Canada

Geographical presentation
Canada occupies a major northern portion of North America, sharing land borders
with the contiguous
United States to the south
(the
longest
border
between two countries in
the world) and the US
state of Alaska to the
northwest.
Average winter and
summer high
temperatures across
Canada vary from region
to region. Winters can be
harsh in many parts of
the country, particularly
in the interior and Prairie
provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures
are near 15 C (5 F), but can drop below 40 C (40 F) with severe wind chills.In
noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year,
while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has
a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter.

Economy
The Bank of Canada is the central bank of the country and governed by Stephen Poloz.
In addition, the Minister of Finance and Ministry of Industry utilize the Statistics
Canada system for financial planning. The
Toronto Stock Exchange is the seventh
largest exchange in the world having
1,577 companies listed in 2012.
It is a member of the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) and the Group of Eight (G8), and

is one of the world's top ten trading nations, with a highly globalized economy.
The global financial crisis of 2008 caused a major recession, which led to a significant
rise in unemployment in Canada.By October 2009, Canada's national unemployment
rate had reached 8.6 percent, with provincial unemployment rates varying from a low
of 5.8 percent in Manitoba to a high of 17 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Since the early 20th century, the growth of Canada's manufacturing, mining, and
service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an
urbanized, industrial one. Like many other developed nations, the Canadian economy
is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three-quarters of the
country's workforce.However, Canada is unusual among developed countries in the
importance of its primary sector, in which the logging and petroleum industries are
two of the most prominent components.
St. Johns
Historical, alive with culture, close-knit, incredibly isolated, surrounded by nature
Halifax
Young, upbeat university town, welcoming, diverse with its people, eastern hospitality
Charlottetown
Gentle island works, family friendly, surprisingly fun nightlife, peaceful, place to
escape
Montreal
Alive with beautiful people, open-minded, independent, upbeat, feels like home
Ottawa
Conservative, uptight, aesthetically pleasing, air of safety, Canadas pride.
Regina
Quiet, isolated, welcoming people, currently under construction, booming.
Calgary
Full of young new grads, oil town, progressive, party place, folks in suits.
Vancouver
Active people, outdoor lovers, hipsters, environmentally friendly, full of pride.

Symbols
The National Flag of Canada
The national flag of Canada was adopted by resolutions of the House of Commons
and Senate in 1964 and proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II to take effect on February
15, 1965. The anniversary of this event is observed across the country every February
15 as National Flag of Canada Day.
The flag is red and white, the official colours of Canada, with a stylized eleven-point
maple leaf at its centre. The red-white-red pattern is based on the flag of the Royal
Military College and the ribbon of the General Service Medal of 1899, a British
decoration given to those who defended Canada in 19th-century battles.

The Maple Tree

Although the maple leaf is closely associated with Canada, the maple tree was not
officially recognized as Canada's arboreal emblem until 1996.

Our National Sports

Lacrosse in Canada was first declared the National Game of Canada in 1859. In 1994
Parliament passed the Canada's National Sport Act which declared lacrosse to be
"Canada's National Summer Sport", with hockey as the national winter sport.

The Beaver
For European traders, the main mercantile
attraction of North America was the
beaver pelt. Fur hats were the height of
fashion in Europe in the late 1600s and
early 1700s. The Hudson's Bay Company,
which opened much of Canada's North
and West to the trade, placed beavers on
the shield of its coat of arms in 1678. A coin was struck that was equal to the value of
one male beaver pelt it was known as a "buck." Parliament made the beaver an
official emblem of Canada in 1975.

The National Anthem

"O Canada" was proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years
after it was first sung inQubec City on June 24, 1880.

Idioms

The Canadian 'accent' can be heard most easily in the following words: out,
about, house, and others with 'ou'. For example, canadian pronounciation of the
word 'out' is like 'e' as in 'pet' followed by 'oot' as in 'boot', sounding like 'e'+'oot'.
American pronounciation of 'out' is more like 'ow' as in 'cow', sounding like 'ow'+'t'.
Other words often pronounced differenctly are 'pop', and 'roof'. Of course, the
trademark 'eh' at the end of a statement is a dead giveaway.

Canadian spellings can also cause confusion: colour vs color, cheque vs check,
centre vs center, etc.

Some of these 'Canadianisms' are of British origin, and can be found there as
well.
"Eh?"

Don't you think? Conversational device that allows an

unconfrontational canadian to turn a statement into a poll of opinion.

Canuck

nickname for a Canadian

clicks

slang for kilometres or kilometres per hour

hoser

unsophisticated person

keener

boot-licker, brown-noser, suck-up

kerfuffle

commotion; flurry of agitation

Molson muscle

potbelly (Molson is a Canadian brand of beer)

lineup

line of people; queue

"for sure"

definitely

to be on pogey

to be on welfare

mickey

375 ml. (13 oz.) bottle of liquor

two-four

case of beer containing 24 bottles

arse, bum

one's hind quarters.

Other
zed (Z)

zee (Z)

the bill

what Canadians ask for in a restaurant (Americans ask for the check)

eavestrough

rain gutter on the eaves (edge of the roof) of a house

elastic

rubber band

girl guides

girl scouts

housecoat

robe or bathrobe

hydro

electricity

serviette

paper napkin

tap

faucet or spigot

washroom

bathroom

track pants

sweat pants

runners

tennis shoes

muskoka chair

large, usually wooden deck chair

postal code

zip code

Canadian personalities
Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 - March 6, 1940)
of Montreal, Quebec was the first person to patent peanut butter, in 1884. Peanut flour
already existed.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier (April 16, 1907 February 18, 1964) was
a Canadian inventor and businessman, and was the founder of Bombardier. His most
famous invention was thesnowmobile.
James Naismith (November 6, 1861 November 28, 1939) was a Canadian
American sports coach and innovator. He invented the sport of basketball in 1891. He
wrote the original basketball rulebook, founded the University of Kansasbasketball
program, and lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport
in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as
the birth of both the National Invitation Tournament.
Sir Frederick Grant Banting, (November 14, 1891 February 21, 1941) was
a Canadian medical scientist, doctor, painter and Nobel laureate noted as the first
person that used insulin on humans.
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 July 22, 1932) was a Canadian
inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio, including the use
of continuous waves and the earlyand possibly the firstradio transmissions of
voice and music. In his later career he received hundreds of patents for devices in
fields such as high-powered transmitting, sonar, and television.
Lewis Frederick Urry (January 29, 1927 October 19, 2004 (aged 77)) was
a Canadian chemical engineer and inventor. He invented both the alkaline battery and
lithium battery while working for the Eveready Battery company.

Zipper
How else would we keep our ski jackets closed in the chilly winter months?! Canadian
electrical engineer Gideon Sundback made the first modern-day zipper in 1913,
improving upon models of inventors before him.
Telephone
We all know that Alexander Graham Bell wins the prize for inventing the telephone,
but did you know that he did so while living in Canada? Born in Scotland, his family
emigrated to Nova Scotia when he was young and hence the telephone is credited as
being a Canadian-made invention.
Superman
Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird (no, not a goose), it's a plane (not Air Canada), no, it's
Superman, a hero across the globe but one who was created by American writer Jerry
Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932. We'll definitely take some of the
credit for this one!