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Happy 150th Birthday Canada!!

Happy 150th Birthday Canada!

How fortunate we are to be able to call this country our home!  We could brag endlessly about all that it has to offer but that would not be in our nature!  However, in honour of this momentous occasion, we thought we would share a few fun facts about Canada!

No national symbol is as recognizable as our Maple Leaf which is proudly displayed from coast to coast. Generations of Canadian travelers are known for proudly adorning themselves with a Maple Leaf pin or patch to ensure that everyone knows where they’re from, just by a glance.

Canada is home to more lakes than any other country in the world with the province of Ontario containing about one third of the world’s fresh water supply. Muskoka received recognition from National Geographic a few years ago when it was named the top summer destination … in the world!

Canadians love comedy and we have ‘exported’ quite a few Canuck comics to Hollywood over the past few decades.  Will Arnett, Samantha Bee, Michael J. Fox, Jim Carrey, Catherine O’Hara, Mike Myers, Seth Rogan, Ryan Reynolds, Matthew Perry, Rachel McAdams, Ellen Page, Martin Short and Dan Ackroyd just to name a few.  Saturday Night Live which has been a comedic satirical staple on NBC for 4 decades was created by Lorne Michaels, a Canadian of course!

We love our Timmys.  Hockey legend Tim Horton opened his first store in 1964 in Hamilton.  Coffee and donuts were just 10 cents each then. The ‘timbit’, a Canadian icon, was created in 1976.  Tim Hortons expanded into Quebec in 1977 and the universal beverage favourite, the ‘double double’ required no translation!  And in 2004 that phrase made it into the Canadian Oxford dictionary.

Our culinary traditions are both delicious and quirky!  Who hasn’t heard of Poutine, a calorific combination of French fries slathered with gravy and cheese curds?. And what could be more Canadian than maple syrup, bacon, PEI potatoes, Montreal bagels, Kraft Dinner and Saskatoon berries?  Those with a sweet tooth may be more inclined to favour our gooey butter tarts, Beavertails, Nanaimo Bars, blueberry ‘grunt’ and sugar pie!

Sorry.  In Canada we seem to apologize constantly.  The majority of us will immediately apologize if someone inadvertently bumps into us. But one Canadian apologist cheekily noted that sometimes when we say ‘sorry’, we are actually expressing our sympathy for another’s shortcomings!

We have words, terms and phrases that are unique to Canadians. But the most familiar one would have to be ‘eh’ which is often used when completing a sentence or asking a question. As in, did you enjoy reading this compilation of Canadian superlatives, eh?  Wishing everyone a wonderful July 1st!  Happy Birthday Canada!

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