Celebrating Canada Day

O, Canada. There’s lots to love about our country, from its glorious landscapes to its diverse peoples. Its unique combination of beauty and odd history make it one of the most magical places in the world. Let’s celebrate Canada Day with a tour across our great country looking at fun facts that prove it’s the most interesting country ever.

• Canada only got its own flag 100 years after it became a country – on February 15, 1965.
• Part of Canada is on Mars… Kind of. A crater on the planet was named after the town of Gander, NFL in honour of its efforts in space research.
• The famous Canadian interjection “eh” is actually listed in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary as a valid word.
• The Royal Canadian Mint once made a gigantic loonie made of 99.9% gold that was worth $1 million.
• You can write a letter in any language and send it to the North Pole, H0H oHo, Canada and you will receive a letter back from Santa.
• Quebec manufactures more than 77% of the world’s maple syrup.
• Twenty percent of the world’s fresh water is in Canada, and it has more lakes than any other country.
• In Alberta’s Banff National Park, overpasses that go over highways are made for wildlife and have trees and shrubs growing on them.
• Many of Canada’s national parks are bigger than countries. Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta is larger than Denmark and Switzerland.
• There are as many as 2 million lakes in Canada.
• The third official language of Canada is “goose” – just kidding. But Canadian geese do have as many as 13 different animal calls that are distinctly their own.
• Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world. In fact, if you were to walk around the country (without sleeping, eating, or resting), it would take roughly four and a half years.
• Only in Canada could it go from -19 degrees C to 22 degree C in an hour! (Pincher Creek, Alberta in 1962. Look it up!)
• Ogopogo is a mythical monster similar to the Loch Ness Monster that supposedly lives in Lake Okanagan, BC.
• At the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, you can run on the sea bed in a “Not Since Moses” run, but you have to make it across before the 100 billion tons of water rush back!
• There’s an area in the Hudson Bay region has less gravity than the rest of the planet.
• Up to 30% of Canada is covered in trees and thick forest.
• The lowest temperature ever recorded in Canada was in Snag, YT at -63 degrees C.
• There are more donut shops per capita in Canada than any other country in the world. But who’s saying that’s a bad thing?
• The official phone number for Canada is 1-800-O-Canada.