According to wholevehicles, Canada is a country in northern North America. It is the largest country in America and the second largest in the world. The borders are formed to the south and west by the United States of America, the rest of the country is surrounded by seas, part of which consists of ice seas. The name Canada is derived from the Native American word for settlement, kanata. It is a federal state with the King or Queen of the United Kingdom as the official head of state, while day-to-day management is in the hands of the Prime Minister.

Evidence has been found that the first inhabitants settled in present-day Canada 20,000 to 25,000 years ago. The first Europeans who tried to settle in present-day Canada and were the first to discover the new world were the Vikings. Remains have been found at L’Anse aux Meadows that indicate a Viking settlement, according to legend it was founded by Leif Eriksson. However, the definitive discovery and colonization of present-day Canada would take another 500 years. It was John Cabot who first discovered Canada’s territory a few years after Columbus made his maiden voyage to the New World. It was not until the early seventeenth century that the first permanent settlements were built by the French.

Not much later, the English would also settle in Canada, which soon led to infinity and several wars. Most took place in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The British would eventually win, but allow the French within their borders. This would eventually lead to Canada being bilingual to this day. After the War of 1812 and the Act of the Union, Canada would roughly take its final shape.

Today, Canada has become one of the holiday destinations in North America. The vast majority of tourists who come to Canada do so to discover the beautiful nature of the country, often by motorhome and sometimes by car. There are several routes that are driven, the most popular routes are found in the western part of Canada.

Sights

Most of the tourists come to Canada for the overwhelming nature. There are also quite a few natural parks in Canada. The five most visited and therefore most popular are Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park, Pacific Rim National Park and Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks. Many tourists choose to visit the majority of these parks during a car or RV trip through Canada. Another popular natural landmark is Niagara Falls. These falls are found on the border with the United States of America in the state of Ontario. The “Niagara Falls” are in the shape of a horseshoe. The city of Vancouver belongs together with the cities of Montreal, Toronto, Victoria, Halifax and Calgary are among the most popular city break destinations in Canada. Just outside the city of Vancouver you will find the Capilano Suspension Bridge, this suspension bridge from the end of the nineteenth century is only suitable for people with nerves of steel. The most famous landmark in Montreal at Notre Dame Basilica and Quebec’s historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other notable attractions include Tombstone Territorial park, Prince Edward Island, the Avalon Peninsula, Lake Ontario, the polar bear capital of the world; Churchill, Yukon and the Rideau Canal.

UNESCO

Canada has about eighteen entries on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018. This concerns eight cultural and ten natural registrations. Two of the natural inscriptions are transboundary and must share the land of the United States of America. The first registration took place in 1978. In that year, L’Anse aux Meadows, an ancient Viking settlement at the northern tip of Newfoundland, and Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories were added. A year later, Dinosaur Provincial Park and Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek at, part of which is located in the United States of America. In later years, well-known natural parks such as the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Wood Buffulo National Park, added Miguasha National Park and Waterton Glacier International Peace Park to the list. SGang Gwaay, Old Quebec’s historic district, the city of Lunenburg, the Rideau Canal, and Red Bay’s Whale Harbor are some of the UNESCO’s cultural inscriptions.

Climate

Most of Canada has a continental climate. The continental climate in Canada varies from a moderate continental climate in the south to the cool continental climate in the north of Canada. In between these are almost all variants of the continental climate. This climate type is characterized by the large temperature differences that can occur between the summer and winter months. In the Rocky Mountains the high mountain climate occurs in the highest parts of the mountain range, the cool continental climate occurs in the lower parts of these mountains. The west coast of Canada has a temperate maritime climate and the north and northeast the tundra climate.

All these different climatic zones make Canada’s climate quite diverse. However, there are some exceptions, but clear lines can be seen in Canada’s climate. The winters are cold to very cold. Milder temperatures only occur along the west coast of Canada due to the warming effect of the seawater. The winters in Canada are partly determined by a cold polar wind from the north. In places that are influenced by this wind, temperatures can be very far below freezing. Despite the country’s northern location, the average daytime temperature in the summer months is above twenty degrees Celsius in a large part of the country. In the coldest parts of the country, the mercury rarely exceeds ten degrees Celsius.

Geography

Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia with approximately ten million square kilometers in area. On most maps, countries such as China, the United States of America and India appear larger, due to the distortions of world maps. The country stretches from the town of Alert on Ellesmere Island, the most northerly city in the world, to Windsor, which is about the same latitude as Barcelona. Canada only has land borders with the United States of America. In the west with the state of Alaska and in the south with the states of Washington, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The rest of the country is surrounded by the sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, the Baffin Bay and the Arctic Ocean. Hudson Bay has an open sea connection via the Northern Passage and forms a huge body of water in the eastern part of Canada. Part of the border between Canada and the United States of America is formed by the Great Lakes. These five large lakes are Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, only Lake Michigan is located entirely in America, the others in both countries.

The highest mountain in Canada is Mount Logan at 5,959 meters. This mountain can be found in the far west of Canada in Kluane National Park and is part of the St. Elias Mountains. Other notable mountains in Canada are Mount Saint Elias (5489 meters), Mount Lucania (5260 meters), King Peak (5173 meters) and Mount Steel (5073 meters). Canada’s main mountain ranges are the Canadian Rockies and the St Elias Mountains. Canada’s longest river is the Yukon, other notable rivers in the country are the Saint Lawrence, Mackenzie, Fraser, Nelson and Columbia. An honorable mention for the Niagara known for the falls.

There are several hundred islands that belong to Canada, the largest and most important being Vancouver Island, Baffin Island, Cape Breton Island, Ellesmere Island, Newfoundland, Devon Island, Prince of Wales Island and Melville Island.

The vast majority of Canada’s approximately thirty-five million residents live in one of the major cities. Canada’s largest and most important cities are Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg.

Travel advice

For all of Canada, there are no particular security risks for travel in and to the country. The chance that you as a tourist will have to deal with crime is very small, but can never be ruled out. You have the best chance of this in the larger cities or near the most popular tourist attractions and sights. As in any country in the world, there is a risk of a terrorist attack in Canada.

However, the biggest threat when traveling in Canada is nature. For example, forest fires can occur in the summer months. If you are traveling through an area where these occur, keep a close eye on the news and try to shy away from your route. In the winter months, the extreme cold can also cause the necessary problems, always travel well prepared in the winter. A third safety factor is the bears. It may seem redundant to mention, but the bears found in Canada are wild animals that can and will attack humans. If you encounter a bear, stay in your car or camper until they are at a safe distance.

Travel documents

For a trip to and through Canada you must be in possession of a passport that is valid until after your return. When you arrive in Canada you will be asked some standard questions, usually these questions are about why you are visiting Canada and what you plan to do during your trip. Sometimes it is necessary to be able to hand over a return ticket or you must be able to prove that you have enough financial means to be able to make the trip. As of March 15, 2016, you must be in possession of an eTA to be able to travel to Canada. This electronic visa is valid for five years. You can travel to Canada without restriction on this visa within these five years, unless you keep the same passport within those five years. You can start your eTA application online, after which you usually receive your eTA the same day.

You must also submit a completed customs declaration upon arrival in Canada. These forms are handed out on the plane and you can fill out during your flight.

Info table

Capital city	Ottawa
Phone (country code)	1
Internetdomein	.ca
Language(s) (official)	French and English
Language(s) (colloquial)	French, English and eleven Native American and Inuit languages
Religion(s)	Christian
Time zone(s)	UTC-3.5 dead UTC-8
Time difference summer	In Canada it is 4.5 to 9 hours earlier than in the Netherlands
Time difference winter	In Canada it is 4.5 to 9 hours earlier than in the Netherlands, with exceptions
Daylight Saving Time Control	yes except in the province of Saskatchewan and in parts of the provinces of British Columbia, Nunavut Territory, Quebec and Ontario. In addition, the dates when daylight saving time starts differ with those of the Netherlands, so that the difference is sometimes 3.5 to 8 hours.
Currency	Canadese dollar