The
common loon or
great northern diver (
Gavia immer ) is a large member of the
loon , or diver,
family of birds.
Breeding adults have a
plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or blackish-grey
upperparts , and pure white
underparts except some black on the
undertail coverts and vent. Non-breeding adults are brownish with a dark neck and head marked with dark grey-brown. Their upperparts are dark brownish-grey with an unclear pattern of squares on the shoulders, and the underparts, lower face, chin, and throat are whitish. The sexes look alike, though males are significantly heavier than females. During the breeding season, loons live on lakes and other waterways in Canada; the northern United States (including
Alaska ); and southern parts of
Greenland and Iceland. Small numbers breed on
Svalbard and sporadically elsewhere in Arctic Eurasia. Common loons winter on both coasts of the US as far south as Mexico, and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. (
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The
National Flag of Canada (
French :
Drapeau national du Canada ), often referred to simply as the
Canadian flag , consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of 1∶2∶1, in which is featured one stylized, red, 11-pointed
maple leaf charged in the centre. It is the first
flag to have been adopted by both houses of
Parliament and officially
proclaimed by the
Canadian monarch as
the country 's official
national flag . The flag has become the predominant and most recognizable
national symbol of Canada . (
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The
North American beaver (
Castor canadensis ) is one of two
extant beaver species , along with the
Eurasian beaver (
Castor fiber ). It is native to
North America and has been introduced in South America (
Patagonia ) and Europe (primarily
Finland and
Karelia ). The North American beaver is one of the official national
wildlife of Canada symbols and is the official state mammal of
Oregon and
New York . North American beavers are widespread across the continental
United States ,
Canada , southern
Alaska , and some parts of northern
Mexico . (
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The
Canada goose (
Branta canadensis ), sometimes called
Canadian goose , is a large wild
goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the
arctic and
temperate regions of
North America , and it is occasionally found during
migration across the
Atlantic in
northern Europe . It has been introduced to
France , the
United Kingdom ,
Ireland ,
Finland ,
Sweden ,
Denmark ,
New Zealand ,
Japan ,
Chile ,
Argentina , and the
Falkland Islands . Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily
herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to
fresh water , the Canada goose is also common in
brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons. (
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The
Canadian (
French :
cheval canadien ) is a
horse breed from Canada. It is a strong, well-muscled horse, usually dark in colour. It is generally used for
riding and
driving . Descended from
draft and light riding horses imported to Canada in the late 1600s from France, it was later crossed with other British and American breeds. During the 18th century the Canadian horse spread throughout the northeastern US, where it contributed to the development of several horse breeds. During the peak popularity of the breed, three subtypes could be distinguished, a draft horse type, a
trotting type and a
pacing type. Thousands of horses were exported in the 19th century, many of whom were subsequently killed while acting as
cavalry horses in the American Civil War . These exports decreased the
purebred Canadian population almost to the point of extinction, prompting the formation of a
studbook and the passage of a law against further export. (
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The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (
RCMP ;
French :
Gendarmerie royale du Canada;
GRC ) is the national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the
Government of Canada ; it also provides police services under contract to 11
provinces and territories , over 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. The RCMP is commonly known as the
Mounties in English (and colloquially in French as
la police montée ). (
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The
Canadian Rockies (
French :
Rocheuses canadiennes ) or
Canadian Rocky Mountains , comprising both the
Alberta Rockies and the
British Columbian Rockies, is the
Canadian segment of the
North American Rocky Mountains . It is the easternmost part of the
Canadian Cordillera , which is the northern segment of the
North American Cordillera , the expansive system of interconnected mountain ranges between the
Interior Plains and the
Pacific Coast that runs northwest–southeast from
central Alaska to the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec in
Mexico . (
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Totem poles (
Haida :
gyáaʼaang ) are monumental carvings found in
western Canada and the
northwestern United States . They are a type of
Northwest Coast art , consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large trees, mostly
western red cedar , by
First Nations and
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast including northern Northwest Coast
Haida ,
Tlingit , and
Tsimshian communities in Southeast
Alaska and
British Columbia ,
Kwakwaka'wakw and
Nuu-chah-nulth communities in southern British Columbia, and the
Coast Salish communities in
Washington and British Columbia. (
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An
inuksuk (plural
inuksuit ) or
inukshuk (from the
Inuktitut :
ᐃᓄᒃᓱᒃ , plural
ᐃᓄᒃᓱᐃᑦ ; alternatively
inukhuk in
Inuinnaqtun ,
iñuksuk in
Iñupiaq ,
inussuk in
Greenlandic ) is a type of stone
landmark or
cairn built by, and for the use of,
Inuit ,
Iñupiat ,
Kalaallit ,
Yupik , and other peoples of the
Arctic region of North America. These structures are found in
northern Canada ,
Greenland , and
Alaska (United States). This combined region, north of the
Arctic Circle , is dominated by the
tundra biome and has areas with few natural landmarks. (
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"
O Canada " (
French :
Ô Canada ) is the
national anthem of
Canada . The song was originally commissioned by
Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony;
Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French-language words were written by the poet and judge Sir
Adolphe-Basile Routhier . (
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Lacrosse is a
contact team sport played with a
lacrosse stick and a
lacrosse ball . It is the oldest organized
sport in North America , with its origins with the
indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively modified by
European colonists , reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form. (
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The
Trans-Canada Highway (
French :
Route Transcanadienne ; abbreviated as the
TCH or
T-Can ) is a transcontinental federal–provincial
highway system that travels through all ten
provinces of Canada , from the
Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the
Atlantic Ocean on the east coast. The main route spans 7,476 km (4,645 mi) across the country, one of the longest routes of its type in the world. The highway system is recognizable by its distinctive white-on-green maple leaf
route markers , although there are small variations in the markers in some provinces. (
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Canada Day (
French :
Fête du Canada ,
[faɛ̯t dzy kanadɑ] ), formerly known as
Dominion Day (
French :
Fête du Dominion ), is the
national day of
Canada . A
federal statutory holiday , it celebrates the anniversary of
Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the
British North America Act, 1867 , when the three separate colonies of the
United Canadas ,
Nova Scotia , and
New Brunswick were united into a single
dominion within the
British Empire called Canada. (
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Canadarm or
Canadarm1 (officially
Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or
SRMS , also
SSRMS ) is a series of
robotic arms that were used on the
Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, manoeuvre, and capture
payloads . After the
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster , the Canadarm was always paired with the
Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), which was used to inspect the exterior of the shuttle for damage to the
thermal protection system . (
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Parliament Hill (
French :
Colline du Parlement ), colloquially known as
The Hill , is an area of
Crown land on the southern bank of the
Ottawa River that houses the
Parliament of Canada in
downtown Ottawa , Ontario, Canada. It accommodates a suite of
Gothic revival buildings whose architectural elements were chosen to evoke the history of
parliamentary democracy . Parliament Hill attracts approximately three million visitors each year. The
Parliamentary Protective Service is responsible for law enforcement on Parliament Hill and in the parliamentary precinct, while the
National Capital Commission is responsible for maintaining the nine-hectare (22-acre) area of the grounds. (
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Regional tartans of Canada are represented by all
Canada's provinces and territories having a regional
tartan , as do many other regional divisions in Canada. Tartans were first brought to Canada by
Scottish settlers ; the first province to adopt one officially was
Nova Scotia in 1956 (when registered at the Court of the Lord Lyon; adopted by law in 1963), and the most recent province was
Ontario , in 2000. Except for the tartan of Quebec, all of the provincial and territorial tartans are officially recognized and registered in the books of the
Court of the Lord Lyon , King of Arms of
Scotland . (
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Poutine (
Quebec French : [puˈt͡sɪn] ⓘ ) is a dish of
french fries and
cheese curds topped with a brown
gravy . It emerged in
Quebec in the late 1950s in the
Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain, and there are several competing claims regarding its invention. For many years, it was used by some to mock
Quebec society . Poutine later became celebrated as a symbol of
Québécois culture and the province of Quebec. It has long been associated with
Quebec cuisine , and its rise in prominence has led to its growing popularity throughout the rest of
Canada . (
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Maple syrup is a
syrup made from the
sap of
maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store
starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to
sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the sap, which is processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. (
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The
coat of arms of Canada (French:
Armoiries du Canada ), also known as the
Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (French:
armoiries royales du Canada ) or, formally, as the
Arms of His Majesty The King in Right of Canada (
French :
Armoiries de Sa Majesté Le Roi du Canada ), is the
arms of dominion of the
Canadian monarch and, thus, also the official
coat of arms of Canada. In use since 1921, it is closely modelled after the
royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom , with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version. (
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In
Canadian folklore ,
Mussie is a creature said to live in
Muskrat Lake in the
Canadian province of
Ontario . It is variously described, for example, as a
walrus or as a three-eyed
Loch Ness Monster -like creature.The legend of Mussie likely began around 1916, though
legend claims that Canadian pioneer
Samuel de Champlain wrote about it in the early seventeenth century. Mussie has become a part of the local culture and a fixture in the local tourism industry. (
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The
Canada jay (
Perisoreus canadensis ), also known as the
gray jay ,
grey jay ,
camp robber , or
whisky jack , is a
passerine bird of the
family Corvidae . It is found in
boreal forests of
North America north to the
tree line , and in the
Rocky Mountains subalpine zone south to
New Mexico and
Arizona . A fairly large
songbird , the Canada jay has pale grey underparts, darker grey upperparts, and a grey-white head with a darker grey
nape . It is one of three members of the genus
Perisoreus , a genus more closely related to the
magpie genus
Cyanopica than to other birds known as
jays . The Canada jay itself has nine recognized
subspecies . (
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Canadian heraldry is the cultural tradition and style of
coats of arms and other
heraldic achievements in both modern and historic
Canada . It includes
national , provincial, and civic arms,
noble and personal arms,
ecclesiastical heraldry , heraldic displays as corporate
logos , and Canadian
blazonry . (
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A
Caesar is a
cocktail created and consumed primarily in
Canada . It typically contains
vodka ,
Clamato ,
hot sauce , and
Worcestershire sauce , and is served with ice in a large,
celery salt -
rimmed glass, typically garnished with a stalk of
celery and wedge of
lime . What distinguishes it from a
Bloody Mary is the inclusion of clam broth. The cocktail may also be contrasted with the
Michelada , which has similar flavouring ingredients but uses beer instead of vodka. Festivals dedicated to the cocktail are held in many cities, with the largest in Calgary. The first liquor store dedicated to the Caesar opened on July 1, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta. (
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A mari usque ad mare (
Latin: [aː ˈmariː ˈuːskᶣɛ ad ˈmarɛ] ;
French :
D'un océan à l'autre ,
French pronunciation: [dœ̃nɔseˈã aˈloʊ̯tʁ] ; English:
From sea to sea ) is the
Canadian national
motto . The phrase comes from the
Latin Vulgate translation of
Psalm 72 :8 in the
Bible : (
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