the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2023 in Canada

To be fifteen in Canada in 2023 was to have “Calm Down” by Rema & Selena Gomez everywhere, Barbie on every screen, and The Last of Us on after school. That year, gas cost ~$1.60/L and Wildfire smoke air quality alerts as a new summer normal was the new thing. Born in 2008? You turned 15 in 2023 — a teenager from 2021 to 2027, 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 2023 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2023

Calm Down — Rema & Selena Gomez

Flowers — Miley CyrusMiley buying her own flowers became the anthem you texted every friend surviving a breakup that spring.
Last Night — Morgan WallenMorgan Wallen's whiskey remorse crossed over hard, blasting from every truck at the cottage-country boat launch.
Kill Bill — SZASZA's dark-comedy revenge fantasy was the honest, hilarious ache your whole group chat quoted back.
Die For You (Remix) — The Weeknd & Ariana GrandeThe Weeknd and Ariana's throwback duet turned old longing into a slow dance you didn't expect to miss.
Meltdown — Travis Scott ft. DrakeTravis and Drake's late-night banger was the flex rattling car trunks all through a restless August.

▶ Play your 2023 reel

why this one mattered

Nine straight weeks at No. 1 through the heart of the summer — looping out of every open car window and beach speaker from Victoria to Halifax.

the year-end #1 was No. 2 on the Billboard Canada year-end Canadian Hot 100 for 2023; held No. 1 on the weekly chart for nine consecutive weeks from May into July.

what topped the Canadian box office in 2023

Barbie
Oppenheimer
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

the tv shows you are binging in 2023

The Last of Us
Wednesday (holdover)
Sullivan's Crossing (premiere)
Shoresy (Season 2)
Children Ruin Everything

the games you are playing in 2023

Fortnite
Minecraft
Roblox
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Baldur's Gate 3

what things cost in 2023

What things cost in 2023
regular gas	~$1.60/L
Ontario minimum wage	$16.55/hr (as of Oct 2023)
average movie ticket	~$12.20
domestic stamp (booklet)	$0.92
the average income	~$70,000 average annual employment income

trending this year

Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Threads_(app)_logo.svg · Public domain

Photo by Sawyer Merritt on Twitter (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:X_logo_2023.svg · Public domain

Twitter becomes 'X'

'Barbenheimer' — Photo by RyanAl6 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barbenheimer_on_display.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0

AI-written homework panic — AI-generated illustration

Wildfire smoke air-quality alerts — Photo by Can Pac Swire from Toronto, Canada (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Mini)_Desert_storm_in_Toronto_(52960497755).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0

the gadgets you just got

iPhone 15 — Photo by IPHONE 15 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_iPhone_15.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0

AI chatbots in the classroom — AI-generated illustration

Apple Watch Series 9 — Photo by Fastily (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_Watch_Series_9_1_2023-11-14.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0

Meta Quest 3 — Photo by Roy.wonder.cohen (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meta_Quest_3_front_View.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0

what everyone is snacking on

Coffee Crisp — Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coffee-Crisp-Split.jpg · Public domain

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

Nanaimo bars — Photo by Alex Lozupone (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NanaimoS1370051.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0

Hickory Sticks — AI-generated illustration

BeaverTails — Photo by Peter Reichert (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_Tails_Byward_Market_Ottawa_Canada.jpg · CC BY 2.0

what everyone is drinking

Tim Hortons French Vanilla — AI-generated illustration

Clamato Caesar — Photo by AirIntake at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caesar_Cocktail.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0

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

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

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

what made the news in 2023

Céline Dion cancels all remaining tour dates due to Stiff Person Syndrome (May 2023)
Hockey Canada faces continued fallout over its handling of sexual assault allegations
Hollywood actors' and writers' strikes delay film and TV production
Airport chaos and flight delays make headlines across Canada over the summer travel season

Canada's worst wildfire season on record blankets Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and the US Northeast in smoke (June 2023) — Photo by Anthony Quintano (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quebec_Canada_Wildfire_Smoke_Consumes_New_Jersey_and_New_York_City_June_7_2023_-_52959378738.jpg · CC BY 2.0

King Charles III is crowned in London; his portrait begins appearing on future Canadian currency (May 2023) — Photo by Katie Chan (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coronation_of_Charles_III_and_Camilla_-_King%27s_Procession_(05).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Bank of Canada keeps raising interest rates as inflation and housing costs squeeze households — Photo by Wladyslaw (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ottawa_-_ON_-_Bank_of_Canada.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0

Karl Tremblay, singer of Les Cowboys Fringants, dies of cancer at 47; Quebec holds a state funeral at the Bell Centre (Nov 15, 2023) — Photo by 0x010C (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2016-10_Les_Cowboys_fringants_Concert_metropolis_02.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sum 41 announces they're breaking up after one final album and a farewell tour (May 8, 2023) — Photo by Timmeh (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sum_41_live_2008.jpg · Public domain

what everyone is saying

"rizz"Oxford's actual Word of the Year for 2023, meaning charisma
"delulu"short for delusional, used affectionately about a crush
"it's the ___ for me"the go-to way to call out exactly what's wrong (or great)
"girl dinner"the TikTok trend of a plate of snacks passed off as a meal
"no thoughts just vibes"the year's favourite way to say 'I'm not overthinking this'

the summer of 2023.

the best of it still feels like it's coming.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2023 goes.

Turn 2023 into a 30-second reel →