History Main / GirlfriendInCanada

* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/loadingreadyrun/3643-Canadian-Girlfriend This]] ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun'' skit, complete with highlighting the issues of this problem if you live in Canada.

* Subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', Apparently, a bunch of nerds who claimed to have girlfriends at other schools were actually telling the truth, which meant Bobby couldn't get tickets to the dance for him and Connie because he kept putting it off.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', Connie is upset that Bobby put off getting tickets to the school dance until it was sold out. Apparently, all those nerds who claim to have girlfriends in other schools were actually telling the truth.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Storks}}'': Toady claims to have a girlfriend who's migrating and produces a photograph of a bird he introduces as her.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'': After falling victim to a love potion that makes her fall head-over-heels for M.O.D.O.K., Miss Marvel says the worst part is that it made her cheat on her boyfriend. He's totally real. And great. And on a mission. In space. That's why no one else has heard of him. Of course, it eventually turns out that she ''does'' have a boyfriend in space: Captain Marvel.

It's a very American trope by nature, not only because [[EaglelandOsmosis America makes so much pop culture]] but also because Canada's relationship with the U.S. means it can only ''really'' work there. Canada and the U.S. are separated by a border but are close by and share a common language; anything farther away would raise questions as to the girlfriend's exotic nationality and linguistic capacity. You won't see this in {{anime}}, for instance, because for a Japanese guy to pretend to have a foreign girlfriend would raise questions as to which of them is bilingual. In Britain, a "girlfriend in Ireland" doesn't need a passport to visit the UK, and a "girlfriend on the Continent" would probably speak a different language (although [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench certain]] [[SexyScandinavian places]] in Continental Europe would make the prospect ''quite'' tempting for the hapless guy). A "Girlfriend in Australia" is a possibility, and it adds the wrinkle of time zones to the equation; Australia and New Zealand don't do it to each other, though, because [[TheRival such a relationship is already implausible]]. If the show is set ''in'' Canada, you can do a "Girlfriend in the States", but for safety's sake better put her far from the border ''and'' far from states that tend to have a lot of Canadian visitors like Arizona or Florida.

If the character's friends are a little ''too'' forceful in calling him out on the girlfriend's non-existence, you can expect the most common {{subversion}} of this trope; the girlfriend will turn out to be real after all before the episode ends. If the character ''himself'' is from Canada, no one will question him having a girlfriend back home and it's not this trope at all.

** ''ComicBook/{{Champions|MarvelComics}}'': Parodied in issue #16, where the others make fun of ComicBook/MilesMorales for claiming that he has [[Comicbook/SpiderGwen a girlfriend in an alternate universe]].

** ''ComicBook/Champions2016'': Parodied in issue #16, where the others make fun of ComicBook/MilesMorales for claiming that he has [[Comicbook/SpiderGwen a girlfriend in an alternate universe]].

There are variants that don't require a different country at all. Schoolchildren can do it, claiming to their classmates that they ''totally'' have a girlfriend, but you haven't met her because she goes to a different school. Sci-fi or fantasy series with their own settings also have more possible options; you could put her on a different planet or dimension as long, as it's not too difficult to get there. A setting with a FictionalCountry may choose to use that country for the fictitious girlfriend.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Champions|2016}}'', the others make fun of ComicBook/MilesMorales for claiming that he has [[Comicbook/SpiderGwen a girlfriend in an alternate universe]].
* Destra of ''ComicBook/TheIntimates'' claims to have a boyfriend in Niagara Falls when Dead Kid Fred approaches her. Destra is incredibly sexy and could easily get a real boyfriend at the drop of a hat, but none of the boys at her boarding school interest her, hence the lie.
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' comics, Milhouse's dad claims to have a girlfriend onboard the cruise ship everyone is on, and he always uses some excuse whenever anyone asks where she is. Subverted in that he actually does, and she really was just in the bathroom or tired every time he wasn't with her. Used later in a Romeo and Juliet parody, where Romeo (Nelson) claims that Tybalt (Jimbo) is just jealous because he has a real girlfriend. Jimbo replies with the trope.
* In one ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' comic, Kid Flash tells Robin that he has his own RoguesGallery in Canada.
* In the ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen: The Heroic Age'' one-shot, Beast gets stood up on a date. When he mentions this to Molly Hayes of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}}, she assumes that this trope is in effect, but Beast is quick to correct that his girlfriend is actually from ''space'', which doesn't help his credibility in Molly's eyes. (She's real.)

* ''[[Fanfic/TheAlarmaverse Beauty Will Tear Us Apart]]'': After Ditzy claims to be dating Time Turner, Trixie immediately insists that she, too, has a girlfriend. ''“But you can’t meet her now, because she’s getting a degree in Vanhoofer.”''
* Namechecked and turned inside out in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/7648339 Biology Homework]]'' (Very NSFW). [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Aurora]] [[PunnyName Dormir]] ''does'' have a boyfriend and he ''is'' in Canada, but the only person that thinks Aurora's straight [[TransparentCloset is Aurora]].
* In ''[[FanFic/TheDarknessSeries Harry Potter and the Breeding Darkness]]'', Draco ''assumes'' that Harry doesn't really have a [[SlashFic boyfriend]] because this mysterious boyfriend doesn't attend Hogwarts. [[SubvertedTrope He assumes wrong]].
* In ''[[Fanfic/AftermathOfTheGames Integration]]'' it is revealed that Apple Bloom once lied that she had a coltfriend from the Crystal Empire. Applejack and Rainbow Dash also note that this might be the case with Princess Twilight's relationship with Human Flash Sentry because they have never actually met him. Averted, however, as Twilight and Flash actually are in a relationship.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8038419/5/The-Journey-Begins The Journey Begins]]'', Dominick Burke claims that he's bi and that his steady girlfriend is in Greece with her dying grandmother.
* Inverted in ''[[Creator/Foobar137 The Padawan and the Smuggler]]''; Phineas's friends at Tosche Station don't believe his stories about his girlfriend and ask if she's from Kan'daraan.
* In ''Fanfic/ScottPilgrimVsSnowFlowerAndTheSecretHallPass'', Shizuo wishes he had a girlfriend in Canada so he could get out of being in an arranged marriage.
* In ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'', Shikamaru cites the trope when he's asked by [[NoSocialSkills Sai]] out of the blue why he and Choji don't have dates for the wedding of Asuma and Kurenai, explaining that his girlfriend (Temari) lives in Sunagakure. All the boys in Sunagakure also think that Temari made up Shikamaru to keep them off her back because he considers crossing the desert to visit her to be too much of a pain.

* [[http://web.me.com/magwier/albruno3/The_Binder_Of_Shame.html Al Bruno III's]] ''Literature/BinderOfShame'', a series of satirical stories about a tabletop gaming group. One character claims to have a girlfriend in Canada. No one believes him, of course. He leaves for a year or so. In the meantime, a second fellow gets a girlfriend who actually shows up to gaming sessions. When the first fellow returns, he is very upset that the girl (yes, his girlfriend) has been cheating on him, and the second fellow gets upset that the girl failed to tell him she was Canadian.
-->"I told you I was from [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth Shadowed Innsmouth]] because I was afraid there would be a stigma."

* In Shaenon's ''[[Series/TheXFiles X-Files]]'' parody webcomic ''Webcomic/MonsterOfTheWeek'', Pheobe Green from the episode "Fire" is introduced by Mulder saying "Hey, Scully. Remember how I told you I did so have a girlfriend but she lives in England and you wouldn't know her?"
* A non-relationship variant/parody in a ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'' "[[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/narbonic_plus/series.php?view=archive&chapter=49811 Continuity Repairs With Rob and Andy]]" strip. How did Dave get a 1984 action figure in 1983? From his cousin in Canada, of course! "You wouldn't know him, since he's from Canada."

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Discombobulated}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strip_037_001_1.jpg]]]]

->''I wish you could meet my girlfriend,\\
But you can't because she is in Canada.\\
I love her, I miss her, I can't wait to kiss her,\\
So soon I'll be off to Alberta!\\
...I mean Vancouver!\\
(Shit, her ''name'' is Alberta, she ''lives'' in Vancouver...)''
-->-- '''Rod''', ''Theatre/AvenueQ''

** Sven's claim to own a "’65 Les Paul" guitar is [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=943 treated as such]], as Gibson didn't build any Les Pauls in 1965.[[spoiler: Turns out he ''[[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=945 thought]]'' he owned one. He got swindled and his guitar was [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=947 built in 1983]], not 1965--although it is a genuine Les Paul, so he was only partially swindled.]]

** Sven's claim to own a "’65 Les Paul" guitar is [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=943 treated as such]], as Gibson didn't build any Les Pauls in 1965.[[spoiler: Turns out he ''[[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=945 thought]]'' he owned one. He got swindled and his guitar was [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=947 built in 1983]], not 1965.]]

* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': In one episode, Cliff claims he fooled around with a woman in Florida; in reality, the letter belonging to "her" was the hotel threatening to sue him for stealing almost everything from his room. In a subversion, Maggie is a real girlfriend of Cliff's -- and she moves to Canada.

** Strong Bad claims to have many, many girlfriends... who we never see because they're supposedly visiting other planets, such as the "very special lady" from the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "autobigraphy" or Delilelia from "senior prom".

** A more literal example occurred in episode 6 of Marzipan's Answering Machine, in which he says his girlfriend "lives up in the other country."

** Manny dates a Canadian girl he met at camp and can't convince anyone that she's real. He ends up arramging a FaceTime call with her so his family can see she exists. She ruefully admits that this isn't the first time she's had to do one of these calls.

It's a very American trope by nature, not only because [[EaglelandOsmosis America makes so much pop culture]], but also because Canada's relationship with the U.S. means it can only ''really'' work there. Canada and the U.S. are separated by a border but are close by and share a common language; anything farther away would raise questions as to the girlfriend's exotic nationality and linguistic capacity. You won't see this in {{anime}}, for instance, because for a Japanese guy to pretend to have a foreign girlfriend would raise questions as to which of them is bilingual. In Britain, a "girlfriend in Ireland" doesn't need a passport to visit the UK, and a "girlfriend on the Continent" would probably speak a different language (although [[EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench certain]] [[SexyScandinavian places]] in Continental Europe would make the prospect ''quite'' tempting for the hapless guy). A "Girlfriend in Australia" is a possibility, and it adds the wrinkle of time zones to the equation; Australia and New Zealand don't do it to each other, though, because [[TheRival such a relationship is already implausible]]. If the show is set ''in'' Canada, you can do a "Girlfriend in the States", but for safety's sake better put her far from the border ''and'' far from states that tend to have a lot of Canadian visitors like Arizona or Florida.

* In ''[[Fanfic/AftermathOfTheGames Integration]]'' it is revealed that Apple Bloom once lied that she had a coltfriend from the Crystal Empire. Applejack and Rainbow Dash also note that this might be the case with Princess Twilight's relationship with Human Flash Sentry because they have never actually met him. Averted however, as Twilight and Flash actually are in a relationship.

* ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'': In Imagination Land, Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong meet Riley's imaginary boyfriend. When Bing Bong, confused, mentions that he's never heard of him before, the boyfriend tells them that he lives in Canada.

* Gil in ''Film/GoingGreek'' claims not only a foreign traveling girlfriend, but that she travels because she is a model. He is not believed, even by his cousin and all his frat buddies assume that he simply is an ArmoredClosetGay. The final frat party reveals that he is not only telling the truth, but that she is so devoted she got a "Property of Gil" tattoo on her neck.

* In a deleted scene in ''Film/TrickRTreat'', Laurie claims she is not a virgin; citing an incident with Dave, an attorney at the law firm in Toronto where she interned. The other girls don't believe it for a moment. [[spoiler:Of course, 'virgin' has a different meaning in this circumstances.]]

* In ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby,'' protagonist Nick has a romance with Jordan, but it ends somewhat badly. During their last conversation she claims that she's now engaged to someone else, but Nick privately suspects that she may be lying.

* In Marco Denevi's noirish novel ''Rosaura at 10 O'Clock'', a young man whose nosy neighbors get on his case about not having a girlfriend tells them he's having a secret affair with a married woman named "Rosaura", and sends himself perfumed letters. (Therefore, he's very surprised when one day his landlady tells him, "Rosaura was here this morning asking for you"...)
* In [[Creator/NeilGaiman Neil Gaiman's]] ''Trigger Warning'' anthology short story "Literature/TheThingAboutCassandra", the fifteen-year-old British protagonist makes-up the titular girlfriend, pretending to have met her on a skiing holiday. After three trips to London for imaginary dates (claiming he lost his virginity after the second one), he laments to his mother and friends that she "moved to Canada," which in his mind sounded more realistic than America. About twenty years later he is surprised to learn Cassandra has somehow contacted his childhood friend on Facebook, later appearing in-the-flesh and talking with his mum at the grocery store. As it turns out, [[spoiler: ''he'' was ''her'' imaginary ''boy''friend]].

* On ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'', Dick wants to invite Nina and her boyfriend to dinner, but Mary suspects that Nina's boyfriend doesn't actually exist. The quickness with which Nina turns down the invitation to a double-date does not assuage that suspicion.

** Howard tells the others this when he actually does get a girlfriend. She's out of town when Leonard's mom comes over... which is unfortunate, since Leonard's mom is convinced he and Raj are in the closet.

** In another episode, Frasier is actually dating an ex-Victoria's Secret model who previously dated an NFL player, and is going to the Galapagos Islands to research for her [=PhD=]. Through a string of unlucky circumstances no-one meets her, so they assume Frasier is making her up.
* In the pilot episode of ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Sandy Ryerson claims that the scandal that got him sacked almost cost him his long distance girlfriend in another city. Will does not look convinced.

* According to ''Podcast/PlumbingTheDeathStar'', the one problem with dating [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Kruegar]] is that everyone would assume you're just making him up to puff your ego, since he only exists in the dreamworld. Zammit is very put off by this, not wanting to be "that guy."

* In ''VideoGame/HypnospaceOutlaw'', Corey and Zane, two members of the Teentopia community that go to the same school, claim to have long-distance girlfriends, and these girlfriends do have their own pages. [[spoiler:Metadata the player, as an Enforcer, can access indicates they were made with the same headbands as their "boyfriends".]] Zane's is pretty obvious, since it's entirely her gushing about him. Corey puts a bit more effort into creating an OneOfTheBoys dorky persona for his fictitious girlfriend, but it's still blatant.

* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series, Conrad Verner occasionally makes reference to an unseen wife who puts up with his obsession with Shepard. The third game reveals that he just made her up. ''Andromeda'' has an different spin on this, where his sister Cassandra ''thinks'' this was going on with Conrad's encounters with Shepard (thanks to Conrad having exaggerated his encounters with the Commander just a teeny bit).

** ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' has So-And-So's imaginary boyfriend, Brett Bretterson. In a weird twist, she actually speaks to "him", much to the concern of the other girls. In a later episode she claims that she broke up with him.

** Dora mentions that Sven actually had a Canadian girlfriend, and that his resulting screaming fight with the enraged ''Quebecoise'' was "the best Thanksgiving ever".

* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': Most of the cast goes to Future’s Promise, the only school in town to accomodate the MagicalGirl WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld schedule. One of the execptions in Rue, due to being a ConspiracyTheorist about everything that the town has put in place to make MagicalGirl life easier. However, Rue still does the monster fighting part and ends up partnering with Zoe, one of the newer students from Future’s Promise. Because of a plot development, Zoe and some of her classmates decide that none of them should go monster fighting alone. Zoe declines an offer to join two of her classmates because she'll be with Rue and mentions she goes to another school. Zoe soon has to correct a classmate's assumption that she invented her teammate.

* [[http://web.me.com/magwier/albruno3/The_Binder_Of_Shame.html Al Bruno III's]] ''Literature/BinderOfShame'', a series of satirical stories about a tabletop gaming group. One character claims to have a girlfriend in Canada. No-one believes him, of course. He leaves for a year or so. In the meantime, a second fellow gets a girlfriend who actually shows up to gaming sessions. When the first fellow returns, he is very upset that the girl (yes, his girlfriend) has been cheating on him, and the second fellow gets upset that the girl failed to tell him she was Canadian.

** After ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', Todd and [[Creator/AllisonPregler Lupa]] have one awkward date before she winds up going out with [[WebVideo/{{Phelous}} someone else]]. Todd tries to reassure himself that the new guy probably isn't even real, since he "lives in Canada" or something. ([[DontExplainTheJoke The joke, of course]], being that [[RealLife he actually does]].)
** Todd had earlier joked about this trope in his review of Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", when he suggested that the {{Jerkass}} ex-boyfriend she was singing about wasn't real.

** The later episode "The 42 Year Old Virgin" plays with a lot of classic sex tropes by applying them to [[ARealManIsAKiller killing]] instead of sex. Stan is outed as a "virgin" when he can't name the first person he killed, instead claiming it was a Soviet agent, "but you wouldn't know him, [[LogicBomb he was from Canada]]."

* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', "Impostor's Home for Make-'Em-Up Pals": Frankie spent most of an episode trying to expose a new imaginary friend as a real human pretending to be imaginary. The friend claimed his maker lived in Canada. Then it was revealed he really was imaginary and his maker really did live in Canada. In Frankie's defense, he could neither remember the name "Canada" nor pronounce it correctly once he did remember. Not only that, but were it not for the faux clown nose he constantly wore (concealing his actual, ''very'' imaginary-looking nose), nothing about him would indicate he was anything but an ordinary human guy.

** One episode had Lisa bemoan being unable find a date to a dance, even among the nerds. Turns out their claims of having girlfriends at other schools were true.

* A non-gay version was done by undercover FBI agent Joseph Pistone AKA Film/DonnieBrasco. Pistone was married but was posing as an unattached jewel thief, and so needed a plausible reason for the other mobsters why he didn't put the moves on other women, or was away to see his real family. So he'd pretend to have an out-of-state girlfriend.