Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Nova Scotia

Lunnenburg, Nova Scotia

British Columbia

Canada

Canada


We have been traveling through many Spanish speaking countries as you have read. There are extreme differences from Canada but many similarities.

On Thursday Canada celebrated its 143 birthday.

We have many people that read the blog that are from many different places and would like to learn about the place that Ken and I come from, the land we jokingly consider cold.

Canada is far from cold all year round. We have 4 seasons instead of 2. Our summer affords us many long hours of sunshine. Here in Calgary at this time we receive 18 1/2 hrs of sunshine.

The average summer temperature here in Calgary ranges around 22 - 25C, but because we are so close to the Rocky Mountains our nights cool off allowing for a pleasant nights sleep.

Canada is split into four very different regions that are quite different within themselves. We have Western Canada(where we are from) consisting of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan; Central Canada consisting of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec; Eastern Canada (Mari times) consisting of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland then we have our Northern Canada consisting of Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon.

Canada is the second largest country in the world. The land mass is approximately 9,985,000km2.

While we have been traveling throughout Central America and South America we have noticed that the people in these countries have been misled about our languages. The majority falsely believe that Canada is mostly French. The underlying reason for this is the majority of tourist that have visit have been from Quebec. We are trying to reverse this incorrect piece of information with the truth. The truth is according to the 2006 census, English as a first language is spoken in 67% of homes, French 21% and the balance being many different languages around the world. It was quite alarming to have people surprised that we don't speak French coming from Canada. Enough said.

Our politics function within the constitutional monarchy, federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Like all countries it is not perfect but generally speaking it works.

We are a country with large natural resources. Canada's oil reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia. We have minerals and metals. We are now a diamond producing nation and are the largest producer of uranium. Canada is also one of the largest gold producing countries and is the largest manufacturer of the world for gold coins and the Maple leaf bullion sets sold world wide.

The Canadian Mint produces many coins used in various countries.

Canada has a large lumber export in both softwoods and hardwoods. The Americans have been our main buyer but we are looking elsewhere for sales as there has been a long dispute with the American government over sales and a tariff has been placed on our lumber. So much for free trade.

The car industry also contributes to our export trades both in vehicles and vehicle parts. Lets hope the car companies can keep the momentum up and running. We cannot afford bailouts.

Now what really is Canada?

Its people.

We are a nation known as tranquil, compassionate and helping. We are respected on the World's stage.

It's Land?

We are surrounded by 3 oceans. The Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific. We have 8 very large mountain ranges, share 4 of the 5 Great Lakes and have more lakes and rivers than we could possibly count.

The Maritimes

The Maritime provinces are our Atlantic provinces. They consists of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, and Newfoundland.

I have only been to the Maritimes twice in my life, both in the summer. It is a wonderful part of our country. The people that live in this region find their ancestors came from Scotland, Ireland, England and French(be it Canadian or France). The French here are known as Acadian. The industries here are fishing, agriculture, coal mining. The people are the friendliest in Canada and the saying you are always welcome could not be more truer than here. I have inserted some pictures that I got off the Internet.
Ken and I possibly plan on going through the maritimes on Genesis. That would occur possible August/2011. Stay tune for that.

I will be departing tomorrow for a road trip to the Kootney's in British Columbia for a week. I will have pictures to share of beautiful British Columbia.