Less than 100 days in, and we’ve already had three guests come to see us in Ottawa, which means we’ve been learning (and sharing) A LOT about our new home. In fact, I’ve got so many fun facts swimming around in my head that I feel they deserve their own post! Who doesn’t love a little Canadian trivia, eh? So, without further ado, here are 20 interesting facts about our new home:

#1 Surely, we have to start with the name of the country, right? The word “Canada” actually comes from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata”, meaning “village” or “settlement”. Its first usage was intended to specify one village in particular; however, early French explorers used it to describe not only the village, but also the surrounding area, which kept expanding, eventually giving name to the entire region.

#2 Interestingly, Ottawa (or Outaouais, as it’s called across the river) gets its name from a different indigenous language. “Ottawa” is derived from the Algonquin word “adawe”, which means “to trade”.  

#3 Of course, everyone associates Canada with English and French, but I was delighted to read that there are over 70 distinct indigenous languages spoken here as well. Who’s up for learning a little Inuktitut with me?

#4 No matter how you get to Canada (by boat, by car, or by plane), you’ll likely notice there’s a lot of water here. Canada actually has the most lakes of any country in the world, about 880,000 in all.

#5 The crazy number of lakes should really be of no surprise given the fact that Canada is the second largest country in the world. Only Russia is larger.

#6 Canada does beat out Russia (and every other country in the world) for longest coastline though. There really is water everywhere here!

#7 Speaking of Canada’s coast, Canada is surrounded by oceans: the Atlantic to the east, the Arctic to the north, and the Pacific to the west, which is why you frequently hear Canadian announcers say “from coast to coast to coast”, which I think is brilliant!

#8 Their roadways are also pretty impressive. There’s one highway, the fittingly named Trans-Canada Highway, that traverses some 7,800km (4,800 miles) from one end of the country to the other.

#9 For such a large country, there really aren’t a lot of people living in Canada. With a little under 40 million people, Canada is one of the least densely populated countries in the world with about 4 people per square kilometer (or 10 per square mile). For reference, the US has about 37 per km² (96 per mi²).

#10 But there are still quite a few famous Canadians among us! Celebrities like Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Rachel McAdams, William Shatner, Pamela Anderson, Nelly Furtado, Michael J Fox, Jim Carrey, Ryan Gosling, Celine Dion, Drake, Elliot Page, and so many more all hail from the Great White North.

#11 Other notable Canadians include two of the most famous dog breeds in the world: the Labrador Retriever and the Newfoundland, coming somewhat obviously from Newfoundland and Labrador.

#12 Canada has ties to many animals, such as the moose, the polar bear, the orca, the Canada goose, etc. but none of those are the national animal. The national animal of Canada is the humble beaver, which I recently learned is actually classified as a rodent.

#13 Another symbol of Canada is the maple leaf, which has been associated with the region since the early 1800s. Surprisingly though, it only made it onto the flag in 1965, meaning the Toronto Maple Leafs logo is about 40 years older.

#14 Speaking of maple leaves, Canada produces about 80% of the world’s maple syrup.

#15 In addition to giving the world maple syrup (and poutine, of course), there is a huge number of other internationally famous Canadian inventions: basketball, lacrosse, insulin, peanut butter, IMAX, pagers, egg cartons, Hawaiian pizza, and the snowblower just to name a few.  

#16 Canola oil happens to be another Canadian specialty. Canola was first bred (in Canada) as a healthier alternative to rapeseed and has become one of the most ubiquitous cooking oils in the world. The name “Canola” is actually a portmanteau of “Can”, as in Canada, and “OLA” meaning “oil, low acid”. Half a century later, and Canada is still the world’s largest producer of Canola oil.

#17 The US and Canada have a lot of historical similarities, so it’s not surprising that we both celebrate Thanksgiving. The two holidays have similar origin stories and similar commercial influence, but are ultimately celebrated in different months. Canada celebrates their Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.

#18 Another somewhat random fact we recently learned about Canada is that the “Winnie” in Winnie the Pooh is actually short for Winnipeg (like the city). The stuffed bear was named after a real Canadian black bear that went by the name Winnipeg.

#19 Many of our fun facts stem from our observing differences between the US and Canada, and one of these interesting differences is the legal drinking age here. In three Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec) it’s 18, and in the other provinces and territories it’s 19.

#20 And finally a few cold facts for you! Canada is without a doubt one of the coldest countries on the planet. In fact, a city in Yukon once recorded -63°C (-81°F), which is about the average temperature on Mars. Ottawa is often listed as one of the top 10 coldest capitals in world, with an average high of -5°C (23°F) for the month of January. Winter is coming for us…

Well, there you have it, my first Canadian facts round-up! I hope you found these tidbits as interesting as we did, and I hope you make it up to Canada soon to learn a few more in-person! Thanks for reading!