When you come to Canada, once you have overcome the language barrier and the snow barrier, you will have to discover the food. Canadian cuisine is like a whole other world unto itself.

But I’m exaggerating a bit when I use the term “overcome”; it’s more of an immersion, some kind of a cultural hazing.

Canada’s food is like the population: inspired by different countries and origins; but it varies widely from region to region. There is, generally speaking, a difference between the English and French side of Canada. English Canada’s food tends to be inspired by the British and American cuisine; while French Canada’s food tends to be inspired by the French tradition.

While Canada is divided according to regions and some food traditions follow these geographical boundaries (western provinces tend to be more influenced by Italian, Polish or British cuisine, while the Ontario region is more influenced by Germanic cuisine); there are some products that are typically Canadian, whatever the region: blueberries; maple (under all the possible forms: syrup, butter, pies, whisky, sweets), ice wine; bison; caribou, and so on.

Food in Canada is quite varied. Here are some traditional dishes you MUST try when you move here:

  • Tourtière – a traditional meat pie
  • Montreal smoked meat
  • Pâté chinois – Shepherd’s pie from Quebec
  • Poutine – THE famous dish from Quebec: fries topped with gravy and cheese curds
  • Oka cheese
  • Toutins – fried bread from Newfoundland
  • Cheese curds
  • Nanaimo bars – dessert from British Columbia
  • Butter tarts – dessert from Ontario
  • Rappie pie – traditional Acadian dish from Nova Scotia

There are many more dishes to be discovered in Canada, I hope you’ll take time to enjoy them all.

LEARN MORE

For more information about Canadian culture, check out the following articles and links:

Photo credits: The Original Poutine LaBanquise (Wikipedia)