the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1997 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 1997 was to have “Building a Mystery” by Sarah McLachlan everywhere, Titanic on every screen, and Traders on after school. That year, gas cost $0.56/L and The Confederation Bridge linking PEI to the mainland was the new thing. Born in 1982? You turned 15 in 1997 — a teenager from 1995 to 2001, 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 1997 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1997

Building a Mystery — Sarah McLachlan

  1. Clumsy — Our Lady PeaceOur Lady Peace made falling apart sound anthemic, and MuchMusic played that riff into your bones.
  2. MMMBop — HansonThree Tulsa brothers and a nonsense chorus that colonized every schoolyard and refused to leave.
  3. I Want You — Savage GardenSavage Garden's shimmering ache was the yearning soundtrack to a crush you never worked up the nerve for.
  4. Ordinary Day — Great Big SeaGreat Big Sea's Newfoundland jig made even the mainland feel like a kitchen party at closing time.
  5. Everything Is Automatic — Matthew Good BandMatthew Good Band's breakout snarl off Underdogs made every basement guitarist think they finally had a shot.

▶ Play your 1997 reel

why this one mattered

The hushed, minor-key hit that made a Halifax-raised voice the sound of Canadian FM radio that whole summer — moody, a little dangerous-feeling, exactly what fifteen felt like.

the year-end #1 was RPM's best-performing single of 1997, spending eight non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the RPM Singles Chart, including a run through all of August. Source: Wikipedia 'List of number-one singles of 1997 (Canada)'; RPM Year-End.

what topped the Canadian box office in 1997

  • Titanic
  • Men in Black
  • Air Bud
  • The Fifth Element
  • Good Will Hunting

the tv shows you are binging in 1997

  • Traders
  • Due South
  • ReBoot
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Royal Canadian Air Farce

the games you are playing in 1997

  • Diddy Kong Racing
  • GoldenEye 007
  • Crash Bandicoot 2
  • Mario Kart 64
  • Final Fantasy VII
  • Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

what things cost in 1997

What things cost in 1997
a gallon of gas$0.56/L
minimum wage$6.85/hr
a movie ticket~$6.50
a first-class stamp$0.45
the average income~$56,500 avg. family income (approx., Statistics Canada trend)

trending this year

Tamagotchi
Zeitblick · CC BY-SA 3.0
Tamagotchi
Confederation Bridge
Photo by Quintin Soloviev (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Confederation_Bridge_PEI.jpg · CC BY 4.0
Confederation Bridge
DVD format
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DVD-Video_bottom-side.jpg · Public domain
DVD format
Beanie Babies mania
Photo by daryl_mitchell from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mom%27s_Beanies_(9120344523).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Beanie Babies mania
Titanic
Unknown author (published before 1931, public domain)
Titanic

the gadgets you just got

Tamagotchi
Zeitblick · CC BY-SA 3.0
Tamagotchi
DVD player
Photo by Morn (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philips_DVD_950.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
DVD player
Sony PlayStation
Photo by Niklas Sobieski Larsson (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playstation_Comparison_(SCPH-1002_and_SCPH-9002).jpg · Public domain
Sony PlayStation
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
Beanie Babies
Jelene Morris via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Beanie Babies

what everyone is snacking on

Mr. Big
AI-generated illustration
Mr. Big
Caramilk
AI-generated illustration
Caramilk
Aero
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aero-Bar-Split.jpg · Public domain
Aero
Nanaimo bars
Photo by Alex Lozupone (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NanaimoS1370051.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nanaimo bars
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

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
Orange Julius
Photo by Tony Webster (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orange_Julius_Beverage_(37829476762).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Orange Julius
Slush Puppie
Photo by Paultons Park Home of Peppa Pig World (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slush_Puppie_cups.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Slush Puppie
A&W root beer float
Photo by Willis Lam (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A%26W_Restaurants_Root_Beer_Float_(19740356944).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
A&W root beer float
Nestea
Photo by Hillelfrei (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nestea_bottle.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nestea

what made the news in 1997

  • Diana, Princess of Wales, dies in a Paris car crash (Aug. 31, 1997)
  • Comet Hale-Bopp is visible in night skies worldwide through the spring
  • Hong Kong is handed back to China after 156 years of British rule (July 1, 1997)
  • The Mars Pathfinder lands and deploys the Sojourner rover (July 4, 1997)
  • Ontario teachers strike province-wide over Bill 160 (Oct.-Nov. 1997)
The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island to the mainland for the first time (May 1997)
Photo by Hayden Soloviev (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Confederation_Bridge,_Prince_Edward_Island,_Canada.jpg · CC BY 4.0
The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island to the mainland for the first time (May 1997)
The Bre-X gold-mining scandal collapses after the Indonesian 'Busang' discovery is exposed as a fraud (March-May 1997)
AI-generated illustration
The Bre-X gold-mining scandal collapses after the Indonesian 'Busang' discovery is exposed as a fraud (March-May 1997)
Jean Chrétien's Liberals are re-elected with a reduced majority (June 2, 1997)
Photo by Wikimike123 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien,_1996.jpg · Public domain
Jean Chrétien's Liberals are re-elected with a reduced majority (June 2, 1997)
Titanic, directed by Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, breaks box-office records on its December release
Photo by Gage Skidmore (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Cameron_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Titanic, directed by Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, breaks box-office records on its December release
The Red River 'Flood of the Century' devastates southern Manitoba (April-May 1997)
Photo by Ken Gardner, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1997_Red_River_Flood_Grand_Forks.jpg · Public domain
The Red River 'Flood of the Century' devastates southern Manitoba (April-May 1997)

what everyone is saying

  • "give'er"go for it, full effort, no half-measures
  • "two-four"a case of 24 beers, the currency of a long weekend
  • "beauty"that's excellent, that's perfect
  • "keener"the overly eager kid with their hand always up
  • "out for a rip"going for a drive with nowhere particular to be

the summer of 1997.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1997 goes.

Turn 1997 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1997 reel with sound