It’s the ulterior motive for many a Euro trip and South American adventure—the real reason you crash in questionable hostels and spend more at the bars than you do on your flights. Sure, you came to soak up the culture, but admit it—you also came with dreams of meeting a cute foreigner, right?
Your eyes meet across a crowded pub. You smile shyly over the brim of a wheat beer you have no idea how to pronounce. His accent is just thick enough to be totally exotic, yet somehow you understand it perfectly, like the love interest in a circa-2003 Olsen Twins movie. You spend the rest of your trip clinging to the back of his vintage motorcycle, getting shown “the real [enter destination here]” by a local with excellent taste in [enter said destination’s delicacy here].
We’re firm believers in cross-border romance, but who says you can’t meet that enigmatic expat on your home turf? Whether you’re craving a fall fling with a fellow traveller, or looking for long-term with a Jonathan Rhys Meyers-lookalike (not that you’re picky or anything, right?), here are a few places you’re guaranteed to meet a sexy foreigner in Canada.
The Bar at M Montreal, Quebec, Canada
It may sound obvious, but the one foolproof way to meet someone visiting from abroad is by going to a hostel bar. They’re packed with indiscernible lilts and languages, and because people are usually much more open to sharing a banquet table with a group of strangers when they’re travelling, chances are you can slip right into the conversation (no awkward pick-up line required). Start your night out in Montreal with a drink at the cozy, antler-chandeliered M Hostel, where you can catch live music or even join a pub crawl if you so desire—hey, last call is 3 A.M. in Quebec! You can do it all.
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El Furniture Warehouse, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Outposts of El Furniture Warehouse, lovingly dubbed ‘El Furny’, have started popping up all over Canada, but the everything-is-less-than-$5 joint that started it all is in Whistler, BC. The cheap-as-chips sustenance draws a crowd of locals and foreigners alike—what traveller doesn’t love fuelling up for a fiver? Pick up the tab for a Shotski (Google it) and invite the toque-topped Chilean snowboarder you have your eye on to join in on the action, offer to throw in a toonie each for a plate of poutine, all while grooving to ‘90s hip-hop. A true Canadian love story, eh?
Upper Bowl at a Raptors Game, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ask any girlfriend of a Raps fan—you don’t have to like (or even understand) basketball to have a good time at a Raptors game. Since Drake put Toronto’s NBA team on the worldwide radar, games have drawn crowds from all over, hoping to catch a glimpse of the #6God courtside. The Lower Bowl is where the true diehards sit, but with tickets starting at $12, the nosebleeds are where all the fun happens. Use your Grade-7 French skills to offer to take a photo for that group of jersey-less Parisians, and hope they know enough English to keep up the not-so-witty banter.
Milk Tiger Lounge, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Since being named one of the best bars in the world by Conde Nast Traveler, Calgary‘s buzzy cocktail lounge Milk Tiger has enjoyed its fair share of tattoo-sleeved expat guests coming to see what all the fuss is about. Sip artisanal drinks and explain the Canadian cultural phenomenon that is the Stampede, enjoying the fact that the lighting makes you look permanently cast in an Instagram filter.
Oktoberfest, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
You don’t have to buy a one-way to Munich to experience the infamous Bavarian beer festival—twin cities Kitchener-Waterloo play host to the biggest Oktoberfest in North America for nine days every (you guessed it) October, drawing up to a million attendees annually. Grab a stein and some lederhosen and try your best to discern who’s a real German and who’s just had too much Hefeweizen.
Whale Watching in Bonne Bay, Newfoundland, Canada
When in pursuit of a tourist, one must always do as a tourist does. And in Newfoundland, that means clamouring aboard a catamaran, binoculars at the ready in search of some humpbacks. Find someone to clink glasses with when you inevitably get “screeched in” with a shot of Newfoundland screech rum—just a heads up, it’s not delicious—and a traditional lip-lock with a cod fish. Hey, you have to kiss a few fish to get your expat prince, right?
Featured Image: Dave Bloggs, You Can’t get Any More Canadian Than This via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
