Canadian Facts

As a constitutional monarch, His Majesty King Charles III doesn't rule the country. However, as Canada's Head of State, he remains a fundamental part of Canada's system of government and our sense of identity.

A vast rugged land, Canada is the second largest country in the world (Russia being the largest) but only 0.5% of the world's population lives there. Might have something to do with that ruggedness and the cold.

Canada is comprised of ten provinces and three territories.

1. Canada became a country on July 1, 1867, when the British Parliament passed the British North America Act.

2. Yet, Canada only got its own flag 100 years after it became a country - on February 15, 1965.

3. Canada has two official languages = English and French.

4. John Cabot was the first explorer to reach Canada in 1497. He sailed in a ship called The Matthew. A replica of the ship can be found in Bonavista, Newfoundland.

5. The east coast of Canada was settled by Vikings in approximately 1000 AD. It's definitely worth a visit to L'Anse aux Meadows, which is part of the Newfoundland's Viking Trail.

6. Tools that date back 20,000 are the first evidence of history in Canada. They were found in caves on the Bluefish River in northern Yukon.

7. It wasn't until 1610 that Henry Hudson sailed through Hudson Strait into Hudson Bay.

8. In 1576 Martin Frobisher discovered the strait that bears his name.

9. Navigation of the north-west passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific was first achieved by the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen in 1906.

10. In 1792-94 Captain George Vancouver painstakingly surveyed the west coast of Canada.

11. Canada has been invaded twice by Americans - both in 1775 and 1812. Canada (actually, Britain since Canada wasn't a country yet), burned down the White House in 1812.

1. Canada is the second largest country in the world.

 2. Canada is bigger than the entire European Union (33 times bigger than Italy and 15 times bigger than France), more than 30 percent larger than Australia, five times as big as Mexico, three times as big as India and about the same size as 81,975 Walt Disney Worlds put together.

3. The longest highway in the world is the Trans Canada Highway which is over 7,604 kilometres (4,725 miles) in length. It makes for an incredible Canada road trip.

4. In fact, it's so big that Canada has six time zones.

5. Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at 243,977 kilometres (151,600 miles). 

6. The highest tides in the world occur in the Bay of Fundy, between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

7. Canada is home to 20% of the world's freshwater.

8. Canada has more lakes than any other country on Earth.

Information from www://mustdocanada.com