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It's Canadian, Eh!
INTERAC® Tests the Nation's Knowledge of All Things Canadian

June 25, 2009 (Toronto, ON) – What do a goalie mask, a zipper and INTERAC have in common? All three are Canadian innovations. Just in time for Canada Day, INTERAC tests Canadians' knowledge of their country, its unique heritage and common Canadianisms.

According to a national survey commissioned by INTERAC, and conducted by The Strategic Counsel¹, the majorities of respondents knew the goalie mask (80 per cent) and telephone (77 per cent) were Canadian inventions, however less than half (49 per cent) were aware that INTERAC was a Canadian innovation.

"The INTERAC network was developed by five financial institutions that had a vision of a single national debit network to serve the nation as a whole and it changed the way Canadians live their daily lives," said Caroline Hubberstey, Director Public and Government Affairs, Interac Association. "Today, INTERAC is a successful, world-class payment system that connects Canadians to their money at the ABM, at the store, or online."

Other inventions that fewer respondents could identify as being Canadian included the light bulb (47 per cent), paint roller (46 per cent), garbage bag (41 per cent) and frozen dinners (37 per cent).

The one fact that Canadians across the board seemed to know was that Canada has both the longest highway and the longest street in the world. The majority of respondents (59 per cent) selected Canada from a list of five countries.

"From highways, to railways to financial services, our unique land mass relies on systems to keep Canadians connected and innovations like INTERAC to provide Canadians access to their money from coast-to-coast," said Hubberstey. "This is no easy task for a country that ranks second in the world in land mass, but 200th in the world by population density."

Canadians are also well versed on their distinct vocabulary. The majorities of English speaking respondents knew that "poutine" (77 per cent), "washroom" (71 per cent) and "two-four" (70 per cent) are words used by Canadians. Fewer knew that the terms "knapsack" (53 per cent) and "chocolate bar" (52 per cent) are also part of our lexicon.

"INTERAC is another Canadian term - one that represents simplicity and direct access to your money," said Hubberstey. "The INTERAC network is ubiquitous, reliable and secure, and that's why Canadians are among the highest users of debit compared to other countries around the world."

Across Canada and Across Genders

Responses across Canada and across the genders were consistent with some exceptions.

Fewer Quebec respondents (37 per cent) identified Canada as having both the longest highway and longest street in the world compared to respondents in other regions.

Not surprisingly, more males (85 per cent) knew the goalie mask was a Canadian innovation compared to women (76 per cent). However, more women (44 per cent) knew the garbage bag was invented in Canada, compared to men (37 per cent).

Results and Facts

Innovations identified as Canadian:

Goalie Mask - 80% among all respondents
Did you know... Montreal Canadiens' goalie Jacques LePlante helped invent the modern day goalie mask in 1959.

Telephone - 77% among all respondents
Did you know... Alexander Graham Bell made history in 1876 with his first, famous telephone call from Brantford, Ontario.

Zipper - 53% among all respondents
Did you know... the world's most famous fastener was dreamed up in 1925 by Swedish-Canadian inventor Gideon Sundback.

INTERAC - 49% among all respondents
Did you know... Canada's national debit network was invented in 1984 by five financial institutions that had a vision of a single national network to connect Canadians to their money from Coast-to-Coast.

Light Bulb - 47% among all respondents
Did you know... after they patented and tested the light bulb in 1874, two Canadian inventors sold the patent to Thomas Edison, and the rest is history.

Paint Roller - 46% among all respondents
Did you know... Toronto inventor Norman Breakley introduced the roller back in 1940.

Garbage Bag - 41% among all respondents
Did you know... Winnipeg's Harry Wasylyk and Larry Hansen invented polyethylene bags back in 1950.

Frozen Dinners - 37% among all respondents
Did you know... Ontario marine biologist Archibald Huntsman was the first to introduce packaged frozen food in 1929.

Terms identified as Canadian:

Poutine - 77% among English speaking respondents
Did you know... Quebec truck-stop owner Fernand Lachance first invented poutine when he tossed cheese curds, gravy and fries into a paper bag and termed it a "mess."

Washroom - 71% among English speaking respondents
Did you know... the term washroom is standard in Canada; whereas a bathroom generally needs to include a bathtub.

Two-four - 70% among English speaking respondents
Did you know... two-four stands for a package containing twenty-four bottles of beer.

Knapsack - 53% among English speaking respondents
Did you know... Knapsack was used before the word backpack was coined in the United States in the 1910s.

Chocolate Bar - 52% among English speaking respondents
Did you know... until the late 19th century, candy was sold by weight only, and chocolate was primarily used for cooking, not direct eating. But as England started selling chocolate-covered candies, a small candy factory in New Brunswick started launching the chocolate bar.

Country Identified as Having Both the Longest Highway and the Longest Street in the World:

Canada - 59% among all respondents;
United States - 15% among all respondents;
Russia - 7% among all respondents;
Japan - 6% among all respondents;
Australia - 6% among all respondents;
Did you know... the Trans-Canada Highway stretches 7,821 km; and Yonge Street, which runs through Toronto, Ontario, and its northern suburbs, is the longest street in the world at 1,896 km.

About Interac Association

A recognized world leader in debit card services, Interac Association is responsible for the development and operations of the INTERAC network, a national payment network that allows Canadians to access their money through Automated Banking Machines and point-of-sale terminals across Canada.

Interac Association was founded in 1984 and is comprised of a diverse membership that includes banks, trust companies, credit unions, caisses populaires, merchants, and technology and payment related companies.

Other INTERAC-branded and related services include: INTERAC Online, for secure online payments directly from a bank account, INTERAC Email Money Transfer, for the transfer of money from a bank account to anyone with an email address, and Cross Border Debit, for point-of-sale access at more than 1.5 million U.S. retailers.

¹ The omnibus survey was conducted by The Strategic Counsel from June 4th to June 10th, 2009, among a representative sample of 1,000 adult Canadians, 18 years or older. The margin of error for a sample of 1000 is +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.