Good Morning #Canada
On February 28th, 1838, a small band of revolutionaries crossed into Canada from Alburg, Vermont, and immediately declared the independence of Lower Canada (Quebec). An Anglo-Quebecer physician named Dr. Robert Nelson, who was elected general of the insurrectionists and president of the future Canadian republic, distributed copies of a declaration of independence and issued proclamations of new legislation. It's doubtful the newly liberated Canadians had time to read all this as Nelson and his band of 300 men were pushed back across the border in hours, and promptly arrested by the Americans. After his release Nelson tried again in November of the same year only to fail even more spectacularly. A reminder that #Democracy is fragile and has to be protected and defended, even today.
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography gives us an excellent view of Nelson's life and failed rebellions, to be enjoyed over your morning coffee.
Good Morning #Canada
Did you know that Interac, the Big Brother organization that knows if you're naughty or nice based on your shopping habits, tracks the busiest shopping day of the year? According to their data, Canadians are apparently getting smarter. A decade ago, December 23rd was traditionally the busiest day of the year for retailers based on how many debit and credit cards they swiped. About 5 years ago it began to shift to earlier in the month and in 2025 December 19th was forecasted to be the pinnacle of purchasing. Maybe we ran out of money 4 days earlier.
How prepared are you for #Christmas? Not including food prep, how organized are you for choosing gifts and getting them wrapped and ready? Please take part in our highly scientific survey below and please boost for a larger data sample.
Mountaineer and naturalist Phyllis Munday was a true trailblazer. In 1924, she and Annette Buck were the first women to summit Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. A skilled cartographer, she also mapped over 180 square kilometres of BC's wilderness, a significant contribution to Canadian geography. #Canada#Mountaineering#WomenInHistory#CanadaIsAwesome 🇨🇦
Good Morning #Canada
At some point in the next 2 days I have to visit #ServiceCanada and renew my passport. Did you know that 70% of Canadians own a passport which puts us in the upper middle worldwide when compared to other countries. "Ownership" is technically incorrect as all Canadian passports legally remain the property of the Crown and must be returned upon request. According to the Henley Global Passport Index, Canada is among the top countries in Passport Power, ranked 8th on the global mobility spectrum. Trust in the nation issuing the document and in its citizens helps place a country in the rankings. I wonder why recently the USA dropped out of the top 10 for the 1st time? Canada is a member of the Five Nations Passport Group, an international forum for cooperation and sharing of best practices between the passport issuing authorities of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA.
Found: How Inuit Knowledge Solved the Franklin Mystery
In 2014 & 2016, Parks Canada found the wrecks HMS Erebus & HMS Terror by combining modern technology with Inuit oral history. The location of Erebus directly matched traditional knowledge of Inuit historian Louie Kamookak. #Canada#FranklinExpedition#CanadaIsAwesome#Inuit#IndigenousHistory 🇨🇦
Model of Erebus trapped in the ice, Nattilik Heritage Centre, Gjoa Haven, Nunavut
Modern expeditions to locate Franklin's lost expedition have been instrumental in solving the mystery. Using a combination of Inuit oral histories and advanced underwater technology, the wrecks of HMS *Erebus* and HMS *Terror* were finally discovered. The *Erebus* was found in 2014 in Queen Maud Gulf, and the *Terror* was located in 2016 in Terror Bay. These discoveries, which confirmed the location of the wrecks based on Inuit knowledge, have allowed for the recovery of numerous artifacts and continue to provide new insights into the fate of the expedition.
Good Morning #Canada
If you haven't been living in a cave this week, you know that the #NorthernLights were putting on a show across Canada. As you know, a solar eruption sends billions of tons of superheated plasma into space and traveling at more than 45 million miles per hour it can reach Earth in less than a day. That plasma, drawn towards the magnetic pole, interacts with our atmosphere, and we get a spectacular light show. The Aurora Borealis, named by Italian astronomer Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei, is not unique to Canada, but so much of our land is in the Northern Hemisphere that most Canadians have the opportunity to experience it. This is particularly true in the Northwest Territories, where the Northern Lights are visible for 240 days every year on average. The phenomenon has a special meaning for Indigenous Canadians, some of whom believe it shows them ancestors dancing in the sky.
Good Morning #Canada
This morning, our old Mazda goes in for new brakes, front and back, and install the snow tires. While sipping my coffee, I was wondering about auto stats in Canada....
Canada ranks 23rd worldwide in vehicles per 1,000 people. USA ranks 10th.
COVID put and end to rising car ownership. In 2020 there were 473 vehicles for every 1,000 people. Today, it's estimated to be 408.
11% of Canadians own 3 or more vehicles, 2% own 5 or more.
9% own an electric vehicle or hybrid.
78% of Canadians say it would be impossible for them not to have a car.
41% wish they had better transportation options to avoid needing a car altogether.
Compared to 2024, car ownership costs have increased 9 per cent, rising from $5,025 to $5,497 annually.
Data from Wikipedia, #StatsCan, and Car Ownership Index.
Found: How Inuit Knowledge Solved the Franklin Mystery
In 2014 & 2016, Parks Canada found the wrecks HMS Erebus & HMS Terror by combining modern technology with Inuit oral history. The location of Erebus directly matched traditional knowledge of Inuit historian Louie Kamookak. #Canada#FranklinExpedition#CanadaIsAwesome#Inuit#IndigenousHistory 🇨🇦
Model of Erebus trapped in the ice, Nattilik Heritage Centre, Gjoa Haven, Nunavut
Modern expeditions to locate Franklin's lost expedition have been instrumental in solving the mystery. Using a combination of Inuit oral histories and advanced underwater technology, the wrecks of HMS *Erebus* and HMS *Terror* were finally discovered. The *Erebus* was found in 2014 in Queen Maud Gulf, and the *Terror* was located in 2016 in Terror Bay. These discoveries, which confirmed the location of the wrecks based on Inuit knowledge, have allowed for the recovery of numerous artifacts and continue to provide new insights into the fate of the expedition.
Good Morning #Canada
It's National Goose Day, which was intended to celebrate a roasted Goose or a special hello between very good friends. But we'll direct our energy towards the #CanadaGoose who should be our national bird but instead lost out to the Blue Jay. The original naming of the bird that really hates golfers (I'm having a flashback) is somewhat controversial. Most point to an ornithologist named John Canada, which sounds logical, but others suggest Mark Catesby (1682-1749) or Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) were responsible. Regardless of who originally named the species, we all should use the correct reference, which is Canada Goose. There is no such thing as a Canadian Goose unless they're carrying a passport.
Seem to have stepped into the habit of periodically commenting in some way (emails, telephone calls, department managers, floor staff, etc) to the stores I shop in about wanting Canadian or Anywhere But The USA on the shelves.
Politely.
Pleasantly. 😇
No snark. No hostility.
Just letting them know I'm looking for non-US products.
And Petey the Troll US Ambassador helpfully reminds me.