Our nation celebrates its 149^th birthday this year and we must say she doesn’t look a day past 120. From the respect that we garner on a global scale to the unique landscape, people, and foods that personify what it means to be Canadian, here are the 149 reasons why we love Canada.

• Toronto Blue Jays – The bat flip
• Ice Hockey – We Canadians can’t get enough of this sport year round
• Street Hockey – Car!
• Saying Sorry – We know our manners
• Free Health Care – Every bump or bruise, no worries
• National Parks – Almost 2 million km2 of pristine nature reserves representing all aspects of Canadian Geography
• Three Oceans – Not one, not two, but three oceans surround our shores
• Northern Lights – The beauty of dancing lights across the night sky is always captivating
• Pacific Salmon – Smoked, Barbequed, or in sushi we love our salmon
• Atlantic Lobster – Nothing beats a lobster dinner with a bowl of butter to smother it in
• Weather – When you have to keep a snow shovel, umbrella, and sunglasses in your car year round just to be ready
• Ketchup Chips – That red dust gets everywhere but so delicious
• Tim Hortons – Roll up the Rim is Canada’s 5^th season
• Maple Syrup – Sweet, sticky, and tasty in just about everything
• Poutine – Drool inducing deliciousness
• Democracy – The freedom to vote as you wish always brings out the patriotism
• Multiculturalism – We celebrate all beliefs and backgrounds
• Tobogganing – Hang on tight and watch out for those jumps
• Snowmobiling – Nothing beats flying through fresh snow
• Skiing – Carving the powder
• Freedom of Speech – We can speak our minds and not have to worry
• Social Liberties – We believe everyone should have basic free rights
• Diversity – A potluck dinner rather than a melting pot
• Olympics – From Vancouver recently to Calgary and Montreal of past years we stand behind our athletes in the summer or winter every 2 years
• Dinosaurs – Especially around
• Lacrosse – The national sport
• Beer – We just brew it better here
• Nickleback – This one can be a bit decisive but they have reached worldwide fame
• Justin Bieber – Another polarizing addition but you can’t deny all those Bielibers
• Drake – From Degrassi to stardom
• Barenaked Ladies – We all wish we had 1 million dollars
• The Tragically Hip – Canadianism personified in music
• Neil Young – Rockin’ in the free world
• The Guess Who – Always taking care of business
• Jim Carrey – The laughs have never stopped
• Michael J Fox – We would go 80 mph with him any day
• Seth Rogen – Canadians just know humor
• Will Arnett – Even more laughs
• William Shatner – Captains log, Canadians rock!
• Ellen Page – We can all get lost in our dreams
• Rachel McAdams – We all saw the Notebook and it instantly melted our hearts
• Elisha Cuthbert – We like her for more than 24 hours
• Insulin – One of the greatest Canadian inventions
• The war of 1812 – Though Canada wasn’t a country yet the starting blocks and patriotism was always there
• Basketball – Raptors going farther into the playoffs than ever before showed that Canada still knows basketball, a sport invented by a Canadian
• Avro Arrow – Cutting edge technology that revolutionized flight
• CanadArm – What better way to show the world how friendly we are than to reach out and give the world a handshake
• Multi-coloured Money – We can tell our money apart at a glance
• Newfoundland Icebergs – Though dangerous these are things of beauty
• The Spirit Bear in BC – The elusive white bear in BC brings a sense of majesty to the forest
• Road Trips – Fill up the car, load up on snacks and hit the road
• National Anthem – Everyone up, Caps off, and belt it loud
• Giant Landmarks – From a giant goose, a large dime, oversized egg, we love making things big in Canada
• Beaver Tails – Always a delicious staple of fairs
• Slurpee’s – Winnipeg holds the record for most sold Slurpee’s in a year for over 14 years in a row
• Our Flag – We raise it, wear it, or tattoo it. We proudly show our colors
• Peace Keeping – Known around the world as a country that always fosters peace over war
• Whale Watching – When they leap from the water our breaths are taken away
• Niagara Falls – We all know we got the best side of the falls
• Water – Canada is home to some of the largest fresh water reserves in the world
• Second City – From the likes of John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Aykroyd
• Shorts in Winter – Every year it is a true test to see how long we can wear them
• Education – We pride ourselves on the accessibility of post-secondary school
• Circus Soleil – High dives, flips, and tumbles, this Canadian based act has taken the world by storm
• Imax – 3 stories high of pure fidelity awesome
• Trivial Pursuit – Always trying to get that last pie piece
• Caesars – Invented in Calgary these drinks are known on all patios during the summer
• BlackBerry – Admit it, we have all had one and played brick breaker
• Standard Time – We like it in the fall for the extra hour, spring time not so much
• Canola – Bred in Canada and now grown around the world
• Mounties – The red uniforms and horse riding displayed always bring out the patriotism
• Anne of Green Gables – Those braids
• Terry Fox – Inspired future generations with perseverance and determination
• The Border – The longest unpatrolled border in the World
• Canadian Beef – As soon as it hits the barbeque our mouths water
• Inuksuk – Balancing those rocks is harder than it looks
• Zed not Zee – We all know how the alphabet ends
• Chris Hadfield – A true space oddity and inspiration
• Roberta Bondar – The first Canadian woman in space
• Polar Bears – White, fluffy and graceful
• Bacon – That Canadian bacon that no other place can quite do right
• Dog Sledding – Hang on tight these dogs can fly over the snow
• Superman – Not a bird or a plane but has a Canadian background
• Smarties – Bigger than M&M’s we just know how to do candy better
• Wolverine – the Canadian superhero
• The Ryans – Goesling and Renyolds
• Curling – Hurry Hard!!
• Robert Munsch – The paper bag princess we love you forever
• Cottage Country – Out on the deck, sun rising, coffee in hand, overlooking the water, is there any better place?
• Spelling – We add a u to everything
• David Suzuki – We wouldn’t know nature without him
• Lululemon – Leggings can be pants right?
• Hawaiian Pizza – A tropical flavor actually created in Canada
• Kraft Dinner – The most bought grocery item bought in Canada, how do you like yours?
• The Metric System – It just makes more sense
• Our Thanksgiving – We do it earlier and we do it right
• Don Cherry’s Suits – Like the sun you aren’t supposed to look at them directly
• Jack Leonard Warner – Founder of the Warner Bros. Studio
• Wayne Gretzky – The Great One
• Multi Lingual –English and French, we can speak both
• Charter of Rights – Securing the freedoms we enjoy everyday
• Canadian Tire Money – We all have it
• Polar Bear Dips – Grab those trunks it’s going to be a chilly swim
• Barbeques – Rain, shine, or snow we love lighting them up and grilling everything we can
• Football – 3 downs, more guys, long passes on a bigger field
• Seth McFarlane – Creative, imaginative and a legend in the comic industry
• Snowball Fights – So popular there are actual contests held within Canada
• World Records – Canada holds the record for most world record
• Ogopogo – Our version of the urban legend
• Camping – As soon as that May long weekend happens the tents are out
• Hiking – Hit the trails and see what Canada has to offer
• Snow Showing – Hiking but winterized
• Cross Country Skiing – slower than downhill but a great way to see nature
• Hollywood North – More and more movies are finding out that Canada is a great backdrop to show off to the world
• Midnight Golf – Above the arctic circle summer just becomes one long day
• Green Peace – Started in Vancouver
• Toques – A necessity for those cold winter days
• Just for Laughs – We as a nation love to laugh and make the world laugh at the same time
• Atlantic Cod – They brought nations to our shores
• The Arctic – We support our claim to the Arctic year after year
• Margaret Atwood – A true Canadian poet and novelist
• Snow Blower – Invented here and used here
• Ice Wine – Our own spin on a delicious drink
• In Flanders Field – We remember
• Snowboarding – From gold at the Olympics to trying it out for the first time on a kiddy hill, we love carving through the snow
• Friendliness – We would rather make friends than enemies
• Made in Canada – Always a sense of pride when we see this on a tag or item
• Video Games – From Mass Effect to Assassins Creed we make great games in Canada
• The Hudson Bay Company – One of Canada’s oldest companies
• The PEI Bridge – We took an island and brought it closer to rest Canada
• Mountains – Providing both summer and winter adventures we love road trips out to the mountains
• Rivers – From kayaking to rafting, if there is water we are there
• Corn Mazes – Once the you get lost the fun begins
• Fudge – A staple purchase when you visit Banff
• Leonard Cohen – Hallelujah
• Alex Trebek – What is a Canadian?
• John A Macdonald – The first prime minster to our great country
• Maple Leaf – A symbol of for all that we stand for
• The Beaver – A truly Canadian animal
• The Loonie and Toonie – We aren’t afraid to name our money with wacky names
• Plaid – We all wear it and we wear it proud
• Céline Dion – Our hearts will go on
• Mountain Biking – Why not enjoy the mountains year round
• Red and White – Our true colours
• Fly Fishing – Find a peaceful river, a nice day, and a rod
• The Moose – Can we all agree multiple are meese?
• Fireworks – When we celebrate our nations birthday we celebrate in style
• Apologizing – We know it is on the list twice, we are sorry!
• Eh!

Did we miss any reasons?