Other Facts about Canada

General Facts

  • Canada's national capital is Ottawa in southeastern Ontario.
  • Approximately 30 million people live in Canada.
  • Canada's total area is 9,984,670 square kilometers. It is the second largest country in the world, behind Russia. 891,163 square kilometers of Canada's surface is fresh water, and land is 9,093,507 square kilometers.
  • Canada is bordered by three oceans and one country: the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast, the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Pacific Ocean on the west coast, and the United States on the south.
  • Canada's Great Lakes are the world's largest bodies of fresh water. These include Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Superior, Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron.
  • Canada's coastline, measuring 202,080 kilometers, is the longest in the world.
  • Canada's major highway, the Trans-Canada Highway, is the world’s longest national highway, measuring 7604 kilometers.
  • Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. Provinces include British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince-Edward-Island. The North-West Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut are its territories.
  • Canada has over 2 million lakes.
  • Canada maintains 38 national parks, covering about 2% of the country's surface area.
  • There are 6 time zones in Canada. Newfoundland is the most east; it is three hours and 30 minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Other zones include Atlantic, the Eastern, Central, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific time at the far west, eight hours behind Greenwich Mean time.

Sports In Canada

  • Canada's national sport is lacrosse.
  • Canada has 6 professional hockey teams that are part of the NHL (National Hockey League):
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Montreal Canadians
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
  • Canada has one major professional baseball team that is part of the American League: The Toronto Blue Jays
  • 8 teams are part of the CFL (Canadian Football League):
    • BC (British Columbia) Lions
    • Edmonton Eskimos
    • Calgary Stampeders
    • Saskatchewan Roughriders
    • Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    • Hamilton Tiger Cats
    • Toronto Argonauts
    • Montreal Alouettes
  • Canada placed 3rd in the world at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games with a total of 26 medals (14 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 5 bronze medals).

Canada's National Anthem

Canada's National Anthem is called O Canada. It was composed in French by Calixa Lavallée (music) and Judge Adolphe-Basile Routhier (lyrics) in 1880. The English lyrics were written in 1908 by Robert Stanley Weir. O Canada was officially declared as the national anthem July 1, 1980.

English Lyrics French Lyrics
Oh, Canada
Our home and native land,
True patriot love
In all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts
We see thee rise,
The true, north, strong, and free.
From far and wide
Oh Canada
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land
Glorious and free.
Oh, Canada we stand on guard for thee,
Oh, Canada
we stand on guard for thee.		 O Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint
de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras
sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter
la croix! Ton histoire
est une épopée,
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur,
de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Protégera nos foyers
et nos droits.

More Facts

  • Canada has two official languages: French and English. Canadians are entitled to receive publicly funded elementary and secondary education in either language, regardless of where they reside in the country. Canadians also have the right to receive communication from any federal branch of government in either French or English.
  • One Canadian dollar (the Loonie) is worth 100 cents.
  • 1 out of every 6 Canadians belongs to a visible minority.
  • Canada's national emblem is the maple leaf. It flag is red and white with a red maple leaf in the centre.
  • Canada's national police force is called the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police).
  • Over 75% of Canadians live in urban areas.
  • Canada's largest city is Toronto with a population of 5.5 (including the GTA - Greater Toronto Area)
  • There are over one million Aboriginal people in Canada, consisting of three Aboriginal groups: the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.
  • More than 220 different ethnic origins were identified in the 2006 census.
  • More than 66% of Canadians own their place of residency.
  • The median Canadian income, based on a full time 37.5 working hours per week, is approximately $42,000 CAD.
  • There are more unmarried people over the age of 15 than married people in Canada.
  • Approximately 72% of Canadians drive their vehicles to work.
  • Alberta is the only province in Canada that does not have a provincial sales tax.
  • New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual (French-English) province in Canada.
  • It is a law in Canada that every employee is entitled to 2 weeks of paid vacation every year after 1 year of employment, and 3 weeks of paid vacation after five years of employment

Canada's National Holidays

  • New Year's Day - January 1
  • Easter Day - April or March
  • Victoria Day - Monday before May 25
  • Canada Day - July 1
  • Labor Day - First Monday in September
  • Thanksgiving Day - Second Monday in October
  • Remembrance Day - November 11
  • Christmas Day - December 25
  • Boxing Day - December 26

Government offices are closed on National Holidays.