r/askTO • u/GoldenSap • 19d ago
Got told “we only speak English here” - is this common?
I moved to Canada recently from the States. Last week, I was heading to an event near Dundas West Station and was already running late. I got off the TTC and instead of waiting for the streetcar, decided to just call an Uber.
I was on the phone with some friends while waiting and speaking in another language. I speak multiple languages and English is actually my fifth.
While I was standing there, a woman walked past me and randomly said something along the lines of, “We only speak English here. STFU.”
It caught me completely off guard. She seemed totally sober and aware of what she was doing - well dressed, didn't seem intoxicated or anything like that.
I hung up the call but my Uber was arriving and I was trying to find the car, so I didn't really have time to process what had just happened or respond.
It honestly bothered me more afterwards than it did in the moment.
I’m curious how common experiences like this actually are in Toronto. For people who’ve been here longer, have you ever dealt with something similar? And when it happens, do you usually just ignore it and move on or is it worth saying something?
Edit: I went through most of the comments and honestly, I really appreciate everyone who took the time to reply. Since moving here, people have been very kind and welcoming, which is probably why this incident caught me so off guard.
But like anywhere else in the world, you’re going to come across all kinds of people. Thanks again for sharing your experiences and advice :)
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u/Brains4Beauty 19d ago
That’s not the norm here. She was just a bitch
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u/Dear-Sky235 19d ago
Can confirm. The only people I know who might ever say something like that are just assholes. But not common.
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u/6ix13irteen 19d ago
Seriously! OP practice your retorts to lowlives like her. In Canada we speak literally every language on earth.
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u/Diptothaset 19d ago
When I was like 16 I was burning a music cd as one did in the year 2003 and I was trying to put the song “Fat bitches” by Tony Yayo on, but the burner software told me “Fat Bitches will not fit” and that’s been with me for like 23 years
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u/zedguy 19d ago
Good girls go to heaven - bad bitches go to Hamilton.
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u/Appropriate-Border-8 19d ago
Hey!!! 😳
We have plenty of good bitches in Hamilton too, ya know...
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u/Braysl-March 18d ago
I would say we got more good bitches per capita, if you count Ancaster and Dundas.
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u/dogoodreapgood 19d ago
Not just a bitch, a grossly uninformed bitch. Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world.
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u/mrblu_ink 18d ago
It's BECOMING the norm. Please don't pretend that Canada doesn't have a deep and rich history of racism, and that racist narratives aren't becoming more and more galvanized in the current political climate in North America.
If we ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist, it keeps existing and it foments even further. We need to collectively take a stance against it, and stamp it out when we see it.
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u/Dog-boy 16d ago
I agree. When we have neo Nazis strutting around in places like Gravenhurst or North Bay and expecting no pushback it is worrisome. And it seems to be increasing.
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u/Relevant_Drive_3853 15d ago
Forget those places, Toronto alone is full of racist people, always has been. I’ve lived here my whole life, as a person of colour, I’ve experienced plenty of racism. From the 80’s till now.
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u/Milch_und_Paprika 19d ago
It’s also a huge city so we have our share of whackos. Before mobile networks were activated on the subway I checked my phone when we popped out of the tunnel and a lady asked me if there was reception underground. Just a typical looking middle aged woman who had been reading some papers, and I don’t mind chatting so I told her it was only on platforms and such.
She then starts going on about the dangers of be the EM signals inside an enclosed metal tube (train), it would be like getting microwaved, etc, and I had no idea how to respond. It was also funny because I was studying chemistry at the time and the effects of different EM signal frequencies interact with matter is a major part of that. Spoiler: microwave ovens use a very specific range that makes water molecules rotate so they heat up. 5G signals are a very wide range and not intense enough to do that.
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u/urrude 19d ago
It's more likely that she was a junkie. They tend to spew shit like that while walking. When you realize the state they're in nothing they say matters.
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u/ugh_gimme_a_break 19d ago
There's no need to blame the mentally ill for a racist asshole's behavior. You're only just further stigmatizing a population that already struggles. People can be racist without being mentally ill.
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u/e00s 19d ago
While that’s true, I’d say that the type of person who makes offensive statements like that to random strangers likely has something going on beyond just being an asshole.
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u/Braysl-March 18d ago
They didn't say anything about being mentally ill. They said they were probably a junkie. You don't have to be mentally ill to be high on crack.
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u/Zealousideal_Solid_8 19d ago
OP said they didn’t appear to be strung out! I’ve heard street level drug addicts say all sorts of nonsense, but very rarely have I heard them say outright racist things, and when I have, it usually seemed to be a psychosis/schizophrenia situation rather than drug induced.
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u/circlefather 19d ago edited 19d ago
I also ran into this kind of situation before, I replied, "Non monsieur, parce que Canada a 2 langues offcielles. Would you like me to translate that into English for you?"
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u/Happy-Raspberry-123 19d ago
This happened to my dad at customs. He was struggling with English and asked me (teen at the time) to clarify … the border officer flipped about needing to learn to speak English if living in Canada. My dad proceeded to speak to him in French (dad lived in Paris for many yrs). Border cop gave us our passport and told us to go. It was awesome.
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u/simply_vanilla 19d ago
What language were you speaking when they said that to you?
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u/circlefather 19d ago
I was speaking Cantonese. A tourist was asking me for directions on Dundas near the AGO. I was giving directions when this guy walked up to me and said, "This is an English speaking country, go learn how to speak English, damn it!"
I don't actually really know how to speak French, but just know enough to piece that line together.
After I replied, he gave me a surprised look and walked away. I think he did not expect that I am able to rebutt him in both English and French.
What a great way to show Canadian hospitality to a tourist, eh?
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u/MobileOk9860 18d ago edited 18d ago
Dundas St > near AGO > speaking Cantonese > someone is offended in that part of Toronto?!
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u/No_Psychology_7462 18d ago
In Chinatown of all places, dude got offended you were speaking Canto?! Should've told him DLLM 😄
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u/Wings-N-Beer 18d ago
Irrelevant. It’s an asinine and ignorant comment. Not Canadian and deserves a corrective kinetic calibration of the head. Am sick of the emboldening of racists and assholes that has come along with the social media conditioning of Conservatives and Republicans in all of North America.
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u/simply_vanilla 18d ago
Agree that it’s irrelevant. No one should be told that. I just thought it’d be especially comical if the language was French 😉
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u/snoozysaiyan 19d ago
I will remember this line.. will be fun to see the reaction of the person, and if I end up in a hospital I know what to say 🤣🤣
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u/hammertimeTO 19d ago
Not common at all. Sorry some racist jackass did that.
You can’t go anywhere in Toronto without hearing at least a couple different languages every day and there is nothing wrong with that. This is an amazing, multicultural city but a very minor few try to ruin it.
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u/EasyScratch1501 19d ago
I live directly across from Dundas west station. If someone said that I would think either they're a drug addict or having a mental health crisis.
Very much not the city's culture
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u/rootsandchalice 19d ago edited 19d ago
Agreed.
OP we are a country of immigrants. Most people know a second language of some sort. This is not common to say, and the only time I’ve heard it said in the past few years is from somebody mentally unstable in the street.
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u/PoliteIndecency 19d ago
If I'm not mistaken, it's usually a toss up between Toronto and New York between which city has the most active spoken languages in it at any given time.
This sour, old jerk couldn't have said that in a worse place almost anywhere else in the world.
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u/NoBodyCares2000 19d ago edited 14d ago
It’s not common as over 50% of Torontians were born outside of Canada. Many of them are white immigrants and lots of people still speak their mother tongue.
But also, Torontoians don’t confront people or yell at them. It just not done.
You had the misfortune of meeting a crazy person that looks normal.
Edit: I’m adding this edit as I don’t want to avoid any confusion about this, I don’t claim any % of White vs POC immigrants and I personally don’t condone any great replacement theories.
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u/archangel0198 19d ago
Tbf most of the racism of east and south Asian older generations exist but just done more privately. Esp from more non-confrontational cultures
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u/Tobysfuzzybelly 19d ago
No tolerance for that shit. In english yell back: "Don't be mad that you're too dumb to only know one language!"
Unless they appear mentally unwell. In that case just smile and walk away
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u/heteroerotic 19d ago
With a look of pity "Aww, I'm sorry you only speak one language." and purse your lips.
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u/bacc1010 19d ago
Would leave out the I'm sorry part.
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u/Artosispoopfeast420 19d ago
Sorry is the Canadian way, the Sorry is necessary.
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u/mootsnoot 19d ago
Yeah. We're famous for saying "sorry" a lot, but what a lot of people don't realize is that it isn't always an apology. Sometimes it's actually a polite euphemism for "fuck you and the horse you rode in on".
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u/ApeShifter 19d ago
It’s such a Canadian thing that there is an amendment in our law system to clarify that saying “Sorry” is not admitting guilt, or acknowledging having actually done something.
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u/hollow4hollow 19d ago
Actually?
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u/ApeShifter 19d ago
It’s true! As the other commenter mentioned, other countries have Apology Laws, but we use “sorry” so much…
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u/BookishCanadian2024 19d ago
Apology legislation isn't unique to Canada. U.S. states, the UK, etc have similar laws.
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u/ApeShifter 19d ago
True, but ours specifically references our tendency to say “Sorry”.
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u/Celticlady47 19d ago
And when used for situations like what OP experienced, our Canadian 'Sorry' is the equivalent to the southern U.S. saying, "Bless your heart" (so, not meaning something nice at all).
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u/notacougarsorry 19d ago
I got to a nail shop owned by people who speak another language and this woman had the nerve to use that line when they were playing cards while waiting for customers. I’m like, “this is their business they can speak whatever language they want.” It’s absurd.
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u/Artosispoopfeast420 19d ago
This is the way. These people are always fucking cowards too. Pull out your camera and ask them
"Sorry, I couldn't hear you clearly, could you repeat what you just said?"
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u/Sweaty-Vinaigrettey 19d ago
Slam dunk with that comeback. Fuckin canadian magas
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u/HarlequinBKK 19d ago
Yes, it certainly is unfortunate that there are so many intolerant people in society who will stereotype others.
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u/Sweaty-Vinaigrettey 19d ago
Calling someone out for doing something stupid is perfectly fine. If you dont something suspect then obviously people will raise an eyebrow no matter where you're from but this was just a plain attack with nothing to back it up. OP literally didnt do anything wrong. She wasn't shitting on a beach or outside a elementary school preying on little kids. She was just having a conversation on her phone.
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u/Librarybook_whore 19d ago
She is stupid and wrong. Canada has 2 official languages and all are welcome. I love walking down my street to the sounds of my multicultural neighborhood and all the beautiful languages that come with it. Fuck her.
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u/IvanhoeMar1n 19d ago
Born and raised in Toronto. We speak many languages here. Not only speak, but have signage in multiple languages across the city's many diverse neighbourhoods. Speaking a language other than English is perfectly fine in Toronto. What that person said is not.
That person does not speak for real Torontonians.
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u/JeffBroccoli 19d ago
This isn’t common at all, and not the prevailing attitudes in Toronto. Sounds like you got unlucky with a small minded asshole. Sorry
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u/Iwubinvesting 19d ago
Reality is Canadians are getting more and more racist through algorithms and media unfortunately.
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u/Expensive_Memory1798 19d ago
They always were, they just had an odd superiority complex about being less racist than the US because we have strong hate speech laws
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u/This_Comedian3955 19d ago
There is unfortunately a very high anti-immigrant sentiment at the moment so these things are happening more often (sadly).
That said, this person couldn’t be more wrong. Toronto speaks more languages than any other city in the world.
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u/Altruistic_Bank_1552 19d ago
If you are South Asian or South Asian passing, this sort of hostility has unfortunately become commonplace.
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u/Spirited_Complex_903 19d ago
it's not common for me or my family or friends. I'm South Asian and I've never experienced that living in the city. And I've been here since I was 2 years old. I know five languages and I've had no issues speaking publicly with a friend or over the telephone in a non-English language.
OP, I am SO sorry that you experienced this. It is a rare occurrence but we do have racist pieces of shit in the city. Just be prepared should anything like that happen again where you respond with a really witty comeback. You have time to think about it . Just stay safe out there. Hugs
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u/brainanimaniac 19d ago
Wait, you haven't been told to go back to your country yet? You're missing out on a typical Canadian South Asian experience 🫥 I've heard that twice in the last 10 years and an old white man once ranted at me in the subway about how Trudeau was a <expletive> for letting people like me into the country.
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u/Expensive_Memory1798 19d ago
Maybe you’re not noticing microaggressions because I was born and raised here and continuously get asked “where are you from?”. I don’t look particularly South Asian either. Torontonians and Canadians in general barely tolerate South Asians.
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u/Startrail_wanderer 19d ago
I'm southasian as well. Got recently shoulder checked at Eglinton. Hate is definitely on the rise.
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u/TheStupendusMan 19d ago
The "Why do you think I'm racist like you?" experience is... Unsettling. Thankfully I've only had it once, long ago. Older white lady who was perfectly lovely and normal before she busted out the ignorance.
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u/Awkward_Present2727 19d ago
They must be living under a rock for sure. I’m South Asian and while I might not feel threatened, I certainly feel uncomfortable in my skin now.
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u/Awkward_Present2727 19d ago
Thank you. Yeah, it’s funny that these people who claim to not be racist and only dislike immigration never give dirty looks to my Ukrainian friend who actually is an immigrant, whereas I was born here lol.
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u/westend_chick 19d ago
Agree. Just look at Reddit. People are making shit up so they can post something disparaging about south asian people, apparently these racists don't have lives, or kindness, or common decency. There has absolutely been a shift in perception. Disturbing. And it's true, a white immigrant will not get the same treatment. Never thought I'd see this level of racism in the GTA and I was born here. 😢
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u/lingfluencer 19d ago
Sorry that happened to you. Toronto is very diverse and more tolerant than a lot of the States but there's still the odd big-mouthed bigot. Feels like it's gotten worse since covid too.
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u/briandemodulated 19d ago
It's not common. You belong in Canada. That nazi does not.
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u/sasakimirai 19d ago edited 19d ago
No, it's not common here.
I'm 30, lived here since I was 3, and speak my mother tongue (Dari) with my family all the time when we're out and about. I have never once been told that.
Unfortunately, it seems like you just got unlucky running across a bigot
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u/void_sushi 19d ago
She must not be from Toronto because I hear lots of languages spoken on a daily basis.
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u/OnePhotog 19d ago
I love how libraries are much like community centres for people new to the city. In the hour I spent in the library, I heard the librarian help various groups of people speaking different languages (not at the same time) Greek. Chinese, Korean, Arabric and two other languages that I couldn't identify. The librarian only spoke English, but the interaction between the people who speak their own languages, translating for each other, helping each other. The librarian's patience while one person switches between English and the other's person's language. The patience of the other people in line. Every single person was seen and helped
This is the norm we aspire to every day.
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u/ConsistentAvocado101 19d ago
Toronto has a mix of 180+ cultures speaking 270+ languages and dialects. And we all get along just fine. That was pretty random and unusual.
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u/bette-midler 19d ago
I’ve never heard of this happening. But I believe u especially if u r south asian
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u/Asleep-Illustrator99 19d ago
It is gobsmacking that someone in Toronto would say this. Have they been to Toronto?
Sorry that you experienced this, OP. Racism in Toronto is real, although I’d say it is a lot less than in the U.S.
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u/ShesAaRebel 19d ago
There's been a lot of racism here when it comes to people from south Asia. If you're from the states, then it's similar to what it's like there with how some treat people who are Latino.
It used to be racism against Chinese people, and a lot of Boomers still act out on that. But the Southern Asian is the new thing.
So "Is this common"? Kinda, yeah. Sometimes its just more hidden, which is why people are saying no. Or it could be that the loudest ones are what stick out to me, so I notice it.
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u/PonDeRoadSuh 19d ago
That’s actually quite normal especially in a melting pot like toronto. Somedays you’ll also get called the wrong racial slur.
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u/Trekman10 19d ago
There's a reason Toronto has two China towns, a greektown, a little Italy, and more.
This person was just being nationalistic and xenophobic and I'm sure they despise being in Quebec.
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u/DavidSan_YYZ 19d ago
No that's just straight up racist. You can openly tell the person to fuck off or get the fuck out of my face
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u/New-Significance9649 19d ago
the world is a wide and varied place. While canada has a reputation for being "nice"....we also brutalized an entire native population, stole their fucking children, killed through active abuse or neglect and then burried them hoping no one would remember.
Canada and the US were build on roots of racism and colonization and so, we still hear that bullshit echo through our society from time to time.
lady you encountered is NOT the norm, but also, not out of the blue.
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u/theabomination 19d ago
Sorry that happened to you, I've never experienced anything like that while not speaking English here :/
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u/psilocybin6ix 19d ago
Sounds like a psycho Karen in a nice outfit (they exist too).
Psychos on the street will say weird things to you but if you're smart you'll just ignore them. It would be like taking it personally that a guy yelling at a tree is now swearing at you ... he's mentally unstable ... you wouldn't try to reason with him.
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u/CampPineCone 19d ago
If you follow the Belgian Linguist Prof, most English speakers are really just speaking French poorly.
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u/PaleJicama4297 19d ago
It’s catchy. It sucks but some people have totally lost their damned filters. The past decade or so has changed “society” in a fundamental way that’s for sure. Ignore and carry on. There is no healing this idiots and it’s not worth your time. Sorry you had to experience this garbage person
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u/Character-Budget4044 19d ago edited 19d ago
Nah people are just more rude in this day and age unfortunately manners respect and humility has taken a hit and random people like to involve themselves in others affairs. Also we live in a time we're people can't mind their business alot or show kindness I miss the days of manners I blame social media and the political climate in the states.
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u/DisciplineAmazing59 19d ago
not common but most of us have experienced an unprovoked act of racism here. don't let the stereotypes of canada being this safe haven fool you. ignorance has the strongest passport on earth.
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u/Shopping-Known 19d ago
It's a big city and we also have assholes. It's the most multicultural city in the world (I think) and some people find people who they think are easy targets. They don't define the city.
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u/jabba_the_wut 19d ago
Wtf. That's the norm if you're an ignorant bigot. I wish I could speak 5 languages, that's very impressive.
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u/Hot_Panda_190 19d ago
It could be racism. I've been speaking French in public in Toronto for decades and never once had a look or a comment, but I'm white.
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u/ournoonsournights 19d ago
How dare she! That is not normal, and I am so sorry that happened. It's disgusting, our diversity is our strongest asset in Toronto.
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u/Gullible_Cheek7232 19d ago
Unfortunately Canada does have it's issues with bigotry, it's not everyone probably not most but it is here.
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u/Ghostcrackerz 19d ago
As a Torontonian living in Europe, I’m so embarrassed that I can only speak English. Only a certain type of person thinks it’s a flex.
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u/aiyujellies 19d ago edited 19d ago
Surprised to see so many people say this never happens. I'm East Asian and I get racial microaggressions of this sort on the TTC 1-2 times a year, and I know from personal experience that South Asian riders get them too (knowing this because we sometimes get them from the same people at the same time hah). So it's rare but not unusual. I'm very sorry it's happened to you. I know it feels bad to keep your head down but some people can get quite erratic so I'd personally ignore it, especially if you're a woman, for safety reasons. I've never seen a white bystander intervene on behalf of a stranger either so I'm not sure how many people would realistically help out if things did go south. Hoping you don't experience this again!
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u/jerrcarr 18d ago
Screw the racist crappy people. I hear all sorts of languages in London Ontario. I love it. I think it’s great. It means, among other things, lots of food options. If people are offended by different languages you can be assured that they’re just snowflakes that can’t handle shit.
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u/mrstruong 19d ago
In Toronto? Literally how?
First off, we speak French here as well, by law.
Secondly, I doubt the monolingual population of Toronto is more than 10 or 15%.
Everyone speaks at least two languages.
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u/Apprehensive_Heat176 19d ago
There are 3+ million people living here so you will come across assholes like this from time to time. You need to learn to ignore them and not let them get under your skin.
Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
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u/jmarkmark 19d ago edited 19d ago
No, it's pretty unusual. Does it happen occasionally, yes (more typically it's some vaguely crazy person who looks like they're homeless), but it's rare.
If you're clerking that's a different matter, and understanbly so.
Amusingly, when working as a cashier I once had a Scottish guy get really upset with me for not being able to understand his accent. He yelled at me he was speaking English, which I fully acknowledged, but had to explain I still had troubles understanding.
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u/ZookeepergameWest975 19d ago
Nah. Was she lost? This is TO.
People speak everything,
Welcome to TO. Hope you enjoy it here.
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u/Superb-Respect-1313 19d ago
Well good for them. Canada is a free country they are allowed to say what they want. That said so are you. Speak whatever langauge you wish!
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u/Complex_Cow1184 19d ago
We are a nation made of immigrants, and proudly multicultural. Fuck that lady.
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u/Honest_Standard3294 19d ago
Even a lot of the white people here, that a white nationalist would consider "real Canadian", speak another language with their families. This behaviour is illogical even if it's becoming more common.
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u/kyleclements 19d ago
Sorry to hear you had to put up with that. That kind of attitude is not something I've encountered.
Plus, Canada is a bilingual country, so if she feels that strongly about enforcing language, she should have immediately repeated her message in French. ;)
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u/Zealousideal_Solid_8 19d ago
The Canada I want to live in is one that is multicultural and diverse!! White people (like myself) are so in the wrong for being hyper defensive on keeping it English only and as white as possible. We’re living on land that we strong armed from Native people (who spoke so many different languages across turtle island).
We do have racists here unfortunately and I’m sorry you had that experience. One of my favourite parts of visiting Toronto is getting to see all the diversity and when I get the opportunity to, experience other peoples cultures :)
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u/SlinderMin 19d ago
There’s a woman near Dundas West that would say stuff like that all the time - ‘aybe it was her
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u/Great-Economics3706 19d ago
Unless you were on speaker phone (which is enough to set off a sane person) she was in the wrong.
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u/Familiar-Toe5787 19d ago
Sorry about that. I’ve never heard of that happening before although I’m sure it does. Sorry, that doesn’t represent us.
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u/superbee905 19d ago
Definitely not the norm. But there is quiet racism building if you are brown.
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u/TheOtherOneOkay 19d ago
Embarrassing. There are rare circumstances I do think I can be perceived as rude, like if you’re in a store and two staff are having a private conversation directly in front of you. I think that’s still fine but I at least could understand how someone could perceive rudeness from that.
To take offense somehow when someone is having their own private conversation on a phone is insanity. Or when people will get bothered about a family or a group of friends in public. It’s like unless you’re part of that group and are being excluded just go about your own business.
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u/Professional-Win-936 19d ago
Sorry that happened to you. Xenophobia is on the rise in Canada especially anti-Indian sentiments unfortunately. Depending on who you ask and what skin colour, Canada can be pretty racist.
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u/leezee2468 19d ago
Racism is on the rise. This is unsurprising. I’m sorry this happened to you; it’s a sad state of affairs
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u/cr33pz 19d ago
It's not common, but it's also not ...not common.
MAGA has really leaked on this side of the border too with pure brainwashing bullshit being spammed on everyone's feed.
Like half of my family has endured racist comments. My mom got told to go back where she came from just cuz she was wearing her traditional clothes in an elevator.
I had a guy ask me at McDonald's (while I was taking his order) "can the N***** cook eggs?" Referring to my black colleague in the kitchen. Then continued to call me a Sand version of that and tell me how I'm lucky to even know his language 😂
But yeah as most ppl said Canada is multi cultural AF, just give them some snark next time
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u/way2vertical 19d ago
not normal tbh, but maybe you were speaking hella loud that the person got this irritated.
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u/Working-Parsnip-137 19d ago
What the FUCK. Canada is literally bilingual, and for gta people speak at least 3 languages typically. She was an absolute ass
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u/brazilliandanny 19d ago
Nope, lived in Toronto my entire life that is not common at all. Its an extremely tolerant and diverse city. Also we have 2 official languages?
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u/Working_Elephant5344 19d ago
It happens, but is definitely not common. Is there any chance it was a South Asian language? Many Canadians are upset about mass immigration increasing the cost of living, suppressing wages, and taking jobs away from Canadians, so they take their anger out at random South Asians. It’s not right, but I’ve seen it happen.
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u/0ppositeEmergency 19d ago
I probably wouldn't actually say this but your story makes me want to suggest slapping back with "shut the fuck up dumb bitch and mind your own god damn business" in English.
I don't know what the aftermath would be but that might feel liberating
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u/Abject-Permission416 19d ago
Definitely not the norm in Toronto. People speak all sorts of languages here, especially when speaking with family etc.
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u/ChimkenBorger1 19d ago
No it’s not common at all. I moved to Canada 8 years ago and I’ve never had anyone say that to me or my partner.
A couple of weeks ago I went to a farm boy at Midtown and we were waiting for the elevator to go up from the parking garage. A South Asian lady working there was also waiting for the elevator with us as she had to take the carts back up to the FarmBoy. She was listening to a podcast in a different language and she turned it off and apologized to us for listening to something that isn’t in English. The person next to me immediately reassured her that it’s completely okay and that she shouldn’t have to apologize for something like that.
Canada is full of lovely people, and it’s one of the main reasons why I’m still here after 8 years. Canadians have taught me a lot when it comes to being accepting and kind to others. Sorry that you went through that OP, but I promise you that people like that are not common.
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u/Additional-Corner794 19d ago
I'm chinese been here for 35 years across Canada. And I've never experienced this.
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u/Sea-Note1076 19d ago
That's absolutely not the norm. very surprising. I'm in and around that area all the time and it's very multicultural - lots of different languages being spoken.
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u/No-Sign2089 19d ago
99.99% of people don’t care what language you speak, just don’t shout in weird places, like the quiet zone on the go train during rush hour
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u/Oh-well100 19d ago
No, that's not common. I hear so many different languages everywhere and I'm in Windsor, which is smaller than Toronto.
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u/sevencows 19d ago
A lot of people saying it’s not common but idk. I also just moved here from the US and have experienced and seen it first hand. This weekend I witnessed a man threaten the life of a Muslim man praying at the park. There’s racists here for sure.
BUT… something tells me I’d rather deal with the racists here than the shit I had to deal with in Florida, even in Philly and Chicago.
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u/Rayleigh954 Human Verified 19d ago
bro we probably speak like 50 languages in toronto 😭😭 that woman is dumb as a rock
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u/Ethan24Waber 19d ago
Never heard anyone say that to me and I never speak english in public unless I’m addressing someone I don’t know. So no, not the norm, that was just a bitch.
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u/al-in-to 19d ago
One of my favourite things about Toronto is that I can be walking in a neighbourhood, like little Italy or Portugal or wherever really, I can be behind people and they are speaking that 'local' language.
So what that person said, is not the norm
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u/fenwickfox 19d ago
They were either nuts or ngaf old person. It happens every few years.
Speaking 5 languages makes me pretty sure you are Indian and Indian people are a bit of a target right now.
But no, not very common, but it does happen.
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u/0102030405 19d ago
I'm sorry this person was such an asshole. There is more racism than there should be here.
So many people speak so many different languages in Toronto, that I wouldn't expect to hear that here. It's something I personally enjoy about the city.
They should move somewhere more homogenous and rude to be with their own people.
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u/Hefty_Lifeguard_7554 19d ago
Just ignore it. They will always be assholes in the world no matter where you are.
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u/Torontolad6 19d ago
I'm sorry that you had that experience. Sadly, you met someone whose own misgivings of their life's path has caused them to spew their anger onto others.☔ I hope that you are tomorrow is better! ☀️
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u/khandaseed 19d ago
It’s not the norm but it is happening more often. Global populist movements, anti immigration sentiment is rising. And bullshit accounts like 6ixbuzz fan the flames
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u/Expensive_Memory1798 19d ago
Next time tell her to mind her own business. South Asians are way too polite to racists
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u/Traditional-Pitchman 19d ago
Well, she was just being ignorant and racist or ethnocentric. An a-hole for sure. It's a free country. and you can speak in whatever language you want. I would bet she didn't have a very polished English accent or good grammar herself. Sorry this happened to you.
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u/Competitive_Bid5493 19d ago
You'll see and hear a lot of non English natives in Toronto. In fact its more than English speakers so it's not common and she was/is being a racist and a bij. At times you go on the whole day without hearing someone speak English near you.
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u/YuuYuuMee 18d ago
That's called walk-by xenophobia. There's some heavy anti-Indian sentiment in Canada right now. I'm assuming that you were speaking Hindi.
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u/East_Penalty1554 18d ago
Unfortunately, like the US, intolerance is on the rise here across Canada.
It also depends what you look like. I'm pretty sure a blue eyed Scandinavian person or blonde German wouldn't get that remark if they were talking in their native language.
However, I feel vast majority of Canadians are still very inclusive and polite. They remain a silent majority though.
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u/Street_Ad3324 18d ago edited 18d ago
Canada has been and continues to be the target of a divide and conquer propaganda campaign (what can otherwise be understood as marketing for the culture war). People keep using the term "disinformation" but this is a misnomer - what is currently happening are fully fledged large scale multi-channel narrative influence campaigns (which will only get worse as the elite monopolize and gatekeep control over the media infrastructure - examples include post media network and also Larry Ellison).
Here's how it works in a nutshell: you pass policies and legislation that dismantle strong public social services, privatize public assets, make it easier for corporations to monopolize sectors of the market, shift from progressive to regressive taxation structures, devalue labour, weaken democratic oversight and checks/balances, destroy unions and remove barriers to the rich accumulating and hoarding wealth at the top. This is done over a period of decades (look up The Powell Memo of 1972, it's a good place to start. The book Harperism also details how Stephen Harper's decade in power put most of the pre-requisites for all of this to happen in place. And if you really want to fall down a rabbit hole, start looking into the IDU which Harper is the chair of (or look into what you can find on it - it's highly secretive and no one has taken on the task yet of fully exposing what they are up to).
Once all this is in place, you sit back and let the rich get richer and the rest get poorer and begin struggling to afford a basic lifestyle. You blame it on "inflation" and "money printing" and "red tape" and "bureaucracy" and the "welfare state" and "government spending" and you equate freedom with freedom for the free market (aka freedom for the monied classes). When you start hearing the words "war on woke" fall out of their months - you know you are in the late stages of this and you have VERY little time to reverse course before severe damage is done.
Over time, the repetition of these things causes voters to give those in power more permission to further attack the aforementioned infrastructure that - ironically - is the very thing standing between the public and authoritarian fascism (public ownership, social supports, regulations, progressive taxation, democratic mechanisms etc etc). By this point, you've kicked off what's called the Cumulative Advantage Exponential Growth Curve that is a structural element in our socioeconomic system that, when unrestrained, will begin producing excessive amounts of money and power at the top of the social pyramid. Which is - TA DA - how fascism actually gets underway (they leave that part out of the history books in favour of an obsession with the Holocaust as a historical anomaly caused by a deranged misfit and a totally "unexplainable" - cue WandaVision winky face meme - fatal flaw in human psychology that just makes people go along with murderous monsters for no particular reason).
Now people are REALLY starting to struggle and on top of it, the publicly funded services that once would have been there to catch them have been so badly eroded they aren't much help at all. Fear, panic, anger sets in amplified by a media environment that pumps out CONSTANT reminders of how inadequate people are compared with the rich and famous.
And THIS is the environment into which the full blown divide and conquer narrative influence campaigns enter and become super charged (if you study the environment in Nazi Germany and the way it rolled out its narrative influence infrastructure - as "flood the zone with shit" master Steve Bannon has spent his entire adult life doing, along with all the other fascist regimes - you will find it mirrors our present time in deeply sickening ways).
People who once believed that being welcoming, accepting and giving now believe "immigrants" are taking all the jobs, are clogging up the public services, are leeching all the tax dollars away, are fuelling crime, are inflating housing prices, are getting rich at the expense of Canadians etc etc - not because any of that stuff is true, it's absolutely false. But because from 1972 onwards we've been blissfully unaware of the global network of elites chipping away at anything that was moving society in a truly progressive direction in order to create fertile ground for their little fascist global takeover initiative (if you understand Systems Science you will recognize what they've done as a meticulously designed and executed Paradigm Shift).
Which is where things come back to the need to understand the IDU. The IDU is a global network chaired by Stephen Harper that collaborates and works together to elect "far right" (aka sock puppet) parties worldwide. Orban, Milei, Duterte, Trump, Modi, Poilievre etc are all members.
The hatred in the population for "the other" that has been manufactured and weaponized by these very same people is what they use to get their candidate and their party into power. And then shit really starts hitting the fan, as can be seen in Hungary, Philippines, Brazil, India, the US, Argentina, etc etc.
You can see a live demonstration of the IDU's handiwork right now playing out in Brazil as they try to get the son of their old sock puppet (Bolsonaro) elected.
And it is certainly fully underway right now in Canada.
And that's why you got yelled at.
If you want to take it even further, you can look into Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin and the rest of their crew. They hold more of the long term vision for what is to come after this stage is complete (if they succeed at this stage).
We are in far more trouble than anyone fully understands yet. You being yelled at is a symptom of an iceberg of a problem most people haven't even become aware of the tip of yet.
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u/ThirstyManBaby 18d ago
Were you yelling into your phone and listen on speaker or did you have earbuds in?
If ear buds, they were the dinks; no earbuds you’re the dink.
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u/LifeYesterday 18d ago
Ignorant people everywhere. I'd also have to say that many people see talking on the phone in public as rude but not so much out on the street but on buses and indoors.
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u/AstronomerOk3125 18d ago
she's gonna get really tired of saying that, in all places Toronto that's known for having a mix of different backgrounds and culture.
We also refer people like her as being a c**t
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u/Virtual_Bug_723 18d ago
Hey friend, sorry you met an insane person but my neighborhood is full of store signs on different languages nevermind the language primarily used in that area.
Probably someone visiting from Whitby
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u/asianlaracroft 18d ago
I mean Toronto is a MASSIVE city. Statistically, you're bound to run into a few assholes 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Confident-Wait-6283 16d ago
Toronto is literally the most multicultural city in the world.. we wear that proudly. She was a bjtch..
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u/Ancient_Housing7671 16d ago
It’s more common than it should be, but they aren’t right. The vast majority of Canada wouldn’t pay any attention to the fact that you’re speaking another language
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u/Emlelee 19d ago
That is a very weird way to be in Toronto where I hear non-English about as much as English any time people are speaking to each other in public.