Canada has a reputation for politeness, maple syrup, hockey and cold winters, and these photos suggest the stereotypes are not far off. What makes them funny is that they are real: apologetic notes left by people who parked in the wrong spot, a thief asked to be considerate, police officers getting soaked by water pistols, moose wandering into backyards and a dead raccoon that ended up with a candlelight vigil. Most of the pictures were shared by Canadians themselves on Reddit, Twitter and Imgur, and each is credited to the person who posted it.
Below, the photos are grouped by theme, from good manners and gentle policing to wildlife, weather and patriotism. Each comes with a little background on what you are looking at and, where possible, where it happened. After the photos you will find a few Canadian facts (with some popular myths corrected) and a short video guide to Canadian slang. Grab a coffee, maybe a double-double, and scroll on.
Polite notes, gentle thieves and kind graffiti
A request to rhubarb thieves
Rather than asking people not to steal their rhubarb, this gardener explains how to steal it properly: pull the whole stalk out at the root, because cutting it at the base stops it from growing back. It is genuinely good gardening advice, delivered with a very Canadian mix of resignation and courtesy. Photo: lexjac
The wheelbarrow that came home
The first sign asks for a stolen wheelbarrow to be returned. The second, at the same address, thanks whoever brought it back. Whether the borrower was a thief with a conscience or a neighbour who forgot to return it, the story ends with nobody shouting and everyone saying thank you. Photo: GuacamoleFanatic
An apology for taking a parking spot
The driver who parked in space number 3 by mistake left a handwritten apology signed by the occupant of space 15, plus a peace offering: a cheerful drawing of a spider on the back. It is hard to stay annoyed at someone who apologises with art. Photo: imgur.com
A burglar with manners
This note, left after a break-in, apologises for the mess, explains that the intruder was only looking for food and warns the homeowner that a broken glass means the floor may not be fully clean. Breaking into a home is a crime anywhere, but the note shows a rare streak of conscience. Photo: cyberwolf1
A washroom sign about respect
This poster from Humber College in Toronto tackles a debated topic with one short instruction: if you think someone is in the wrong washroom, don't worry about it, because they know where they belong. It was produced by the college's gender and sexual diversity committee and is a good example of polite public messaging. Photo: fngrtps
Bathroom graffiti, but positive
Most toilet-stall graffiti is rude. This one tells the reader that their mom is a nice lady, and someone else added that their father is proud of them. It may be the friendliest vandalism on this list. Photo: psylentz
Graffiti with an environmental message
Someone used the back of a trail sign to make a point about litter, adding that the earth deserves respect. Canada has a huge network of trails and parks, and keeping them clean is an everyday concern for the people who use them. Photo: garrista
Police officers, Canadian style
The great water-pistol clash
The only clash in this picture involves water pistols. A uniformed Toronto Police officer is getting soaked by laughing spectators along a summer parade route, and he appears to be enjoying it as much as they are. Photo: asdmatt
Montreal police and their protest pants
For several years, starting in 2014, many Montreal police officers swapped their uniform trousers for camouflage, red or brightly patterned pants, including the cow print seen here. It was a protest against changes to their pensions under Quebec law, a dispute that ran for years, and the colourful trousers became a familiar sight on the city's streets. Photo: godsenfrik
Officers photographing a Mountie dachshund
A dachshund dressed in a red tunic and a Mountie-style hat has drawn the full attention of several police officers, who are crouching to take its picture. Dogs in Canada Day costumes are a common sight at July 1 celebrations, especially in Ottawa. Photo: csaby
A lemonade stop in Kenora
An Ontario Provincial Police officer pulled over in Kenora, in northwestern Ontario, to buy a drink from a young girl running a lemonade stand. Small moments like this are good community policing: they cost nothing and build trust with local families. Photo: Murikk
Meditation before the shift
This photo was shared by the West End Buddhist Temple and Meditation Centre in Ottawa and shows a group of uniformed officers sitting on cushions during a meditation session. Police services in several countries have tried mindfulness training to help officers manage stress, although results vary between programmes. Photo: West End Buddhist Temple and Meditation Centre
A toddler's first traffic stop
In Fort McMurray, Alberta, an RCMP officer playfully pulled over a toddler driving a battery-powered toy pickup truck, complete with a dog as passenger, and handed him a mock ticket. Photos like this are a reminder that a lot of police work is about relationships with the community. Photo: Angelmdz
The friendliest parking ticket
Instead of a fine, this notice from The Forks in Winnipeg welcomes the driver, says that forgetting to pay happens, and explains that parking money helps run the free programming at the popular riverside site. It still asks you to pay next time, just very politely. Photo: jayesch
Wildlife next door
Pet friendly, except bears
The roadside sign at the Airlane Hotel in Thunder Bay, Ontario, says that pets are welcome but bears will not make that mistake again. Black bears do wander into towns across northern Ontario, so the joke is built on real experience. Photo: nightowlrr
A moose at the front door
A moose stares through the glass of a front door while the family dog stares back. Moose are the largest members of the deer family and can weigh several hundred kilograms, so it is wise to admire them from inside, exactly as this dog is doing. Photo: zizz
Delivery note: bear at door
A Canada Post delivery notice usually explains that nobody was home. This one has the "other" box ticked with a handwritten reason: there was a bear at the door. That is a fair excuse for not leaving a parcel. Photo: IamFane
Not all Canadians are polite
This sign at Canada Place on the Vancouver waterfront warns visitors not to get too close to the Canada geese, which can become aggressive. Anyone who has walked past a goose guarding its goslings in spring knows the warning is serious. Photo: Shy_Cryptic
A moose in the pool
According to the person who shared it, this photo arrived as a wrong-number text from a stranger asking to borrow a pool because a moose was using theirs. The details cannot be checked, but the picture of a moose standing in an inflatable backyard pool speaks for itself. Photo: pancakessexual
The Toronto raccoon memorial
On 9 July 2015 a dead raccoon was found on the sidewalk at Yonge and Church streets in Toronto. While residents waited around 14 hours for the city to remove it, passers-by left a card, flowers, candles and a framed photo, and the hashtag #DeadRaccoonTO spread worldwide. Mourners nicknamed the raccoon Conrad, and the vigil became one of the city's best-known internet moments. Photo: Jason Wagar
Christmas with a beaver
A stuffed beaver sits beside a Christmas tree trunk that has been gnawed like a real beaver's log, with wood chips scattered across the tree skirt. Beavers are a national symbol of Canada and appear on the five-cent coin, which makes this a very Canadian holiday joke. Photo: N8theGr8
Honesty and community spirit
Honest commuters at a broken gate
With no staff on duty and the automatic gate broken, commuters left their coins and transit tickets on top of the turnstile instead of walking through for free. It is a small moment of honesty that says a lot about trust in public spaces. Photo: jkjkjij22
A lost mitten, washed and mended
Someone found a red Canada mitten at the base of a power pole, washed it, repaired it and pinned it back up in a plastic bag with a note wishing the owner good luck. In a country with long winters, a lost mitten is a real loss, and this is a lovely fix. Photo: reddit.com
Sensory-friendly shopping in Summerside
A grocery store in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, offers sensory-friendly shopping on Tuesday evenings, with dimmer lighting, no overhead music or announcements, quieter scanners and no cart collection. Quiet hours like this help autistic shoppers and others who find bright, noisy stores overwhelming. Photo: florange-juice
Doctors who said they were paid too much
In early 2018, hundreds of Quebec doctors, residents and medical students signed an open letter from the group Médecins québécois pour le régime public (MQRP) opposing the pay increases negotiated for them. They argued the money would be better spent on nurses, patients and the public health system. It made headlines around the world because so few professionals ask for less money. Photo: remain_unaltered
No guns, flowers welcome
This sign, photographed in Montreal, shows a crossed-out dinosaur holding guns next to an approved dinosaur carrying flowers. It is a playful twist on the no-weapons signs seen in many places, and a cheerful way to ask for peace. Photo: DannyB1aze
Weather, patriotism and polite protest
Three seasons at once
On 15 September 2018 this photographer captured hanging summer flowers, autumn leaves and fresh snow in a single view from their porch. Early snowfalls in September are not unusual in parts of Canada, especially at higher latitudes and elevations, which is why locals joke about having every season in one week. Photo: goodluck_canuck
Canada already great, eh
This red cap, spotted in a Canadian shop, is a light-hearted parody of the Make America Great Again caps used in Donald Trump's campaigns. The added "eh" at the end is the finishing touch. Photo: lostboys519
A Canada Day flag in Stanley Park
Someone placed a Canadian flag on the statue of Lord Stanley in Vancouver's Stanley Park and taped a note to the base wishing everyone a happy Canada Day and promising to come back the next day to take the flag down. Even patriotic decorations come with a cleanup plan. Photo: 6ix_8ight
Hockey-stick protest signs
At the Women's March in Ottawa in January 2017, several marchers taped their signs to hockey sticks. It is a practical choice in a hockey-loving country, and the photos became a popular symbol of how Canadians protest. Photo: IHaeTypos , eracom
Canadian facts worth knowing
Canada became a country on 1 July 1867, when the British North America Act (now called the Constitution Act, 1867) came into force, uniting Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Confederation. The date is now celebrated as Canada Day. By total area, Canada is the second-largest country in the world after Russia. A few other records are often repeated, some of them with the wrong numbers:
- The Trans-Canada Highway runs about 7,800 km from Victoria, British Columbia, to St. John's, Newfoundland. It is one of the longest national highways in the world, but not the longest road; figures of hundreds of thousands of kilometres that circulate online are wrong. It opened in 1962 and was completed in 1971.
- The world's longest coastline. The CIA World Factbook gives Canada's coastline as 202,080 km; Canadian government measurements that include more islands put it even higher, at well over 240,000 km.
- The Bay of Fundy, between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, has the highest tidal range in the world, averaging around 16 metres in places. About 100 billion tonnes of water flow in and out during each tidal cycle.
- Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, Ontario, is the largest island in any freshwater lake in the world, covering about 2,766 square kilometres.
- Yonge Street in Toronto was listed by Guinness as the world's longest street, at 1,896 km, from 1977 until 1999. That figure counted the whole of Highway 11; the street itself is about 86 km long.
Plenty of famous entertainers are Canadian too, including Justin Bieber, Nelly Furtado, James Cameron, Jim Carrey, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Mike Myers and Ryan Reynolds.
A quick guide to Canadian slang
If you want to understand a double-double, a toque or a loonie, this short video explains some everyday Canadian words and phrases.
These photos are a gentle exaggeration, of course. Canadians can be rude, impatient and grumpy like anyone else. But the pictures capture something people in Canada recognise and enjoy: a habit of apologising, sharing, joking about the weather and living alongside some very large wildlife.
Sources: photos credited above to their original posters on Reddit, Twitter, Imgur, Tumblr and Facebook; Wikipedia: Conrad (raccoon); Wikipedia: Trans-Canada Highway; Wikipedia: Bay of Fundy; Wikipedia: Manitoulin Island; Wikipedia: Yonge Street; Bored Panda: Toronto raccoon memorial (photo: Jason Wagar).
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