Canadian folk hero Ryan Gosling returned home to his ancestral land Wednesday to attend the graduation of his mother, Donna, from Brock University. He brought Eva Mendes. Canada freaked out.

InsideHalton.com reported extensively on Gosling and Mendes' visit to a local Starbucks, noting that Mendes entered alone while Gosling waited outside (Why not go in and help her carry, Ryan Gosling? Too famous? Too famous for Starbucks?) and that the pair ordered a shit-ton of everything, including:

  • an iced triple grande
  • a venti red-eye
  • a bottle of water
  • a second bottle of water
  • a banana chocolate chip muffin
  • a blueberry muffin

InsideHalton.com also takes the prize for most clever bird references jammed into a write-up, titling their story Gosling ducks into Burlington this morning and opening with a line about "Eagle-eyed latte lovers." They do, however, lose points for neither referring to the couple as "lovebirds" nor employing the word "gander," in reference to the prerogative of the aforementioned eagle-eyed latte lovers.

As for the graduation ceremony itself, the most extensive reporting appears to have come from The Toronto Sun which notes that Donna Gosling's Ontario Son "jumped to his feet, clapping and taking pictures" when she received her degree (a Bachelor of Education – mazel tov, Donna).

Gosling was reportedly "affable" when approached by reporters but declined to give interviews saying, "This is my mom's day."

He also "playfully fenced" with a young boy-warrior he was training for combat while he waited to meet with his mom after the ceremony.

And wore a really pilly Lacoste sweater and faded black jeans.

And went to Niagara Falls.

The best part of the Sun coverage was this Inspector Clouseau-like exchange a reported had with a paparazzo who was camped out in some shrubbery near Ryan Gosling's car:

"A man could be seen hiding in bushes outside the auditorium, near where Gosling's vehicle was parked.

Asked what he was doing there, he said ‘Just go, you're gonna blow our cover.'"

Whatever pictures that bushman managed to snap, they couldn't have been any better than the ones Instagrammed by attendees of the ceremony. Here's the best one, of Eva Mendes looking totally cute and Ryan Gosling looking like the crack-smoking teacher he played in Half Nelson.

There were many, many more, of varying quality (scroll down for blurry images of Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling, and the Mother Goose taken from various distances).

For the record, Brock University spokesman Kevin Cavanaugh said that, despite the presence of the One True Gosling, the ceremony was not too disrupted.

"It wasn't overshadowed by the presence of two of the hottest movie stars in the world."

Who do you guys think was the other hottest movie star present, and do you expect Eva Mendes was excited to meet him/her?

[Toronto Sun // InsideHalton // Image via AP // Maple Leaf via Shutterstock]