Seven ways to make Toronto a world-class city again

[TheTigerMaster]

I've been asked some pretty amusing things by well-educated Americans during my time here in Amsterdam.

"Do you have cheese fries in Canada?"
"Does it ever get warm in Canada?"
"Do you have black people in Canada?" (on two separate occasions, by two different people)

I recall a story from a border guard working at Niagara Falls. A family living just south of the border was driving into Canada with ski gear on top their vehicle. They asked the guard how long the drive to Toronto is, because they're planning to spend the day skiing here. This happened in the middle of August.

 

[CDL.TO]

What, they don't know Drake? He is actually pretty loud about being Canadian.

*shrug* Guess not.

Alternatively, it may have been a case of black people versus "black people" *wink wink* *nudge nudge*.

 

[salsa]

I recall a story from a border guard working at Niagara Falls. A family living just south of the border was driving into Canada with ski gear on top their vehicle. They asked the guard how long the drive to Toronto is, because they're planning to spend the day skiing here. This happened in the middle of August.

I didn't know Toronto was an international skiing destination year-round. I think I'll plan a visit to Earl Bales park later today.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I refuse to believe that level ignorance exists in the 21st century. I think it's a ruse to make us complacent in preparation for takeover. California could sure use Ontario's lakes these days.
Skiing. In August. In Toronto.
That just can't be real.

 

[MisterF]

Those Ohio professors and the well educated people CDL runs into aren't just an indictment of how ignorant Americans can be, but of how terrible a job we do promoting ourselves. When people hear Canada they think polite, Mounties, nature, America junior, and boring. These are stereotypes that Canadians perpetuate, so we as a society are at least partly to blame. So of course people are surprised when they see Toronto for the first time.

 

[CDL.TO]

Just listened to those professors from Ohio. Absolutely unbelievable.

My favourite part is where there go on about how Toronto should logically be located closer to the US border.

They also have another trait I sometimes notice in Americans. When they don't know something, they just stick with their ignorance with complete confidence rather than just taking five seconds to look it up.

 

[doady]

Even by itself, the USA is such a large and varied country, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that its people don't know much about things outside USA. I don't think the people of the US are any more any more ignorant than Canadians.

Canada is much larger than USA but Canada has 1/10 the population so it's mostly empty wilderness, and the wilderness is no where near as diverse as USA's either. In terms of both human geography and physical geography, there is much less to know and experience about Canada compared to USA, so there is more time and more compulsion for Canadians to gain knowledge and experience of things outside Canada.

It is hard to fault US Americans for not knowing much about Toronto when there are like 10 US cities that are bigger or the same size...

 

[salsa]

I refuse to believe that level ignorance exists in the 21st century. I think it's a ruse to make us complacent in preparation for takeover. California could sure use Ontario's lakes these days.
Skiing. In August. In Toronto.
That just can't be real.

Reality check: extreme stupidity exists in America.

 

[JGHali]

It is hard to fault US Americans for not knowing much about Toronto when there are like 10 US cities that are bigger or the same size...

Toronto is the fourth-largest city in North America. Which isn't to say that I'd expect Americans to know much about Mexico City either. (I've only been to the airport there.)

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Even by itself, the USA is such a large and varied country, maybe it shouldn't be surprising that its people don't know much about things outside USA. I don't think the people of the US are any more any more ignorant than Canadians.

Canada is much larger than USA but Canada has 1/10 the population so it's mostly empty wilderness, and the wilderness is no where near as diverse as USA's either. In terms of both human geography and physical geography, there is much less to know and experience about Canada compared to USA, so there is more time and more compulsion for Canadians to gain knowledge and experience of things outside Canada.

It is hard to fault US Americans for not knowing much about Toronto when there are like 10 US cities that are bigger or the same size...

No. There are two cities in the United States that are the same or bigger size.

 

[ssiguy2]

If Toronto wants to become a big city it has to think big.

Post war Toronto was the city that dreamt big but now is the city that dreams about dreaming big. The bst place to start is on it's main drag. Yonge, love it or hate it, is the city's main drag and yet in a city that has a great café culture there is not one spot between Bloor and Union where you can sit, have a coffee, and watch the world go by. It is probably the most pedestrian unfriendly street in the city despite being the one street that doesn't need cars and people out number the cars due to the subway.

Whenever I see Yonge I want to cry. So much potential and yet the street itself is ugly and down right dangerous to walk on.
Yonge should be turned into a 24 hour pedestrian only zone from Bloor to Union and make it the great street it can be.

 

[doady]

No. There are two cities in the United States that are the same or bigger size.

Yeah, and Calgary is bigger than San Francisco, and Winnipeg is bigger than Boston and Atlanta and Washington DC. So even Calgary and Winnipeg are obviously more important than most US cities, let alone Toronto.

 

[animatronic]

Canada is much larger than USA but Canada has 1/10 the population so it's mostly empty wilderness, and the wilderness is no where near as diverse as USA's either.

Canada, the U.S. and China are actually almost identical in size. Canada squeaks in at #2 for total area but the U.S. and China have more land. Blame Mercator for making it seem like a bigger difference.

 

[howl]

I recall a story from a border guard working at Niagara Falls. A family living just south of the border was driving into Canada with ski gear on top their vehicle. They asked the guard how long the drive to Toronto is, because they're planning to spend the day skiing here. This happened in the middle of August.

A few weeks ago I saw a RWD car with Florida plates driving down the road with snow tires on. If it had Ontario plate I would have figured someone was just too cheap to get summer tires, but with Florida plates they would have had to buy them special for the trip . . . in August.

 

[WrightofWay]

I recall a story from a border guard working at Niagara Falls. A family living just south of the border was driving into Canada with ski gear on top their vehicle. They asked the guard how long the drive to Toronto is, because they're planning to spend the day skiing here. This happened in the middle of August.

Few things never happened the way this has never happened. It's an urban legend/stereotype that has been circulating for decades.