Canada Info...

Canada Fast Facts

• The capital city of Canada is Ottawa, the official language being English however French is spoken widely. In Quebec, the official language is French.

• Canada covers an area of some 9,976,000 square km or 3,851,734 square miles

• Country population is 31.8 million

• Canada cross several time zones; GMT -7, GMT -6, GMT -5, GMT -4, GMT -3.5, GMT -8

• Canada religion is 45% Catholic and 36% Protestant together with a mixture of other worldwide religions.

• Currency is the Canadian Dollar

• Electricity is 110V 60Hz

Best time to visit
Due to the expanse of the country, the best time to visit Canada varies from a weather perspective. A good guide to follow is that the further north you go, the cooler it gets. Both east and western coasts have high rainfall especially during winter. Winters get very cold, as low as -18 degrees C, whilst summers often rise into the 80’s.

Background
Canada is culture and nature rich with strong British and French influences although peoples of Italian, aboriginal, Irish, German, Ukrainian, Dutch, Greek, Polish and Chinese descent also live here.

Things to watch out for...

Québec City Winter Carnival - takes place during the first half of February (parades, ice sculptures, snow slide, dancing and music).

Ottawa's three-week Winterlude – also in the early February.

Montréal Jazz Festival – takes place in the back end of June / early July.

Ottawa International Jazz Festival - takes place in the back end of July.

Toronto Caribana – takes place in July (Caribbean music festival, with dancing and ornate costumes).

Toronto Pride Week – takes place in late June, with an outrageous Pride Parade.

Toronto International Film Festival – takes place in September.

Calgary Stampede – takes place in early July which includes a rodeo and chuck wagon race.

Victorias’ First Peoples' Festival – takes place at the beginning of August with crafts, dancing and canoes.

Many public holidays are regional - 3rd Monday in February - Family Day (Alberta); Monday closest to March 17 - St Patrick's Day (Newfoundland); Monday closest to April 23 - St George's Day (Newfoundland); June 24 - National Day (or St-Jean-Baptiste Day, Quebec); Monday closest to June 24 - Discovery Day (Newfoundland); Monday closest to July 12 - Orangemen's Day (Newfoundland), and 3rd Monday in August - Discovery Day (Yukon).

For more comprehensive information about Canada and the area of Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Yukon Territory please visit our Country Destination Guides