Things that might surprise non-Canadians about Canada

• We don't all speak French. In Quebec & New Brunswick, there are a lot of people who only speak French and a lot of folks who are bilingual. But there are many places where people struggle to speak French, having only learned it in school and not had much chance to practice.
• Having said that, there are large pockets of French in communities all across Canada. These include Beaumont, Legal, Falher, Plamondon and Grande Prairie in Alberta. Take a look at towns around Winnipeg, especially south, and notice how many have French names.
• Fast food chain made poutine is nowhere near as good as the real thing. The fries have to be fresh cut, the curds have to be squeaky fresh and the gravy has to be of the viscosity suitable for an automatic transmission (pictured).
• Lacrosse is our official national sport, along with hockey. I challenge you to find 3 people in one random place in Canada who play lacrosse.
• Canadians love their maple leaf flag now. That wasn't so much the case when it was first unveiled.
• Canada has the longest coastline (243,977 km).
• There's only one French-speaking city larger than Montreal (Paris).
• Canada has a desert biome. It's in Osoyoos, BC.
• We have the longest fresh water beach (Wasaga Beach, in Ontario).
• The weather at the top of the country (Alert NU) is often warmer in winter than places like Ottawa or Edmonton.
• Canadian radio is legally obliged to play a high percentage (40%) of Canadian content. This was done to encourage radio play of artists who otherwise were only making it via US radio airplay.
• We invented the Wonderbra, alkaline battery, walkie-talkie and zipper.
• 20,000 year old tools have been unearthed in the Yukon.
• We have the most donut stores per capita.
• Santa Claus has an address in Canada. North Pole, Canada. The postal code is H0H 0H0.
• Westboro Baptist Church members are prohibited from entering Canada.
• Hawaiian pizza - our idea. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with it either.....
• It's only illegal to be a john, not a pro.
• The official phone number for Canada is 1-800-O-Canada.
• We eat more mac and cheese than anyone else.
• Baby walkers are illegal as they are deemed unsafe by the federal government.
• In Churchill Manitoba, you leave your vehicle unlocked so that people have an escape option if they encounter a polar bear (which is quite common).
• Canadian Air Force pilots often win in air-to-air combat contests against other countries.
• We have ketchup flavoured potato chips.
  
• Although we say 'sorry' a lot, apologies are legally inadmissible in court as an admission of guilt.
• You can find a couple of palm trees at Dundarave Beach in West Vancouver.
• Pelee Island, the southernmost point of Ontario (and Canada) is further south than Hartford Connecticut.
• It costs us less money for a flight to the southern US than across our own country.
• If you add all of the Pan-Asian ethnic groups together, they make up 44% of the population of Vancouver.
• Calgary averages 333 sunny days per year.
• Canada Dry ginger ale isn't actually made with much ginger at all.
• Halifax created a unique version of the original Gyro in 1973 that uses a sweet sauce instead of tzatziki and they call it a donair.
• In Quebec, since 1981, a woman has no legal obligation to change her last name when she gets married.
• Canada has a 2-tiered health system in certain respects. You can get an MRI within a week if you're willing to pony up $700-$1000.
• Much of Canadian milk is sold in plastic bags (but not out west).
• We make most of the maple syrup in the world.