Oh Canada, there’s nothing trivial about you. But here’s a list of trivia to celebrate 150 years since Canada’s Confederation.
How many of these facts did you already know? Tell us your score in the comments.
Sports
1. The Toronto Huskies, established in 1946, were the first Canadian team in the NBA
2. Los Angeles Lakers’ Mike Smrek became the first Canadian to win an NBA championship in 1987
3. Steve Nash is the only Canadian to win the NBA MVP award
READ MORE: Canadian sports heroes to honour for the country’s 150th birthday
4. Canadian closer Éric Gagné is the first MLB pitcher to record more than 50 saves in more than one season
5. The Toronto Blue Jays are the fastest AL expansion team to win the World Series
6. The first NBA game was played in Canada between the New York Knicks and the Toronto Huskies in 1946
7. The first recorded baseball game took place in Beachville, Ont., in 1838
8. Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run on the Toronto Islands as a rookie in the International League
9. The Royal Montreal Golf Club is the oldest golf club in North America
10. While ice hockey is Canada’s most prevalent sport, lacrosse is the country’s official sport
11. Ottawa’s Nancy Greene won the first ever World Cup ski race in 1967
12. The Stanley Cup has its own bodyguard
13. Maurice “Rocket” Richard was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in one season
14. Chicago Cubs’ Ferguson Jenkins is the first Canadian to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
15. Curling became Saskatchewan’s official sport in 2001
16. The canoe capital of the world is located in Peterborough, Ont.
History
17. Canada officially became its own completely independent country in 1982 with the Canada Act
READ MORE: Canada 150 interactive: You choose the logo
18. The name “Canada” comes from the word “Kanata” used by the Iroquois, a native American tribe who lived in Quebec in the 16th century
19. Charles Fenerty, a poet from Halifax was the first person to use wood fibres to make paper
20. O Canada was first performed on July 24, 1880 in Quebec City
READ MORE: 7 defining Canadian moments from the past 150 years
21. Canada’s first railway line opened in July 1836
22. The Mounted Police were formed in 1873, with nine officers
23. Remembrance Day poem “In Flanders Fields” was composed by Lt.-Col. John McCrae in 1915
24. BlackBerry Limited was founded by Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin in Waterloo, Ont., in 1984
25. The first Tim Hortons opened in 1964 in Hamilton, Ont.
26. Canada is home to the oldest brewery in North America, Molson, which was established in 1786
READ MORE: 10 fascinating facts about beer in Canada
27. The toonie was introduced in 1996
28. Kim Campbell is the first and only female prime minister of Canada
29. MuchMusic won a Gemini award for its coverage of the 1993 federal election
30. Cirque du Soleil was founded in Quebec in 1984
31. In 1642, a group of religious mystics from France were inspired by a vision to build a missionary city in the Canadian wilderness
32. Canada didn’t get its official flag until 1965, almost 100 years after it became a country
33. The regent of England, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the Canadian head of state
34. The popular children’s book Anne of Green Gables was written by P.E.I. author Lucy Maud Montgomery
35. The term “trick or treat” was first used in Alberta
36. The Halifax Explosion in 1917 was the world’s largest man-made explosion prior to Hiroshima
37. Newfoundland didn’t become a province until 1949
38. O Canada didn’t become the official national anthem until 1980
39. Manitoba was the first province to grant women the right to vote
40. The first YMCA started in 1851 in Montreal
41. Newfoundland was the first part of Canada to be explored by Europeans
42. Quebec City’s 400th anniversary was celebrated in 2008
43. The Bluenose, Canada’s most famous ship and seen on the dime, was a fishing and racing vessel in the 1920s and ’30s.
Inventions
44. In 1883, the baseball glove was invented in Canada
45. Basketball was invented by a Canadian living in the United States
READ MORE: 4 sports you can thank Canada for creating
46. Canada can take credit for IMAX, the electric wheelchair, and Trivial Pursuit
47. An Ontario man invented Hawaiian pizza
READ MORE: “Sam” Panopoulos, inventor of Hawaiian pizza, dies at 83
48. The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in the summer of 1874
49. Canadian Sir Fredrick Banting developed insulin
Food & Drink
50. A 2010 Maple Leaf Foods poll said 43 per cent of Canadians would rather have bacon than sex
51. 77 per cent of the world’s maple syrup is made in Quebec
52. Macaroni and Cheese is the most-purchased grocery item in Canada
53. 80 per cent of all alcohol consumed in Canada is beer, although cider and wine are becoming more popular
54. Canada has more doughnut shops per capita than anywhere else
55. It is illegal to move alcohol between provinces without permission
56. Cheddar is the most popular cheese in Canada
READ MORE: 11 inventions, people, and foods you probably didn’t know were Canadian
57. P.E.I. banned the sale of soda in cans between 1984 and 2008
58. Each Canadian eats an average of 190 eggs per year
59. Canadians drink more fruit juice per capita than any other country
60. New Brunswick-based McCain Foods is the world’s largest manufacturer of French fries
61. Tim Hortons has more outlets in Canada than any other restaurant
READ MORE: Which Tim Hortons doughnut comes out on top
62. Dawson City, Yukon is home to the Sourtoe Cocktail, a drink garnished with an amputated toe
63. The Mclobster is exclusively served at Canadian McDonald’s
64. Peameal bacon is often considered “Canadian bacon” abroad
READ MORE: 18 Canadian dishes from coast to coast
65. Montreal has the highest number of restaurants per capita in Canada
66. Between 1917 and 1921, alcohol was prohibited in British Columbia
67. The Moosehead Brewery in Saint John, N.B., turns out 1,642 bottles of beer per minute
68. Canada is the largest exporter and producer of blueberries in the world
Animals
69. 2.4 million caribou live in Canada
READ MORE: Canada 150: Could you pass the Canadian citizenship test?
70. 850 metres is the length of the world’s longest beaver dam found in Northern Alberta
71. 224 annual car accidents in Canada involve moose
72. 15,500 of the world’s 25,000 polar bears live in Canada
73. No cows in Canada are allowed to be administered artificial hormones for milk production
74. The first North American bird sanctuary was created in Last Mountain Lake in present-day Saskatchewan
75. The beaver is the official symbol of Canada
76. Manitoba’s Narcisse Snake Dens has the most snakes in a concentrated area in the world
77. There are no rats in Edmonton – or in all of Alberta for that matter
78. Churchill, Man., has established a polar bear prison for bears who break into people’s homes for food
79. Churchill is known as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World”
80. Scientists believe that Canadian geese have their own language with up to 13 different calls
Land & Nature
81. 31 per cent of Canada is taken up by forests
82. 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water is in Canada
83. Canada has more lakes than all other countries combined
84. Canada stretches across six time zones
85. Ontario has over 250,000 lakes
86. The Great Lakes are the largest fresh water system in the world
87. The world’s highest tides occur in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick
88. Manitou Lake on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron is the world’s largest lake within a lake
89. Nunavut translates to “our land” in Inuktitut
90. Alert, Nunavut is the world’s northernmost settlement
91. Canada has the only walled city, Quebec City, in North America
READ MORE: In photos: Major Canadian city skylines then and now
92. Canada is home to North America’s strongest current
93. Yellowknife is one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights
94. Newfoundland and Labrador’s Mistaken Point has the oldest known evidence of early multicellular life
RELATED: Canada 150: Send us your Canadian vacation photos
95. One-fifth of Canada’s total area is taken up by Nunavut
96. Canada has the longest coastline of any country in the world at 151,600 miles
Longest & Largest
97. Canada’s longest place name is Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik Lake
98. 2.49 metres is the length of the world’s longest beard belonging to Sarwan Singh of Surrey, B.C.
99. The longest highway in the world is the Trans-Canada Highway
100. Wasaga Beach is the world’s longest freshwater beach in the world
101. Montreal is the world’s second-largest French speaking city, after Paris
102. Canada has the longest recreational trail, the Trans Canada Trail
103. Canada is bigger than the European Union
104. Canada is the second-largest country in the world
105. Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park is bigger than Denmark and Switzerland
106. The world’s largest totem pole was raised in Victoria in 1994 and stands 54.94 metres tall
National Pride
107. Canada’s literacy rate is over 99%
108. Canada’s population density is 8.6 people per square mile, making it the ninth-most sparsely populated nation in the world
109. Canada’s two official languages are English and French
110. 80.5 per cent of Canadian homes have Internet
111. Studies have found Canadians are the second-happiest people in the world
112. 11 is the correct number of points on the Canadian flag’s maple leaf
113. You can write in any language to the North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada, and get a letter back from Santa
114. Canada is the best G20 country in which to be a woman
READ MORE: Canada ranked as second-best country in the world, again
115. Only eight countries are deemed to be less corrupt than Canada
116. 42 per cent of the Canadian population have a higher education qualification
117. 35-50 per cent of all music broadcast on Canadian radio must be Canadian
118. The Toronto International Film Festival is the largest film festival in North America
119. The first place in the world to develop emergency number 911 was Winnipeg, Man.
120. The first oil company in North America was founded in the appropriately named Oil Springs, Ont.
121. 9.5 million of Canada’s 34.9 million people speak French
122. The U.S. buys more oil from Canada than any other country
123. You can send mail to Canada’s government for free
124. The Canadian Rocky Mountains has been named the “Serengeti of North America” due to its array of wildlife
125. The CN Tower in Toronto was the world’s tallest free-standing structure until it was eclipsed in 2007
126. The American Society of Civil Engineers have considered the CN Tower one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World
Canadian Quirks… Eh
127. Canada has an “Apology Act” that allows apologies in court to be considered a sign of empathy, not guilt
128. Americans have been known to call themselves “Canadians” when abroad
WATCH: Canada 150: What travellers have to say about Canadians
129. It’s currently illegal to have comics depicting criminal acts in Canada, although that may change
130. The world’s smallest jail is in Rodney, Ont.
131. It’s illegal to swear in French in Montreal
READ MORE: Canada’s strangest laws
132. Nunavut, at one point, had polar bear-shaped licence plates
133. In Saskatchewan, a hoodie is called a “bunnyhug”
Watch: Saskatchewan slang explained
134. The coldest recorded temperature in North America was in Yukon in 1957 at -63 C
135. Pincher Creek, Alta., experienced a temperature shift from -19 C to 22 C in just one hour in 1962
136. Canada’s lowest recorded temperature, -63 C, is as cold as Mars
137. Ocean Falls, B.C., has on average 330 days of rain each year
138. Canada’s capital is Ottawa, the second-coldest capital in the world
139. Canada has strategic maple syrup reserves in Quebec
140. University of Victoria offers a “Science of Batman” course
Watch: farewell Adam West, TV’s Batman
141. Canadians didn’t appear on Canadian banknotes until 1971
READ MORE: Canada’s 10 most influential people
Miscellaneous
142. Toronto, Ont., leads tourism in Canada with 25 million people visiting each year
143. Among all provinces and territories of Canada, British Columbia has the mildest climate
144. More than 42 per cent of Canadians are Roman Catholic
145. Edmonton is commonly known as the “Gateway to the North”
READ MORE: Canada 150: Have you seen these red and white tulips in Edmonton?
146. 23 per cent of Canadians are Protestant
147. The Westboro Baptist Church and its members, known for picketing soldiers’ funerals, are banned from Canada
148. Li is the most common surname in Canada, according to the nation’s phone books
149. 40.6 years old is the average age of a Canadian
150. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America
Sources
- Canada Post
- Canadian Heritage
- Canadian Legal Information Institute
- CRTC
- CPHA
- Environment Canada
- NBA
- WWF
- Statistics Canada
- Canadian Mint
- National Research Council
- Canadian Encyclopedia
- Reader’s Digest
- Canadian Geographic
- City of Toronto
- City of Mississauga
- Government of Manitoba
- Geos Language School
- Manitobahot.com
- Atlas Obscura
- Buzzfeed
- Metro UK
- MLB
- CBC
- Discover Canadian Lawyers
- UNESCO
- Sportsnet
- Maple Leaf Foods
- Top 100 Golf Courses
- Brittanica.com
- Reader’s Digest Travel
- Canadian Geographic – Music
- Skiing History
- NHL
- CN Tower website
- What is a halal mortgage? How interest-free home financing works in Canada
- Ontario doctors offer solutions to help address shortage of family physicians
- Capital gains changes are ‘really fair,’ Freeland says, as doctors cry foul
- Budget 2024 failed to spark ‘political reboot’ for Liberals, polling suggests
Comments