I was born during the mid-90s and spent the majority of my childhood in the United States. It was a good time to be a kid, in my opinion. Ah, the American life—filled with internet games, PB&J, shooting hoops and princess stories.
It wasn't until I moved to Canada as a high school student that I realized that a lot of the products and services that I consumed as a kid had Canadian origins.
Pretty cool, eh?
Online Games
1. Webkinz
The Webkinz craze trained my generation for future social media addictions. Ganz, the manufacturer of Webkinz, is a Canadian company, with headquarters in Woodbridge, Ontario.
2. Club Penguin
Penguins are native to the Southern hemisphere, you say? Not always! Club Penguin was developed in Kelowna, British Colombia, which explains the "toques," the ice hockey, and tobogganing.
Music Artists
3. Raffi
Raffi, the popular children's singer, is an Egyptian Canadian from Toronto. I jammed to his songs as a kid, including Baby Beluga, Down by the Bay, and Bananafone. Nothing better than a catchy tune to educate kids about marine life.
4. Avril Lavigne
Canadian pop/punk rocker Avril Lavigne of Belleville, Ontario was huge when I was a tween. In 5th grade, I thought she was psychic after I turned down a love note from the class Sk8er Boi. I did ballet, what more can I say?
Picture Books
4. Franklin The Turtle
"The Franklin the Turtle" series were written by Paulette Bourgeois, a writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba and illustrated by Brenda Clark from Toronto. Note the Canadian spelling—Franklin's Neighbourhood, although American copies spell it Neighborhood.
5. The Paper Bag Princess
The Paper Bag Princess was written by American-born Canadian Robert Munsch and illustrated by French-born Canadian Michael Marchenko. Princess Elizabeth redefines what it means to "look like a princess" and comes to her fiance's rescue by outsmarting a dragon.
Characters
6. Anne of Green Gables
Possibly the most famous Canadian character, Anne (with an "e") Shirley was imagined by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Prince Edward Island, the setting of the books, is now a literary landmark.
7. Elijah of Buxton
Elijah Freeman from Buxton, Canada is the title character of American author Christopher Paul Curtis Christopher's 2008 Newberry Honor winning book. Elijah is the first-born free child of a Canadian settlement.
8. Wolverine
If Steve Rogers is Captain American, then Wolverine is "Captain Canada", since he was born in 19th Century Cold Lake, Alberta and serves in the Canadian army and for government intel. Did I mention he was also a lumberjack?
Inventions
9. Walkie-talkies
Donald Hings was born in England but moved to Canada when he was three. He invented the Walkie-talkie in 1937 and originally called it a "packset." Alfred J. Gross, another Canadian, patented his own version of the devices.
10. Java
The Java programming language was developed by James Gosling of Alberta. Google, Youtube, Facebook, Ebay, and Miniclip, all use some server-side Java. I remember running plenty of Java applets as a kid, which are now becoming obsolete.
11. Basketball
Dr. James Naismith was born in Almonte, Ontario. After university, he moved to the USA to teach. While teaching at a YMCA, he invented the game of basketball and later wrote the first official rulebook.
TV Shows
12. George Shrinks
George Shrinks is a Chinese - Canadian television show that follows the microadventures of an miniature 10 year old. The show is produced by Canadian company Nelvana.
13. Mr. Dressup
This creative, imaginative show was developed by Ernie Coombs for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. I lived close enough to the border to get the signal.
14. Life With Derek
Life With Derek aired on Disney Channel in the United States, but is a Canadian sitcom about a blended family that lives together in London, Ontario.
15. The Big Comfy Couch
As a little girl, I was always amazed by Loonette the clown's time-telling abilities and insane flexibility. Turns out the Canadian show was filmed in Toronto, Ontario. I wonder if her name is a reference to the Canadian loon?
Voice Actors
16. Cree Summer (Princess Kida from Atlantis)
The warrior princess of a lost empire, Kida is voice acted by Cree Summer who lived in different places in Canada, including a Plains Cree First Nation Reserve.
17. Kelly Sheridan (Barbie)
Kelly Sheridan has voiced Barbie in over 20 films and is from Vancouver, British Columbia.
18. Mike Myers (Shrek)
Although Shrek has a Scottish accent, his voice actor has a Canadian accent. Mike Meyers grew up in Scarborough, Ontario.
Actors
19. Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly)
Marty McFly may have seemed like an All-American kid in the "Back to the Future" movies, but Michael J. Fox was born in Edmonton, Alberta and grew up all over the country. His father was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
20. William Shatner (Captain Kirk)
Captain Kirk from the original "Star Trek" series was played by William Shatner, born in Montreal, Quebec and graduated from McGill University.
Food
21. Swedish Fish
Swedish fish? What does that have do with Canada? Although originally developed in Sweden, the Swedish fish I grew up on, and the Swedish fish distributed in North America today, are manufactured in Hamilton, Ontario.
22. Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons was started by a Canadian NHL player. Although recently purchased by Burger King, the cafe chain is a Canadian source of pride. There was a location near the music class I attended as a kid, and when I moved to Canada they were everywhere.
23. Peanut Butter
The first person to patent peanut butter was Marcellus Gilmore Edson from Montreal, Quebec in 1884. He called it "peanut paste". 10 years later, it was packaged by an American food producer and sold for six cents per pound.
Peanut butter may not be that cheap anymore, but it's still delicious.
Thanks Canada!
