6 Things You Might Not Know About Canada

1. Canada has the longest coastline and the longest international border in the world: You might have been thinking about the United States or China, but the longest coastline in the world belongs to Canada - 125,500 miles! Its only neighbor is the United States and since both countries are pretty big you can expect the border to be big, too. It’s incredible 5,525 miles long.

2. The word Canada is derived from an indigenous word: The origin of the word Canada is in kanata, in the language of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, meaning settlement or village. Unfortunately this indigenous group perished in the 16th century during the wars with the Mohawk.

3. Canada’s national animal is a beaver: Beavers played a crucial role in the history of Canada during several battles between the traders and the fur trappers over who would be the fur king of the region. This almost caused the extinction of the beavers. Beavers became the national animal in 1975 and are also depicted on a Canadian nickel, too.

4.Quebec is the only walled city in North America: True, the only walled city north of Mexico is Quebec, with its walls built in the 17th century. When the British forces captured the city they strengthened and enlarged the walls. The walls are being preserved and nowadays are a part of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

5. Canada has a different Thanksgiving than the United States: that’s right, not all Thanksgivings are the same! Unlike the United States, Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in the middle of October. Canadians also eat different dishes compared to the USA, between the most traditional ones are shucked oysters , maple bacon cornbread or cider-glazed Brussels sprouts.

6.Winnie-the-Pooh was named after a bear from Canada: In reality, it wasn’t Pooh creator A. A. Milne who came up with the name - it was his son, Christopher. Christopher saw a black bear named Winnie , after Winnipeg, at the London zoo and decided to name his own bear after it. A. A. Milne then named the character after his son’s bear. Incidentally, the actual living black bear was purchased as a cub for $20 in Canada by a soldier returning to England after the second world war!

Article by Dominika - Thank you for your contribution