To be fifteen in Canada in 1999 was to have “Livin' la Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin everywhere, The Matrix on every screen, and Big Wolf on Campus on after school. That year, gas cost $0.58/L and Nunavut, Canada's new Arctic territory was the new thing. Born in 1984? You turned 15 in 1999 — a teenager from 1997 to 2003, 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.
The song that cracked open the whole summer — blasting from convertibles, mall speakers, and cottage docks across Canada, the moment Latin pop took over Canadian mainstream radio for good.
the year-end #1 was #1 on the RPM Singles Chart for eight weeks from late May through July 1999 — the most successful single of the year in Canada. Source: Wikipedia 'List of number-one singles of 1999 (Canada)'.
what topped the Canadian box office in 1999
The Matrix
American Pie
The Sixth Sense
Star Wars: Episode I
Go
the tv shows you are binging in 1999
Big Wolf on Campus
Made in Canada
Traders
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
the games you are playing in 1999
Pokémon Yellow
Super Smash Bros.
RollerCoaster Tycoon
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Homeworld
EverQuest
what things cost in 1999
What things cost in 1999
a gallon of gas
$0.58/L
minimum wage
$6.85/hr
a movie ticket
~$6.85
a first-class stamp
$0.46
the average income
~$60,000 avg. family income (approx., Statistics Canada trend)
trending this year
Photo by Glenn Samonte (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tim_Hortons_Large_Iced_Capp_Canada_(54688656929).jpg · CC BY 4.0Tim Hortons Iced CappPhoto by Kooma (original) (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Nunavut.svg · Public domainNunavutMarcus-richardson, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0NapsterPhoto by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sega-Dreamcast-Console-FL.jpg · Public domainSega DreamcastJahobr, cropped by ויקיג'אנקי, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (no attribution legally required) · CC0 1.0The Matrix
the gadgets you just got
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sega-Dreamcast-Console-FL.jpg · Public domainSega DreamcastPhoto by Niklas Sobieski Larsson (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playstation_Comparison_(SCPH-1002_and_SCPH-9002).jpg · Public domainSony PlayStationPhoto by Piotr Kwaśnik (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nokia_3210_2.jpg · Public domainNokia phone with SnakePhoto by Ndiggity (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palm_Pilot_1000.png · CC BY-SA 4.0Palm PilotPhoto by Morn at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Discman_D121.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0Discman
what everyone is snacking on
Photo by Peter Reichert (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_Tails_Byward_Market_Ottawa_Canada.jpg · CC BY 2.0BeaverTailsWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbits.jpg · Public domainTimbitsPhoto by Hannah Clover (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ketchup_chips.jpg · CC BY 4.0Ketchup chipsAI-generated illustrationHickory SticksWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coffee-Crisp-Split.jpg · Public domainCoffee Crisp
what everyone is drinking
Photo by Glenn Samonte - Own Work (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tim_Hortons_Large_Iced_Capp_Canada_(54688656929).jpg · CC BY 4.0Tim Hortons Iced CappArkpafisto, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clearly_Canadian_Orchard_Peach.jpg) · CC0Clearly CanadianPhoto by Lynette (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_Dry_ginger_ale_bottles.jpg · CC BY 2.0Canada Dry ginger alePhoto by Alextvmx (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Botella_Orange_Crush_Mexico.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Crush orange popPhoto by Kiliweb (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President%27s_Choice_Cola.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0President's Choice Cola
what made the news in 1999
The Columbine High School shooting in Colorado shocks North America (April 20, 1999)
The Euro currency is introduced across 11 European nations (Jan. 1, 1999)
Napster launches, upending how a generation gets its music (June 1999)
The Sega Dreamcast launches in North America (Sept. 9, 1999)
Photo by ADialla (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Legislative_Assembly_of_Nunavut.jpg · CC BY 2.0Nunavut is created on April 1, 1999 — Canada's first new territory since 1949, carved out as an Inuit homelandPhoto by Harvey Naylor (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demolition_of_Eaton%27s_Queen_and_Yonge_department_store.jpg · CC BY 2.0Eaton's, Canada's 129-year-old department store chain, files for bankruptcy protection (Aug. 1999)Photo by Ccyyrree (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pan_Am_Games_1999_torch_at_The_Forks_in_Winnipeg_Manitoba.JPG · CC0Winnipeg hosts the Pan American Games, Canada's largest multi-sport event since the 1988 Calgary Olympics (July-Aug. 1999)Photo by Jason Woodhead (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Taber,_Alberta.jpg · CC BY 4.0A shooting at W.R. Myers High School in Taber, Alberta, days after Columbine, shakes Canadian schools (April 28, 1999)Photo by Jorge Láscar (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NATO_bombing_of_Yugoslavia_1999_(13810195285).jpg · CC BY 2.0NATO's bombing campaign in Kosovo dominates world headlines through the spring
what everyone is saying
"runners"sneakers, never 'tennis shoes'
"washroom"the bathroom — never 'restroom'
"pop"soda, always and forever
"all-dressed"loaded with everything — chips, pizza, doesn't matter
