Canada: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Canada feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 425 written places.
American warmth at Scandinavian volume; sorry is punctuation and queues are sacred.
✓ Considered polite
- Tip 15-18% at restaurants - the wage system resembles the US
- Say sorry when someone bumps into you - it is the culture, join it
- Book park campgrounds and Banff-area stays months ahead for summer
- Respect wildlife distances - bear and elk rules are safety, not bureaucracy
✗ Better avoided
- Compare Canada to the US as if it were the same - politely never
- Underestimate winter - minus twenty is normal and gear matters
- Expect to drive Toronto-Vancouver casually - it is a four-day drive
- Skip Quebec's French - a Bonjour opens Montreal beautifully
Worth knowing
- Cards and contactless are universal
- Sales tax adds at the till like the US
- The national parks Discovery Pass pays off in about a week of park days
- Tim Hortons is the honest national ritual, Double-Double included
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.