We all know death and taxes are the only two things guaranteed in life, but you can likely add memes into the mix as a month never goes by without something being transformed into an internet joke that lasts for a long time online.
2023 was no different, and Canada played its part in the shenanigans, with multiple memes making waves on social media throughout the 12 months.
From Drake using his Jamaican accent on his On the Radar freestyle with Central Cee to the NPC streams of Pinkydoll, Complex Canada lists the top 5 memes of the year.
5. Americans Blame Canada For Poor Air Quality
Defining the Canadian summer was a short bout of truly putrid air quality due to forest fires. While Canadian cities like Montreal and Toronto felt the effects for days, with smog and smokey smells being unavoidable, American ones got caught in the crossfire.
As a result, Canada became the punching bag for Americans looking for someone to blame. Between a New York Post cover that told its readers to blame Canada and TikTok videos galore poking fun at the country for being unable to contain the fires that spread across the northern forests, the internet sure did have a field day.
4. The Weeknd (Intentionally?) Mispronounces Carte Blanche On The Idol
HBO's The Idol was a meme in and of itself, but there was a key moment in one of the episodes where Tedros, the main character played by The Weeknd, asks a hypothetical question to someone else, and tries to say "carte blanche."
Instead of saying it properly, he adds an accent to the end of each word to pronounce it as "cartay blanchay," instead of "kaart blanch," as Google suggests.
Naturally, social media picked up on it and clowned The Weeknd for his inability to pronounce the word. He likely knows the saying is mispronounced and, given the way the showrunners wrote Tedros, it was likely done on purpose to show how much of a dunce the character is.
3. Drake Saying "Combination" In a Jamaican Accent During "On The Radar" Freestyle
Few people in this world are as meme-able as Drake. Regardless of what the Toronto rapper is up to, people always find a way to clown him for doing something or other.
This was once again true in 2023 when Drake said "Combination" in a Jamaican accent when he was starting his verse on the "On The Radar" freestyle over the summer.
The internet already loves poking fun at Drake for his collection of accents and ethnicities, but this one allowed Twitter users to get extra creative with their memes. They almost all shared a common theme of, well, combining things, but the more ridiculous the combination was, the funnier the meme wound up being.
2. Plushh Goes Viral For "Toronto Accent"
The Toronto accent has been gaining worldwide recognition, and this time it isn't because of Drake.
In October, a woman from Toronto went viral for the way she expressed her Toronto accent on a podcast.
Phrases like "If the business is true" and "sick to my stomach" have triggered fight-or-flight responses online and led people to wonder if the Toronto accent actually sounds like that.
The woman's name was eventually revealed to be Plushh and she has a fairly large following online, but she'll forever be remembered for handing the internet a bunch of questions about the Toronto accent in 2023.
1. Pinkydoll Becomes The Face of NPC TikTok
Over the summer, a TikTok content creator by the name of Pinkydoll began making waves when people became intrigued by her peculiar live streams that saw her repeat certain catchphrases and perform actions whenever someone tipped her.
Phrases like "ice cream so good" and "yes yes yes!" both started making their way online, and in a matter of days, social media became enamoured with her.
She became an instant sensation. Celebrities like Timbaland, Elon Musk, and NLE Choppa all expressed their interest in her. She made it to the Streamy Awards and hung out with some of the year's biggest names like Kai Cenat and DreamDoll.
Most importantly, however, she became one of this year's most explosive memes and she fully leaned into it. She knew she could make people laugh and entertain them with her content and made the most of it.
NPC streaming may be an odd online phenomenon, but Pinkydoll truly made the most of it.
