24 Canadians List Most Common Signs That Show Them Someone Is A Tourist

Canada, a country located in North America, is a very interesting place. What we mean by that is that it holds several world records. For example, it has the world’s longest coastline and the longest international land border. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? And if it weren’t for Russia, it would be the biggest country by total area. 

Interestingly, despite being one of the biggest countries in the world, Canada is relatively sparsely inhabited. For instance, over 60% of the population (over 39M people as of 2024) live in two of the provinces: Ontario and Quebec.

Speaking of provinces, Canada has 10 of them, with 3 additional territories. This leads us to the question that sparked this list: “In your province, what is a dead giveaway that someone is a tourist?” It was asked on r/AskACanadian, and it quickly gathered many responses. Some responses were serious, some not as much, yet it still was a very entertaining and, frankly, educational list. So, if you’re traveling to Canada and don’t want to look like a foolish tourist (not that every tourist is foolish, but some, let’s admit, are), this list is basically your handbook. 

In the list, you can see things such as a car having a front license plate being a thing that gives away that a person isn’t local. Apparently, out of all 10 of Canada’s provinces, only 3 of their jurisdictions require both front and rear registration plates.

Another thing pointed out in the list was the people who ask around with the phrase “Où est la toilette?” The intention of using one of the country’s official languages is good. Yet, as some people on Reddit pointed out, asking with this exact phrasing means that the person is asking, “Where is the toilet?” Since "toilet" is plural in French, the singular kind of gives away that a person isn’t a Canadian-French speaker. 

People mispronouncing the names of certain objects was quite commonly mentioned in the list. As well as tourists being amazed by animals that are a common sight for the locals. Or even worse, trying to approach them even though they might be dangerous.

Well, as we said – the list is a handbook for those who, for one reason or another, want to pretend to be locals in Canada. And if you aren’t one of them, the list is still pretty entertaining, isn’t it? So, which one of these observations was the most interesting to you? Share with us in the comments, and don’t forget to upvote it!