The Words Canadians Are Looking Up in 2026 (So Far)
Gaslighting topped Canada’s most-searched word definitions in 2026, while Ontario chose narcissist and Yukon went straight for absurd. We will resist drawing conclusions. Mostly.
Unscramblerer.com looked at what Canadians searched between January 1 and July 20, 2026, and Sudbury.com reported the top five: gaslighting, narcissist, resilience, integrity and empathy.
So, Canada appears to be checking its relationships, questioning other people's behaviour and trying to stay resilient through it all.
We are also looking up integrity, empathy, love and science, so there may still be hope.
Then there is "niche." Both "neesh" and "nitch" are accepted, giving Canada more time to argue about "foyer."
What Did Each Province and Territory Search?
- Narcissist: Ontario, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut
- Hegemony: British Columbia and New Brunswick
- Gaslighting: Québec
- Integrity: Alberta
- Equity: Saskatchewan
- Metaphor: Newfoundland and Labrador
- Risk: Nova Scotia
- Abduction: Northwest Territories
- Absurd: Yukon
Ontario searched for "narcissist," Québec searched for "gaslighting" and Yukon searched for "absurd."
We will resist drawing conclusions. Mostly.
What Does This Tell Us About Canadians?
Probably less than we would like to pretend.
These are estimates from Unscramblerer.com, reported by Sudbury.com, not official Google findings, based on Google Trends.
Search trends show curiosity. They do not tell us what an entire province believes or what happened in someone's group chat.
Still, Canadians appear to be looking up the correct terminology before discussing whatever is going on.
That seems responsible.
Danna Bananas has been celebrating the funny, strange and unexpectedly Canadian since 2006. Sometimes that means funny gifts. Sometimes it means discovering that an entire territory looked up "absurd."
