Two months ago, inspired by the “Yappie” series by Wong Fu Productions on YouTube, I questioned whether I was a good Asian. A lot of that had to do with stereotypes, like whether I went to Kumon or if I drove a Toyota. But now, that got me thinking, how does the Canadian part of my cultural identity stack up against the stereotypical expectations that the maple leaf represents?

It’s not like this topic is completely to new to me. A few years ago, I listed off some key (tongue partly in cheek) criteria for what it meant to be a real Canadian. We’re a remarkably apologetic people, for example, and we’ve all answered a “skill-testing question” at one point or another.

If you’re reading this, it (probably) means that I successfully made it back from my camping trip. My first ever real camping in a tent kind of trip, in fact, even though going camping feels like one of these quintessentially Canadian things to do. Like living in igloos and taking our dog sleds to tap some maple syrup.

How Canadian are you? Here are the 30 arbitrary questions I ask in this week’s vlog.

  1. Have you ever told people we live in igloos?
  2. Have you ever put ketchup on KD?
  3. Have you ever had to make a Halloween costume fit a full body snow suit?
  4. Have you ever gone up north to the cottage?
  5. Have you ever taken a relative to see Niagara Falls?
  6. Have you ever had poutine and complained it wasn’t as good as the one time you had it back in Quebec?
  7. Can you speak French?
  8. Have you ever eaten moose meat?
  9. Have you ever been to a Bush Party?
  10. Have you ever called a couch a chesterfield?
  11. Have you ever owned a jacket that says CAN on one half and ADA on the other half?
  12. Have you ever argued that the CFL is way better than the NFL?
  13. Do you like Tim Hortons?
  14. Have you ever sung along to the Blame Canada song and then felt dirty for doing so?
  15. Have you ever said, “I don’t get why everyone hates on Nickelback”?
  16. Have you ever apologized to a machine?
  17. Have you ever apologized for someone else bumping into you?
  18. Have you ever apologized for someone else dialing the wrong number?
  19. How often do you go camping?
  20. Do you ski or snowboard?
  21. Have you ever worn wool socks during sex?
  22. Have you ever tried to balance a bag of milk while trying to cut the perfect corner off?
  23. Have you ever felt strong hate but also sincerely wished the best for Justin Bieber?
  24. Have you ever craved a beaver tail and felt genuinely sorry for those who have never tried one?
  25. Have you ever craved ketchup or all dressed chips?
  26. Have you ever kept a refrigerator stocked of Molson or Labatt Blue?
  27. Have you ever sapped your own maple syrup?
  28. Have you ever found crinkled Canadian Tire money in your pockets, car seat or couch cushions?
  29. Do you play ice hockey?
  30. Have you ever been outside in a t-shirt in 0 degree Celsius weather?

We’re all a little different and maybe that’s what it really means to be Canadian. As long as we share the things that really matter to us, right?