I remember eating at The Main in Montréal in my travels. Excellent smoked meat. The best? I don't want to disagree with the prime minister of Canada. I liked the smoked meat at The Main and Schwartz's, across from each other on St. Laurent Boulevard in Montréal.
The fun in Montréal is the competition. The Main and Schwartz's for smoked meat. St-Viateur and Fairmount for bagels. While I don't have a smoked meat preference, I do have a bagel preference: St-Viateur.
Our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com, took a look at the closure of The Main as part of a bigger restaurant when you lose one of your favourite restaurants.
The smoked meat battle was also about style. Schwartz's had more flash and style while The Main quietly went about its business. If the line at Schwartz's was too long, you could go across the street.
I hope to get back to Montréal this summer. A city I adore and have not been there in too long. I have a list of favorites in Montréal and plan to try some places where I have never eaten.
We weren't planning on writing about the grocery rebate found in the new Canadian federal budget. BalanceofFood.com, our sibling blog, found the grocery rebate idea as a fascinating topic worth exploring.
Their research took them to Andrew Chang explaining the grocery rebate for the CBC News Explore audience. Chang left The National to do online journalism for CBC News Explore. His explanation of the grocery rebate on the whiteboard was journalism that was simple and informative. A good sign for Canadian journalism if the new service is doing that kind of work.
The money on the table for low and middle-income Canadians is a decent amount ($233 or $467 with seniors getting $225) but won't go too far given the current rising food prices. As our sibling blog noted, the American government with the GOP-led House won't even consider help for Americans unless the Democratic Party wins back the House in 2024.
Food prices are generally higher in Canada than in the United States due to a number of circumstances. Even higher if you consider the cost of groceries in the North, such as in Iqlauit in Nunavut. The Balanceoffood.com story includes links to podcasts that delve into the high food prices in Canada.
Canadians should have an easier time finding what used to be the old Grade B maple syrup, ideally from Quebec. Americans could find the Grade B maple syrup, especially from Quebec, before the change. Since the classification brought everything to Grade A but with new descriptors, finding the good stuff has been rather difficult.
Our sibling blog, BalanceofFood.com explores the difficult search in the United States to score what is now known as Very Dark Strong Taste.
Maple syrup is an identifiable Canadian food that is enjoyed in the United States. Difficult to appreciate how good Canadian maple syrup if consumers have to struggle to find the truly dark stuff.
Back in 2013, Jason Jones (Canadian) had a bit too much fun exploring the maple syrup heist story for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The Le Gros Jambon portion at the Montréal diner is worth the watch.
My friend texted "Roxham Road closed" on Thursday. Joe Biden was on Canadian soil. That sounded about right.
The debate over revising the Safe Third Country Agreement, has been on the table since 2017 with the angry toddler wrecking havoc south of the border. President Joe Biden was in Ottawa and that was the conclusion of the mess that has been border issues between Canada and the United States.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." — Mark Twain
There is a lot of symbolism with the U.S. president on Canadian soil, the first president in a long time to sleep in Canada, and having the U.S. first lady along for the trip. The U.S.-Canada relationship is terribly important. This relationship can survive butting heads in charge, such as Pierre Trudeau and Richard Nixon as well as those who see eye to eye, such as Brian Mulroney and George H.W. Bush as well as Justin Trudeau and Barack Obama.
The relationship doesn't do well when U.S. presidents have a hatred for Canada (2 leap to mind) and Canadian prime ministers who love the United States a little too much (yes, we are looking at Stephen Harper). Friendliness is encouraged; acceptance is enough.
Vice President Kamala Harris lived in Canada during her teenage years. Instead of that being a source of pride, Harris has to hide that fact among the American electorate.
The Three Amigos, when working well, is a way to be a budget version of the European Union, but there is too much distrust. Free trade handled poorly under NAFTA and made terribly worse under the CUSMA (USMCA) trade deal. Borders should be much more open. Those in the United States who want to live in Canada. Those in Canada that would love to live in the United States. That should be way easier.
The president of the United States and the prime minister of Canada meeting in each other's countries should be commonplace. We make them a big deal because they are a big deal. Sovereignty is crucial for both countries but commonalities should also be enhanced between the countries.
Ideally, we would insist on an entire debate devoted to U.S.-Canada issues for all presidential and vice presidential candidates. We know that is a pipe dream and not a pipeline dream.
Thank you, Mr. President and Mrs. First Lady for coming to Canada. You are welcome back, maybe for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Toronto Maple Leafs and an American team at Scotiabank Arena. You can have some butter tarts and even a little poutine.
video credit: YouTube/White House photo credit: CPAC
The president of the United States will be in Canada today … and tomorrow.
Unlike the Barack Obama trip in 2009, Biden is bringing the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, and the couple is staying overnight Thursday night.
Biden is expected to arrive in Ottawa later tonight and meet with Governor General Mary Simon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will have meetings with Biden on Friday. The U.S. president will address Parliament before leaving Canada.
The last top official from the United States to make a formal trip to Canada was then Vice President Joe Biden at the end of 2016.
Canadians may pick up on the fact this will be the first visit by a U.S. president with an overnight stay in Canada during a bilateral visit for the first time in decades.
Border issues, Buy American, guns, Safe Third Country deal/Roxham Road, Haiti, NORAD, NAFTA 2.0 aka CUSMA. Some of the many challenges that won't get solved by the end of Friday night. The people under the U.S. president and Canadian prime minister work on these issues.
The chant from the Liberals and the NDP in the House of Commons — "Four more years" — might have been the most memorable moment from President Barack Obama's speech before Parliament in June 2016. The experts will monitor the speech for the platitudes and the not-so-hidden messages.
President Biden will have those messages in his speech tomorrow before the House of Commons in Ottawa.
Canada and the United States are allies, neighbours, and friends. Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, will visit Canada to continue working together to advance our countries’ shared priorities: https://t.co/U2vEv4iEO0
CBC News Network will present live coverage of the President Joe Biden visit with a CBC News Special: U.S. President Biden in Canada starting at 1 pm Eastern on Friday. CTV News Channel will also have live coverage.
CPAC in Canada has extensive coverage. C-SPAN hopefully will cover the speech, likely through CPAC, though its schedule gets updated at the last minute.
MSNBC and CNN might have some related coverage though we wouldn't expect either channel to spend much time on the actual speech.
Decriminalize. A powerful word that we don't hear much about in North America. For example, the perception is that the Netherlands legalized marijuana for their coffee shops. In fact, marijuana is not legal but coffee shops are permitted to sell up to 5 grams of marijuana to customers for consumption on-site. No takeaway orders.
As of today, Canadians 18 years of age and older in British Columbia will be able to possess up to a cumulative 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA within the province.
Note that the total is half of what is the law in the Netherlands. British Columbia wanted a threshold of 4.5 grams but the federal government lowered the threshold to 2.5 grams.
We have noted that the marijuana threshold in Canada, where pot is legal coast to coast to coast, is 30 grams. So the threshold seems higher for the other drugs but that isn't a fair comparison.
The threshold may not matter too much in Kamloops, Prince Rupert, Abbotsford, Fort St. John, Kelowna, and Penticton. The limit may not be as much of a concern on Vancouver Island in places such as Victoria, Nanaimo, Tofino, and Ucluelet.
The key concern is opioids in Vancouver Downtown Eastside. Fentanyl and its analogues were detected in nearly 86% of drug toxicity deaths from 2019-2022, according to the latest report from the B.C. Coroners Service.
Experts say that some opioids users consume more than 2.5 grams in a day, citing the need for a higher threshold.
Your humble narrator is a bit surprised that the program is province-wide, given the significance of Vancouver Downtown Eastside. Then again, opioids use isn't limited to that area.
While we promote the idea of marijuana tourism, we aren't as excited about the prospect of tourists taking too much advantage. An 18-year-old might find it unusual to be able to possess 2 grams of cocaine while marijuana is still illegal until they turn 19.
The help for opioids users is that they can have a safe supply and not overdose and die. That isn't the same as recreational use. There is also the theory that an American possessing a legal supply might be suspected of trafficking more than someone with a British Columbia drivers licence.
We will be very curious to see how this pilot program goes and maybe a higher threshold within the 3 years.
"The ArriveCAN app is optional." That might be the most glorious Canadian travel news of 2022.
We have feigned hope for more travel in the last couple of years but that hasn't been a reality. Canadians, who were vaccinated, were encouraged to come to the United States. Americans to Canada? Not so much.
Let's hope 2023 sees a return of Americans to Canada, swayed by beautiful scenery and landscapes as well as a cheap Canadian dollar.
Making up for lost travel time is an ideal goal for 2023, provided you have the time and money.
Your humble narrator finally got to be on Canadian soil. As tempting as kissing the ground might be, didn't get that literal in my appreciation for being in Canada. Poutine, ketchup chips, butter tarts, even a decent shawarma were on the menu. All of that went well with legal marijuana in Canada.
The most famous person who isn't Canadian who came to Canada in 2022 was Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church. The trip was mostly to Alberta with a brief stop in Quebec and an even briefer stop in Iqaluit in Nunavat.
The trip was good in that attention was brought to what happened in residential schools. Unfortunately, after the trip, the issue of reconciliation disappeared from the headlines.
Making travel plans for Canada in 2023 will be a lot easier now that restrictions have been lifted. You should be vaccinated but that isn't a requirement. Just a healthy suggestion.
We are partial to Nova Scotia and happy for those who finally got to see a CFL game in that province. The 2023 version will be in Halifax proper. The donair is a beautiful local food to enjoy as well as amazing seafood.
Toronto, among many other Canadian cities, are great eating destinations. We aren't sure how many of those places are still in business. The pandemic did a lot of damage to restaurants.
If you want to travel by bus and haven't done so recently, Greyhound abandoned Canada in 2021 with the grand exception of incoming buses to Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver. If we travel by bus, we will share our experiences.
A trip back to Montréal. A first trip to Saskatoon. A chance to see relatively new CFL stadiums in Regina and Hamilton. The Icefield Parkway in Alberta. Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Gander in Newfoundland. Churchill in Manitoba, though that might be a pipe dream. The interior of British Columbia, a world not Vancouver or Victoria.
I've been to Quebec City but would like to try areas of the city I didn't get to see. Stratford, Ontario as an adult: have been there as a kid. Explore the Acadian part of New Brunswick.
The previous 2 paragraphs look familiar for those who remember our 2022 travel guide. We made a trip to Windsor for the film festival. Would love to go deeper into Canada in 2023.
Even if you are able to travel, right now, travel sucks. Not what it used to be or what it should be. Do research. Hope that trip will be what you want that to be. Someday. Please make it soon.
We have talked considerably about the idea that people would come to Canada to experience marijuana in a country where the drug is completely legal, regardless of where you are in the country.
The marijuana tourism idea got derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, where travel was difficult and getting into Canada had unnecessary barriers (ArriveCAN).
Having visited Windsor and being barely in Canada, I wanted to see what, if any, potential perils of purchasing pot there were in Canada.
Despite edibles being legal in Canada in the fall of 2019, Windsor didn't have any visible ways of getting them. The fall of 2022 was an entirely different scene. The average tourist would have 5-6 different places (at least) to purchase marijuana just in the downtown core.
Marijuana is legal in many locales in the United States. Missouri and Maryland just legalised marijuana in those states. The difference is that the shopping experience can be, well, not so pleasant, depending on state rules. Buying edibles in California was a marvelous experience. Buying edibles in Illinois? Not as pleasant. Had to pay for edibles in cash (due to banking issues since marijuana is illegal on a federal level).
I selected a place at random very close to places I was in my travels. I wanted to see what the shopping experience would be like as well as the product I received.
The place I tried had great hours: 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. No hassles at the door over ID. A nice young person helped me. She talked me through a number of cookie options (cookies are my go to) that I haven't always had in other places. Low pressure sales. I went in mostly for research purposes, figuring I would purchase later. To my surprise, I bought the product in that visit.
Tried a cinnamon cookie and a spicy ginger cookie. The cost was around $4-$7 per cookie, even cheaper if you convert U.S. dollars to Canadian dollars. They were quite fine in terms of taste. Not a gourmet cookie but a pleasant taste. My smoking days were limited and I can't smoke it too well. Also edibles help you get past a number of concerns, such as not being able to smoke in apartments or Airbnb type setups.
I tried different levels within my stay. A whole 10 mg of the cookie is more than I would take in a dose. The packets were resealable so the cookies stayed fresh. In a group setting, you might split a cookie all at once. For those who travel as single people, portion control is a concern.
We do suggest if you get the munchies on Canadian soil to indulge in such Canadian treats as ketchup chips, all dressed chips, and poutine.
As we have noted, 30 grams is the limit to carry on your person (28 grams = 1 ounce). 2 cookies each with 10 mg is not a threat to that limit.
Each province has rules involving the consumption of cannabis and you should follow those laws and rules in that province. Alberta has an 18+ requirement. All the other provinces and territories except for Quebec (21+) are 19+. There are specific rules about transportation with the general requirement of having the product in a sealed package. Consumption in public places is also a concern, depending on where you are in Canada.
Your shopping experience will vary, depending on province and where you are in that province. More competition helps bring better service, even if the prices are comparable. The fact that the experience in Windsor was significantly better than my California experience (my best one in the States) is a very encouraging sign.
The other amusing part was that I also bought acetaminophen with codeine, which you can legally bring into the United States in limited portions under specific rules. The aspirin with codeine was out due to supply chain issues. Buying the pain reliever isn't arduous but there is a dance you need to do.
A very significant point: Even if Ontario and Michigan (as an example) have legal marijuana, you can't legally transport marijuana between the countries. The penalties are not worth the risk. Buy what you will consume in Canada and don't bring back the leftovers.
The marijuana shopping experience in Canada is very friendly. If you come to Canada and choose to participate (provided you are of age), marijuana tourism is an extra incentive to dust off your passport and make a trip to Canada.
Editor's note:There is no specific endorsement of any company mentioned in the article.
In my fast food days, I wanted French fries and onion rings. Most places didn't have onion rings. If they did, the fries were often better.
Harvey's allows you to have both French fries and onion rings aka frings. Both look good, based on the ad that ran during the NHL Center Ice free preview of Canadian NHL teams feeds to start the 2022-2023 NHL season.
The preview was not long: 4 days.
Your humble narrator hasn't spent much time in Canada, because, pandemic. Haven't been to a Harvey's in a lot longer period of time. Poutine. Deep fried pickles. Fries with rings. This is not the Harvey's I remember.
This Rogers Communications ad came on the heels of the huge outage in July of this year. A outage so huge that Wikipedia literally has a page devoted to the impact of that outage.
The only thing Canadians can agree on is that the large telecoms (Rogers and Bell) suck at what they do.
Does this ad convince you Rogers (or anyone else) will do better in customer service? No. Do the people in these boardrooms think these ads are great? Do workers fear telling their bosses that the ads aren't that great? Absolutely.
Bad apologies are often better than no apologies, up to a point.
Your humble narrator has severely cut down on French fries consumption during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been especially true at home. The idea of having a bad day and making it a McCain's "fry-day" is cute. Each member of the family has their terrible moment of the day and feels better with frozen French fries baked in the oven. This ad ties in emotions well.
One can celebrate with carbohydrates but do so responsibly.
We are a sucker for Canadian tourism ads because the toughest audience of those to see parts of Canada is, well, other Canadians. Some of the Northwest Territories are south of the North of 60. This refers to 60° latitude, ⅔ the way to the North Pole from the equator.
Hockey Day in Canada in the winter of 2020 was based in Yellowknife, a rare look into the territories. They had a contest to win a trip to the north to Whitehorse (Yukon), Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), or Iqaluit (Nunavut).
You can still find trees in Yellowknife at 62° latitude but the treeline is not far away where trees do not grow. The area is beautiful and quite remote.
Love the cleverness of the campaign to tie in stories with the experience of traveling there.
Sidney Crosby and Nathan McKinnon are excellently talented Canadian NHL players who play for American teams. They have become the spokespeople for Tim Hortons trading cards.
They don't speak much. Crosby offers to trade his card of himself to a kid. A guy yells out from his truck once the players are outside. "Hey, McKinnon. Where's the Cup?" McKinnon holds up a Tim Hortons cup. The guy in the truck was asking about the Stanley Cup, which McKinnon finally won over the early summer.
I saw a Joe Fresh ad with mindless models wearing okay clothes. I know Joe Fresh sells clothes but I automatically assume Joe Fresh is a grocery store. Even when I know, I still make that assumption.
We hate gambling ads because they are geared toward an audience that knows about same game parlays. Gambling ads are not trying to get the casual person involved. If you know the world, you are invited.
The idea of a guy sitting in a bathroom at a party, obsessing over how to bet. The bathroom is larger than almost any bathroom you have seen. Suddenly, American actor Jon Lovitz pops into the bathroom. Lovitz is louder than the guy wants him to be. Lovitz points to a bet on the guy's phone and tells him to pick that bet.
We don't normally post ads that are terrible but this one needed attention. Most gambling type people likely don't know who Lovitz is. I do know who Lovitz is (he is very talented) and I knew that was a problem for this ad.
Made me miss Jon Hamm doing ads for Skip the Dishes.
Citytv, a Rogers property, is generally fourth among the 4 major Canadian networks. The network produces fewer Canadian TV shows of note and doesn't offer a national newscast.
Citytv+ allows customers to stream content from Citytv, FX, FXX, as well as Omni. All of this is available for $4.99/month through Prime Video.
Canadians can stream Citytv programming for free, just like Americans can do for its over-the-air networks. Then again, most Canadians can't get Citytv with an antenna.
KFC was advertising its Bacon Lovers Sandwich. I loved what KFC was doing a few decades back. While we are not a fan of the Baconator at Wendy's, that was a sandwich that celebrated bacon. A huge, likely tasteless piece of fried chicken with the orange sauce would take away from the presence of the bacon.
Real bacon lovers will stay at home and make a great BLT to appreciate the bacon.
The 2019 Windsor International Film Festival had 10 days and lots of amazing momentum. One of the worst days in 2020 and 2021 was the cancellation of that film festival. 2022 brings an 11-day film festival with plenty of Canadian film, U.S. film, and cinema from around the world.
The 2022 version kicks off this morning. The Windsor International Film Festival is Canada's biggest volunteer-run film festival.
Seeing a bunch of Canadian films and films from other countries is only part of the experience. We've been watching films on various computer screens and on demand for the last 3 years. The joy of film festivals, especially the Windsor International Film Festival, is comparing notes with other people. Their enthusiasm can draw you into a film you wouldn't have thought to watch but then glad you did. Even if you can't fit them all into your schedule, you have a well-crafted list to draw from in the upcoming year.
We've shown this photo (my photo) of the WIFF Alley in 2019 a few times. This was a nice reminder of where this festival had grown to over the years and a notice that we can return to this splendor once again.
The Windsor International Film Festival is once again awarding a WIFF Prize in Canadian Film. The award carries a $25,000 cash value given to the director of the chosen film. The winner will be selected by a jury of film professionals.
All 10 of the nominated films will be screened during WIFF's opening weekend. The festival will announce the Canadian Film Prize at a special event during the festival on October 30.
These are the Canadian films contending for the WIFF Prize in Canadian Film:
Brother (Clement Virgo) Eternal Spring (Jason Loftus) Falcon Lake (Charlotte Le Bon) I Like Movies (Chandler Levack) Norbourg (Maxime Giroux) North of Normal (Carly Stone) Riceboy Sleeps (Anthony Shim) Something You Said Last Night (Luis De Filippis) The Swearing Jar (Lindsay MacKay) To Kill a Tiger (Nisha Pahuja)
Eternal Spring is the Oscars entry for Best International Feature Film. All but Norbourg and Eternal Spring were at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
Kuessipan won the WIFF Prize in Canadian Film award in 2019. That film received a $10,000 cash award so the stakes are a lot higher in 2022.
The other Canadian films that contended in 2019 were And The Birds Rained Down; Antigone; Castle in the Ground; Easy Land; Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind; Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger; Matthias and Maxime; Prey; and Willie.
Your humble narrator saw all of the 2019 films list in that year's festival, except for Prey. We will run a film review of Prey during this year's festival.
We normally run a count and list all the Canadian films. Instead, we recommend checking out the list of films and synopses of the Canadian films.
Some of the other Canadian film highlights include:
Wolves
Family of the Forest
Babysitter
Unloved - Huronia's Forgotten Children
The Origin of Evil
Ice-Breaker: The Legacy of the '72 Summit Series
Arsenault & Fils
Geographies of Solitude
The Middle Man
Slash/Back
Maria
So Much Tenderness
Rosie
Goodbye Happiness | Au Revoir Le Bonheur
A Year in the Forest
Coyote
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On
Hands That Bind
The Long Rider
The Last Tourist
Ever Deadly
Aline
The festival includes Canadian films we have already reviewed: The Grey Fox (1982); Indian Horse; and Peace By Chocolate. This is far from a complete list.
Women Talking will also play in the festival, a film technically not Canadian. Plan to see and write about the film in some fashion. We are good at writing about Canadian films in name only, an easier task than doing the opposite.
This isn't just about a film festival. Opening up the borders means more cross border travel across the world's longest undefended border between Canada and the United States.
Ketchup chips and butter tarts. Spending loonies and twoonies.
These were 2 of the most difficult stories to write, outside of stories that involved someone dying. The cancellation of a film festival is never an easy call to make. The memories of the 2019 festival had to stretch out longer than we wanted them to stretch. The hope of returning to that world kept a lot of us going.
If this festival isn't within reach, hope you got a chance or will get a chance to discover the joy of seeing films in a local film festival.
The 2022 Windsor International Film Festival runs today through November 6.
Twitter capture: @WindsorFilmFest photo credit: me
