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Canadian Facts

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National Identity

“O Canada” was proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years after it was first sung on June 24, 1880. The music was composed by Calixa Lavallée, a well-known composer; French lyrics to accompany the music were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier.

The Official Lyrics of “O Canada”:

O'Canada!
Our home and native land
True patriot love
In all our sons command

With glowing hearts we see thee rise
The true north strong and free

From far and wide O'Canada
We stand on guard for thee

God keep our land glorious and free
O'Canada we stand on guard for thee

O'Canada we stand on guard for thee!

Paroles en Français:

Ô Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,


Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée


Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,


Protégera nos foyers et nos droits
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

For more information on the Canadian National Anthem, including an opportunity to listen an audio rendtion of the song, click here.


Abbreviations of Provinces in Canada

The official two-letter abbreviations for the
provinces and territories in Canada are:

  • Alberta = AB
  • British Columbia = BC
  • Manitoba = MB
  • New Brunswick = NB
  • Newfoundland and Labrador = NL
  • Northwest Territories = NT
  • Nova Scotia = NS
  • Nunavut = NU
  • Ontario = ON
  • Prince Edward Island = PE
  • Quebec = QC
  • Saskatchewan = SK
  • Yukon = YT

So What Do Canadians Have To Be Proud Of?

    1. Smarties, Crispy Crunch and Coffee Crisp!
    2. Shreddies, Clamato and Maple Syrup!
    3. Canadian Beer, Rye and Pure Water!
    4. Beef, Salmon and Lobster!
    5. Apple Pie and Superman…by a Canadian!
    6. Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Elvis…Stojko that is!
    7. Guess Who, Tragically Hip and The Emeralds!
    8. Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Amanda Marshall!
    9. Michael J. Fox, Leslie Nielsen and Pamela Anderson!
    10. The originators of Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse, Hockey and Ringette!
    11. Grey Cups have been around for 90 years with bigger balls,
      bigger fields and one less down!
    12. Mr. Dress Up kicked Mr. Rogers' ass!
    13. Tim Hortons kicks Dunkin' Doughnuts and Krispy Kremes' ass!
    14. Our cival war was a bar fight that lasted a little over an hour!
    15. Toques are cool!
    16. We knew plaid was in far before Seattle caught on!
    17. The Hudsons Bay Company once owned over 10% of the earth's surface and is still around as the world's oldest company!
    18. The average dog sled team can kill and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes!
    19. We invented ski-doos, jet-skis, velcro, zippers, insulin, penicillin, zambonis, the telephone and short wave radios that save countless lives each year!
    20. We all have frozen our tongues to something metal and lived to tell about it!
    But most Important…
    1. The handles on our beer cases are big enough to fit your hands with mitts on…OOOOO'Canada!

      Any others? Let us know!


Top Ten Myths About Canada and Canadians

    1. We live in igloos.
      We live in houses, and they are very well built houses.
    2. Canadians do not have the same technology as Americans.
      Canadians have access to the same technology as Americans and the rest of the civilized world.
    3. There is snow everywhere all year long.
      Anyone who has spent a summer in Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal will strongly disagree with this.
    4. We don't get the same movies Americans do.
      We get the same movies, on the same day, and our censorship is less severe. Furthermore, the Paramount theater in Montreal is the most attended and most lucrative movie theater in North-America.
    5. Canada does not have a film industry.
      We have a thriving film industry, and many of the syndicated US TV shows, not to mention major studio motion pictures are filmed here. Canada is renowned to have some of the best production crews in the world.
    6. Canadians all say "eh" and "aboot".
      Sure, some of us do (but many of us don't)…"eh" is similar to the American "huh" but has more uses. Canada is a big country with many different people who speak many different languages with different dialects.
    7. Everyone in Quebec speaks French.
      Although a large percentage of the Province's population is Francophone, there is also a large number of Anglophones and Allophones.
    8. Canadians have fewer guns than Americans.
      Canadians have just as many, if not more; we just have fewer murders. If you want stats and figures, see Michael Moore's excellent documentary, Bowling for Columbine.
    9. Canada's national sport is Hockey.
      Not completely true. While Hockey is very popular, and considered our national pastime, our national sport is Lacrosse. Oh, and we invented Baseball too. In 1994, the Federal Government introduced Bill C-212 that officially made Hockey Canada's National Winter Sport and Lacrosse Canada's National Summer Sport. Thanks Rolly! So the answer is both!
    10. Canadians policemen are all Mounties dressed in red uniforms.
      Our cops are the same as American cops. The Mounties usually only dress up in red for special occasions.

Trivia

How Canadian Are You? Take some Canadian trivia surveys and see how well you know Canada. The surveys are comprised of 20 multiple choice questions and range from “easy” to “insanely trivial”, getting progressively harder as you continue. Take some time and discover how well you know Canada! Go to: Survey Canada

Think you know a lot about Canada, eh? Well, go ahead and test yourself with a Canadian Trivia Quiz…find out how much you really know!

Want to know more about Canada? Here's an in-depth look at more truly Canadian Trivia than you can shake a leaf at!

Then of course there's the humorous look at Canadian trivia for all you Hosers!

Do you need trivia questions for an event, party, quiz night, quiz bowl, or online game? For a range of packages to suit your needs, including provincial and national trivia, click here.

View a list of well known people from a variety of professions, who happen to be Canadian. Also check out the 'Top 20 Famous Canadians', where you can nominate a new famous Canadian or debate an old one.


Games

Here are some Canadian Themed Games, crafts and other fun stuff for kids of all ages, but even adults may find the trivia challenging.


Books

If you want to explore the noteworthy and the notorious, the factual and the phenomenal, the obscure and outlandish sides of the “Great White North”, along with weird and wacky Canadiana, get one or more Great Canadian Trivia books or select from numerous reference books about Canada.


History

Here is a list (with photos) ofCanada's Prime Ministers along with various biographical, political, and cultural data on our past and current leaders.

Top Ten Canadian Inventions

The history of invention in Canada has followed a long and noble path. In fact, Canadian inventors have patented more than one million inventions and have been responsible for some of the best inventions of our time.

Canadians should be proud of all the products we're contributed to the world market. Yet a National Science Literacy Survey showed that two thirds of Canadians aren't able to name even one Canadian inventor!

Only a small percentage of the great inventions invented by Canadian inventors are listed below (in no particular order). Have I missed any?

    1. AM Radio (invented by Guglielmo Marconi)
    2. IMAX projector and system (invented by Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr)
    3. Telephone (invented by Alexander Graham Bell)
    4. Television (invented by Reginald A. Fessenden)
    5. Zipper (invented by Gideon Sundback)
    6. Music Synthesizer (invented by Hugh LeCaine)
    7. Electron Microscope (invented by Eli Franklin Burton, Cecil Hall, James Hillier, and Albert Prebus)
    8. Trivial Pursuit (invented by Chris Haney and Scott Abbott)
    9. Basketball (invented by James Naismith)
    10. Canadarm (invented by Spar Aerospace Ltd.)
Here's a more thorough list of Canadian inventions, including the inventor's name and date of the invention.

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