the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1994 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 1994 was to have “All for Love” by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & Sting everywhere, Forrest Gump on every screen, and Due South on after school. That year, gas cost ~$0.50 CAD/litre and NAFTA opens the border to trade was the new thing. Born in 1979? You turned 15 in 1994 — a teenager from 1992 to 1998, 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 1994 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1994

All for Love — Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & Sting

  1. All for Love — Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart & StingThree legends and a Musketeers movie, harmonizing an oath you swore to a summer crush.
  2. The Power of Love — Celine DionCéline made the Titanic-sized ballad her own, and the whole country swelled right along with it.
  3. Please Forgive Me — Bryan AdamsBryan Adams whispering an apology that soundtracked a thousand handwritten notes passed in class.
  4. Jane — Barenaked LadiesThe Barenaked Ladies were Canada's own quirky kings, and this one felt like a hometown secret.
  5. I Swear — All-4-OneThe slow-dance ballad of every grad and gym night, hands nervous on a near-stranger's shoulders.

▶ Play your 1994 reel

why this one mattered

Three rock voices sharing one chorus, and one of them unmistakably Canadian — the sound of a 15-year-old feeling like the country belonged on the biggest stage going.

the year-end #1 was #1 on RPM's Year-End Top 100 Singles for Canada, 1994.

what topped the Canadian box office in 1994

  • Forrest Gump
  • The Lion King
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Speed
  • Dumb and Dumber

the tv shows you are binging in 1994

  • Due South
  • Friends
  • The X-Files
  • This Hour Has 22 Minutes
  • ER

the games you are playing in 1994

  • Donkey Kong Country
  • NHL '94
  • Sonic 3
  • Killer Instinct (arcade)
  • Super Metroid
  • Doom II

what things cost in 1994

What things cost in 1994
gasoline~$0.50 CAD/litre
minimum wage (Ontario)$6.70/hour
movie ticket~$6.00 CAD
stamp (domestic letter)$0.43
avg family income~$54,000/year

trending this year

NAFTA takes effect
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nafta.jpg · Public domain
NAFTA takes effect
Due South premieres
AI-generated illustration
Due South premieres
Interac Direct Payment goes national
Photo by Interac Corp. (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interac_Brand_2021.png · CC BY-SA 4.0
Interac Direct Payment goes national
Myriam Bédard's double gold
AI-generated illustration
Myriam Bédard's double gold
The Vancouver riot
AI-generated illustration
The Vancouver riot

the gadgets you just got

Interac Direct Payment debit
AI-generated illustration
Interac Direct Payment debit
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
Camcorder
Cordless phone
Photo by Oliverdl (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cphone.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cordless phone
Sega Genesis
Evan-Amos (Vanamo Media), via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (released to public domain worldwide)
Sega Genesis
Pager
Photo by Jorgebarrios (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beeper_Motorola_Bravo_Express_-_CTC_Chile_-_1.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pager

what everyone is snacking on

Aero
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aero-Bar-Split.jpg · Public domain
Aero
BeaverTails
Photo by Peter Reichert (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_Tails_Byward_Market_Ottawa_Canada.jpg · CC BY 2.0
BeaverTails
Hickory Sticks
AI-generated illustration
Hickory Sticks
Mr. Big
AI-generated illustration
Mr. Big
Ketchup chips
Photo by Hannah Clover (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ketchup_chips.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Ketchup chips

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
President's Choice Cola
Photo by Kiliweb (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President%27s_Choice_Cola.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
President's Choice Cola
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 1994

  • NAFTA officially takes effect
  • Vancouver erupts after the Canucks lose Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final
  • The Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway
  • Nelson Mandela is elected President of South Africa
  • The MLB strike cancels the World Series
NAFTA takes effect January 1, linking Canada, the U.S. and Mexico
Photo by U.S. federal government (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nafta.jpg · Public domain
NAFTA takes effect January 1, linking Canada, the U.S. and Mexico
The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 for the Stanley Cup, sparking a riot downtown
Photo by Uncleweed (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StanleyCup.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 for the Stanley Cup, sparking a riot downtown
Myriam Bédard wins two Olympic biathlon golds at the Lillehammer Games
AI-generated illustration
Myriam Bédard wins two Olympic biathlon golds at the Lillehammer Games
Due South debuts, a Canadian-made drama in American primetime
AI-generated illustration
Due South debuts, a Canadian-made drama in American primetime
Major League Baseball's players' strike wipes out the World Series for the first time in 90 years
AI-generated illustration
Major League Baseball's players' strike wipes out the World Series for the first time in 90 years

what everyone is saying

  • "give'r"full effort, no half measures
  • "double-double"the order, the greeting, practically a personality
  • "hoser"still the go-to insult, still somehow affectionate
  • "beauty"the highest compliment available
  • "toque"the only acceptable word for a winter hat

the summer of 1994.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1994 goes.

Turn 1994 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1994 reel with sound