There is a running joke amongst Canadians that we have two seasons in Canada: winter, and construction.

To most of the known universe, Canada is seen as a country with snow year round. So when I heard on the news that other nations around the world were upset with the Canadian Olympic venue because Whistler’s ski runs had to be closed due to near white out conditions, my first reaction was to laugh.

It’s Canada.

It’s winter.

Sorry ’bout the snow.

What is it with the misconceptions about Canada’s weather?

I grew up in South Western Ontario in a tiny town on the St. Clair river between Sarnia and Windsor. Now when I say a tiny town, I mean tiny. 3 blocks long and 5 blocks wide. We had a general store – that literally sold everything from food to clothes to tools, one restaurant, and the local OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) detachment. We used to have a gas station, but it didn’t do enough business so it closed down. The library shared a building with the post office, and there was a small corner store next to the ferry dock selling maps, candy, and small touristy items to the visitors.

On the other side of the river was the United States. We had a ferry running across every half an hour, which brought many a visitor and tourist across to visit our great nation.

One summer when I was eight or nine, I was in the corner store which was right next to the ferry dock. It was the height of summer and one of those wonderfully hot days where ice cream is the only cure.

My friends and I were just leaving the store when a station wagon pulled up outside. On the roof, neatly set out in rows, were four pairs of downhill skis. The cargo space in the back of the wagon was piled with luggage and heavy jackets.

A man got out of the driver’s seat and called out to us from across the roof of the vehicle. I swear to you these were his exact words:

“Hey kids, how far is the snow?”

Unfortunately we had to break it to him that he, his wife, and the three kids sweating their asses off had a long, long, LONG drive ahead of them if they were planning on going skiing.

In South Western Ontario.

In July.

True story.

So if the perception is that Canada has snow all year round, why is it people are surprised when it actually snows? We aren’t called the Great White North for nothing, folks. And yes while we are also considered the land of beer and hockey, we do occasionally get some snowfall. Especially on those big pointy things called mountains. Heck, even that poor family from the US knew we had snow. They just forgot to calculate out the whole concept of ‘seasons’.

Nika