Hi
just wondered are veggies catered for in Canada - In oz the natives assumed I was 'crook mate' when I asked about vegetarian food. Over here they just dismiss you as a hippie.
suz

From my limited travels in Canada (mostly visiting the rellies in Toronto), I had no problem getting good veggie food. They have a lot of ethnic restaurants whose cuisine includes veggie options. No-one seemed to think I was odd.

Sorry to hear about your experiences here in Oz - I'm sure what happened to you is not true of the whole country. Our experiences here in Melbourne have been the opposite, in that it's much easier to get good veggie food than in was the UK. Again, our multicultural city caters for all comers and different dietary requirements are not seen as odd. We have a huge range of ethnic restaurants, and a number of dedicated veggie restaurants that serve great food at excellent prices.

Good luck with your travels in Canada.

Cheers
Anya.

And that is why I have never had any desire to move to Australia........

Where is "over here"?

Canada is fine with veggie food although they do not offer anywhere near the selection as you find in the UK, (at least not in my area). There are loads of mexican-type places where you can get veggie food and all the chain places do veggie appetisers and a few veggie main dishes. You'll be fine.

It's sad that this myth perpetrates.

As I said, I've found it exactly the opposite, having traveled widely in the E side of Oz & now living here. I think the OP had an unfortunate experience, but please don't let's all use it to judge a whole nation.

IME the UK is by far the worst place in the world for veggie food!

Anya.

I guess it depends where, and what type of places you choose to eat at. I rarely have a bad meal anywhere in the world.

In BC be prepared for people to assume that Salmon is vegertarian fare! And I am frequently stunned by comments like "yes it is vegetarian, oh except for the chicken stock" ....

It is definitely getting better though, but when I first came over I did pine for the Brit supermarkets which did not add gratuitous meat ingredients to items like biscuits or tinned cheese ravioli....


Clare

Like most things about Canada, it really does depends on the region you're in.

I'm from Victoria BC and I've been a vegetarian most of my life, I've never had a problem accessing vegetarian food. And high quality veggie food at that. I think the labelling of veggie food is much better in Britain but the quality and choice of veggie food in Victoria BC is far, far superior to Britain. I doubt I'd be saying this if I was from a lot of other places in Canada.

A lot of people in Canada dismiss vegetarians as hippies too though on the west coast it's considered more of a compliment than an insult .

The Alberta attitude: You're vegetarian? Hey, don't worry, we'll give you a side salad with your steak

But seriously folks, there are veggie restaurants here too ... the local supermarkets usually have big veggie sections and there's always Community Foods (up near the Chinook centre and another store downtown).

Victoria is full of vegetarians. To that end, we have tons of vegetarian restaurants and other outlets that sell veggies.

Our grocery stores have huge sections of just veggie and/or organic food....

My sister said when they were travelling in France, people thought chicken was vegetarian!! They said "we don't eat meat" - so they offered them chicken dishes. I guess the French - at least the ones where they were - thought that meat was beef or something.

Regina is not very cosmopolitan but I have had no trouble finding non-meat dishes. Extreme pita even advertise that the vegetarian stuff is cooked on a different grill with different utensils, but I am not sure I believe them.

Hi.
What constitutes a vegetarian in Canada?
I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years and I cannot easily find places to eat in Canada. The U.K. a lot more progressive!
Where are you guys eating!