the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2022 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 2022 was to have “Jimmy Cooks” by Drake ft. 21 Savage everywhere, Top Gun: Maverick on every screen, and Stranger Things (Season 4) on after school. That year, gas cost ~$1.72/L average (peaked near $2.30/L in June) and Mask mandates lift in most provinces was the new thing. Born in 2007? You turned 15 in 2022 — a teenager from 2020 to 2026, 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 2022 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2022

Jimmy Cooks — Drake ft. 21 Savage

  1. As It Was — Harry StylesHarry's melancholy synth-pulse was the wistful loop you played wandering back into a world half-reopened.
  2. Heat Waves — Glass AnimalsThe TikTok slow-burn that took a year to conquer, so it soundtracked two summers of longing at once.
  3. Ghost — Justin BieberBieber's guilty-conscience hook haunted the quiet drives home from parties that no longer felt the same.
  4. She's All I Wanna Be — Tate McRaeCalgary's Tate McRae turned teen jealousy into a whisper-pop confession the whole for-you-page felt.
  5. About Damn Time — LizzoLizzo's brass and self-love was the strut you needed walking back into a summer of second chances.

▶ Play your 2022 reel

why this one mattered

Toronto's own hit No. 1 right as summer broke open — on every patio speaker, pickup-truck stereo and backyard party across the country.

the year-end #1 was Debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Hot 100 dated July 2, 2022, and was the top Canadian-artist entry of that year's chart cycle.

what topped the Canadian box office in 2022

  • Top Gun: Maverick
  • Everything Everywhere All at Once
  • Turning Red
  • The Batman
  • Encanto (holdover)

the tv shows you are binging in 2022

  • Stranger Things (Season 4)
  • House of the Dragon
  • Wednesday
  • Shoresy (premiere)
  • Son of a Critch (premiere)

the games you are playing in 2022

  • Fortnite
  • Roblox
  • Minecraft
  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
  • FIFA 23
  • Elden Ring

what things cost in 2022

What things cost in 2022
regular gas~$1.72/L average (peaked near $2.30/L in June)
Ontario minimum wage$15.00-$15.50/hr
average movie ticket$11.91
domestic stamp (booklet)$0.92
the average income~$56,400 (average individual income, Statistics Canada 2022)

trending this year

ChatGPT
Jernej Furman, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
ChatGPT
Rogers nationwide outage
AI-generated illustration
Rogers nationwide outage
Wordle goes viral, then gets bought by the New York Times
Photo by Josh Wardle (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wordle_screenshot.png · Public domain
Wordle goes viral, then gets bought by the New York Times
BeReal
Teknoeric, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
BeReal
Turning Red
Photo by Di (they-them) (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mei_Lee_Turning_Red_statue.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Turning Red

the gadgets you just got

iPhone 14
Photo by Hajoon0102 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_14_Product_Red.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
iPhone 14
ChatGPT
Jernej Furman, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
ChatGPT
Meta Quest 2
Photo by Wasiul Bahar (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meta_quest_2_06.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Meta Quest 2
BeReal
Teknoeric, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
BeReal
Apple Watch Ultra
Crew (Unsplash), via Wikimedia Commons (CC0, public domain) · CC0 1.0
Apple Watch Ultra

what everyone is snacking on

Mr. Big
AI-generated illustration
Mr. Big
Caramilk
AI-generated illustration
Caramilk
Dunkaroos
taylorhatmaker (Flickr), CC BY 2.0
Dunkaroos
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
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
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
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
A Caesar
Photo by AirIntake at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caesar_Cocktail.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0
A Caesar
Sortilège maple whisky mix / Sortis cider
AI-generated illustration
Sortilège maple whisky mix / Sortis cider

what made the news in 2022

  • Céline Dion reveals she has been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome and postpones her tour (Dec 2022)
  • The Bank of Canada raises interest rates repeatedly to fight inflation
  • Gas prices spike above $2/L in parts of the country in June 2022
  • Elon Musk completes his purchase of Twitter (Oct 2022)
The 'Freedom Convoy' trucker protest occupies downtown Ottawa for weeks; the federal government invokes the Emergencies Act for the first time ever (Jan-Feb 2022)
Photo by Maksim Sokolov (Maxergon) (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freedom_Convoy_2022,_Ottawa,_February_12_(52).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
The 'Freedom Convoy' trucker protest occupies downtown Ottawa for weeks; the federal government invokes the Emergencies Act for the first time ever (Jan-Feb 2022)
Russia invades Ukraine; Canada, home to the world's third-largest Ukrainian diaspora, responds with sanctions and refugee support (Feb 2022)
Photo by GoToVan (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stand_with_Ukraine_against_Russian_Invasion_-_Vancouver_Anti-War_Rally,_Feb_26th,_2022_(51906322464).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Russia invades Ukraine; Canada, home to the world's third-largest Ukrainian diaspora, responds with sanctions and refugee support (Feb 2022)
Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96; Canada, a Commonwealth realm, marks a period of mourning as Charles III becomes king (Sept 2022)
Photo by Joel Rouse / Ministry of Defence (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Elizabeth_II_March_2015.jpg · OGL 3
Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96; Canada, a Commonwealth realm, marks a period of mourning as Charles III becomes king (Sept 2022)
Canada qualifies for the men's soccer World Cup for the first time since 1986, and competes at Qatar 2022
Photo by Canada Soccer (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alphonso_Davies_Canadian_Championship_by_Frid06_(27559553025).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Canada qualifies for the men's soccer World Cup for the first time since 1986, and competes at Qatar 2022
Rogers Communications suffers a massive nationwide network outage, knocking out calls, texts, debit and some 911 access for almost a full day (July 8, 2022)
Photo by Rogers Communications (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rogers_logo.svg · Public domain
Rogers Communications suffers a massive nationwide network outage, knocking out calls, texts, debit and some 911 access for almost a full day (July 8, 2022)

what everyone is saying

  • "it's giving ___"the all-purpose way to describe a vibe
  • "bestie"used on literally anyone, friend or stranger
  • "understood the assignment"high praise for nailing exactly what was asked
  • "no thoughts, head empty"the shrug-emoji of phrases
  • "mid"the flattest possible insult — not bad, just nothing

the summer of 2022.

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

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2022 goes.

Turn 2022 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 2022 reel with sound