So. It’s spring of 2025 and the world is spinning out of control. Or the USA is spinning out of control, or something like that. Anyways, there’s no politics on this page but since Canada has been in the news so much lately (for some really crazy reasons!), let’s have some fun with some cool facts about Canada, shall we? Let’s go!
Canada is the second largest country in the world
With an expansive land mass of 9,984,670 square kilometers (3,855,103 square miles), Canada is second only to Russia with their land mass of 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,850 square miles).
The world's largest moose population calls Canada home
There’s an estimated one million moose living in North America today, and about 850,000 of those live in Canada. Here in British Columbia, including on Vancouver Island, there’s an estimated 165,000 moose.
It’s thought that the word, “moose” first appeared in the English language around 1606, and is derived from the Algonquin word “muus”, or “moosh”, meaning stripper and eater of bark. The mighty moose is the largest member of the deer family, Cervidae, standing on average between 4’7” and 6’11” tall at the shoulder, so you kinda want to stay out of their way!
Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world
Canada’s coastline stretches over 202,080 kilometers (125,567 miles), and borders the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans. Norway holds second place with a coastline of 83,281 kilometers (51,748 miles).
One of the longest highways in the world is in Canada
The Trans-Canada Highway, at 8,000 kilometers long coast to coast, is Canada’s longest road. Extending west-east across Canada from Victoria, British Columbia to St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, the #1 Highway crosses six time zones and passes through all ten Canadian provinces, linking Canada’s major cities.
Construction began in 1950 and although John Diefenbaker officially opened the Trans-Canada Highway on July 30, 1962, construction was actually completed in 1971. An example of one of the challenges the construction team faced was how to shield the highway from avalanches, especially in places like Roger’s Pass, BC. To solve this little issue, they devised and built snow sheds, like the one pictured above (Roger's Pass, March, 2024).
Churchill, Manitoba is the “Polar Bear Capital of the World”
Churchill is a small, port town in Northern Manitoba, located on the west shore of Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Churchill River. It’s way up there, and the only way to get there is by plane or train (it’s a 48-hour ride up from Winnipeg, Manitoba, two days and two nights covering 1,697km).
Every year in the fall there’s vast numbers of polar bears that make their way towards the shore from inland, returning to the ice to hunt seals (this is also the height of tourist season). Visit Churchill pretty much any time of year though and it’s safe to say you’ll be delighted seeing these magnificent creatures – just don’t get too close!
An added bonus in the summers? Beluga whales! During July and August there are reportedly thousands of beluga whales that move into the warmer waters of the Churchill River estuary to feed, mate and calf.
Basketball was invented by a Canadian
James Naismith was born in Almonte, Canada West, Province of Canada (which is now part of Mississippi Mills, Ontario). Mr. Naismith was skilled as a physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain and sports coach, however he is best known for having invented the game of basketball.
After studying and then teaching physical education at McGill University in Montreal, Mr. Naismith moved to Springfield, Massachusetts in 1890. In 1981 while he was teaching at the International YMCA Training School, he considered that due to the harsh winter weather conditions in the area, he needed to devise an indoor game and thus, basketball was born.
The telephone was invented in Canada
Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and immigrated to Canada with his family in his early twenties, settling in Brantford, ON. It was on March 10, 1876 that Bell spoke the words, “Mr. Watson – come here – I want to see you”. Mr. Watson, waiting on the receiving end heard the words clearly, for the first time.
The phone in a box above sat in the bar in my parent’s basement from probably the early 1970’s. A gift from a relative, this thing is just the coolest (I think so anyways!). but my goodness how far we’ve come with the little computers we all carry around nowadays that we call “phones”.
The maple leaf is the national emblem of Canada
Dating back to 1894, the maple leaf was first adopted as an emblem by an association celebrating French language. In 1836 the newspaper Le Canadien published that, “The maple leaf had been adopted as the emblem of Lower Canada”. In 1848, a golden maple leaf was published on the cover of The Maple-Leaf annual, declaring it the chosen emblem of Canada.
As it was widely adopted across the country, the maple leaf first appeared on Canadian pennies in 1850 (Canada did away with the penny in February 2013). Today, the maple leaf is proudly recognized on Canada’s national flag, raised for the first time on February 15, 1965.
The beaver is Canada's national animal
True! Canada’s national animal is the North American beaver. It became an official symbol of Canadian sovereignty on March 24, 1975. The beaver was featured in 1891 on Canada’s first postage stamp and is still featured today on Canada’s nickel.
Winnie the Pooh was born in Canada
Most folks recognize Winnie-the-Pooh as a delightful Disney character, however he was actually based on a small, black bear from White River, Ontario. Here’s how the story goes.
It was over 80 years ago when Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, travelling across Canada en route to England during World War I, purchased an orphaned black bear cub from a trapper in White River, Ontario. He named her after his hometown of Winnipeg (yes, the little black bear was a ‘she’!).
The two became super close, so the Lieutenant brought the little bear overseas with him. When he went off to fight in France, he placed little Winnie in the London Zoo to be safe. It’s here that she met young Christopher Robin, along with his dad, A. A. Milne. They were frequent visitors and loved Winnie very much.
For his birthday one year, Christopher Robin was gifted a small stuffed bear from his dad, whom he named Winnie after his favourite bear. A friend had a pet swan named “Pooh”, and Winnie-the-Pooh was born.
Canada is the world’s largest producer of maple syrup
Often referred to as liquid gold, if there’s maple syrup on your breakfast table, chances are it’s from Canada. The country leads the world’s export market with approximately 71% of the world’s maple syrup coming from Canada. Out of the total exports, 91% is produced in the province of Quebec.
The United States remains Canada’s top importer with approximately three-fifths of Canada’s total exports of the sweet stuff headed their way.
Fun fact: In the summer of 2012, a network of criminals stole an estimated 9,000 barrels, or $18.7 million dollars worth of maple syrup from a Quebec storage facility. The thieves emptied the storage containers, stole the maple syrup and replaced the contents with water. All told, 20 people were arrested. This has got to be one of the most Canadian crimes ever!
Canada is home to more lakes than any other country
Canada is lake country. There are approximately 1.42 million lakes around the world and a whopping 62% of those, about 879,800 call Canada home.
The world’s northernmost settlement is in Canada
Alert is located on Ellesmere Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It’s about 870km from the North Pole, and is staffed as a weather station and signals intelligence base.
Named after the Royal Navy vessel the HMS Alert which wintered nearby in 1875-1876, residents are temporary and stay for about 3-6 months. Winter season is home to about 65 residents while summer season can see as many as 150.
The world’s most northern, permanent settlement is Longyearbyen, Sweden. Located just 1,060km from the North Pole, the town boasts a population of about 2,300 year round.
Canada still has a monarchy
Known today as “one of the oldest continuing monarchies in the world”, Canada has been ruled by either French or British monarchy since 1534. In February, 1952, at just 25 years old, Queen Elizabeth II took the throne when her father passed and became Queen of Canada’s commonwealth in 1953. After her 70 year reign and her passing in September 2022, His Majesty King Charles III ascended to the throne and is also Canada’s Head of State.
Fun fact: although she was born and baptized Elizabeth II after her mother, those close to her called her what she called herself as a child, “Lilibet”, who it seems Prince Harry’s daughter is named after.
"The True North is indeed strong and free!" - King Charles III, Throne Speech, May 27, 2025
Canada got its name from an indigenous language
Canada’s name is thought to have come from the Huron-Iroquois word, “Kanata”, meaning “village” or “settlement”, its use dating back to 1535. The name “Canada” was first used officially in 1791. On July 1, 1867, the early provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were officially declared, “One Dominion under the name of Canada”.
The Saamis Tepee, pictured above, is world’s tallest tepee. Located on the Trans-Canada Highway in Medicine Hat, Alberta, it was originally constructed for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. The word “Saamis” is a Blackfoot word meaning, “medicine man’s hat”. History shares a story that this is how Medicine Hat got it’s name.
Canada has two official national sports – Lacrosse and…
Did you guess hockey?! Yes indeed, Canada’s official winter sport is hockey. Lacrosse is Canada’s national summer sport, with its deep rooted history in sports among Indigenous people. Both lacrosse and ice hockey were formally recognized by Canadian parliament in 1994 as Canada’s national sports.
It was March 3, 1875 when the first hockey game was played in Montreal. Although the sport may have influence from the game of “shinty” in Scotland as well as field hockey in England, modern day ice hockey was developed in Canada.
Insulin was developed in Canada
It was spring of 1922 when University of Toronto researchers Dr. Frederick Banting, Charles Best, J.B. Collip, and their supervisor, J. J. R. Macleod, announced the discovery of insulin. This breakthrough, as an effective treatment for diabetes, won them the Nobel Prize in 1923 for one of the most important breakthroughs in modern medical history.
You can call Canada
Canada’s official phone number is 1-800-O-Canada. It really is ... go on, give it a ring!
Santa Claus’ official address is in Canada
Canada Post has been delivering letters to Santa for over 40 years. Letters to Santa are delivered free of charge within Canada to the following address:
Santa Claus
North Pole
H0H 0H0
USPS (United States Postal Service) customers can write to Santa through the USPS Operation Santa program, at the following address:
Santa
123 Elf Road
North Pole
88888
Uniquely Canadian Treats
The Caesar
Sometimes known as The Bloody Caesar, this cocktail is made with vodka, Clamato juice (a Mott’s concoction of tomato juice, clam broth and spices), Worcestershire sauce and celery salt. Served over ice in a tall, celery salted glass, it’s usually garnished with a stalk of celery, olives and a wedge of lime.
This classic Canadian drink was invented in 1969 by Walter Chell, restaurant manager/bartender of the Calgary Inn (today it’s a Westin). He was tasked with creating a signature drink for the opening of The Calgary Inn’s new Italian restaurant, Marco’s, and as a nod to his Italian heritage, he created The Caesar. As the story goes, the creation reminded him of a favourite Italian pasta dish, spaghetti alle vongole.
Poutine
Poutine is a Canadian comfort food, first making its appearance in the late 1950’s in rural Quebec snack bars. Although there’s all sorts of fun creations to choose from nowadays, the original poutine is made of crispy French fries topped with fresh cheese curds and brown gravy.
Hawaiian Pizza
Strange but true, and contrary to its name, Hawaiian pizza wasn’t invented in Hawaii. Sam Panopoulos, a Greek immigrant, created it in his restaurant, the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham-Kent, Ontario in 1962. The, “Hawaiian”, is topped with tomato sauce, ham (or bacon), mozzarella cheese and pineapple.
Pineapple on pizza has long since been a debate among friends. For some folks, Hawaiian is their go-to pizza and for others, well those folks just find that pineapple has no place on pizza. If you haven’t already, give it a try and you decide!
Butter Tarts
All hail the mighty butter tart! These sweet little confections captured my heart a long time ago and remain one of my favourite treats. I remember my mom making these little tarts, one by one making the dough cups and then the filling (that I always dipped into before baking!). I’ve got pictures of my own kids sitting up on the kitchen counters in Calgary, helping mom bake these sweet treats!
Butter tarts are pretty much a Canadian thing, and the first published recipe dates back to 1900, from Barrie, Ontario. A chef by the name of Mrs. Mary Ethel MacLeod submitted the butter tart recipe filling, which was published in the Women’s Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook. A shortbread type crust is filled with a mixture of butter, sugar, golden corn syrup and eggs. They’re baked until they’re ooey gooey with a bit of a crunchy top. Heaven!
Nanaimo Bars
These tasty treats consist of three layers: the bottom combines graham cracker crumbs and shredded coconut, a custard-favoured butter icing in the middle, and topped with a creamy chocolate ganache.
No-bake squares gained popularity after the Second World War as butter and sugar became more readily available. The recipe was first published in 1953, under different names such as, “chocolate square”. Although the claims to fame vary, there’s no question they were created, in Nanaimo, British Columbia (otherwise they’d be called Vancouver Bars, or something!).
Ketchup Chips
It was in the late 1970’s when the Hostess snack company first made ketchup chips. Created in 1935 by Edward Snyder of Cambridge, Ontario, these crunchy red chips are only available in Canada and remain one of the most popular flavours on the shelves today.
Hawkins Cheezies
Hawkins Cheezies have been around for over 75 years and started out in a Canadian factory in Tweed, Ontario. These crunchy, super cheddar cheesy, unevenly shaped “fingers” were first invented after the Second World War.
W.T. Hawkins and Jim Marker wanted to create a snack using cornmeal and real, aged cheddar cheese. They came up with a way to fry the little cornmeal sticks then coat them afterwards with the cheddar cheese powder. This how the Cheezie was born.
Canadian Chocolate
Oh, and Timbits. Some of you might look at this picture and go, “So? We have Kit-Kat in the US”. Yes you do, but it’s not the same!
I had this little discussion with many a co-worker throughout my travels, and went so far as to bring a bunch of both Canadian and USA made Kit-Kat’s into a meeting and had everyone give both a try. There wasn’t a single person in the room that didn’t exclaim how different, and better the Canadian chocolate was (no offence US chocolate makers).
Canadian chocolate usually has a higher cocoa content, and uses higher quality dairy than it’s US counterparts. Canada also has stricter ingredient standards for chocolate and is more reflective of European chocolate being richer, smoother, and creamier. Yum!
The picture above is just a sample of the “goods” I’d always haul back to Phoenix with me when I was working in Canada, a nice treat to bring home.
