the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2007 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 2007 was to have “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne everywhere, Transformers on every screen, and Corner Gas on after school. That year, gas cost $1.05/L and The Canadian Hot 100 chart was the new thing. Born in 1992? You turned 15 in 2007 — a teenager from 2005 to 2011, 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 2007 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2007

Girlfriend — Avril Lavigne

  1. Umbrella — Rihanna feat. Jay-ZYou spelled it -ella-ella-eh-eh under the cottage porch until the rain actually came and no one cared.
  2. Big Girls Don't Cry — FergieFergie's big ballad soundtracked a hundred summer breakups you were sure would define your whole life.
  3. Underclass Hero — Sum 41Ajax's Sum 41 handed you a bratty punk anthem for the last summer before everyone scattered.
  4. Hey There Delilah — Plain White T'sJust one acoustic guitar and a name, whispered across the country to whoever you were texting all night.
  5. Rockstar — NickelbackNickelback's cheeky wish-list riff blared from every pickup rolling out of the parking lot at dusk.

▶ Play your 2007 reel

why this one mattered

Napanee, Ontario's own became the first Canadian act ever to top the brand-new Canadian Hot 100 — the chart itself only launched that spring, and she was the first name on it.

the year-end #1 was Topped the Canadian Hot 100 the week of March 31, 2007, making Lavigne the first Canadian artist to reach #1 since the chart's launch that year.

what topped the Canadian box office in 2007

  • Transformers
  • Knocked Up
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  • Away from Her (Sarah Polley, dir.)
  • Bon Cop, Bad Cop (still in rotation)

the tv shows you are binging in 2007

  • Corner Gas
  • Little Mosque on the Prairie
  • Trailer Park Boys
  • Degrassi: The Next Generation
  • Heroes

the games you are playing in 2007

  • Guitar Hero III
  • Rock Band
  • Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
  • Super Mario Galaxy
  • Halo 3
  • Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

what things cost in 2007

What things cost in 2007
a gallon of gas$1.05/L
minimum wage$8.00/hr (Ontario)
a movie ticket~$7.75
a first-class stamp52¢
the average income~$38,000/yr (approx.)

trending this year

Canadian dollar hits parity with the US dollar
Photo by Mack Male from Edmonton, AB, Canada (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Lucky_Loonie_(149539409).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Canadian dollar hits parity with the US dollar
Canadian Hot 100 chart launches
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Billboard_Canadian_100.jpg · Public domain
Canadian Hot 100 chart launches
Little Mosque on the Prairie premieres
AI-generated illustration
Little Mosque on the Prairie premieres
Facebook goes mainstream
AI-generated illustration
Facebook goes mainstream
Movember launches in Canada
Photo by Kris Walton (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Movember.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Movember launches in Canada

the gadgets you just got

iPhone (unveiled in the US)
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_(Original)_von_Apple_mit_8GB.png · CC0
iPhone (unveiled in the US)
BlackBerry Curve
Photo by Derek Hatfield (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BlackBerry_Curve_20100818.jpg · CC BY 2.0
BlackBerry Curve
iPod Classic / iPod touch
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ipod-touch-1st-gen.png · Public domain
iPod Classic / iPod touch
Nintendo Wii
Reza Almanda, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Nintendo Wii
Guitar Hero III controller
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guitar_Hero_3_-_black_controller_for_Xbox_360.jpg · Public domain
Guitar Hero III controller

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 bar
AI-generated illustration
Mr. Big bar
Timbits
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbits.jpg · Public domain
Timbits
Kraft Dinner
Photo by Beosmrx (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kraft_dinner_preparation.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kraft Dinner
Crispy Crunch
AI-generated illustration
Crispy Crunch

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
Canada Dry
Photo by Fmvh (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_Dry_ginger_ale_can.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Canada Dry
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
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
Kool-Aid Jammers
AI-generated illustration
Kool-Aid Jammers

what made the news in 2007

  • Little Mosque on the Prairie premieres on CBC to international press coverage
  • Vancouver's 2010 Olympic venue construction ramps up
  • Facebook's new Platform (May 2007) opens the site to third-party apps; Canadian membership surges
  • Terry Fox Foundation marks new cancer-research fundraising milestones
Canadian dollar reaches parity with the US dollar for the first time in 31 years (Sept 20, 2007)
Photo by Levi ackreman (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Loonie.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Canadian dollar reaches parity with the US dollar for the first time in 31 years (Sept 20, 2007)
Canada's Kandahar combat mission intensifies; casualties become a national political flashpoint
Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Duran (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canadians_Patrol_Kandahar_DVIDS113378.jpg · Public domain
Canada's Kandahar combat mission intensifies; casualties become a national political flashpoint
Ottawa Senators reach the Stanley Cup Final, lose to the Anaheim Ducks (June 2007)
Photo by C.P.Storm (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Senators_vs_Devils_Jan_6_2007.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Ottawa Senators reach the Stanley Cup Final, lose to the Anaheim Ducks (June 2007)
Quebec election produces a minority government with the ADQ as Official Opposition (March 26, 2007)
Photo by Martin C. Barry (Marty555) (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MarioDumont.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quebec election produces a minority government with the ADQ as Official Opposition (March 26, 2007)
Apple's iPhone launches in the US — and is absent from Canadian shelves
Photo by Kaiser KurzydloVII (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_(Original)_von_Apple_mit_8GB.png · CC0
Apple's iPhone launches in the US — and is absent from Canadian shelves

what everyone is saying

  • "Loonie / Toonie"the dollar and two-dollar coins, extra relevant with the dollar at par
  • "Out for a rip"going for a drive with no real destination
  • "Give'r"go all out
  • "Deke"a hockey fake-out move, used for any kind of dodge
  • "Two-four"a case of 24 beers, the measure of a good party

the summer of 2007.

you think you've got all the time in the world.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2007 goes.

Turn 2007 into a 30-second reel →

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