Casa Loma is a neo-Gothic castle in the Canadian city of Toronto, built between 1911 and 1914 by Henry Mill Pellatt, a wealthy industrialist and financier. It cost him $3.5 million to build this house. After a few years, his fortune turned around and he had to leave the castle. Today it is owned by the city. Both the villa and the Victorian gardens are an attraction and are visited by over 400,000 tourists a year. 1)
In 2014, one of the largest beer companies in the world hailing from Canada - Molson-Coors - decided to run a promotional campaign aimed at their compatriots who had emigrated from the country. In several European cities - on the streets of large cities such as London or Brussels, or smaller Canterbury - they placed mysterious red refrigerators, on which the symbol of Canada, namely the maple leaf, was placed. As it turned out, the key to open the fridges was a Canadian passport. You had to insert it into the reader, the door opened, and from inside you could enjoy a chilled brew for free. 2)
The Canadian province of Alberta was named after Princess Louisa Caroline Alberta Windsor. The princess was the wife of Marquis John Campbell, Governor of Canada. They lived from 1878 to 1883 in Louiseville, in the province named in her honor. 3)
The first sphynx or Canadian hairless cat was born in a litter of common shorthair cats in 1966 in Toronto, Canada. As a result of a spontaneous mutation, the female cat gave birth to two bald cubs. Most sphynxes do not have whiskers at all. Very short hair on the nose, ears, and tail is acceptable. The more skin folds a sphynx has, the more valuable it is for breeding. 4)
The Niagara River flows out of Lake Erie and into Lake Ontario. The St. Lawrence River flows out of this lake. 5)
The Beaufort Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean. The Beaufort Sea is reached by the Mackenzie River (2,635 mi) the longest in Canada and the second-longest in North America after the Mississippi-Missouri River. The sea is named after the English admiral Francis Beaufort, creator of the wind strength scale still used today. 6)
Right after Russia, it is the second-largest country in the world. 7)
Canada has two official languages: English and French. 8)
Canadians don't receive too many unwanted ads in their mailboxes. This is due to the rather high penalty for sending spam. 9)
Legally turning right at a red light? Absolutely! However, keep in mind that you do not have priority in this situation. 10)
Under Canadian law, breakfast cereals are not taxable unless they come with beer, wine, or other spirits as a gratuity. 11)
The small island of Sark is home to the world's smallest prison, Sark Prison.12)
The world's longest border between countries is between Canada and the United States. 13)
Located on the western shore of Hudson Bay, the small town of Churchill is famous for its rather large number of polar bears. The town is even referred to as the Polar Bear Capital of the World. The frequent visits that these mammals pay to the town's residents forced the town authorities to open the world's first prison for these animals. The intolerable bears caught in the act of sneaking onto residents' properties to find leftover food are transported and held in a former hangar in the northern part of the city. Moreover, they face starvation in confinement and are only given water. This is to discourage further visits to the city. 14)
The Trans-Canada Highway is the fourth longest highway in the world. Its construction was planned in 1948, started two years later, and officially opened in 1962. 15)
Two million lakes - such an amount is located in Canada. They account for as much as 8% of the territory of this country. 16)
The fictional character Clark Kent, better known as Superman and considered a symbol of American pop culture in the 20th century, was invented in Canada by Joe Shuster. 17)