Last updated on October 19th, 2022
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. With an area of 9,984,670 square km, it is the world’s second-largest country by total area, falling behind Russia, and just beating out China and the United States. Ottawa is its capital and Toronto is its largest city. English and French are its official languages. The Canadian dollar ($) (CAD) is its official currency. The United States is its only land bordering country, with which it has the world’s largest land border. It is a sparsely populated country. The people identified with Canada are called Canadians. The country has immigrants from many countries, which make it one of the world’s most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations.
If you’ve never traveled to Canada then you probably don’t know a whole lot about the country except maybe that it’s located above the United States. Oh and probably hockey, maple everything and Tim Horton’s, right? Don’t feel bad. That’s about all anyone really knows about the country unless they’ve been there. But there’s plenty of other things that you should know.
70 Interesting facts about Canada
1. John Cabot was the first explorer to reach Canada in 1497. Italian by birth, he travelled to England, and secured ships hoping to find a shorter route to Asia. They landed on the coast of Newfoundland.
2. The Vikings have visited Canada. They arrived in 1021, several hundred years ahead of Christopher Columbus. They are believed to have settled on the northern side of Newfoundland at L’Anse aux Meadows, just past Greenland.
3. Beaver has been the national animal of Canada since 1975. Early settlers realized the spice trade wasn’t working, so they traded beaver fur instead. Today, the beaver is protected by conservation.
4. Canada’s coldest recorded temperature is -63.0°C in Snag, Yukon in 1947. During this winter, Siberian air stalled over Canada, leaving Canadians scrambling for warmth. The cold air lasted for a week.
5. Canadians have two national sports. In the winter, hockey is the official sport. In the summer, lacrosse is the official sport. Parliament passed this act in 1994. Both sports are highly competitive in Canada today.
Flag of Canada
6. Canada has the fourth-longest highway in the world. The Trans-Canada highway is 4,860 miles and takes 106 hours of pure driving. It opened in 1971, running east-to-west, passing through all 10 Canadian provinces.
7. The maple leaf was first used by Canadians in 1806. Both French and English Canadians of the 1800s declared the maple leaf an official emblem on two separate occasions. In 2011, the Canadian government made the maple leaf its official tartan.
8. Canada holds the record for most lakes in the world (totaling 879,800 lakes.) Many of the lakes are undiscovered and unresearched. And they are constantly changing due to glaciers melting.
9. The Bay of Fundy, in between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, has the highest tides in the world. It can reach a high of 50 feet. The tides go in and out two times each day. The highest tides in the United States can be found near Anchorage, Alaska, with tidal ranges up to 40 feet.
10. The highest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan, towering at 19,551 feet. It’s the second-highest mountain in North America. The peak was named after Sir William Logan, founder of the Geological Survey of Canada.
11. Quebec City is the only walled city left in North America. In 2008, they celebrated their 400th anniversary. Noted author, Charles Dickens, visited Quebec City, calling it “the Gibraltar of North America”.
12. Canada’s money provides braille for the visually impaired. Not just braille, they have their numbers visually contrasted by colors. The twenty is white and green. Also, each denomination is a different color, assisting partially sighted individuals with contrast.
13. The northernmost settlement in the world is in Canada. Alert in Nunavut, Canada boasts a population of 200 people, with average temps dropping to -33°C in February. The nearest town is 340 miles away.
14. Basketball was invented by a Canadian in the late 1800s. James Naismith, from Ontario, Canada, was a graduate student that was tasked with coming up with an indoor game to burn energy but keep the students entertained.
15. Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada by a Greek. Sam Panopoulos came up with the idea in 1962, to attract customers to his Ontario restaurant. He tried many experiments, but Hawaiian pizza won.
16. Poutine was invented in Quebec in the 1950s. Snack bars across Quebec claim to have invented the dish. It wasn’t until the 1990’s the rest of Canada adopted the potato, cheese curd, and gravy combination.
17. Newfoundland was the last province to join Canada. By 1945, Canadians wanted to incorporate Newfoundland into their country. A referendum was held in 1948, with continual debate. This was followed by them becoming a province in 1949.
18. Prince Edward’s Island is Canada’s smallest province. It’s located on the east coast with a bridge, called Confederation Bridge, connecting them to the New Brunswick province. It’s considered a maritime province.
19. Canada produces a lot of diamonds. Two men, Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blossom brought Canada into the diamond business in the early 2000s. There are 4 active diamond mines today.
20. Canada fun fact, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus are Canadian. Canada issued them passports, tax records, and exceptions to the tax code, giving Santa freedom to pay his elves in cookies and holiday cheer.
21. “Eh,” a term used by Canadians, is a real word in the dictionary. The definition is “used to ask for confirmation or repetition or to express inquiry. Used in anticipation of the listeners or reader’s agreement.”
22. Superman was created by Canadians. In 1933, Joe Shuster, with Jerry Siegel’s help, made Superman a comic book character. Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego, worked for the Daily Star, made to model the Toronto Star.
23. Canada trivia, Hudson Bay area is missing gravity. The average person weighs a 10th of an ounce lighter than other places. There are theories that explain the missing gravity, but scientists aren’t fully sure about their theories.
24. Fun Canada fact, Canada has hosted 3 Olympics. Montreal, Quebec in 1976, Calgary, Alberta in 1988, and Vancouver, British Columbia in 2010. Montreal was the only summer Olympics Canada hosted.
25. Canada comes from the word Kanata. A Huron-Iroquois word, meaning village. Youth in 1535 mentioned Kanata to a French explorer, Jacques Cartier. Cartier later references the word as Canada when talking about a large area controlled by its chief Dannacoa.
26. The capital of Canada is Ottawa. Ottawa is located on the southeastern border shared with Quebec. It’s the fourth largest city in Canada and is the only city in Canada that shares French and English as official languages.
27. In 1980 “O Canada” became the national anthem. One hundred years before, it was written by Calixa Lavalee and Sir Adolph-Basile Routhier in French. The official version was written in English, by Robert Weir, in 1908.
28. Canada really likes ketchup-flavored Lays chips. They are only sold in Canada. The origins are hard to find, but most likely came out of the 1970s after a failed attempt to create fruit-flavored chips.
Canada on map
29. Canada fun facts, it borders three oceans. The Pacific Ocean to the west, the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast, and the Arctic ocean up north. All three oceans influence Canada’s ecosystem and climate.
30. Canada has the world’s largest natural ice rink. Rideau Canal Skateaway is located in Ottawa, Ontario. The rink is 4.8 miles long with a maintained surface area of 1.782 million square feet.
31. The Rocky Mountains extend into Canada and hold some of the most beautiful mountain lakes. The Canadian Rocky Mountain range runs through British Columbia and Alberta. In some places, the range can be 300 miles wide.
32. Insulin was invented by Canadians. In 1921, Dr. Frederick Banting, an orthopedic surgeon, isolated secretions of islet cells, claiming they could be used in treatment for diabetes. This invention has saved millions of diabetics and is still used as treatment.
33. Yonge Street is a Canadian street that holds the record for the world’s longest street. Located on Lakeshore in Toronto, it runs 1178 miles to the Minnesota border. Toronto used it as its main street in the 1800s.
34. Canada and the United States share the longest international land border in the world. Standing at 5,523 miles, this border beats out Russia and Kazakhstan’s land border of 4,253 miles. The Canadian/American border runs through several provinces.
35. Canada has several famous actors and singers. Celine Dion, Justin Beiber, Drake, Ryan Gosling, Keanu Reeves, Dwayne Johnson, Pamela Anderson, Jim Carrey, Michael Buble, and Michael J Fox are just a few of the many celebrities.
36. Thanksgiving Day is the 2nd Monday of October. This tradition has been done since 1957. This is a time to spend with family around a meal. Turkey, corn ears, and pecan nuts are common dishes served during this holiday.
37. Aurora Borealis, or what has been commonly called “the Northern Lights” is in Canada. Several colors encapsulate the magical show in the sky. They can be seen in all Canadian provinces.
38. Canada had a war called the Beaver Wars. The official title is the Iroquois wars. These wars started in the 1600s and originated from a competitive fur trade between the five nations, first nations, and French colonial forces.
39. Canada has the most polar bears in the world. 60% of the world’s polar bears spend time in Canada. Many are endangered. In Manitoba, there are 900 residents, equaled by the polar bears passing through.
40. Canada has the most donut shops per capita in the world. Tim Horton’s holds the highest number of donut shops at 4,592. It was started by a hockey player in 1964.
41. The famous acrobatic show, Cirque du Soleil, is based in Montreal. It was started in the 1980s near Quebec City. But holds their headquarters in Montreal, in Quebec. They perform all over the world.
42. Canada and Denmark are in a 49-year ongoing dispute. Hans Island sits in the Nares Strait, between Canada and Greenland, a Denmark territory. The island is 12 miles from both countries, which both claims belong to them.
43. Canada has its own phone number. The official phone number of Canada is 1 800 O-Canada. The phone number gives various information for locals and travelers. Recently it’s been used for Covid information.
44. The National drink of Canada is the Bloody Caesar. Invented by Walter Chell in 1969, the drink is popular among Canadians. The ingredients are vodka, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Cesar mix, celery, lime, and celery salt.
45. Estevan is considered the sunniest part of Canada. Located in the province of Saskatchewan, they enjoy 2,500 hours of sunshine. All that sunshine leaves residents and visitors with extended outdoor time.
46. The world’s largest wheat fields are in Canada. The largest of those fields was in the province of Alberta in 1951. Sown in Lethbridge the field grew to 35,000 acres.
47. Canada has Chinook winds. The Chinook winds come from the Pacific side of the Rockies, reach over them cold, and warm as they drop to the towns on the eastern side.
48. Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, and Edmonton are the five largest cities in Canada. They all are within the three provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta. Toronto’s population is 2.7 million while Edmonton’s is 1 million.
49. The CN Tower of Toronto used to be the tallest tower in the world. The tower is 1,815 feet and 5 inches high, opening to the public in 1976. It was the world’s highest tower till 2007.
50. Canada fact, the country contains 9% of the world’s forests. But in Canada, the forest only covers 38% of the land. Only 1% of its forests have been deforested, leaving them
thriving and plentiful.
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