What do you think of when you think of Canada? Deserts? Beaches? Palm trees? Vineyards? Probably not, but today we’re going to change your view of the Great White North. It’s not all tundra and polar bears (all though it does have plenty of those!). These are 25 surprising facts about Canada you probably didn’t know!
According to the OECD, Canada is the most educated country in the world (more than half of adults have a college degree).
Source: time.comThe lowest temperature ever recorded in Canada was -63 C (-81.4 F). It was measured at Snag in the Yukon Territory in 1947.
Source: factretreiver.comCanada has the most lakes out of any country in the world.
Source: cbc.caResidents in Churchill, Manitoba leave their cars and houses unlocked. This provides a quick escape from hungry polar bears.
Source: outsideonline.comCanada gets its name from the Iroquoian word “Kanata”. It means “village”.
Source: canada.pch.gc.caThe Canada-US border is the world’s longest border between two countries. It’s official name is the International Boundary.
Source: worldatlas.comFollowing the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Canada actually declared war on Japan before the United States did (within a few hours).
Source: publications.gc.caCanada’s official phone number is 1 800 O-Canada.
Source: canada.caLarge parts of the Hudson Bay actually experience slightly less gravity than the rest of the world. Scientists have a few theories as to why, but they mostly have to do with shifts in the Earth’s mass.
Source: howstuffworks.comSome police in Canada hand out positive tickets. And yes, it’s a ticket for doing something postive.
Source: positivetickets.comAfter the USSR and the United States, Canada was the third country to reach space
Source: asc-csa.gc.caThere are less people in Canada than there are in the Tokyo metropolitan area. As of this writing, Canada has 35.6 million. The Tokyo area has 37 million.
Source: nationamaster.comCanadians lead the world in illegal visa overstays in the United States. An estimated 93,000 Canadians are living south of the border with expired visas.
Source: latintimes.comThe Okanagan Valley is a breathtaking wine growing region in British Columbia.
Source: okanaganwines.caAlert, Nunavut is the northernmost inhabited place on Earth.
Source: mentalfloss.comThe inventor of basketball, James Naismith, was Canadian.
Source: kansasheritage.orgCanadians are famous for giving the world kerosene, insulin, IMAX, electron microscopes, and snowmobiles.
Source: thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/Once, $30 million worth of maple syrup were stolen from a reserve in Quebec.
Source: cbc.caCanada has more donut shops per capita than any other country.
Source: cbc.caThe Okanagan Desert is a semi-arid area located in British Columbia. That’s right, Canada has a desert...and cacti!
Source: torontosun.comThere are non-indigenous palm trees that grow along the coast in and around Vancouver.
Source: vancouversun.comThe Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia is part of the Pacific temperate rainforest region that stretches across the US and Canada. It is the largest area of temperate rainforest in the world.
Source: nationalgeographic.com75% of Canadians live within 160 km (100 miles) of the US border
Source: nationalgeographic.comOne major road connects eastern and western Canada (through Ontario). It is called Highway 17 (Trans-Canada Highway) and in the most remote regions it's only one lane in each direction.
Source: thestar.comNote: most Canadians fly across the continent and if they do drive, they tend to drive through the US. Furthermore, if they do fly, many Canadians use airlines in the US because they are cheaper.
Alberta has badlands, like wild west style badlands.
Source: nationalgeographic.comLists Going Viral Right Now
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