Top 5 Canadian Culture Shocks

Written by Neva Mateljic, 11/14/2024

Since moving to Canada, I’ve encountered plenty of surprises with how things work here. So here are some things that I found interesting…and some a little annoying about living here in Canada as someone from Europe who lived in Sweden and Croatia. 

1. Sweatpants and pj-pants 

Here in Canada, it is normal for people to wear sweatpants or pj-pants out for running errands or even to school, just like we have Casual Fridays, however this is never seen in Sweden. You would always see people wearing jeans out or nicer pants. People in Europe, especially in Sweden, put a lot more effort in how they dress, so this was definitely one of the biggest culture shocks I've encountered. 

2. Tax not included in price 

I found this one a little bit annoying how you don’t see the final price in store before you are actually paying for it at the register. You see the price on the tag of an item without tax, but you still have to pay extra (tax) at the register. Everywhere in Europe, tax is included in the price, and what you see on the tag is what you are paying for. 

3. Cash 

In Sweden, it is extremely rare to pay with cash. Everything is paid by card, so when I got to use cash here I was pleasantly surprised that it was made out of plastic! I also had to learn what a loonie and toonie was, not that we don’t have 1 or 2 euro coins in Europe, we just don’t really have a name for them. 

4. Politeness 

One big culture shock concerning the actual Canadian society is how polite people are. In Sweden, people are very cold and closed off, so when I came here I brought that behavior with me. People here make a lot of small talk and say ‘sorry’ even if they aren’t in the wrong, and I just wasn't used to that, and probably seemed rude when I didn’t feel like talking.

5. Indigenous Culture and Awareness

In Sweden, there is an indigenous community that has been mistreated called the “Sámi people”, however not many people know about them and there isn’t much awareness about them. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed how much awareness there is about the history of indigenous people here in Canada.