The Eh Team: A Celebration of Canadianisms from Elbows Up to Poutine

by Charles Demers

“Funny, short snippets of Canadiana wrung through the hilariously encyclopedic mind of Charlie Demers—so good.”—Ins Choi, creator of Kim's Convenience

A laugh-out-loud funny guide to how to talk, live, and feel like a Canadian—from CBC “The Debaters” fan-favourite and celebrated Canadian comedian, Charles “Charlie” Demers.

Oh, sorry! Did we bump into you there? Welcome to The Eh Team, the ultimate guide to the quirks, charm, and outright hilarity of the Canadian lexicon. This quirky and proudly patriotic book is your backstage pass to the words, phrases, and expressions that make Canada the Great White North. From "double-double" to "pencil crayons," from "Nanaimo bars" to "toque,” The Eh Team reveals the unique language and culture that define life above the 49th parallel.

Whether you're a lifelong Canuck or just visiting for the poutine, The Eh Team will have you chuckling, nodding in recognition, and maybe even saying, “Give’r, eh!” With every turn of the page, you'll uncover the delightful ways Canadians express themselves, their love of the land, and their famously polite (but fiercely proud) spirit.

The Eh Team is more than just a book—it's a celebration of what it means to be unapologetically Canadian. So grab your toque, pour yourself a Caesar, and settle in for a fun, feel-good read that will have you embracing your inner Canuck like never before.

Genres: Nonfiction

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2025

About the author

Charles Demers (born 1980) is a Canadian writer, comedian and political activist. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is a lecturer at the University of British Columbia, where he teaches a Creative Writing course about writing comedy.

Demers has published three books: a novel and two collections of essays. His first essay collection, Vancouver Special, was nominated for a Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. He also frequently performs comedy at live venues across Canada and on the CBC Radio One, where he often appears on the show The Debaters. Demers was one of the hosts of the CityNews show The List. He used to be the membership secretary for the Coalition of Progressive Electors.

He is the voice of Walter from Beat Bugs.


Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Jillann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, lots of laugh out loud moments.

[Moriah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the explanations weren't that clear, especially if you didn't already know what it was about. Also too many political comments

[Michelle Mallette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Demers is an author and stand-up comic; he regularly appears on CBC Radio’s The Debaters, and I love his mash-up of French-Canadian upbringing and West Coast adult living. I get him completely, in other words. So I was intrigued when I spotted this on our library’s New Books shelf. I remember attending a conference in Washington DC once (decades ago, before the current idiocy) and one of my conference mates was a fellow Canadian, who announced at his introduction that he didn’t speak French, he didn’t play hockey, and he didn’t say Eh. I was near the end and introduced myself as a Canadian who did speak french, followed hockey, and said Eh far too often. It got a few laughs. This is a little book, numbering 200 pages and the size of a trade paperback, though it’s a hardcover, and in a lovely red. It runs alphabetically from Air Canada to the Friendly Giant to Zed, that little letter whose Canadian pronunciation is slowly being retired in favour of the America Zee. I lament that change; I cling to my Zed in desperate hope it, and we, will survive this global change. But back to the book: each entry is quite short, just a few pages of wonderful humour that made laugh out loud many times. I will offer only one example, the one I read aloud on a hiking trip and brought my mates to tears: the Canada goose. “[U]niversally, we f*cking detest that goose. This hissing, honking, shitting, violent, shitting, lumbering, sniping, shitting, shitting, ceaselessly shitting creature that snaps at our children’s mittens and desecrates our soccer fields and does the whole thing while bearing our name.” I’m laughing even now! It’s so true! Hate those damn birds. Others are a little calmer, a bit silly (Ketchup chips) but always tug at the old national pride string. Fun to read for Canadians, though I’m not sure just how well it will illuminate others about our quirks and idiosyncrasies. My thanks to the Grand Forks (B.C.) & District Public Library for including this title in its adult nonfiction collection.

[Wish · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book as a gift from family. Evidently, my mention of going to read some history books on Canada resulted in this book being given to me.

I don't know if this is meant to be a humor book or not. If the answer is yes, then this book would receive an even lower rating. I know humor is subjective but, as I have mentioned in the past, timing matters when it comes to laughs. Usually you have to make the jokes quick and move on, especially in written form. If you try to put humor into an over-arcing storyline then the story has to be very fast paced, ridiculous and not dwell on technical matters. This book reads more like a travelogue or a personal blog.

The book is good at laying out odd facts in a concise manner and each entry is really only a few paragraphs at most. However, going back to the personal blog comment, the author constantly injects information about their personal life and background. I don't think this is a negative entirely because it gave some context occasionally but, I found it annoying to keep hearing about their living arrangements or their thoughts on politics.

So now you have a book that is not about humor, not about particularly interesting facts but social commentary. I am not sure if the term is dated now but "social justice warrior" came to my mind when having to listen to social commentary in a book that I guess is meant to be a introductory history lesson on culture.

I don't know who I would recommend this book to except maybe people who are already familiar with any other content this author has made or some one who wants really low-stakes info about culture in Canada.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite comedians, one of my favourite writers, and lovingly dissecting Canadiana in a way only a Canadian is allowed to do -- a winning combination. Charlie hits all the right notes, from his entries on Bridge Mixture and Canada Geese that had me laughing out loud, to his more satirical and philosophical pieces. It left me wanting more.

[Byron Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of amusing vignettes about bits of Canadiana. In general, it's OK, but not straight up funny.

There are over a hundred items of Canadiana discussed and only a few were new to me. Some evoked a moment of "yeah, I remember that", but most were "yeah, ok." Perhaps it's an age issue. Someone younger might be more surprised.

[Lenore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Explanations of some Canadianisms most of which you already know if you are Canadian. Some amusing explanations but mostly just so so. I had a hard time finishing the book but kept at it just in case something new came up.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

great fun

[Enid Wray]

DNF

[Robert Orgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for this format: "Let's remember some things" with short explanations like a mini-encyclopedia. And when those things are Canadian history and culture? I'm all in.

Fun, easy read, and while I did remember some things, I learned some new things as well.

This book would make a great gift for a new Canadian or a nostalgic ex-pat.