What are typical Canadian meal times?

Question

I'm preparing a trip to British Columbia (Kootenays area) in early August, and since I like to organise my days in detail (all the way from getting up to going to bed) in order to get the most out of my time, I'd like to have a heads-up on general routines so as not to go against the grain (I had a bad experience with this in Spain and the UK when I first started travelling).

It gets pointless when you plan a slightly late dinner-time in order to enjoy daylight hours and then discover restaurants are getting ready to close down in half an hour.

I'm from Portugal and I already know meals are fairly different.

Portugal:
Heavy lunch at about 12-1 pm and relatively heavy dinner at about 8 pm.

Canada:
Light lunch at about 12 and relatively heavy dinner at about 6-7 pm.

But since sunrise and sunset times are way different, I'd like to have a general feeling about the usual times people get up and call it a day.

Portugal:
Sunrise at 6.30 am, most people get up at about 7 am (8-9 am weekends) (1)
sunset at 9 pm, most people go to bed at about 11-12 pm (about 10 pm for children).

Canada:
Sunrise at 5.30am. Does that mean folks get up at about 6 am? Sunset at 8 pm, similar to the UK. Does the evening tend to end early?

(1) Daylight hours change throughout the year, but most people get up about half an hour before or after sunrise (depending if it's winter or summer); going to bed seems to be little affected by sunset times, unlike getting up.

Answer 1

No, the sunrise time does not have a big effect on the Canadian day. Most people go to work/school about 8 or 9, and get up accordingly. This depends on where you are of course. A farming community will be earlier, and also if you are camping or similar. Sunrise varies through the year. That 5:30 can be 8:30 in the winter - and the variation can be more extreme if you go to the far north.

You are right about mealtimes. Canadians eat around 6-7, and you may find some restaurants starting to shut up shop around 8, just when an urban European is starting to think about eating. This is likely to be true in the Kootenays. Plan to eat around six, and be finished before 8.

Nightlife depends on the place. A major city will be thriving through the night. Somewhere like the Kootenays. You should not assume there will be anything open after 9 or 10, and a lot of things will close before that.

Answer 2

I live in Canada.

The daylight hours vary significantly here. I live in southern Canada, on the prairies, and the daylight variation is not as severe here as it is in the north. Still, in late June we get about 17 hours of daylight, and in late December, only about seven. It's just not practical to change one's waking hours. :)

I personally get up around 7 am and go to bed around 10-11 pm, but some get up earlier than I do, and some sleep in later than I do.

As for meals, lunch usually starts between 11 am and 1 pm (noon is the most common time, but people who are traveling often have a more relaxed meal schedule, which also works well in restaurants because it can avoid the busiest times). Supper is usually at 6-7 pm but some eat earlier (particularly older people without rigid work schedules), and some eat later. In particular, high-end dining is often done at a later time than normal-quality dining. It would not be unusual to get a reservation at a really high-end restaurant for 8 or 9 pm. (Personally, I avoid late meals because it causes acid reflux for me; I try to eat no later than 8:00. But that's a personal consideration.)

Nightlife varies wildly by city. City centres may be booming in the late evening in larger cities, or be very quiet in smaller cities. (My city of 250,000 is pretty quiet downtown after about 7 pm.)

As always, if you are a traveler here, you can follow your own schedule, although it isn't uncommon for restaurants in some areas to close by about 8 pm, particularly in smaller centres. If in doubt, check before you go. Even in this case, hours tend to be more extended on Friday and Saturday nights.

Answer 3

Your statements about meal times is correct. Restaurants generally follow the same patterns but there are always some exceptions including ones open 24/hours per day. Typically though breakfast service is from 7 to 10, lunch from 11:30-2 and dinner starts at 5:30 which most restaurants winding down quite a bit by 9, meaning the kitchen closes around that time, although people can stay an hour later or so. This is typical but there are quite some variations. Busy places often are open from lunch until dinner time and do not close in between, although can be quite empty from 2-6 PM.

The sunrise and sunset time varies daily and between the earliest sunrise and latest one, there are quite a few hours. People do not generally change their routine for that, it would be too disruptive. Transport has fixed rush hour schedules morning and evenings which also do not change as sunrise and sunset times do.

Most people's schedules are driven around work hours weekdays and shift later during the weekend. So most people wake up between 7-8 and end up sleeping around 11-12. Some people purposely shift their days earlier or later (as do I because if feels better for me and saves me transit time). Generally though people sleep in more in the weekends and stay up later Friday and Saturday night. Restaurant meals are often adjusted accordingly with breakfast served in 11 instead of 10.