Canada's Carney called out for 'utilizing' British spelling

Nature of Canadian vs British/American English

• Commenters describe Canadian English as a hybrid: generally North American pronunciation and vocabulary, but with many British spellings (“colour”, “centre”, “harbour”, “Defence”, “manoeuvres”, “theatres”) alongside American ones (“airplanes”, “aluminum”, “tires”, “practice” as both noun and verb).
• There’s debate on specific forms like “catalyse/catalyze” and “-ize/-ise”; some note UK academic/technical writing often prefers “-ize”, while popular UK usage leans “-ise”.
• Historical spellings like “gaol” survive in some Canadian place names, puzzling locals but tracing to older British usage.

Software, education, and erosion of Canadian spelling

• Several people note there’s often no “Canadian English” option in spellcheckers, forcing a choice between US and UK standards; this may be nudging usage away from traditional Canadian patterns.
• One commenter connects recent Canadian school materials (with US-focused phonics/spelling) to growing Americanization of spelling and pronunciation.

Political framing of the spelling issue

• Many see the controversy as manufactured outrage, akin to fixating on a politician’s suit color: an attempt to create a symbolic scandal when little substantive criticism is available.
• Others argue the PM should use Canadian English, especially given Canada’s official-language framework, but still treat it as a very minor issue.
• There’s side discussion on current Canadian party dynamics and leaders’ popularity, with some disagreement on who counts as “most popular in decades.”

Significance (or triviality) of the controversy

• The dominant view is that this is “much ado about nothing”; people express envy that spelling is even being discussed as news, compared to more serious scandals elsewhere.
• Some Canadians argue attention should be on productivity, automation, tariffs, and economic policy, not orthography.

“Utilize” vs “use” and style preferences

• Multiple commenters criticize “utilize/utilise” as almost always worse than “use”, reading as pretentious.
• A minority argue for a subtle distinction (e.g., “utilize” for novel or indirect use, or more formal/technical context), but others counter that dictionaries show “use” fully subsumes it.

Code‑switching and global English

• Several people describe switching between US, UK, and Canadian spellings depending on audience or medium (code/docs vs email/chat).
• General consensus: consistency within a context matters more than which standard you choose, and most readers adapt easily.