Canada is a country that I live in. It's Canada's 144th birthday today! Happy Canada Day! To celebrate here are some fast facts about Canada:  

-Canada Day is celebrated on July 1st. On July 1st 1867 the British North America Act was passed, uniting the Province of Canada (renamed Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. We were joined by Rupert's Land (which eventually became bits of Ontario and Quebec, as well as Manitoba, Saskatchewan and part of Alberta) and The North-Western Territory (which eventually became the rest of Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut) in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, all of the islands up to the North Pole (most of which became part of Nunavut)  by 1925, and finally Newfoundland in 1949. 
-Our first Prime Minister was Sir John A MacDonald, who was a little bit drunk but still a totally awesome guy. Our current Prime Minister is Stephen Harper. He has a stupid face. See previous blogs for my thoughts on that guy. 
-We are a constitutional monarchy, so Queen Elizabeth II is our queen, but we're like teenagers just moved out for the first time; we barely call except around holidays and when we need money.  
-Canada is the second largest country in the world (Russia is bigger)  
-There are about 34,500,000 people in Canada, ranking us 36th in the world in terms of population, but 228th in terms of population density (there are about 3.4 people per kilometre squared)
-Our currency is the Canadian Dollar, which is like the American Dollar but less so. It is very colourful.   
-Also our dollar comes in the form of a coin and we call it a "loonie", and we have a two dollar coin called the "toonie". 
-We drive on the right, spell most things the British way, have ostensibly American accents (but we apparently say "about" funny. I don't hear it, myself), and have provinces and territories (not states) 
-When you think Canada you're most likely to think maple leaves, the loon, polar bears, beavers, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, polar bears and beavers in twee little RCMP uniforms, excessive politeness, and maple syrup.