📖 Glossary: Victoria & Vancouver Island words

New to Victoria, Vancouver Island or Canada? Here are things we say in Victoria, BC.

Contents

• A - F

• G - N

• O - Z

A - F

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• The 12
  The very popular BC Transit Bus - Route 12 - that goes to the University of Victoria from surrounding neighbourhoods. Students talk a lot about the 12. More about buses in the transportation section.

• Basement Suite
  Often means either a ground floor, or daylight basement (with windows) apartment, either in an apartment building or in a single-family house, with its own entrance/exit.

• Blue Bridge 
  Nickname for the Johnson St. bridge, which was blue before they replaced it, which connects downtown Victoria to Victoria West and Esquimalt.

• CAD
  The term we use for our currency - the Canadian Dollar. This is entirely separate from the American Dollar (USD).

• Cabin
  What someone from Ontario or Alberta would call a cottage. It’s a cabin here.

• Caddy Bay
  Nickname for Cadboro Bay, a neighbourhood close to the University of Victoria. We have a guide to Cadboro Bay in the Finding Housing section.

• Camosun 
  Nickname for Camosun College, a two-year (and some four-year) degree college with two campuses in the Victoria region.

• Canwest Mall
  This used to be what the Westshore Town Centre (also called the Langford Mall) was called. Often used as a way to describe Langford / Colwood / Metchosin - “I live out by CanWest”

• Cell

  This may seem obvious to Canadians. But not to Internationals. What we call our mobile phones. The long name is “Cellular Telephone” —> shortened to —> Cell Phone.

• Childcare

  A broad term we use to describe a daycare, preschool, out-of-school care or another centre that cares for children. Australians refer to this as a “creche”, Brits may call it “nursery school”. We researched & wrote a list of prices for over 200 daycares & childcare centres in Victoria and the suburbs.

• The Coho
  This refers to the Blackball Ferry that runs from downtown Victoria to Port Angeles. The “Coho” is the name of the boat.

• Colwood Crawl
  Refers to the morning and evening traffic from the West Shore suburbs to Victoria and back, from mostly Colwood, Langford and Sooke, on Highway 1.

• Client Card
  What many Canadian banks call their debit cards. We have a whole section on banking in Victoria.

• CRD
  Abbreviation for “Capital Regional District”, a government administrative district that includes all the cities in southern Vancouver Island (like Langford, Victoria, Saanich) and the southern Gulf Islands (like Saltspring Island).

• Donair
  Another term for Shawarma cuisine / Syrian cuisine / Middle Eastern cuisine. Hard to find in Victoria, more common in Calgary, Toronto, NYC, Detroit and other cities.

• Double Double
  A coffee with two creams and two sugars. Ordered mostly at Tim Hortons.

• Downisland
  Used as a direction, instead of “south”, people might say “my sister lives downisland from my cousin’s place”. It can also refer to any area of Vancouver Island south of Duncan or The Malahat mountain pass on the highway, depending on who you’re talking to.

• EMT
  See Interac below

• For Newly Weds and Nearly Deads
  A phrase used to describe Victoria specifically. For years it seemed that only very young people or very elderly people lived here. We’re a great retirement city, so, it’s still kind of true.

• The Four Lane
  Point of reference for the main and only highway that goes from Langford out to Sooke, Highway 14. Going out to Sooke it has four lanes - two lanes in each direction for traffic. But as it gets closer to Sooke, it narrows to two lanes - one lane for each direction - and then traffic becomes very bad. So, once you leave “the four-lane” stretch, you’ll be in heavy traffic

• Freezies
  Popsicles made of plastic tubing & coloured sugary water. Americans call these “Otter Pops”.

• FT / PT
  Short for “Full Time” or “Part Time”, often seen in job postings. Full-time work in BC typically means 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time work in BC means anything from 1-34 hours of work per week - the employer should post what hours they are hiring for. 🇺🇲 Americans: everyone in Canada gets healthcare coverage from the government. This means your health insurance has nothing to do with the hours you work - you will always have healthcare.

G - N

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• Galloping Goose
  The bicycle-only trail from Victoria out to Sooke

• Garburator
  What Americans call a Garbage Disposal. Looking to move to Canada from the US? Here’s how to move here as an American.

• Garden Suite
  Often means either a ground floor, or daylight basement (with windows) apartment, either in an apartment building or in a single-family house, with its own entrance/exit.

• The Garden City
  One of the nicknames for Victoria

• Gas Station
  Obvious to Americans, but, what Brits call a Petrol Station, Service Station or Filling Station.

• Goats on the Roof
  A landmark on the highway north on the Island. It’s a gift shop and small grocery store that has a grass-topped roof, with actual live goats that jump up and graze on there. In Coombs (city up north on the Island). Often used as a reference on driving trips, as in “we’re 30 minutes away from Goats on the Roof”.

• The Gorge
  A park that has a beautiful waterway of freshwater - looks like a river - then a lake. This runs from the harbour next to downtown Victoria, north along Esquimalt, all the way up to Portage Inlet by View Royal.

• Government House

  The mansion the Lieutenant Governor of BC lives in when they’re in town, since we’re the provincial capital of BC. It’s close into downtown, has amazing gardens to tour and hosts huge government functions usually.

• Ground Level Suite
  Often means either a ground floor, or daylight basement (with windows) apartment, either in an apartment building or in a single-family house, with its own entrance/exit.

• GST 
  See “PST + GST” below 👇

• Gulf Islands
  Refers to the Canadian Southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the Mainland (Vancouver). These include Saltspring Island, Pender Island, Galiano Island, Mayne Island and Saturna Island. Funnily enough, they’re RIGHT next to other islands that the USA owns - but Americans call those “The San Juan Islands”.

• GVA
  The abbreviation of “Greater Victoria Area”, sometimes used to describe the entire region of southern Vancouver Island in and around Victoria.

• Homo milk
  Homogenized milk, or what Americans call “whole milk”.

• Hydro
  Nickname for BC Hydro, and, what we call our power/electric bill here - your “Hydro” bill.

• ICBC
  Everyone in BC is covered by one auto insurance agency, which used to be part of the government, but is its own kind-of company now. ICBC controls vehicle registration, auto insurance and driver licensing.

• Interac
  All Canadian banks participate in this national banking system, allowing you to transfer money electronically to anyone else, using just their email or phone number. Then, when that person accepts the email or text, they log in to their bank online, and the money you sent is transferred to their account. One of the most popular ways to pay your rent here. Like Venmo in the US, but secured & protected. Also called “EMT”, “Electronic Money Transfer”. We have a whole section on banking in Victoria.

• The Island
  What we call Vancouver Island. It only means Vancouver Island. Yes, we know there are hundreds of islands in BC.

• ISO
  Internet slang for In Search Of. Used a lot on our housing websites like UsedVictoria or Craigslist when people are posting ISO’s for an apartment that accepts dogs or couples, for example.

• Jar Store
  An older nickname for a liquor store / where to buy wine, beer, liquor, etc…

• Jubilee
  Nickname for “Royal Jubilee Hospital”, one of two major hospitals in Victoria.

• Landed Immigrant
  An older term for a legal immigrant to Canada. This might refer to any person in Canada on a visa or permanent resident card. This term is mostly used by the school districts here in Victoria.

• LNR
  Short for “Licence Not Required” for childcare providers. Parents new to the Island or BC will see this term a lot when searching for childcare. This means the childcare can only care for a maximum of 2 children not related to them. Typically nanny-share or babysitter arrangements are LNRs. For more, see our section about childcare.

• Lucky
  Our famous cheap beer on the Island, Lucky Lager beer.

• The Malahat
  This is the mountain highway that connects Victoria to Nanaimo up north on the Island. The highway is famous for changeable weather, from fog to ice to rain. From November to around March you need to have M+S tires on your car to drive on this highway.

• Mainland
  Anything not on Vancouver Island. AKA, Vancouver & the rest of Canada

• Mat Leave
  Short for "Maternity leave. Usually taken for 1 calendar year when a woman has a baby. You have protections in Canada to have your job held for you by your company when you come back after 1 year. Many jobs will advertise “Mat leave coverage”, which means they’re hiring a replacement for 1 year, but that’s it. We’ve explained more in the Maternity & Paternity leave section.

• May Long
  Refers to the 3 day weekend we get in May, for the official holiday Victoria Day, usually around May 18.

• Mount Doug
  Short for Mount Douglas Park, a very popular hike and “mountain” close to Victoria (it’s more of a very large hill) with a great place to park at the top. This made our list of things to do in Victoria.

O - Z

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• Our Place
  A very popular shelter and homeless social service agency located on Pandora St, in downtown Victoria

• Paper Towels
  What Brits refer to as Kitchen Roll. Want to move to Canada from the UK? Here’s how.

• Parkade
  What everyone else calls a multi-level Parking Garage or Parking Structure.

• Pat Bay Highway
  The Pacific Bay Highway, officially Highway 17, connects Victoria to Saanich in the north up to Swartz Bay, where the ferry takes off for Vancouver.

• Pat Leave
  Paternity leave from work for fathers. We’ve explained more in the Maternity & Paternity leave section.

• Phillips
  Nickname for Phillips Brewery or Phillips Beer - located downtown in Victoria

• Pinner
  A very slim/thin joint of marijuana. Note: it’s legal to smoke marijuana in all of Canada now, recreationally, as long as you’re 19 or older.

• The Potholes
  Refers to the Sooke Potholes, a very popular park with a river that has these natural dips in the stone, creating natural swimming pools with warmer water. This also made our list of top things to do in Victoria.

• PST + GST
  Our sales tax in BC that is added to most prices of retail goods. GST is the federal Goods & Services Tax (5%) and PST is the Provincial Sales Tax (7%) for a total of 12%.

• Preschool
  UK and European expats know this as “nursery school”. Usually for 3 - 5-year-old children, at a private or public child care centre. Kindergarten is for 6-year-olds, and the first time a child is enrolled in public elementary school, then, they advance to Grade 1 / First Grade. Here’s how to find a preschool & childcare in Victoria.

• Pro D Day
  ”Professional Development Day”, where kids are off from school, and teachers have time to prepare lesson plans, take training courses and attend educational events to keep up. Common in many provinces, but not a common term in the US. We have about 1 Pro D Day a month during the school year.

• RCMP
  Abbreviation for “Royal Canadian Mounted Police” - our police force in Canada. The City of Victoria has their own police department - VicPD (Victoria Police) - which is highly unusual in Canada.

• RRSP: Registered Retirement Savings Plan. 🇺🇲 Americans - this is like a 401k plan. 🇬🇧 Brits - employers are not required to contribute to a pension for you. Some companies offer to pay in your contract, others do not.

• The Rock
  We’re not referring to the actor. This means Vancouver Island.

• Royal Jubilee Era / RJH Era
  Something an older person will say to describe their age. If you were born at Royal Jubilee Hospital, before all the birth & delivery & maternity services were moved to the newer Victoria General Hospital. This move happened around 1983.

• Serviette
  Another word for a napkin. Americans especially - get used to this.

• Shaft
  A very Victoria drink. It’s usually some kind of espresso or coffee mixed with liquor - Bailey’s, vodka, whatever - and is a happy hour special or something to drink when you’re already 3 drinks in. Either very cheap or expensive.

• SIN
  Stands for “Social Insurance Number”, which Americans know as your SSN “Social Security Number”. Some people will say their “social” and mean this.

• Southern Gulf Islands
  See “Gulf Islands” above ☝️

• Stat
  Short for “Statutory Holiday”. We get one holiday off every month during the year in BC, except for two months, and we get paid for these holidays.

• Strata
  What Americans know as a Condo or Condominium. It looks like an apartment, but is owned by you, and is sellable. The “Strata Council” is like a Condo Owner’s Council.

• The TC
  Refers to our daily newspaper here, the Times Colonist.

• Trans Canada
  Another name for the Trans Canada Highway, or Hwy 1, which runs from Victoria out to Langford and then up the Malahat north to Nanaimo.

• The Trestle
  A historic wooden bridge that used to be for trains, in Goldstream Provincial Park. One of the most popular hikes to take Instagram shots at. It’s officially sanctioned by BC parks to walk on this very high bridge. This made the list of our top things to do in Victoria.

• The Tweed Curtain
  The border between the neighbourhood Oak Bay and the rest of Victoria. Since Oak Bay is generally the wealthiest, oldest and most posh neighbourhood.

• Upisland
  Used as a direction, instead of “north”, people might say “my brother lives upisland from my parent’s house”. It can also refer to almost any area of Vancouver Island north of Duncan or The Malahat mountain pass on the highway, depending on who you’re talking to.

• Used Vic
  Nickname for UsedVictoria.com, a very popular buying/selling website we all use here. Like, craigslist.

• UVIC
  Nickname for the University of Victoria

• Vic Gen
  Nickname for “Victoria General Hospital”, one of two major hospitals in Victoria.

• Vic West
  For “Victoria West”, a neighbourhood in Victoria, next to Esquimalt. Here’s a description of Vic West’s culture.

• VicPD
  Nickname for the Victoria Police. They have an amazing Twitter account - here’s more.

• V V
  Nickname for the secondhand thrift store Value Village

• The West Shore
  Refers to the suburbs west of Victoria, usually including View Royal, Colwood, Langford, Metchosin and maybe Sooke. We’ve written a guide to each of these suburbs in this finding housing section.

• Western Communities
  An older term used before we called it The West Shore. The suburbs to the west of Victoria, including Colwood, Langford, and Metchosin mostly. We’ve written a guide to each of these suburbs in this finding housing section.

• YYJ 
  A term used to describe Victoria. It’s the airport code for Victoria International Airport.