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DISCOVER CANADA · A FRESH PERSPECTIVE

10 Surprising Facts from Discover Canada

Discover the stories behind ten Canadian facts, with photographs and official guide references.

THE BOOK, REIMAGINED

Travel through the story of Canada.

Choose a route. Follow the dates, meet the people, or explore the places behind the questions.

Parliament Hill, Ottawa · photo: Aleksandr Galenko / Unsplash

Your PDF contains older editions. Use it for historical facts, and check current officeholders and test rules against up-to-date official sources.

The country’s name comes from the Iroquoian word kanata, heard by Cartier.

James Naismith created the game in 1891.

Canada borders the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans.

Hockey is the national winter sport. Lacrosse, an Indigenous game, is the national summer sport.

It is New Brunswick, not Quebec.

The Library of Parliament survived the 1916 fire that destroyed Centre Block.

The decision to make Ottawa the capital was made in 1857.

The national colours date to 1921; the modern flag was introduced in 1965.

The name is Inuktitut. The territory was created in 1999.

The remains of the settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows are in Newfoundland.