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Things & Lingo Only Canadians Understand
Loonies & Toonies
- A loonie is a 1-dollar coin, its name derived from the image of a loon on the tails side.
- A toonie is a 2-dollar coin, merging the word “loonie” with the sound of the number “two,” and featuring a polar bear (or three)on the tails side.
Funnily enough, Canadians coined (pun) the term “loonie” themselves shortly after the dollar bill was replaced with coins in 1987, and in Quebec they nicknamed it “huard” (French for “loon”). In 2006, the words “loonie” and “toonie” were trademarked by the Royal Canadian Mint.
Another “fun” Canadian fact is that as of 2013, pennies are no longer made or circulated, and price is rounded to the nearest 5 cents. Turns out, they cost more to make than they’re worth, at 1.6 cents per cent coin.
The Apology Act
Canadians are so notoriously polite that our government passed the apology act in 2009 so the word “sorry” could be used as a way to show sympathy as opposed to being a confession of guilt in court. Better late than never, I suppose.
Double-Double
Simply put: A coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars. The term became so widely known here that in 2004, it was added to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.
