastic jugs you're familiar with here, most milk in Canada is sold in plastic bags. Users keep a pitcher in the refrigerator and pour the bag contents into the pitcher.

Lays potato chips come in many flavors they don't sell in the United States.

You can buy M&M's in Canada but Canadians love their Smarties!

In the United States the former Bell System used to operate nearly everywhere and dominated most local telephone service. Antitrust action broke them up into many separate companies and with the exception of Cincinnati Bell, you will no longer see the name used. If you're old enough, you may recall Southern Bell and later Bell South. In Canada, Bell Canada still operates (BellAliant in the Atlantic provinces) in competition with other names such as Rogers and Telus. And those are 10 interesting things about Canada. Vive la difference!