It’s something I started noticing recently in some standup and improv shows in Toronto, not sure if it’s a new trend, or it just more noticeable now. Here are some examples I remember:
- Jokingly asking audience for their social security number. This happened in two different shows
- “I’ve been on dating apps for a presidential term”
- I heard zip code being mentioned in one act
- A performer shouting “fuck ICE”. This was not even part of any joke, just a political statement. While I sympathize, of all the scourges of the US this one is really domestic in nature and I don’t get the point bringing it up in front of a Canadian audience (unless it’s part of your set)
- And not to mention using their units of measurement, which is unfortunately commonplace (thanks a lot Brian Mulroney)
Other than the “fuck ICE” performer who said about themselves that they are Turkish (which I took to mean Turkish-Canadian, but maybe I’m wrong), the others were Canadian-born. In all cases these were young people who I don’t believe do comedy professionally.
I have nothing against American comedy, but this low key pretense that Canada is part of the US irks me.
FWIW on the fourth point, it is relevant to Canada. The US has been sending ICE to other countries. Not to mention that Canadians have been detained and even killed by them.
All my homies say fuck ICE
Which imperial unit did they use? Feet still have a following, but the rest seems fully dead in the younger population.
Cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, in cooking.
Feet and inches should still be common in construction. At least it’s how wood is sold.
We still use letter / legal paper printer measured in inches.
My bathroom scale is in pounds.
I’m sure there are some others, but we’re not fully metric on everything.
Not to mention the confusion between an American gallon, which is 3.79 litres, and an imperial gallon, which is 4.55 litres. That’s a 20% difference.
Americanisms have been creeping into the language for ever.
Both of my parents were veterans and the pronunciation of lef-tennant was drilled into me from a young age. I didn’t know any other word for a chesterfield until I was in school. We wore running shoes and drank pop. Sofa, sneakers, sofa were instant marks of an American books and teachers would comment to point out what the Canadian term was.
That’s all gone now I guess.
