1

Got tooth knocked out playing hockey. With blood spewing from my mouth I started apologizing to the ref for making a mess on the ice.

2

I went to open the washroom door at a Starbucks and it was locked. The person inside said “sorry” and I responded “sorry”. That was our interaction.

3

I met Stompin Tom Connors at the Woodsman Inn (on the Trans Canada Highway – hwy 69) on the Canada Day long weekend back in the late 80’s.Context: This is the guy who sang The Hockey Song.

4

While portaging a canoe, I bumped into a moose. I apologized. He left the trail and wandered into the bush. My uncle said I was lucky he wasn’t rutting or I would have been turned into a mushy pile of red pulp. I’d like to think that the apology helped.

5

Last night i was out with some buddies drinking at a cottage and we went out for a stroll, as i opened a recycling bin someone started screaming at me saying “hey what are you doing?” when i told him i was just recycling my beer he apologized and went back inside. This was at 2am by the way.

6

Went out in a blizzard in just t-shirt and jeans to help push a stranger’s car out of a snow drift, in March.

7

I’ve always thought passive aggressiveness was a truly Canadian trait—don’t want to be outright rude, but you want to get your point across.

Typically, when some one is being ignorant of how much space they’re taking up or if they’re blocking something I need to get at, I’ll use the old “I’m just gonna sneak right past you”. If you’re Canadian and you’ve seen those Petro Canada ads, then you know what I’m talking about.

8

This summer we dug up our front and back yard and put down new sod. We had too much sod, so offered to do the neighbour’s small yard as well (we live in a semi-detached, so it’s kind of a shared yard anyway).

We refused any payment, so they left a 24 of Keith’s in front of our door.

9

Drink milk out the bag. Love me a good ol bag o’milk.

10

I was in a crowded venue once, trying to usher my kids out the door. I said excuse me to the person blocking my way, and no less than ten people turned around to immediately say sorry. This led to a secondary wave of sorries, which sort of rippled through the crowd. It was intense, in a very polite sort of way.

11

While on deployment I saw the Canadian army gather a hockey team and play. In Afghanistan.

12

I took my car in for some work last week. It was supposed to be ready on Tuesday, but they didn’t get the part because of snow in the pass. They apologized that it would be a couple extra days.

I dropped by the dealership on Wednesday and apologized to them, because I needed to get something from the car. The guy at the counter apologized for not recognizing me immediately.

I then proceeded to retrieve my Curling gear from the car.

That was the most Canadian thing I did last week.

13

Not me but my father’s story of deciding he wanted to move to Montreal (from the states). My mom and dad visited Montreal during winter in the early 70s and stopped at the western Mount Royal overlook (viewing area where you can see the city from the mountain). It was a frigid evening and he saw two strangers, both walking dogs, approach each other on the footpath. As they were about to pass each other one dog walker looked up and said to the other “brrrr, eh?” to which the other nodded his agreement. Then they apologized for getting in each other’s way and walked off in opposite directions into the night. My father always told this story when explaining how he ended up in Canada.

14

An old lady called me and had the wrong number.

We talked on the phone for 45 minutes.

15

I held the door open for 46 people and missed my hockey game.

16

Smoke pot and then munch on ketchup flavored chips.

Not just smoking pot, but ordering it online, from the government, to be delivered right to your doorstep.

17

I few years ago I took a very Canadian photo. It was of a Canadian Forces member in combat fatigues crouching down to offer a sip of his Timmie’s to a Canada goose that was blocking him from entering the building.

18

Every year on Christmas Eve day my family rents ice and we play hockey. On years where there’s too much snow to leave the house we play road hockey. Lots of Timbits are eaten (and thrown).