General It’s huge! 5 giant facts about Canada By Cottage Life Published: June 18, 2025 share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Copy Link Cancel View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 Photo by Shutterstock/Epic Vision We have plenty of water Canada has more lakes than any other country in the world; by estimation, more than 60 per cent of the planet’s lakes. View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 Photo by Shutterstock/Elena Berd Our lakes are massive Five of the world’s 10 largest lakes are either entirely, or partially, in Canada. View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 Photo by Shutterstock/Prath We have a gigantic coastline Canada has the longest coastline in the world: 243,042 km, according to Statistics Canada. View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 Photo by Shutterstock/PatrickLauzon photographe The country is filled with forests Canada has 362 million hectares of woodlands, or nearly 10 per cent of the world’s forests. View in Fullscreen 1 2 3 4 5 6 By Shutterstock/Marianna Ianovska We’ve got some big islands Canada is home to the earth’s fifth-largest island, Baffin Island, in Nunavut. It’s 507,451 square kilometres. View in Fullscreen Related galleries At the Helliwell cottage—and all over cottage country—pickleball is serving up hours of fun 8 expert-approved Canadian cheeses to serve to your cottage guests Unwind at these 7 Nordic spas in cottage country 1 2 3 4 5 6 It’s huge! 5 giant facts about Canada Canada is known for lots of stuff. Poutine. Hockey. Maple syrup. The Ryans (Reynolds and Gosling). But it’s also known for its hugeness. It covers 9.9 million square kilometres, making it the second-largest country in the world (Russia is bigger). As such, it contains some massive geographical features. Here are five mind-bogglingly big facts about this big, big country we call home. Related Story For the first time in a decade almost all of the Great Lakes’ water levels are below average. Here’s why Related Story Victoria, B.C., and surrounding area claims title of Birding Capital of Canada Related Story How do you get community buy-in on environmental issues at the lake? Sign up for our newsletters By submitting your information via this form, you agree to receive electronic communications from Cottage Life Media, a division of Blue Ant Media Solutions Inc., containing news, updates and promotions regarding cottage living and Cottage Life's products. You may withdraw your consent at any time. Dockside Weekly The latest cottage-country news, trending stories, and how-to advice Dockside DIY Bi-weekly Fix-it info, project ideas, and maintenance tips from our DIY experts The Great Outdoors Monthly Nature and environment news and inspiration for people who love to get outside The Key Weekly Need-to-know info about buying, selling, and renting cottage real estate Family Matters Five-part series Untangle the thorny process of cottage succession with expert advice from lawyer, Peter Lillico
Related Story For the first time in a decade almost all of the Great Lakes’ water levels are below average. Here’s why