According to Hinterland Who's Who Bumblebees are native to North America (unlike honey bees which did not exist here until Colonists brought them over). They are large and fuzzy, and non-aggressive, unless you disturb their nest or swat at them (or step on them). Their stinger isn't barbed, unlike the honey bee, so they can sting multiple times if they need to. The drones (males) do not have a stinger at all. Bumblebees see in UV light so they are more attracted to blue and purple flowers, but they will happily feed off of any flowers they find.
Only 45 species of bumblebees are social, meaning that they live in hives of up to 200 individuals, whereas honeybees have colonies of up to 40,000. Bumblebees make very little honey as all but the new queens die off over the winter. They usually nest underground in abandoned rodent burrows, and they can be found in sub-Arctic to sub-Tropical climates.
Apparently the age-old riddle of how they fly has been solved. The beating of their wings creates a vortex of air that supports their bodies like swimmers in the water. They can visit 10-18 flowers per minute, and their top speed is 3m per second.
Our native Bumblebees are some of the most important pollinators in North America.
To help out our native bees of all kinds you can plant native flowers, which are guaranteed to be ones which they recognize and can feed from, unlike some exotic flowers from other parts of the world.
If you're feeling really kind and helpful you can leave a pile of brush and leaves in a back corner of your garden, or construct a specially-made nest for bumblebees. Make sure to only make underground nests, as especially here in Canada the winters are too cold for them to survive above-ground. Here are some plans, or look for more online. You can put in nesting material that you might find in a rodent's nest, but *avoid* cotton, as it can catch on their legs and trap them. You can set up a nest box anytime in the spring, summer, or fall.
I once had bumblebees nesting in between a full bag of yard waste and the wall of my house. I felt bad when I had to take it down in the spring. Thankfully the bees had already hatched and moved on.
If you have a camera handy and see a bumblebee (or you want to go looking for some), here is a great link to upload your pictures- Bumblebee Watch There's also an iPhone and iPad app if that applies to you.
Online resources:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/fgen/the-wild-side-of-gardening-using-wildflowers-and-native-plants.htm
http://www.hww.ca/en/wildlife/invertebrates/bumble-bees.html
http://www.bumblebee.org/NorthAmerica.htm
http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nests_for_native_bees_fact_sheet_xerces_society.pdf
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/documents/ConsMgmtNABumbleBees.pdf
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