Originally Posted by
Kojak
Yeah, so I've been curious about that since I've moved here. In Seattle it was a no brainer, but people here still refer to it as the "PNW" and at first it confused me because I thought certainly this must be referred to as the Canadian "SW". But I"ve heard enough of PNW that I just sort of accepted it. But I still think like you do, that this is SW Canada. But the origin of my "Location" is that I'm originally from Seattle, now living in Victoria, BC. Either way, a lot of water, mountains and natural beauty.
And, any way you slice it, PNW, Canadian SW, West Coast Style, the finger wag of shame was all for me, and I bore the brunt of it.
Okay, an authority.... of sorts :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest
Then there's the South West i.e. South Western Ontario which is further south than parts of northern California.
I was confused when I first moved to Newfoundland years ago when NTV News would refer to the West Coast. They meant Corner Brook and the Bay of Islands NOT British Columbia.