Canada is celebrating its 150th years since confederation. With 150 years of history since confederation it isn’t hard to believe Canada has collected it fair share of tidbits and factoids.
The Sylvan Lake News has collected a short list of trivia to peruse this Canada Day.
Did you know…?
- Before the Toronto Raptors were on the scene, the Toronto Huskies were the first Canadian team in the NBA, established in 1946.
- Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run on the Toronto Islands as a rookie in the International League.
- Lacrosse is actually Canada’s official sport, not hockey.
- Maurice “Rocket” Richard was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in one season.
- The first Aboriginal with treaty status to play in the NHL was Fred Sasakamoose from Ahtahkakoop, Sask. He played for the Chicago Blackhawks.
- The first Tim Hortons opened in 1964 in Hamilton, Ont.
- The first, and only, female prime minister of Canada was Kim Campbell.
- The world renown acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil, was founded in Quebec in 1984.
- The Canadian flag wasn’t officially Canada’s flag until 1965.
- “O Canada” didn’t become the official national anthem until 1980.
- Newfoundland was once settled by Vikings.
- Basketball was invented by James Naismith, a Canadian.
- Speaking of basketball, the game was originally played with peach baskets.
- Sir Fredrick Banting, a Canadian, developed insulin.
- The vast majority of the world’s maple syrup is made in Quebec, about 77 per cent.
- Canada is credited with having more doughnut shops per capita than anywhere else.
- Canada is the largest exporter and producer of blueberries in the world.
- Statically 224 car accidents in Canada involve moose, every year.
- Churchill, Man. is known as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World”.
- Roughly 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water is found in Canada.
- Canada has more lakes than all other countries combined. Ontario alone has 250,000 lakes.
- The Canadian coast line stretches for 151,600 miles making it the longest coastline in the world.
- The Trans-Canada Highway is recorded as the longest highway in the world.
- Canada is the ninth-most parsley populated nation in the world, with a population density of only 8.6 people per square mile.
- The maple leaf on the Canadian flag has 11 points.
- An old, but active law, states it is illegal to have or sell comics that depict criminal acts in Canada.
- Pincher Creek, Alta., experienced a temperature shift from -19 C to 22 C in just one hour in 1962
- Banff National Park, established in 1885, is the oldest national park in Canada.