Flat Stanley Visits Canada

A trip to the Great White North

Bonjour du Canada! (Hello from Canada)

Hi 1B!!My name is John and I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.Edmonton is in northern Alberta, a province, in Canada, located

above your state of Montana.

I have a friend in California named Mrs. Pryor. You probably know her as Jacob’s mom! Well, Jacob asked his mom if his friend “Flat Stanley” could go to Canada for a visit. Of course when his mom asked me if Stanley could come, I said, “Yes” right away.

Brrrrr. It’s Cold in Canada

When Flat Stanley arrived in Edmonton he was wearing a short sleeved shirt and pants. In case you didn’t know, Canada is Veeeerrrry Cooooold in the winter. We jokingly call Edmonton the “Great White North” because it gets so cold in the winter. Your teacher, Mr. Nishimoto can explain how cold it is. When Stanley arrived at my house it was -20 degrees Fahrenheit. Stanley was shivering!

What to do about that….

CanadaClothes for Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley is very lucky! I have a friend named Angelle. Angelle has a little girl named Greyce (pronounced Grace). Greyce is 5 years old and is in kindergarten in Edmonton. Greyce knows how cold it is in Edmonton because she has lived here all her life.

Greyce felt badly that Flat Stanley was so cold. She felt so badly she and her mom made Flat Stanley a snowsuit. Snowsuits are clothes people in Canada wear to stay warm when they go outside in the winter.

Say “Hello” to Greyce!

Flat Stanley at Ice Mountain

About Edmonton and Canada

Did you see the cup beside Greyce? That is a coffee cup from Tim Horton’s Donuts. Tim Horton’s is almost as Canadian as our flag. We love their coffee and donuts!!

Canada, although colder, is very much like your home. We live in normal houses. We drive cars. We go to work. Our kids go to school and play.

Like the people in your country, the people in my country come in all shapes, sizes, colours and speak many languages. The main languages in Canada are French and English, with most people speaking more than one language, but mostly English.

My City – Edmonton, Alberta

The People of CanadaVery much like the United States of America, people from all

over the world want to come to Canada. Canada is one of the best places to live. For those of us who were born here, Canada is our favourite place to live, like the United States is for you. We can’t imagine living anywhere but Canada.

Just like in your country, we have people of many different nationalities and religions living here. We all live next to each other in peace. For instance, I am Jewish and my next door neighbour is a Muslim. We are very good friends. In the house on the other side of mine the people are Catholic. We are also good friends.

Our LeadersDo you know what government is? I am sure your teacher can tell you!! In

Canada we have a government very much like your own. Our country is divided into provinces just like yours is divided into states. We have a leader of the whole country called the Prime Minister. He is our leader like the President is yours.

Each of our Provinces also has a leader called a Premier. In the Province of Alberta, where Edmonton is, our Premier is the Honourable Ed Stelmach. His job is the same as Governor Schwarzenegger. Our premier has helpers called Cabinet Ministers. They do the same work as your state senators. They pass laws and make sure the province runs well, at least most of the time.

The place where our government, in Alberta, works is called the Alberta Legislature. Legislature is a really big word. It means the “place where laws are made.” It is the same as your Senate building.

Flat Stanley visits the Legislature

In your senate there is a man, or woman, who looks after the needs of schools and other places where kids learn. Guess what? Alberta also has a person who looks after the same stuff. We call him the Minister of Education. His name is The Honourable Dave Hancock.

Mr. Hancock is a very nice man. He cares very much about kids and making sure they get a great education. Kids who get a great education can get great jobs later on, and maybe even become the President of the United states or the Prime Minister of Canada!!

I sent Mr. Hancock a message, on Facebook, asking him if he would like to meet my friend Flat Stanley from California. Mr. Hancock was excited to meet him……

Oh, before I forget, there is a letter from Mr. Hancock to all you guys. Your teacher can read it to you. Mr. Hancock wanted to say hello to Flat Stanley’s friends in California! Maybe you could send me a picture of your class with Flat Stanley to give to Mr. Hancock.

Flat Stanley and The Honourable Dave Hancock (PC), Minister of Education

Paula (my friend), Mr. Hancock and his Aide holding Flat Stanley

Inside the most famous building in

Alberta – Built in 1907-1913

Flat Stanley goes to Work!

Just like your parents, I have a job. My job is very exciting. I work as a Transportation Safety Guy. What does that mean? I work very hard to make sure the highways and city streets are safe for people to travel on. My job requires me to teach truck drivers how to drive their big trucks safely. I also do studies for the government to help make laws and rules to keep the roads safe.

I know, sounds pretty boring, but…. Before doing this job I drove a BIG TRUCK all over Canada and the United States of America for more than 25 years. THAT IS A FUN JOB!! Making money and seeing new places all at the same time is GREAT!

Well, I took Flat Stanley to work! Was he ever surprised at what he found…..

Stanley Sees my MESSY MESSY Desk!

Stanley Enjoys a Tim Horton’s Coffee

with….. ME!

Stanley takes a ride on a Big Truck

Where is Stanley?

Stanley looks at the Big Truck!

Stanley sees how Alberta Gets Rich

As in any State or Province or Country, Alberta has a most important industry. The industry most important to Alberta is, just like in Texas, the oil and gasoline industry.

Alberta makes most of the oil and gas used in Canada, and a large amount of that which is used in the United States of America. Most other businesses in Alberta support the Oil and Gas Industry.

Almost everywhere you go in Alberta you will see buildings called refineries. These are the places where gas is made for our cars.

Flat Stanley sees Petro Canada Refinery

It was a lot of fun having Flat Stanley visit us in Edmonton. We hope he can see many more places and bring you greetings from lots of people!

Thank you, Jacob, for sending him to see me. From all your friends in Canada, Au revoir à mes amis de la Californie!! (Goodbye to my friends in California).

So Long from Canada