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8 Cool Canadiana Facts to Help You Celebrate Canada Day

Friday, October 28, 2016

Summer is here and it’s time to celebrate! One of the biggest celebrations of the summer is one that commemorates the birth of our nation – Canada Day! In order to help you celebrate, here are eight interesting Canadiana facts that you may (or may not) know.

1.) Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy.
That’s right – the Queen of England is also the Queen of Canada. The Queen does not govern, however. Instead, she delegates her powers to the Canadian Governor General.
2.) The beaver is Canada’s national animal.
Neither moose nor goose, you might be surprised to learn that the national animal of Canada is actually none other than Castor Canadensis or the North American Beaver.
3.) Canada’s total population is 36,279,055.
There are 36,279,055 of us, which means that the population of Canada is approximately 0.49% of the total world population and ranks 38 in the world in terms of population size.

4.) It’s pretty big.
With the total land area measuring 9,071,595 Km2 (3,502,561 sq. miles), Canada is the second largest country in the world. It’s so big that the population density is only 4 per Km (10 people per mi2).
5.) Roughly 30% of Canada’s total landmass is occupied by forest.
That’s a lot of trees, eh?
6.) Duels are illegal in Canada.
According to the Criminal Code of Canada, anyone “who challenges or attempts by any means to provoke another person to fight a duel, attempts to provoke a person to challenge another person to fight a duel, or accepts a challenge to fight a duel, is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years”. So don’t even think about it, ok?

7.) The name Canada was actually a bit of an understanding.
The name of our country was actually a misunderstanding. Jaques Cartier thought that the Iroquois word ‘Kanata’ referred to the entire country, rather than it’s actual meaning of ‘village’ or “settlement”.

8.) We actually are that nice.
Although Canadians are reputedly ‘nicer’ than our American counterparts, an analysis of recent twitter activity shows that Canadians are more likely to tweet positive words in comparison to Americans. Sorry – we actually are that nice!
If you’re looking for other ways to celebrate this great country we call home, downtown Barrie, Ontario has you covered. In fact, each year our Canada Day/Promenade Days celebrations – full of food, music, live entertainment, a street market, pop-up shops, rides, fireworks and, of course, the great cafés, restaurants, shops and businesses found in downtown Barrie, draw many locals and visitors alike. For more information check out, promenadedays.downtownbarrie.ca.
Will you be commemorating the birth of our great nation in downtown Barrie? Share your plans with us using the hashtags #DowntownBarrie #CanadaDay