Walk into a Canadian kitchen and you’ll find a glitch in the matrix. On the wall, the thermostat says it’s 21 degrees. You look out the window at the snow and the weather app on your phone says it’s -10. But then you look at the oven. It’s set to 350.
Wait. 350?
If that were Celsius, your lasagna would be a charcoal brick and your house would be on fire. This is the strange reality of living in the Great White North. People often ask, do Canadians use Celsius, and the answer is a messy, beautiful, "kinda."
Official documents say yes. The government says yes. But the average person living in Toronto or Vancouver is basically a walking, talking conversion calculator. We live in a world where the air is metric, but the oven is imperial. It’s a half-finished revolution that started in the 1970s and just... stopped.
The Great 1975 Switcheroo
It all started on April 1, 1975. Honestly, a lot of people thought it was an April Fool’s joke. That was the day Environment Canada decided to stop reporting the weather in Fahrenheit. Suddenly, a "warm" day wasn't 70 degrees anymore; it was 21.
The transition was part of a massive push by Pierre Trudeau’s government to get Canada in line with the rest of the world. They created the Metric Commission in 1971. They put up posters of "Buffy the Metric Miss" (yes, really) to try and make centimeters and grams look sexy and modern.
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By 1977, every speed limit sign in the country was swapped from mph to km/h. By 1979, gas was sold in liters. But while the signs changed, the brains of an entire generation didn't.
Why the Kitchen Stayed Imperial
So, why do we still bake at 350°F? You can thank the United States for that one.
Because Canada shares a massive border and a massive supply chain with the US, almost every appliance sold here is built for the North American market. If you buy a stove in Calgary, it probably came from the same factory line as one headed to Chicago.
Most digital ovens today let you toggle between the two, but nobody does. Why? Because every recipe book on the shelf and every food blog on the internet is written in Fahrenheit. If a Canadian tried to bake a cake at 175°C, they’d have to stop and think about it. If they set it to 350°F, it’s muscle memory.
It’s not just the oven, either. Step outside to the backyard pool.
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If you tell a Canadian the pool is 27 degrees, they’ll look at you blankly. Is that warm? Is it cold? But tell them the water is 80 degrees, and they’re jumping in. For some reason, water temperature for swimming stayed firmly in the Fahrenheit camp.
The Generation Gap is Real
How a person uses temperature in Canada usually depends on when they were born.
- Gen Z and Millennials: Mostly Celsius-native. They know 20°C is room temp and 30°C is a scorcher. They still use Fahrenheit for ovens because they have to, but they’ll often struggle to tell you if 60°F is "light jacket" or "heavy coat" weather.
- Gen X: The bridge generation. They grew up during the transition and can usually speak both languages fluently.
- Boomers and older: Many still think in Fahrenheit for everything. My grandfather still complains when the news says it’s 30 degrees, muttering that it’s actually 86.
The Weird Specifics: Body Temp and Thermostats
Body temperature is where things get truly chaotic. If you go to a hospital in Canada, the nurses are recording your fever in Celsius. 37°C is normal; 39°C is a problem.
But talk to a parent at home? They’re probably using a thermometer that reads 98.6°F. Many Canadians don't actually know what a "fever" is in Celsius without checking Google first.
Thermostats are a toss-up. In many modern condos, the default is Celsius. But in older homes, or among people who just like the precision of the smaller Fahrenheit degrees, you’ll still find people keeping their living room at a cozy 72.
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Is Fahrenheit Dying Out in Canada?
Not really. It's more like it's reached a stalemate.
In 1985, the government actually abolished the Metric Commission. The push to "metricate" everything just kind of lost its steam. We ended up with a "half-built house," as some historians call it. We use grams for crackers but pounds for our own body weight. We use kilometers for the drive to work but feet and inches to tell someone how tall we are.
This dual-system life is just part of being Canadian now. It’s a quirk of our geography. We want to be global and metric, but we’re physically and economically tethered to a giant neighbor that loves its inches and degrees.
Actionable Takeaways for Navigating Canada
If you’re visiting or moving to Canada, here is the cheat sheet for survival:
- Check the Weather in Celsius: If the forecast says 0, wear a coat. It’s freezing. If it says 30, it’s hot.
- Cook in Fahrenheit: Almost every oven you encounter will be set to Fahrenheit by default. Don't fight it; just follow the recipe.
- Learn the "Magic" Numbers: 0°C is 32°F (freezing). 20°C is 68°F (room temp). 30°C is 86°F (hot). -40 is the same in both—and it’s "stay inside" weather.
- Ask for Clarification: If a Canadian tells you the water is 80 degrees, they mean Fahrenheit. If they say the air is 20 degrees, they mean Celsius.
The reality is that do Canadians use Celsius is a question with a "yes, and..." answer. We use Celsius to interact with the world and Fahrenheit to interact with our homes. It’s confusing, it’s inconsistent, and it’s exactly how we like it.