Here’s something to do with your family & friends for FREE…visit Ontario Place!

To commemorate their 40th Anniversary, Ontario Place is offering free admission to their grounds. Unfortunately, this excludes their new water park which is $11.70/person. Not bad, considering Wild Water Kingdom, which is an older venue, is $30 and Canada’s Wonderland is $56 for adults!!! <– A bit much, if you ask me!

If you’re not fond of driving, consider a TTC Day-Pass for 2 adults or 2 adults/children for $10, unlimited travel! Day-passes are only available for 2+ people on the weekends/holidays.

My only gripe about public transit to Ontario Place is that it lets you off at The Ex and you have to trek across an alley, 2 parking lots, and an overpass bridge before you finally arrive at the actual destination. 🙁

Sorry for not posting this earlier! For some reason, I thought everyone already knew about this deal.

Click here for more information.

Just announced!

M.A.C’s Viva Glam initiative just got a little hotter! Following in the footsteps of fabulous faces like Lady Gaga and Fergie, the M.A.C AIDS Fund has named Ricky Martin and Nicki Minaj as the newest spokespeople to represent the 2012 VIVA GLAM campaign launching in February 2012!

I can’t wait to see Minaj’s new shades! It will probably be a barbie and ken shade duo!  I really love her crazy style. I’m headed to see her concert this month.

Click here for the full article.

This is so sad. Such a great Canadian company.

“We deeply regret the impact Please Mum’s current circumstances are having on our valued employees.

What happened to Please Mum?

Due to difficult financial circumstances, on July 7, 2011, Please Mum Partnership (consisting of and including Elia Fashions Ltd. and Bossa Nova Fashions Ltd.) (“Please Mum”) filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (the “BIA”). Deloitte & Touche Inc. has consented to be the Trustee under the Proposal.”

They are still selling online and in-store for the moment but all items are final sale, gift cards are not accepted anymore, VIP program cancelled, No VIP card will be honoured,

Heres a letter from the company.

Happy Canada day everyone! I hope your weekend is filled with fun and relaxation. Please do not drink and drive.

O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux, Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux! Car ton bras sait porter l’épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. Et ta valeur, de foi trempée, Protégera nos foyers et nos droits. Protégera nos foyers et nos droits

O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free! From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux, Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux! Car ton bras sait porter l’épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. Et ta valeur, de foi trempée, Protégera nos foyers et nos droits. Protégera nos foyers et nos droits

credit for lyrics.

With the warmer weather brings M&M’s annual charity barbeque.  We generally always try to support our local M&M’s during this charity event.

On May 7th, 2011, Canadians can help cook up a cure! Visit any M&M Meat Shops location across Canada to support the 23rd Annual M&M Meat Shops Charity BBQ Day benefiting Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC). M&M Meat Shops franchisees, staff and thousands of volunteers from coast-to-coast will grill hamburgers and hot dogs to meet the 2011 fundraising goal of $1.6 million.

            Visit any M&M location across Canada to make your donation!

              Can’t make it to the bbq?  There are other ways to participate:

 From April 1st until May 8th, 2011, you can purchase and sign a Charity BBQ Day star at any M&M Meat Shops location across Canada for a minimum $2 donation. 

  3 Great Ways to be a SUPERstar for CCFC 

Buy a Star for $2 and you’ll be entered to WIN a $500 M&M Gift Card.
Buy a Blossom for $3, sign a Star & double your chances to WIN a $500 M&M Gift Card.
Buy a Coupon Book for $5 with $50 in savings, sign a Star & triple your chances to WIN a $500 M&M Gift Card

 Click here to find a location near you or for more information.

With so many amazing readers and members of our site I thought it’s time that we feature YOU!  Each month a random member will be featured.  With this honour will come a chance to share tips and stories in a feautued blog post all about you.

How can I become a Smart Canuck of the month? It’s simple. If your not a member of the forum simply sign up and email me at Sally @ Smartcanucks.ca (omit spaces) on why you should be the Smart Canuck of the month, your username on the forum, and email contact.  You can also nominate a member if you wish. *You can email me a nomination or recommend yourself right now!*

Each month a member will be randomly chosen to be the Smart Canuck of the month, and will receive a $25 gift card for participating. *Must be Canadian resident to receive giftcard*

To get things started I randomly chose an existing Smart Canuck for the month of May.  Watergirl73 is May’s Smart Canucks of the month. Congratulations! Keep your eyes peeled for her featured post.

*Please remember that every member is a valued Smart Canucks and not everyone will be randomly chosen as there is only 12 spots per annum.* Odds of being featured are dependant upon a random monthly draw and number of entries*

We at Smart Canucks have decided to expand our blog team.  I am looking to put together a reliable, dependable team to blog about various Canadian deals, freebies and hot buys on a regular basis.

Applicants must be able to  write fluently in English. You do not have to be perfect, spell check is a wonderful tool!  However we would like to keep our blog growing and continue to grow to a higher standard as we expand in the future.

Basic training and general direction will be provided.  This is a paid position which will be discussed further with potential team members.  If your interested in becoming a team member of our infamous blog please apply directly to me:

Sally@ Smartcanucks.ca (remove space after @)

Please include a “sample” of your writing and a picture you would choose to go along with the topic of your sample.

Thank you

Please note only applicants that are chosen for further consideration will be contacted.

*Please do not send me your personal pictures, any random pic that pertains to your topic is just fine! It doesn’t matter to us what you look like 🙂

*Up new openings*

It’s not a lollipop, a piece of cake, or even a cake on a stick, but a Cake Pop. There are 3 flavours which are part of Starbucks’ new line of treats called “Petites“. Each Petite is supposed to be under 200 calories.

Despite the low-ish calorie count, don’t let it fool you into thinking that it’s “healthy” as the list of (at least half of) the ingredients reads like a chemistry textbook! Click here to read what’s in the Tiramisu Cake Pop.

A barista was handing out these artery clogging fakies and for some reason, I choose the Tiramisu flavour. (I dunno why ’cause I think Tiramisu is gross!) I also had a nibble of the ballet pink Birthday Cake Pop.  Visually, the Petites sure look cute!

Verdict? Both were surrounded by a soft, fake chocolate shell and super sweet with the Tiramisu taking the “cake”. (It didn’t taste like Tiramisu, btw.) The texture of the inside reminded me of marzipan, but it didn’t taste like almonds. I literally looked ’round to see if there was a poster with a description of what I was eating ’cause I didn’t have the faintest.

According to other blogs they’re like $1.50USD/ea which will likely equal $2CAD with a broken down currency calculator. We always get the shaft!

The next time I’m at Starbucks and feel like something sweet, I think I’ll bypass the Petites and bakery items (just as bad – I checked!), and just add a bit of honey/raw sugar to my coffee.

First of all, thanks to everyone who entered.  It was a very fun contest with over 700 unique entries. If you would like to shop  don’t forget to use the code “SMARTCANUCKS30” at checkout to save yourself 30%.  Remember shipping is free over $60.   Click here to check out ECOcentricbags.com

Anyways, on to the winner.

The winner of the $60 giftcard and free shipping  for  ECOcentricbags is BMyltof Congratulations. Please check your inbox.

The winner was generated using random.org

Also please remember to “like” ECOcentric bags on Facebook for more great offers!

Just a friendly reminder to those of us who spring ahead that we do so on March 13th 2011.  I think the “official” to do to so is 2am but most of us just do it before we head to bed.  Or if your the small percentage (like me) that forgets you spend your entire Sunday behind an hour.

Last week, The Bay started carrying Madonna and daughter, Lola’s clothing line, Material Girl. Featuring Kelly Osbourne as the new face, Material Girl was previously only exclusive at Macy’s in the US.

I was shocked at how affordable everything was, while in Buffalo this past summer. (I was gonna say “cheap”, but…)  Call it a quarter-life-crisis, but I ended up buying a black lace tutu for $22USD, plus I got an additional 15% off ’cause I had “out of state ID”.  It was a weird discount, but hey, I’m not complaining!  See below.

Anyway, as soon as I heard that Material Girl launched in Canada*, I raced to the nearest Bay.  Verdict?  Nothing to write home about.  The selection, at least at Square One, was very limited.  There were 6 puny racks with maybe 3-4 different pieces.

Aside from the poor selection, what really stood out was the recycled designs circa H&M…last Spring!  (Did they just decide to ship the leftovers to Canada?)  I guess I just expected something different.  Seriously, if there was no signage, also ugly btw, I’d walk right pass the entire section and head straight towards the perfume counters – my only other reason to step foot in there!

Furthermore, the clothing is Forever 21-quality at un-Forever 21 prices, the mannequins blend right into the background, the merchandising is completely uninspiring, and who was the stylist, grandpa who comes in to stock up on golf shirts during Bay Days?  Blech.

I’d expect this weak set-up from Zellers, but The Bay?  C’mon, certainly you can do better than that!  I won’t put all the blame on the collection itself, as it seems obvious that The Bay doesn’t have high hopes for it!

Maybe there’s hope for next season…if it’s still ’round.

*  Thanks, Sally!

Well our Adult Sensations contest has come to a close. With it’s close theres a few things to announce.  There will be another contest coming up this week, a discount code for Adult Sensations and of course who won!

Our winner is post number 213 “Redundant.” Congratulations! Check your email for further instructions.

For everyone else simply enter the code “15offsmartcanuck-feb2011” valid until the end of March to receive 15% off.  Click here to shop.

Shopping here bores me to tears! I actually never buy anything at the mall ’cause it’s expensive, poor quality, and there is really no selection.

If you want something “different”, you either hafta pay through the nose or scour through the racks at the thrift store. I do + can only afford the latter option.

So where do the fashion conscious/working gals with moderate budgets shop? H&M (okay, but not the best quality), Forever 21 (yes, even for the 30+ crowd, again fairly bad quality), or Winners (which requires patience to go through the racks). And forget about shoe shopping ’cause that’s particular abysmal!

And since the majority of the female population shop at these stores, I find everyone starts looking alike. There is very little individuality on the streets…in the ‘burbs! Downtowners aren’t quite off the hook either. 😉

So as this is the current state of affairs, I do do the occasional online binge – especially when it involves sales + free shipping!

Recently, I visited Asos.com to find out that they provide free delivery worldwide which is definitely a plus for deprived Canadians! NO MINIMUM SPENDING REQUIRED. It’s a UK site, so styles are slightly more edgy. (I hate the word “trendy”, btw.) Huge selection of clothing, including accessories, purses, beauty, and men!

Decent prices, deals to be found in clearance section. Prices are listed in £, so be sure to use a currency conversion site before you checkout!

On and offline, where do you do your shopping for clothes+shoes?

P.S. I sure hope the duties aren’t a killer.

For the first time ever Canada post is asking Canadians to vote for their favourite stamp in support of mental health.  Vote by clicking here.  Voting runs until March 14th.  I’m not sure which one I’ll vote for. I kind of like the one with the puzzle pieces coming out of the head. Seems to hit the mark with me.  

Mental illness affects one in five Canadians… seven million of our friends, neighbours, colleagues and loved ones will need help for mental health problems this year. Many will not get it because of the stigma attached to the illness or because the resources simply aren’t there to provide help

For more information on the fundraising that Canada Post has done for mental health awareness click here.

(So nice, MAC made her a spokeswoman twice!)

Last week, MAC launched Viva Glam II featuring Lady Gaga as their spokesmodel…again. Viva Glam II features a lipstick and lipglass in Gaga 2 which is a “light warm” nude. Great colour for the Spring!

Music-wise I’m not a HUGE fan, but the lady can certainly sell whatever she puts her name on!

Get Gaga 2 while supplies last as both the lipstick and lipglass are limited edition, i.e. you’re at the mercy of eBay, and its premiums, if you don’t get a chance to snatch these up!

After dodging all the families who were at the mall on Family Day, I was finally able to pick up the lipglass for $17.50CAD, plus applicable taxes. 🙁 It looks like I chugged a bottle of liquid foundation, but hey, 100% of the proceeds goes towards the M*A*C AIDS Fund. Sounds like a good cause if you ask me!