May 2026

There were 3 posts published in May 2026 (this is page 1 of 1).

The Canadian Hero and the Canadian Dragon

Canadianspelling.com

The Canadian Hero and the Canadian Dragon

Watch your step in Canadian cities and parks.

This week I have included Terry Fox as the Canadian Person. In time there will be other people who will become famous, be celebrated, and remembered in Canada. But, I don’t think Canadians will ever forget Terry Fox. The young, blonde, college student who battled cancer and lost his life trying to support cancer research. School children are taught about Terry Fox, possibly more than any other Canadian in our history. 

Meanwhile, the ‘Canadian Dragon’, is famous for being bad tempered, aggressive and territorial especially during the Spring season when there are fuzzy little hatchlings around. The Canada goose is so protected and over fed in urban locations and parks, many of them do not fly south any more due to being over weight and/or unfit for the long flight. Also, as climate changes and humans continue to feed them, there is less reason for the birds to migrate. Often you will see signs up in parks, zoos, and urban areas asking people NOT to feed the wildlife, especially the Canadian geese. 

Canadian Inspiration

Canadian Dragon - LucaniaMC on DeviantArt
Canadian Dragon – LucaniaMC – DeviantArt

Canadian People

Terry Fox (1958-1981)

Terry Fox is known for his Marathon of Hope which he ran after losing his leg to bone cancer. He began on the East Coast and ran with a hop skip until the cancer reached his lungs and he was unable to continue. The Terry Fox Monument, just outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, marks the spot where Terry Fox had to stop on August 31, 1980.

The Terry Fox Run has become a national tradition in Canada. Individuals, communities, schools, businesses, and others participate every year in the Fall season. The Terry Fox Run continues to fund cancer research.

Canadian Places

Mount Thor
Mount Thor

Mount Thor (Thor Peak) is the world’s steepest, tallest cliff, the longest vertical drop.  It has an elevation of 1,675 meters located in Auyuittuq National Park, on Baffin Island.

Nominated as one of the Seven Wonders of Canada by the CBC.

Try the Geography Quiz from The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Canadian Things

Canada has two official languages: English and French. Most of Canada and Canadians speak and write in English. Mainly, the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick will be where you will hear the French language.  There are also about 70 distinct Indigenous languages in Canada.

Please help me support my fondness for groceries and the occasional new print book.

Canadian Links

Branden Mark Lavoie – Posting videos of paranormal and history from Sudbury, Ontario. This one is “The Dark History of Sudbury Jail”.

Cory Rennie – Posting from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. This is a video post about Batoche, Saskatchewan. Instagram and YouTube.

Canadian Cosplay Community – a community of cosplayers, costume makers, otakus, gamers.

Canadian Wildlife Federation

Clean Up and Wear a Canadian Tuxedo

Sleepinggiant

This is the first newsletter posted from my own site. There are still some bumps to fix but I’ve got it working enough to keep my Friday schedule. 

Canadian Inspiration

Trains used to go east, west, north, south and all over Canada. I feel sad when I see places the train tracks have been pulled up. Wouldn’t it be so much better to bring back railways to Canada, not just for passenger trips but all that shipping they used to do too. How is it not better than keeping all those transport trucks on the road? (Considering fuel, traffic, accidents, wear and tear and assorted other issues). Trains seem like a much better option.

Allendale Ontario train
CN Rail at the station in Allandale, Ontario. Maybe 1962. https://www.ebay.com/itm/333270129350

I love train travel across Canada. My brother and I did it as children, just the two of us from Western Canada back to Toronto and even then we caught the bus from Union Station out to our home in Port Union. It was a great trip.

Even before that long trip, I visited my Grandparents, taking the VIA Rail from downtown Toronto out to Woodstock, Ontario. I enjoyed seeing old movies about train travel, especially the rail cars for passengers. My brother and I explored as many of the cars as we could during our trip. We saw one with bunkbed sort of accommodations, but they looked messy and plain. Pretty sure they were no longer in use so it was strange they were still included on the train. I would guess some of the staff used them if they had a long shift for the cross Canada journey.

Your inspiration this week is to remember or (even better) travel on a train, somewhere in Canada to somewhere else in Canada. You don’t have to spend a lot or go far. There are local groups who are keeping the shorter lines open with scheduled trips, usually on weekends. See what you can find.

The Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore: An Illustrated History of Railway Stations in Canada – Ron Brown

Ron Brown writes many Canadian history book, including more about Canadian trains and stations in Canada.

Canadian People

Merna Forster is from Victoria, BC. She ran a (successful) national campaign to have women depicted on Canadian money. She received the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General in 2018. Also, the History Award for Popular Media (the Pierre Berton Award) in 2016. She is part of the Unsolved Canadian Mysteries History Project. The list of her awards and achievements is longer, read more. 

Merna runs the site – A Guide to Women in Canadian History

If you want to read more about Canadian women, Merna has written two books:

Canadian Places

Sleepinggiant
Thunder Cape, Port Arthur, Ontario. The Sleeping Giant. https://www.ebay.com/itm/388151399956

Thunder Cape, Port Arthur/ Fort William, Ontario.

Canadian Things

Did you know the Canadian Tuxedo was started in Vancouver?

Bing Crosby had been in BC for a fishing trip.  Afterwards, he wanted to check into the Hotel Vancouver. But denim was not something people would wear to a fancy place like the Hotel Vancouver in 1951. A fancy hotel does need to mind its reputation and keep up standards for their clientele. A bellhop recognized Bing Crosby and all was resolved.

Levi Strauss & Company decided to create a fancy suit, tuxedo,  made with denim as a bit of a joke. Levi’s called it the Canadian Tuxedo and presented it to Bing Crosby. Bing wore it once, at the event, but chose not to keep it. Maybe it was too fancy for his laid back style. The jacket was sold again in 2024. This is where I found the photos I’ve included.

I still hear people refer to someone dressed in denim as wearing a Canadian Tuxedo.

If you want something fancier than the standard denim and denim look – Amazon.ca has a denim suit.

Please help me support my fondness for groceries and the occasional new print book.

One last thing… A Canadian Link or So

Transport Action Canada, Canadian citizen transportation advocacy group, founded in 1977.

Gordon Lightfoot – Canadian Railroad Trilogy

Canadian Military History

Canadian Register of Historic Places

National Trust for Canada

Canada’s History

Keep Your Stick on the Ice

Keep Your Stick On The Ice
Keep Your Stick On The Ice
Keep Your Stick On The Ice

Canadian for… don’t give up and play by the rules.

I have been thinking about how to make this newsletter work. Starting at Substack was good, but its limited and I can’t use all the features (like the option to have the newsletter subscriptions be paid). I’m not sure about the paid thing. I do have links to my PayPal account and ko-fi. People can donate if they choose to. I will just see how it goes along.

However, I did decide to move the newsletter to my own website after this newsletter is sent out. The next one will have a new link. Its a good time to make a change because I don’t have a lot of subscribers. So, next week the newsletter will still be sent in email, just not from Substack. I will include the new URL/ link in that coming newsletter.

Please help me support my fondness for groceries and the occasional new print book.

Canadian Inspiration

This week, your Canadian inspiration is to find old postcards. You can search ebay and find a lot of them. You don’t need to buy them, but of course, you can if you choose to.

Look for at least one old postcard (aim for images about 100 years old) from the city, town, village, hamlet you live in now and another from the city, town, village, hamlet you were born in (or grew up in). If you have never moved from the place you were born – find at least two postcards from the same place.

To help get started: consider looking for built heritage (a new phrase for old buildings) natural landmarks (Niagara Falls as an example). or a cityscape, a postcard from a downtown street with the old storefronts (may include people and cars driving along the street).

For me, I’m in Barrie, Ontario (now) and Port Union (sometimes known as West Rouge), Ontario (where I grew up). I was born in Toronto, but we moved before I started school.

Old Barrie, Ontario in vintage postcards.
1910 – Barrie, Ontario – Town Hall and Market Building. Demolished 1985.

Above this you can see postcards I found for old Barrie. There were plenty to choose from. Sadly, I looked a lot (over years not just for this newsletter) but I have not found postcards from Port Union or West Rouge. So, I made my own with an old photo I have found posted in various places online.

If you can, take a screenshot of the two (or more) postcards you find. Share them with your family, friends – you could even look for your local historical society and post the screenshots to their social media.

Canadian People

Canadian Mountie C. 1900
The slogan of the Canadian Mounted Police has been “always get their man’ for generations of Canadians. This image is a colourized photo from the 1900’s.

Canadian Places

Come Dine With Me Canada

Quoted from the FAQ:

CDWMC features five competitors who live in the same area who each host a three-course dinner party in their home for the other competitors. Each rates the host’s food and hosting skills with the highest scorer earning the cash prize.

The series is ideal for Canadians who are confident in their cooking skills and love to entertain.

My Mother and I watched Come Dine with Me Canada 2025 just tonight (Thursday). I remember the show, an older version from 2010. I found out the original show started in the UK. I had thought it was all Canadian – a Canadian version of My Kitchen Rules (from Australia).

We enjoyed the show and I hope it gets more seasons.

But, that isn’t the only reality cooking, hosting, and dining show Canada has had. I know of at least one more, from Toronto: Dinner Party Wars. Before that there was Loving Spoonfuls, the show’s host would visit Grandmother’s and cook with them. If you know of other Canadian reality cooking/ dining shows let me know.

Canadian Things

The dandelion is not one of the provincial flowers of Canada. The bane of gardeners from coast to coast, to coast. I think the dandelion could find a way to grow from a seed in an empty glass jar. Yet, as far as I know, the dandelion is not a flower given the honour of representing any country, province, or territory in the world.

In Canada the wildflowers chosen for each province, and territory, usually grow well where are natural. In particular, the trillium for Ontario is known for being difficult to grow well in a garden. But, it grows wonderfully well out in the middle of nowhere in particular – under tall trees with a good population of ants to spread it around. Being in Ontario, I know more about the trillium than other Canadian wildflowers.

Funny that the lady’s slipper from the smallest province is also the rarest flower, hardest to find or grow. (In my experience).

Nunavut, the newest territory, is missing from the stamp collection image below. At that time, Nunavut did not exist.

  • The Yukon – Fireweed
  • Northwest Territory – Mountain Avens
  • Nunavut – Purple Saxifraga
  • British Columbia – Pacific Dogwood
  • Alberta – Wild Rose
  • Saskatchewan – Western Red Lily
  • Manitoba – Prairie Crocus
  • Ontario – White Trillium
  • Quebec – Blue Flag Iris
  • New Brunswick – Purple Violet
  • Nova Scotia – Trailing Arbutus
  • Prince Edward Island – Lady’s Slipper
  • Newfoundland and Labrador – Purple Pitcher Plant
Canadianwildflowerstamps
Stamp collection, 1964. Ebay – https://www.ebay.ca/itm/306906785390

The Government of Canada website has a PDF download with all the symbols of the provinces and territories, including the flowers.

One last thing… A Canadian Hockey Link or Two

Stompin Tom Connors and the Hockey Song

Don Cherry – the man, the hockey legend, and the suits!

How could I not include Red Green (Steve Smith) – Keep your stick on the ice!