Tomorrow, July 1st 2017, is a milestone for Canada…the country’s 150th birthday! Since the majority of our readers are from outside of Canada, I thought some folks may like to read a short summary about Canada and some notable Canadians. I’ve added a few images to provide some visual breaks for readers…all were captured in Canada.

Note: Click on images to enlarge.

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of land mass, covering 9,976,140 sq km. Based on United Nations estimates, the country ranks 38th in the world in terms of population with 36.6 million people. Canada’s economy is currently ranked as the 10th largest in the world with a GDP of approximately 1.6 trillion dollars.

There are more lakes in Canada than in the rest of the world combined…nearly one for every 10 people in Canada. Lakes cover 9% of our total area. Canada has the highest tides in the world in the Bay of Fundy, with a difference of 16.3 metres (about 53 feet) between low and high tides.

According to the WHO, Canada ranks 12th in average life expectancy at 82.2 years, and its health care system ranks 30th out of 190 countries. Canada ranks 10th (tied with the USA) on the United Nations Human Development Index. US News ranked Canada #2 on its list of ‘Best Countries’, behind Switzerland. In the recently announced 2017 Reputation Institute survey, Canada earned top spot.

According to the OECD, Canada ranks third in having the most educated people in the world, after Japan and South Korea. Canada ranks 5th on the Legatum Prosperity Index, with our citizens enjoying high levels of personal freedoms, social tolerance and human rights.

Canada ranks 8th out of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index. The banks in Canada are sound with 4 Canadian banks in the Top 10 ranking of the world’s strongest banks according to Bloomberg’s annual review.

Canada has had its share of inventive people. Basketball was invented by Dr. John Naismith. James Hillier and Albert Prebus contributed the electron microscope. The paint roller came from the brain of Norman Breakey. The Robertson screw was created by Peter Robertson.

Armand Bombardier gave us the snowmobile. The Walkie-Talkie came from Donald Hings. The green plastic garbage bag was created by Henry Wasylyk. Standard time from Sir Sanford Fleming. The Canadarm was created by SPAR Aerospace. Joe Shuster, the artist who co-created the comic book hero Superman, was a Canadian and a cousin of Frank Shuster (half of the Canadian comedy duo Wayne & Shuster).

Other Canadian inventions include the pacemaker, forensic pathology,  the electric wheelchair, the goalie mask, the electric oven, peanut butter, AM radio, pablum, the prosthetic hand, the pilot’s G-suit, Sonar, the alkaline battery, the caulking gun, the egg carton, open heart surgery, transplantable stem cells, the chocolate bar, the snowblower, and plexi-glass…to name just a few.

Canada has a rich musical history. Here’s a list of some Canadian musicians that you may recognize…Neil Young, Paul Anka, Sarah McLachlan, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray, Michael Buble, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Gordon Lightfoot, K.D. Lang, Diana Krall, Jeff Healey, Glenn Gould, David Foster, Tommy Chong, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Bryan Adams, Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Justin Beiber, Bobby Curtola, Colin James, Alannah Miles, and Drake.

Here are some musical groups from Canada that may be familiar – Guess Who – Bare-Naked Ladies – Blood, Sweat & Tears – Nickelback – Loverboy – The Band – Blue Rodeo – April Wine – Rush – Tragically Hip – Steppenwolf.

You may also recognize some motion picture and television personalities in this list of Canadians. Let’s start with some of the ladies…Rachel McAdams, Mia Kirshner, Pamela Anderson, Carrie Anne Moss, Cobie Smulders, Anna Paquin, Sandra Oh, Catherine O’Hara, Mary Pickford, Grace Park, Neve Campbell, and Margot Kidder.

Some of the Canadian male actors/entertainers include: Seth Rogan, Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Michael Cera, Jim Carrey, Nathan Fillion, Will Arnett, Rick Moranis, Martin Short, Mike Myers, Dan Aykroyd, Michael J. Fox, Eugene Levy, John Candy, Eric McCormack, William Shatner, Donald Sutherland, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter, Glenn Ford, Howie Mandel, Leslie Nielsen, Lorne Greene, Phil Hartman, Paul Shaffer, Raymond Burr, James Cameron, Alan Thicke, and Christopher Plummer.

Since I’m an eternal optimist, I’m planning to still be around for Canada’s next ‘big’ birthday…number 200! If I’m still doing this photography blog at that time, it will be interesting to see how this article is updated…hopefully I’ll still be able to type when I’m 115 years young!

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