Facts about Canada
Canada has the world's longest
Canada has many things going for it. The
country is the largest in North America with
the highest number of lakes in the world,
has over 70% of the world’s crude bitumen,
has the world’s longest coastline, and it is
home to the world’s most apologetic
citizens. These facts are but a few that
people do not know about the country.
1. Canada originates from "Kanata."
The First Nations, European explorers, and
European rulers have all left their mark on
the names of Canada and the provinces and
territories. The name “Canada” does not
have English origins but Huron-Iroquois
origins. The name is derived from “Kanata”
a Huron-Iroquois word that translates to
“village.” Jacques Cartier coined the name
in 1535 after locals welcomed him to
Stadacona, a village found in modern-day
Quebec City. Cartier would later use the
word to refer to the surrounding regions,
with the name “Canada” appearing on maps
in the mid-16th century.
2. Canada's largest city is not the capital
city.
Ottawa is recognized as the Canada's
capital city, a title it had held since 1857
when Queen Victoria named it “The
Province of Canada’s permanent capital.”
However, the city is not the largest in
Canada based on the population as it is
home to about 0.94 million people. The
distinction of Canada’s largest city belongs
to Ontario’s capital, Toronto, which has a
population of over 2.7 million inhabitants.
Based on population, Ottawa is ranked as
the fourth largest city in the country,
exceeded in size by Montreal (the second-
largest city) and Calgary (the third-largest
city). When looking at Canada's population
centres (formally called urban areas), the
region of Ottawa-Gatineau falls even lower
ranking as the sixth-largest area in
Canada behind Toronto,
Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary,
and Edmonton.
3.
international border and coastline.
The country has the longest non-military
border on earth. The US-Canada border is
Canada’s sole international land border and
measures 5,525 miles in length. The border
the country shares with America’s state of
Alaska is 1,528 miles in length. An
interesting feature found along the border is
an international library that sits on the
border near Quebec and Derby Line. The
country also has the world’s longest
coastline. With a total length of 125,567
miles, it would take a healthy person four-
and-a-half days of non-stop walking to cover
the coastline’s entire length. For
comparison, the second-longest
coastline belongs to Norway and is 36,122
miles in length.
4. Canada is the coldest country in North
America.
The reason behind the low temperatures
experienced in the country is due to its
proximity to the North Pole. The territories
of Yukon and Nunavut are some of the
coldest places on earth. These two
locations have witnessed extremely low
temperatures found nowhere else in North
America. An example is Snag, Yukon which
on February 3rd, 1947 recorded a
temperature of -63°C which is equivalent to
the temperatures recorded on the surface of
Mars. Eureka, Nunavut is recognized as the
coldest place on the continent based on
average annual temperatures which
average at -19.7°C.
5. Canada is huge.
Canada covers a total area of 3.855 million
square miles. The immense size makes the
country the largest in the Western
Hemisphere and second-largest country on
earth (only exceeded in size by Russia). The
size of Canada is evident in the fact that it
straddles six time zones. The country is
larger than the entire European Union. For
comparison, Canada is 15 times larger than
the largest country in the EU, France, which
covers an area of 0.247 million square
miles. There are territories in Canada that
are larger than countries. An example is
Nunavut which covers an area of 0.808
million square miles which is larger
than Mexico.
6. Canada is home to vast forests.
The forest cover in Canada is unrivaled in
North America, with its forests covering
more than 40% of its total land area. The
country’s forests cover a total area of 979
million hectares and make Canada home to
the second-largest forest cover in the world
(again only exceeded by Russia).
The forests in the country represent 10% of
all the world’s forests and more than 30% of
all Boreal forests on earth. New Brunswick
leads as the province with the largest forest
cover in the country, with forests covering
85% of its total area.
7. Canada has stunningly beautiful and
immense national parks.
Canada is home to about 39 national parks
and reserves which cover a combined area
of 126,718 square miles or 3.3% of the
country’s land area. The largest of the
national parks in the country is Wood
Buffalo. Located partly in the Northwest
Territories and partly in Alberta, this
national park covers an area of 17,364
square miles making it larger
than Switzerland. Another national park
known for its large size is the Nahanni
National Park Reserve. Also situated in the
Northwest Territories, this national park is
larger than Israel, with an area of 13,027
square miles.
8. Canada has thousands of lakes.
Canada has the largest number of lakes of
any country on earth. No one truly knows
the exact number of lakes in the country,
but most researchers agree that the total
number of lakes is close to two million.
Majority of the lakes in the country are small
lakes measuring less than 62 square miles
in area. An estimated 31,752 lakes are
major lakes. The largest of the lakes in
Canada is the Great Bear Lake which
covers an area of 19,466 square
miles. Lake Huron and Lake Superior are
considerably larger, but they straddle the
US-Canada border.
9. Canada boats of ample natural
resources.
Canada rarely comes up as one of the
world’s oil-rich countries. However, the
country has the largest recoverable deposits
of crude bitumen on earth, six time more
than the amount found in Russia. The
estimated amount of the recoverable crude
bitumen in the country is more than 176.8
billion barrels which represent 70.8% of the
global crude bitumen deposits which are
thought to be over 249.67 billion barrels.
Canada is also recognized as the world’s
largest producer of potash. Kazakhstan only
exceeds the country's annual production of
uranium in the world. Canada is also
a major producer of aluminum, nickel,
cobalt, and gemstones, having the third-
largest production of these minerals in the
world.
10. Canada has an “Apology Act.”
The common stereotype placed on
Canadians is that they are overly apologetic
and will apologize for trivial things.
However, the fact is that the country passed
the Apology Act in 2009. The purpose of the
act was ensure that apologies could not be
regarded as admissions of guilt or fault for
insurance purposes or in a court of law.