What is the origin of Canada’s We the North slogan?
Canada’s “We the North” slogan originated with the Toronto Raptors, the NBA team based in Toronto. It was introduced in 2014 as part of a marketing campaign to promote the team’s identity and connection to Canada. The phrase was designed to celebrate Canadian pride, particularly in the context of basketball, and to emphasize that the Raptors represent not just Toronto, but the entire country.
The slogan gained significant traction and became synonymous with the Raptors, especially during their successful playoff runs, culminating in the team’s first NBA Championship in 2019. It resonates with fans as a symbol of unity and pride, highlighting Canada’s diverse culture and community spirit in the world of sports.
It was developed by a Toronto raptors branding agency about 5 years ago. It has done well for several reasons. Firstly, within Canada, it defines the raptors not as a toronto’s team but as the country’s team.
It’s a country-wide rallying cry (the whole country is “the North”, and in fact, Toronto’s not that northerly, so “we the North” rings more true for other Canadian cities than it does for Toronto).
Secondly, it says “we’re not like you, other NBA teams, we know we’re the outsiders in this league, we’re the noobs, but…well, that’s exactly right.
We’re not like you…we the North. We’re tougher than the rest of you by nature.” All that conveyed in three simple words.
Finally, it has a rhythm. We the North. We the North. Boom boom boom. It’s almost a marching song.
It was a marketing campaign that originated in the Raptors organization, and a company they hired who had pitched it.
The interesting bit is that it wasn’t originally intended to be a rallying cry for fans. It was part of a campaign to bring the all-star game to Toronto.
It was developed by the Toronto Raptors marketing group. By tremendous coincidence it became really popular about the same time as the Game of Thrones was all the rage on TV. In Game of Thrones, the “good guys” are from the North.
What is the origin of Canada’s We the North slogan?
Motto is a short sentence or phrase chosen as encapsulating the beliefs or ideals of an individual, family, country or institution.
A motto is also a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, country, social group or organization.
The motto of Canada is a Mari usque ad Mare which is officiallytranslated “From Sea to Sea”.
The official Motto of Canada is “A Mari Usque Ad Mare “ which is a Latin word meaning “From Sea to Sea”.
British Columbia – We really don’t have any idea how cold this country is.
Alberta – Oil! More Oil! Still more Oil! Climate change is a hoax!
Saskatchewan – Flat? Yeah, I guess so.
Manitoba – Things haven’t been the same since The Bay went east.
Ontario – Everyone hates us. Too bad we own everything.
Quebec – Manger la merde chiens de cochon anglais!
Nova Scotia – Things haven’t been the same since Scotiabank went west.
New Brunswick – The Irvings own everything.
Newfoundland & Labrador – Look, we really don’t want to be a part of the country but you can only go so far on oil and iron ore.
Prince Edward Island – If Toronto had the same level of representation in the Commons, it would get 76 MPs. It has 27.
Yukon – Things haven’t been the same since the gold ran out.
North-West Territories – Things haven’t been the same since they found diamonds.
Nunavut – You think you have it bad? A large can of Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee is $17 here.
If every province in Canada had honest slogans, what would they be?
Newfoundland – We have oil too!
- New Brunswick – We speak french too!
- Nova Scotia – Would you like a side of lobster with that? Or would you prefer lobster?
- PEI – One potato, two Potato, three Potato, four…
- Ontario – Wait, there are other provinces in Canada?
- Quebec – Attendez, il y a d’autres provinces au Canada?
- Manitoba – We have lakes! And mosquitoes!
- Saskatchewan – Go Riders!
- Alberta – When is it somebody else’s turn to pick up the tab?
- British Columbia – We don’t want your oil, but we’re okay with being the largest coal exporter in North America.
- Nunavut – We’re the newest territory!
- NWT – We used to be much bigger, but Nunavut decided to go it alone. We wish them well.
- Yukon – Come for the Gold, stay for the cold. (Not really, it’s just as cold in the rest of Canada)
What are the 3 best provinces in Canada to live in?
My goodness. Tough question.
I have lived in five Provinces, in the following order:
Newfoundland. Born there and left when I was six so not many helpful hints coming your way regarding lifestyle. There is beautiful scenery, hunting, fishing, outdoor stuff galore, and some pretty shitty weather.
Winters can be cold and windy and wet and snowy and cold and windy. Summer can also be cold and windy and wet. As for prospects for employment: I can’t say.
Quebec. Interesting Province. You need to speak French unless you live in Montreal in an English speaking neigbourhood. I would also suggest that if you do move to Quebec and don’t learn to speak French you would lose out on a lot of culture and friendships.
Much of Quebec is rural but Montreal is a truly metropolitan city. Quebec City is the most interesting small city and is a tourist destination so be prepared for busy streets. Food is good everywhere.
Ontario. Has the largest population of the Canada provinces. Lots of choices of places to live; big city, small city, town, country. Interesting topography and lots to see and do.
Toronto is a world class city with diversity and plenty of museums, restaurants, galleries, etc. Also probably lots of employment in and around the city. However, Toronto is expensive. The Niagara region is stunning.
What is the origin of Canada’s We the North slogan?
PEI (Prince Edward Island). The littlest Province and the smallest population and it is really looking for people to move there.
Pretty everywhere you go (you can go everywhere on the island in a day) with great beaches and attractions.
Be warned though that many of the tourist destinations close down completely in the winter months and that includes amenities nearby such as stores, restaurants, etc.
BC (British Columbia). Absolutely beautiful. Everywhere. Just beautiful. I lived on Vancouver Island (not to be confused with the city of Vancouver which is on the main land) and it really was a fun place to live.
Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities in the world and pretty much all of BC is becoming pricy. You would need a great job to sustain yourself but there would be some amazing recreational activities at your doorstep.
What are the 3 best provinces in Canada to live in?
They all have their pros and cons, but each one is distinctly beautiful, if you’re into nature and wilderness.
BC – probably the most gob-smackingly, punch-you-in-the-face beautiful. Mountains, trees, ocean, rivers, lakes, all everywhere. And BC people never tire of telling you how beautiful it is. Vancouver has the highest concentration of snobs, vegans, and working homeless. Prepare a cardboard box to live in should you move there.
AB – also punch-you-in-the-face beautiful, but a more reserved beautiful. The Rocky Mountains on the Alberta side of the border are definitely better than the BC side.
Alberta also has badlands, deserts, rolling parkland, foothills, and the entire area north of Edmonton is pretty much a mosquito heaven (when the snow melts… so about three months a year).
Alberta is great if you like trucks, setting dolla dolla bills on fire and huffing oil. Also great if you distrust any politician who believes in social programs, or shows any signs of being a ‘f@&king lefty’.
SK – ummmmm the southern part is very very flat. And they grow a lot of grains. Also distrust politicians who are ‘heckin lefties’. The northern part is full of beautiful lakes, but I think there’s about three gas stations to shop at in the whole northern half, so grab that Amazon Prime.
MB – it’s not land-locked! It’s ummm… very very cold in the winter, and apparently SUPER buggy in the summer. I’ve never been. I don’t think anyone has. It might not exist.
ON – everywhere looks the same. Trees and farms and universe centres. Toronto is kind of fun, just don’t utter any nonsense that diverges from the acceptable opinions of the area.
Almost everyone in Canada has a mom or Dad or granny or Aunt who moved away from Ontario… no ones sure why. Probably because all the towns blend together and they all lost track of time on the commute heading home.
What is the origin of Canada’s We the North slogan?
QC – perhaps the most ‘cultural’ in Canada (say that loud enough three times fast, and they won’t try to separate!!). Also, if you don’t speak French, CANADIAN French, don’t even bother. You’re an asshole and they won’t speak to you.
Maritimes – I’m a western girl, and I’ve never been out to the east coast. But everyone I’ve met from there has been either a) a HUGE personality and character, perhaps over the top; or b) absolutely charming.
The pictures look beautiful, the music is as catchy as anything, and I would die for regular kitchen parties, but I also like having a job and earning money. I hear jobs are short out east, so you might just want to go west to find where all the east coasters live.
Territories – we have three. There were only two when I was in school, and Pluto was still a planet. Again, not that familiar, except that Yukon is stunning, NWT is filled with a lot of white expanses of snow and snowmobiles, and Nunavut is struggling with social problems in the super remote locations.
All would be cold for a lot of the year, and your Amazon prime might not work here. Plan on renting a plane to transport your food in.
Just my opinions of the provinces. I live in one of them, and in real life, I think it’s the best one. To be honest, I think anywhere in Canada would be amazing, if you were coming from anywhere that wasn’t the Scandinavian countries. We got it good here.
What is the origin of Canada’s We the North slogan?