Great question! I think now more then ever is a great time to get more people to go full metric!
this post was submitted on 06 Mar 2025
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- do you use AM and PM too?
- the funny date format 3-8-2025?
- shoe size that isnt Mondopoint (NATO uses it, absolute chads)
lol im just writing a bit of dumb things
Never in my adult life have I used the imperial system. My school didnβt teach the imperial system, only conversions between metric and imperial. Based on recollection, my science classes utilized SI for everything. I hate the imperial system because it makes no sense, granted, Iβm a scientist so I have different motivations than others. Most Americans wonβt change to SI because they lack basic math skills and critical thinking in math.
Agreed, Canada should only use metric!
I assume you mean just in everyday use, because Canada has been officially metric since 1971. We might discuss weight or height in imperial measurements, but if someone says they're 175cm I think most people will understand and not ask for a conversion.
Way too many paths lead to imperial where we donβt use it
The only time we use it is in construction afaik
That graph is wrong though. It should say distance -> is it a long distance? -> yes -> hours (at least if you're driving)
We are more metric than the UK
Weβre kind of stuck between 2 systems still. Most people weigh in pounds, we cook in Celsius, our lumber is 2x4 for building materials.
Weβre kind of like England where theyβre metric, but their roads are in miles and their gas is in gallons and their weight is measured in stones or hogs heads, or bags of bad teeth or whatever.
What size is a Canadian glass of beer? A British pint (568ml) or even fraction thereof, the same but with an American pint (about 470ml), or an even number of decilitres as in continental Europe?
Generally, we use imperial, not US customary units, though there are exceptions. Weights and Measures act has a pint at 568ml, but I swear I've also seen both us pints and 5dL depending on country of origin.
It's a mess of mixed units all over the place, some by proxy, other by legacy.
I can order a pint of beer or a 12oz glass of wine
Americans at least have 1, 2, and 3 liter soda bottles! Booze is 750ml bottles!
I guess that's all we really care about. ;)
We officially use metric.
The reason you see so much imperial is because of proximity to the US and sourcing data.
We sell clothes and shoes with US sizes. I know what my waist and chest size is, but I actually have no idea what those measurements convert to in real units. I know what 10cm is. I have no idea what 10 inches is, other than it's just shy of a 3rd of a meter.
I cook a lot, both indoor and outdoor. I know I cook my steaks to 135F, which is in real temperature, but I know that's medium rare. My oven is F only, and so is my smoker. All of my cooking thermometers are F only. Any recipes or directions I get for cooking are usually in F because they are American sources.
Yet, my car and house thermostats are in C, because I know what those measurements are. They are meaningful to me.
Believe me, I want nothing more than for everything to be measured in real units, but until we stop buying so much from the US, it's not going to happen.
The US does not use "Imperial". They use "United States Customary Units". The two systems forked when the US left the British empire, and evolved independently.
ups, yeah now i remember. thx
Oh, we've been metric for most of my life, though I vaguely remember when the big push happened in Canada. It was in the late 70s and iirc was supposed to be a coordinated North America-wide transition, but then the US backed out. Canada largely followed through.
I remember getting fresh new textbooks at school with metric everywhere and all the road signs switching to kph. The weather forecasts switched to Celsius. There was a period there when I related to temperatures around freezing better in C and indoor temperatures in F because our thermostat still read F.
Some units involving cooking measures, building materials, and paper sizes remain non-metric in Canada. This is likely because we still need things to be interoperable with the US. One funny thing I remember though is that even before our switch from gallons to litres, we still had to do a conversion because we used imperial gallons that were slightly larger than the US ones!
I'm old enough that I was taught both. But imperial units are still largely meaningless to me.
We use the metric system for distance, volume, and temperature already. I'm sure those who don't immediately adjust for human height/weight can use an app while they're getting used to metric for those as well.
Most stuff is metric already. Some people still use imperial for pop culture things that are mostly influenced by the US. Construction materials are imperial because we are the major lumber supplier for the US and everything is cut imperial. If that were to change, maybe the construction industry would start to change too. Buy our lumber!