November’s federal budget featured certain words spelled with an ‘s’ instead of a ‘z,’ favouring British instead of Canadian spelling.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press

With Canadian spelling under threat, we must use vigour to mount a defence. By utilizing Canadian spelling, we endeavour to distinguish ourselves from the behaviour of our neighbour, and honour our unique traditions.

The two sentences above contain seven Canadianisms – words that distinctly reflect the variety of English used in Canada. Canadian English is a rich part of our heritage and helps define who we are as a nation, but it’s under threat from – strangely enough – our own federal government.

Canadian spelling has significant overlap with both British and American English, but has its own distinct rules. In some places, it matches British English, for example, spelling “colour” with a “u.” In other instances, it mirrors American usage, spelling words like “analyze” with a “z” instead of an “s.” Canadian English also has French words – for example, “portage” – and words from Indigenous languages, such as kayak (from Inuktitut) and caribou (derived from Mi’kmaq, it describes several subspecies of North American reindeer).

Opinion: As we ponder the........

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