General Information

• Canada occupies 41% of the North American continent and is the world's second largest country by total area, outsized only by Russia. It has coastlines with 3 oceans - the Pacific (to the west), the Atlantic (to the east) and the Arctic (to the north). The United States is to the south of Canada.
• The official languages of Canada are the predominantly spoken English, & French. The most widely spoken non-official languages are Chinese, Punjabi, Spanish, Italian & Arabic.
• Roughly 33 1/2 million people live in Canada, compared to over 300 million in the USA and over 60 million in the UK.
• The capital of Canada is Ottawa, which is a municipality within the Province of Ontario.
• The currency in Canada is the Canadian Dollar, usually represented by a '$' sign (or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar currencies). It is divided into 100 cents per dollar - coins used are 1c (penny), 5c (nickel), 10c (dime), 25c (twenty-five cent piece, *not called a "quarter" as it is in America*), 50c (50c piece), $1 (loonie) & $2 (toonie). Current banknotes are $5, $10, $20, $50 & $100.
• Canada has four seasons - summer, winter, spring & fall (autumn). The seasons vary in climate and intensity across the country.
• Children generally start school in Canada at the age of 5. At this point they enter kindergarten and from 6-7 years of age they enter full-time education in Grade 1 and continue until Grade 12. Education is usually compulsory until aged 16, although in some areas, it is compulsory until aged 18.
• There were almost 250,000 new permanent residents in Canada in 2008.
• GST (Goods & Services Tax, similar to VAT (Value Added Tax)) is charged at variable rates on sales throughout Canada. It ranges from 12-15.5% - although in Alberta, it is only 5%!
• Canada has SIX primary time zones across the country! From east to west they are Newfoundland Time Zone, Atlantic Time Zone, Eastern Time Zone, Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone, and the Pacific Time Zone.
• In Canada, they drive on the right hand side of the road, speed is measured in km/h and pedestrians always have the right of way.
• 'O Canada' was only proclaimed the official National Anthem in 1980, as part of Canada Day celebrations. The English translation of the French version is quite different!