Geddy Lee of the Canadian rock band Rush, plays "Fred", the barber shop customer whose face is covered by a hot towel during the entire film. Lee gets up and reveals himself after the closing credits.
The ship that serves as the Mariposa Belle is really RMS Segwun, a century old steamship that cruises the Muskoka Lakes from Gravenhurst. RMS stands for "Royal Mail Steamer." She is the only operating steamship in North America and is a beloved icon across the Muskoka district of Ontario.
Near the end, the elder Stephen Leacock looks at the younger Stephen Leacock and calls him "the boy I left behind me". ''The Boy I Left Behind Me'' was the title of his childhood memoirs, published posthumously in 1946.
The song "There Will Be a Happy Meeting in Glory" plays over the opening credits. This piece of music is best known in Canada for being the opening theme to the popular CBC Radio variety program "The Vinyl Café".