Rural Ontario Dialects on Screen: An Interview with the Creator of Letterkenny

by Molly Stewart
February 1, 2021

The Canadian sitcom Letterkenny follows four friends in a fictional Ontario community, humorously exploiting the characteristics and stereotypes of rural life. I had an opportunity to interview the show's creator, Jared Kesso, about one of these characteristics - language.

Since Letterkenny started out as a web series about experiences relatable to residents of small, rural Canadian towns, to what degree do you focus on the accent/dialect of the Letterkenny residents to emphasize this aspect of the show's identity? 

Not much regarding the accent. You'll notice Wayne is the only character on the show who speaks with that specific accent. This is true to form in Listowel [the town upon which the show is loosely based]. Some people speak with that accent and some don't. It's usually people who live in the country that do. Regarding the language, I've absolutely helped myself to every small town Ontario expression I've ever found charming/witty. Why wouldn't I?

What models, if any, did you use for the rural Ontario dialect? Did you use models based on your own community?  

Yes, I used models based on my own community and other small towns I lived in or went to school in or played hockey in (Strathroy, Arva and Kincardine to name a few).

For those characters who are not residents of Letterkenny, such as the Quebecois "hiques," did you use any models when writing their dialogue? 

I co-wrote Les Hiques with Jonathan Torrens. There wasn't a great focus on a Quebecois specific dialect. We were just trying to hit every Quebecois cliché possible for the sake of humour (I doubt the Quebecois found it funny). That episode was written for an English audience. If I was writing to please a Quebecois audience, I would certainly put more focus on quirky language specific to them. I know there is a tremendous amount of it.

Is Wayne's accent and way of speaking something that comes naturally to you, or is his dialect part of the character you play? 

Wayne's accent comes naturally to me. I had a lot of practice with it while making fun of my hick friends growing up. My pals from Listowel and I all catch ourselves slipping back into it when we drink.