Lessons I Learned After Moving Back to Canada

What adjusting back to Canadian culture taught me about humility, adaptation, and letting go of past assumptions.

Starting Over in a Changed Country

Photo by Conor Samuel on Unsplash

When I moved back to Canada several years ago, I was stepping into a completely different cultural landscape. At first glance, Canada may seem like the United States’ quieter sibling, same language (mostly), familiar brands, and shared pop culture, but the similarities are superficial. Once you live here, you begin to feel the differences in how people talk, how systems work, and how society operates.

If you want to thrive in Canada, you need to pay attention. These are lessons in unlearning assumptions and replacing them with curiosity. I’ve come to see them as a kind of cultural apprenticeship, a long, humbling process of observing, listening, and slowly learning how to be at home in a place that isn’t built around you.

Understanding the Subtle but Serious Cultural Divide

The first and most important thing to realize is that Canada is not the United States. Not in temperament, not in politics, not in values. While the surface may feel familiar, Canadians tend to be more reserved in their opinions, more subtle in their humour, and more careful in how they express conflict. These aren’t universal rules; Canada is vast and diverse, but the broader culture leans toward politeness, social harmony, and collective responsibility in ways that may surprise you.

One of the biggest adjustments is simply learning to observe without imposing. Many Americans arrive in Canada with a sense of confidence, sometimes bordering on arrogance, about how things “should” be. Canadians might smile politely, but they’re also sizing you up. There’s a quiet expectation here: be humble, be respectful, and take the time to understand before offering your opinion.

Canadians are famously polite. People say hello in elevators, thank bus drivers, and hold doors open without making a show of it. It’s real, but don’t mistake it for weakness. There’s a certain toughness behind the politeness that someone once described to me as “two gears: sorry, and you’re gonna be sorry.” In other words, Canadians simply don’t like unnecessary conflict, and they won’t escalate unless you give them a reason.

Measurement, Language, and Laws

Even mundane things like measurement systems become symbolic. Canada uses the metric system, and while you might be tempted to resist it, learning it shows respect. A rough approximation can help early on: multiply miles by 1.5 to get kilometres, and halve kilometres to estimate miles. You’ll eventually get a feel for it, just like you will with Celsius. Water freezes at 0°C, the single digits feel cold, the teens are cool, the 20s are comfortable, the 30s are hot, and anything over 40°C is sweltering. These numbers aren’t just data points; they shape how Canadians talk about the world around them.

While French is one of Canada’s two official languages, most of the country functions entirely in English outside of Quebec province. You don’t need to be bilingual to get by in cities like Toronto or Vancouver, though Ottawa is more bilingual due to its proximity to Quebec. Still, it helps to understand that language here is political as much as it is practical. Respect for French identity is part of the national fabric, even if you never need to speak it yourself.

Canadian gun culture is another stark contrast with the U.S. Yes, people here own guns, but the laws are far stricter, and the cultural attitude toward firearms is completely different. Gun ownership is regulated, and the idea of owning a military-style weapon for personal defence would strike many Canadians as dangerous, if not absurd. There’s a seriousness to how firearms are treated here, and that reflects a broader commitment to safety over personal bravado.

Living with a Social Contract

Taxes are higher in Canada, which may be jarring at first. However, they fund the things most people here consider essential: “universal” healthcare, subsidized education, maternity leave, infrastructure, and more. If you get sick or injured, you can go to the doctor without worrying about going bankrupt. That doesn’t mean the healthcare system is perfect, as COVID exposed painful weaknesses, especially in staffing and wait times. Right now, those issues are being tackled, and there’s public support for keeping healthcare public, even when political pressure from corporate interests and especially Doug Ford threaten to erode it.

Canada runs on bureaucracy and paperwork matters. If you let your documentation slide, you might find yourself locked out of services you assumed were guaranteed. That can feel frustrating if you’re used to a more laissez-faire system, but it’s also a reflection of a government structure that still functions with public interest in mind. Keeping your ID updated, understanding provincial health coverage, and registering for public services might feel tedious, but they’re acts of civic participation and part of the social contract.

Conversations about politics and religion are more muted in Canada. While people certainly hold strong views, they don’t tend to debate strangers or treat every interaction as a potential soapbox. Canadians will gripe about taxes or politicians, but there’s an unspoken boundary: keep it civil, keep it brief, and don’t assume the other person shares your worldview. If you push too hard, you’ll hit a polite wall sometimes phrased as “Okay, pal.” If you go beyond that, and someone calls you “buddy,” it’s probably time to stop talking.

Cultural Nuance and Belonging

Canada is proudly multicultural, and that means you’ll encounter a wide range of traditions, beliefs, and worldviews. The unifying thread is not sameness, but coexistence. People are expected to respect each other’s differences, not because it’s politically correct, but because it’s necessary for life in a pluralistic society. Religion, for instance, is viewed as private. Public displays of faith are fine, but proselytizing or assuming cultural superiority won’t go over well.

Even something as simple as food can become a window into Canadian culture. Try the poutine; it’s a cultural marker that is salty, cheesy, hot, and a little messy like Canada itself.

Expect to see a 24-hour clock used in places like transit systems and hospitals. Likewise, attitudes toward the military are different. While Canadians respect service members, they don’t tend to elevate them as a special class. It’s a subtler form of patriotism that doesn’t rely on spectacle.

One delightful surprise is how easy it is to transfer money here. Interac e-transfer is used by everyone, from banks to landlords to local artisans. No need for third-party apps or awkward workarounds. It’s simple, secure, and widely accepted.

Letting Go of the American Lens

If you were educated in the United States, you likely grew up with a version of history, politics, and global affairs that placed America at the centre of everything. Living in Canada challenges that assumption. It asks you to consider that your perspective might be incomplete or even harmful.

This is an invitation to grow beyond it. The most important lesson I’ve learned is this: you need to stop being American in your approach. That doesn’t mean shedding your identity. It means arriving with an open mind, a quiet mouth, and a willingness to listen.

The Work of Belonging

Adjusting to life back in Canada is about developing a new relationship with the place you live. That takes time and also takes humility. You’ll stumble, say the wrong thing, misread a situation, but if you keep showing up, keep listening, and keep trying, people will meet you halfway.

This country has room for you, but it also has expectations. Always respect the space, respect the people, and respect the process.

If this resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone who’s thinking about moving, or who already has. Subscribe or buy me a coffee if you want to support thoughtful writing from a voice navigating the space between nations.

We’re all learning, and we’re better when we learn together.

The Shock of Coming Home: Life After Hong Kong and America

Life After Returning to Canada: A Personal Journey

Who is the Canadian Returnee?