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Local information
Cultural Activities :
Canadians enjoy the open air and therefore there are a number
of outdoor activities that can be found nationwide. Check newspapers
and provincial visitor centers to find out when there are free
national park events and special summer offers, such as the Native
Canadian pow-wows, rodeos with the Calgary Stampede, the New Brunswick
Lobster Festival, or the Changing of the Guard in Ottawa.
As for movies, Toronto boasts the largest movie-going population
in North America and the renowned ten-day International Film Festival.
As for live entertainment Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver all
invite local and international musicians to participate in their
summer jazz festivals.
The major theater, opera, dance, and musical groups are
based in the large cities, but they do schedule nation wide
tours as well as travels to foreign countries. Toronto's
live theater scene is the third largest in the English-speaking
world, trailing those in London and New York.
Climate and seasons:
As a result of Canada's large land mass one can experience
many different climates. The climates can range from the
permanently frozen ice caps north of the 70th parallel to
the lush vegetation of British Columbia's west coast. However,
on the whole Canada has four very distinct seasons, particularly
in the more populated regions along the US border. Daytime
summer temperatures can rise to 35_C and higher, while lows
of -25_C are not uncommon during the winter. More moderate
temperatures are the norm in spring and fall. Due to Canada's
various climates, one can find an incredible mix of native
flora and fauna, which explains the existence of many vegetation
zones across Canada, most of which are dominated by prairie.
Currency : Canadian dollar ($ CDN)
1 US $ = 1.55450 CDN $
1 Euro =1.39205 CDN $
The unit of currency is the Canadian dollar, which equals
100 cents. The most common paper currency in Canada comes
in $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations. Coins appear
in 1 cent (pennies), 5 cents (nickels), 10 cents (dimes),
25 cents (quarters), $1 (loonies) and $2 (twoonies) denominations.
It is best to change a small amount of currency into Canadian
money before arriving to Canada, as banks are open from
Monday to Friday, during the working hours of 9 a.m. to
5 p.m. Before changing money, do not forget to ask about
any extra charges.
Telephone:
The country code is 1. Each region also has an area
code (for example,
if you want to call Montreal from outside Canada, not including
the United States, dial 00 1 514 xxx xxxx
(00 for an international call, 1 for North America, 514 which
is the area code for Montreal, and then the 7 digit number, indicated
by the x's)
Canadians normally use city/regional codes (i.e. 514 is Montreal,
403 is Calgary,
etc.)
To call abroad from Canada: 011+country code+number
Time Zones:
There are five time zones across Canada,
Standard Time in the East, which is GMT/UTC minus 3 hours, to
Pacific Standard Time in the West, which is GMT/UTC minus 8 hours
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