Uhm... the thumbnail... why is Alaska part of Canada? Edit (4/19/2020): Really surprized and thankful that my comment almost has 500 likes, but I wouldn't have guessed that mine would cause a (still ongoing) 2-year long debate. Edit 2 (1/25/2021): Oh my God why the hell is this still going on
So if I'm wrong about this I'll feel awful - but I tried the thumbnail with just Canada, and Canada in Canadian flag colours seems more recognizable when you include Alaska too, and since it's not likely to cause any confusion about the video I decided to go with it haha
The 49th parallel was suppose to go through Vancouver island but British Columbia moved their provincial capital to Victoria so that they can keep the whole island.
B ß That's partly correct. Victoria was already the capital of Vancouver Island, which was a separate colony, and it was chosen as the capital of British Columbia when the two colonies were united for the reason you said.
As far as the French language go, and as a French speaker, one of the interesting thing is that French Canadian have no problems understanding the French dialect from France. On the other hand, they tend to have a hard time understanding us. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but one of the notable things of the French Canadian dialect is that it has a number of expressions which do reflect just how hard it was to live off the land when the first few settlers arrived. The 50s era and the rejection of the church as an institution also colored our dialect quite a bit. Most of our the swears you will hear are church related words.
Me, an American, went with my family to Niagara Falls and we saw both sides. On the Canada side, there’s a tour that goes behind the falls, and you can see the inside of the waterfall.
This is a really great and thorough video! I live in Canada, but I still learned a lot from this video. I hope you continue to make videos like this and look forward to the next. I can't wait to see what country or border or whatever you make a video about next!
Thanks for another great video. My internet is shit today, and will be so forh another two days, but I found out if I watch the video in 240p and at 0.75 speed then I can watch it without having to load for half an hour first. Works out fine cause you're the only youtuber I could watch in slower speed and not feel like I'm high :D
Garret Jacobs At the time Russia and the UK were enemies and the US was enemies with the UK and Russia was afraid of loosing it to the UK, so Russia sold it to the US because the enemy of an enemy is a friend, and at the time Canada was the UKs bitch and still is pretty much
My understanding is Russia did offer to sell it to Canada, but Sir John A McDonald had virtually bankrupted Canada building the Canadian railway. It was necessary to be able to deploy troops as fast as possible to western Canada to defend against American expansionism.
"It was necessary to be able to deploy troops as fast as possible to western Canada to defend against American expansionism" lol did this guy thought he was gonna stop Menefist Destiny with 6 million people??? Lots of Canadian lands was lost because of idiots like him. UK too, they were all shit at negotiating. US: ok so we do 48th and you get more land than us! its such a good deal! UK: OMFG! so much land ! well take it! Canada: What the fuk i am supposed to do this this icey hell hole???
well if you look at what happened in comparison to Mexico--which lost more than half its size. Canada actually succeeded. BC was almost going to go to the US.
Nova Scotia also has a New Glasgow, it's also a declining industrial town but with less hope. It also has a New Canada right next to New Germany, I'm 100% serious someone must of had a sense of humor when naming these places. That is not even all of the absurd names
Just a few points: Canada has provinces and territories, not states. While I can understand getting confused, you did make a video about Canada specifically. I think I can safely say that sort of things like can even make us Canadians upset. Canada hasn't been independent for less than 100 years, we recently celebrated our 150th birthday. One could argue the Statue of Westminster made Canada more independent but I think that would just be naive as we fought and acted as our own country on numerous occasions. You mentioned British North America as well which effectively ended a long time ago as well. :) If you want to say Québec super properly you would say "kay-beck" :) Also, -21c in Alert??? Hit me up with that warm weather wth. Also very cool thing in Toronto, I didn't even know about that! :) Good video! :)
@Big Bobey Calling provinces and territories states? Provinces act similarly to US states, but not quite. They all have a provincial legislature, with a Lieutenant Governor in them all, similar to Canada's Governor General, but for the provinces specifically. But the territories act almost no where close to the American States, Nunavut and N.W.T have a consensus government, where they have to, oddly enough, come to a consensus. Yukon territory acts similar to the provinces. They are very similar, but just for reason to be different than the US, we prefer the use of "provinces" and "territories". :)
DatCanadianSimcrafter That's actually pretty interesting. I'm gonna look more into the territories cause they seem to have barely any people but a lot of power over themselves. Also I heard that they are made up of First Nations people so it definitely makes sense. Cheers man
Just a point of clarification on the delivery of military equipment during WWII, they were not a gift and were not being given to Canada but rather to the UK. Canada (along with Aus / NZ etc) had its own independent military at the time, but in turn they were a part of the larger collective known as the Commonwealth forces, and Canada was just basically taking delivery of the equipment on behalf of the Commonwealth Forces as a whole. The British government had bought the equipment from the USA (or more specifically from American companies, not from the US government). The US government did however provide financing for the equipment to the UK.
I live in Manitoba (about 2 hours from that weird Minnesota /Manitoba border) and nobody I know has even visited it to see what it was like. I am thinking of driving there this summer to check it out
Lake of the Woods is massive. The people at Angle's Inlet would probably go to school in Warroad, MN. That's gotta be at least 1.5 to 2 hour's drive. I can't imagine going that far to school every day.
You should come to Montreal. Wonderful city, European influence, and a larger "underground city" than Toronto ;) St. Pierre and Miquelon is also really cool. Daily flights from Paris, but I recommend the ferry. It is an experience not to be missed.
@Benosoar People treat you that way probably because you misbehaved... People in Québec dont really care when you speak english; its rather what energy or impression you emit that makes the difference... Lil' background fact: We had serveral attempt by the canadian gov't to get us assimilated to the english culture... But it never worked (propaganda, force, and manipulation...)
Laurier is actually a French name. Before it was conquered by England, it belonged to France. Everything along the Mississippi all the way to the great lakes belonged to France.
The Canadian and Denmark Island story is entirely true New York Times CBC and The Business Insider have all reported on it with actual pictures taken by the soldiers who were there.
And we Canadians did drive on the left until about the 1920s. British Columbia was the first province to switch sides, and we switched because the only good highways connecting us to the rest of Canada were through the United States.
I believe that American and Canadians actually get along quite well and the war he spoke of in 1812 is old news, most people don't think about it. Before the events of 9/11 crossing the border didn't require a passport for a short visit into Niagara Falls. Our countries maintain a friendly relationship. And really we have alot in common. There really is a good relationship between countries, very neighborly. Yes we are different but not by much.
The most interesting consequence of it to me is the border crossing between Stewart and Hyder. The people of Hyder are proud Americans, yet they use Stewart's emergency services, go to school in Stewart, and use the same area code and prefix as Stewart. There isn't even an American border guard in Hyder, meaning anyone in Hyder has to cross through American customs to enter the rest of their country including Ketchikan, the nearest Alaskan city.
If you like the PATH network, check out the +15 system in Calgary. Way more extensive, and on the second floor instead of underground. Also most Canadian cities have something like this.
22:34 actually, Frenchville isn't on the wrong side of the river. Artoostook county has a majority ancestral background and many people in Maine speak French.
More cool border things: Hyder Alaska, in the panhandle, only connected to Canada by road, can go into from Canada without passport, and has a seaport where if going anywhere you need to show us passport. And that the 49th parallel would’ve ended at the Mississippi River if it went north of the 49th
As someone from Terrace, the nearest city to Hyder by road, I love it whenever anyone mentions the Stewart-Hyder border. It's such a strange thing. You don't need a passport to enter Hyder, but you at least theoretically need one to get back into Stewart. Also, the border closes from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM every night, and Hyder depends on Stewart for everything from phone service and electricity to policing and education. It's like they're a part of both BC and Alaska yet neither at the same time.
If I'm not mistaken America also disputes Canada's claim to the arctic... I could be mistaken but if the arctic ever opens up to allows passage between oceans America would claim it as international waters to avoid paying Canadian tariffs... and Canada probably can't do anything about it. In other words the arctic may only be Canadian because no one cares enough about it currently to dispute it.
canada gained independence in 1867 which is well over 100 years, even when this was released. we helped the crown and everything for the world wars and other conflicts but we were independent and our own since 1867. 154 years old this year🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
I worked in the US for four years, and when I moved back to Canada, in the Metro Vancouver region of BC, I discovered that the United States Postal Service wouldn't even let me pay to have my snailmail forwarded internationally, so I had it delivered _poste restante_ to the Point Roberts WA post office, and went once a month to pick it up. One time a friend drove me down there, and we stopped at the US border crossing, and the guard asked us where we were going, and she said "Point Robert!" The guard just gave us this "no shit" look, so she quickly added "The post office! The post office!"
Greetings from Atlantic Canada! You should definitely come to New Brunswick next time you come to Canada. Great place, some really interesting sights, a lot of history. Saint John is a great place to start.
I lived in Tsawwassen (just north of Point Roberts) for a while, and actually, a lot of American student went to our schools instead. The parents had to pay tuition, but it saved their kids two ridiculously long trips every day. I just can't imagine making the trip from Point Roberts to Blaine twice a day, five days a week. It's a long trip, even before you consider the border line-ups.
Point Roberts is just fine. Most of the properties are owned by Canadians. It is a vacation home location with cheaper gas and dairy. The second exclave is called the "Northwest Angle". Angle Inlet is just the village name.
I'm from Canada, been in the military and yes, that Island story witn Greenland is true, There is no timeframe like in spain / france where they change the border for an island every 6 months, but there are military training execises done around that area every now and then, and when they happen, Canadian troops go claim the island and leave a bottle of Whiskey, and then Danish troops go back, change the flag and leave a bottle of Schnapps. It's been going on since 2007.
The problem with borders following rivers is sometimes rivers move. There are a couple of examples between Mexico and Texas where the Rio Grande moved.
So the Northwest Angle Minnesota isn't always isolated. As I recall most winters the lake freezes solid enough that an ice road is opened. However, I believe it's mostly commercial traffic.
If Canada were to muster their whole army, they might actually be able to take that other side of the road! But these odd borders that divide streets and even buildings are because early land surveys messed-up. They actually thought the buildings were entirely in one country or the other originally. More a problem of incompetence than idiocy when negotiating the border.
Minneapolis has a skyway system kind of like that underground Toronto thing, except it's above the streets and doesn't go to every building. I hear the University of Minnesota Duluth is designed to have all of the buildings connected, though, so students don't have to go out in the cold during the winter.
Last year we got stuck in Toronto on our way to Florida because of a snow storm (fun fact, the American border agents who work at Pearson stop working at 9 PM no matter what -_- ) and I was totally not dressed for winter... but we still managed to go spend the next day in Toronto thanks to the PATH! We only had a bit of walking to do from the Hotel to the airport train terminal and then took a train all the way to Union station! Pretty nifty indeed. I also once stayed in a hotel in Toronto that had direct PATH access so that was neat!
Honestly, the PATH is really nice, but the average person in Toronto, including those who live downtown, do not know where the PATH leads, or how to get around in it. It's mostly used by people who do not want to take our terrible local transit who commute into the city via regional transit, or by people trying to get to office buildings from subways. It really is a nice way to get around during winter.
Between Belgium and France we also have those streets with the border in the middle, but because there is free travel, there's a bunch of tobacco shops on the one side with the less restrictive laws on tobacco (meaning it is quite a bit cheaper), and on the other side are French delicatessen with champagne and what not.
Rue Canusa is located entirely within Quebec. The border is along the south shoulder of the road. Even if the Streetview image you shared, the speed limit sign was a Canadian sign in Km/h on the side of the street that would be US. Those houses, as you stated, are in Vermont, but their driveways cross into Quebec before they get to the paved road.
As far as I can tell there are only two roads across the straight portion of the Alaska/Yukon border. I've crossed the border at both the Alaska Hwy and Top of the World Highway crossings. Both are pretty remote with no nearby town. The Countries share a building at Top of the World, and the US does not even have their customs building at the Alaska Highway crossing - there is a few km of highway between the Canadian and American posts.
Interesting fact: when the Russian Empire expanded east, it settled the North American west coast as far as Sebastopol, California and the Russian River in that state.
What is that with all these Geography guys speaking so fast haha, also the guy from Geography now. But you are very clear to understand (even for me as non native speaker)! Love your channel! Love all these fun facts you present. Cant believe I just found out about you channel.
The North Korean-South Korean border was originally drawn up by drawing a straight line along the 38th parallel. Some of it still of course goes along it today but after the Korean War the line is not longer completely straight.
Point Roberts REALLY suffered during COVID 19 because it was nearly impossible to get out of the town. Things like dentists, for example. There are no dentists there, you have to go to Tsawwassen which was almost impossible because Canada shut down the border entirely.
No mention of the Pig War? That was the border dispute regarding the San Juan islands between Washington and British Columbia. Interestingly, the American negotiator for that dispute was Winfield Scott, the same guy who was the American negotiator for the dispute about the border of Maine, though the two events were separated by 30 years and 3000 miles.
I live in Southeast Alaska, the panhandle. It's clear that if the Canadian borders had gone through it would have been a mess here. I live in Haines, which would have been Canadian if their proposal had been accepted. The way it is now there are still occasional tensions further south. And in fact there is an interesting story in the Chilkat Valley where I live. There was a disagreement about the border based on the quill pen's thickness on the map. That turned out to be a 15 mile difference in interpretation. The Canadians still wanted a settlement on the ocean side of the mountains. We did said the border was the mountain tops. Then a small gold claim was discovered in the disputed zone. Things got hotter. Then the US Army established its first permanent Alaskan military base in 1902 Fort William Seward. We asked the Canadians where they thought the border was now. They decided to agree with us. We kept the gold. (They had enough in the Yukon.)
I went to Niagara Falls and on the American side you get to go underneath part of the falls but the American part of the falls looks cooler so you should go into Canada and look at the American falls from there
One interesting thing is that there's quite some historical disputes for the borders of provinces and territories of Canada. One that is still unresolved to this day is between Québec and Labrador (or Newfoundland and Labrador), where the official Province de Québec maps will show one border while official Canada maps will show a different ones. I know this one but I'm sure there are more. I hope to see a video on the subject relatively soon!
Another whacky tidbit is the fact that Québec's area changes with the tides (yup!) EDIT: those of Ontario and Manitoba too, which were drawn the same year! The border of the province for its north shores is defined by the water line or something like that, so that when the tide is high the province shrinks and when it's low it expands. It also technically constantly varies with the waves and all sorts of things. Really peculiar.
