Next most well-known/recognized Canadian city after Montreal-Toronto-Vancouver?

[Capsicum]

Of course, personal interest probably makes a big difference. Most people on a discussion forum like this know more world cities than the average person.

Individual interests can make someone more aware of a country's cities, even if really small. For example, if someone is into reggae music, they'll know many towns and places, even neighbourhoods, in Jamaica like Kingston, Trenchtown, Spanish Town etc., even though Jamaica is only about the population of the city of Toronto.

If an American is into hockey, they'll know all the Canadian cities with an NHL team.

[geotag277]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Yes, that's true. For a country that's not really that big or old or powerful, Canada's 3 largest cities have quite a bit of international presence and awareness.

Canadians usually lament that we're not better known, or if we're known at all, we're known for some stereotype. But I think that's true of all countries. Even better, as you said in another post upthread, we are known for things that could just as well be American: the Rocky mountains centred around Banff NP being a prime example, or the temperate coastal ecosystem/indigenous groups of the Pacific Northwest being maybe another.

I think that's because the American west is psychogeographically oriented towards the Southwest, culminating in California, and therefore away from Canada. Places like the Rockies in Montana and Idaho and the coastal mountains of Washington kind of get glossed over, at least internationally.

We're lucky that way: a lot of stereotypical German culture is associated with Bavaria. Austria is very close to Bavaria culturally, so, as a result, the image of Germany=Bavaria kind of overpowers any image Austria might convey to people from overseas.

Also, I wouldn't expect your students to know Edmonton. How many Canadians could name 6 Japanese cities? With the exception of some very historically powerful countries, by the time you're getting into the 5th or 6th largest city, you're really only dealing with a city that's of domestic importance.

Pretty true, I've found Canada does amazingly well for recognition when travelling abroad. If anything the extent foreigners know about us is something to be proud of and a highlight of Canada.

We do quite well for a country of less than 50 million people. Japan isn't a fair comparison. Saudi Arabia is a country which is constantly in the news, yet how many people can name 6 Saudi cities? Or how about 3 cities in Kenya?

[geotag277]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I betcha a lot of people around the world know Niagara Falls but have no idea if there is a city or not near the falls, and if it's big, small or a tiny village.

It's like if you asked someone to name 6 famous cities in Switzerland, someone will inevitably say "alps".

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

That's reasonable, though of course the US has disproportionately many more of its cities, dozens of them, well known overseas due to their obvious media influence.

I'm guessing three cities being well-known in a country is not bad.

Many people only know one or two cities per country if that. For example, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.

Then again, there are some cities that do seem to get over three cities being recognized internationally.

For example, Italy -- Rome, Milan, Venice, Turin, Florence, Naples etc.

China -- Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nanjing (Nanking), Macau, Guangzhou (Canton).

Germany -- Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Dresden, Nuremberg

France -- Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux, Strasbourg

Japan -- Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

I think you're overestimating the knowledge people would have of many of the cities you listed. I'm interested in this stuff and you've named cities I've never heard of. If I think of my friends who really don't care about this stuff, I'd be surprised if they would name half of those cities. Recognize them from a list, sure. But say off the cuff? Unlikely. So yeah, three cities in Canada is pretty good I think.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

That's reasonable, though of course the US has disproportionately many more of its cities, dozens of them, well known overseas due to their obvious media influence.

I'm guessing three cities being well-known in a country is not bad.

Many people only know one or two cities per country if that. For example, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.

Then again, there are some cities that do seem to get over three cities being recognized internationally.

For example, Italy -- Rome, Milan, Venice, Turin, Florence, Naples etc.

China -- Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Nanjing (Nanking), Macau, Guangzhou (Canton).

Germany -- Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Dresden, Nuremberg

France -- Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux, Strasbourg

Japan -- Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama, Hiroshima, Nagasaki

To be fair, a city can be famous for positive things (lots of cultural, literary, and historic importance) but also trivial things (mentioned once or twice in some piece of pop culture in a one-liner), and also negative things (eg. some infamous event in war).




Seems like Asians in Asian countries actually are more aware than many Americans (even Asian-Americans) of the demographics of Vancouver or Toronto.

I've seen countless Americans totally surprised that there's lots of Indians, Chinese, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Arabs, etc. in Canadian cities. Even someone in Great Lakes states like Ohio, or Michigan or somewhere within an afternoon's drive of Toronto occasionally expresses surprise at the diversity to their north at first sight.





Is fall foliage really more well-known or associated with Canada than the US... Maybe it's just my experience skewed towards living in North America but I don't feel like Americans and Canadians think that fall foliage is exceptionally "theirs". Americas think of their New England leaf peeping just as much as Canadians do theirs, but both kind of vaguely assume its typical of any "four seasons climate".

I don't know if a European, or even an Asian or African person living overseas is going to think "Canada" when it comes to fall colours over the US (or another cold country in general). But then again, it's probably also the fact that there's a red maple leaf on the flag that's super visible and well seen by the rest of the world.



Yeah, I'm always surprised at how little known even the Canadian cities of over a million are relative to some small American towns of tens of thousands, to many Americans. I've met really educated people in the US who can't find Toronto on a map but can name a hundred obscure towns and know all kinds of historic facts about them (eg. they were founded in 1800-whatever, and this or that happened to it during the civil war).

What is interesting about this list is the fact that it reflects a common theme among well known Japanese cites, and does not follow population at all.

Japans third largest urban area is Nagoya (larger than Toronto) and the fourth is Fukuoka (which is the size of Montreal). Fifth is Sapporo (same size as Vancouver). Yokohama is essentially a suburb of Tokyo.

Many people also know Nagano, but that is a rather small ski resort town.

The same way both Banff and Whistler are far more known in Japan than Edmonton or Winnipeg.

And yes, Canada really is that well associated with fall colours in Japan. The US is not even on their radar for that. The famous fall colour tours are all in Quebec with a few in Ontario.

[DowntownBooster]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Which city is most famous, recognizable or well known (by non-Canadians) after the "big three"? I'm talking about from the point of view of an outsider.

Is it Ottawa, Winnipeg, Quebec city, the Albertan cities, an Atlantic city or something else?

I think most people like to think their own hometown is well known by non-Canadians. A lot of the perceptions about how well known a location is will depend on the interests of those in other countries. For example, people in Japan interested in skiing may know about Banff but not Edmonton. That's not to say that Banff is necessarily well known around the world. Also, knowledge about locations can vary depending on the age group.

Winnipeg is well known among hockey fans in Scandinavian countries not only because of Teemu Selänne and Patrik Laine but moreso among older hockey fans because of the Winnipeg Jets with Bobby Hull and Swedish players Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson and Lars-Erik Sjöberg as well as Finnish players Veli Pekka Ketola and Heikki Riihiranta. The Jets not only had a lot of Europeans during the 1970's when it was not common but they also travelled to Europe to participate in tournaments.

Moving on from sports to entertainment, a lot of people point out the episode of the Simpson's in which Winnipeg is used in a disparaging manner but negative publicity is better than no publicity. The name Winnipeg has also been mentioned on shows like Cheers, Elementary and Last Man Standing to name a few others. Older music fans will also be familiar with Winnipeg because of Burton Cummings and The Guess Who, Randy Bachman, Neil Young as well as the Crash Test Dummies. Then you also have wrestler Chris Jericho of the WWE

I point out the above examples as I'm from Winnipeg but there are others out there that would be able to provide reasons as to why their city or town would be known in other countries.

[Docere]

The top contenders among major cities for international recognition I suspect are Ottawa, Quebec City Calgary, Winnipeg. Ottawa is probably the most known because it's the capital. Edmonton though bigger than Winnipeg and about the same size as Ottawa and Calgary I suspect is less known.

ETA: Quebec City added.

[SignalHillHiker]

I seriously don't get that Winnipeg comes up so often. I never heard tell of it before moving there. I don't understand at all why so many of you think it's internationally well known.

[Docere]

I don't think it's that well known. At best a very distant fifth in terms of recognition.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I seriously don't get that Winnipeg comes up so often. I never heard tell of it before moving there. I don't understand at all why so many of you think it's internationally well known.

I don't think any Canadian city is internationally well known. Toronto certainly isn't ... the name, maybe, but there is no characteristic or thing for which the city is known. Maybe Meghan Markle.

If you set Sydney (Australia) at 100, what would the global consciousness of Canadian cities be? Here is the result of my study of the subject:

Toronto = 42
Montreal = 38
Vancouver = 35
Quebec City = 28
Calgary = 15
Ottawa = 14
Winnipeg = 12
Victoria = 12
Edmonton = 10
Halifax = 8
Regina = 5 (primarily due to limericks)
St. John's = <1

[saffronleaf]

either ottawa (capital) or calgary (4th largest metro; banff nearby; hosted winter olympics; hq of the O&G in Canada)

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Andy6

I don't think any Canadian city is internationally well known. Toronto certainly isn't ... the name, maybe, but there is no characteristic or thing for which the city is known. Maybe Meghan Markle.

If you set Sydney (Australia) at 100, what would the global consciousness of Canadian cities be? Here is the result of my study of the subject:

Toronto = 42
Montreal = 38
Vancouver = 35
Quebec City = 28
Calgary = 15
Ottawa = 14
Winnipeg = 12
Victoria = 12
Edmonton = 10
Halifax = 8
Regina = 5 (primarily due to limericks)
St. John's = <1

Oh no doubt mine is negative, for sure. I just think Ottawa would be higher than Calgary or Quebec City, specifically the city, Quebec as an idea would be much higher. I just wouldn't put Winnipeg, Victoria, Edmonton, or Regina there at all.

I barely knew those, and grew up in this country. I can't imagine how little they're known outside it.

[isaidso]

Calgary or Ottawa.

[saffronleaf]

Originally Posted by Denscity

Flin Flon

hometown of the globally renowned athlete bobby clarke!

[Hecate]

Winnipeg is well known because of a few important historic events and the fact that at one time it was one of Canada's largest and most prosperous cities. Churchill also helps. Everyone knows Churchill and you have to go to Winnipeg to get there. Things like the gimli glider and the general strike are quite well known amongst older people. My friends dad from Venezuela knew about those. people I met in Europe knew about Winnipeg and they knew about the gimli glider. Some people also knew about Winnie the pooh being named after here. Sadly Winnipeg gets neglected on both the national and international stage. Always the butt of jokes in films and television or completely forgotten. the film "The kings speech" didn't mention us at all even though the king delivered the speech from the peg. This has happened with other films too. There was a carol shields book turned into a movie and they changed Winnipeg to Toronto. Another thing that helped us get noticed was the flood of 97. That was international headlines. Also there was guy maddin's film myWinnipeg that did quite well.

[Pinus]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I seriously don't get that Winnipeg comes up so often. I never heard tell of it before moving there. I don't understand at all why so many of you think it's internationally well known.

Many Aussies and Kiwis I've come across have heard of Winnipeg, some even having spent time here during their cross country or continent travels. It seems at least in these two countries, it's more well-known that you would expect.

In terms of Atlantic Canada, they seems to have heard of or spent time in Halifax, but not really anywhere else.

[Denscity]

The Northern Lights are also internationally known so special mention to Whitehorse and Yellowknife. Especially the Japanese.

[Mrs Sauga]

From my experience:

1 Toronto
2 Montreal (Europe/Africa) / Vancouver (Asia)

Next would be Niagara Falls or Ottawa

Though the real #1 is probably "Rocky Mountains"

Edit: It's the actual waterfalls that is known, not the city.

[White Pine]

I'd bet Quebec is farther up than many people think. China apparently is even building a replica of it.

Famous for:
History
Winter/carnivals
Chateau Frontenac
Did I mention the Chateau Frontenac?

[memememe76]

I don't go about asking people to list a bunch of Canadian cities, so really have no idea. But when I mention I am from Vancouver, Canada while in Asia or Europe, they automatically mention either Victoria and/or Whistler. Americans tend to be less aware of even Vancouver, so I always have to mention that I live just above Seattle. But I get quite a good number of Americans who don't know where Seattle is.