Some crazy Canuck trivia in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday!

Hey there, it’s Leigh Ann Betts for What’s Up Wednesday. And what’s up this week is we are on the heels of Canada’s 150th Birthday. So that’s on July 1st. Its 150 years since Confederation.
Canada is a pretty young country, but Canadians love to celebrate her because she is so amazing. So, today what I thought what I thought would be kind of fun, and this is super fun for me because I learned a bunch of things about Canada that I didn’t even know. And you may not either. And these are some things you can share at your Canada Day party. Or if you are outside of Canada, some interesting facts you can know about the Canukes up here.

Let’s start, Canada is frickin massive. First of all, there’s 6 different time zones and it has the world’s largest coastline. And it’s the second largest country by land size. But, according to population, we’re like .5% of the world population. Which is like crazy. So we like our space up here in Canada.

Another cool fact is that 30% of our land mass is forest. Yes, that is partly why we are tree huggers here. There’s a little over 36 million people in Canada. Again, we love our space and we love our trees.
Something you may not have known is that a Canadian invented basketball, believe it or not. Our national sport, we have two. I’m sure you know one of them, hockey. Of course. The other one is Lacrosse.
Now here’s one for you, this is where I learned something. Our national animal. The beaver. The ferocious beaver. But there’s also another one that was just given the national animal status in early 2000s and that is the Canadian horse. Not the American horse, but the Canadian horse. I thought that was interesting.

Canada consumes more Kraft dinner than any other nation. I know this first hand, because I grew up on Kraft dinner. We actually call it KD. It is a staple in Canada.
Canadians are also known for apologizing all the time. We’re always saying, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. But this is something that I found out that blew my mind. In 2009, there was an Apology’s Act passed in Canada. I’m going to read this. Making apologies inadmissible in court. The reason is, because Canadians so frequently say I’m sorry. So, the I’m sorry that most Canadians say is actually an expression of sympathy or regret. Rather than an admission of guilt or fault. So, we actually have legislation which allows us not to be put in jail for saying I’m sorry.

We are the garter snake capital of the world. And if you like snakes, the biggest concentration of them is in Winnipeg. We call it the Peg in Canada, but Winnipeg. Believe it or not.
Here’s another thing. We kind of like the woo woo in Canada, too. In celebration of our centennial in 1967, a UFO landing was built in St. Paul, Alberta. And the only landing that has happened there, since it was built, was the government official who came to cut the ribbon. But we’re still waiting and hopeful.

Another thing you might not know about Canada is that we have the world’s safest highways for wildlife. We love wildlife. It’s actually in my backyard in the Banff National Park and further west. Basically having these overpasses and underpasses has reduced wildlife mortality rates by over 80%. So lots of other people are doing that in the world. That’s something you may not know about Canada. A lot of times people think they are a waste of money, but they actually work.

Also, for women, Canada is the top on the list of the best G20 countries to be a woman. So yeah women! Not only that, but there’s a bill, and I did not realize this, but there’s a bill and it’s in the senate right now, that they are trying to pass, that’s actually changing the Canadian National anthem to be gender neutral. In our lyrics it says ‘All thy sons command.’ And they are going to change it to ‘all of us command.’ There’s a little trivia for you. Traditions can be changed.

Couple more things. Queen Elizabeth II is Canada’s official head of state. And I can’t forget the good old beer. The brew. I’m wearing a Canadian shirt, but I’m drinking a Kokanee. Good old Canadian beer. Which is the most popular alcoholic beverage in Canada. It actually predates confederation by 200 years. So that is a tradition we love.

Funny thing is, Canadians are known for saying eh. I say it like all the time. But one thing you might not have known is, you don’t just say eh anywhere. Like eh how are you doing? It’s always at the end of a sentence. So, basically you can only use it at the end. So if you want to talk like a Canadian, how you doing, eh? And it’s a confirmation or if you’re in agreement with something. Or if you are asking a question, you say eh.

Those are my tips or trivia for Canada. I learned a lot, actually. We should all learn a little bit more about Canada, I guess, from time to time. I’m going to sit here and enjoy my brewsky alone here. And, we lift our glass this July 1st, as Canadians. And maybe our other countries will join us. Yeah, let’s salute Canada and what an amazing, beautiful landscape this is and all the incredible people. I am so grateful to know her and so lucky to live here. Here’s to Canada’s 150th. Wherever you are, wherever you may be, enjoy it. We are going to miss the parade this year because we are going to a family reunion. But, we’re definitely going to celebrate, none the less. So Happy Birthday, Canada, eh? Have a great day. Until next week, eh? Eh?