The Great North: 17 Intriguing Canada Facts

One of the wealthiest countries in the world that provide top-notch quality of life, Canada is also one of the most admired ones. 

It has a lot of things to offer- be it nature or natural resources. The Great White North has many positive features that make it lovable and one of the most livable places on our planet. 

Top 17 Interesting and Unique Canada Facts

Get to know all about Canada- its area, size, population, natural wonders, food, and every other Canada facts in 10 minutes. So let’s get started.

1. Its Incredible Size

Size is one of the essential Canadian facts. You think you might have an idea of how massive it is, but trust me, it is more than it seems. 

Spanning nearly 9.99 million square km, Canada is the largest country in the western hemisphere (unbelievable, right?) After Russia, it is the second-largest country in the entire world. Starting in Pelee Island, Ontario, it extends to Alert, Nunavut. 

The size of its provinces is mention-worthy, too, as they are quite sizable. It has ten provinces, of which Quebec is the largest province. Want to know some comparisons of its size? You won’t believe it. 

Quebec is almost 2.7 times the total size of the country France and six times the size of the United Kingdom! The size of British Columbia is twice that of Japan.

Quebec city,  prince edward island, northwest territories, and nova scotia are its most notable land. It is bigger than the entire European Union, and its biggest lakes are great slave lake,  great bear lake and hudson bay.

But one of the interesting Canadian facts is that this official figure only includes the country’s land and freshwater lakes.

It does not even add the immense seawater inside the country or the ocean territory around it. All this excluded land makes up almost another 1.8 million square km. 

It might even be the largest country if they included all of those!

Photo by Nick Fox from Shutterstock

2. Canada-American border 

It’s good that there isn’t any feud between Canadians and Americans, as they share the world’s most extensive undefended border.

It runs for 8,892 km across the country. The longest coastline in the world is also in Canada, which runs for a length of 202,080 km.

3. The Natural Wonders of Canada

People who don’t live in Canada comment on its beauty from the outside. But the residents know how genuinely gorgeous it is. 

Canada has nature’s blessings when it comes to scenic beauty and landscape. It indeed hit the jackpot in this field!

4. Largest Freshwater lakes

One of the significant Canadian facts is that it has more than 20% of the entire earth’s freshwater supply. 

If this statistic is hard for you to interpret, let me explain it in a simple sentence. Canada has more freshwater lakes than the rest of the world combined. The country is home to more than 2 million lakes.

Canada facts
Photo by Neil Rosenstech on Unsplash

The lakes make up almost 9% of the total Canada’s area. Canadians are lucky that their government realizes the value of their natural beauty and that they must protect it.

5. Massive Natural Parks

One of the unknown Canadian facts is that some natural parks within the country are more significant than in several countries worldwide.

The Wood Buffalo National Park, situated between Alberta and the northwest territories, is almost 44,800 square km. Apart from being the second-largest national park in the world, this place is larger than all of the Netherlands or Switzerland!

6. Forests of Canada

Forests cover most of Canada. Canada is home to more than 180 species of different trees. It falls third on the list of most forested countries in the world. 

Photo by Guillaume Jaillet on Unsplash

The export of Timber is quite famous here too. One-tenth of the entire world’s forest is present here in Canada.

7. Food of Canada

When most of you think about the culinary delicacies of Canada, the first thing that comes to mind is maple syrup and poutine (fries covered with cheese curds and gravy). 

You may be right! But one of the incredible Canadian facts you might not be aware of is that the country has access to many essential food ingredients.

7.1 Maple syrup

Let’s start this point with maple syrup. What would have been the fate of all those pancakes and waffles if there wasn’t any maple syrup to eat them with? 

If you have a bottle of this deliciousness in your home, you have Canada to thank! The world gets more than 80% of its maple syrup supply from Canada. 

The province of Quebec produces the largest amount of maple syrup.

7.2 Lentils

The country is also one of the biggest suppliers of lentils in the world- one of the Canadian facts which are unknown to many. 

Nearly 80% of the planet’s green lentils are grown in the cold climate and rich, fertile soils of Saskatchewan.

7.3 Wheat

The growing conditions in Canada are so incredible that it is also the world’s sixth-largest wheat supplier. Wheat has become one of the biggest exports for the country in the past few years.

8. Canadian Education System

Canada has received international recognition for having the seventh-best educational system in the world. 

The country has a literacy rate of 99%, which means almost every Canadian knows how to read and write. Out of 10,000 Canadians, you are bound to find at least 26 doctors.

9. Canadian inventions 

If you are living outside Canada and have an idea that Canadian are just a bunch of simple stupid people who say sorry after everything, then there is a high chance that you are very wrong!

9.1 Peanut butter

Besides, Canadians have been the brains behind many things you use daily. Did you have any clue that Canadians invented peanut butter?

9.2 Odometer and IMAX

They are also responsible for the odometer in your car. They have even invented ink, which is mainly used in American notes. Paint rollers, walkie-talkies, and IMAX are some of their iconic creations.

9.3 Insulin

If peanut butter and IMAX aren’t convincing enough, wait until you hear this- Canadians invented insulin! This creation saved millions of lives, which is one of the unknown Canadian facts.

9.4 Standard time

Another significant yet less-known Canadian fact is that they are behind Standard Times’s creation too! All these creations are just naming a few.

10. Population 

Canada might be the second-largest country in the world. It is home to less than half a percent of the world’s population.

This makes Canada the fourth least densely populated country in the world. Only three people live per square kilometre.

toronto
Photo by Conor Samuel on Unsplash

About 36.5 million people live in Canada, but a vast portion of them (86%) lives in Vancouver, Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, and other cities. The US-Canada border regions are also densely populated.

But here is another interesting Canadian fact- most of its population is in metropolitan cities. According to a Census in 2006, more people live in the state of California, the USA, than in the entire country of Canada.

In the previous 20 years, Canada has gained almost 7 million people. But this increase is mainly from immigrants who are coming to the country. 

But their population has seen a slow rise in the last few years. If Canada stops these immigrants, the people will again fall abruptly.

11. The Apology Act

One of the iconic and funny Canadian facts is its Apology Act. Everyone around the world knows how much Canadians love to say sorry.

They seem to add sorry almost after every sentence. Often it feels like it’s their favourite word to use as they use it too much.

The usage had reached such an extent that the Canadian government passed a law protecting citizens from accidentally claiming responsibility for their actions simply because they said it. Yes, this happened in real life.

The Apology Act was passed on April 23rd, 2009. This law states that just saying sorry on reflex does not mean that the person has admitted guilt or fault. 

Before this law was passed, an opposing lawyer could merely say that you were sorry to prove that you claimed to be the guilty party in a given case. Sorry in Canada now only stands for sympathy. Have you heard any Canadian facts which are as weird as this one?

12. Canadian Multiculturalism 

Canada is home to a lot of people from different places. It is well known for its love of multiculturalism and welcomes everyone with open arms. 

But are you aware of one of the hilarious yet interesting Canadian facts that fit extraterrestrial beings too?

Yes, you might be surprised, but Canada has made arrangements for that too! If some visitors from outer space arrive here, they will also find a place to stay. 

In the small city of St. Paul, located between Alberta and Saskatchewan’s western border, the local people have set up an invitation for aliens. Fifty years ago, on June 3rd, 1967, the local people of St. Paul built a UFO landing pad even before men set foot on the moon. 

They boasted of their tourism features by building this 130-pound landing pad. This monument is made of cement and steel and costs a whopping $11,000 back then.

The local businessman and shopkeepers donated all the money.

13. How Canada got its name?

One of the most interesting Canadian facts is how this enormous country got its name! Canada is a proud and respected country, but some jokes are made regarding how its name came into being.

In 1535, when the French explorer Jacques Cartier navigated his second voyage through North America to find the passage to China, he spoke with two young Iroquois men. 

Now, these two young lads called their village ‘Kanata.’ In the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian language, ‘Kanata’ means a town or a cluster of villages.

But, the fun fact is the French explorer thought that ‘Kanata’ was the actual name of the place where these natives lived.

He returned to his country and declared that he had found a place called Canada. Though this theory is not believed by many, it is a topic of humour among most people. 

Many residents believe that Canada is named after a word for ‘village,’ which technically makes Canada the biggest small town ever! This is rather one of the fun Canadian facts.

14. Santa Claus is Canadian

Are you aware of the Canadian facts relating to Santa Claus?

Canadians are known for being one of the kindest people on this face of the earth. Similarly, Santa Claus is a kind man who brings gifts to children worldwide. 

Photo by Filip Mroz on Unsplash

So, would it be a surprise if I told you Santa Claus is from the Great White North?

The story goes like this- to encourage literacy in growing children, current and former Canada post employees donate over 190k hours each year, responding to around 1.5 million letters written to Santa from children worldwide. 

The postal service uses the fictional postal code H0H0H0 or only ho ho ho. Another of the sweetest Canadian facts is that they gave Santa Claus a Canadian passport too!

15. Famous Canadian Personalities

One of the most exciting Canadian facts is that this place is home to many celebrities. 

Apart from being Justin Bieber’s country, this place has given birth to iconic movie stars like Jim Carrey, Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Michael Myers, and so on.

Bryan Adams, Avril Lavigne, and Steppenwolf are some of the country’s most famous rock and rollers. Lucy Maud Montgomery is a best-selling Canadian author!

16. Sports

While Ice Hockey is the national game of Canada, did you know a Canadian invented basketball?

Photo by Lynda Sanchez on Unsplash

Yes, you heard it right. He first invented basketball in YMCA to gain control over a group of grounded students. They first started playing with a closed hoop. 

And as soon as they scored, someone had to climb up and take the ball out! The country is also home to North America’s oldest golf club, the Royal Montreal Golf Club. 

More than 2800 hockey rinks are present in Canada. Canada has also been the host of the Olympic games thrice! These are some of the significant Canadian facts.

17. Natural Resources

Canada is one of the biggest Uranium miners in the world. Cigar Lake in northern Saskatchewan has the biggest Uranium mine in the world. 

It also supplies oil and gas in large amounts to the US. It also holds third place among the world’s largest oil reserve holders. Canada also produces hydroelectric power in large quantities.

Closing Thoughts

There are many other iconic fun facts about Canada out there. Which point was the most interesting in the list? Do you know any other Canada facts? Let us know in the comments.

Learn more fun facts about Canada, the Canadian shield, Canada’s national drink, the trans-Canada highway, the world’s largest skating rink, its only walled city and Canadian food and other wried stuff that happen in incredible Canadian history. Check out Interesting Things About Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated on by Priyanshi Sharma

Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *