I traveled to Vancouver BC this summer and was told that it’s commonly known as Hongcouver. Maybe Joe heard the same thing.
2005 to 2010 I split my time between SF and Calgary. The Canadians called it that back then on a regular basis.
On the up side though, Albertans also said if there was an election their to join the US as the 51st state, it would be a toss up on the outcome.