Coming to study in Canada? Watch your weights!

Coming to study in Canada? Get ready for many Canadian Culture peculiarities.

Canada implemented changes to its measurement system from the British Imperial system to the metric system about 50 years ago.

Yet, you may frequently encounter instances when you come to study in Canada to make you wonder if really the change was made that long ago.

At least in a country with either one system or another, you know what is right in any situation. But in Canada it’s not so simple. Most situations use celsius for temperature, and the metric system for weights and measurements but not all.

If you are working on your first recipe in Canada and it says use one teaspoon of turmeric and one tablespoon of honey with a half cup of sugar and to set the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit while your phone app tells you it's 23 degrees celsius outside, you know you are in Canada!

Did you know when you shop for fruits and vegetables the prices might be in kilograms or pounds or both?

Or that Canadian football (the Canadian Football League, www.cfl.ca) uses feet and yards for measurement?

Or that Canadians will commonly give their height in feet and inches and weight in pounds.

So here you will find a handy guide to help you get your preparation started. But it will take time until you are in the actual situations to see what is common practice. Don’t be surprised that in many situations some Canadians will use metric and others will still use Imperial.

Here are a couple of resources to help you get familiar with the challenges.

https://www.kelownanow.com/news/news/National_News/17/03/01/Canadians_are_confused_about_measurements/

https://www.clivemaxfield.com/how-to-measure-things-like-a-canadian/

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