Interesting Facts about Canada

Find the most amazing, interesting, funny, entertaining Canada Facts and facts about Canadians

General Facts about Canada

• British Columbia

• Alberta

• Saskatchewan

• Manitoba

• Quebec

• Ontario

• New Brunswick

• Prince Edward Island

• Nova Scotia

• Newfoundland and Labrador

• Yukon

• Northwest Territories

• Nunavut

Facts about Canada in numbers and attractions

• Canada is over 40 times bigger than the UK and 18 times bigger than France.

• Canada has more inland lakes and rivers than any other country in the world.

• The largest group of freshwater lakes in the world belongs to The Great Lakes. This group is consisted of Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario lakes where one third of its total surface is in Canada.

• Canada has the world's longest coastline, over 200 000 km.

• Trans-Canada Hwy is the longest national highway in the world, 7604 km.

• Alaska Highway is the fastest-built highway. 2451 km of this highway was built in less than a year.

• Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron is the world's largest island in a freshwater lake with an area of 2765 sq. km.

• Baffin Island is the largest island in Canada, 507 451 sq. km.

• Della Falls in BC is the highest waterfall in Canada, 440 m high, several times higher than a world known Niagara Falls.

• The world's highest tide is in Canada, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia (16.1 m).

• CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, is the tallest freestanding structure in the world, 553 m in height.

• Mackenzie River is the longest river in Canada - length is 4 241 km.

• Great Bear Lake is the largest lake in Canada.

• Great Slave Lake is the deepest lake in Canada, 614 m deep.

• Mount Logan is Canada's tallest peak at 5 959 m.

• The 43 parks represent 2.2% of the total area of Canada.

• National park Banff in Alberta was the first established park, 1885.

Facts about Canada and the highest waterfalls

• Della Falls, 440 m, Della Lake, BC

• Takakkaw Falls, 254 m, Daly Glacier, BC

• Hunlen Falls, 253 m, Atnarko River, BC

• Panther Falls, 183 m, Nigel Creek, AB

• Helmcken Falls, 137 m, Murtle River, BC

• Niagara Falls (American Falls), 59 m, (Niagara River, USA)

• Niagara Falls (Horseshoe Falls), 57 m, Niagara River, ON 

Facts about Canada and its cities

• Yellowknife is the city with the coldest winters.

• Victoria is the city with the lowest annual average snowfall.

• Winnipeg has the sunniest winters.

• London, Ontario is the city which has the most days per year with thunderstorms; 36 days.

• Québec is the only walled city north of Mexico.

• Vancouver is recognized for the highest quality of life in the world.

Facts about Canada and top ten largest cities (from 2006)

• Toronto, Ontario - population: 5,113,149

• Montreal, Quebec - population: 3,635,571

• Vancouver, British Columbia - population: 2,116,581

• Ottawa, Ontario - population: 1,130,761

• Calgary, Alberta - population: 1,079,310

• Edmonton, Alberta - population: 1,081,300

• Quebec City, Quebec - population: 715,515

• Winnipeg, Manitoba - population: 694,668

• Hamilton, Ontario - population: 692,911

• London, Ontario - population: 457,720

Facts about Canada weather

• The lowest temperature recorded in Canada was -63 degrees Celsius at Snag on February 3, 1947.

• Corner Brook is the snowiest city with an annual average snowfall 422 cm. 

• St. Anthony is a place with 505 cm annual snow fall, highest.

• The most extreme change in temperature took place in January 1962 in Pincher Creek when a warm, dry wind known as a Chinook, brought the temperature up from -19 degrees Celsius to 22 degrees Celsius in an hour.

Interesting facts about Canada

• Canada is big in hockey. Hockey is a national sport #1, with over 1.5 million participants.

• The native people of Canada invented the game lacrosse.

• The Athabasca Tar Sands have one of the world's largest natural gas reserves, second only to Saudi Arabia.

• Glaciers shaped the land and created many lakes, about 2 million lakes.

• Forests cover almost half of Canada.

• Canada has one-tenth of the world's forests.

• To drive from Halifax, on Canada’s east coast, to Vancouver, on the west coast, takes seven days.

• Most of Canada’s population — 80% — lives less than 250 km from the US border.

• One of the steepest main streets in Canada is located in the city Saint John in New Brunswick. The street rises about 27 m over a distance of two blocks. 

• Canada has a dessert located in Osoyoos, BC.

• The world's smallest jail is located in Rodney, Canada, 24.3 sq. m.

• USA buys more oil from Canada that from Saudi Arabia.

• The border between US and Canada is the longest unprotected border in the world.

• The longest street in the world is Yonge Street in the province of Ontario, 1896 km.

• People from more than 150 countries move to Canada every year.

• Canada is comprised of six time zones.

Facts about Canada inventions

• Baseball glove, 1883

• Basketball - James Naismith (1892)

• Battery-less radio - Edward Samuel Rogers Sr. (1925)

• Dental mirror

• Ear piercer

• Electrical car (North America's first)

• Electric wheelchair - George J. Klein

• Electron microscope - Prof. E. F. Burton and Cecil Hall, James Hillier and Albert Prebus (late 1930s)

• Frozen fish - Dr. Archibald G. Huntsman (1926)

• Heart valve operation (first)

• Helicopter trap (for landing on ships)

• Helium as a substitute for hydrogen in airships

• IMAX - Grahame Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr (1968)

• Insulin (as diabetes treatment) - Dr. Frederick Banting, Dr. Charles Best and Dr. Collip (1921)

• Kerosene - Abraham Gesner (1840)

• Lightbulb (first patented) - Henry Woodward (1874)

• Measure for footwear

• Nursing Mother Breast Pads - Marsha Skrypuch (1986)

• Pacemaker - Wilfred Bigelow

• Paint roller - Norman Breakey (1940)

• Panoramic camera - John Connon (1887)

• Portable high chair

• Radio compass

• Rollerskate

• Snowblower - Arthur Sicard (1927)

• Snowmobile - Joseph-Armand Bombardier (1937)

• Standard time - Sir Sanford Fleming (1879)

• Superman - Joe Shuster and Jerome Siegel (1938)

• Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell (1874)

• Walkie-Talkie - Donald L. Hings (1942)

• Washing machine

• Zipper - Gideon Sundback (1913)

• Music Synthesizer - Hugh LeCaine

• AM radio - Guglielmo Marconi

• Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell

• Television - Reginald A. Fessenden 
  

Facts about Canada and popular Canadians

• Celine Dion - singer

• Alanis Morissette - singer

• Nelly Furtado - singer

• Bryan Adams - singer

• Neil Young - singer

• Jim Carrey - actor

• Leonard Cohen - singer

• Pamela Anderson - actor

• Avril Lavigne - singer

• Keanu Reeves - actor

• Estella Warren - actress

• Shania Twain - singer and songwriter

• Shannon Tweed - actress 

• Sarah McLachlan - singer

• Mike Myers - actor

• Michael J. Fox - actor

• William Shatner - actor

• Dan Aykroyd - actor

• Donovan Bailey - sprinter