Illustrator Alisha Giroux was drawing the map of Canada "for fun," when she noticed that its shape aligned with the shape with animals.

CBC News:

She turned Quebec into a snowy owl taking flight, and Ontario into a loon with its wings folded. British Columbia, meanwhile, became a spirit bear.

Giroux decided to design a two-colour version of her map for Canada's 150th anniversary and posted it online. About a year ago, she received a call from the mint, with an offer to have her design featured on a coin...

The coin also includes Giroux's initials just below a chickadee representing New Brunswick, something she said "hasn't quite sunk in."

The Royal Canadian Mint is now offering this 3 oz. pure silver Canada-shaped coin for $340. It's guaranteed to never fit in a vending machine.

That's Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the reverse side of the coin.

(Nag on the Lake) Read the rest

Tackle winter's snow in over-the-top eighties luxury with this snowcat stretch limo, posted on Craigslist by its owner Robert Falck of Vancouver. This mashup of an old Bombardier SV250 Skidozer and a 1989 Cadillac Brougham limousine can be yours for the low price of $6,000 CAD (approx. $4,575 USD).

Jalopnik:

Falck said he built this contraption for a movie, which featured a rich guy who owned a ski resort. When filming was done, the Vancouverite decided to buy the Caddy back. Now it’s up for sale on Craigslist for a price that, he says, doesn’t reflect what he’s put into the vehicle.

Falck says the thing will move, but it’s not likely to climb a mountain or blaze its own trail; the vehicle is best left on groomed trails, and it’s not likely to exceed 15 mph.

Still, despite the vehicle’s limited practicality, the builder says the Cadillac Snowcat has been popular among Craigslisters. “I’m literally fielding about 30 calls a day,” he told me over the phone.

Thanks, Eveline! Read the rest

Back in 2015, Canada's failing, doomed Conservative government introduced Bill C-51, a far-reaching mass surveillance bill that read like PATRIOT Act fanfic; Justin Trudeau, leader of what was then a minority opposition party, whipped his MPs to vote for it, allowing it to pass, and cynically admitting that he was only turning this into law because he didn't want to give the Conservatives a rhetorical stick to beat him with in the next election -- he promised that once he was Prime Minister, he'd fix it. Read the rest

Over the years, we've seen many advent calendars geared for grown-ups. They're filled with things adults appreciate: booze, beer, and of course, Star Wars LEGO bricks.

Now it's weed's turn. To fill that niche, Coast to Coast Medicinals, a mail-order medical marijuana shop in Vancouver, Canada, has created a cannabis-filled advent calendar.

The product's description reads, "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house everyone was smoking, even the mouse."

Their special countdown to Christmas calendar can be filled with 24 days of edibles, flowers, or a combination of both (the current top seller).

Coast to Coast's owner Lorilee Fedler shared with Boing Boing that they're anticipating selling out. She writes, "We are selling them so fast that we might have to cut sales off if we can't find more boxes."

As for the inspiration behind it, Fedler explains, "We loved the booze calendar and thought, 'Why not do a weed one?' Something fun for adults."

For those of you who are dreaming of a green Christmas, the calendar is available to pre-order until November 20 (to ensure December 1 delivery), in Canada only. Prices range from C$200 to C$230. For comparison, a gram of the shop's flowers cost between C$9 to C$13 and the flower-only box contains a full 26 grams.

Previously: Cannabis ad brilliantly parodies prescription drug commercials Read the rest