the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2000 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 2000 was to have “Oops!... I Did It Again” by Britney Spears everywhere, Gladiator on every screen, and Twitch City on after school. That year, gas cost $0.71/L and The Sony PlayStation 2 was the new thing. Born in 1985? You turned 15 in 2000 — a teenager from 1998 to 2004, 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 2000 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2000

Oops!... I Did It Again — Britney Spears

  1. It's Gonna Be Me — NSYNCThe boy-band summer peaked here, and half your class had that stuttering hook as their ringtone.
  2. Bent — Matchbox TwentyRob Thomas's aching yowl was the earnest slow-burn that scored every angsty new-millennium diary entry.
  3. Bang Bang Boom — The MoffattsThe Moffatts were the Canadian brothers every teen magazine sold you, bright and bouncing and briefly everywhere.
  4. The Hampsterdance Song — Hampton the HampsterThe dial-up-era joke that dinged from every family computer, pure innocent internet stupidity you loved.
  5. There You Go — PinkBefore the pink hair, Pink's debut strut was the sound of a bolder decade clearing its throat.

▶ Play your 2000 reel

why this one mattered

The unmistakable pop song of the millennium's first real summer — on loop on MuchMusic, blaring in mall food courts, the CD everyone owned whether they admitted it or not.

the year-end #1 was #1 on the RPM Singles Chart for six weeks beginning May 29, 2000; RPM published its final issue that November.

what topped the Canadian box office in 2000

  • Gladiator
  • X-Men
  • Scary Movie
  • Mission: Impossible 2
  • What Women Want

the tv shows you are binging in 2000

  • Twitch City
  • Survivor
  • This Hour Has 22 Minutes
  • Traders
  • Big Wolf on Campus

the games you are playing in 2000

  • Pokémon Stadium
  • The Sims
  • Perfect Dark
  • Banjo-Tooie
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
  • Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

what things cost in 2000

What things cost in 2000
a gallon of gas$0.71/L
minimum wage$6.85/hr
a movie ticket~$7.15
a first-class stamp$0.46
the average income~$63,000 avg. family income (approx., Statistics Canada trend)

trending this year

Sony PlayStation 2
Samuel Skanberg (Samel tvom), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (released by author)
Sony PlayStation 2
Reality TV
AI-generated illustration
Reality TV
The new millennium
Photo by Paul Mannix (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_year_2000_erupts_over_Times_Square,_New_York,_USA.jpg · CC BY 2.0
The new millennium
DVD becoming the default
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DVD-Video_bottom-side.jpg · Public domain
DVD becoming the default
Survivor
John Trask (Traskj), via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Survivor

the gadgets you just got

Sony PlayStation 2
Samuel Skanberg (Samel tvom), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain (released by author)
Sony PlayStation 2
Motorola flip phone
Photo by ProhibitOnions at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MotorolaStarTAC.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Motorola flip phone
Nokia phone with Snake
Photo by Piotr Kwaśnik (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nokia_3210_2.jpg · Public domain
Nokia phone with Snake
Diamond Rio MP3 player
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diamond_Rio_PMP300.jpg · CC0
Diamond Rio MP3 player
Game Boy Color
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo-Game-Boy-Color-FL.jpg · Public domain
Game Boy Color

what everyone is snacking on

All-dressed chips
Photo by Ser Amantio di Nicolao (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_pile_of_All_Dressed_potato_chips_on_a_paper_towel.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
All-dressed chips
Mr. Big
AI-generated illustration
Mr. Big
Nanaimo bars
Photo by Alex Lozupone (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NanaimoS1370051.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nanaimo bars
Dunkaroos
taylorhatmaker (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Dunkaroos
Poutine
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poutine_from_Windsor,_ON.jpg · CC0
Poutine

what everyone is drinking

Tim Hortons Iced Capp
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 4.0
Tim Hortons Iced Capp
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
Caesar
Photo by AirIntake (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caesar_Cocktail.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0
Caesar
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
Crush orange pop
Photo by Alextvmx (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Botella_Orange_Crush_Mexico.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Crush orange pop

what made the news in 2000

  • The world braces for, then shrugs off, the Y2K bug as the millennium turns (Jan. 1, 2000)
  • The Concorde crashes shortly after takeoff from Paris, killing 113 (July 25, 2000)
  • 'Survivor' premieres on CBS, igniting a reality-TV craze across North America (May 31, 2000)
  • George W. Bush and Al Gore are locked in a disputed U.S. presidential election (Nov.-Dec. 2000)
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada's most iconic prime minister, dies at 80; his state funeral draws the nation together (Sept. 28, 2000)
Photo by Rob Mieremet / Anefo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pierre_Trudeau_(1975).jpg · CC0
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada's most iconic prime minister, dies at 80; his state funeral draws the nation together (Sept. 28, 2000)
Walkerton, Ontario's water supply is contaminated with E. coli, killing seven and sickening thousands (May 2000)
Photo by JFVoll (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Walkerton,_ON.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Walkerton, Ontario's water supply is contaminated with E. coli, killing seven and sickening thousands (May 2000)
Jean Chrétien's Liberals win a third consecutive majority government (Nov. 27, 2000)
Photo by Wikimike123 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Chr%C3%A9tien,_1996.jpg · Public domain
Jean Chrétien's Liberals win a third consecutive majority government (Nov. 27, 2000)
Simon Whitfield wins Canada's first-ever Olympic triathlon gold at the Sydney Games (Sept. 2000)
Photo by Longbomb (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simon_Whitfield_(triathlete).jpg · CC BY 3.0
Simon Whitfield wins Canada's first-ever Olympic triathlon gold at the Sydney Games (Sept. 2000)
The Sony PlayStation 2 launches in North America amid holiday shortages (Oct. 2000)
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony-PlayStation-2-30001-Console-FL.jpg · Public domain
The Sony PlayStation 2 launches in North America amid holiday shortages (Oct. 2000)

what everyone is saying

  • "eh"still doing all the work it always has
  • "give'er"full effort, every time
  • "double-double"the Tim Hortons order that needs no explanation
  • "toque"the winter hat, obviously
  • "beauty"that's excellent, that's perfect

the summer of 2000.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2000 goes.

Turn 2000 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 2000 reel with sound