What animals live in Canada?

Canada is home to some truly remarkable creatures! You can find moose wading through northern lakes, grizzly bears fishing for salmon in British Columbia, and Arctic foxes trotting across the frozen tundra. Beavers — Canada's national animal — build their log dams in rivers all across the country. Up in the far north, polar bears hunt on the sea ice near Churchill, Manitoba, and herds of caribou migrate across the open land in huge numbers. Orca whales and humpback whales swim along the Pacific coast, while snowy owls glide silently over the prairies. God packed an enormous variety of creatures into this vast country — Canada stretches across six time zones, so the habitats change dramatically from coast to coast!

What do kids eat in Canada?

Canadian kids eat a lot of the same foods you might know — burgers, pizza, pasta, and cereal. But Canada has some specialties worth knowing about! Poutine is a famous Canadian dish: French fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy. It started in the province of Quebec and spread across the whole country. Canada is a big country with many cultures, so the food varies a lot by region. Kids in the Maritime provinces near the Atlantic Ocean might eat fresh lobster or fish chowder. Kids in cities like Toronto or Vancouver might enjoy foods from Chinese, Indian, or Caribbean families who made Canada their home. Maple syrup is a real Canadian treasure too — it comes from maple trees and gets poured on pancakes, oatmeal, and just about anything else!

How do people say hello in Canada?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! In Canada, most people say hello in English, just like you might — a simple 'Hi' or 'Hello' works across most of the country. But in the province of Quebec, French is the main language, so you'd hear 'Bonjour!' (say it like 'bohn-ZHOOR') instead. Rusty loves this part — Canada is also home to many First Nations peoples who have their own languages. For example, in Cree you might hear 'Wachiya!' as a greeting. Canada has over 70 indigenous languages still spoken today, which means there are a lot of different ways to say hello depending on where you are standing in that big, wide country.

What sports or games do kids play in Canada?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! Canadian kids are famous for loving hockey — ice hockey especially. Many kids learn to skate almost as soon as they can walk, and frozen ponds and indoor rinks are busy all winter long. Lacrosse is also huge in Canada and is actually one of the country's official national sports. In summer, you'll find Canadian kids playing baseball, soccer, and basketball in parks and schoolyards from coast to coast. Up in the northern territories, Indigenous kids have passed down traditional games for generations — like the one-foot high kick, where you jump and kick a target with one foot as high as you can. Canada is one big country with lots of different people, and the games kids play often reflect where their families came from and what their community celebrates.

What's the weather like in Canada?

Canada is one of the biggest countries on Earth, so the weather is very different depending on where you are! In the far north, near the Arctic, winters are brutally cold — temperatures can drop lower than -40 degrees. But in places like Vancouver on the west coast, winters are mild and rainy instead. In the middle of Canada, on the wide open prairies, summers can actually get quite hot, while winters bring heavy snow and fierce winds called blizzards. The city of Winnipeg is famous for being one of the coldest cities in the world during winter. No matter the season, Canadians learn to live with bold, dramatic weather — and God provides for people in every climate on the planet!

Tell me a fun fact about Canada.

Canada is the second-largest country in the whole world by land area — only Russia is bigger! That means it stretches from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Pacific, and up into the Arctic where polar bears roam on frozen tundra. Here's something that might surprise you: Canada has more lakes than any other country on Earth. In fact, about 60% of all the freshwater lakes in the world are found right there in Canada. All that wild, wide-open land is one reason missionaries still work hard to reach remote communities in Canada's far north, where some villages can only be reached by small bush planes.

What is school like for kids in Canada?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! In Canada, most kids go to public schools run by the government, and school is taught in English or French depending on where you live. The country has two official languages, so in places like Quebec, you might hear French all day long. Kids generally start school around age five or six and go through grade twelve. Rusty wants to add that Canadian schools often include kids from many different countries, because Canada welcomes a lot of immigrant families. That means one classroom might have children whose families came from India, the Philippines, China, or somewhere in Africa. Many of those families are still searching for hope and truth — which means Canadian schools are actually a place where the gospel can travel from one friend to another, from one family to the next.

Who are the unreached people in Canada?

Great question! Canada looks like a Christian country on a map, but many people there have never really heard the gospel. Some of the least-reached groups include South Asian immigrants from places like India and Pakistan, Chinese immigrants in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver, and Jewish communities. There are also many Indigenous peoples across Canada — like the Cree, Dene, and Inuit — who have heard some Christian words but may never have had a true friend explain who Jesus is. Canada also has a growing number of Muslim communities, many of them newcomers from the Middle East and North Africa, who need to hear about Jesus as the risen Savior. Here is something to pray about: ask God to raise up Canadian Christians who will be bold neighbors and friends to these groups, sharing the good news right in their own cities. Some people travel across the ocean to reach the unreached — but in Canada, the unreached have moved right next door.

How can I pray for the people of Canada?

Canada is a big, wide country full of people who need to hear about Jesus — from busy cities like Toronto and Vancouver to small towns in the frozen north. Many Canadians think life is going well enough without God, so one of the best things to pray is that their hearts would open to the good news that Jesus died and rose again to save them. You can also pray for the Indigenous peoples of Canada, like the Cree, Ojibwe, and Inuit, that strong Christian leaders would rise up among them to share the gospel in their own languages and communities. And pray for churches across Canada to stay faithful to the Bible and be brave in telling their neighbors about Jesus, even when the culture says faith is a private thing that should stay quiet.

What is a holiday or celebration in Canada?

One of the biggest celebrations in Canada is Canada Day, on July 1st. That is the day Canadians remember when their country officially became its own nation, back in 1867. People gather outside, watch fireworks, and wave the red-and-white maple leaf flag with a lot of pride. Canada is also home to many different people groups, so you will find all kinds of celebrations across the country — from Indigenous harvest gatherings to Ukrainian Christmas traditions in the prairie provinces. What is really worth knowing is that many churches across Canada use holidays and community festivals as a chance to share the good news about Jesus with neighbors who might not know Him yet. That is a great thing to pray for!

What language do people speak in Canada?

Canada has two official languages: English and French. Most Canadians speak English, but in the province of Quebec, most people speak French as their first language. You might hear both languages on signs, cereal boxes, and government buildings all across the country. There are also more than 70 Indigenous languages spoken by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples across Canada — languages like Cree, Ojibwe, and Inuktitut. Sadly, many of these languages are spoken by only a small number of people, which makes Bible translation work especially important. Missionaries and translators work hard to make sure people can read God's Word in the language of their heart.

What's a famous place to visit in Canada?

Herman here, with Rusty nodding along! One of the most famous places in Canada is Niagara Falls, right on the border between Ontario and the United States. The water roaring over those cliffs is so loud you can feel it in your chest, and the mist soaks you even from far away. Rusty loves to point out that Canada also has Banff National Park way out in Alberta, tucked into the Rocky Mountains. The peaks are jagged and snow-capped, and the lakes are a wild shade of blue-green from the glacier water that feeds them. From coast to coast, Canada is packed with wild and beautiful land — and it is also home to millions of people who need to hear the good news about Jesus, which is the best reason to care about any place on the map.

Canada — Kids Missions Explorer

Beaver

Canada's national animal, the beaver builds dams strong enough to redirect entire streams, and its waterproof fur was so prized by European traders in the 1600s that it helped shape the whole history of the country.

Moose

The moose is the largest member of the deer family and can wade chest-deep into cold lakes to eat underwater plants, using its long flexible nose almost like a snorkel.

Snowy Owl

The snowy owl hunts across Canada's vast Arctic tundra even in total winter darkness, using hearing so sharp it can locate a mouse hidden beneath a foot of snow.

Poutine

Poutine is a Quebec dish of crispy fries topped with cheese curds and warm gravy, and the squeaky texture of fresh cheese curds melting into the gravy is unlike anything else.

Nanaimo Bar

Named after a city in British Columbia, this no-bake dessert has three layers — a chocolate-coconut base, a creamy custard middle, and a firm chocolate top — and requires no oven at all.

Bannock

Bannock is a simple, hearty flatbread with deep roots in Indigenous and fur-trade history, often cooked over an open fire on a stick and eaten warm with butter or jam.

Canada

Things you should know about Canada

Wildlife you might meet

What’s on the table

Did you know?

Life in Canada

Missions in Canada

Pray for Canada