Canada

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For a topic outline on this subject, see List of basic Canada topics. For other uses of "Canada" or "Canadian", see Canada (disambiguation) and Canadian (disambiguation).

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Canada (Template:IPA-en) is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area,<ref name="cia_factbook">Template:Cite web</ref> and shares land borders with the United States to the south and northwest.

The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various aboriginal people. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This began an accretion of additional provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and culminating in the Canada Act in 1982 which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.

A federation comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. Technologically advanced and industrialized, Canada maintains a diversified economy that is heavily reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship.

Etymology

Main article: Name of Canada

The name Canada comes from a St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement". In 1535, inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct explorer Jacques Cartier toward the village of Stadacona.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Cartier used the word 'Canada' to refer to not only that village, but the entire area subject to Donnacona, Chief at Stadacona. By 1545, European books and maps began referring to this region as Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The French colony of Canada referred to the part of New France along the Saint Lawrence River and the northern shores of the Great Lakes. Later, it was split into two British colonies, called Upper Canada and Lower Canada until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, the name Canada was adopted for the entire country, and Dominion was conferred as the country's title.<ref>J. E. Hodgetts. 2004. "Dominion". Oxford Companion to Canadian History, Gerald Hallowell, ed. (ISBN 0195415590) Toronto: Oxford University Press; p. 183: "The title conferred on Canada by the preamble to the Constitution Act, 1867, whereby the provinces declare 'their desire to be federally united into one Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom'."</ref> It was frequently referred to as the Dominion of Canada until the 1950s. As Canada asserted its political autonomy from Britain, the federal government increasingly used Canada on legal state documents and treaties. The Canada Act 1982 refers only to "Canada" and, as such, it is currently the only legal (and bilingual) name. This was reflected in 1982 with the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day.

History

Main article: History of Canada

First Nation and Inuit traditions maintain that aboriginal peoples have resided on their lands since the beginning of time. Archaeological studies support a human presence in the northern Yukon from 26,500 years ago, and in southern Ontario from 9,500 years ago.<ref>{{#if:Cinq-Mars

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}} </ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Europeans first arrived when the Vikings settled briefly at L'Anse aux Meadows around AD 1000. Canada's Atlantic coast would next be explored John Cabot in 1497 for England<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> and Jacques Cartier in 1534 for France;<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> seasonal Basque whalers and fishermen subsequently exploited the region between the Grand Banks and Tadoussac for over a century.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent European settlements at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608. These would become respectively the capitals of Acadia and Canada. Among French colonists of New France, Canadiens extensively settled the Saint Lawrence River valley, Acadians settled the present-day Maritimes, while French fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and the Mississippi watershed to Louisiana. The French and Iroquois Wars broke out over control of the fur trade.

The English established fishing outposts in Newfoundland around 1610 and colonized the Thirteen Colonies to the south. A series of four Intercolonial Wars erupted between 1689 and 1763. Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713); the Treaty of Paris (1763) ceded Canada and most of New France to Britain following the Seven Years' War.

The Royal Proclamation (1763) carved the Province of Quebec out of New France and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia. It also restricted the language and religious rights of French Canadians. In 1769, St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island) became a separate colony. To avert conflict in Quebec, the Quebec Act of 1774 expanded Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley and re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law in Quebec; it angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies, helping to fuel the American Revolution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. Approximately 50,000 United Empire Loyalists fled the United States to Canada.<ref name="moore">Template:Cite book</ref> New Brunswick was split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes. To accommodate English-speaking Loyalists in Quebec, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province into French-speaking Lower Canada and English-speaking Upper Canada, granting each their own elected Legislative Assembly.

Canada (Upper and Lower) was the main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and British Empire. Its defence contributed to a sense of unity among British North Americans. Large-scale immigration to Canada began in 1815 from Britain and Ireland. The timber industry surpassed the fur trade in importance in the early nineteenth century.

The desire for responsible government resulted in the aborted Rebellions of 1837. The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into British culture.<ref name="ce_durhamreport">Template:Cite web</ref> The Act of Union 1840 merged The Canadas into a United Province of Canada. French and English Canadians worked together in the Assembly to reinstate French rights. Responsible government was established for all British North American provinces by 1849.

The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute, extending the border westward along the 49th parallel and paving the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858). Canada launched a series of western exploratory expeditions to claim Rupert's Land and the Arctic region. The Canadian population grew rapidly because of high birth rates; British immigration was offset by emigration to the United States, especially by French Canadians moving to New England.

Following several constitutional conferences, the Constitution Act, 1867 brought about Confederation creating "one Dominion under the name of Canada" on July 1, 1867, with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to form the Northwest Territories, where Métis' grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion and the creation of the province of Manitoba in July 1870. British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which had united in 1866) and the colony of Prince Edward Island joined Confederation in 1871 and 1873, respectively.

Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party established a National Policy of tariffs to protect nascent Canadian manufacturing industries. To open the West, the government sponsored construction of three trans-continental railways (most notably the Canadian Pacific Railway), opened the prairies to settlement with the Dominion Lands Act, and established the North-West Mounted Police to assert its authority over this territory. In 1898, after the Klondike Gold Rush in the Northwest Territories, the Canadian government created the Yukon territory. Under Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, continental European immigrants settled the prairies, and Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905.

Canada automatically entered World War I in 1914 with Britain's declaration of war, sending volunteers to the Western Front, who played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden brought in compulsory military service over the objection of French-speaking Quebecers. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain; in 1931 the Statute of Westminster affirmed Canada's independence.

The Great Depression brought economic hardship to all of Canada. In response, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Alberta and Saskatchewan presaged a welfare state as pioneered by Tommy Douglas in the 1940s and 1950s. Canada declared war on Germany independently during World War II under Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, three days after Britain. The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939.<ref name="stacey">Template:Cite book</ref> Canadian troops played important roles in the Battle of the Atlantic, the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid in France, the Allied invasion of Italy, the D-Day landings, the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Canada is credited by the Netherlands for having provided asylum and protection for its monarchy during the war after the country was occupied and the Netherlands credits Canada for its leadership and major contribution to the liberation of Netherlands from Nazi Germany. The Canadian economy boomed as industry manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China and the Soviet Union. Despite another Conscription Crisis in Quebec, Canada finished the war with one of the largest armed forces in the world.<ref name="stacey"/> In 1945, during the war, Canada became one of the first countries to join the United Nations.

In 1949, Newfoundland joined Confederation. Post-war prosperity and economic expansion ignited a baby boom and attracted immigration from war-ravaged European countries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Under successive Liberal governments of Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, a new Canadian identity emerged. Canada adopted its current Maple Leaf Flag in 1965. In response to a more assertive French-speaking Quebec, the federal government became officially bilingual with the Official Languages Act of 1969. Non-discriminatory Immigration Acts were introduced in 1967 and 1976, and official multiculturalism in 1971; waves of non-European immigration changed the face of the country. Social democratic programs such as universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, Canada Student Loans, the Foreign Investment Review Agency, and the National Energy Program were established in the 1960s and 1970s; provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions. Finally, constitutional conferences led by Prime Minister Trudeau resulted in the patriation of the constitution from Britain, enshrining a Charter of Rights and Freedoms based on individual rights in the Constitution Act of 1982. Canadians continue to take pride in their system of universal health care, their commitment to multiculturalism, and human rights.<ref name="bickerton">Template:Cite book</ref>

Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes during the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. Quebec nationalists under Jean Lesage began pressing for greater autonomy.<ref name = "QR">Template:Cite web</ref> The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis in 1970 with bombings and kidnappings demanding Quebec independence. The more moderate Parti Québécois of René Lévesque came to power in 1976 and held an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Efforts by the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney to constitutionally recognize Quebec as a "distinct society" with the Meech Lake Accord collapsed in 1989. Regional tensions ignited by the constitutional debate helped fledgling regional parties, the Bloc Québécois under Lucien Bouchard and the Reform Party under Preston Manning in Western Canada, relegate the Progressive Conservatives to fifth place in the federal election. A second Quebec referendum on sovereignty in 1995 was rejected by a slimmer margin of just 50.6% to 49.4%.<ref name="dickinson">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1997, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province to be unconstitutional, and the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien passed the "Clarity Act" outlining the terms of a negotiated departure.<ref name="dickinson" /> The Reform Party expanded to become the Canadian Alliance and merge with the Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The Conservatives were elected as a minority government under Stephen Harper in the 2006 federal election. Later that year, Canada's parliament passed a symbolic motion to recognize the Québécois as a nation within Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Years of neglect and abuse by government agencies prompted aboriginal First Nations in the 1960s to use federal courts to press land claims and initiate negotiations with federal and provincial governments to recognize historical treaty rights. In the 1990s, frustration at the slow pace of negotiations gave way to violent confrontations in Oka, Ipperwash, and Gustafsen Lake. However, in 1999 Canada recognized Inuit self-government with the creation of Nunavut, and settled Nisga'a claims in B.C. In 2008, Canada's government officially apologized for the creation of residential schools set up to culturally assimilate aboriginal peoples which resulted in multiple abuses towards aboriginal people in these schools.

Government and politics

Main article: Government of Canada

Canada is a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, as head of state and the Prime Minister as the head of the government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The country is a parliamentary democracy with a federal system of parliamentary government and strong democratic traditions.

Executive authority is formally and constitutionally vested in the monarch.<ref name="DJC">Template:Cite web
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Template:Cite web</ref> However, by convention, the monarch and her appointed representative, the Governor General, act in a predominantly ceremonial and apolitical role, deferring the exercise of executive power to the Cabinet,<ref name="CSPS">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web
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Template:Cite web</ref> which is made up of ministers generally accountable to the elected House of Commons, and headed by the Prime Minister, who is normally the leader of the party that holds the confidence of the House of Commons. Thus, the Cabinet is typically regarded as the active seat of executive power.<ref>Template:Cite book
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Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="DJC"/> This arrangement, which stems from the principals of responsible government,<ref>Template:Cite web
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Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="CSPS" /> ensures the stability of government, and makes the Prime Minister's Office one of the most powerful organs of the system, tasked with selecting, besides the other Cabinet members, Senators, federal court judges, heads of Crown corporations and government agencies, and the federal and provincial viceroys for appointment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the sovereign and Governor General do retain their right to use the Royal Prerogative in exceptional constitutional crisis situations.<ref name="Forsey">Template:Cite web
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MacLeod, Kevin S.; A Crown of Maples: Constitutional Monarchy in Canada; The Queen in Right of Canada; 2008</ref>

The leader of the party with the second most seats usually becomes the Leader of the Opposition and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system that keeps the government in check. Michaëlle Jean has served as Governor General since September 27, 2005; Stephen Harper, leader of the Conservative Party, has been Prime Minister since February 6, 2006; and Stéphane Dion, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, has been Leader of the Opposition since December 2, 2006.

The federal parliament is made up of the Queen (represented by the Governor General) and two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed Senate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Each member in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in a riding or electoral district. General elections are either every four years as determined by fixed election date legislation, or triggered by the government losing the confidence of the House (usually only possible during minority governments). Members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, are chosen by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the Governor General, and serve until age 75.

Five parties have had representation in the federal parliament since 2006 elections: the Conservative Party of Canada (governing party), the Liberal Party of Canada (Official Opposition), the New Democratic Party (NDP), Bloc Québécois and the Green Party of Canada. The list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial.

In line with Canada's federalist structure, the constitution divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the ten provinces, whose unicameral provincial legislatures operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the federal House of Commons. Canada's three territories also have legislatures, but with less constitutional responsibilities than the provinces, and with some structural differences (for example, the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut has no parties and operates on consensus).

Law

Main article: Law of Canada

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The constitution is the supreme law of the country,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and consists of written text and unwritten conventions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Constitution Act, 1867, affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent "similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom" and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments; the Statute of Westminster, 1931, granted full autonomy; and the Constitution Act, 1982, added the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be overridden by any level of government – though a notwithstanding clause allows the federal parliament and provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter for a period of five years – and added a constitutional amending formula.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter and is led by the Right Honourable Madam Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, P.C. since 2000. Its nine members are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are appointed after consultation with non-governmental legal bodies. The federal cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels. Judicial posts at the lower provincial and territorial levels are filled by their respective governments.

Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in rural areas of all provinces except Ontario and Quebec, policing is contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Foreign relations and military

Main article: Foreign relations of Canada

Canada and the United States share the world's longest undefended border, co-operate on military campaigns and exercises, and are each other's largest trading partners. Canada has nevertheless maintained an independent foreign policy, most notably maintaining full relations with Cuba and declining to participate in the Iraq War. Canada also maintains historic ties to the United Kingdom and France and to other former British and French colonies through Canada's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie (French-Speaking Countries). Canada is noted for having a strong and positive relationship with the Netherlands which Canada helped liberate during World War II, and the Dutch government traditionally gives tulips, a symbol of the Netherlands, to Canada each year in remembrance of Canada's contribution to its liberation.

Canada currently employs a professional, volunteer military force of about 64,000 regular and 26,000 reserve personnel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The unified Canadian Forces (CF) comprise the army, navy, and air force. Major CF equipment deployed includes 1,400 armoured fighting vehicles, 34 combat vessels, and 861 aircraft.<ref name="cf_equipment">Template:Cite web</ref>

Strong attachment to the British Empire and Commonwealth in English Canada led to major participation in British military efforts in the Second Boer War, the First World War, and the Second World War. Since then, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to resolve global issues in collaboration with other nations.<ref name="canada_policy"> Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="middle_powers">Template:Cite book</ref> Canada joined the United Nations in 1945 and became a founding member of NATO in 1949. During the Cold War, Canada was a major contributor to UN forces in the Korean War and founded the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in cooperation with the United States to defend against aerial attacks from the Soviet Union.

Canada has played a leading role in UN peacekeeping efforts. During the Suez Crisis of 1956, Lester B. Pearson eased tensions by proposing the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force.<ref name="lester">Template:Cite web</ref> Canada has since served in 50 peacekeeping missions, including every UN peacekeeping effort until 1989<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and has since maintained forces in international missions in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere.

Canada joined the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1990; Canada hosted the OAS General Assembly in Windsor, Ontario, in June 2000 and the third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April 2001. Canada seeks to expand its ties to Pacific Rim economies through membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC).

Since 2001, Canada has had troops deployed in Afghanistan as part of the U.S. stabilization force and the UN-authorized, NATO-commanded International Security Assistance Force. Canada and the U.S. continue to integrate state and provincial agencies to strengthen security long the Canada – United States border through the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.<ref>Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative at www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca</ref> Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has participated in three major relief efforts in recent years; the two-hundred member team has been deployed in relief operations after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in South Asia, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Kashmir earthquake in October 2005.

In February 2007, Canada, Italy, Britain, Norway, and Russia announced their funding commitments to launch a $1.5 billion project to help develop vaccines they said could save millions of lives in poor nations, and called on others to join them.<ref name="NewsMax">"Rich Nations Launch Vaccine Pact". Reuters. February 10, 2007.</ref> In August 2007, Canadian sovereignty in Arctic waters was challenged following a Russian expedition that planted a Russian flag at the seabed at the North Pole. Canada has considered that area to be sovereign territory since 1925.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Provinces and territories

Main article: Provinces and territories of Canada

Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories; in turn, these may be grouped into regions. Western Canada consists of British Columbia and the three Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). Central Canada consists of Quebec and Ontario. Atlantic Canada consists of the three Maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia), along with Newfoundland and Labrador. Eastern Canada refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together. Three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) make up Northern Canada. Provinces have more autonomy than territories. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols.

The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the Canada Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these but rarely do so in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.

All provinces have unicameral, elected legislatures headed by a Premier selected in the same way as the Prime Minister of Canada. Each province also has a Lieutenant-Governor representing the Queen, analogous to the Governor General of Canada. The Lieutenant-Governor is appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, though with increasing levels of consultation with provincial governments in recent years.

Geography and climate

Main article: Geography of Canada

The population density, Template:Pop density km2 to sq mi, is among the lowest in the world.<ref name="population_density">Template:Cite web</ref> The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor along the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River in the southeast.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and dotted with lakes and rivers. Canada by far has more lakes than any other country and has a large amount of the world's freshwater.<ref name="altas_lakes">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In eastern Canada, most people live in large urban centres on the flat Saint Lawrence Lowlands. The Saint Lawrence River widens into the world's largest estuary before flowing into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The gulf is bounded by Newfoundland to the north and the Maritimes to the south. The Maritimes protrude eastward along the Appalachian Mountain range from northern New England and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, which experiences the world's largest tidal variations. Ontario and Hudson Bay dominate central Canada. West of Ontario, the broad, flat Canadian Prairies spread toward the Rocky Mountains, which separate them from British Columbia.

In northwestern Canada, the Mackenzie River flows from the Great Slave Lake to the Arctic Ocean. A tributary of a tributary of the Mackenzie is the South Nahanni River, which is home to Virginia Falls, a waterfall about twice as high as Niagara Falls.

Northern Canadian vegetation tapers from coniferous forests to tundra and finally to Arctic barrens in the far north. The northern Canadian mainland is ringed with a vast archipelago containing some of the world's largest islands.

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary depending on the location. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F) but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills.<ref name="twn_regina">Template:Cite web</ref> In non-coastal regions, snow can cover the ground almost six months of the year (more in the north). Coastal British Columbia is an exception and enjoys a temperate climate with a mild and rainy winter.

On the east and west coast, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (75 to 85 °F) with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding 40 °C (104 °F).<ref name="twn_vancouver">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="twn_toronto">Template:Cite web</ref> For a more complete description of climate across Canada see Environment Canada's Website.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Canada is also geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes, notably Mount Meager, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.<ref> Template:Cite book</ref> The volcanic eruption of Tseax Cone in 1775 caused a catastrophic disaster, killing 2,000 Nisga'a people and the destruction of their village in the Nass River valley of northern British Columbia; the eruption produced a Template:Unit km lava flow and according to legend of the Nisga'a people, it blocked the flow of the Nass River.<ref> Template:Cite web</ref>

Economy

Main article: Economy of Canada

Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high per-capita income, and is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G8. It is one of the world's top 10 trading nations.<ref name="WTO 2008 Press Release">Template:Cite web</ref> Canada is a mixed market,<ref name="PBS, commanding heights, map of the world's economic systems">Template:Cite web</ref> ranking lower than the U.S. but higher than most western European nations on the Heritage Foundation's index of economic freedom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since the early 1990s, the Canadian economy has been growing rapidly with low unemployment and large government surpluses on the federal level. Today Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards.<ref name="cia_factbook" /> As of October 2007, Canada's national unemployment rate of 5.9% is its lowest in 33 years. Provincial unemployment rates vary from a low of 3.6% in Alberta to a high of 14.6% in Newfoundland and Labrador.<ref name="statcan_labour">Template:Cite web</ref> According to the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest companies in 2008, Canada had 69 companies in the list, ranking 5th next to France.<ref name="2008 Forbes Global 2000">Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2008, the Canada’s total government debt burden is the lowest in the G8. The OECD projects that Canada’s net debt-to-GDP ratio will decline to 19.5% in 2009, less than half of the projected average of 51.9% for all G8 countries. According to these projections, Canada’s debt burden will have fallen over 50 percentage points from the peak in 1995, when it was the second highest in the G8.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the past century, the growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. As with other first world nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most important.

Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.<ref name="cia_factbook" /> Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas and large oil and gas resources are centred in Alberta. The vast Athabasca Oil Sands give Canada the world's second largest oil reserves behind Saudi Arabia.<ref name="athabasca">Template:Cite web</ref> In Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba, hydroelectricity is a cheap and clean source of renewable energy.

Canada is one of the world's most important suppliers of agricultural products, with the Canadian Prairies one of the most important suppliers of wheat, canola and other grains.<ref name="ce_agriculture">Template:Cite web</ref> Canada is the world's largest producer of zinc and uranium and a world leader in many other natural resources such as gold, nickel, aluminium, and lead;<ref name="ce_minig">Template:Cite web</ref> many towns in the northern part of the country, where agriculture is difficult, exist because of a nearby mine or source of timber. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.

Economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since World War II. This has prompted Canadian nationalists to worry about cultural and economic autonomy in an age of globalization as American television shows, movies and corporations have become omnipresent.<ref name="granatstein">Template:Cite book</ref> The Automotive Products Trade Agreement in 1965 opened the borders to trade in the auto manufacturing industry. In the 1970s, concerns over energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors prompted Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government to set up the National Energy Program (NEP) and Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 1980s, Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives abolished the NEP and changed the name of FIRA to Investment Canada to encourage foreign investment. The Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries, while North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the free trade zone to include Mexico in the 1990s. In the mid-1990s, the Liberal government under Jean Chrétien began posting annual budgetary surpluses and began steadily paying down the national debt. Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic recession and has maintained the best overall economic performance in the G8.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Canada

Template:Largest Metropolitan Areas of Canada

Canada's 2006 census counted a total population of 31,612,897, an increase of 5.4% since 2001.<ref name="statscan_population_clock">Template:Cite web</ref> Population growth is from immigration and, to a lesser extent, natural growth. About three-quarters of Canada's population live within 150 kilometres (90 mi) of the US border.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A similar proportion live in urban areas concentrated in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor (notably the Greater Golden Horseshoe including Toronto and area, Montreal, and Ottawa), the BC Lower Mainland (consisting of the region surrounding Vancouver), and the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor in Alberta.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the 2006 census, there are 43 ethnic origins that at least one hundred thousand people in Canada claim in their background.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The largest ethnic group is English (21%), followed by French (15.8%), Scottish (15.2%), Irish (13.9%), German (10.2%), Italian (5%), Chinese (4%), Ukrainian (3.6%), and First Nations (3.5%); Approximately, one third of respondents identified their ethnicity as "Canadian".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Canada's aboriginal population is growing almost twice as fast as the Canadian average, and 3.8% of Canada's population claimed aboriginal identity in 2006. Also, 16.2% of the population belonged to non-aboriginal visible minorities.

In 2001, 49% of the Vancouver population and 42.8% of Toronto's population were visible minorities. In March 2005, Statistics Canada projected that people of non-European origins will constitute a majority in both Toronto and Vancouver by 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Statistics Canada's forecasts, the number of visible minorities in Canada is expected to double by 2017. A survey released in 2007 reveals that virtually 1 in 5 Canadians (19.8%) are foreign born.<ref name = "statcan-Census">The Daily, Tuesday, December 4, 2007. 2006 Census: Immigration, citizenship, language, mobility and migration</ref> Nearly 60% of new immigrants hail from Asia (including the Middle East).<ref name = "statcan-Census"/>

Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world,<ref name="highest immigration">Template:Cite web</ref> driven by economic policy and family reunification; Canada also accepts large numbers of refugees. Newcomers settle mostly in the major urban areas of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. In the 2006 census, there were 5,068,100 people considered to belong to a visible minority, making up 16.2% of the population. Between 2001 and 2006, the visible minority population rose by 27.2 %.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In common with many other developed countries, Canada is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2006, the average age of the civilian population was 39.5 years.<ref>Statistics Canada 2006 Census: Portrait of the Canadian Population in 2006</ref> The census results also indicate that despite an increase in immigration since 2001 (which gave Canada a higher rate of population growth than in the previous intercensal period) the aging of Canada's population did not slow in the period.

Support for religious pluralism is an important part of Canada's political culture. According to the 2001 census,<ref name="statscan_religion">Template:Cite web</ref> 77.1% of Canadians identify as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group (43.6% of Canadians). The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada. About 16.5% of Canadians declare no religious affiliation, and the remaining 6.3% are affiliated with religions other than Christianity, of which the largest is Islam numbering 1.9%, followed by Judaism at 1.1%.

Canadian provinces and territories are responsible for education. Each system is similar, while reflecting regional history, culture and geography.<ref name="education">Template:Cite web</ref> The mandatory school age ranges between 5–7 to 16–18 years,<ref name="education" /> contributing to an adult literacy rate that is 99%.<ref name="cia_factbook" /> Postsecondary education is also administered by provincial and territorial governments, who provide most of the funding; the federal government administers additional research grants, student loans and scholarships. In 2002, 43% of Canadians aged between 25 and 64 had post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34 the post-secondary education rate reaches 51%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Culture

Main article: Culture of Canada

Canadian culture has historically been influenced by British, French, and Aboriginal cultures and traditions. It has also been influenced heavily by American culture because of its proximity and migration between the two countries. The great majority of English speaking immigrants to Canada between 1755-1815 were Americans from the Lower Thirteen Colonies who were drawn there by promises of land or exiled because of their loyalty to Britain during the American War for Independence. American media and entertainment are popular, if not dominant, in English Canada; conversely, many Canadian cultural products and entertainers are successful in the U.S. and worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many cultural products are marketed toward a unified "North American" or global market.

The creation and preservation of distinctly Canadian culture are supported by federal government programs, laws and institutions such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Canada is a geographically vast and ethnically diverse country. Canadian culture has also been greatly influenced by immigration from all over the world. Many Canadians value multiculturalism and see Canadian culture as being inherently multicultural.<ref name="bickerton" /> Multicultural heritage is the basis of Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

National symbols are influenced by natural, historical, and First Nations sources. Particularly, the use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol dates back to the early 18th century and is depicted on its current and previous flags, the penny, and on the coat of arms.<ref name="symbol1">Template:Cite book</ref> Other prominent symbols include the beaver, Canada Goose, Common Loon, the Crown, the RCMP,<ref name="symbol1"/> and more recently the totem pole and Inukshuk.

Canada's official national sports are ice hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the summer.<ref name="National Sports of Canada Act">Template:Cite web</ref> Ice hockey is a national pastime and the most popular spectator sport in the country. It is the most popular sport Canadians play, with 1.65 million active participants in 2004.<ref name = "sports">Template:Cite web</ref> Canada's six largest metropolitan areas – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton – have franchises in the National Hockey League (NHL), and there are more Canadian players in the league than from all other countries combined. After hockey, other popular spectator sports include curling and football; the latter is played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Golf, baseball, skiing, soccer, volleyball, and basketball are widely played at youth and amateur levels,<ref name = "sports"/> but professional leagues and franchises are not as widespread.

Canada hosted several high-profile international sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics, the 1988 Winter Olympics, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada will be the host country for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Language

Main article: Spoken languages of Canada

Canada's two official languages are English and French. Official bilingualism in Canada is law, defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Official Languages Act, and Official Language Regulations; it is applied by the Commissioner of Official Languages. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French, and official language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

English and French are the mother tongues of 59.7% and 23.2% of the population respectively,<ref name="statscan_language">Template:Cite web</ref> and the languages most spoken at home by 68.3% and 22.3% of the population respectively.<ref name=home_language_2001>Template:Cite web</ref> 98.5% of Canadians speak English or French (67.5% speak English only, 13.3% speak French only, and 17.7% speak both).<ref name="statscan_language2">Template:Cite web</ref> English and French Official Language Communities, defined by First Official Language Spoken, constitute 73.0% and 23.6% of the population respectively.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Although 85% of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, there are substantial Francophone populations in Ontario, Alberta and southern Manitoba, with an Acadian population in the northern and southeastern parts of New Brunswick constituting 35% of that province's population, as well as concentrations in southwestern Nova Scotia and on Cape Breton Island. Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec. The Charter of the French Language in Quebec makes French the official language in Quebec, and New Brunswick is the only province to have a statement of official bilingualism in its constitution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other provinces have no official languages as such, but French is used as a language of instruction, in courts, and for other government services in addition to English. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec allow for both English and French to be spoken in the provincial legislatures, and laws are enacted in both languages. In Ontario, French has some legal status but is not fully co-official. Several aboriginal languages have official status in Northwest Territories. Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut, and one of three official languages in the territory.

Non-official languages are important in Canada, with over five million people listing one as a first language.<ref name="statscan_language" /> Some significant non-official first languages include Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), Italian (469,485), German (438,080), and Punjabi (271,220).<ref name="statscan_language" />

International rankings

See also

Main article: List of basic Canada topics

Notes

References

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External links

Template:Spoken Wikipedia Template:Portal Template:Sisterlinks

Government

• Official Government of Canada online Atlas of Canada
• Official website of the Government of Canada
• Official website of the Governor General of Canada
• Official website of the Canadian Forces
• Official website of the Prime Minister of Canada
• Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations

Crown corporations

• Canada Post
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• Canadian Tourism Commission

Other

• Template:CIA World Factbook link
• Canada from The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Canadian Studies: A Guide to the Sources*Template:Wikitravelpar
• Culture.ca—Canada's Cultural Gateway
• Culturescope.ca—Canadian Cultural Observatory
• Energy Information Administration - Official Energy Statistics for Canada from the U.S. Government
• Statistics Canada with Canada's population clock
• The Canadian Atlas Online
• UN Human Development Program: Country Fact Sheet: Canada, Statistics—Country Sheet: Canada

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