{"id":1725,"date":"2026-06-27T08:43:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T14:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordsofworth.org\/ca\/?p=1725"},"modified":"2026-06-26T08:44:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:44:37","slug":"the-difference-between-canadian-and-american-english-punctuation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordsofworth.org\/ca\/blog\/the-difference-between-canadian-and-american-english-punctuation","title":{"rendered":"The difference between Canadian and American English punctuation"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

As a Canadian writer, you may find yourself being offered projects from the United States. This can be great news, but it does mean that you will need to take care, as there can be differences in the rules around grammar, including punctuation. Don\u2019t panic, though, as there are some simple rules to follow.<\/p>\n

Why the difference?<\/h2>\n

Like many countries, Canada has developed its own version of English, and it includes words from many different languages, such as French, German, First Nations languages and, depending on where you go, even Gaelic. Being a large country, Canada also has regional differences, and some may consider the rules of English grammar used there to be a bridge between the American and British styles.<\/p>\n

A question for quotations<\/h2>\n

One area where there is a significant difference is in the use of the comma. While American English places periods and commas inside quotation marks, Canadian English can be more flexible, depending on the style guide being followed. The style used in Canada also tends to rely less heavily on the Oxford comma. It may also make more use of single quotation marks for initial quotes, as well as quotes within quotes. It can also be acceptable to use the British version, which is to use single quotation marks first and double quotation marks inside them.<\/p>\n

What about commas?<\/h2>\n

When writing, the American convention is to use a serial, or Oxford, comma before the \u201cand\u201d in a list. In Canada, the more popular convention is not to use this punctuation unless it prevents ambiguity.<\/p>\n

Acceptable abbreviations<\/h2>\n

When using an abbreviation for a Canadian province, the rule is for there to be no spaces between the initial letters used for the province\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

In some cases, this can get tricky, so it\u2019s good to know who you are writing for. For instance, the accepted \u201cgovernment style\u201d includes periods, e.g., P.E.I. for the province of Prince Edward Island. However, in a casual piece, most people simply use \u201cPEI\u201d.<\/p>\n

In some abbreviations, such as capitalized contractions, Canadians leave out the period. Examples of this are \u201cDr\u201d for Doctor, \u201cSt\u201d for Street and \u201cMr\u201d for Mister. In the United States, the period is included, so these would be \u201cDr.\u201d, \u201cSt.\u201d and \u201cMr.\u201d.<\/p>\n

Getting dates right<\/h2>\n

Writing dates is another area where Canadian formatting can be confusing at times. It tends to use a mix of both European and American styles, and the fully spelled-out format tends to be the preferred choice for Canadians.<\/p>\n

If a date is to be written numerically, the author may follow either the American style, which is MM-DD-YYYY, or the preferred, more formal DD-MM-YYYY.<\/p>\n

Period placement<\/h2>\n

The placement of periods and the spacing around them may also be different. In Canada, there is no space before or after a decimal point between numbers, and there should be a space after the period at the end of a person\u2019s initials.<\/p>\n

Spacing suggestions<\/h2>\n

A space should be left before and after an ellipsis. When it comes to obliques, a space is only used before and after the oblique if there is a large group of words on either side. An example would be Canada Revenue Agency \/ Agence du revenu du Canada.<\/p>\n

Tips for spelling<\/h2>\n

Just as with punctuation, there are differences between Canadian and American spelling. A good example is the \u201cre\u201d used at the end of words such as theatre and centre when following conventions used in Canada. South of the border, \u201cer\u201d is used instead.<\/p>\n

Do you need some extra help?<\/h2>\n

There are lots of online style guides that may be helpful resources when it comes to tips for proper American and Canadian grammar. It can also be a smart move to install a spelling and grammar checker that is geared towards the country you are writing for. Many writers choose to use one in their writing software, such as Google Docs or Word, which have options for this.<\/p>\n

There are some differences between American and Canadian English, and as a writer, it makes sense for you to learn about them. At Words of Worth, we offer the opportunity for you to put your writing skills to work. Why not apply to join the team today?<\/p>\n

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