You expect differences when you travel from province to province. And not just terrain. Obviously there are language differences, differing levels of multi-ethnicity, different traffic signage, and so on. You also expect certain consistencies across Canada – for example, most Canadians are polite and friendly. Tim Hortons is Tim Hortons. And, grocery store chains are going to be all the same. Wrong. I noticed it last year, and it was even more evident this year – Quebec consumers are far more interesting than Ontarians, at least based on their grocery stores.
I had thought the IGA in Chambly was the most impressive grocery store I had visited in Canada (and I’ve shopped Whole Food, Farm Boy, Pusateri’s, etc…), but then we went to the Pasquier Delson in Sainte-Catherine. Ooh, mon dieu. The choices in the cheese, deli, meats, and junk food sections are amazing. Next year I plan to travel to the Maritimes and I’ve decided: no grocery shopping before leaving the GTA; I’ll just wait until I hit the South Shore to stock up. I mean, what is a holiday without smoked duck, or boar sausage, or potato chips from Breton, France? Really.