Find many `did you know` on this page. You will be quite amazed with information about Canada found on this page.

FACTS ABOUT CANADA

Canadian History
The first people were the Aboriginal people.
Explorers and settlers from Western Europe arrived in the 1500s.
Canada was named by the French explorer Jacques Cartier (1535).
The name Canada comes from the Huron and Iroquois word "Kanata" meaning "village".
Canada became a country on July 1st, 1867 (Canada Day Holiday / French: Fête du Canada).
The first provinces were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec.
The first Canadian prime minister was Sir John A. Macdonald.


Canadian National Anthem
O Canada was composed in 1880, with music by Calixa Lavallée and words by Judge Adolphe-Basile Routhier. In 1908, Robert Stanley Weir wrote the translation on which the present English lyric is based. On July 1, 1980, a century after being sung for the first time, O Canada was proclaimed the national anthem.
Listen to OH Canada Anthem!


Time Zone sin Canada
Canada has six time zones. The easternmost, in Newfoundland, is three hours and 30 minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The other time zones are the Atlantic, the Eastern, the Central, the Rocky Mountain and, farthest west, the Pacific, which is eight hours behind GMT.


Most Important River in Canada
Did you know that the St. Lawrence river is 3058 km long and it is Canada's most important river, providing a seaway for ships from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Other large watercourses include the Yukon and the Columbia (parts of which flow through U.S. territory), the Nelson, the Churchill, and the Fraser--along with major tributaries such as the Saskatchewan, the Peace, the Ottawa, the Athabasca, and the Liard.


The Longest River in Canada
Another Fact about Canada is that the longest Canadian river is the Mackenzie, which flows 4,241 km through the Northwest Territories.


Mountains in Canada

Canada's vast area means it has many varying types of terrain, much of which is mountainous. The principal mountainous region is the Western Cordillera, or Cordilleran, mountain system located in western Canada in British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories. A second major mountain system in Canada is located along the north-eastern seaboard from Ellesmere Island down through to the Torngat Mountains of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. A third system of significance is the Appalachians which cross much of eastern Canada. The following list of mountains and other heights was chosen on the basis of giving the highest point, and other representative or unusually well-known high points for generally recognized ranges of mountains or hills. All named peaks of 3300 metres or more are listed. Where mountains occur on inter-provincial boundaries, they are listed for each province forming part of the boundary.

Lakes in Canada
There are about two million lakes in Canada (yes, 2,000,000 lakes), covering about 7.6% of the Canadian landmass. The main lakes, in order of the surface area located in Canada (many large lakes are traversed by the Canada-U.S. border), are Huron, Great Bear, Superior, Great Slave, Winnipeg, Erie and Ontario.


The Largest Lake in Canada
The largest lake situated entirely in Canada is Great Bear Lake (31,326 square kilometers) in the Northwest Territories.


Leading Industries
These include automobile manufacturing, pulp and paper, iron and steel work, machinery and equipment manufacturing, mining, extraction of fossil fuels, forestry and agriculture.


2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics

The XXI 2010 Winter Olympics will be held February 12 to 28, 2010, and the Paralympics from March 12 to March 21, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia. These Olympics will feature more than 90 medal events in which Canadian athletes will be competing. They include alpine skiing (Olympic and Paralympic), biathlon (Olympic and Paralympic), bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, luge, short-track speed skating, ski jumping, speed skating, cross-county skiing (Olympic and Paralympic), curling (Olympic and Paralympic), freestyle skiing, ice sledge hockey (Paralympic), Nordic combined, skeleton, and snowboard. With the world’s focus on the Olympics, these games are not only a celebration of sports, but they also shine a spotlight on the host country Canada, the host province British Columbia, and the host city, Vancouver. The 2010 Winter Olympics were the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada hosted the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. Following Olympic tradition, the Vancouver mayor then, Sam Sullivan, received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The flag was raised on February 28, 2006, in a special ceremony and was on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony. The event was officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean.[