How Do Canadian Coins Represent Canada

Why do bears represent Canada?

Didn't know they did. I think of the beaver as our national animal. For some reason I think of Russia when I think of bears. I know we have them here - I lived in Banff back in the days when they could meander down Banff Avenue.

But for an essay - well they can be found just about everywhere in the Canadian wilds from one side of the country to another. When Canada was being settled, their skins were a good part of what made companies viable and successful - most notably The Hudson's Bay Company which is as important to the history of this country as any other single thing.

We have four types of bears in Canada - black bears, polar bears, grizzly bears, and the brown bear (sometimes called a cinnamon bear). There are those, however who feel the brown bear is just a black bear that got too close to a peroxide bottle.

There is quite a bit of info on the net. Try google.ca and put in "Canadian bears" (or something similar) and you should get tons of info. I have put two sites below.

How do beavers represent Canada?

Everyone needs a national animal, and we're a pretty young country. All the cool animals were taken, and there wasn't much left to choose from.

America already had the eagle, Russia had the bear, China had the dragon, England had the lion, and India got dibs on the tiger. We wanted the polar bear, but Greenland already nailed that one. So we were stuck with either the beaver or a Sasquatch, and we couldn't get a good photo of the Sasquatch.

The beaver isn't exactly cool (except for the sexual undertones), but at least we're not France. The best they could come up with was a friggin' chicken.

How does a red maple leaf represent Canada?

your right.. good question.. these days it should be a seven leaf pot plant

The maple leaf

Well before the coming of the first European settlers, Canada's aboriginal peoples had discovered the food properties of maple sap, which they gathered every spring. According to many historians, the maple leaf began to serve as a Canadian symbol as early as 1700.

Following are some examples of how the maple leaf grew in public consciousness as a symbol of our country until it finally became official on February 15, 1965, as an integral component of the national flag of Canada.

In 1834, Ludger Duvernay is reported to have proposed the maple leaf as an emblem of Canada when the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste was founded on June 24 of that year.

In 1836, Le Canadien, a newspaper published in Lower Canada, referred to it as a suitable emblem for Canada.

In August 1860, at a public meeting held in Toronto, the maple leaf was adopted as the national emblem of Canada for use in the decorations for the Prince of Wales' visit.

In 1867, Alexander Muir, a Toronto schoolmaster and poet, composed the song The Maple Leaf Forever.

In 1914, many Canadian soldiers wore the maple leaf on their military badges, and it was the dominant symbol used by many Canadian regiments serving in World War I.

In 1939, at the beginning of World War II, numerous Canadian troops once again used the maple leaf as a distinctive emblem, displaying it on regimental badges and Canadian army and naval equipment.

In Canada, do they just call their Canadian dollar a dollar?

If you go into a store or restaurant and your bill comes out to CAD$18.00, they will say "eighteen dollars". There is no need to say "Canadian" dollars when you live here, since people assume that's what you mean. If you were dealing with a US currency purchase, they would say "US dollars" or "American dollars" instead.

As others have mentioned, some of our money has picked up some nicknames. When the Canadian one dollar bill was discontinued and changed to a coin, people began referring to that as a "loonie" because the bird pictured on the front of the coin is a loon. When the two dollar bill was also discontinued, the two dollar coin was introduced and had a polar bear on it. The nickname that started to be used for that coin was the toonie. Why? Because it represents "two loonies", so toonie for short.

I've never heard anyone refer to our other bills or coins by strange names, but maybe I'm not old enough to remember any other odd nicknames. We have penny (1c), nickel (5c), dime (10c), quarter (25c), loonie($1), toonie($2), and then the bills ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100). There are also half dollars (50c) and silver dollars ($1) available (now or in recent past), but they are not in common circulation. Mainly for collectors.

Giving cash and coins at an Indian/Canadian wedding?

I've heard that when you give cash as a gift for an Indian wedding, you should add $1 to the amount to symbolize that the money will never end. But here in Canada, we only have dollar coins. How can I give the money with the extra dollar without weighing the envelope down? If I give a cheque instead, do I add the extra dollar to the amount I'm giving?

Why do Canadians always brag about their free healthcare...?

Canadians don't have FREE health care, you knucklehead. They have national health care, but it damn sure ain't FREE. Just like Britain, their health care is paid for via taxes, and those tax rates - in Canada at least - are STOUT.

And by the way, were it not for the support of America and Canada, you chaps in Britain would be speaking German.