US and Canadian dollars
| Canadian | In US dollars | US dollars | In Canadian |
|---|
Canada uses the $ sign too, and every price you see there is in Canadian dollars unless it says US or USD. At US$1 = C$1.40, a quick rule is to knock about 30 percent off a Canadian price. Prices on shelves and menus are shown before sales tax, as at home. See money, tax and tipping for why you should always pay in Canadian dollars, even when a business offers to take US cash.
Temperature
| °C | °F | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| -40°C | -40°F | The one number that is the same on both scales. A bitter northern-lights night in Yellowknife. |
| -20°C | -4°F | A cold January day in Winnipeg, Quebec City or Ottawa. Cover your face and hands. |
| -10°C | 14°F | An ordinary winter day in Montreal, Toronto or Banff. |
| 0°C | 32°F | Freezing. A Vancouver cold snap, or a fall morning in the Rockies. |
| 10°C | 50°F | Jacket weather. Spring and fall days across much of the country. |
| 20°C | 68°F | A pleasant summer day on the coasts, in Halifax, St. John's or Vancouver. |
| 30°C | 86°F | A hot, humid summer day in Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa. |
| 38.5°C | 101.3°F | A fever, if a pharmacist or a clinic asks. |
| 180°C | 356°F | A moderate oven, if you're cooking in a rental. Canadian ovens are usually marked in both. |
Weather forecasts also give a wind chill in winter and a humidex in summer, both in Celsius. They tell you how cold or hot it feels, and they are the numbers to dress for.
Distance, speed and weight
| Speed sign | In mph | Where you'll see it |
|---|---|---|
| 110 km/h | 68 mph | Some multi-lane highways, including stretches of Ontario's 400-series and highways in the West |
| 100 km/h | 62 mph | The usual limit on divided highways and freeways |
| 90 km/h | 56 mph | Many two-lane highways, including the Icefields Parkway in places |
| 80 km/h | 50 mph | Rural roads and highways near towns |
| 50 km/h | 31 mph | The default in most towns and cities unless signed otherwise |
| 30 to 40 km/h | 19 to 25 mph | School zones, playground zones and many residential streets |
Rental cars show kilometers per hour on the speedometer, usually with miles per hour in smaller numbers, and road signs give distances in kilometers. A 100-kilometer drive is about 62 miles. Limits and road rules vary by province; the details are in driving in Canada.
Gas prices
Uses the rate from the currency converter above. A US gallon is 3.785 liters.
Most stations are self-serve, and the grades are the same as at home: regular (87), mid-grade (89) and premium (91 to 94). Pay-at-the-pump machines often ask for a postal code, which many US cards can't supply, so be ready to pay inside. Gas is usually cheapest in Alberta and dearest in British Columbia, and it can be far pricier at remote stations, so fill up before long empty stretches.
Clothing and shoe sizes
Good news: Canada uses US clothing and shoe sizes, so a men's 10 or a women's 8 means the same thing as at home. Some European brands also show EU sizes on the label. Groceries are sold by the kilogram, though many stores still show the price per pound on the sign, in bigger type.
Time zones and calling home
Watch out
Canada has six time zones, and Newfoundland's runs half an hour off the others: when it is noon in Toronto, it is 1:30 p.m. in St. John's. Most of Canada changes its clocks on the same dates as the US, with three big exceptions: most of Saskatchewan doesn't, the Yukon stays on the same time all year, and British Columbia stopped changing its clocks in 2026. BC now stays on its summer time all year, so from November to March Vancouver is one hour ahead of Seattle and only two hours behind Toronto. Southeastern BC around Cranbrook and Golden still follows Alberta's time.
Calling home is easy: Canada and the US share the +1 country code, so you dial 1, the area code and the number, as you would for a long-distance call at home. Many US phone plans include Canada; see phones and apps.
Dates, numbers and floors
| You'll see | It means |
|---|---|
| 2027-04-07 | April 7, 2027. Canada uses several date formats; this year-month-day one is the safest to read. In Quebec, 07/04/2027 usually means April 7. |
| 20 h 30 | 8:30 p.m. Quebec and French schedules use the 24-hour clock with an h. |
| 12,50 $ | C$12.50. In French, the dollar sign goes after the amount and a comma marks the cents. |
| RC or rez-de-chaussée | The ground floor, in French. In English Canada, floors are numbered as in the US. |
| 1 L | About a quart. Milk, juice and gas are sold by the liter. |
| 500 g | About 1.1 lb. Deli counters and recipes use grams and kilograms. |
| 5'10", 180 lb | Canadians still often give their own height and weight in feet and pounds. |