Q is for Questions.. questions about Canada

I put the question to the crew.
What questions do you have about Canada.

They came up with quite a few!

Join me and Amanda as we walk through Blogging the Alphabet "Q", me with your questions and seeing what Amanda comes up.  :)


Have I ever seen a glacier (no) and where to go to see one.  Here's a list of Canadian glaciers!   :)  

When we do have winter?   
Generally from December to March, though the latest I've seen snow fly was mid-May and the earliest was in October.   Our last couple of winters have been downright pitiful and both my guys are getting annoyed!   One winter we had snow up past my head!  IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!   :)   We have four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.  Each with it's own beauty.


How does one pronounce Iqaluit

How about special holidays and celebrations there? My son got curious about that when he found out people in Canada don't have Thanksgiving in November like we do in America.

 Canadians have thanksgiving at a reasonable time...not rushing Christmas!  :)  Check out Kym's post.
 We also have Canada Day (July 1st) and various other statutory holidays
Holidays we do in Ontario: Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Family Day (February) not a mandatory day off though, Good Friday and Easter, Easter Monday. Civic Holiday in August, Labour Day and Thanksgiving (October), and Remembrance Day (November).  

What is the political system like? is there a president?
No president, we elect a prime minister.  We have three main parties, the Conservatives, the Liberals and the New Democratic Party.   Currently the Liberals are in power (don't ask me what I think about that!).  :)   Currently some localities are testing a ranked ballot system for the next elections, this system only kicks in when the winner of an election wins by less than a certain percentage (can't recall what that is right now). It then takes into account the popular vote.   We do not vote on a regular schedule, there is a time limit to when the current government MUST call a vote, but there is no set schedule in place for when they can choose to call it.   As long a party is in power...more power to them.   Sucks at times but hey.. there it is.   For more information on how our government works check out this site.


How much of Canada is inhabitable?
This site is REALLY helpful in seeing the population densities of Canada.  I do hope you will go and look.   The image below comes from that page.  Current population of Canada (as of the 2015 Census) is 35.85 million.



Can we learn more about Quebecois music? 
Honestly... haven't a clue!   :)  BUT I did find this video on Youtube. 


Does pokemon go have any special pokemon you can only get in Canada?
Nope. :)
How about please explain the whole prime minister thing
   How about you explain the whole president thing.. TRUMP....  REALLY?????:)

What part of Canada do you live in?
 South Western Ontario, near London (not in England).

Do wives all over Canada not take their husband's last name or is that just QC?
Personal choices, and they vary by region.

Are there any foods unique to Canada?
Nanaimo bars...many people love them, me.. meh Too sweet UNLESS they are frozen, then YUM!!!
Poutine
Tourtiere (meat pie)
Maple syrup.  :)


What are some Canadian traditions?
Canada Day (Dominion Day) celebrated on July 1st.  Parades, picnics, fireworks.
Thanksgiving at the proper time in October (Americans are so mixed up).  :)
Family Day is kinda new and makes people ask questions.  It's a fun day though filled with tons of family activities in almost every part of Ontario.
I dunno though... we are quite similar to Americans but we LOVE snow (for the most part) and do a lot of winter activities, and if you don't like hockey there's something wrong with you.  (not really, we are pretty laid back and we'll apologize if we've offended you (or think that we have).  :)


What type of animals are indigenous to Canada that aren't in the US? 
 Polar bears.  Seriously LARGE bears.  Don't want to mess with them.
Canada Lynx
Moose
Beluga Whale
BigHorn Sheep
Canada Goose (though I know you see those down south as they migrate)
Beaver
Tailless frog
There's a tiny black and red snake found up north but I can't recall it's name.
Here's a video on the loon.


Do you have tea time, like the British, or do you do three meals a day like most Americans...or do you do something totally different?
Three meals a day plus snacks.  :)  At least in Ontario and travelling west.  Quebec... might be more French in it's outlook but I've never been there.  French people don't snack.

The relationship between Canada and the UK. What power does the Queen have in Canada? What power does the UK have in Canada? (so maybe you could explain the Lieutenant General to our American friends. And why we pronounce "Lieutenant" and other words the British way. LOL)
Oh heavens, I hardly know where to to begin. I think perhaps I should do a whole separate series on Canada eh?  :)  A BRIEF explanation.
 Each province as a lieutenant general who is the nominal head of state for the province and acts as the go between.  We also have a federal lieutentant general who is the president of the senate and resides over the chamber.  Here he/she handles debate and how legislation moves through the chamber. 
 The queen is the official head of state, and comes to visit and honestly.. has nothing really to do with the running of our country.  We love her (really we do as our Queen and there remains a strong interest in the goings on of her family) but our day to day lives are unaffected by her.  :)

The British pronunciation of the French word "lieutenant" (as "lef-tenant") is used by the Canadian Armed Forces, but the American pronunciation of "loo-tenant" (which is closer to the original French pronunciation) is sometimes heard as well.  But really to be proper it's lef-tenant.


 My daughter would like to know if you still call the police force in Canada constables. 
 Yes, we call them constable... what do you call your police officers??
 We also have mounties...but not in my area. We have a regular police force since we live in Ontario.  But for instance we'd say "Constable Stewart" not officer .. though they do respond equally well to officer.  :)  For more about the RCMP (the mounties) see here. If you ever have a chance to see the mounties in action you should do so.  Seriously cool to see their mounted musical rides.  Saw them one year but can't find a picture right now.

How Yellowknife, Northwest Territory got its name.
 The name Yellowknife comes from a Dene band, the Yellowknives, now long gone, who once lived on the islands in the East Arm of Great Slave Lake and carried knives with yellow copper blades  Cool eh?  :)

Do people really call Prince Edward Island PEI, like in the Anne books?  
I call it PEI, as does everyone else I know.   The folks I know from out east call it that too, so I don't see why your children shouldn't.  :)  Call it as you will.. I hope to visit it one day.  I've been through the west, someday I'll go through the east. My mom and sister went out last year and they said it was simply marvellous.

If I missed anyone's questions.. SORRY, not intentional, just how life happens eh?
A Net In Time Schooling



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18 comments

  1. Very interesting. I learned some new things.

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    1. yeah! :) Glad you learned something...that's a good thing eh! :)

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  2. I learned so much! I have always wanted to visit Prince Edward Island. I've made it into Canada just a few times; twice to visit Niagara Falls and once to visit Quebec. It was so much easier when we didn't need passports for everyone.

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    1. YAY!! I love when people learn from what I write...it's one of my greatest joys. :)

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  3. Thanks so much for answering our questions! I had no idea what poutine was until last week when I was preparing our culture lesson for geography. Needless to say, we had to make some right away. But I must make a trip to the cheese factory to get fresh curds very soon so we can make it properly! Any suggestions for a good gravy recipe, or will any regular beef gravy do?

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    1. I am happy to have answered them! :) For poutine fresh curds are great, just a good solid gravy...whatever your favourite is. :)

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  4. So much fun to read more about your home country. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I am still jealous of all the fun flavors of chips I find when I go up there! :-)

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    1. If you ever have a chance to try baby back ribs chips run away...leave them all for me!

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  6. I went to PEI on a family vacation. I was about 7. I would really like to go back again.

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    1. i want to go to PEI as well.. one day I WILL!

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  7. Educational post! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Thank you for answering so many wonderful questions!
    My kids loved this post!
    The bit about your voting system is fascinating! It reminds me of the British parliament before Cromwell... when the king had the power to call a parliament to session, but only did so when he needed taxes raised for war. It was his decision to call for the voice of the people and the people in turn gave their free allegiance to the king. Fascinating!

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  9. Enjoyed reading your answers to the questions! I've seen glaciers and I've been to PEI - still need to visit Newfoundland and Quebec though. :-) Thanks for the link to my post about the Canadian way to do Thanksgiving (also known as the right way! ;-) ). I also have recipes on my blog for Nanaimo Bars, Tourtiere, and Poutine, by the way.

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    1. I need to add a link yet to the lads poutine

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Hi! thanks for stopping by. I love comments, it is good to talk with each other eh?