the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1986 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 1986 was to have “Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)” by Glass Tiger everywhere, Top Gun on every screen, and Hockey Night in Canada on after school. That year, gas cost $0.47/litre and Expo 86 puts Vancouver on the world stage was the new thing. Born in 1971? You turned 15 in 1986 — a teenager from 1984 to 1990, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 1986 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1986

Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) — Glass Tiger

  1. The Power of Love — Jennifer RushThat towering key change turned every basement slow dance into a vow you were too young to keep.
  2. Take My Breath Away — BerlinTop Gun was the movie of the summer, and this synth ache followed you home from the drive-in.
  3. Sledgehammer — Peter GabrielIts stop-motion video ran on constant rotation, all brass and swagger and impossible cool.
  4. Feel It Again — Honeymoon SuiteHomegrown Ontario rock that made a CanCon band on the radio feel like proof you belonged.
  5. West End Girls — Pet Shop BoysThat cool grey synth-pop drifted out of every mall speaker like the city itself was dreaming.

▶ Play your 1986 reel

why this one mattered

The soaring, string-swept ballad from a Newmarket, Ontario band that owned Canadian radio and MuchMusic that spring — the first big heartbreak a lot of Canadian 15-year-olds ever set to music, and proof a homegrown band could go toe-to-toe with anything from the UK or US.

the year-end #1 was #1 on RPM's Singles Chart the week of March 29, 1986 (also #2 on the Billboard Hot 100); the top Canadian-artist single on RPM's 1986 year-end top 100 (#4 overall).

what topped the Canadian box office in 1986

  • Top Gun
  • The Fly
  • Platoon
  • Crocodile Dundee
  • Le Déclin de l'empire américain

the tv shows you are binging in 1986

  • Hockey Night in Canada
  • The Beachcombers
  • Danger Bay
  • Mr. Dressup
  • MuchMusic

the games you are playing in 1986

  • Super Mario Bros.
  • Duck Hunt
  • Pac-Man
  • Frogger
  • Q*bert
  • Out Run

what things cost in 1986

What things cost in 1986
Gasoline$0.47/litre
Minimum wage (Ontario)$4.00/hour
Movie ticket~$5.00
Stamp (domestic letter)$0.34
the average income~$21,700/year average individual employment income

trending this year

Expo 86
Photo by Colin Rose from Montreal, Canada (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Expo_86_1.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Expo 86
The Fly
AI-generated illustration
The Fly
Nintendo arrives in Canada
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NES-Console-Set.jpg · Public domain
Nintendo arrives in Canada
Love You Forever
AI-generated illustration
Love You Forever
Canada at the World Cup
AI-generated illustration
Canada at the World Cup

the gadgets you just got

Nintendo Entertainment System
Naula Ayisabun Aningore, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nintendo Entertainment System
Sony Walkman
Photo by Binarysequence (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Original_Sony_Walkman_TPS-L2.JPG · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sony Walkman
VHS camcorder
Photo by Darian Hildebrand (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RCA_VHS_shoulder-mount_Camcorder.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
VHS camcorder
Cordless phone
Photo by Oliverdl (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cphone.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cordless phone
Commodore 64
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Commodore-64-Computer-FL.jpg · Public domain
Commodore 64

what everyone is snacking on

Hawkins Cheezies
Photo by Bondolo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W._T._Hawkins_Cheezies.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hawkins Cheezies
Ketchup chips
Photo by Hannah Clover (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ketchup_chips.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Ketchup chips
Coffee Crisp
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coffee-Crisp-Split.jpg · Public domain
Coffee Crisp
Crispy Crunch
AI-generated illustration
Crispy Crunch
Nanaimo bars
Photo by Alex Lozupone (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NanaimoS1370051.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nanaimo bars

what everyone is drinking

Tim Hortons double-double
Photo by Justin (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tim_Hortons,_extra_extra_large.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Tim Hortons double-double
Canada Dry ginger ale
Photo by Lynette (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_Dry_ginger_ale_bottles.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Canada Dry ginger ale
Milk in a bag
Photo by incommunicado (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Four_litre_bagged_milk,_Quebec.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Milk in a bag
Crush orange soda
Photo by Lynette (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Crush_bottles.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Crush orange soda
Freshie
AI-generated illustration
Freshie

what made the news in 1986

  • The Challenger space shuttle disaster shocks classrooms across Canada (January 28)
  • Expo 86 opens in Vancouver (May 2)
  • The Chernobyl nuclear disaster unfolds in the USSR (April 26)
  • The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup
  • The Canadian dollar sinks to a record low against the US dollar
Expo 86 opens in Vancouver, running May 2 to October 13
Photo by Colin Rose (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Expo_86_1.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Expo 86 opens in Vancouver, running May 2 to October 13
The Canadian dollar hits an all-time low of 70.2 US cents on January 31
Photo by Bank of Canada (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_dollar_1954_front.jpg · Public domain
The Canadian dollar hits an all-time low of 70.2 US cents on January 31
The Montreal Canadiens win their 23rd Stanley Cup, defeating the Calgary Flames
Photo by Uncleweed (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StanleyCup.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Montreal Canadiens win their 23rd Stanley Cup, defeating the Calgary Flames
Bill Vander Zalm becomes Premier of British Columbia
Photo by Ryan Bushby (HighInBC) (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_Columbia_Parliament_Buildings_-_Pano_-_HDR.jpg · CC BY 2.5
Bill Vander Zalm becomes Premier of British Columbia
Canada makes its first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup, in Mexico
Photo by Karl Oppolzer (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mexico_stadium_1986.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Canada makes its first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup, in Mexico

what everyone is saying

  • "eh"the all-purpose punctuation on the end of any Canadian sentence
  • "hoser"SCTV's Bob and Doug McKenzie made it a household word
  • "give'r"to go all out, no half measures
  • "toque"the knit winter hat, non-negotiable from October to April
  • "two-four"a case of 24 beers, the currency of every backyard party

the summer of 1986.

you think you've got all the time in the world.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1986 goes.

Turn 1986 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1986 reel with sound