List of city nicknames in Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


This partial list of city nicknames in Canada compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that cities are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce.

City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.[1] They are also believed to have economic value, but their economic value is difficult to measure.[1]

Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide use.

Contents

[edit] Cities by Province

[edit] Alberta

  • Calgary
    • "Cow Town" or "Cowtown"[2]
    • "The Stampede City" [3]
    • "The Heart of The New West" (official City slogan) [4]
    • "Canada's oil capital" [5]
  • Edmonton
    • "Festival City" [6]
    • "The Chuck" or "Edmonchuck" [7][8] - in reference to Edmonton's large Ukrainian population.
    • "The Big E" [9]
    • "E-Town" [8]
    • "Deadmonton" [8] - A disparaging term first used by British media during the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, painting Edmonton as a boring place. [10]
  • Medicine Hat
    • "The City with All Hell for a Basement" - quote from Rudyard Kipling regarding the fact that Medicine Hat has a vast natural gas field beneath it. Also further used by the band formerly known as Big Sugar in the song "All Hell for a Basement" - once again referring to Rudyard's quote.[11]
  • Fort McMurray
    • "Fort Mac" [8]
    • "Fort Crack" [8]

[edit] British Columbia

  • Vancouver
    • Vancity [14]
    • Gastown (historic title and now a Vancouver neighbourhood) [15]
    • Hollywood North [16] - in reference to the cities large film and television industry, sometimes also used to refer to Toronto.
    • Terminal City[17] - Vancouver's original name, given for its location at the western terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railroad completed in 1885.[18]

[edit] Manitoba

[edit] Ontario

  • Toronto

see also Name of Toronto

    • "Queen City" [23]
    • "Hogtown" [24]
    • "T.O."[25], from Toronto Ontario
    • "The 4-1-6" - A reference to the original area code for Toronto, as compared with "the 9-0-5", which is the area code for the much of the outlying suburbs.[citation needed]

[edit] New Brunswick

[edit] Nova Scotia

[edit] Newfoundland

[edit] Prince Edward Island

[edit] Quebec

[edit] Saskatchewan

[edit] Cities by Territory

[edit] Northwest Territory

[edit] Nunavut Territory

[edit] Yukon Territory

[edit] Related links

List of Canadian provinces' largest cities

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Muench, David "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts", December 1993, accessed April 10, 2007.
  2. ^ Connect2Edmonton
  3. ^ City nicknames
  4. ^ The City of Calgary: Welcome to Calgary
  5. ^ City nicknames
  6. ^ Edmonton.com: Travel, Tourism & Leisure - Things to Do
  7. ^ Runker Room Travel
  8. ^ a b c d e Edmonton slang terms
  9. ^ Edmonton Journal
  10. ^ BBC News: Defending 'Deadmonton' from British blitz
  11. ^ Rudyard Kipling said:

    This part of the country seems to have all hell for a basement, and the only trap door appears to be in Medicine Hat. And don’t you ever think of changing the name of your town. It’s all your own and the only hat of its kind on earth.

    Source: Brennan, Brian. Boondoggles, Bonanzas and other Alberta Stories.. Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 2003, p. 43.[1]

  12. ^ List of city nicknames: Encyclopedia II - List of city nicknames - Patterns
  13. ^ City of Surrey - Visiting Surrey - About Surrey - Surrey Is
  14. ^ City nicknames
  15. ^ City nicknames
  16. ^ CBC.ca search of "Hollywood North"
  17. ^ Walrus magazine
  18. ^ CPR History
  19. ^ City nicknames
  20. ^ Frequently Asked Questions
  21. ^ Manitoba Historical Society
  22. ^ Canada Travel Blog
  23. ^ City nicknames
  24. ^ Why is Toronto called 'Hogtown?'
  25. ^ Benson, Denise. Putting T-Dot on the Map. Eye Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  26. ^ City nicknames
  27. ^ Canadian Geographic Kids

[edit] External links

  • a list of American and a few Canadian nicknames