Metric in Canada. Slowly slipping away?

Sign outside Greenworks store, Vancouver, BC

Change is bad. The first reaction that many people have to change is resistance. It's new, it's strange, I don't understand it. Although the metrification of Canada started in the early 1970s, since the mid 1980s the process has stalled, or even reversed. While many things are sold in metric sizes, milk for example, others are resolutely stuck in the world of  Imperial measurement. Virtually all building materials are measured and sold in Imperial units.

Food is labelled with both imperial and metric measurements, however most grocery store newspaper advertisements given bigger prominence to the prices per pound.

Will Canada ever fully complete the transition to metric? Probably not while the US is still wedded to Imperial measurements. According to Wikipedia, an increasingly reliable source, there are three countries that have not officially adopted metric measurement. The United States, Myanmar (Burma), and Liberia. The United States has been working towards limited adoption of metric measurement since the mid 1800s. But as about 75% of Canada's trade is with the US, in many industries the transition will never take place until the US changes over.

We see metric adopted in odd areas. Some automobile engine sizes are listed in litres, the biggest bottle of soft drink is commonly 2 litres, or even 3 litres, and since the 1970s cocaine across North America has been sold by the gram..

So, for the foreseeable future I think that we'll continue to see references to feet, pounds, and gallons on all sorts of signage aimed at the consumer.