150 Little Known Canadian Facts #20

We have reached our last nine facts about Canada, and they focus on Canada’s present and future, and how we as Canadians are continually trying to make this country a wonderful place for everyone to enjoy.

142.  Earlier this year, the first woman from Canada has made basketball history: she made a one-handed slam dunk during a competition game. The Team Canada basketball team was playing in a tournament in Virginia, and 15-year-old Laeticia Amihere wowed the audience when she made a slam dunk. She is one of five WNBA players to succeed in making an in-game slam dunk since 1996.

143.  ParticipACTION is a national, non-profit organization that’s been getting Canadians active since 1971. Since 2005, ParticipACTION has put out annual report cards that rate physical activity of Canadian kids against those of 37 other countries. The 2016 report card revealed that only nine percent of Canadian kids aged 5 to 17 participate in one hour of “heart-pumping” physical activity and nearly nine hours of non-activity per day. This year, ParticipACTION has a list of 150 activities that define this country and its people; it includes activities such as wood chopping, fruit picking, sledge hockey and even pillow fights. To check out this list, click here.

144.  The Canada Deposit Insurance Company (CDIC) was established in 1967 by Parliament after the previous year’s financial crisis. The CDIC isn’t a bank nor an insurance company for the public. Only financial institutions can use their services, but these services benefit the public. If your bank, credit union or loan and trust company fails, the CDIC can protect your deposits up to $100,000 per insured category, but only if your financial institution is a member. There are exceptions to what the CDIC insures so click here to find out more.

145.  The first tax-supported public libraries were established in Saint John, NB, and Guelph and Toronto, ON, in 1883. Between 1901 and 1923, 125 libraries were built thanks to the Andrew Carnegie grants. In 1995, The National Core Library Statistics Program revealed that 1,034 public libraries across Canada held over 81 million volumes among them, and circulated over 200 million items. As of 2012, research shows that there are nearly 600 public library systems and nearly 3,000 public library branches across Canada.

146.  According to the 2016 Census of Agriculture of Canada, land used for crops rose to 93.4 million acres in total. Over 193,000 farms operated last year, which is down nearly six percent from the 2011. There were 271,935 farm operators last year; whereas in 2011 there were 293,925, and around 44 percent of farm operators worked “off-farm” in order to supplement their income in 2016.

147.  Habitat for Humanity Canada (HFHC) has been in operation since 1985, though it started in the States in 1976. The first HFHC built house was in Winkler, MB, in 1985. Since then, there are now over 56 affiliates nationwide, and they have housed nearly 3,000 families. This year, HFHC volunteers and recipient families are in the midst of building 150 new homes for 150 families in honour of Canada’s 150^th.

148.  On July 18, the Agreement On Cree Nation Governance was signed by the Minister of Indigenous Affairs Carolyn Bennett and the Grand Chief Dr. Matthew Coom Come for the Grand Council of the Cree (Eeyou Istchee)/Cree Nation Government. This agreement gives the Cree First Nations and Cree Nation Government power to make laws instead of just by-laws over Cree Category IA lands including areas such as environmental protection, public order and safety, and land and resource use. There are 18 self-government agreements involving 32 Aboriginal communities in Canada.

149.  There are over 500 species in Canada that are close to extinction. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife Canada (COSEWIC) assess and designate which wildlife species are at risk of becoming extinct, and have been doing this since 1977. They make list every year about the status of our wildlife and give recommendations on steps to help save endangered species. Some of the animals that have been downgraded from endangered to special concern are the sea otter (2007), and the peregrine falcon (2002). The swift fox is one of the tiniest foxes in the world and has been reintroduced into southern Alberta and Saskatchewan where its numbers have tripled since the 1990s.

150.  The Canadian Museum of History has a new exhibit: the Canadian History Hall. This exhibit will showcase the three eras of this country. The first gallery is called Early Canada and covers the time from -11,500 to 1763; the second gallery is called Colonial Canada and covers the time from 1763 to 1914; and the third gallery is called Modern Canada. The Hall spans about 15,000 years in an exhibition area over 4,000 m²—the largest exhibit about Canadian history.  There are 1,500 authentic artefacts and presents stories from real people and from multiple perspectives, covering this country’s greatest and darkest moments. For more information on this exhibit click here.