Video: Canada Day and Whale "Sings" Anthem

For today's celebration of Canada Day, the Newfoundland and Labrador tourism campaign has released a new video that includes a combination of whale voices, mainly those of humpbacks, edited together to echo the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada."  

Newfound and Labrador, known for award-winning tourism campaigns of jaw-dropping scenery that is the Atlantic Coast equivalent to Scotland's crags and spitting seas, has plenty of whales off its coasts this month. 

The video was released on YouTube Tuesday, leading up to Canada's 148th birthday.

Newfoundland and Labrador, which is the official name of the province, has large animals other than whales. For instance, the polar bear, ursus maritimus, reaches southeast Labrador on its annual migration.

Newfoundland itself is a very large island--42,031 square miles, 6,000 miles of coastline--separated by a strait from Labrador, which has 113,000 square miles on the eastern end of the Labrador Peninsula. 

The island's highest point is a mountain called The Cabox--which is in a range called the Lewis Hills, part of the Appalachians.

Traditionally a maritime, fishy place, the Scottish and Irish Gaelic names for Newfoundland translated to "Island of the Cod," and "Land of the Fish," respectively. The Gulf of Saint Lawrence, an estuary between Newfoundland and Labrador, is one of the largest in the world.

While the Newfoundland and Labrador cod-fishing industry was shut down in 1992 because of its depletion, the local seafood industry is valued at approximately $1 billion. 

Follow Catherine at @TreesWhales