50+ Fun Facts You Never Knew About Canada

There is so much more to Canada than the moose and maple syrup and the s-OH-rry. Here are some amazing, fun, and interesting facts about Canada that you might not have known:

1. French and English are the two official languages in Canada.
2. The CN Tower in Toronto was the world’s tallest free-standing structure until 2007.
3. Canada has a strategic maple syrup reserve to ensure global supply in case of an emergency.
4. There are more doughnut shops in Canada per capita than any other country.
5. Hockey and lacrosse are Canada’s national sports.
6. Canada has 10% of the world’s forests.
7. Canada is the World’s Most Educated Country. Over half of its residents have college degrees!
8. The Hawaiian Pizza was invented in Canada.
9. You’ll find about 630 bird species in Canada and 11 sub-species of Canada geese alone.
10. Canada produces 80% of the world’s maple syrup.
11. National Parks in Canada are bigger than most countries.
12. Famous Canadian celebrities include Justin Bieber, Michael Buble, James Cameron, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Mike Myers, Ryan Reynolds, and William Shatner.
13. There is a beach known as Wasaga beach and it is the longest freshwater beach in the world.
14. Canada is the second-largest country in the world.
15. In Churchill Manitoba, nobody locks their doors to their house or cars in case of a polar bear attack.
16. There are about 200 species of mammals in Canada.
17. Canada has the world’s largest coastline – it would take you four-and-a-half years to walk the length of it, without stopping.
18. The baseball glove was invented in Canada in 1883.
19. Poutine originated in Quebec somewhere around the 1950’s. It’s a mix of French Fries topped with cheese curds and gravy.
20. The license plate for cars, motorbikes, and snowmobiles in Nunavut is in the shape of a polar bear.
21. Canada’s national animal is the beaver. Why? Because the country was built on the fur trade and the beaver was in high demand for its pelt.
22. If you send a letter to Santa to H0H 0H0, North Pole, Canada, you will receive a letter back, from Santa’s elves.
23. Canada is the first country in the world to embrace diversity and adopt a policy of multiculturalism. There are over 250 ethnic origins in Canada.
24. Canada’s lowest recorded temperature is as cold as Mars. In 1947, in a small village known as Snag, a temperature of -63 C (-81.4 F) was recorded.
25. Cannabis is legal in Canada.
26. Canadians are famous for using the interjection “eh,” so much so that it is listed in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary as a legitimate word.
27.  The official phone number for Canada is 1-800-O-Canada.
28. IMAX was invented by 3 Canadian filmmakers.
29. The first people to come to Canada arrived between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago.
30. Canadians very much believe in aliens — so much so that they built a UFO landing pad in Alberta in 1967!
31. Every year in Ottawa, there is the Tulip Festival where you can see thousands of tulips (sent from the Netherlands).
32. Canadians are known for their excessive use of the word “sorry.” So much so, that in 2009, The Apology Act was passed to make apologies inadmissible in court. In other words, apologies are an expression of sympathy rather than guilt or fault.
33. It took the Canadian parliament 40 years to decide on a national flag–the white flag with the red maple leaf!
34. The average life expectancy at birth for a Canadian is 81 years.
35. Canada is huge – 30% larger than Australia, 5 times as big as Mexico, 3 times as big as India and about the same size as 81,975 Walt Disney Worlds put together.
36. Some places in Canada have really weird names: On the east coast, there is a town called Dildo and in the West, there is a place called Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump.
37. Canada’s government is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.
38. There are 3 million lakes in Canada if you include smaller lakes as well.
39. The world’s largest skating rink in the world can be found in Ottowa.
40. Canadians consume more mac and cheese than any other country in the world. Kraft is the favorite.
41. About 80% of all alcohol consumed in Canada is beer.
42. In Yukon, Canada, there is a bar where you can order a Sourtoe Cocktail – containing an actual toe in a shot of whiskey!
43. There is a province called Manitoba that actually has the world’s largest concentration of snakes. In May, around 70,000 snakes come out of hibernation.
44. Basketball was invented in Canada!
45. Canada has provided fish, furs and other natural resources to the world since the 1500s. Today, it is a world leader in agricultural production, telecommunications and energy technologies.
46. There are more than 2,800 hockey rinks in Canada.
47. About 10% of the Canadians consider to be Vegetarians or Vegans.
48. Canada is known as the home of large animals like the moose and grizzly bear, but it is also home to about 55,000 species of insects and about 11,000 species of mites and spiders.
49. The West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, has the world’s largest indoor amusement park.
50. Cryptozoologists believe that Canada is the home Sasquatch and some lake monsters.
51. Mail doesn’t run on Saturdays and this has been a thing for over 35 years.
52. Canada has the highest quality of life — Canadians are very happy!

Do you know of any fun facts about Canada?