A Little About Canada

HAPPY CANADA DAY

Flag: The red flag with a white square and a red maple leaf was adopted on February 15, 1965 by parliament. Before this date, Canada did not have an official flag, instead, a British maritime flag was in general use.


Name Origin: The name Canada dates back to the year 1535. It was used by two Amerindians who were travelling with Jacques Cartier to describe Stadacona -- which is now known as Quebec City. Actually, the word they used was "Kanata", which is the Huron-Iroquois word for "village" or "settlement", and Cartier simply repeated the word as Canada. The name stuck.

Confederation: Canada came into being as a country on July 1, 1867, when the British government passed the British North American Act (BNA). The original dominion of Canada was made up of only 4 provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Official Languages: English and French

Emblems: Maple Leaf and the Beaver
Some famous Canadian slogans:
"Always got time for Tim Hortons." (Donuts)
"At Speedy you're a somebody." (Mufflers)
"Canada, the world next door." (Tourism Canada)
"Ever been to sea, Billy?" (Cap'n Highliner foods)
"Ex says it all." (Beer)
"Only in Canada? Pity." (Red Rose tea)
"The Champagne of Ginger Ale." (Canada Dry)
"Where you give like Santa and save like Scrooge." (Canadian Tire)
"I am Canadian!" (Beer)


Gold Rings: First came the Loonie -- a one-dollar gold coloured coin. Then the Toonie -- a two-dollar gold and silver coloured coin. As coins have a longer life span than paper, they save the government in the long run. For a year or so, both paper and coin version were in circulation at the same time.

The year Canada introduced its two-dollar coin, radio station CHEZ FM fooled listeners into believing that April 1st was the last day that the two-dollar bills would be honoured. Concerned citizens flooded the phone lines at the Royal Canadian Mint and local banks.

That same year, other radio stations had people going through their pocket change in search of elusive two-dollar coins which had mistakenly been minted from real gold.

Source:
BiteSizeCanada.org
http://www.bitesizecanada.org/canada.htm