Table of Contents:

Canada

Has a Parliament, and a Prime Minister

Two major political parties - the Conservatives (CPC) which lean more towards big-business, and the Liberals.  Other parties include the BQ (Quebec independence party) and the Greens.  In Canada, there are many political parties on the ballot.  Government tends to be more British-like...have you ever seen Tony Blaire up in front of the British Parliament arguing and defending his views?  Its kind of like that in Canada to.   Unlike the US, where there are just 2 parties, in Canada it normally takes a coalition to rule.  The capital of Canada is Ottawa, which is in Ontario.

POPULATION: 2006: 32.59 million

HEAD OF STATE: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor General 

HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Prime Minister

LEGISLATURE: Bicameral Parliament; 104-member Senate (appointed) and 308-member House of Commons. Seat distribution in the House:Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), 125; Liberal Party, 98; Bloc Québécois (BQ), 49; New  Democratic Party (NDP), 29; independent, 3; vacant, 4.

Credit Crisis & recent elections:

• http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/commentary/bearslair?art_id=10137

Imports and Exports

Currency

what factors drive the usd vs CAN exchange rates?:  http://www.usd-to-cad.com/ 

French Separatists:

 it appears that France under Mr. Sarkozy is standing down… finally… from rather substantive support for the Quebec separatists and is instead supporting a unified Canada. Forty years ago, French President de Gualle issued his now rather infamous “Vive la Quebec libre,” giving not so tacit support to the separatists. Sarkozy, instead, is turning his back upon them, saying several months ago that “Quebecers are our brothers, but Canadians are our friends." That was the first step. Friday he said that France is

Diversity

Wow, Canada is really diverse. Perhaps more so than any other country on Earth. 

British (28%), French (23%), other European (15%), Amerind (2%), other, mostly

Asian (6%), mixed background (26%)

English is only the native language for The majority of Canadians are Catholic (not Protestant, like the USA).  Note: pretty much all of Quebec is Catholic.  

Roman Catholic (43%), Protestant (23%), other (18%), none (16%)

One surprisingly large and growing group is the Muslim popluation, which can partly explain Canadian positions with regards to the Mideast conflict (and Iraq).

Need for Immigrants

Canada faces the same aging Baby-boomer generation gap as the US, but the Canadians have become accustomed to free health care, and all sorts of social programs.  The problem is that with an aging work force, there is potential for a shortage of workers to pay the medical bills of aging Canadians.  So, the result is that Canada has gone out and actually recruited immigrants from around the world.  If you are smart, can work, and will pay taxes, then you are basically welcome in Canada.  The result of this dynamic has been a massive influx of immigrants into Canada, making it one of the most culturally diverse places on the planet.

Commonwealth (implications for immigration & business)

Canada became independent in just 1931, but maintained their "Commonwealth" status (allegiance with England).  This newness means that Canada is still defining itself as a nation.  The commonwealth is important because it means that Canadians are free to travel & live in England, Australia, New Zealand, or any of the commonwealth of nations.  For this reason, you see Canadians moving to Australia, and Australians working the Canadian ski lifts.  It also explains why Toronto is filled with Indians (note that India used to be an English colony), or that Vancouver is filled with Hong Kong Chinese (Note that Hong Kong used to be a colony of England).

Cities of Canada

Green Leaders

Vancouver, Canada

Population > 2.1 million

Leading indicator > The world's most livable city, according to a Mercer survey

Fast companies > Electronic Arts; Relic Entertainment; 1-800-GOT-JUNK?

Vancouver is home to a booming electronic-gaming industry and a bustling port--not to mention the 2010 Olympics. Its EcoDensity initiative aims to focus that growth by developing more crowded neighborhoods at the city center. The dual goal: to build sustainable neighborhoods with the scale to make green energy technologies affordable and to preserve surrounding forest and mountain ecosystems

Global Villages

Toronto , Canada

Population > 5.1 million

Leading indicator > The city counts 100 different ethnic communities; 44% of residents are foreign-born

Fast companies > Nortel ; Four Seasons Hotels; TAXI, the brand builder behind Mini and Viagra

Toronto 's embrace of diversity extends into every corner: There are 29 major film festivals this year, covering nearly every micro-genre. The skyline boasts silhouettes from architects as varied as Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, and Santiago Calatrava. 

Why are U.S. companies going public in Toronto?

[Editor’s note: This is an Op-Ed by Delilah Panio, of the Toronto Stock Exchange, explaining why we’re seeing some Silicon Valley companies opt for Canada for public listings.]

After a banner start in the first half of 2007, the U.S. IPO market has fizzled in the past few months. In the third quarter, just 12 venture-backed […]

Other cities reviewed

Waterloo, Ontario

Waterloo with RIM(Blackberry) is the location of global importance. Many different nationalities, live, study and visit. Also they host a summer school for International high school students to study modern Physics at Perimeter Institute. Definitely on the top of a list of Global Villages .

Montreal, Quebec

Cosmopolitan, multicultural and bilingual, Montréal is blessed with a unique personality that hails from a wonderful blend of European and New World charms. Its intellectual and cultural vitality, its ultra-modern infrastructure s, its high technology and its nearness to major cities in the USA all combine to make Greater Montréal a hub for international trade.

Economic Issues

Weaker US Demand, Strong Currency Dampen Growth Prospects

If the US economy slows, so does the Canadian.  The slowdown in the US, the destination for nearly 80% of  the country’s exports, will have an adverse impact on both domestic investment and trade, which will also be weakened by the strength of the Canadian dollar (loonie) against its US counterpart.

Although the manufacturing sector has been hurt badly by the appreciation of the currency, losing more than 275,000 jobs over the past five years, the service sector has added 1 million jobs over the same period, and energy and other material exports have offset the decline in manufacturing. As a result, the annual trade surplus in 2006 was roughly the same size (in US dollar terms) as  in 2001, when the loonie was worth US$0.62.

As an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion-dollar class, Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Top-notch fiscal management has produced consecutive balanced budgets since 1997, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the US, which absorbs about 85% of Canadian exports. Canada is the US' largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power.

Main industries

Agriculture accounts for 1.9% of GDP but the sector's exports provide an important boost to the economy.

Firms are under pressure to improve productivity to maintain competitiveness. Gains in efficiency will be essential to cope with population ageing. Productivity growth is high relative to European standards but slower than in the US. The productivity gap reflects lower rates of investment, especially in high-tech equipment and R&D, as well as the weaker performance of Canadian firms that are less exposed to foreign competition.

Canada also has some of the most stringent restrictions on foreign ownership among all industrialised countries, mainly in telecommunications, broadcasting and domestic airlines. These laws limit competition and the pace of innovation. Bank profitability is high and risks from the housing market are not as great as in other economies where the business cycle is well advanced.

The province of Ontario has emerged as the leading producer of cars in North America, replacing the US state of Michigan. DaimlerChrysler is in the midst of US$1.1 billion overhaul and other producers plan improvements to raise productivity and improve quality.

In the mineral sector, Canada is the world's largest producer of zinc and uranium and has substantial reserves of nickel, potash, cobalt, silver and gold. British Colombia’s coal industry has made a dramatic comeback since China began to import coal in 2004. Two new mines have opened and seven more are planned. Altogether, the province has 25 billion tonnes of proven coal reserves.

Economy

The Canadian economy has performed well over the past ten years. Growth rates have been high and the country claims the strongest budget position among the large industrial countries. Continuing economic recovery in the US and higher prices for Canada’s natural resource exports have driven Canada’s economic growth in recent years.

The boom in global commodity prices has provided a great boost to Canada’s economy.

However, the associated appreciation of the exchange rate produced a shift of resources toward the oil and gas sector in western provinces, accentuating economic frictions between resource-rich and resource-poor provinces.

The federal government's fiscal goals have produced strong annual surpluses that have substantially reduced debt while still allowing sizeable tax reductions. The public pension system is actuarially sound for at least the next 50 years, and most provinces have followed the federal government in cutting taxes and sharply reducing deficits, supported in some cases by balanced budget rules.

In the future, Canadian enterprises will face stronger competition from rivals in emerging economies and higher security costs at the US border.

Energy

Canada's total crude oil reserves were 179 billion barrels in 2006. Based on these estimates, the country is second only to Saudi Arabia, which holds the most crude oil reserves in the world. Prior to 2002, Canada did not even rank in the top 20. The massive increase in reserves reflects the inclusion of Alberta's oil sands. The inclusion of oil sands in official reserves is controversial because oil sands are much more difficult to extract and process than conventional crude oil. Oil production has been increasing since 1999, as new oil sands projects and production off the coast of Newfoundland have come on-stream. Production projections imply a tripling of oil sands production volume to 2.5-3 million barrels per day (mb/d) over 10 years. Although conventional oil production is falling, Canada’s total oil production would increase from 2.5 mb/d in 2003 to about 4 mb/d by 2015. The oil sector has recently seen significant mergers and acquisitions, with US firms purchasing over US$35 billion in Canadian oil and gas assets.

Political risk

The division between eastern and western Canada is a long-standing one. To reduce the tension between provinces, the federal government has agreed to transfer an additional C$41 billion to the provinces over the next ten years. Each province, however, will have to launch their own drug strategy, improve home care and bolster medical services. In addition, the provinces must account for how the money is spent. A financial crunch faces virtually all Canadian cities. With tax collection left to the federal government and the provinces, the cities have only limited means of raising revenue. As a result, urban infrastructure is deteriorating. Experts estimate that the cities need an additional C$60 billion. Voters in the northwestern part of Ontario want to leave the province and become part of Manitoba. They regard the distant provincial government as uninterested and hope to gain access to cheaper energy if they are part of Manitoba. Canada’s policy on aboriginals is a frequent source of tension. Land claims, often involving natural resources, are the most common source of contention.

International disputes

US proposals for a continental missile defence shield have become a divisive issue, even though the two countries co-operate closely through the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). Canada withdrew from the project in 2005.

Canada's trade with the US amounts to over US$500 billion a year and trade disputes are common. In 2006, Canada and the US resolved their decades-long dispute over Canadian imports of lumber. The Americans will require passports at land-border crossings from Canada beginning in 2008. Canadians fear that the move will hurt their tourist industry.

Canada has several minor maritime boundary disputes with the US and an uncontested dispute with Denmark over Hans Island sovereignty between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. Canada claims sovereignty over the entire Artic archipelago but the US has never recognised this claim. The Americans consider the Northwest Passage to be an international waterway.

Oil Sands

Alberta:  Alberta now extracts 60% of its crude from its tar sands

Trouble - 2009 slump in oilsands

OIl prices fell, development stopped....fear that Obama admin wont like the "dirty" oil from Canada

Economy Stats

Economy - overview:	As an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion-dollar class, Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Top-notch fiscal management has produced consecutive balanced budgets since 1997, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the US, which absorbs about 85% of Canadian exports. Canada is the US' largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power.
GDP (purchasing power parity):	$1.181 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):	$1.089 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	2.8% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$35,700 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 2.1% industry: 29% services: 68.9% (2006 est.)
Labor force:	17.59 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture 2%, manufacturing 14%, construction 5%, services 75%, other 3% (2004)
Unemployment rate:	6.4% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line:	15.9%; note - this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 24.8% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:	32.6 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	2% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):	22% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget:	revenues: $510.6 billion expenditures: $501 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Public debt:	67.7% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products:	wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish
Industries:	transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas
Industrial production growth rate:	0.7% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production:	609.6 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:	540.2 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:	42.93 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:	19.33 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production:	3.135 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - consumption:	2.294 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - exports:	2.274 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:	1.185 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:	178.8 billion bbl note: includes oil sands (1 January 2005 est.)
Natural gas - production:	178.2 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	92.76 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	101.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	9.403 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	1.537 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:	$20.79 billion (2006 est.)
Exports:	$401.7 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:	motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum
Exports - partners:	US 81.6%, UK 2.3%, Japan 2.1% (2006)
Imports:	$356.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities:	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods
Imports - partners:	US 54.9%, China 8.7%, Mexico 4% (2006)
Economic aid - donor:	ODA, $2.6 billion (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:	$35.06 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external:	$684.7 billion (30 June 2006)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:	$398.4 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:	$458.1 billion (2006 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:	$1.481 trillion (2005)
Currency (code):	Canadian dollar (CAD)
Exchange rates:	Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002)
Fiscal year:	1 April - 31 March

Foreign Investment

Strong economic fundamentals, proximity to the U.S. market, highly skilled employees and abundant resources are key attractions for American investors in Canada.

Some restrictions exist.  Canada has set up rules to help protect from an "American invasion"...ie, the country might be purchased away by Americans if the Canadian government didnt set up some rules and review process to determine what could be purchased by the Americans.   Media, TV, and anything relating to "Canadian culture" is protected and is off limits to Americanization.  The government plays a role in many industries.

Investments in “Cultural Industries”.

Canada defines “cultural industries” to include:

•

the publication, distribution or sale of books, magazines, periodicals or newspapers, other than the sole activity of printing or typesetting;

•

the production, distribution, sale or exhibition of film or video recordings, or audio or video music recordings;

•

the publication, distribution or sale of music in print or machine-readable form;

•

FDI in financial services:  is limited because Canada still has barriers to foreign access to retail banking.

any radio, television and cable television broadcasting undertakings and any satellite programming and broadcast network services.

Environment Issues

Canada having trouble meeting Kyoto protocols

Baird has warned that adherence to the Kyoto standards would  drive the economy into recession, and has argued that Canada must produce its own environmental plan with reasonable goals for emission reductions. Baird’s plan calls for mandatory intensity-based targets to reduce industrial emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants, the setting up of an emissions-trading system, and increased regulations on energy use covering a variety of energy consuming products.

There must be an opportunity here for entrepreneurs!

The burgeoning oil sands extraction business (in Western Canada) may be one the biggest hurdles to reducing emissions. The process of extracting oil from oil sands produces two to three times more carbon dioxide than normal well-based production. The government’s plan will require oil-sands projects to reduce the ratio of emissions to oil by 2% per year. However, production may decrease significantly if California and 11 other US states move ahead with plans to ban the sale of petroleum derived from emissions-intensive sources.

Canada's Forests:  disappearing

I recently read an article in the Economist (http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11671362)  outlining a scary trend where Canadas forests are disappearing due to attack of a tiny beattle that normally gets killed by the cold, but has not recently due to unusually warm winters (Global warming?).  The question is whether or not the oil men of western canada will take global warming seriously enough to accept carbon tax, and whether they value the forests more than the profits....great article.

Foreign Policy

Traditionally, Canada has preferred to remain "neutral" in terms of picking sides in the Middle East conflict.  The recent Prime Minister, however, has come out in favor of Israel.  This has angered many Canadians who criticize the Prime Minister for blindly following the US lead (a polictical death sentence if Canadians believe it).

Interestingly , Canada is the only one of the traditional "British" countries (England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada) with did not go into Iraq.  Is this because of a Muslim population in Canada?  But, the UK has as well...so this doesnt really explain it.

National Anthem (in 3 languages)

"O Canada" is the national anthem of Canada. Calixa Lavallée composed the music in 1880 as a patriotic song for that year's St. Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony. The first lyrics that were composed for the song were written in French by Sir Adolphe Basile Routhier in 1880 for the same ceremony. An English translation did not appear until 1906, and it was two more years until Robert Stanley Weir penned the English lyrics, which are not a translation of the French. Weir's words were altered in 1968 to their present form, although the French lyrics remain unaltered. The choice of "O Canada" for the national anthem did not occur until 1980, when it was signed into law during the Canada Day celebrations that year. It was modified, along with the royal anthem of Canada, God Save the Queen, to be part of the Vice Regal Salute.

Official lyrics

Canadian National Anthem (as sung by hockey fans)

Canadian Comedy

"I am Canadian" (Beer Commercial)

"I am not American" funny song

"Canada is Really Big" - song

Travel to Canada

Quebec Travel info

- including Montreal, Quebec City, and more...

British Columbia travel info

- including Vancouver, Whistler, mountains, and more...

Ontario Travel Info

- including Toronto, Ottawa, and more...

Books about Canada - travel guides, photos, etc

More about Canada

Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, occupying most of northern North America. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, Canada shares land borders with the United States to the northwest and south. The largest city in Canada is Toronto.

Inhabited first by aboriginal peoples, Canada was founded as a union of British colonies (some of which were formerly French colonies). Canada gained independence from the United Kingdom in an incremental process that began in 1867 and ended in 1982; it remains a Commonwealth Realm. Comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. The provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The three territories are the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less. 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.

Canada occupies most of the northern portion of North America. It shares land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and with the US state of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60°W and 141°W longitude;26 this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island—latitude 82.5°N—just 817 kilometres (450 nautical miles) from the North Pole.27 Canada is the world's second-largest country in total area, after Russia.

The population density of 3.5 people per square kilometre (9.1/mi²) is among the lowest in the world. 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. 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 in the world and has a large amount of the world's freshwater

In eastern Canada, the Saint Lawrence River widens into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary; the island of Newfoundland lies at its mouth. South of the Gulf, the Canadian Maritimes protrude eastward from 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.

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 Prairie provinces, where daily average temperatures are near −15°C (5°F), but can drop below -40°C (-40°F) with severe wind chills. 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 20°C (68 to 74°F), while between the coasts the average summer high temperature range between 25°C to 30°C (78 to 86°F) with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding 40°C (104°F). For a more complete description of climate across Canada see Environment Canada's Website

Even more about Canada

Canada (kăn'ədə) , independent nation (2001 pop. 30,007,094), 3,851,787 sq mi (9,976,128 sq km), N North America. Canada occupies all of North America N of the United States (and E of Alaska) except for Greenland and the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. It is bounded on the E by the Atlantic Ocean, on the N by the Arctic Ocean, and on the W by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska. A transcontinental border, formed in part by the Great Lakes, divides Canada from the United States; Nares and Davis straits separate Canada from Greenland. The Arctic Archipelago extends far into the Arctic Ocean.

Canada is a federation of 10 provinces—Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia—and three territories—Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon Territory. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its largest city is Toronto. Other important cities include Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Quebec.

Land

Canada has a very long and irregular coastline; Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence indent the east coast and the Inside Passage extends along the west coast. The ice-clogged straits between the islands of N Canada form the Northwest Passage. During the Ice Age all of Canada was covered by a continental ice sheet that scoured and depressed the land surface, leaving a covering of glacial drift, depositional landforms, and innumerable lakes and rivers. Aside from the Great Lakes, which are only partly in the country, the largest lakes of North America—Great Bear, Great Slave, and Winnipeg—are entirely in Canada. The St. Lawrence is the chief river of E Canada. The Saskatchewan, Nelson, Churchill, and Mackenzie river systems drain central Canada, and the Columbia, Fraser, and Yukon rivers drain the western part of the country.

Canada has a bowl-shaped geologic structure rimmed by highlands, with Hudson Bay at the lowest point. The country has eight major physiographic regions—the Canadian Shield, the Hudson Bay Lowlands, the Western Cordillera, the Interior Lowlands, the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachians, the Arctic Lowlands, and the Innuitians.

The exposed portions of the Canadian Shield cover more than half of Canada. This once-mountainous region, which contains the continent's oldest rocks, has been worn low by erosion over the millennia. Its upturned eastern edge is indented by fjords. The Shield is rich in minerals, especially iron and nickel, and in potential sources of hydroelectric power. In the center of the Shield are the Hudson Bay Lowlands, encompassing Hudson Bay and the surrounding marshy land.

The Western Cordillera, a geologically young mountain system parallel to the Pacific coast, is composed of a series of north-south tending ranges and valleys that form the highest and most rugged section of the country; Mt. Logan (19,551 ft/5,959 m) is the highest point in Canada. Part of this region is made up of the Rocky Mts. and the Coast Mts., which are separated by plateaus and basins. The islands off W Canada are partially submerged portions of the Coast Mts. The Western Cordillera is also rich in minerals and timber and potential sources of hydroelectric power.

Between the Rocky Mts. and the Canadian Shield are the Interior Lowlands, a vast region filled with sediment from the flanking higher lands. The Lowlands are divided into the prairies, the plains, and the Mackenzie Lowlands. The prairies are Canada's granary, while grazing is important on the plains.

The smallest and southernmost region is the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands, Canada's heartland. Dominated by the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, the region provides a natural corridor into central Canada, and the St. Lawrence Seaway gives the interior cities access to the Atlantic. This section, which is composed of gently rolling surface on sedimentary rocks, is the location of extensive farmlands, large industrial centers, and most of Canada's population. In SE Canada and on Newfoundland is the northern end of the Appalachian Mt. system, an old and geologically complex region with a generally low and rounded relief.

The Arctic Lowlands and the Innuitians are the most isolated areas of Canada and are barren and snow-covered for most of the year. The Arctic Lowlands comprise much of the Arctic Archipelago and contain sedimentary rocks that may have oil-bearing strata. In the extreme north, mainly on Ellesmere Island, is the Innuitian Mt. system, which rises to c.10,000 ft (3,050 m).

Canada's climate is influenced by latitude and topography. The Interior Lowlands make it possible for polar air masses to move south and for subtropical air masses to move north into Canada. Hudson Bay and the Great Lakes act to modify the climate locally. The Western Cordillera serves as a climatic barrier that prevents polar air masses from reaching the Pacific coast and blocks the moist Pacific winds from reaching into the interior. The Cordillera has a typical highland climate that varies with altitude; the western slopes receive abundant rainfall, and the whole region is forested. The Interior Lowlands are in the rain shadow of the Cordillera; the southern portion has a steppe climate in which grasses predominate. S Canada has a temperate climate, with snow in the winter (especially in the east) and cool summers. Farther to the north, extending to the timberline, is the humid subarctic climate characterized by short summers and a snow cover for about half the year. The huge boreal forest, the largest surviving remnant of the extensive forests that once covered much of North America, predominates in this region. On the Arctic Archipelago and the northern mainland is the tundra, with its mosses and lichen, permafrost, near-year-round snow cover, and ice fields. A noted phenomenon off the coast of E Canada is the persistence of dense fog, which is formed when the warm air over the Gulf Stream passes over the cold Labrador Current as the two currents meet off Newfoundland.

People

About 40% of the Canadian population are of British descent, while 27% are of French origin. Another 20% are of other European background, about 10% are of E or SE Asian origin, and some 3% are of aboriginal or Métis (mixed aboriginal and European) background. In the late 1990s, Canada had the highest immigration rate of any country in the world, with more than half the total coming from Asia, and immigration has continued to contribute significantly to the nation's population growth. Over 75% of the total population live in cities. Canada has complete religious liberty, though its growing multiculturalism has at times caused tensions among ethnic and religious groups. About 45% of the people are Roman Catholics, while some 40% are Protestant (the largest groups being the United Church of Canada, Anglicans, and Presbyterians). English and French are the official languages, and federal documents are published in both languages. In 2001, about 59% of Canadians cited English as their mother tongue, while 23% cited French.

Economy

Since World War II the development of Canada's manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has led to the creation of an affluent society. Services now account for 66% of the GDP, while industry accounts for 31%. Tourism and financial services represent some of Canada's most important industries within the service sector. However, manufacturing is Canada's single most important economic activity. The leading products are transportation equipment, pulp and paper, processed foods, chemicals, primary and fabricated metals, petroleum, electrical and electronic products, wood products, printed materials, machinery, clothing, and nonmetallic minerals. Industries are centered in Ontario, Quebec, and, to a lesser extent, British Columbia and Alberta. Canada's industries depend on the country's rich energy resources, which include hydroelectric power, petroleum, natural gas, coal, and uranium.

Canada is a leading mineral producer, although much of its mineral resources are difficult to reach due to permafrost. It is the world's largest source of nickel, zinc, and uranium, and a major source of lead, asbestos, gypsum, potash, tantalum, and cobalt. Other important mineral resources are petroleum, natural gas, copper, gold, iron ore, coal, silver, diamonds, molybdenum, and sulfur. The mineral wealth is located in many areas; some of the most productive regions are Sudbury, Ont. (copper and nickel); Timmins, Ont. (lead, zinc, and silver); and Kimberley, British Columbia (lead, zinc, and silver). Petroleum and natural gas are found in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Agriculture employs about 3% of the population and contributes a similar percentage of the GDP. The sources of the greatest farm income are livestock and dairy products. Among the biggest income-earning crops are wheat, oats, barley, corn, and canola. Canada is one of the world's leading agricultural exporters, especially of wheat. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta are the great grain-growing provinces, and, with Ontario, are also the leading sources of beef cattle. The main fruit-growing regions are found in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Apples and peaches are the principal fruits grown in Canada. More than half of the total land area is forest, and Canadian timber production ranks among the highest in the world.

Fishing is an important economic activity in Canada. Cod and lobster from the Atlantic and salmon from the Pacific have been the principal catches, but the cod industry was halted in the mid-1990s due to overfishing. About 75% of the take is exported. The fur industry, once vitally important but no longer dominant in the nation's economy, is centered in Quebec and Ontario.

A major problem for Canada is that large segments of its economy—notably in manufacturing, petroleum, and mining—are controlled by foreign, especially U.S. interests. This deprives the nation of much of the profits of its industries and makes the economy vulnerable to developments outside Canada. This situation is mitigated somewhat by the fact that Canada itself is a large foreign investor. Since the free trade agreement with the United States (effective 1989), Canadian investment in U.S. border cities, such as Buffalo, N.Y., has increased dramatically.

The United States is by far Canada's leading trade partner, followed by Japan and Great Britain. Manufactured goods comprise the bulk of imports; crude petroleum and motor vehicles and parts rank high among both the nation's largest imports and exports. Other important exports are newsprint, lumber, wood pulp, wheat, machinery, aluminum, natural gas, hydroelectric power, and telecommunications equipment.

Government

Canada is an independent constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is also the monarch of Canada and is represented in the country by the office of governor-general. The basic constitutional document is the Canada Act of 1982, which replaced the British North America Act of 1867 and gave Canada the right to amend its own constitution. The Canada Act, passed by Great Britain, made possible the Constitution Act, 1982, which was passed in Canada. The document includes a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the rights of women and native peoples and protects other civil liberties.

The Canadian federal government has authority in all matters not specifically reserved to the provincial governments. The provincial governments have power in the fields of property, civil rights, education, and local government. They may levy only direct taxes. The federal government may veto any provincial law. Power on the federal level is exercised by the Canadian Parliament and the cabinet of ministers, headed by the prime minister. (See the table entitled Canadian Prime Ministers since Confederation for a list of Canada's prime ministers.) Canada has an independent judiciary; the highest court is the Supreme Court, with nine members.

The Parliament has two houses: the Senate and the House of Commons. There are generally 104 senators, apportioned among the provinces and appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the prime minister. Senators may serve until age 75; prior to 1965 they served for life. The 301 members of the House of Commons are elected, largely from single-member constituencies. Elections must be held at least every five years. The Commons may be dissolved and new elections held at the request of the prime minister. There are four main political parties: the Liberal party, the Conservative party (formed in 2003 by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative party), the Bloc Québécois (aligned with the Parti Québécois of Quebec), and the New Democratic party.

History

Early History and French-British Rivalry

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in Canada, the area was inhabited by various peoples who came from Asia via the Bering Strait more than 10,000 years ago. The Vikings landed in Canada c.A.D. 1000. Their arrival is described in Icelandic sagas and confirmed by archaeological discoveries in Newfoundland. John Cabot, sailing under English auspices, touched the east coast in 1497. In 1534, the Frenchman Jacques Cartier planted a cross on the Gaspé Peninsula. These and many other voyages to the Canadian coast were in search of a northwest passage to Asia. Subsequently, French-English rivalry dominated Canadian history until 1763.

The first permanent European settlement in Canada was founded in 1605 by the sieur de Monts and Samuel de Champlain at Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal, N.S.) in Acadia. A trading post was established in Quebec in 1608. Meanwhile the English, moving to support their claims under Cabot's discoveries, attacked Port Royal (1614) and captured Quebec (1629). However, the French regained Quebec (1632), and through the Company of New France (Company of One Hundred Associates), began to exploit the fur trade and establish new settlements. The French were primarily interested in fur trading. Between 1608 and 1640, fewer than 300 settlers arrived. The sparse French settlements sharply contrasted with the relatively dense English settlements along the Atlantic coast to the south. Under a policy initiated by Champlain, the French supported the Huron in their warfare against the Iroquois; later in the 17th cent., when the Iroquois crushed the Huron, the French colony came near extinction. Exploration, however, continued.

In 1663, the Company of New France was disbanded by the French government, and the colony was placed under the rule of a royal governor, an intendant, and a bishop. The power exercised by these authorities may be seen in the careers of Louis de Buade, comte de Frontenac, Jean Talon, and François Xavier de Laval, the first bishop of Quebec. There was, however, conflict between the rulers, especially over the treatment of the indigenous peoples—the bishop regarding them as potential converts, the governor as means of trade. Meanwhile, both missionaries, such as Jacques Marquette, and traders, such as Pierre Radisson and Médard Chouart des Groseilliers, were extending French knowledge and influence. The greatest of all the empire builders in the west was Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, who descended the Mississippi to its mouth and who envisioned the vast colony in the west that was made a reality by men like Duluth, Bienville, Iberville, and Cadillac.

The French did not go unchallenged. The English had claims on Acadia, and the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670 began to vie for the lucrative fur trade of the West. When the long series of wars between Britain and France broke out in Europe, they were paralleled in North America by the French and Indian Wars. The Peace of Utrecht (1713) gave Britain Acadia, the Hudson Bay area, and Newfoundland. To strengthen their position the French built additional forts in the west (among them Detroit and Niagara). The decisive battle of the entire struggle took place in 1759, when Wolfe defeated Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham, bringing about the fall of Quebec to the British. Montreal fell in 1760. By the Treaty of Paris in 1763, France ceded all its North American possessions east of the Mississippi to Britain, while Louisiana went to Spain.

British North America

The French residents of Quebec strongly resented the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which imposed British institutions on them. Many of its provisions, however, were reversed by the Quebec Act (1774), which granted important concessions to the French and extended Quebec's borders westward and southward to include all the inland territory to the Ohio and the Mississippi. This act infuriated the residents of the Thirteen Colonies (the future United States). In 1775 the American Continental Congress had as its first act not a declaration of independence but the invasion of Canada. In the American Revolution the Canadians remained passively loyal to the British crown, and the effort of the Americans to take Canada failed dismally (see Quebec campaign).

Loyalists from the colonies in revolt (see United Empire Loyalists) fled to Canada and settled in large numbers in Nova Scotia and Quebec. In 1784, the province of New Brunswick was carved out of Nova Scotia for the loyalists. The result, in Quebec, was sharp antagonism between the deeply rooted, Catholic French Canadians and the newly arrived, Protestant British. To deal with the problem the British passed the Constitutional Act (1791). It divided Quebec into Upper Canada (present-day Ontario), predominantly British and Protestant, and Lower Canada (present-day Quebec), predominantly French and Catholic. Each new province had its own legislature and institutions.

This period was also one of further exploration. Alexander Mackenzie made voyages in 1789 to the Arctic Ocean and in 1793 to the Pacific, searching for the Northwest Passage. Mariners also reached the Pacific Northwest, and such men as Capt. James Cook, John Meares, and George Vancouver secured for Britain a firm hold on what is now British Columbia. During the War of 1812, Canadian and British soldiers repulsed several American invasions. The New Brunswick boundary (see Aroostook War) and the boundary W of the Great Lakes was disputed with the United States for a time, but since the War of 1812 the long border has generally been peaceful.

Rivalry between the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company erupted into bloodshed in the Red River Settlement and was resolved by amalgamation of the companies in 1821. The new Hudson's Bay Company then held undisputed sway over Rupert's Land and the Pacific West until U.S. immigrants challenged British possession of Oregon and obtained the present boundary (1846). After 1815 thousands of immigrants came to Canada from Scotland and Ireland.

Movements for political reform arose. In Upper Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie struggled against the Family Compact. In Lower Canada, Louis J. Papineau led the French Canadian Reform party. There were rebellions in both provinces. The British sent Lord Durham as governor-general to study the situation, and his famous report (1839) recommended the union of Upper and Lower Canada under responsible government. The two Canadas were made one province by the Act of Union (1841) and became known as Canada West and Canada East. Responsible government was achieved in 1849 (it had been granted to the Maritime Provinces in 1847), largely as a result of the efforts of Robert Baldwin and Louis H. LaFontaine.

Confederation and Nationhood

The movement for federation of all the Canadian provinces was given impetus in the 1860s by a need for common defense, the desire for some central authority to press railroad construction, and the necessity for a solution to the problem posed by Canada West and Canada East, where the British majority and French minority were in conflict. When the Maritime Provinces, which sought union among themselves, met at the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, delegates from the other provinces of Canada attended. Two more conferences were held—the Quebec Conference later in 1864 and the London Conference in 1866 in England—before the British North America Act in 1867 made federation a fact. (In 1982 this act was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867.)

The four original provinces were Ontario (Canada West), Quebec (Canada East), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The new federation acquired the vast possessions of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869. The Red River Settlement became the province of Manitoba in 1870, and British Columbia voted to joined in 1871. In 1873, Prince Edward Island joined the federation, and Alberta and Saskatchewan were admitted in 1905. Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) joined in 1949.

Canada's first prime minister was John A. Macdonald (served 1867–73 and 1878–91), who sponsored the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the west, religious tension and objections to lack of political representation and unfair land-grant and survey laws produced rebellions of Métis, led by Louis Riel in 1869–70 and 1884–85. The Métis were French-speaking Roman Catholics who had considered themselves a new nation combining the traditions and ancestry of Europeans and native peoples.

Under the long administration (1896–1911) of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, rising wheat prices attracted vast numbers of immigrants to the Prairie Provinces. Between 1891 and 1914, more than three million people came to Canada, largely from continental Europe, following the path of the newly constructed continental railway. In the same period, mining operations were begun in the Klondike and the Canadian Shield. Large-scale development of hydroelectric resources helped foster industrialization and urbanization.

Under the premiership of Conservative Robert L. Borden, Canada followed Britain and entered World War I. The struggle over military conscription, however, deepened the cleavage between French Canadians and their fellow citizens. During the depression that began in 1929, the Prairie Provinces were hard hit by droughts that shriveled the wheat fields. Farmers, who had earlier formed huge cooperatives, sought to press their interests through political movements such as Social Credit and the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation (now the New Democratic party).

World War II to the Present

With W. L. Mackenzie King as prime minister, Canada played a vital role on the Allied side in World War II. Despite economic strain Canada emerged from the war with enhanced prestige and took an active role in the United Nations. Canada joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following the war, uranium, iron, and petroleum resources were exploited; uses of atomic energy were developed; and hydroelectric and thermal plants were built to produce electricity for new and expanded industries.

King was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent, the first French-speaking prime minister. John G. Diefenbaker, a Progressive Conservative, came to power in 1957. The St. Lawrence Seaway was opened in 1959. The Liberals returned to office in 1963 under Lester B. Pearson. After much bitter debate, the Canadian Parliament in 1964 approved a new national flag, with a design of a red maple leaf on a white ground, bordered by two vertical red panels. The new flag symbolized a growing Canadian nationalism that de-emphasized Canada's ties with Great Britain. The Pearson government enacted a comprehensive social security program. The Montreal international exposition, Expo '67, opened in 1967 and was applauded for displaying a degree of taste and interest far superior to that of most such exhibitions.

Pearson was succeeded by Pierre Elliot Trudeau, a Liberal, in 1968. The Trudeau government was faced with the increasingly violent separatist movement active in Quebec in the late 1960s and early 70s. In 1968, Trudeau's government introduced the Official Languages Bill, which encouraged bilingualism in the federal civil service. In elections in Oct., 1972, Trudeau's Liberal party failed to win a majority, but he continued as prime minister, dependent on the small New Democratic party for votes to pass legislation; in July, 1974, the Liberals reestablished a majority, and Trudeau remained prime minister. Except for a brief period (June, 1979–Mar., 1980) when Conservative Joe Clark gained office, Trudeau was prime minister until 1984. Increased government spending and slowed industrial growth were Canada's main problems, in addition to the continuing threat of Quebec separatism.

After Quebec voted (1980) not to leave the Canadian federation, Trudeau began a constitutional debate that culminated with the Canada Act of 1982, which made Canada fully independent from Great Britain by giving it the right to amend its own constitution. Quebec's provincial government, however, did not accept the new constitution.

With the country reeling from the effects of a recession, Trudeau resigned (1984) and was succeeded as head of the Liberal party and prime minister by John Turner. In the elections later that year, Brian Mulroney led the Progressive Conservatives to victory in a landslide. Mulroney's first major accomplishment was the Meech Lake Accord, a set of constitutional reforms proposed by Quebec premier Robert Bourassa that would have brought Quebec into the constitution by guaranteeing its status as a “distinct society.” However, aggressive measures by the Quebec government to curtail the use of English, such as forbidding the use of any language other than French on public signs, caused a wave of resentment in Canada's English-speaking population. The accord died on June 22, 1990, when Newfoundland and Manitoba failed to ratify it, leaving Canada in a serious constitutional crisis. In Oct., 1992, Canadian voters rejected a complex package of constitutional changes (the Charlottetown Accord) intended to provide alternatives that would discourage the separatist movement in Quebec.

Canada's new constitution also opened the way for native land claims that have changed the political appearance of N Canada and had effects elsewhere as well. In 1992, as part of the largest native-claim settlement in Canadian history, the Inuit-dominated eastern portion of the Northwest Territories was slated to be separated as the territory of Nunavut, which was completed in 1999. The subsequent years saw the signing of a series of similar self-government agreements with various aboriginal groups to settle additional native claims; none of these agreements, however, established separate province-level territories. In 1998 the federal government issued a formal apology to its indigenous people for 150 years of mistreatment and established a fund for reparations.

The most significant accomplishment of Mulroney's first government was a free-trade agreement with the United States, which was ratified by parliament after Mulroney and the Progressive Conservatives returned to power in 1988 reelection; the agreement came into effect in Jan., 1989. In his second term this pact formed the groundwork for the broader North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed in 1992. NAFTA came into effect in Jan., 1994, establishing a free-trade zone that consisted of Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

In 1993, Mulroney resigned and was succeeded by fellow Conservative Kim Campbell, who became (June, 1993) Canada's first woman prime minister.

Widespread anger over recession and high unemployment led to a Progressive Conservative rout in the elections of Oct., 1993, sweeping the Liberals to power and making Jean Chrétien prime minister. The Conservatives were left with only two seats, having lost a total of 151. Two relatively new parties, the Bloc Québécois (a Quebec separatist party) and the Reform party (based in western Canada), won nearly all the remaining parliamentary seats. In Oct., 1995, Quebec voters again rejected independence from Canada in a referendum, but this time the question was only narrowly defeated.

Chrétien's Liberal party held onto 155 seats following the June, 1997, parliamentary elections, and he remained prime minister. The majority of the opposition seats went to the Reform party (60), which in 2000 reconstituted itself as the Canadian Alliance, and the Bloc Québécois (44). In the late 1990s the low Canadian dollar and relatively high unemployment were among the country's chief concerns, but the government made progress in paying down the national debt.

In July, 2000, Chrétien won passage of a bill designed to make it harder for Quebec to secede, by requiring that a clear majority support a clearly worded proposition and that such issues as borders and the seceding province's responsibility for a share of the national debt be resolved by negotiations. In the elections of Nov., 2000, Chrétien led the Liberals to a third consecutive victory at the polls, winning 172 seats in the House of Commons; the Canadian Alliance (66) and Bloc Québécois (38) remained the principal opposition parties. Although the country suffered an economic slowdown in 2001, the government rejected the stimilus of deficit spending, adhering instead to the fiscal discipline established in the late 1990s, and by the end of the year economic conditions had improved. Following the Sept., 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, a contingent of Canadian forces participated in operations against Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

In 2002, Chrétien's cabinet was hurt by charges of lax ethical standards, resulting in a shakeup; Finance Minister Paul Martin, a likely challenger to Chrétien's leadership, was also forced out. Increasingly active Liberal opposition to Chrétien's continuation as party leader led him to announce announce that he would not seek a fourth term as prime minister. In the weeks before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (Mar., 2003) Canada attempted to negotiate a compromise Security Council resolution; the failure of the council to reach agreement led the Canadian government not to participate in the invasion. Beginning in May, 2003, the country's livestock industry was hurt when other nations banned imports of Canadian beef after an occurrence of “mad cow” disease in Alberta. The situation was not ameliorated later in the year when a cow with the disease was found in the United States and was discovered to have been imported from Canada several years before.

Late in 2003 Liberals elected Paul Martin to succeed Chrétien as party leader and prime minister, and Chrétien resigned in December. Meanwhile, conservatives moved to end the divisions on the right by merging the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative party in the Conservative party of Canada. In the ensuing June, 2004, elections, Martin and the Liberals were hurt by scandals, but they retained sufficient parliamentary seats to form a minority government as voters did not rally to the Conservatives' socially conservative positions.

A scandal originating in a federal advertising sponsorship program begun in the mid-1990s and designed to promote national unity in Quebec increasingly undermined Paul Martin's government in 2005, though he appeared not to have been involved personally. Under Chrétien Quebec advertising firms aligned with the Liberal party received millions of dollars but apparently did little or no work, and some money was funneled illegally to Liberal party coffers. It was unclear whether the former prime minister knew of the scandal, but one of his brothers was implicated in testimony in 2005. The scandal was first uncovered in 2002, and hurt the Liberals in the 2004 elections.

New, detailed revelations about the scandal in 2005 threatened to bring down the government, which narrowly survived a confidence vote in May, 2005. Parliament subsequently passed an appropriations bill and a gay-marriage bill by more comfortable majorities. Michaëlle Jean, a journalist whose family emigrated from Haiti when she was young, became governor-general in Sept., 2005. In Nov., 2005, Martin's government finally collapsed after the New Democrats joined the Conservatives and Bloc Québécois in a no-confidence vote; the vote had been preceded by the release of an investigative report into the advertising sponsorship scandal that called it an elaborate kickback scheme designed to funnel money to individuals and the Liberal party.

The Jan., 2006, elections saw the Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, win a plurality of the seats in parliament and 36% of the vote, but the results did not indicate a significant rightward shift in Canadian attitudes, as the majority of the vote (and seats) went to left of center parties (the Liberals, the Bloc Québécois, and the New Democrats). Issues concerning the extent of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and Canadian control over the Northwest Passage became more prominent in 2006 as Harper's government sharply rejected U.S. assertions that Canada was claiming international waters. In June, 2006, Canadian officials arrested 17 people accused of participating in a Islamic terror plot involving possible attacks against the Parliament Building in Ottawa and other sites in Toronto.

Bibliography

Classic works on early Canada are those of Francis Parkman. See also G. M. Wrong, The Rise and Fall of New France (2 vol., 1928; repr. 1970); D. G. Creighton, The Story of Canada (rev. ed. 1971); R. C. Brown and Ramsay Cook, Canada, 1896–1921: A Nation Transformed (1974); Robert Bothwell et al., Canada Since 1945: Power, Politics, and Provincialism (1981); L. D. McCann, Heartland and Hinterland (2d ed. 1987); R. T. Naylor, Canada in the European Age, 1453–1919 (1988); George Woodcock, A Social History of Canada (1988); H. Crookell, Canadian-American Trade and Investment Under the Free Trade Agreement (1990); R. C. Vipond, Liberty and Community: Canadian Federalism and the Failure of the Constitution (1991); R. K. Weaver, The Collapse of Canada? (1992). See also The Canadian Encyclopedia (4 vol., 1988).

More data about Canada

Source: CIA world fact book:  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html

Background:

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services, as well as responding to separatist concerns in predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.

Location:	Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US
Geographic coordinates:	60 00 N, 95 00 W
Map references:	North America
Area:	total: 9,984,670 sq km land: 9,093,507 sq km water: 891,163 sq km
Area - comparative:	somewhat larger than the US
Land boundaries:	total: 8,893 km border countries: US 8,893 km (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)
Coastline:	202,080 km
Maritime claims:	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate:	varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain:	mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m
Natural resources:	iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower
Land use:	arable land: 4.57% permanent crops: 0.65% other: 94.78% (2005)
Irrigated land:	7,850 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:	continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains
Environment - current issues:	air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests; metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity; ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:	second-largest country in world (after Russia); strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border

Population:	33,390,141 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 17.3% (male 2,967,383/female 2,824,189) 15-64 years: 69.2% (male 11,604,723/female 11,490,839) 65 years and over: 13.5% (male 1,927,035/female 2,575,972) (2007 est.)
Median age:	total: 39.1 years male: 38.1 years female: 40.2 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:	0.869% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:	10.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:	7.86 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:	5.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.051 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.748 male(s)/female total population: 0.977 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 80.34 years male: 76.98 years female: 83.86 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:	1.61 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	0.3% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	56,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	1,500 (2003 est.)
Nationality:	noun: Canadian(s) adjective: Canadian
Ethnic groups:	British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%, Amerindian 2%, other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26%
Religions:	Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)
Languages:	English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Country name:	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Canada
Government type:	constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation
Capital:	name: Ottawa geographic coordinates: 45 25 N, 75 42 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November note: Canada is divided into six time zones
Administrative divisions:	10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*
Independence:	1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK)
National holiday:	Canada Day, 1 July (1867)
Constitution:	made up of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments
Legal system:	based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Michaelle JEAN (since 27 September 2005) head of government: Prime Minister Stephen HARPER (since 6 February 2006) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general
Legislative branch:	bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (105 seats; members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (308 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms starting in 2009 elections) elections: House of Commons - last held 23 January 2006 (next to be held in 2009) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Conservative Party 36.3%, Liberal Party 30.2%, New Democratic Party 17.5%, Bloc Quebecois 10.5%, Greens 4.5%, other 1%; seats by party - Conservative Party 124, Liberal Party 102, New Democratic Party 29, Bloc Quebecois 51, other 2; seats by party as of February 2007 - Conservative Party 125, Liberal Party 100, New Democratic Party 29, Bloc Quebecois 51, other 2
Judicial branch:	Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general); Federal Court of Canada; Federal Court of Appeal; Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice)
Political parties and leaders:	Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE]; Conservative Party of Canada [Stephen HARPER] (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party); Green Party [Elizabeth MAY]; Liberal Party [Stephane DION]; New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON]
Political pressure groups and leaders:	NA
International organization participation:	ACCT, AfDB, APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAFTA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Michael WILSON chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740 FAX: [1] (202) 682-7701 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson consulate(s): Anchorage, Houston, Philadelphia, Princeton (New Jersey), Raleigh, San Jose (California)
Diplomatic representation from the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador David H. WILKINS embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburgh, NY 13669-0430 telephone: [1] (613) 238-5335, 4470 FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082 consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg
Flag description:	two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width), with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square; the official colors of Canada are red and white

Economy - overview:	As an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion-dollar class, Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. Given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoys solid economic prospects. Top-notch fiscal management has produced consecutive balanced budgets since 1997, although public debate continues over how to manage the rising cost of the publicly funded healthcare system. Exports account for roughly a third of GDP. Canada enjoys a substantial trade surplus with its principal trading partner, the US, which absorbs about 85% of Canadian exports. Canada is the US' largest foreign supplier of energy, including oil, gas, uranium, and electric power.
GDP (purchasing power parity):	$1.181 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):	$1.089 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	2.8% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$35,700 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 2.1% industry: 29% services: 68.9% (2006 est.)
Labor force:	17.59 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture 2%, manufacturing 14%, construction 5%, services 75%, other 3% (2004)
Unemployment rate:	6.4% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line:	15.9%; note - this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies; Canada does not have an official poverty line (2003)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 24.8% (2000)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:	32.6 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	2% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):	22% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget:	revenues: $510.6 billion expenditures: $501 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Public debt:	67.7% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products:	wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables; dairy products; forest products; fish
Industries:	transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas
Industrial production growth rate:	0.7% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production:	609.6 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption:	540.2 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:	42.93 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:	19.33 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production:	3.135 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - consumption:	2.294 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - exports:	2.274 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:	1.185 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:	178.8 billion bbl note: includes oil sands (1 January 2005 est.)
Natural gas - production:	178.2 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	92.76 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	101.9 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	9.403 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	1.537 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:	$20.79 billion (2006 est.)
Exports:	$401.7 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities:	motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum
Exports - partners:	US 81.6%, UK 2.3%, Japan 2.1% (2006)
Imports:	$356.5 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities:	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods
Imports - partners:	US 54.9%, China 8.7%, Mexico 4% (2006)
Economic aid - donor:	ODA, $2.6 billion (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:	$35.06 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external:	$684.7 billion (30 June 2006)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:	$398.4 billion (2006 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:	$458.1 billion (2006 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:	$1.481 trillion (2005)
Currency (code):	Canadian dollar (CAD)
Exchange rates:	Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.1334 (2006), 1.2118 (2005), 1.301 (2004), 1.4011 (2003), 1.5693 (2002)
Fiscal year:	1 April - 31 March

Telephones - main lines in use:	20.78 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:	17.017 million (2005)
Telephone system:	general assessment: excellent service provided by modern technology domestic: domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations international: country code - 1; submarine cables provide links to the US and Europe; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean) and 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:	AM 245, FM 582, shortwave 6 (2004)
Television broadcast stations:	80 (plus many repeaters) (1997)
Internet country code:	.ca
Internet hosts:	4.196 million (2007)
Internet users:	22 million (2005)

Airports:	1,343 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:	total: 509 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 149 914 to 1,523 m: 248 under 914 m: 78 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:	total: 834 1,524 to 2,437 m: 68 914 to 1,523 m: 356 under 914 m: 410 (2007)
Heliports:	11 (2007)
Pipelines:	crude and refined oil 23,564 km; liquid petroleum gas 74,980 km (2005)
Railways:	total: 48,068 km standard gauge: 48,068 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:	total: 1,042,300 km paved: 415,600 km (includes 17,000 km of expressways) unpaved: 626,700 km (2006)
Waterways:	636 km note: Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States (2007)
Merchant marine:	total: 171 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,191,099 GRT/2,815,416 DWT by type: bulk carrier 60, cargo 10, carrier 1, chemical tanker 9, combination ore/oil 1, container 2, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 64, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 6 foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 3, Netherlands 1, Norway 1, US 3) registered in other countries: 130 (Australia 2, Bahamas 13, Barbados 9, Cambodia 6, Cyprus 2, Denmark 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 39, Liberia 3, Malta 15, Marshall Islands 4, Panama 17, St Vincent and The Grenadines 6, Taiwan 3, US 4, Vanuatu 5) (2007)
Ports and terminals:	Fraser River Port, Halifax, Montreal, Port-Cartier, Quebec, Saint John (New Brunswick), Sept-Isles, Vancouver

Military branches:	Canadian Forces: Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command, Canada Command (homeland security) (2006)
Military service age and obligation:	16-34 years of age for voluntary military service; women comprise approximately 11% of Canada's armed forces (2006)
Manpower available for military service:	males age 16-49: 8,216,510 females age 16-49: 8,034,939 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:	males age 16-49: 6,740,490 females age 16-49: 6,580,868 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:	males age 18-49: 223,821 females age 16-49: 212,900 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:	1.1% (2005 est.)

Disputes - international:

managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; US works closely with Canada to intensify security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across the international border; sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland

Illicit drugs:

illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US; use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors; increasing ecstasy production, some of which is destined for the US; vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector