the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1993 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 1993 was to have “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston everywhere, Jurassic Park on every screen, and The X-Files on after school. That year, gas cost ~$0.52 CAD/litre and This Hour Has 22 Minutes starts poking fun at the news was the new thing. Born in 1978? You turned 15 in 1993 — a teenager from 1991 to 1997, 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 1993 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1993

I Will Always Love You — Whitney Houston

  1. I Will Always Love You — Whitney HoustonWhitney's Bodyguard anthem was everywhere, and that held final note stopped time in every living room.
  2. Informer — SnowA Toronto reggae-rapper conquered the world, and every kid tried and failed to keep up with the chorus.
  3. Dreamlover — Mariah CareyMariah's featherlight summer daydream floated out of every open window and convertible that July.
  4. Love Can Move Mountains — Celine DionCéline turned a love song into a mountain-moving pep rally you belted with the windows down.
  5. That's the Way Love Goes — Janet JacksonJanet's slow, sly groove was the sound of a first real slow dance getting suddenly serious.

▶ Play your 1993 reel

why this one mattered

The ballad so dominant that year it didn't matter what station was on — every wedding, every prom, every car radio in the country landed on the same song eventually.

the year-end #1 was #1 on RPM's Year-End Top 100 Singles for Canada, 1993.

what topped the Canadian box office in 1993

  • Jurassic Park
  • Mrs. Doubtfire
  • The Fugitive
  • Sleepless in Seattle
  • Cool Runnings

the tv shows you are binging in 1993

  • The X-Files
  • Due South (TV movie)
  • This Hour Has 22 Minutes
  • The Kids in the Hall
  • Seinfeld

the games you are playing in 1993

  • Mortal Kombat (home console)
  • Aladdin (video game)
  • NHL '94
  • NBA Jam
  • Doom
  • Mortal Kombat

what things cost in 1993

What things cost in 1993
gasoline~$0.52 CAD/litre
minimum wage (Ontario)$6.35/hour
movie ticket~$5.90 CAD
stamp (domestic letter)$0.43
avg family income~$53,500/year

trending this year

Kim Campbell becomes PM
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prime_Minister_Kim_Campbell_of_Canada_(42-WHPO-P05348-15A-1)_(cropped).jpg · Public domain
Kim Campbell becomes PM
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Photo by frank saptel from toe ron toe, kanada • 케나다 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Critch_at_2012_NDP_convention.jpg · CC BY 2.0
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Blue Jays back-to-back champions
Photo by Striderv from Durham Region, Canada (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_Jays_Win_the_1993_World_Series.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Blue Jays back-to-back champions
NHL '94
AI-generated illustration
NHL '94
Doom
Rae Angeles (r-angeles), Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Doom

the gadgets you just got

Sega CD
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sega-CD-Model1-Set.jpg · Public domain
Sega CD
Game Boy
Evan-Amos, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain
Game Boy
Answering machine
Photo by Jorge Barrios Riquelme (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southwestern_Bell_-_Answering_Machine-_Model_FA935.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Answering machine
Discman
Photo by Morn at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Discman_D121.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Discman
NHL '94 cartridge
AI-generated illustration
NHL '94 cartridge

what everyone is snacking on

Dunkaroos
taylorhatmaker (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Dunkaroos
Crispy Crunch
AI-generated illustration
Crispy Crunch
Caramilk
AI-generated illustration
Caramilk
Poutine
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poutine_from_Windsor,_ON.jpg · CC0
Poutine
Timbits
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbits.jpg · Public domain
Timbits

what everyone is drinking

Five Alive
AI-generated illustration
Five Alive
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
Clearly Canadian
Arkpafisto, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clearly_Canadian_Orchard_Peach.jpg) · CC0
Clearly Canadian
A Caesar (Clamato)
Photo by A Minty Penguin (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bloody_Caesar.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
A Caesar (Clamato)
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

what made the news in 1993

  • Kim Campbell is sworn in as Canada's first woman Prime Minister
  • The Progressive Conservative government is nearly wiped out in the October federal election
  • The Blue Jays beat the Phillies to win a second consecutive World Series
  • The World Trade Center is bombed in New York
  • NAFTA clears Parliament, set to take effect the following January
Kim Campbell becomes Canada's first female Prime Minister, June 25
Photo by Simon Fraser University - University Communications (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kim_Campbell.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Kim Campbell becomes Canada's first female Prime Minister, June 25
Joe Carter's walk-off home run wins the Blue Jays a second straight World Series
Photo by 2 on a Whim Creations (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Carter_1998.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Joe Carter's walk-off home run wins the Blue Jays a second straight World Series
Jean Chrétien's Liberals sweep to power as the governing Progressive Conservatives collapse to two seats
Photo by Joe Howell (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien_2008.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Jean Chrétien's Liberals sweep to power as the governing Progressive Conservatives collapse to two seats
This Hour Has 22 Minutes premieres on CBC
AI-generated illustration
This Hour Has 22 Minutes premieres on CBC
NAFTA is ratified, set to open trade across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico
Photo by David Valdez, White House (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President_Bush,_Canadian_Prime_Minister_Brian_Mulroney_and_Mexican_President_Carlos_Salinas_participate_in_the..._-_NARA_-_186460.jpg · Public domain
NAFTA is ratified, set to open trade across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico

what everyone is saying

  • "Molson muscle"the beer belly earned one two-four at a time
  • "eh"still doing all the conversational heavy lifting
  • "loonie"the dollar coin, six years old and fully normalized
  • "keener"the front-row hand-raiser in every classroom
  • "all-dressed"the only correct answer at the chip aisle

the summer of 1993.

the best of it still feels like it's coming.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1993 goes.

Turn 1993 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1993 reel with sound