48 Fun Facts About Canada – Plus The Weird and Quirky

Want to know more about Canada? Being Canadian, we know a thing or two about our country, so we thought we’d share some interesting facts about Canada that you may not know.

So get out your notebook and get ready to have your mind blown as you learn these Canada facts right now!

Fun Facts About Canada

1. Canada is the number 1 donut consumer in the world.

We only have 30-million people in Canada, but we eat 1-billion donuts annually. We can thank Tim Horton’s for this title. It is Canada’s most popular coffee and donut chain.

2. Canada is part of the British Commonwealth and is confused about that

Canadians are influenced by both Britain and the United States so we are a bit confused. We use both the metric system and the Imperial system. Let me explain.

We are on the metric system but most people understand a lot of the imperial system and we tend to mix both systems up a lot between measurement and weight.

• Canadians follow speed limits and measure length in metres, but we measure our height in feet.
• We check the temperature outside in Celcius, but we cook in Fahrenheit.
• We weigh and buy our food by the kilogram but we weigh ourselves in pounds.

Canada uses the British English system meaning we spell things like Color with a “u” Colour, and our theaters and Meters are spelled “re” – theatre, metre. But we have also adopted American spelling as well.

3. Canadians Puts Milk in Bags

Here’s a very unique fact about Canada. Yes, we really do put milk in bags. We personally don’t drink a lot of milk ourselves, but I just recently went over to a friend’s house and she still has her bagged milk in a milk container.

This was the norm while growing up and 75% of Canadians still drink their milk out of a bag. I even see bagged milk at Costco!

4. Canadians Really do Say I’m Sorry

Canadians really do Apologize a lot. We really do say I’m sorry or sorry often. If you visit Canada for an extended period of time, chances are you’ll be going home apologizing too.

Apology Act – In fact Canadians apologize so much, Canada passed the apology act meaning, you express sympathy or regret. It does not, in law, constitute an express or implied admission of fault or liability by the person in connection with that matter. But it doesn’t mean an expression of sympathy or regret.

Weird Canada Facts

5. Sour Toe Cocktail in the Yukon

In Dawson City Yukon, there is a cocktail where people drink whiskey with a human toe inside. It is called the Sour Toe Cocktail. People donate toes that have fallen off due to frostbite or other means. There is a $2500 fine if you swallow the toe,. When you drink a sour toe cocktail, you have to let the toe touch your lips and then you get t a certificate. When people accidentally swallow the toe good samaritans donate newly severed toe to drink.

6. Skreech In Newfoundland

In Newfoundland, there is a tradition of kissing a dead cod followed by a shot of rum known as Skreech. When you visit the province, enjoy Newfoundland hospitality at the bar and be sure to Kiss the Cod!

7. In Churchill Manitoba Nobody Locks Their Doors

In the far north town of Churchill, Manitoba nobody locks their doors to their house or cars in case of a polar bear attack. Churchill is located in the center of Polar Bear Alley and polar bears walk freely through the town. They have learned to live with them.

8. Canada has Weird Town Names

Canada seems to like weird names for towns and cities and a trip around the country will prove it to be true.On the east coast, there is a town called Dildo and in the West, there is a place called Sexsmith in Alberta and Stoner in British Columbia. To see our full list of weird towns in Canada read 14 Funny City Names in Canada – Plus 6 Strange and Odd Towns

9. Canada is at War – Sort of

Canada has an ongoing dispute with Denmark. We have been fighting over an island in the Arctic since the 1930s. The two countries battle it out by leaving a bottle of Canadian rye whiskey or on the Danish side, leaving a bottle of Danish schnapps to stake their claim.

10. Canada has Strange Laws

• It is illegal to kill a Sasquatch in British Columbia.
• Smelling bad is illegal in Canada – Anyone offending a public place with an offending smell could face 2 years in jail.
• Comic books depicting a crime are illegal. Funny since we have a few ties with comic books. Wolverine is Canadian and Superman was invented in by a Canuck.
• Prostitution is legal in Canada, but buying a prostitute’s services is illegal. (now that’s confusing)
• It is illegal to carry a product designed for personal protection against a human attack, according to the Criminal Code.
• Cannabis is legal in Canada. This is a not so surprising fact about Canada. Most of our American neighbours tend to think we are all tree-hugging, pot smoking hosers up here. (and we’re good with that!)
• The drinking age in Canada is 19 years old in most provinces and 18 years old in Quebec, Alberta, and Manitoba

11. Population and Canadian People

The population of Canada is 37.06 Million people. While it is the second-largest country in the world by area, much of the land is uninhabited, with only 3.7 people per square km. (for reference the United States has approximately 35 people per square km.)

Most people in Canada live within 200km from the border of the United States. And most of the population lives in urban centres.

Canadian Life Expectancy – the average life expectancy  is 81 years old

12. Canada Has 2 Official Languages

Canada has two official languages. The province of Quebec is the main French-speaking province, but New Brunswick also has a large Francophone population too.

The rest of Canada speaks English, but French is taught in schools and signs in the country are bilingual.

13. Canadian Government

Canada’s Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau. Right now he is in the middle of his second term and is the head of a minority government. Canada works on a Parliamentary System that has been inherited from England.

We have five official parties represented in the federal government. Trudeau is part of the Liberal Party currently in power, with the Conservative Party as the official opposition. The New Democtratic Party (NDP), Bloc Québécois and Green Party make up the rest of the government.

Canada’s Official Phone Number – 1-800-O-CANADA

Geography Facts About Canada

14. Canada is the Second Largest Country in the World

Canada is a huge country. In fact Canada is the second largest country in the world. (Russia is the largest) with an area of 9.985 million km² (6.204 million miles²).

Canada is located in the northern hemisphere and is part of North America. It is north of the United States and East of Russia with Alaska bordering us to Northwest.

15. Canada has Provinces not States

Canada has 10 provinces and 3 Territories. The Provinces of Canada are – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. While the Canadian Territories are Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

16. Canada’s Capital City is Ottawa

Ottawa is the Capital City of Canada. It is located directly on the Ontario Quebec border on the Ottawa River. The Ottawa River is one of the premier places in the world for whitewater rafting.

17. Canada’s Largest City is Toronto

Toronto is Canada’s Largest City with a population of 6.97 million people.

18. Canada has the highest tides in the world

The Bay of Fundy. houses the world’s highest tides. Located between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, this body of water moves 100 billion tons of water through its tides twice daily.

19. Largest Freshwater Island in the World

Manitoulin Island in Ontario, is the largest fresh freshwater island in the world. It is an amazing place to visit. Located in Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, it is filled with hiking and cultural experiences. The Great Spirit Circle Trails allows people to immerse in Indigenous culture.

And another three of the largest islands in the world are located within Canada – Baffin Island, Victoria Island, and Ellesmere Island.

Interesting Canada Facts

20. Canada has the only walled city in North America

Speaking of Quebec, Did you know that Quebec City is the only city in North America that is a walled city. Sure there are walled cities all around the world, but Quebec is the only one in all of North America. Quebec is one of the oldest city’s in North America dating back to 1608 when it was founded by Samuel de Champlain.

21. Canada is the Polar Bear Capital of the World

Canada has more polar bears than anywhere in the world. We’ve seen about 10 in real life. In fact, Canada is considered the polar Bear Capital of the world. If you want to see a polar bear in real life, the best place to visit is Churchill.

22. Canada’s Money is Vision Impaired Friendly

Canadian Bank Notes have brail on them for the blind. (I thought everyone had braille on money, but only a few other countries do.)

23. Canada is the Most Educated Country in the World

Canada is the Most Educated Country in the World. I feel really proud of this Canada fact. More than 50% of the population has a post-secondary education. Plus, Canada has a 99% literacy rate. Not bad eh?

24. The national animal of Canada is the Beaver

The Beaver became the national symbol of Canada in 1975. It seems like a strange choice, but the beaver played a large role in building the nation. The country was built on the fur trade, and the beaver was in high demand for its pelt. So in exchange for nearly hunting them to extinction, we put them on our nickel as a thank you.

25. Maple Leaf is the Symbol of Canada

Maple Leaf – The maple leaf is definitely identified with our country. The Maple Leaf is prominent on our Canadian Flag, our most notoriously losing hockey team is called the Maple Leafs, the maple leaf is on our penny, and many Canadians used to sew the Maple Leaf on their backpacks.

25. Canada Has Two National Sports

Canada’s National Sports are ice hockey and lacrosse – We love hockey so much that obviously it one of our national sports. But not many people know of Lacrosse. Lacrosse is our country’s oldest sport and has its roots in the indigenous community.

26. Cool Canadian Foods

Canada doesn’t have much of a food identity. I would say what gives u our identity is that we have a very multicultural palette. One night we will eat Italian, then we’ll order in Thai or Korean and others we’ll be dining on Ethiopian or Indian. But there are a few things that set Canadian food apart.

• Canada’s National Drink is the Ceasar – It’s like a Bloody Mary, but instead of tomato juice, we use Clamato Juice (A mixture of Clam Juice and Tomato Juice)
• Canadians eat more Mac and Cheese than anyone else in the world. But we call it Kraft Dinner.
• Poutine really is a thing. And take it from us, it’s the best hangover food out there. Harvey’s (a burger chain that is delicious on up here) serves great poutine and it’s vegetarian! Poutine consists of french fries and cheese curds melted in gravy.

Canadian Outdoor Facts

27. Canada’s First National Park

The first national park in Canada was Banff National Park established in 1885. Three years after the first National Park in the world was established in the United States (Yellowstone National Park)

The country’s national parks are massive and 30 national parks in the country are larger than many countries!

28. Canada is Cold

Canada is cold, but we aren’t the coldest country in the world. Antarctica, Russia, and Greenland are colder. The lowest recorded temperature in Canada was in Snag, Yukon Territories at -63C. The coldest temperatures Dave and I have faced were -43C somewhere on the Hudson Bay in Northern Manitoba. But that’s okay, Canadians keep warm by wearing Tuques. (Or Toques as it is spelled in English) that is what we call a winter hat.

29. Great Maple Syrup Heist

In 2012 the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist was national news when someone stole 3000 tons of maple syrup in Quebec valued at $18 million dollars. It sounds funny, but Maple Syrup is big business. Canada produces 80% of the world’s maple syrup.

Canadian Celebrities

30. A lot of Famous People are from Canada

There are a lot of famous Canadians that you probably didn’t know. A few of the more patriotic Canadian celebrities like Drake, Mike Meyers, and Ryan Reynolds are well known Canucks around the world. But there are so many famous Canadians.

• Schitt’s Creek – Created by famous Canadians, Eugene and Dan Levy, this sitcom is set and filmed in Canada. It stars Canadians and it has taken the world by storm! It’s funny, very funny.
• Marvel has several famous Canadians – Evangeline Lily (Ant Man and the Wasp), Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Ellen Page (X-men), Cobie Smulders (The Avengers), Rachel McAdams (Dr. Strange)
• Famous Canadian Musicians: Drake, Justin Beiber, Michael Buble, Shawn Mendes, Alanis Morisette, Avril Lavine, Sarah Mclachlan, Rush, Neil Young, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Rush, Barenaked Ladies, Brian Adams, Leonard Cohen, Michael Bublé, The Weekend, The Guess Who.
• Famous Canadian Actors: Keanu Reeves, Ryan Gosling, Jason Priestley, Ryan Reynolds, Ellen Page, Rachel McAdams, Donald and Kieffer Sutherland, Christopher Plumber, Joshua Jackson, Eugene Levy.
• Famous Canadian Actresses: Sandra Oh, Anna Paquin, Evangeline Lily, Cobie Smulders, Rachel McAdams, Pamela Anderson
• Famous Canadian Comedians: Seth Rogan, Jim Carey, Mike Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Howie Mandel, Martin Short, Dan Akroyd, Will Arnet. Catherine Ohara, Lorne Michaels, Samantha Bee,

Canada’s Number Ones

• 31. Canada has the longest freshwater beach in the world – Wasaga Beach in Ontario is located on Lake Huron.
• 32. Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined with 20 percent of the world’s freshwater.
• 33. Canada is home to two of the top 10 largest lakes in the world. Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake are both located in the Northwest Territories.
• 34. The Trans Canada Highway #1 is the longest highway in the world at 7821 kilometers – 4860 miles.
• 35. Canada has the longest skating rink in the world (located in Winnipeg) and Canada has the World’s Largest Skating rink in Ottawa on the Rideau Canal.
• 36. Canada shares the world’s longest unprotected border with the United States.
• 37. Canada has the longest street in the world – Yonge Street in Ontario 1,896 km (1,178 mi) long. It originates in Toronto and goes due north to just shy of Lake Simcoe. It has been taken off the Guinness Book of World Records, but my research wasn’t able to find a street that was longer.
• 38. The village of Alert in the Northwest Territories is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world. (my sister was stationed there while in the military in the 1990s!)
• 39. The oldest rocks on earth can be found in The Canadian Shield. The 4.28 billion-year-old rock that was discovered by geologists in 2001.
• 40. Canada is one of the most multicultural countries in the world and Toronto is often considered the most multicultural city on earth!
• 41. Wood Buffalo National Park is the second-largest national park on earth. Located between Alberta and the Northwest Territories it was established to allow the Wood Bison to roam freely.
• 42. Canada has the longest coastline of any other country in the world. It totals 202,000 km long (125,566.691 miles). Canada is bordered by the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

Cool Facts about Canada Pop Culture

A lot of Surprising things were Invented in Canada. Most people think these things were invented in America or somewhere else. But surprise, they were created in Canada!

• 43. Basketball was invented by Canadian,  Dr. James Naismith who in 1891 defined 13 rules of the game that while teaching at a local YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts
• 44. Telephone – While Alexander Graham Bell wasn’t officially Canadian, he spent most of his time between Brantford Ontario, Boston Massachusetts, and Baddeck Nova Scotia. and much of his work was done at his workshop in Brantford and then later in life in Baddeck.
• 45. Superman was created by a Canadian – Canadian Joe Shuster co-created Superman with Jerry Siegel. The Daily Planet is actually based on the Toronto Star and Metropolis was modeled after Toronto.
• 46. IMAX was invented by Three Canadian filmmakers – Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr in 1967.
• 47. Insulin was discovered by doctor Frederick Banting in 19921 at the University of Toronto. It was developed further by him, Charles Best, Bertram Collip and John Mcleod.
• 48. The Snowblower was invented in Canada – Okay, this one isn’t surprising. It makes sense that the snowblower was invented by a Canadian. Arthur Sicard made shoveling snow easier in 1927.

And that is some of our favourite fun facts about Canada for today. Canada is quirky, Canada is fun and Canada is weird, it’s just the way we like it!

If you enjoyed all of these Canada facts, save this post to Pinterest for more future fun!

If you have any interesting facts about Canada, we’d love to hear it!

Read More about Canada

• 41 Iconic Places to Visit in Canada
• 52 Things to do in Canada – For the Ultimate Adventures
• Canada Day Facts – Fun Things I Bet You Didn’t Know!
• Canada Winter Activities You Just Cannot Miss!
• Canadian Stereotypes
• How to Speak Canadian

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About The Planet D

Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D. After traveling to 115 countries, on all 7 continents over the past 13 years they have become one of the foremost experts in travel. Being recognized as top travel bloggers and influencers by the likes of Forbes Magazine, the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field.

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