#9 Canada Facts

Canada Facts

These days the first thing that comes to mind when someone says Canada is, 'Vancouver - Whistler and the 2010 Winter Olympics.' But in a few months that will be all but forgot. Still, migration to Canada will remain consistently strong as over 500,000 people are moving to Canada from all over the world each year. Following the Whistler Olympics immigration is likely to rise as is demand for people wanting to move to Canada. International Living has honoured Canada as the 9th Best Place to Live according to their 2010 Quality of Life Index.

More Canada Facts

Canada's Population was last counted in 2009 at 33.7 million people living in 12.4 million households. Canada is 9.984 million sq. km. in size and is second only to Russia. Life expectancy for the average Canadian is 80.4 years.

Living in Canada

Canada has some of the cheapest housing in the developed world. The country has huge forests and timber is readily available as a building material. Houses in Canada are typically timber-framed and, because of climate extremes, the housing stock is usually high quality and well insulated.

Although the economy is healthy, you would be advised not to come to Canada to get rich. Canadians enjoy a very high quality of life but, compared with some of the salaries available in the USA, UK and Northern Europe, Canadians are not highly paid.

A major advantage of living in Canada is that, in most locations, it's possible to buy a comfortable, large, detached house on a normal income.

Jobs tend to be most plentiful in Toronto / Southern Ontario, Vancouver and Calgary.

Where should I live in Canada?

Finding the right place to live and work may take time. Housing costs vary greatly across Canada and depend on location (city, town or rural area) and type of home (e.g., apartment or house). Where you choose to live will impact your occupational prospects, job opportunities and salary. Where do newcomers settle? Most newcomers settle in larger cities. According to Statistics Canada, the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver census metropolitan areas(CMAs) were home to 68.9% of recent immigrants.

Top Ten Cities in Canada

MoneySense magazine has released its fourth annual list of the top 10 cities in Canada in which to live, ranking them by 24 factors, including income potential, real estate prices, taxes, access to health care and several others that take in quality of life.

The winning city, according to its mayor, gets 2,100 hours of sunshine a year, has an amazing downtown, is blessed with three top universities and a college, and has gorgeous scenery. Sound familiar? Yes, it's Victoria. (Ahh, yes, that bastion of the well-heeled, you say. Can only the wealthy afford to buy a home there? Not necessarily; it turns out Victoria is only the 10th most expensive real estate market in Canada, according to MoneySense.) It bumped previous favourite Ottawa down to second spot. Neither Toronto nor Montreal made the grade.
The other cities on the Top 10 list: 2. Ottawa-Gatineau 3. Kingston, Ont. 4. Burlington, Ont. 5. Vancouver 6. Moncton, N.B. 7. Fredericton, N.B. 8. Winnipeg 9. Peterborough, Ont. 10. Brandon, Man.

Attractions in Canada

Destination Canada has taken a look at Canada’s many unique attractions and picked these 10 to recommend to visitors to Canada – or to Canadians who wish to experience more of their own vast and beautiful country.

The Canadian Rockies

Within the Canadian Rockies is some of the most beautiful, serene and, at the same time, breathtaking scenery on the earth’s surface.

Niagara Falls, Ontario

The Falls are one of the truly natural wonders of the world. The sight and thunderous sound of the cascading waters are mesmerizing and the mystic power of the falls will always stay with you.

Pacific Rim National Park, Vancouver Island

The park provides access to nature at its rawest: Wet, wild and dramatic scenery that can be observed from the comfort of warm, luxurious hotels that dot the coastline. It’s also a surfers paradise!

Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia

Cape Breton has been rated one of the best Island destinations in the world and this is in no small part to the Cabot Trail that offers breathtaking vistas of Cape Breton’s are a common sight.

Baffin Island (Oikiqtaaluk)

In our ever-shrinking world, Baffin Island still offers pristine, raw nature at its most beautiful: Vast vistas of untouched scenery, interrupted only occasionally by small Inuit villages – a people that still live with respect for, and in pact with, their environment. There is an abundance of wildlife including walrus, several whale species, caribou, polar bear, arctic fox, arctic hare, lemming, arctic wolf, seals, migrating fowl, shore birds, sea birds etc.

Vancouver/Victoria

These 2 cities are among the prettiest and cleanest cities in the world. Vancouver (currently hosting the Winter Olympics) is set beautifully where the mountains meet the sea and for large parts of the year you can both golf, sail, swim and go skiing – all in the same day! Victoria is set beautifully in a protected harbour at the south end of Vancouver Island. British Columbia’s capital, it is just a very pleasant small city with an old-world British charm.

The Prairies

It’s a state of mind and sense of being that’s hard to describe. On the prairies the sky surrounds 180 degrees of your sight line in all directions.

The Rocky Mountaineer

This is truly a trip of a lifetime. Guided train travel, at a relaxed tempo, through some of the world's most beautiful and varied scenery. Quite possibly the best way to see Canadian wildlife - such as bears, mountain goats, wolves, elk, big-horned sheep, moose, coyotes etc.

Old Québec City

Québec's Old Town (Vieux-Québec) has an old-world charm unique in North America and is the only North American fortified north of Mexico whose walls still exist. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site 1985, as the "Historic District of Old Québec".

Bay of Fundy

The Bay has the highest tides in the world and it's estimated that 100 billion tons of seawater flow in and out each tide cycle. That's a foot every 10 minutes. You can literally stand there and watch the tide rise or fall. The waters of the bay are populated with approximately 8 species of whales, an abundance of dolphins, porpoises, fish, seals, seabirds and more. All this is framed by breathtaking rock cliffs, eroded sandstone statues, dramatic mud flats and bountiful marsh plateaus.