Canada facts for kids: history, nature and national symbols

History of Canada

Indigenous peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis, have lived in the land that is now Canada for thousands of years. The first Europeans known to have come were Vikings. At L’Anse aux Meadows, on the island of Newfoundland, archaeologists found an 11th-century Norse settlement.^[2] UNESCO calls it the earliest known evidence of Europeans in North America.^[2] The site has the remains of eight buildings made of timber and turf, including houses, a forge and workshops.^[2]

Many centuries later, France and Britain set up colonies. The French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded Québec City in the early 1600s.^[3] Its stone walls still stand, and UNESCO says Québec is the only city in North America that has kept its ramparts.^[3]

Canada later became a self-governing country with close ties to Britain. Today it is a federation of provinces and territories, and Ottawa is the capital.

Mountains, forests and nature

Canada has some of the most famous mountain scenery in the world. Seven parks in the Rocky Mountains, including Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho national parks, form one large UNESCO World Heritage site.^[4] Together they stretch about 400 kilometers long and up to 100 kilometers wide.^[4] They are full of peaks, ice fields, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, caves and canyons.^[4]

More than 95 percent of this area is kept in a completely natural condition.^[4] Inside it is the Burgess Shale, a famous fossil site with soft-bodied sea animals from about 540 million years ago.^[4] Scientists study these fossils to learn how early animals evolved.^[4]

UNESCO also notes that the glaciers in these parks are shrinking because of climate change.^[4] Beyond the Rockies, Canada has huge forests, prairies, Arctic tundra and coasts on three oceans: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic. That variety makes Canada a great country for studying maps and climates.

English and French: Canada's official languages

Canada has two official languages, English and French.^[5] The Government of Canada supports both, including English-speaking and French-speaking minority communities across the country.^[5] That is why government signs, product labels and many websites appear in both languages.

Most French speakers live in the province of Quebec, where Québec City was founded by Champlain.^[3] In other provinces, many students learn French at school, and some attend French immersion programs.

Canada is also home to many Indigenous languages and to families who speak languages from all over the world. With about 42 million people, Canada has a much smaller population than the United States, even though it covers a very large area.^[1] Most Canadians live in the south of the country, closer to the United States border.

Symbols and sports

The maple leaf is Canada’s best-known symbol. The red and white maple leaf flag was adopted in 1965 and first raised on Parliament Hill on February 15, 1965.^[6] Canadians celebrate February 15 as National Flag of Canada Day.^[6] The maple tree is the national tree, and ten kinds of maple are native to Canada.^[6]

The beaver became an official symbol of Canada in 1975.^[6] It was important in the fur trade, which shaped much of Canada’s early history.^[6]

Canada has two national sports. Hockey is the national winter sport and lacrosse is the national summer sport, as set by a law passed in 1994.^[6] Lacrosse comes from games played by Indigenous peoples. On July 1, Canada Day, many people wear red and white and celebrate the country.^[6]

Famous places in Canada

Canada has many UNESCO World Heritage sites.^[7] Here are three that students often learn about.

Old Québec: the old city’s ramparts, bastions and gates still surround it, and UNESCO calls its fortifications the most complete north of Mexico.^[3]

The Canadian Rockies: Banff, Jasper and the other mountain parks, with glaciers and bright blue lakes.^[4]

L’Anse aux Meadows: the Viking site on Newfoundland, protected as a National Historic Site since 1975 and managed by Parks Canada.^[2]

Other well-known places include Niagara Falls on the border with the United States, the capital Ottawa and big cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Students can compare Canada with its neighbors on our North America page.