Canada, for a long time, has used the metric system. Most of the world uses metric so it's useful that our wonderful country is generally in synch with everyone else.
I vaguely recall taking a road trip when I was a kid (in the back of the station wagon with no seat belts!) that the speed limit was 60 mph. But then it came time to actually learn stuff in school (grade 1) and we started learning this new thing called the metric system. I recall our teacher having troubles with it as she kept referring to a card that told us how many cubic centimetres were in a litre etc. Over time, Canada became somewhat more metric. Now it's relatively easy to find packaged goods in grocery stores being sold by kilogram and not by pound.
So here's my rant - 30+ years after instituting the metric system, why are we still so insistent on quoting certain measurements in the imperial system? People's height & weight are in feet, inches & pounds still (metres, centimetres, kilos). New houses / apartments are in square feet (square metres). And the new nutrition labels tell me energy in calories (kilojoules) and note the difference if I add a half cup of milk (millilitres). New cars are all about horsepower (kilojoules) and torque in foot-pounds (Newton-metres).
Most people in Canada probably would have no idea if a 278 sq m house is a good size. But tell them that it's a 3000 sq ft house and they'll know immediately if that's what they want.
Obviously our proximity to the US has a lot to do with this. But we're a country in our own right and we can and do approch things differently. Why should we be living in a dual system of measurements? The rest of the world is 100% metric. They sell dwellings in square metres, they know their height in metres, the measure their weight in kilos ...
What's taking Canada so long?
I vaguely recall taking a road trip when I was a kid (in the back of the station wagon with no seat belts!) that the speed limit was 60 mph. But then it came time to actually learn stuff in school (grade 1) and we started learning this new thing called the metric system. I recall our teacher having troubles with it as she kept referring to a card that told us how many cubic centimetres were in a litre etc. Over time, Canada became somewhat more metric. Now it's relatively easy to find packaged goods in grocery stores being sold by kilogram and not by pound.
So here's my rant - 30+ years after instituting the metric system, why are we still so insistent on quoting certain measurements in the imperial system? People's height & weight are in feet, inches & pounds still (metres, centimetres, kilos). New houses / apartments are in square feet (square metres). And the new nutrition labels tell me energy in calories (kilojoules) and note the difference if I add a half cup of milk (millilitres). New cars are all about horsepower (kilojoules) and torque in foot-pounds (Newton-metres).
Most people in Canada probably would have no idea if a 278 sq m house is a good size. But tell them that it's a 3000 sq ft house and they'll know immediately if that's what they want.
Obviously our proximity to the US has a lot to do with this. But we're a country in our own right and we can and do approch things differently. Why should we be living in a dual system of measurements? The rest of the world is 100% metric. They sell dwellings in square metres, they know their height in metres, the measure their weight in kilos ...
What's taking Canada so long?