Canada is often known for its politeness, cold winters, and stunning landscapes, but its real story is far more unexpected. 25 Canada Facts That Will Surprise You uncovers remarkable rescues, strange laws, historic kindness, scientific oddities, and unbelievable coincidences that rarely make headlines. From gliding planes and ghost towns to tulip diplomacy and political satire, these facts reveal how Canada consistently defies simple stereotypes and rewards anyone curious enough to look closer.
Glider Expertise Saved Airliner
1. On July 23, 1983, Air Canada Flight 143, with 69 people on board, ran out of fuel at an altitude of 41,000 ft. The pilot, being a very experienced glider pilot, managed to glide the plane down safely. 22,300 pounds of jet fuel had been put in instead of 22,300 kg.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio blocked a film he appeared in from being released in the United States and Canada. The film’s producer has released it on the Internet and drafted a letter to Leo about it.
3. Candy Crush has more active monthly players than the entire population of Canada.
4. Canada is in talks to bring back the Zeppelin to help traverse its difficult landscape.
5. The official flower of Canada’s Alzheimer Society is the forget-me-not.
6. Four skateboarders in Calgary intervened to save a woman who was being sexually assaulted. They frightened the attacker away, pursued him, and restrained him until the police arrived and arrested him.
7. While Dutch Princess Juliana was sheltered in Canada during World War II, the maternity ward was designated international territory so her child would be born in no country and thus inherit Dutch citizenship. In thanks, she sent 100,000 tulips, which helped establish the Canadian Tulip Festival.
8. Kitsault, a ghost town in northern British Columbia, Canada, was deserted almost overnight in 1983. Its buildings and infrastructure remain intact and the electricity is still on. The entire town was bought by an American who intends to convert it into a resort for intellectuals.
9. In Canada, texts sent to landline phones are converted into voice messages so friends or family without mobile phones can hear them on a landline. Both English and French are supported.
10. Canada constructed a reservoir inside the remains of an ancient, eroded meteor crater. Visible from space, it is called ‘The Eye of Quebec.’
Ice Cream Labeling Takes Hit
11. Because Breyers added excessive amounts of additives to their ice cream to reduce costs, Canada determined the product no longer contains sufficient milk and cream to meet ice cream labeling requirements and must be labeled “Frozen Dairy Dessert”, or “Frozen Dessert.”
12. In Canada, tap water is subject to stricter health standards than bottled water.
13. In 1955 Quaker Oats promoted its cereal by including one square inch of land in Canada in every box, and the total area given away amounted to 19 acres.
14. Canada can deny immigration if an individual has a health condition that may “cause excessive demands on health or social services”.
15. Orlando hospitals did not charge the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting for their treatment. Local hospitals announced they would write off about $5.5 million in medical bills in response to overwhelming support from many organizations, individuals, and charities.
16. Sgt.-at-Arms Kevin Vickers, the man who shot the attacker at the Canadian Parliament in 2014, dove through a doorway, rotated to face upward, and fired at the shooter while still airborne. He was reported to have said, “I put him down”.
17. Less than 24 hours before the 2014 Olympic hockey final between Canada and Sweden, Alberta changed its liquor law to permit bars to open at 5 a.m. and serve alcohol so people could watch the game there.
18. During World War II, Canada operated prisoner of war camps where the detainees were described as the happiest prisoners and received good treatment. Many were assigned work, some were trusted with the guards’ rifles to go hunting, and after the war many brought their families to Canada.
19. Located in Quebec, Canada, Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! is the only town in the world whose name contains two exclamation points.
20. California’s population is larger than that of all of Canada.
Absurd Platform, Real Vote Share
21. The Rhinoceros Party of Canada, a satirical federally registered political party, received 1.01% of the popular vote in the 1980 federal election while campaigning to repeal the law of gravity and to provide higher education by building taller schools, among other promises.
22. Some Canadian police departments hand out “positive tickets” to thank people for doing something good.
23. When Canada was asked in 1945 how many Jewish refugees it would admit, Foreign Minister Frederick Blair replied, “None is too many.”
24. Canada’s highest recorded temperature, 45C, is higher than any temperature ever recorded in either Brazil or Thailand.
25. A part of Canada is home to black bears, grizzly bears, and polar bears.
Add Comment