Most people know Canada for its maple syrup and Mounties, but there’s far more to this vast and diverse country. These historical tidbits offer a glimpse into what makes Canada truly unique and endlessly fascinating – including an unexpected law about how often Celine Dion gets played on the radio.
Click through this gallery to discover 31 historical facts you probably didn't know about Canada...
European explorers began arriving in the Americas in the 15th century, but archaeological evidence shows that the ancestors of Canada’s Indigenous peoples have lived on this land for at least 12,000 years, with some findings suggesting even earlier human presence. Despite a dark history marked by displacement, forced assimilation and mistreatment at the hands of settlers, Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis people remain a vital part of modern Canadian society, working to preserve and celebrate their cultures, languages and traditions.
Well before European settlers arrived in the 15th century, Vikings sailed to Newfoundland about 1,000 years ago in the 11th century. While they didn’t stay long, they established a temporary base at L’Anse aux Meadows, which served as a hub for their North American explorations. Now a National Historic Site and UNESCO World Heritage Site, it offers visitors the chance to see original artefacts and a reconstruction of the Viking encampment.
The exposed portions of continental crust known as the Canadian Shield comprise about half of Canada’s land mass, taking up most of Québec and Ontario, large swathes of the Northern territories and pieces of the prairie provinces. It’s an important part of the planet’s geological history – scientists have found rock material on the shield that is believed to be over four billion years old, the oldest rock material ever discovered on Earth.
Canada celebrates its birthday every year on 1 July, but the date is more than just a convenient time to have a warm-weather national holiday. The British North America Act (later known as the Constitution Act) created the Dominion of Canada, confederated the country and came into effect on 1 July 1867. Canadians mark the occasion with fireworks, barbecues, concerts and big community parties, though the day is also controversial for many, as it represents the legacy of colonisation and its impact on Indigenous peoples.
The red and white maple leaf flag is the definitive symbol of Canada, but the country didn’t officially adopt the flag until 1965. Designed by George Stanley, a Canadian academic and public servant, the iconic maple leaf replaced previous flags that incorporated the British Union Jack.
While much of Canada remains unceded, the middle part of the country is governed by 11 Numbered Treaties signed with First Nations between 1871 and 1921. These treaties cover land from western Ontario to eastern British Columbia, as well as parts of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. However, the terms are widely contested, as they often reflect colonial efforts to change Indigenous ways of life and are seen as deeply unfair.
Beautiful Québec City is steeped in history, with buildings that date back over 400 years. Its fortified walls are unique by North American standards and the city itself, founded by French colonist Samuel de Champlain in the early 17th century, is full of historic elements, with ramparts still standing, as well as a citadel and other early colonial features. The charm of the area makes it one of Canada’s top tourist destinations.
Before colonisation, Canada’s prairies teemed with bison, with up to 30 million roaming the grasslands and thriving in the north. These animals provided Indigenous communities with food, materials and cultural significance, but the arrival of Europeans led to over-hunting and deliberate slaughter aimed at undermining Indigenous livelihoods. By the early 1900s, bison were on the brink of extinction; however, ongoing conservation efforts are slowly helping their populations recover.
A man with many faults, history has not been particularly kind to Canada’s first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald. The controversial PM almost didn’t make it to Confederation because a candle lit his bed on fire while he was sleeping in a hotel during the final negotiations. He was awoken by the smell of his own burning flesh and had to conceal his injuries until after the deal was signed.
Canada and the US share a peaceful border today, but that wasn’t always the case – especially when Canada was still a British colony. There were two major conflicts: in 1775, during the American Revolution, rebel forces invaded Canada and even occupied Montréal for a time. Later, during the War of 1812, the two sides fought for more than two years.
Marked on maps since the 16th century, Canadians have often been told that St. John’s, Newfoundland is the oldest European-settled city in North America. While historians dispute the idea that any city or settlement can accurately claim being the oldest, one thing is clear; St. John’s is still pretty old. The city had been used by European settlers as a seasonal fishing settlement as far back as the 1500s, with people starting to stay permanently a century or so later.
Early settlers tended to build towns and cities in the southern part of the country, not far from the US border. This trend has continued, with the largest cities (Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver) all less than 50 miles (80km) away from the international divide. The further north in Canada you go, the colder it is, so it’s natural that people want to live where it’s warmer. Proximity to the US also makes for easy cross-border trade.
Canada is a large country and getting from one end to the other wasn't easy before mass transportation came along. Canada’s first public railway opened in 1836, positively impacting the growth of the eastern part of the country. When British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871, it was with the condition that the railway be extended to the west coast. This goal was realised in 1886, opening the country up to trade and travel.
Canada has had 23 Prime Ministers – not a lot for a country that has existed for more than 150 years. The longest-running PM was William Lyon Mackenzie King, who served three non-consecutive terms for a total of 21 years between 1921 and 1948. While others (John A. Macdonald, Pierre Trudeau, Wilfred Laurier) surpassed 15 years in the job, not all PMs were so lucky. Charles Tupper had the shortest run in the office, losing the position after just 68 days.
Hockey may be Canada’s most popular game, and the country may only have one NBA team (the Toronto Raptors), but basketball was invented by a Canadian. In 1891, Ontarian James Naismith was working at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, when he came up with a game to keep students active during the icy winter months, when they had to be indoors. The players originally threw the balls into peach baskets.
The stunning Gothic-Revival Parliament buildings in Ottawa are a national symbol of Canada, but the Centre Block is not the original that was completed in 1865. In 1916, a fire broke out in Parliament’s reading room, causing the building to burn and the clock tower to collapse. Miraculously, firefighters were able to save the library, which was filled with priceless materials. Centre Block and its tower were quickly rebuilt, opening in 1917.
Canada is widely considered a country of immigrants – apart from Indigenous peoples, the ancestors of all Canadian citizens originally came from elsewhere. Historically, Canada was settled primarily by immigrants from France and Great Britain, but over time, people from around the world have contributed to its multicultural society. Today, nearly a quarter of Canada’s population is foreign-born, the highest proportion among G7 countries. Significant communities include South Asian and Chinese Canadians, among many others, reflecting the country’s diverse and evolving cultural landscape.
Thanks to Canada’s Official Languages Act of 1969, government services are offered to all citizens in both French and English, and all materials published by Parliament must be available in both languages too. French is most likely to be heard in Québec and English in the other provinces, while New Brunswick is an officially bilingual province.
While some dispute the origin story of the California sushi roll, the most commonly accepted story is that it was invented in the 1970s in Vancouver by a Japanese chef named Hidekazu Tojo. Tojo noticed his Canadian guests didn’t like rolls wrapped in seaweed and tried rolling his sushi inside-out, filling it with avocado and cooked crab in place of raw fish. Both Tojo and the roll became stars – you can still order his creation (called the Tojo Roll) at Tojo’s Restaurant in Vancouver.
So many dinosaur fossils have been found in Canada that one province, Alberta, has a Dinosaur Provincial Park. Remnants of over 100 different dinosaur species have been found in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the Northern Territories, Nunavut and even Nova Scotia. The best place to see dinosaur fossils is at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta.
Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is the oldest national park in North America – but Canada’s first park, Banff (established in 1885), isn’t far behind. Canada can claim to have the oldest national park service, though – the Dominion Parks Service, which eventually became Parks Canada, was founded in 1911. Today, Parks Canada oversees 37 national parks and 10 national park reserves.
Even though they’re not nearly as frequently spotted as deer, elk, or even racoons, beavers are synonymous with Canada. Canada’s eternal union with the beaver was sealed in 1975 when the National Symbols of Canada Act was passed, naming it the country’s official animal. The beaver’s connection with Canada is one of huge historical significance, since valuable beaver pelts were such an important part of early colonial trade with Indigenous peoples.
It’s possible to drive all the way from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia on a single continuous road that runs through all 10 of Canada’s provinces. The Trans-Canada Highway is the fourth-longest highway in the world, stretching 4,860 miles (7,821km). Built between 1950 and 1971, the complex roadway goes through major mountain ranges including the Rockies, along the rugged shores of the Great Lakes and over many beautiful bridges along the way.
If it seems like Canada produces a lot of musical, acting, and literary talent, that’s because the country has worked hard to make sure its citizens enjoy homegrown material. Canadian content ('CanCon') regulations mean that radio and television stations must broadcast a certain amount of Canada-made media. Since it was implemented in the 1970s, the Canadian music industry in particular has flourished, giving a lift to artists like Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Alanis Morissette and many more.
Rights and freedoms have always been important to Canadian life, but the federal government introduced clear instructions to make sure all Canadians (present and future) can live freely in 1982 with the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. One of the biggest legacies of Pierre Trudeau’s tenure as Prime Minister, the Charter has since been used to protect citizens from discrimination based on gender, sexuality, race and religion.
Canada became a country in 1867, but it took a while longer for all the pieces to fall into place. Newfoundland was the last province to officially join Canada, existing first as a colony of Britain, then getting dominion status until it became a fully-fledged province in 1949. The province’s name was changed to 'Newfoundland and Labrador' in 2001 to recognise the large Labrador territory on the mainland, which is separate from the island of Newfoundland.
Canada didn’t dive into the space race as early as some other countries, but it has contributed significantly to space exploration. The country has produced several astronauts and, more importantly, it created the Canadarm, a robotic space tool that supported the US space shuttle missions from 1981 to 2011. Mimicking a human arm, the Canadarm performed intricate tasks like assembling the International Space Station and filming astronauts with IMAX cameras.
Saskatoon berries are small, sweet purple berries that grow on shrubs throughout the Canadian prairies. Many Canadians think that the berries get their name from the Saskatchewan city of Saskatoon, but the opposite is actually true. The name of the berry comes from the Cree word 'misaskwatomina' which refers to the berry. The berries still flourish in the area and are quite tasty, especially in pie or as a sauce for ice cream.
Even though Canada is its own country, the British Monarch is its official Head of State. The late Queen Elizabeth II was particularly fond of Canada and made 22 official visits to the country over the course of her 70-year reign, more than any other country in the Commonwealth. She first came to Canada for a refuelling stopover in Newfoundland in 1953, and her last official visit was in 2010, with stops in Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Toronto.
Canada tends to have a strong showing in the Olympic Games, but did you know the country has hosted the Olympics three times? The Olympics were held in Montréal in 1976, in Calgary in 1988 and in Vancouver in 2010. While the last two were winter competitions – a natural fit for Canada's cold climate – the 1976 Montréal games took place in the summer. Unfortunately for Canada, it was the only time the host country did not win a gold medal in any of the Games’ events.
Canada boasts the longest coastline in the world, stretching over 151,000 miles (243,000km) along the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. To put that into perspective, if you walked 12 miles (20km) a day, every day, it would take you over 33 years to cover the entire distance – without stopping for a single day off. This vast and varied coastline is home to stunning natural beauty, diverse wildlife and countless communities that rely on the sea.