Why is Canada west of the international date line?

Answer 1

-- You can travel either east or west from the International Dateline and reach Canada.

-- The trip is much shorter if you go east, so if you ask almost anybody and they

understand the question, they will tell you that Canada is east of the IDL.

-- The reason 'why' is because of where everybody in the world agreed to put the

International Dateline ... in the Pacific Ocean, which is a place west of Canada.

The question is something like asking "Why are your shoes outside of your body ?".

Answer 2

Canada is located west of the International Date Line because the line generally follows the 180° meridian of longitude. The International Date Line was established to separate two consecutive calendar dates, and it generally runs between Russia and Alaska in the Bering Strait. Canada is located to the west of this line within the Pacific and Arctic oceans.