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To be honest, for anyone to go out of their way to hate you because you're from somewhere really reflects poorly on them. It reeks of some kind of strange insecurity. I live in Montreal now, and I don't mind taking a few humorous jabs and exchanging jokes about different Canadian cities, but it ends there. Some of the serious "hate" comments I get from other Canadians though are just ridiculous; makes them appear ignorant. I have a friend from Vancouver here who insists on teasing me because I'm from "Toranah...", calls me "Toranah boy..."mmmm nobody talks like that and she sounds like an idiot.
It is kind of strange how much Vancouverites dump on Toronto. I live in Montreal now, and even people here look more favourably on Toronto than people in Vancouver. When the topic of Toronto comes up in an average conversation in Montreal, there will inevitably be a "leafs suck" comment, and maybe a quick remark about calling in the military for a snowstorm, but for the most part people seem to like the city. While in Vancouver (where I am from), you will never head a good word said about Toronto. It is really viewed there as "that place you are forced to move for work".
I do have to disagree with the person who said that Vancouver is more well known than Toronto, I did not find that to be the case at all when I was travelling around Europe, South America, and Asia (didn't go to China, it probably would have been known there). It might have changed since the Olympics came, but pre-2010, when I said I was from Vancouver, nobody had a clue where it was. It seemed like the only cities people knew were Toronto and Montreal.
People from Vancouver are notorious for having a massive inferiority complex about their city. Them hating Toronto has more to do with themselves than anything Toronto does or doesn't do to justify the hate.
Having lived in both cities, Vancouverites have without question more of a "centre of the universe" outlook and don't really appreciate anything outside their own borders. They insult the suburbs, Alberta and especially Ontario. Toronto is the favourite target because it's the biggest and most important city in the country. (You should see how uncomfortable my friends and family from Vancouver get when I say Toronto is more important).
Torontonians have a confident pride in their city - but most seem pretty honest about it's shortcomings, something Vancouverites are incapable of. Try to have an honest conversation about Vancouver's drawbacks such as climate, transportation and job market - and you'll garner a response of "well at least we're not Toronto" or "at least we have mountains".
Torontonians are indifferent to the idea of comparing themselves to other Canadian cities and this is falsely perceived as arrogance - when in reality most seem genuinely curious about places across the country. Many have not travelled West - but it is difficult to blame them when it's cheaper and more convenient to travel to the US or even Europe than it is Western Canada thanks to our monopolistic and overpriced airlines in this country. But those who have travelled West rave about how beautiful it is.
Also Vancouver is home to many Ontario transplants, many are vocal about their distaste for Toronto - but they, the ones who left, are a very small sample size. Ask the 6M people who decide to live in the GTA if they believe it's a great place to live.
That said, having spent the majority of my life in Vancouver - we've all experienced some Toronto attitude every once in a while. Usually it's in politics, the media or within large corporations - but rarely does it manifest itself through regular human to human interactions.
Vancouverites don't like being in the office for 6AM PST conference calls, because the time worked for their colleagues in Toronto. Vancouverites don't like watching the Canucks games on CBC starting late because the Leafs went into overtime. Vancouverites don't like Don Cherry and Bob Cole butchering the names of their beloved hockey stars. Vancouverites don't like people like Pierre Trudeau trying to name mountains in their province after themselves. Not that Trudeau has anything to do with Toronto, but the federal Liberals created a great West vs. East divide during their tenure. Toronto being the hub of the East, naturally this attitude was directed here....
That said, people in Calgary seem to hate Toronto even more.
Last edited by Liberated in TO; 11-12-2012 at 02:21 PM..
I'm asking this question sincerely. Really, what is the real reason? Is it because we are the business centre of the country and steal the spotlight too much?, do we get an abnormal amount of media coverage?, or do you just dislike the city and attitudes and our general way of life? I know Toronto is not paradise, far from it (heck, I even moved away and don't miss it), but it's almost like people out West are raised to despise us without giving us a fair shake. Now that I live in the US, I don't find the same kind of hate between regions that I do in Canada, very strange since everyone thinks we are such a 'nice' and 'gentle' people, but not amongst each other.
And btw, people in Toronto view Vancouver favourably. We think it's beautiful and relaxed. Probably hard to make a living job wise and buy a place but a great place to visit and is probably the nicest part of the country from a visual perspective. So seriously, what's up?
And this is usually based on assumption, not fact.
Ask a Vancouverite if they think Kelowna has a pleasant climate, and most will say yes. Ask them if Toronto has a pleasant climate, and they would say no. They would be surprised to learn that Toronto has almost the exact same average high temperature as Kelowna all year round.
Vancouver has a horrific climate 8 months of the year. Aside from 3 months Toronto's climate is much more pleasant.
There are much colder cities in Canada that don't get a small fraction of the hate that Vancouverites direct at Toronto.
Do you mean: Why do people (in general) dislike Toronto?
You don't find the same kind of hate between regions in the US that you do in Canada? Really? I always thought, it's MUCH worse in the US than in Canada. Don't believe me? Just visit numerous US forums here on City data, especially City vs. City forums. You'll see.
Well I have visited those threads and found it to be no more worse than anywhere else. Just different. And different here from state to state and region to region. Like, there has always been much comparing and sometimes rivalry between NY and LA. But I dont perceive as much hatred between them as with Sacramento towards Los Angleles, which to me is kinda silly, in that they dont compare on any levels. But I was told that decades ago, some hoodrats from LA and Oakland came here and insulted the city somehow. Or take how Portlanders call us 'Californicators' because some wealthy Cali folks went up there and bought a bunch of houses at market value and ruined the market for the natives. But also, I guess people have to hate the crosstown team to feel loyal to their home squad.
In all my time here in BC I have never heard a single person talk about Toronto. Not even once.
If anything, it's Calgary that has a problem with Toronto. Just mentioning that you're from Ontario might get your head kicked in Alberta...
To me, Vancouver hating Toronto is like hating your own reflection. I find the two cities very similar, the only big difference honestly is the climate and the mountains.
In all my time here in BC I have never heard a single person talk about Toronto. Not even once.
If anything, it's Calgary that has a problem with Toronto. Just mentioning that you're from Ontario might get your head kicked in Alberta...
we don't hate Toronto...we laugh at it.
We hate Vancouver.
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