Canada Facts for Kids

Interesting Canada Facts

Here are some interesting Canada Facts for Kids which were choosen and reseached by kids especially for kids.

• Population: 40 million people (2023)
• Capital: Ottawa 1.4 million inhabitants 
• Name: Canada, originally from Iroquois name 'kanata' which means settlement or village
• Government: Federal parliamentary democracy under constitutional monarchy
• Official Languages: English, French
• Religion: mainly Christians (Roman Catholics and Protestants)
• Currency: 1 Canadian Dollar (CAD) = 100 Canadian cents

Canadian anthem

• National Anthem: O Canada!
• National Colours: Red and white
• National Symbols: Maple leaf, red and white flag, maple tree (national tree), beaver (national animal)
• History: Canada's biggest bay, Hudson Bay, was discovered in 1610. Since the 16th century, both French and English kings have ruled over the country. Canada gained independence from Britain in 1867. Today, Queen Elizabeth II of England is still the head of state and the Queen of Canada.
• Government: The prime minister is Justin Trudeau.
• National Day: 1 July is Canada Day

Canada Facts for Kids|
Canada Geography

Where is Canada? Canada is a large country in the northern hemisphere. The country belongs to the North American continent. Canada borders the Atlantic Ocean in the east, the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Arctic Ocean in the North. 

Canada shares a land border with the United States of America in the south and in the northwest. There it borders Alaska which is the largest state of the USA.

Canada Map

Did you know that Canada and the USA share the longest international border in the world? The Canada - USA border is 8,891 km/ 5,525 miles long. The longest part of the border is shared with the US-state of Alaska and this stretch is more than 2,475 km/ 1,538 miles long.

Canada Facts for Kids
Canada Geo Superlatives

• Canada is known for its many lakes. There are about three million lakes in Canada, according to the WorldFactBook Canada houses more lakes than all countries in the world combined!

Emerald Lake in Canada's Yoho National Park

• Canada is the second largest country in the world, after Russia. The capital city of Canada is Ottawa.

Canadian parliament with Peacetower in Ottawa

• Canada is among the ten most sparsely populated countries in the world. More than half of the population live in the Canadian provinces Ontario and Quebec. About 90% of the people in Canada live within 160 km/ 100 miles of the US-Canada border. Close to the border there are also the main urban areas such as Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.
• Toronto is the largest city in Canada housing about seven million people.

Toronto skyline

• Canada's longest river system is the McKenzie River in the country's Northwest Territories. The river is 4,241 km/ 2,635 miles long and the McKenzie River is the largest river flowing from North America into the Arctic.

• The largest lake that is entirely in Canada is Great Bear Lake. Lake Superior, the largest lake in North America, is shared with the United States of America.

Great Bear Lake in Canada

• The highest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan with 5,959 m/ 9,551 ft. Mount Logan is located in Kluane National Park in the Yukon Territory at the border with Alaska. This mountain is also the second highest peak of the North American continent - after Mount Denali. Kluane National Park is known for its extremes and not only is home to Canada's highest peak and the largest ice fields in Canada but also to the most grizzly species in North America.

Kluane National Park

• Canada shares the largest waterfalls of the world by water volume. These are the Niagara Falls on the border to the USA.
  

Niagara Falls

• Canada is home to 17 UNESCO world heritage sites. These include amongst others the fascinating Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta where once 35 species of dinosaurs lived, the historic district of Old Québec, the Rocky Mountains national park and the sacred site of Writing-on-Stone/ Áísínai’pi, where the indigenous Blackfoot people left their rock art, engravings and spirit messages on the sandstone walls.

Writing-on-Stone National Park

Canada Facts for Kids: 
Canada is great for families!

Canada is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. There are many attractions for Canada visitors and kids will love to explore the amazing nature and learn about the Canadian wildlife.

There are 48 national parks and national reserves in Canada, the largest of these is Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta. Banff National Park which is Canada's most popular park is also the oldest national park of the country and exists since 1885.

Banff National Park

Canada family trips can include great day hikes or canoe trips in the national parks. In winter, families can enjoy skiing, snowboarding and other winter fun activities such as tobogganing in the mountains. 

Toboggan fun in winter

Among the most popular ski resorts are Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta and Whistler in British Columbia. But these resorts can also be enjoyed in summer! For example, you can walk over the Cloudraker Skybridge on Whistler Peak in summer. This suspension bridge makes for an awe-inspiring adventure!

Cloudraker Skybridge in Whistler

Canada's big cities also have lots to offer to families travelling with kids with fascinating museums and wonderful city parks that invite to great outdoor activities such as cycling, climbing, sledging or iceskating.

Canada Facts for Kids
Canada Attractions

Here are our favorite Canada attractions for kids:

• Vancouver: The main city in the western parts of the country is great for outdoor sports as well as indoor explorations. Here you can find many attractions for children which include the Maritime Museum and the Science Museum as well as the fantastic Grouse Mountain Skyride or doing the cliff walk and crossing the Capilano River over the Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Vancouver

• Niagara Falls: One of Canada's biggest tourist attractions, they were formed in the last Ice Age. The Niagara Falls are the largest waterfalls in Canada by volume of water.
• Quebec City: The Old Town was founded already in 1608. You must see the Frontenac castle buildings from the 18th and 19th century and in winter have fun on the ice slide!

• Toronto: The CN Tower and the Roger's Center are great attractions in this city at the shores of Lake Ontario. The CN Tower is actually the tallest freestanding structure in the western hemisphere, while Roger's Center is a huge stadium and spots the world's first retractable roof.
• Banff National Park: For amazing wildlife spotting, but make sure to watch your belongings, as bears tend to chew up everything they find laying around, such as stray hiking boots;-) We had our experiences...

Grizzly bear on camp ground in Alberta

Canada Facts for Kids | Canada Economy

• Canada is the third largest oil reserve holder after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. The province of Alberta leads in the production of oil and natural gas in Canada.
• Canada is the leader in uranium mining. And uranium is used in nuclear power plants for producing electricity. The world's largest uranium mine is located near Cigar Lake in Saskatchewan.
• The province of Saskatchewan is also the main agricultural province in Canada. Here farmers grow 45% of Canada's grains such as wheat, canola, flax or rye.

Canola field in bloom in Saskatchewan/Canada

• Canada is one of the world leaders of hydro electricity which uses the power of the water to produce electricity.
• Canada is a huge timber producer and second in the world in regards to the sawn softwood production -after the USA. This includes timber or lumber planks or furniture wood. Lumber is the North American term for timber.
• The USA and China are the main trading partners of Canada.
  

Canada Facts for Kids | Canada People

The majority of Canadians (82%) live in urban centres of the country. Most of the Canadian families have roots in England and France, as during the French and British colonised the country and thus many families immigrated into Canada. About one third of the Canadian refer to themselves as Canadian. Almost 40% of the Canadians refer to belonging to the English, Scottish or Irish ethnic groups and about 13% are refer to belonging to the French ethnic group.

Canada has two official languages: English and French. Almost half of the population can speak both languages. The majority of Canadians speak English as first language, but French is the main language in the Quebec province. In Quebec also almost half of the population is bilingual, which means that they are able to speak both languages fluently.

• Almost 90% of all Canadians live within 160 km/100 miles of the Canada - USA border!
• Life expectancy at birth is 83 years
• Literacy Rate is 99%

Among the aboriginal people in Canada are the Métis, the First Nations People and the Inuit.

Inuit Family

The indigenous people in northern Canada are called 'Inuit'. Today, only 5 in 100 Canadians refer to themselves as belonging to the 'Inuk' (one of the Inuit people). 

The inuit live today in modern houses but still build igloos, especially when hunting. The inuit children go to the community's schools, but there are no universities in the North. So if the children decide to go on studying, they have to leave their communities and move to university cities. In the Inuit language, writing text was only begun in the 19th century before they mainly used symbols for writing. 

Canada Facts for Kids
Animals in Canada

Among the animals you will most likely encounter on your Canada travels will be moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and the muskox, which is a wild bison. 

Wild bison or muskox

Find 25 more fun facts about Canada here:

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UK Facts

Canada Facts for Kids | Resources

• Canada Facts for Kids References include: 
• Central Intelligence Agency. "Canada." WorldFactBook. Last updated 27 May 2022. Last accessed 8 June 2022
• BBC News. "Canada Country Profile." BBC. 1 February 2019. Last accessed 8 June 2022
• Government of Canada. "Culture, History and Sport." Canada.ca 15 May 2020. Last accessed 2 March 2022
• The Canadian Encyclopaedia. "Geography Quiz." Historica Canada. Last accessed 8 June 2022
• Government of Canada. "O Canada." Canada.ca Last accessed 8 June 2022
• TravelAlberta. "Banff National Park." TravelAlberta. Last accessed 8 June 2022
• Megan Wilson. "Insider's First Look: The Whistler Peak Suspension Bridge." The Whistler Insider. 5 July 2018. Updated 3 May 2022. Last accessed 8 June 2022
• Parks Canada. "Ten Animals You Might See When Visiting Canada's Protected Areas." Government of Canada. Last updated 9 November 2021. Last accessed 8 June 2022

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We hope you enjoyed reading out Canada Facts for Kids. Make sure to bookmark this Canada Facts for Kids page, as we plan to add on more information. Feel free to contact us if your school would like to work on a school project about Canada (animals, food, people, traditions, games, sport etc.) with us.

Picture credits on Canada Facts for Kids: Shutterstock.com and sxc.hu (Clipboard: 1.Meysam Sadat-Mansouri, 2.Sumair ur Rahman and 3.Cindy Pepper)

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