15 Mind-Blowing Facts about Canada that You Will Love

Canada turned 154 years old this year. In case you want to know more about this lovely country, here are 15 cool things about the Great White North that may surprise you.

• It’s illegal to take a bandage off in public
  Although it is rarely enforced, this is an actual law that exists. It prohibits removing band-aids in public spaces, such as sidewalks and parks. 

• Canada has 10 percent of the world’s forests
  These forests house half of the country’s wildlife and over 90 percent is on publicly owned land. The other ten percent is divided federally, privately and among indigenous communities. 

• Daylight savings time does not occur in Saskatchewan
  In fact, Saskatchewan observes Daylight Saving Time, instead of returning to standard time in the fall like the rest of the country. Saskatchewan remains on Central Standard Time (CST) all year long and therefore doesn’t spring back or forth in time.

• License plates for cars, motorbikes and snowmobiles in Nunavut were in the shape of a polar bear
  The polar bear plates have been used in Nunavut since 1999 but have been redesigned since then. Today they can be considered a collector’s item.

• Alberta is home to more natural disasters than other provinces in Canada
  The Southern Alberta floods in June 2013 and Slave lake fire in May 2011 are some of the incidents that caused massive damages, with the insured damage going above a billion Canadian dollars.

• Ginger Ale was invented in Toronto
  Dry ginger ale was created by John J. McLaughlin, a chemist and pharmacist. It was patented in 1907 as “Canada Dry Ginger Ale.” Today, Canada Dry is a famous drink around the world.

• Peanut Butter was created in Montreal back in 1884
  In 1884 Marcellus Gilmore Edson patented a finished product made from milling roasted peanuts between two heated surfaces.

• An estimated 75 percent of Canadians live within 161 kilometers (100 miles) of the U.S. border
  These include cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

• The famous Canadian interjection “eh” is actually an entry in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary
  People consider “eh” as an indication of Canadian English.

• The Daily Planet in Superman is based on the news publication Toronto Star
  Superman was co-created by Canadian Joe Shuster. The city Metropolis, which appears in the comic’s storyline, is actually modelled after Toronto.

• Cirque de Soleil was created in Montreal, Quebec
  This Montreal-based entertainment company was founded by former street performers Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix in 1984. They have presented shows in front of over 180 million audiences across 450 cities in 60 countries.

• 50 percent of the world’s polar bears live in Nunavut
  According to Polar Bears In Canada, Canada is a natural habitat to about 16,000 polar bears, roughly two-thirds of the world’s total population of 26,000 polar bears.

• The most common last name in Canada is “Smith”
  In the last century, at least 193,143 people have Smith as their surname.

• In the 2012 Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, 3,000 tons of maple syrup in Quebec were stolen. They were valued at $18 million.
  The theft was discovered during a routine inspection where people found the barrels filled with water instead of syrup. Around 26 people were arrested in connection to the heist.

• A crater on the planet Mars was named after a town in Newfoundland
  The town of Gander was honoured for its efforts in space research. Gander was even a designated alternate landing site for NASA’s Space Shuttle program.