Canadian Bacon

No preparation for a trip to Canada would be complete without watching the movie, Canadian Bacon, Diana's favorite.    Where else could you learn about Canadian Aggression  and the need to Comply with Our Language Laws

About Canada

Canada is the world's second largest country, but it's sparsely populated with a large part of its territory being dominated by forests and tundra.  It currently has 10 provinces and 3 territories.  Most of its 35 million people are concentrated in urban areas with the three biggest cities being Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.   There are more people in the metropolitan area around Tokyo than in all of Canada.  The vast majority of the population lives along the U.S. border.

Oregon Territory Dispute

The border with the United States is the longest between two countries and probably one of the most peaceful.  Most of the border was settled with the Treaty of Paris (1783) that ended the Revolutionary War, but changes were made up to the early 1900s and there are still a few disputed islands and waterways.  The border was the site for a number of skirmishes between the U.S. and British North America during the War of 1812, but there were no lasting consequence.  The Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the Western Border and helped to place President Polk high in the list of successful presidents.  Canada declined to purchase Alaska so the U.S. purchased it in 1867 and border disputes there were settled in 1903.

Our last trip to Canada was in 1995 when we visited Niagra Falls with the girls and took a day trip to Toronto.  For that border crossing, I think we just needed drivers licenses, but now with more intense security we've had to get our first passports.

Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state.  It's also officially bilingual with English and French being used.  Given the successful American revolution, its interesting that Canada did not follow suit.  One of the clauses in the Articles of Confederation that predated the U.S. Constitution stated that Canada would automatically be accepted into the U.S. if they wanted to join.

European colonization of Canada began in the 15th century with the colony of New France being established in 1534.  The French lost the territory to the British in 1763 after their defeat in the Seven Years War.  In 1867, several provinces combined to form a new entity called Canada.  The British Government continued to determine foreign and defense policies until after World War 1 and in 1982 constitutional changes  finally removed the last remaining dependence on the British parliament.  So, now Canada and the United Kingdom are equals in the British Commonwealth.  The French influence particularly in Quebec has survived for more than 200 years which is fascinating since there is much less French influence in the parts of the U.S. in the Louisiana Territory that they once held.  Most of our time in Canada will be in the province of Quebec where French predominates today.

Some other interesting facts:

There are more lakes in Canada than there are in the rest of the world combined.  Ontario has 250,000 lakes and together they hold more than 1/5 of the world's fresh water.  Canada also has about 10% of the world's forests.

A large section of Canada has less gravity than the rest of the world.  The Laurentide ice sheet near Hudson Bay was so large, they think it dented the earth bending gravity.

Canada has the third largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

More than half of Canada's residents have college degrees making it the most educated country.  In the U.S., I think about 1/3 of the population has a bachelor's degree.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Canada declared war on Japan in the evening of December 7 before the U.S. did on December 8.  It had been involved in the European theatre since 1939.

Some food facts for you:  Canada consumes more macaroni and cheese and more donuts than anywhere else.  Hawaiian pizza (with pineapple) was invented here.  In case of emergency, there is a strategic reserve of maple syrup.  77% of the world's maple syrup comes from Canada.

A bear cub named Winnipeg was exported from Canada to the London Zoo in 1915. A little boy named Christopher Robin Milne loved to visit Winnipeg, or Winnie for short. His love for the bear cub inspired the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne, about Winnie-the-Pooh.

The country receives more than 1 million letters a year addressed to Santa Claus.  Santa was officially declared a Canadian citizen.

There are more illegal Canadians in the U.S. than any other country, something you don't hear about on the news.

Canada's maple leaf flag did not come into use until 1965 replacing Britain's union jack.   The use of the maple leaf as a symbol of Canadian unity dates back to the 1800s.    The anthem, O Canada, did not become official until 1980.

We're Off to Another Adventure

We're off to another adventure this summer leaving the country for the first time in over 20 years.   We're visiting our friendly neighbors to the North, Canada, coming back through New England.  We had a lot of fun blogging our trips in 2010 and 2013 so we'll be doing it again this time so people can follow along.

Ottawa

Here is the plan for our 11 day, 1500 mile trek north:

July 1 and July 2.   We have an 8 hour drive to Ottawa, the capital of Canada, in the province of Ontario.  Ida was able to get off on July 1 so we'll be able to break this up into 2 days, stopping in Watertown, New York on the first day.  On July 2, we head into Canada and will stay overnight in Ottawa, the nation's capital.








July 3-6.   After some sightseeing in Ottawa, we'll head 2 hours east to Montreal where we will spend the next three nights.  Montreal is the largest city in Quebec. As we enter the french speaking province of Quebec it will be interesting to see if we remember any of our high school French.

Quebec City

July 6-9  Leaving Montreal we head further north to Quebec City.   Quebec City is one of the oldest cities in North America and we're looking forward to experiencing its European feel.

Portland

On July 9 we head back into the U.S. and drive through Maine for about 5 hours before stopping for the night in Portland.   There will definitely be a lobster dinner; they are much fresher and better prepared in Maine!

Mystic

Our final stop is in Mystic, Connecticut where we'll visit the seaport and other attractions.

For each day of this trip, there will be a post telling you what we plan to see for the day.  It will give you a little background on the sites.  Then there will be a post of some of our pictures for that day's activities.  If you see text that's in in color, it's a hyperlink providing more information.

We're looking forward to this adventure and hope you enjoy the pictures and posts.