Canada’s Plural Culture

Tim Hortons makes damn good coffee, as my girlfriend and I discovered this summer in Calgary. They also produce some of the goofiest, sappiest ads I have ever seen. In one, a teenager enthralls his parents with the story of how his Tim Horton’s travel-mug enabled him to make oodles of friends while touring Europe. In a heart-rending conclusion, made all the more difficult to see through tear-soaked eyes, his letter ends with, “And Dad, don’t forget to get me my double-double before you come to pick me up at the airport.” [A double-double, for the uninitiated, is a cup of coffee with two creams and sugars each.] A billboard reads, “True Patriotism” above a cup of black Tim Horton’s coffee.

Tim Horton’s, it would seem, is now attaching itself to the corporate advertisement strategy of Molson Canadian. Both now appeal in their ads to an erstwhile pan-Canadian nationalism; a joyous dream of bureaucrats and federal Liberals, a profound puzzlement for any Canadian living outside the Golden Horseshoe. Why do you drink Molson beer, you early-20s hipster? “Because, I am Canadian!” Why are you now (presumably the next morning) drinking a double-double out of a Big Tim mug? “Because, I’m showing true patriotism!”

All of this breast-beating about being Canadian and what it is that Canadians do necessarily means that a pan-Canadian culture actually does exist. But of course such a mythical creature does not exist. Canada is a plural country, divided in its culture across regional lines. I have known this for some time, but only upon returning to Vancouver and heading out to get a coffee did I realize the extent of it. Sarahbellum has done a magnificent job of outlining regional coffee divergence in Canada. Some excerpts:

“The city of Vancouver apparently has only 3 Tim Hortons.

With a population of 545,671 (2001, Stats Can, funny, thought it was bigger), that’s 181,890 people per Tim Hortons.

Meanwhile, there are 24 Tim Hortons in the city of Ottawa (where my co-op was this summer), popn. 774,072 (funny, thought Ottawa was smaller). That is a big jump to 32,253 people per Tim Hortons. But a decent Tim Horton’s density.

London has FORTY THREE TIM HORTONS. With a population of 336,539, that’s 7826 people per Tim Hortons. Holy crap. And this number does *not* include the THIRTEEN more mini-Tim’s on campus at the University of Western Ontario.

Poking around a bit more though, it seems that the Tim Horton’s niche in Vancouver is at least partially filled by, you guessed it, Starbucks!

Number of Starbucks in:
Ottawa = 8
London = 2
Vancouver = 43 !!!”

So next time Tim Horton informs you that drinking his coffee is what makes you a true patriot, think of me sitting outside in the rain, sipping a cup of coffee produced by an American multi-national.