Daily life
SIN
sin, said as a word
Social Insurance Number. You cannot legally be paid without one. Free, from Service Canada, usually issued same day in person.
OHIP
OH-hip
Ontario Health Insurance Plan. Public health cover, no premiums. Gatineau across the river is Quebec's RAMQ instead — a genuinely different scheme.
The NCR
en-see-arr
The National Capital Region — Ottawa in Ontario plus Gatineau in Quebec. One labour market, two provinces, two sets of everything.
Reliability status
—
The baseline federal security screening. Most public service jobs require it, and it takes months. A higher clearance takes longer still.
Bilingual imperative
—
A federal job classified as requiring both official languages at set levels. You are tested, and English alone will not do.
The Greenbelt
—
A ring of protected farmland and forest around the city, federally owned. It is why Ottawa's suburbs jump rather than sprawl.
Culture
The Skateway
—
The Rideau Canal frozen into the world's largest skating rink each winter — nearly eight kilometres, and people genuinely commute on it.
Food
BeaverTail
BEE-ver-tail
Fried flat dough with cinnamon sugar, eaten on the canal in February. An Ottawa invention and a required experience.
Social
Double-double
DUB-ble DUB-ble
A coffee with two creams and two sugars. Ordering it correctly at Tim Hortons is a small Canadian rite of passage.
Toque
tooke
A knitted winter hat. Ottawa is one of the coldest capital cities in the world, so this is not optional from November.
Emergency
911
nine-one-one / neuf-un-un
Police, fire and ambulance, in either official language. Ambulance transport carries a co-payment in Ontario.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.