CANADA

The population is relatively small — about 38.2 million in 2021. That’s a million fewer people than live in the state of California, or a little more than half the population of England. But the distances in the Great White North are great indeed. To drive a car from the Pacific city of Vancouver, British Columbia, to the Atlantic town of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, you’d have to travel 74 hours, crossing 6,874 kilometers (4,721 miles) — or, if you’d rather, from 123 degrees west longitude to 54 degrees west. That’s just about a fifth of the planet. And it’s not even Canada’s westernmost point (the border of Alaska) to easternmost point (Cape Spear) … which would add another 1,707 kilometers (1,060 miles)!

Ski-lovers can’t get enough of British Columbia, which also lures city sophisticates to explore Vancouver. The variety here between city and country makes B.C. the No. 1 province for visitors. On the way to and from there, Ontario’s big draw is urbane Toronto (especially the largest Chinatown in North America), Quebec draws culture fans to historic Quebec City and the fascinating fashions of Montréal, and the three provinces of the Maritimes attract sea-lovers, foodies, and fans of Celtic folk music.

Yes. Canadian law requires that anyone entering Canada carry proof of citizenship and identity.

The official languages are English and French, but you might hear plenty of other ways of speaking. The large First Nations community speaks in 70 languages across 12 different language groups, from Nova Scotia’s first language, Mi'kmawi'simk, to Dene Zhatıé in the Northwest Territories. And waves of immigrants formed communities that speak uniquely Canadian dialects of Gaelic, German, Russian, and Ukrainian. That’s not to mention more recent arrivals, who might still speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Hindustani, Arabic, Tagalog, Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese at home.