the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1991 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 1991 was to have “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams everywhere, Terminator 2: Judgment Day on every screen, and The Kids in the Hall on after school. That year, gas cost ~$0.56 CAD/litre and The GST arrives on every receipt was the new thing. Born in 1976? You turned 15 in 1991 — a teenager from 1989 to 1995, 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 1991 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1991

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You — Bryan Adams

  1. (Everything I Do) I Do It for You — Bryan AdamsThe Robin Hood ballad that would not leave the radio, scoring every first slow dance for months.
  2. Life Is a Highway — Tom CochraneTom Cochrane made restlessness sound like salvation, and every summer road trip finally had its anthem.
  3. More Than Words — ExtremeThat acoustic hush killed the lights at the dance, and suddenly everyone was slow-dancing terrified.
  4. Can't Stop This Thing We Started — Bryan AdamsBryan Adams could do no wrong that year, and this one throttled out of every teenager's tape deck.
  5. The Rhythm of My Heart — Rod StewartBagpipes and heartache — Rod Stewart made nostalgia feel like something you could already miss at sixteen.

▶ Play your 1991 reel

why this one mattered

The song every Canadian radio station played that whole summer — a homegrown anthem from a Vancouver kid who'd just conquered the world, blasting from cottage docks and car stereos coast to coast.

the year-end #1 was #1 on RPM's Year-End Top 100 Singles for Canada, 1991 — nine consecutive weeks at #1 on the national weekly chart.

what topped the Canadian box office in 1991

  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Hook
  • The Silence of the Lambs

the tv shows you are binging in 1991

  • The Kids in the Hall
  • Road to Avonlea
  • Degrassi High
  • The Simpsons
  • Full House

the games you are playing in 1991

  • Super Mario World
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Duck Hunt
  • Tetris (Game Boy)
  • Street Fighter II
  • Civilization

what things cost in 1991

What things cost in 1991
gasoline~$0.56 CAD/litre
minimum wage (Ontario)$5.40/hour
movie ticket~$5.65 CAD
stamp (domestic letter)$0.40
avg family income~$52,800/year

trending this year

The GST
AI-generated illustration
The GST
Heritage Minutes
AI-generated illustration
Heritage Minutes
Super Nintendo (Canadian launch)
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo-Super-NES-Console-FR.jpg · Public domain
Super Nintendo (Canadian launch)
Sonic the Hedgehog
Hrald, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sega Game Gear
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sega-Game-Gear-Handheld-01.jpg · Public domain
Sega Game Gear

the gadgets you just got

Sony Discman
Isabelle Hurbain-Palatin (Balise42), via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Sony Discman
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Digital Game Museum, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Camcorder (Hi8/VHS-C)
Photo by Nabukodinosaure (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony_Handycam_Hi8_CCD-VX1E_camcorder.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Camcorder (Hi8/VHS-C)
Sega Genesis
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (released to public domain worldwide)
Sega Genesis
Cordless phone
Photo by Oliverdl (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cphone.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cordless phone

what everyone is snacking on

Hickory Sticks
AI-generated illustration
Hickory Sticks
Hostess Ketchup Chips
Photo by Hannah Clover (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ketchup_chips.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Hostess Ketchup Chips
Coffee Crisp
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coffee-Crisp-Split.jpg · Public domain
Coffee Crisp
Kraft Dinner
Photo by Beosmrx (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kraft_dinner_preparation.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kraft Dinner
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

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
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
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
Clearly Canadian
Arkpafisto, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clearly_Canadian_Orchard_Peach.jpg) · CC0
Clearly Canadian
Orange Crush
Photo by Alextvmx (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Botella_Orange_Crush_Mexico.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Orange Crush

what made the news in 1991

  • Operation Desert Storm begins in the Persian Gulf, with Canadian Forces in the coalition
  • The Rodney King beating videotape ignites a continent-wide reckoning over policing
  • The USSR dissolves, ending the Cold War
  • Canada's new federal sales tax, the GST, replaces the old hidden manufacturers' tax
The GST, a new 7% federal tax, takes effect on every purchase, January 1
AI-generated illustration
The GST, a new 7% federal tax, takes effect on every purchase, January 1
Canada joins the coalition as the Gulf War begins
Photo by Staff Sgt. Lee Corkran, U.S. Air Force (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Multinational_group_of_fighter_jets_during_Operation_Desert_Shield.JPEG · Public domain
Canada joins the coalition as the Gulf War begins
Heritage Minutes debut on CBC and Radio-Canada, March 31
AI-generated illustration
Heritage Minutes debut on CBC and Radio-Canada, March 31
The Soviet Union formally dissolves in December
Photo by Leo Medvedev (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GorbachevMS.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Soviet Union formally dissolves in December
Census Day counts Canada's population past 27 million
AI-generated illustration
Census Day counts Canada's population past 27 million

what everyone is saying

  • "eh"the all-purpose tag that turned any sentence into a question, or a hug
  • "hoser"affectionately rude, straight out of the McKenzie Brothers
  • "loonie"what everyone now called the one-dollar coin with the loon on it
  • "keener"the kid who did the extra homework nobody asked for
  • "toque"never a beanie, never a winter hat — a toque, full stop

the summer of 1991.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1991 goes.

Turn 1991 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1991 reel with sound