Our nation celebrates its 149th 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 5th 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?