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List of city nicknames and slogans in Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For airport codes often used as city nicknames, see List of airports by IATA code.
See also: List of provincial and territorial nicknames in Canada

This is a list of nicknames and slogans of cities in Canada. Many Canadian cities and communities are known by various aliases, slogans, sobriquets, and other nicknames to the general population at either the local, regional, national, or international scales, often due to marketing campaigns and widespread usage in the media. Some nicknames are officially adopted by municipal governments, tourism boards, or chambers of commerce, while others are unofficial, and some are current while others are antiquated. Some nicknames are positive, while others are derisive, disparaging or derogatory.

City nicknames can help establish a civic identity, promote civic pride, build civic unity, market the community, and attract residents and businesses.[1] They are also believed to have economic value, though their economic value is difficult to measure.[1]

Cities by province

Alberta

  • Brooks
    • "Alberta's Centennial City" — Brooks became a city in 2005, Alberta's centennial year.[2]
  • Calgary
    • "C-Town"[3]
    • "Cowtown"
    • "Calgs"
    • "Heart of The New West" — derived from the city's former official slogan[4]
    • "Mohkínstsis" — the traditional Blackfoot name of the Calgary area[5][6][7]
    • "The Stampede City"[8]
    • "Sandstone City" — named for the boom of buildings built from sandstone following the Great Fire of 1886.[9]
    • YYC – Calgary airport code, only Canadian city where IATA code used by residents in casual conversation.[failed verification][10]
  • Camrose
  • Edmonton
    • "Amakowsis" or "omahkoyis" — Niitsitapi name for Fort Edmonton meaning 'big lodge'[12]
    • "amiskwacîwâskahikan" — Cree name for Fort Edmonton meaning 'beaver hills house'[12]
    • "The Big E"[13]
    • "Canada's Richest Mixed Farming District" — an unofficial city slogan[14]
    • "City of Champions" — unofficial slogan, appearing on signs popularized by former mayor Laurence Decore's characterization of the community's response to the 1987 Edmonton tornado.[14] Appeared for a period on signs welcoming motorists to the city.
    • "Crossroads of the World" — an unofficial city slogan[14]
    • "Deadmonton" — a disparaging term used by British reporter Robert Philip during the 2001 World Championships in Athletics (although the term had been coined earlier), painting Edmonton as a boring place;[15] the term re-emerged in 2011 due to an increasing amount of homicides.[16]
    • "Stabmonton" — another disparaging term that refers to the increase in violent crimes during the early 2010s. Many of the attacks and homicides were committed with knives and other edged weapons.[17]
    • "E-Town"[18]
    • "Edmonchuck"[19] or "The Chuck"[15] — in reference to Edmonton's large Ukrainian population. (Also spelled "Edmonchuk", reflecting traditional romanization.)
    • "Festival City" or "Canada's Festival City" — an unofficial city slogan referring to the many festivals held in Edmonton year-round.[14][20][21]
    • "Gateway to the North" — an unofficial city slogan[14][22]
    • "Heart of Canada's Great North West" — an unofficial city slogan[14]
    • "Official Host City of the Turn of the Century" — tentative city slogan, displayed on telephone book covers in the 1980s, but quickly abandoned after widespread ridicule.[14]
    • "The Oil Capital of Canada" — Edmonton's only official slogan adopted by city council, which dates back to 1947[14]
    • "Redmonton" — in reference to the city being the most hospitable territory for left-wing political parties in the province.[23] Originally popularized after the 1986 provincial election.
    • "River City" — an unofficial nickname, referencing the North Saskatchewan River which runs through Edmonton[24]
    • "Smart City" — an unofficial city slogan[14]
    • "ti oda" — Nakota Sioux name for Fort Edmonton meaning 'many houses'[12]
    • "Top of the World" — an unofficial city slogan[14]
    • "Volunteer Capital of Canada" — an unofficial city slogan[14]
    • "YEG" — an unofficial city slogan
  • Fort McMurray
    • "Fort Mac"[25]
    • "Fort MacMoney"[26] or "Fort McMoney" — in reference to supposedly high salaries in oil and related industries.[27][28]
    • "Fort McMordor" — in reference to how the city's tar sands industry supposedly evoke images of Mordor from The Lord of the Rings films.[28][26][29]
    • "St. John's North" — in reference to the large number of Newfoundlanders working in the city's oil industry[26]
  • Fox Creek
  • Grande Prairie
    • "Swan City" — after Grande Prairie received it's municipal charter in 1958, it was declared the "Home of the Trumpeter Swan."[31]
  • Lloydminster
    • "Border City"[32] or "Canada's Border City" — in reference to the city being divided by the Alberta/Saskatchewan border[33]
    • "Heavy Oil Capital of Canada"[33]
    • "Lloyd"[34]
  • Lethbridge
    • "Bridge City"
    • "The Windy City"[35]
  • Medicine Hat
    • "The City with All Hell for a Basement" — derived from a quote by Rudyard Kipling upon visiting Medicine Hat, referring to the city's natural gas reserves.[36][37]
    • "The City with Energy"[36]
    • "The Gas City"[36]
    • "The Hat"[38]
    • "An Oasis on the Prairies"[36]
    • "Saamis" — a Blackfoot word for 'medicine man's hat', from which Medicine Hat's name is derived[36]
  • Red Deer
  • Stettler
    • "The Heart of Alberta"[40]
  • Whitecourt
    • "Snowmobile Capital of Alberta"[41]

British Columbia

Main article: Nicknames of Vancouver
  • Victoria
    • "The Garden City"[66]
    • "City of Newly Weds and Nearly Deads" — with larger numbers of seniors or young families as the two major demographics[67]
    • "Chicktoria"[68]

Manitoba

New Brunswick

  • Fredericton
    • "Celestial City"[91]
    • "City of Stately Elms"[92]
    • "Freddy Beach"[93]
  • Moncton
  • Saint John
    • "Canada's Irish City" — due to its role as a destination for Irish immigrants during the Great Irish Famine[95]
    • "Canada's Original City"[96] — referring to Saint John being the first incorporated city in Canada[97]
    • "Loyalist City" — due to its role as a destination for Loyalists, American British supporters following the American Revolution.[95]
    • "Port City" — due to its role in the shipbuilding industry in the 19th century[95]
    • "Lost City" — referring to the state-sponsored demolition of swaths of urban neighbourhoods in the centre of the city to make way for thoroughfares and highway interchange projects in the mid-20th century. To this day, the areas impacted have not recovered.[98]

Newfoundland and Labrador

  • Gander
    • "Crossroads of the World"[99]
  • St. John's
    • "City of Legends"[100]
    • "Newfiejohn" — a nickname given by American servicemen in World War II[101]
    • "Town" — as St. John's is the only major urban area in Newfoundland, going across the island "to town" means heading to St. John's.[102]
  • Twillingate
    • "The Iceberg Capital of the World"[103]

Nova Scotia

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

  • Gatineau
    • "French Ottawa" – Gatineau is across the river from Ottawa, but in the province of Quebec. Functionally the only major difference between the cities is the primary language spoken.[189]
    • "Little Chicago" – historical nickname from the prohibition-era and continued through modern times, Hull/Gatineau is known for having a vibrant bar scene and a lower drinking age than in Ontario, leading to hundreds of Ottawa teenagers crossing into Hull to drink legally every night.[190]
  • Montreal
Main article: Name of Montreal § Nicknames
    • "Québec's Metropolis" (French: La Métropole du Québec)[191]
    • "The City of Saints"[173]
    • "La métropole" (French for 'The Metropolis')[192]
    • "La ville aux cent clochers" (French for 'The City of a Hundred Steeples')[193]
    • "Sin City" — a historical nickname from the prohibition-era[194]
    • "The City of Festivals"[195]
    • "The Real City"[196]
    • "Mount Royal"
  • Quebec City
    • "La Vieille Capitale"[197]
  • Sherbrooke
    • "Queen of the Eastern Townships"[198]
  • Saints-Anges
    • "Terre de rêves" (French for 'The Land of Dreams')[199]
  • Sainte-Julie "La Ville la Plus Heureuse du Québec" (French for 'The Happiest City in Quebec')

Saskatchewan

Cities by territory

Northwest Territories

Nunavut

Yukon

See also

References

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