Canadian kids shows from the 1980s -how many did you watch?
Growing up in the 1980s in Canada was quite the experience! Biking around without a helmet, walking to the corner store to buy some 'Popeye' candy cigarettes or a giant Mr. Freeze, and of course, watching loads of TV!
Our parents were not too concerned about screen-time, especially on Saturday mornings and on summer vacation. Join us on a trip down memory lane and see if you can identify these iconic Canadian children's tv programs from the 80s!
The main characters Tom and Annie, along with their naughty little brother Paul, solved problems using their science knowledge. Do you remember the name of this show? It ran on CBC for six seasons!
If you guessed 'The Edison Twins', you are correct!
One of the main characters, Jeff, was a mannequin that had a magic hat that made him come to life. If you were born in the early 80s, there's a good chance your mother used this program to keep you occupied!
"Today's Special"....can you still hear the theme song in your mind? It was a weird show, but we loved it!
You most likely watched this TV show in school. Many teachers across the country used it, and in our class, if we were good all week, we got to watch this show as a "prize."
Who could forget 'Téléfrançais'??? If you want a good laugh, watch an episode on YouTube!
This probably one of the most quintessential Canadian cartoons out there. If the characters shown here don't ring a bell, you must not be an 80s baby!
'The Raccoons'! Who didn't look forward to watching this show each week?
Some adorable, good characters called 'Suntots' need to save the planet from a group of humans who don't want to take care of the planet.
Sound familiar??
'The Smoggies'! This adorable show taught us the importance of keeping the earth clean!
This show was very successful and ran until 2006. You should recognize the host Johnathan Torrens and the segment 'What's Your Beef?'
'Street Cents' was a great program! It ran on CBC, didn't run commercials to not to have influence from companies, and taught us to be critical consumers!
The main characters named Holly (a human), Iggy (an iguana), Jacob (a blue jay), and Gloria (a gopher) lived in a house together in Ottawa.
'Under the Umbrella Tree' ran from 1986 until 1993 and taught us lots of valuable life lessons!
The two main wacky characters of this show were Tom and Mark, and their alter egos, the 'Keeners'. Sound familiar???
'Camp Cariboo' ran on CTV from 1986 to 1989, but many of us only saw it when it aired on YTV from 1989 to 1997.
If you look at this picture and you don't know the name of this show, we will be shocked!
This show was our babysitter when we were three years old! Tell us we aren't the only ones?! If you want a laugh, show an episode of 'Friendly Giant' to your kids on YouTube. Their reactions will be hilarious!
The host is very well known for children's entertainment in Canada. He would go through a hallow log to get to a secret hangout and was often visited by the 'word bird.'
'Fred Penner's Place' was a much-loved children's musical show that ran from 1985 to 1997. Many of us grew up with Fred Penner songs we learned from watching his show.
Bear, Marigold, Humpty, and Dumpty entertained us on this show, along with two human hosts. There was another iconic character too, but we can't say his name without giving away the show's name!
We watched this show religiously and can still sing the theme song! Who didn't love Polkaroo??
The host loved to wear costumes, tell stories, draw and hang out with Casey and Finnegan.
Mr. Dress Up was the BEST! And we all wanted to have a cool treehouse to live in, like Casey and his dog Finnegan!
We followed these kids to jr. high school and then high school. No more clues!
Many of the same actors from 'The Kids of Degrassi Street' continued in the follow-up series, 'Degrassi Jr. High' and 'Degrassi High.' An iconic Canadian television series, for sure!
Alanis Morisette was on this unusual television show when she was a kid.
We remember watching 'You Can't Do That On Television' and cracking up with laughter. It had a bizarre sense of humour, that's for sure!
...and many a teacher used this show for gym class on days when they were feeling lazy!
'The Body Works' was produced by TV Ontario and debuted in 1980. Did you ever work out with 'The Body Works' kids at school??
This show was huge with pre-schoolers and kindergarteners in the 1980s. Surely you recognize it!
Sharon, Lois, and Bram hosted 'The Elephant Show,' which was hugely popular. They also gave live concerts and released records; if you are a Canadian born in the 1980s, you HAVE to know who these guys are!
We hope that you enjoyed this trip down memory lane... We certainly did! These shows are available on YouTube if you feel nostalgic now and want to watch them. Or if you want to make your kids laugh, show them the TV shows that you grew up with!