To be fifteen in Canada in 2016 was to have “One Dance” by Drake ft. Wizkid & Kyla everywhere, Deadpool on every screen, and Murdoch Mysteries on after school. That year, gas cost approx. $1.00/L and Pokémon GO was the new thing. Born in 2001? You turned 15 in 2016 — a teenager from 2014 to 2020, 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.
Sorry — Justin BieberBieber's remorse never sounded so danceable, the apology you played loud after your own bad summer.
Cheap Thrills — Sia ft. Sean PaulSia and Sean Paul's penny-in-your-pocket hook was the barefoot beat of every backyard that July.
Can't Stop the Feeling! — Justin TimberlakeTimberlake's relentless sunshine soundtracked the summer job, the road trip, the ad — you couldn't escape the joy.
7 Years — Lukas GrahamLukas Graham had the whole car counting the years, quietly scared of every one still coming.
Encore un soir — Céline DionCéline's soaring return filled Québec kitchens, a whole province singing along like she'd never left home.
Toronto's own finally topping the charts in his own country - a dancehall-tinged song that leaked out of every car window and phone speaker that spring into summer, the sound of the '6ix' going global.
the year-end #1 was Hit #1 on the Canadian Hot 100 the week of May 7, 2016 (Drake's first #1 single at home) and finished #4 on the year-end chart.
what topped the Canadian box office in 2016
Deadpool
Finding Dory
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Zootopia
Suicide Squad
the tv shows you are binging in 2016
Murdoch Mysteries
Letterkenny (premiere)
Kim's Convenience (premiere)
Schitt's Creek
Stranger Things
the games you are playing in 2016
Pokémon GO
Minecraft
Pokémon Sun and Moon
Overwatch
Battlefield 1
FIFA 17
what things cost in 2016
What things cost in 2016
Average annual income
approx. $70,000 (household)
Gas
approx. $1.00/L
Minimum wage (Ontario)
$11.25/hr (rose to $11.40 Oct 1)
Movie ticket
approx. $8.93
Stamp
$0.90 (booklet) / $1.00 (single)
trending this year
Photo by Nintendo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pok%C3%A9mon_GO_logo.svg · Public domainPokémon GOPhoto by Shwangtianyuan (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_150_at_Parliament_Hill.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0Canada 150 countdownAI-generated illustrationDeadpool merchWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netflix_2015_logo.svg · Public domainNetflix Canadian originals pushAI-generated illustrationTim Hortons Dark Roast
the gadgets you just got
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_7.jpg · CC0iPhone 7Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony-PlayStation-4-PSVR-Headset-Mk1-FL.jpg · Public domainPlayStation VRPhoto by DemonDays64 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NES_Classic_Edition_with_controller.jpg · CC BY 4.0Nintendo Classic Mini: NESAI-generated illustrationFitbit Charge 2edupov (Flickr) · CC BY-SA 2.0Snapchat Spectacles
what everyone is snacking on
Photo by Hannah Clover (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ketchup_chips.jpg · CC BY 4.0Ketchup chipsPhoto 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 4.0All-dressed chipsWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coffee-Crisp-Split.jpg · Public domainCoffee CrispWikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Timbits.jpg · Public domainTimbitsPhoto by Bondolo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W._T._Hawkins_Cheezies.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0Hawkins Cheezies
what everyone is drinking
Photo by Justin (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tim_Hortons,_extra_extra_large.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0Tim Hortons double-doublePhoto 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 Glenn Samonte (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tim_Hortons_Large_Iced_Capp_Canada_(54688656929).jpg · CC BY 4.0Iced CappPhoto by Kiliweb (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:President%27s_Choice_Cola.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0President's Choice ColaPhoto by incommunicado (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Four_litre_bagged_milk,_Quebec.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0Milk in a bag
what made the news in 2016
Fort McMurray wildfire evacuation, May
Gord Downie's diagnosis and the Hip's farewell tour
Rio Olympics: Penny Oleksiak's four medals
Pokémon GO craze sweeps Canadian parks, July
Brexit referendum shakes world markets, June
Photo by DarrenRD (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Landscape_view_of_wildfire_near_Highway_63_in_south_Fort_McMurray.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0The Fort McMurray wildfire forces Alberta's largest-ever evacuation, May 2016.Photo by Kim Pardi (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tragically_Hip_2007.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0The Tragically Hip play their emotional farewell concert in Kingston, broadcast live on CBC to millions, August 20, 2016.Photo by Presidencia de la Republica Mexicana (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justin_Trudeau_2016.jpg · CC BY 2.0Justin Trudeau's Liberals govern through a first full year of 'sunny ways' optimism.Photo by Sander van Ginkel (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Penny_Oleksiak.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0Penny Oleksiak, 16, becomes Canada's most decorated athlete at a single Olympics with four medals in Rio.Photo by VOA News (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trump_victory_speech.png · Public domainDonald Trump wins the US presidential election, dominating Canadian news for weeks, November 2016.
what everyone is saying
"eh"the tag that ended half your sentences without you noticing
"give'r"go all out, floor it, don't hold back
"toque"the winter hat, never a 'beanie'
"double-double"how you ordered your coffee before you even drank coffee
"the Six"Drake's nickname for Toronto, suddenly everywhere
