Language and currency?

You know, 50 states in the USA, how many in Canada?

None. Ten provinces.

I believe that Canada has no states like we do here in the US. Their different geographies are Provinces or Territories. There are 10. Someone in the know should be along to correct me momentarily :-)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada

Ten provinces and three territories. American currency has a higher value than Canadian currency right now. We don't have one or two dollar bills, we have the "Looney" coin for one dollar and the "Toonie" for two dollars. Our paper money is pretty colours. We don't use pennies any more either, prices are rounded up or down to the nearest five cents. Most Canadians speak English and many speak French.

After entering Canada, at the first opportunity, stop at a bank and exchange some US money for Canadian. That will make cash purchases much easier. Its been 3 yrs since I've been in Canada. At that time credit card purchases were no different than here in the States if your card is accepted. I used Master Card without any problem. I believe that a VISA card is accepted also. Keep the Canadian money is a separate pocket to avoid mixing coins.

The "rules of the road" are similar to the US and they drive on the right. It is a good idea to pick up a copy of the rules to check for differences and to know the procedure for handling accidents. If these are not available at the border crossing, the personnel there may be able to direct you to a source.

For example, in Wisconsin bicycles are regarded as a vehicle and subject to the same rules an automobile.

Keep your passport with you at all times or in a secure place. This item is coveted by thieves and you need it to get back into the States. (That was not always the case. In the 1960s and 1970s, we crossed into Canada and back to the US without a passport. All we needed to get back into the US was the visit visa issued by Canada when we entered Canada. Our car with US license plates was all we needed. However, the license plate entering Canada had to match the one leaving Canada. Sigh. Times have changed. The world is more dangerous now.)

I have found that Canadians, in general, are a friendly and accommodating people.

You don't need to exchange cash as long as your credit and debit cards work. Find an atm and withdraw cash in the local currency. The currency exchanges nearest borders/at airports/near tourist attractions charge higher fees. Your bank should only charge you a nominal fee for withdrawing in the local currency.

Passports weren't required until fairly recently jem. 2007. Believe it or not. All I know is, my French Canadian boss went back to see his parents and he didn't know it (and he knows everything), so I had to fedex them to him.

jasdip, they sell butter in half sticks now. Each, painstakingly wrapped, individually. dunno why!

Jasdip...thanks for the pics! I love looking at coins and hadn't seen that one yet.

USA: Butter is now on sale for .99cents off and on.....and sold in 1 lb packages with 8 sticks. Eggs & butter keep getting cheaper.....even tho property prices are on the rise.

Butter, .99!!! Holy moly!!! Ours is $4 for a no-name brand.

There's always the question if it's cheaper to make your own, or buy it (bread, pie crust, etc etc), at $5/lb it's not cheaper but they taste better. I'm not good at it, my pie crusts don't always look pretty, but they taste so much better than purchased. It takes a full lb, but I get 5 single pie crusts.

Temperatures are in centigrade and not fahrenheit

Speed and distances are in kilometers and not miles.

Weight is in kilograms and not pounds.

Only three countries in the world do not use metric and the US is one of them. Although in the scientific field metric is used in the US.

Our two favourite topics are the weather and real estate. - that's a little tongue in cheek but not far off. :)

Yesterday while grocery shopping, I noticed boxes of half stick butter. For a few seconds, I thought it would be wonderful to use when making bread or etc. Then common sense kicked in - For the extra price, I can continue cutting full sticks of butter as needed. After all, It is a very simple task to cut a stick of butter that is already conveniently marked in Tablespoon widths.

Depending on your state, you may be able to get an enhanced drivers license which would enable you to enter and exit Canada by car without a passport.

Jasdip, I believe you are giving Ontario "facts", not Canadian ones, especially when it comes to tax (it's 15% here in Newfoundland) & milk (we don't have milk in bags, it's in cartons).

Such a simple question and such a variety of rabbit trails to go down.

Our (USA) knowledge of Canadian and Mexican geopolitical regions is shameful. I met an RCAF nurse back in the 80s who was visiting Texas. She could name every one of our states as well as their capitals. Then again I suppose if you only have 10 provinces and 3 territories, 4th grade would not be much of a challenge.

Make sure that your cell phone is enabled in Canada. You may have to pay an additional fee to get that "turned on".

Casey, that's why I mentioned that in some provinces, milk is sold in bags. They aren't out west, and I just learned that yours is in jugs as well, last week when you mentioned it.

Yes, sorry about the HST. Ontario is 13%, other provinces are different.

Wozer lots of answers!

i said "states" cause I wasn't sure what to call them.

Ok, now I know! Ten provinces and three territories.

I know about the languages, just not sure if there is a dividing line.

Got my passport with me, of course :)

know about changing money, and I was advised to do it prior. Will see about doing it here.

Also know, that I have the same rights and responsibilities as a vehicle driver, and which side of the road to ride. Been there before.

Jas, thanks for the picture!

Know all about the metric system, grew up with it. ;)

Oklahoma is one of the dumb states that still has the old fashioned drivers licences....

Oh, yeah, I already know my phone will not work in Canada. I have an older unlocked one in my panniers, for which I will buy a SIM card once I am up north.

thanks everyone for enlightening me.

Moni

I'm in the "I LOVE the half stick butter" clan!. I keep my stick butter in the freezer as I use unsalted whipped butter for most things. But if baking, it's far easier to unwrap a half stick than try to cut a frozen stick of butter in half. VERY convenient for bakers.

No Jasdip, not jugs, cartons.

Make sure your passport isn't close to expiration.

Ten provinces and 3 territories.

We accept all US coins, but many stores will not accept your $ bills. If they do, you won't get the same exchange rate you get at a bank. Also, we take Am/Ex, Visa and MasterCard almost everywhere. Very few stores accept cheques and won't take an out of province cheque so won't take an out of country one. If you have a PIN number attached to your ATM card and it has a chip, you can pay almost anywhere with your debit card. We all speak English. If you're in Quebec, it's best to brush up on your French. Don't worry about French in any other province. If you come to Alberta, you'll only pay 5% GST. We don't have a provincial sales tax, but we are expensive so you'll pay one way or another.... ;( And we have milk in cartons and jugs here. Haven't seen bagged milk in Alberta in almost 30 years. I hated it in bags. :)

Also, make sure you know exactly what is in your car when you cross the border and do not hide anything. I watch border patrol and while Americans can legally carry a weapon, failure to report it to customs will result in a lifetime ban from the country, and a big fine. Also, make sure you tell them how much cash you have on you. You're allowed to bring over $10,000 as long as you tell them you have it. Lie about it, and they get to keep some of it. :)

She's on a bicycle tour :-)

Tangental: I LOVE to book a Canadian at our Maui condo! Never had nice people. Some even send me a "Thank You" note, despite paying to rent the condo. (Canadian moms must just raise *nicer* people.)

I apologize that you have never had nice people from Canada. You like to book them but they are never nice, easy answer is to not rent to them anymore.

I think there's a typo in chisue's comment, the word "such" maybe belongs after "had".

With few exceptions, my experience is that a person's nationality rarely has much to do with their personality. Every country, every ethnicity, seems to have the same range of human types and personality types as every other. Maybe there's a socio-economic effect, could it be that of the lower socio-economic people she rents to, more are American and fewer are Canadian? Or, fewer Canadians as a percentage may be so described, more are better educated and well off of those who go to Hawaii?