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Canada
North AmericaNorth America
9.98 Million km²
Quick Facts
Capital
Ottawa
Area
9,984,670 km²
Language
English & French
Currency
Canadian Dollar (CAD)
Calling Code
+1
Drives On
Right
Internet
.ca
Timezone
Multiple (UTC-3:30 to UTC-8)
Script
Latin
Government
Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Independence
1867
Map tiles by CARTO. Data by OpenStreetMap.
Canada is what happens when you give a country nearly ten million square kilometers and fill most of it with wilderness. It's the second largest country on Earth by area, but most of the 42 million people live within a hundred kilometers of the US border, leaving the vast majority of the territory to boreal forest, tundra, grizzly bears, and an almost obscene number of lakes - more than all other countries combined.
Officially bilingual in English and French, Canada is one of the world's most multicultural societies, with immigration woven into its national identity. The country invented basketball, peacekeeping, and insulin, produces 70% of the world's maple syrup, and takes ice hockey so seriously that a goal in overtime can make the evening news for a week. From the Rocky Mountains to the Maritime provinces, from Toronto's skyscrapers to the northern lights dancing over the Yukon, Canada quietly offers some of the most spectacular landscapes and livable cities on the planet.
Largest Cities in Canada
1
Toronto
Canada's largest city and financial capital, one of the most multicultural cities in the world with over 200 ethnicities
6,200,000
2
Montreal
French-speaking cultural capital, known for its festivals, bagels, poutine, and a European feel unique in North America
4,300,000
3
Vancouver
West coast gem between mountains and the Pacific Ocean, consistently ranked among the world's most livable cities
2,600,000
4
Calgary
Gateway to the Canadian Rockies and host of the famous Calgary Stampede rodeo festival
1,600,000
5
Edmonton
Alberta's capital and home to the West Edmonton Mall, once the largest shopping mall in the world
1,500,000
6
Ottawa
Federal capital on the Ontario-Quebec border, home to Parliament Hill and the world's largest skating rink
1,400,000
Famous People from Canada
Wayne Gretzky
SportThe Great One - holds over 60 NHL records and is widely considered the greatest hockey player in history
Terry Fox
SportRan 5,373 km across Canada on one leg during his Marathon of Hope for cancer research, a national hero
Leonard Cohen
MusicSongwriter and poet who created Hallelujah, one of the most covered songs in history, and a body of work spanning five decades
Margaret Atwood
LiteratureAuthor of The Handmaid's Tale and over 50 books, one of the most influential writers of the 20th and 21st centuries
Frederick Banting
ScienceCo-discovered insulin in 1921, saving millions of diabetic lives, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1923)
Celine Dion
MusicOne of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 200 million albums sold, voice of My Heart Will Go On
James Naismith
SportCanadian-born physical education instructor who invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891
Marshall McLuhan
ScienceMedia theorist who coined 'the medium is the message' and predicted the internet decades before it existed
Traditional Cuisine of Canada
Poutine
Quebec's gift to the world - crispy fries smothered in gravy and squeaky cheese curds, now a national obsession
Maple Syrup
Canada produces over 70% of the world's maple syrup, mostly from Quebec, and puts it on practically everything
Montreal Smoked Meat
Brisket cured in spices and smoked, piled high on rye bread with mustard at legendary delis like Schwartz's
Butter Tarts
Small pastry shells filled with a gooey mixture of butter, sugar, and egg - the great Canadian baking debate is raisins or no raisins
Nanaimo Bars
No-bake layered dessert from British Columbia with a chocolate-coconut base, custard middle, and chocolate ganache top
Tourtiere
Traditional Quebec meat pie with spiced ground pork, served at Christmas and throughout the cold winter months
Peameal Bacon
Toronto's signature back bacon rolled in cornmeal, served on a kaiser roll at the St. Lawrence Market since 1803
BeaverTails
Stretched fried dough pastries shaped like a beaver's tail, topped with cinnamon sugar, Nutella, or maple butter
Nature & Landmarks in Canada
Rocky Mountains
MountainSpectacular mountain range stretching through British Columbia and Alberta, home to Banff, Jasper, and some of the world's best skiing
Niagara Falls
RiverOne of the world's most famous waterfalls on the Ontario-New York border, with a flow rate of over 2,800 cubic meters per second
Banff National Park
National ParkCanada's oldest national park in the heart of the Rockies, with turquoise lakes, glaciers, and abundant wildlife
Bay of Fundy
CoastHome to the highest tides in the world at up to 16 meters, located between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
Great Lakes
LakeFive interconnected freshwater lakes shared with the US, containing about 20% of the world's surface fresh water
Canadian Shield
LandmarkAncient geological formation covering nearly half of Canada, the largest area of exposed Precambrian rock on Earth
Vancouver Island
IslandLargest Pacific island east of New Zealand, with old-growth rainforests, whale watching, and mild coastal climate
Churchill
LandmarkPolar bear capital of the world on Hudson Bay, where hundreds of bears gather each autumn waiting for the sea ice to form
Sports in Canada
Ice Hockey
Canada's national winter sport and cultural obsession, dominant in international competition with record Olympic and World Championship golds
Lacrosse
Canada's official national summer sport, an Indigenous game adopted as the country's oldest organized sport
Basketball
Invented by Canadian James Naismith, the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship in 2019
Curling
Multiple Olympic and World Championship gold medals, curling is deeply embedded in Canadian winter culture
Alpine Skiing
Consistent Winter Olympics medal winners with world-class ski resorts from Whistler to Mont-Tremblant
Did You Know?
1
Canada has more lakes than all other countries in the world combined, with an estimated 2 million lakes
2
Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at over 202,000 kilometers
3
Quebec produces over 70% of the world's maple syrup, and there is a strategic maple syrup reserve guarded like gold
4
Canada is the second largest country in the world by area, but has only about 42 million people
5
The Trans-Canada Highway is one of the longest national highways in the world at 7,821 km from coast to coast
6
Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith in 1891 using a peach basket and a soccer ball
7
Canada's official national sports are ice hockey (winter) and lacrosse (summer), both with deep Indigenous roots
8
The Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia has the highest tides in the world, rising up to 16 meters
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Test Your Knowledge of Canada
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