Wanderlust

Confession: I have never been to Canada, though I've wanted to since I was a kid. And now I want to go even more than ever.

Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger has re-ignited my interest in our neighbor to the north. This book tells the story of a lust for riches—as well as other sorts of lust (you have to read the book)—found deep in the lake-studied wilds of Ontario. Canada, of course, offers more than hidden precious metals and a breathtaking countryside. It is very rich in history, including that of the early British and French settlers, the many aboriginal peoples, such as the Ojibwa, and Inuit in the far north, and the latter-day Canadians from China, India, Pakistan, and other parts of Asia.

For fun, I've gathered up some Did You Know? vital facts about Canada. Here they are:

Canada, the name itself, is derived from an Iroquois word for “village” or “settlement.”
Population: 33 million
Size: In terms of its borders, Canada is the second largest country in the world, after Russia. A lot of this is ice, of course. In terms of land mass it ranks fourth after Russia, China and the United States.
Trade: Canada is America’s largest trading partner.
Famous Canadians: John Kenneth Galbraith, Shania Twain, Alexander Graham Bell, Jim Carrey, and Dan Akroyd.

—Tom