150 Little Known Canada Facts #8

Here are a few more interesting Canadian facts to help you prepare for Canada’s 150^th anniversary this July.

43.  The term documentary was first coined by Scottish-Canadian filmmaker John Grierson. Grierson was the founder of the National Film Board, a government body that was created during the Second World War with the purpose of coordinating Canadian filmmakers in the production of wartime propaganda films. Grierson was a firm believer in the positive power of propaganda, and even went as far as calling it a cornerstone of the democratic process. He believed that for democracy to truly work, people had to be informed. In his mind, there was no better way of informing the public than a propaganda-rich documentary film. We’ve moved beyond the idea of propaganda being a tool for the public good, but we still have Grierson to thank for the birth of the Canadian film industry.

44.  Most of us know that the name “Canada” comes from the Iroquois word for “village” but how familiar are you with the provincial and territorial name origins? Four of our provinces and two of our territories have names that can be traced back to indigenous Canadian roots.

• Québec means “Where the river narrows” in the Algonquin language, and refers to the narrow spot along the St. Lawrence River where Québec City was built.
• Manitoba means “The Narrows of the Great Spirit” in Cree, describing the shape of Lake Manitoba, as well as its cultural significance.
• Saskatchewan is named for the Saskatchewan river system that runs through the prairies and means “Swift-flowing River” in Cree.
• Nunavut means “Our Land” in Inuktitut and was chosen to be the official name of the territory when it was formed in 1999.
• The Yukon Territory is named for the Yukon River flowing through it, a name that means “Great River” in Gwich’in.
• Ontario is named for Lake Ontario, which means “Sparkling Waters” in the Haudenosaunee languages.

45.  The remainder of our provinces and territories have names that have European origins, some of which might surprise you.

• Prince Edward Island is named after Queen Victoria’s father, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Its original Mi’kmaq name was “Abeqweit” meaning “Cradled by Waves”
• Nova Scotia means “New Scotland” in Latin and has been previously known as “Acadia” by the French settlers and “Mi’kma’ki by the original Mi’kmaq inhabitants.
• British Columbia is named for the ship of American explorer Robert Gray, The Columbia. There was already a territory in South America named Columbia, however, so “British” was added in order to distinguish it.
• Alberta is named for Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta.
• New Brunswick was named for King George III. Among his many titles was the Duke of Brunswick.
• Northwest Territories was named to reference the fact that the territory can be found in the northwestern region of North America.
• The name Newfoundland refers to the province being of the first lands discovered by European explorers, while Labrador refers to Azorean explorer Joas Fernandez, who was known as “El Llavorador” or “The Laborer” in English.

46.  Canada has its share of unconventional industries, but perhaps one of the strangest is our country’s booming horse-meat business. While Canadians don’t generally consume horses, Canada is one of the leading producers of horse meat on the global market. Only a small amount of it is consumed locally, but in 2015 roughly 68 thousand horses were exported to Europe and Japan as food, with profits totaling around 85 million dollars.

47.  Shortly after Canada became a nation in 1867, the government started planning the construction of a cross-continental railroad in order to help bring settlers to the west. Building thousands of kilometres of train tracks isn’t a cheap venture, especially when it comes to blasting tunnels through the Rocky Mountains. It wasn’t long before the rail road companies ran out of money. Luckily, their funds didn’t run out until the railroad reached the beautiful landscape that would become Banff National Park. With the funds raised through tourism to the Rocky Mountains, the railroads were able to be completed, and the national parks department was born.

48.  Canada’s military budget today is quite small when compared to other western, industrialized counties. Immediately following the Second World War though, the Royal Canadian Navy was the third largest navy in the world. While many of the world’s powers were losing the majority of their ships in military engagements, Canada’s naval support role meant that it was able to produce more ships than it was losing. In fact, the Royal Canadian Navy ended the war with more ships in their possession than it started with.