CANADA

Outline

1 – General information

2 – History

3 – Geography

4 – Political system

5 – Economy

6 – System of Education

1 General information

Population: 31milions

More than 40% are of British origin, 30% of French origin and over 20% of continental European origin. Ineteresting is the origin of name of state – Indians used word „kanata“ which means village.

Capital: Ottawa
Other towns: Montreal, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Quebec, Edmonton, Winnipeg
Currency: Canadian dollar = 100 cents, the exchange rate is 75 US cents to 1 Canadian dollar.

Canada has mainly coal, metal, oil, machine building and chemical industries which are highly developed. The main mining province is Alberta. Hamilton and Sydney are main centres of iron and steels industries. Motor-car industry has its biggest works in Chatham and Oshawa, ships are built on the banks of Great Lakes. Almost half the land is covered by forests, only 7% is suitable for farming. Canada exports wheat, live-stock, oats or vegetables.
2 History

Canada was reached by English expedition led by John Calbot in 1497 and french expedition in 1537. Boot countries make colonies there. In 1791 was Canada divided to English speaking Upper Canada and french speaking Lower Canada. These parts was united in 1841. Between years 1870 and 1873 were linked to Canada provincies Manitoba, British Columbia and Prince Edward Islands. Economy grew up, because of discoverign of metals, gold and lumbering forest. New Foundland was joined in 1949.

3 Geography

Canada is situated in northern part of Nort America. It occupies the whole of the northern part of North America (except Alaska) and many islands – such as Baffin Island, New Foundland and so on. It is second largest country in the world. It borders with USA on the south and east (on Alaska). Canada is federation of ten provinces- Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchevan, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Islands, Quebec, New Foundladn, New Scotia and New Brunswick. Canada’s biggest lakes are: Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, and Lake Winnipeg.
· There are also other great lakes which are shared with the USA: Lake Superior (area 82,103 sq km), Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario
· The rivers can be divided into three systems: The Atlantic system is represented by the Winnipeg, the Saskatchewan and the St. Lawrence river, which makes the longest waterway system in the inner part of Canada;

4 Political system

Canada is a constitutional monarchy (the monarchy is hereditary), federal state and parliamentary democracy with two official languages (English and French) and two systems of law: civil law and common law. · Governor general is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term
· In 1982 the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was entrenched in the Canadian Constitution
· The Canadian Parliament is composed of the Queen (who is represented by Governor General), the Senate (also called Upper House) and the House of Commons. · The Senate has 104 members and has the same powers as the House of Commons

The House of Commons has 295 members elected for the term of 5 years, and is the major law making body. Following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons is automatically designated by the governor general to become prime minister
· The Cabinet is the real executive authority, under the direction of Prime Minister (and all together are advisors of the monarch)
· The Parliament has the central and federal responsibilities (including trade, defense, banking systems and criminal law). The regional or provincial legislatures are responsible for education, civil rights, social security, hospital systém

5 – Economy

• It belongs to the G-7 countries (the Group of seven leading industrialized countries consisting of Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Great Britain and USA).
  · Has rich sources of raw materials: first place in the world in the mining of uranium, zinc; sulphur and paper for newspaper
  · One of the leading countries in agriculture
  · 2/3 of the Canadian work force is employed in services industries
  · Over the years 1970-1990 Canada has had the fastest rate of job creation in the G-7 economies. Inflation is at less than 2 percent
  · Is also a member of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

6 – System of Education

Public education is free up to and including secondary schoul

The school attendance is compulsory from age 6-7 till 15-16 years
· Canada spends 8 percent of its GDP on education (which is among the highest)
· School boards hire teachers, set local budget and shape school curriculums
· In some provinces can children enter kindergarten at the age of four
· High school programs consist of two streams- one prepares students for university, the other for post-secondary education at a community collages
· There are separate as well as private schools