In many areas of Canadian culture, we find a mixture of various influences and systems. One example is how Canadians measure things. For instance, I use Fahrenheit when cooking something in my oven or when checking the temperature of pool water, but I use Celsius to talk about the weather. I use kilometers to measure long distances and driving speeds, but I use inches and feet to describe my height and the size of my apartment. When I go to the supermarket, I calculate the price of apples and cherries by the pound but check the weight of deli meat in grams and kilograms! 

While I know that one inch is equal to 2.54 cm, I (like many people) am not good at converting imperial numbers to metric numbers (and vice versa). I think in two separate systems that are linked to specific contexts (cooking, weather, driving, etc.).

The story of why Canada is like this is an interesting and somewhat surprising one, and a lot of what shaped our current system of measurement happened before I was born. Recently, while reading a Canadian history magazine, I came across an article about this topic, and I will summarize some of the interesting and important points below. 

As far back as 1873, both imperial and metric measurements were legally recognized in Canada under the Weight and Measures Act of Canada, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that many professional associations began to push for the metric system to be fully adopted as the measurement system of Canada. Throughout the 60s and 70s, the metric system was slowly adopted by businesses and promoted by the government, though many people protested against this change. To assist people, several tools, such as the “Metricube” (a paper cube with handy measurement conversions on it), and promotional posters were produced. 

Moving to a fully-metric system was very complex, though, and it affected many aspects of life, such as weather forecasting, manufacturing and packaging, cooking, education, and even sports. In 1974, the Metric Commission reached agreements with the provinces of Canada to start teaching metric to primary students, but this was a big challenge for teachers and textbook publishers! Despite the hurdles, teaching the metric system to kids was certainly easier than convincing adults to learn it! Environment Canada, which forecasts the weather, had to order thousands of new thermometers to measure temperatures, and when Celsius was officially adopted in 1975, many Canadians were confused by the new weather reports and tuned into American radio stations for weather news instead.

In the 80s, the metric system became a political issue, with Liberals supporting it and Conservatives opposing it. Anti-metric groups formed, protested, and collected signatures on petitions to prevent a full conversion to the metric system. By 1985, the Metric Commission was dissolved and the government accepted that both systems could be maintained. To this day, both imperial and metric systems are used, and, as strange as it is for visitors and newcomers, no one here is particularly interested in trying to change the system again!