First thing that comes to mind when you think of Canada

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I love LegoMaster2149's thread series like this, so I thought I'd do one.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Canada?

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LIONS-STAMPEDERS-ELKS-ROUGHRIDERS-BLUE BOMBERS-TIGER-CATS-ARGONAUTS-REDBLACKS-ALOUETTES

The Canadian Football League - What We're Made Of

Feel free to talk to me, if you wish.

Every day is a gift- cherish it!

"A true, true friend helps a friend in need."

vancouver... went there once as a child during a visit to anacortes washington. it didn’t particularly feel like being in a different country.

The stereotype where people in Canada pronounce "about" as "aboot"

Some very nice people on a cat site I used to visit

General American, British, and French accents.

Justin Bieber... I'm not even completely sure if he's Canadian or not, but he just popped in to my mind.

Second was the reality TV show called "Love it or List it." Does anyone else watch it?

I've been waiting for this one for so long that I was thinking of starting the thread myself.

Winter weather (no-brainer)

Hockey (also a no-brainer)

Maple leaves, maple trees, maple syrup, maple this, maple that.

"Free" health care. We don't directly pay for it, and the Americans think this is the same as communism. Whatever.

People whining and moaning about how cold it is in the winter and then when summer comes they complain about it being too hot.

People in the US and elsewhere thinking we have six feet of snow on the ground in July.

People in the US and elsewhere thinking we all talk like Bob and Doug, eh?

Newfie jokes, and making fun of people from Newfoundland in general. Like how everything's a half-hour later there than it is here.

The two main languages being English and French. Not "American".

Peace-keeping and diversity.

Spelling colour and flavour with a "u".

Calling the last letter of the alphabet "zed", not "zee". Sometimes we make exceptions for titles to movies or TV shows with an Americanized Z, like Dragon Ball Z. When we sing the alphabet song the ending doesn't really rhyme if we pronounce it "zed", but what're ya gonna do?

Growing up with beloved Canadian kid's shows like Mr. Dressup and The Friendly Giant.

Our "ancestors" fighting the War of 1812 against the Americans, and winning.

Calling the grades in school something like Grade 3 instead of 3rd Grade. (I actually didn't realize this was a Canadian thing until someone on AP mentioned it recently, but I still mix the phrases)

Our money being color-coded for our convenience. And no, it was not ripped off from Monopoly money.

Calling it "chocolate bars" instead of "candy bars" like they do in the states. Actually, the candy companies have to legally label it a candy bar if it's not solid chocolate but a different confection that's covered *in* chocolate, like a Mars Bar. To us if it's got chocolate, it's a chocolate bar. Although where I live we usually just call them "bars".

Having yummy chocolate bars you can't get in the states like Coffee Crisp and Wunderbar. Also Hershey's chocolate doesn't taste like puke anymore, and Kinder's Surprise Eggs are perfectly legal and acceptable to sell. We're pretty sure kid's won't try to swallow the entire egg with the toy inside, which comes inside a big plastic capsule. Although most of the toys in the eggs are lame, so the Americans aren't missing much IMO.

Thanksgiving being early in October instead of late in November. Of course, there are other countries besides Canada and the US that have thanksgiving at different times of the year.

Living in Nova Scotia I'm familiar with some of our province's history such as the Halifax Explosion and the Bluenose. I once read that most Canadians these days don't have a clue the Bluenose is the name of the ship on our dimes. That's just wrong.

Most Canadians don't know all our words to our national anthem, either. There are actually at least three more stanzas to the entire song that are rarely sung. I kind of like the second stanza better because it describes the natural beauty of the country, e.g. "where pines and maples grow".

Beavers. Our national animal. They might not be as "cool" as the bald Eagle in the US or the bear in Russia or the Lion in the UK, but fur-trading was a big thing in the early days of Canada, and the beaver pelt was prized. It's not because the beaver is a hard-working, industrious animal or whatever, but if I were a beaver I wouldn't want to be the national animal for the real reason at all.

Canada geese. Apparently they're vermin now, like city pigeons, because there are too many of them or something. But they're still seen as an icon. I once tasted a roast Canada goose. I didn't like it. Not a surprise when I've eaten any wild game.

Tim Horton's. My mother and I sometimes affectionately call it "Timmy's". I don't know if they have the best coffee and donuts, I hardly ever drink their coffee anyway, but they sure have made going to it in Canada a major deal. You can buy "healthier" things there like soup and sandwiches now, but I don't find them all that good. I still remember when you could get pie and cake, even whole birthday cake from them.

The country's name coming from "Kanata", which means "the village".

Justin Bieber.

Micheal J. Fox.

The Kids in the Hall.

Complaining about the US.

Expo 86 and the McBarge.

Hockey because I am a fan

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Of course this

It would of been Hockey until I read about the battle of Hans Island

a perfect place for me to live. universal healthcare, liberal and fair-minded citizenry.

Maple leaf flag

“Hosers”

The sketch show “The Kids In the Hall.”

Snow

less censorship than in America.

Fresh air, trees, countryside and Moose.

If I had to emigrate I'd choose Canada over America any day.

Terrance & Phillip from South Park