HAPPY CANADA DAY!

The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples (indigenous peoples in North America).  They comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis which have helped to shape Canada’s cultural identity.  The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning “village” or “settlement”.

I was born in Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal but immigrated to Canada in 1973 just before turning 4 years old.  I really don’t have any memories of the country I was born.  I really consider myself to be Canadian and made it official on my 20th birthday in 1989. 

Frequently referred to as Canada’s birthday, Canada Day is the national day of Canada celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North American Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire.

In celebration of Canada Day and my 25th anniversary of becoming Canadian, I thought I would share some interesting facts about Canada, here they are:

WILDLIFE

• 850 meters, the length of the world’s longest beaver dam found in Northern Alberta.
• 2.4 million Caribou live in Canada.
• 15,500 of the world’s polar bears live in Canada.
• 130 km north of Winnipeg, Manitoba – is the Narcisse Snake Dens Conservation area, where each spring, tens of thousands of red-sided Gartner snakes come out of their dens for weeks from mid-April to early May.

PEOPLE

• More than 42% of Canadians identify as Roman Catholic.
• 1/5 Canadians were born outside of Canada.
• Canada is the best G20 country in which to be a woman.

GOVERNMENT

• The Prime Minister has no term limit, meaning that as long as a leader keeps winning, they can keep ruling.
• John A. Macdonald (Conservative) was the first Prime Minister of Canada for two terms, 1867-1873 and 1878-1891.  He was born in Scotland.
• William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) was Prime Minister for 21 years.
• Currently, there are five parties that have elected representation in the federal government: the Liberal Party of Canada , the Conservative Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party of Canada, the Green Party of Canada and the Bloc Québécois. 

ENVIRONMENT/GEOGRAPHY

• Canada consists of 10 provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia) and 3 territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut).
• Canada has the largest coastline in the world.
• It is the second largest country in the world (Russia is the largest).
• By land area alone, Canada ranks fourth.
• Canada has around 31,700 large lakes.
• 20% of the world’s fresh water is in Canada.
• 31% of Canada is taken up by forests.

FOOD/DRINK

• 77% of the world’s maple syrup is made in Quebec.
• Macaroni and cheese is the most purchased packaged grocery item in Canada.
• Canada produces 1.5% of the world’s food but only consumes 0.6%
• Canada has more doughnut shops per capita than anywhere else in the world.

INVENTIONS

• Montreal pharmacist, Marcellus Gilmore Edson created peanut butter, patented in 1884.
• Montreal’s Canadian Lady Corset company first licensed the trademark ‘Wonder-bra’ in 1939, and then renamed the company Wonderbra in 1961.
• Scott Abbott, a Montreal sports editor, and Chris Haney, a photo editor, when they couldn’t find all their Scrabble tiles, invented Trivial Pursuit in 1979.
• Other notable inventions: the odometer (1854), the egg carton (1911), IMAX (1967), McIntosh apples (1811), the walkie-talkie (1937), insulin (1922), the paint roller (1940), the wheelchair-accessible bus (1947), the electric wheelchair (1952).

ENTERTAINMENT

• Porky’s (1982) is the most successful Canadian film ever made.  It was the 5th highest-grossing film of 1982.
• Shania Twain’s album, Come On Over, is the best-selling album by a female artist of all-time.  RIAA certifies worldwide sales of the album exceed 40 million units.
• Alanis Morissette’s, Jagged Little Pill, is the second best-selling album by a female artist of all-time.  RIAA certifies worldwide sales of the album exceed 33 million units.
• Other notable Canadian celebrities:  Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Aykroyd, Bryan Adams, Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, James Cameron, Drake, Jann Arden, Rush and Nickelback – just to name a few.

I am a proud Canadian and am love the country that I live in.  I may sometimes be critical of our government but only because I want to ensure that our policy makers protect the Canadian people and the wonderful environment that Canada provides us.

Here’s to you Canada!

 Together, we can make the world a more positive one!