Stop using "Northeastern", "Midwestern", "Sunbelt" etc. for Canadian cities?

[Docere]

Is our use of the American terms to describe Canadian cities - "Northeastern", "Midwestern", "Sunbelt"(!) etc. reflect colonial mentality at work? Does this terminology really apply to Canadian cities?

[esquire]

^ I never hear anyone saying northeastern or sunbelt to refer to Canada (what would the sunbelt even be here?), although I do hear Midwestern. That one actually seems to apply to some extent although not quite in the same way that the American version does in that country.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I never hear anyone saying northeastern or sunbelt to refer to Canada (what would the sunbelt even be here?), although I do hear Midwestern. That one actually seems to apply to some extent although not quite in the same way that the American version does in that country.

We have a poster on SSP who seems to have made it a life mission to convince everyone that Toronto is basically a Sunbelt city.

And people debate whether Toronto and Ontario are "more" Northeastern or Midwestern. "Midwestern" is often used pejoratively though and Northeastern being a sign of cosmopolitanism.

[Acajack]

I've never actually heard the three regional names in the title used for parts of Canada, or heard Canadian regions lumped into their American variants.

That said, some American-origin regional names do have cross-border evocations.

The classic example is SW BC lumped in with the Pacific Northwest. This doesn't make sense in the Canadian context.

The Prairies are sometimes lumped in with the Great Plains, and obviously the Rocky Mountain region has cross-border ramifications as well.

Southern Ontario is often lumped in with the Great Lakes states, and the Maritimes are often portrayed as a kind of Extended New England.

[WhipperSnapper]

of all things ...

[Acajack]

I've also heard people refer to extreme SW Ontario as "the banana belt", and this moniker is sometimes used for the milder parts of BC.

But I am pretty sure this is in jest!

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Acajack

That said, some American-origin regional names do have cross-border evocations.

How far back do comparisons go? The "Last Best West" references the American West, and lines between the British and American control of the Pacific Northwest were still disputed in the 1800s, but I don't think there's much of a history of eastern Canadians and eastern Americans seeing one another as belonging to "one region" that's cross-border overall. The border between quite a lot of eastern Canada and the US is late 1700s in origin, after the Treaty of Paris.

[Biff]

The only terms I ever hear are West Coast or BC, The Prairies, Northern Ontario, Southern Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada or East Coast.

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Biff

The only terms I ever hear are West Coast or BC, The Prairies, Northern Ontario, Southern Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada or East Coast.

Of these only East coast and West coast would be ambiguous in a North American context. Even "The Prairies" is much more of a Canadian term vs. the US Plains or Great Plains.

[GreaterMontréal]

Here it's Quebec and ROC or, le Dominion lol

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Of these only East coast and West coast would be ambiguous in a North American context. Even "The Prairies" is much more of a Canadian term vs. the US Plains or Great Plains.

Meanwhile, Illinois, home to both Chicago and in the heart of the corn belt, is known as the Prairie State (as well as the Land of Lincoln).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

Here it's Quebec and ROC or, le Dominion lol

"Le Canada anglais"

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Docere

We have a poster on SSP who seems to have made it a life mission to convince everyone that Toronto is basically a Sunbelt city.

And people debate whether Toronto and Ontario are "more" Northeastern or Midwestern. "Midwestern" is often used pejoratively though and Northeastern being a sign of cosmopolitanism.

It sounds like comparisons are being drawn to US regions which is fair ball, even if the comparisons themselves seem like a real stretch.

[Acajack]

The southern parts of Canada's Prairies provinces are part of the geographic region known as the Great Plains, which of course is totally unrelated to political borders drawn up by humans.

Parts of Quebec and New Brunswick are part of the geographic region of Appalachia.

And of course there's the Great Lakes.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Docere

Meanwhile, Illinois, home to both Chicago and in the heart of the corn belt, is known as the Prairie State (as well as the Land of Lincoln).

Also home to Northwestern University.

[GreaterMontréal]

Originally Posted by Acajack

"Le Canada anglais"

oui bien vu. il y aussi Ottawa, qui fait figure d'exception, comme si c'était un état à elle seule. en parlant du Fédéral.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by GreaterMontréal

oui bien vu. il y aussi Ottawa, qui fait figure d'exception, comme si c'était un état à elle seule. en parlant du Fédéral.

C'est quasiment comme si Ottawa n'était pas vraiment une ville à part entière, et que son image se limitait plutôt à l'entité gouvernementale dont on entend parler dans les nouvelles. (Ben, pas pour moi et les Gatinois. Mais pour la plupart des Québécois.)

En tant que "ville", Ottawa c'est bien plus obscur. Genre Hamilton ou Kitchener...

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I never hear anyone saying northeastern or sunbelt to refer to Canada (what would the sunbelt even be here?), although I do hear Midwestern. That one actually seems to apply to some extent although not quite in the same way that the American version does in that country.

ditto, never heard those terms used ever in Canada

[EpicPonyTime]

I've heard the phrase Bible Belt used for parts of the BC interior, but that's about it. I think most people recognize that American terminology doesn't really fit this country very well.

[rousseau]

I'll add my voice to the chorus. I've never heard these terms used for Canada.