Canada

Geography

Canada is the second largest country in the world (after Russia) and occupies the whole of the northern part of North America (except Alaska) and many big islands (e.g. Baffin Island, Newfoundland, Vancouver, Prince Edward Island etc.). Canada’s area is about 10 million sq.km. It neighbours with the USA in the south and Alaska in the north-west. The big part of the southern border is made by Great Lakes Region. This border is the longest undefined border in the world.

The Great Lakes Region is the largest area of fresh water in the world. There are famous Niagara Falls between Lake Erie and Ontario. We can find also other big and beautiful lakes in Canada, e. g. Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, Lake Winnipeg etc.

Canada has large mountain areas – the Rocky Mountains, the Mackenzie Mountains and the Melville Hills. The highest mountain is Mt. Logan near the frontier with Alaska.

The longest river is the Mackenzie flows from the Rocky Mountains to the Arctic Ocean, other big rivers are Yukon, the Columbia (flow to the Pacific Ocean) and the River St.Lawrence (into the Atlantic).

The climate varies from Arctic climate in the North with winter temperatures as low as minus 50 C, to moderate climate in the east and west. In the south is continental climate with winters snow – the same as our country. The north of the country near the Arctic is cold tundra with large and beautiful forests to the south. The central plains form the prairie which has favourable climate to farming.

Population

Canada’s population is about 26 millions inhabitants and the density is one of the lowest. 89% of the land has no permanent population. Major part of Canadians lives in large urban centres – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Quebec etc.

It’s bilingual country. The official languages are English and French.Sixty per cent of population speak English, about thirty per cent speak French, the rest are the languages spoken by various ethnic minorities (Italian, German, Chinese, Native Indian).

Eskimos (called Innuits) live in the igloos in the north and travels by dog-sledge, skiing, kayak or showboats. They eat fish, fruit and vegetable are very expensive becouse of transport by planes.

Indians call themselves first nation. They live in the reservations in normal houses in the middle. They use cars. Still live their traditional life connected with hunting. They have a lot of advantages- free education, government gives then a lot of land they can hunt, live their traditional life but their children have to attend schools. They are very proud of their history. They have many museums (Museum of clothes, Museum of First settlements).

Many people in Canada are Protestants. They are divided into many sects and churches. The most powerful of the churches is, however, Roman Catholic Church.

History

The original inhabitants came to Canada some 20 000 years ago from the Asia across the nowadays Bering Strait. The first Europeans there were Vikings who discovered Newfoundland more than a thousand years ago.

During the Age of Discoveries (15th and 16th century) some navigators landed on the Canadian coast. First it was an Italian (sailing for England) Giovanni Cabot.

Since the 16th century large territories were occupied by the French. It was Jacques Cartier, who gave a name to this land. He called this land according to the Indian word “kannata”. The Indian word meant only village, not the entire region as Cartier thought.

However France lost this country in frequent wars with England during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. When the USA was founded in 1776 Canada remained British colony. Canada became a British dominion in 1867.

Political system

Canada is an independent federal parliamentary system with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state. She is represented in Canada by the Governor – General.

The country’s supreme body is the Federal Parliament consisting of two houses. The House of Commons is elected every 5 years. The Senate consists of senators appointed by Governor – General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The leading figure in political life is the Prime Minister, who is the head of the Cabinet.

Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 2 territories (Yukon Territory (Whitehorse) and Northwest Territory (Yellowknife)). The biggest province is Quebec. The capital city of Canada is Ottawa. The biggest city is Toronto. Other large cities are Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Hamilton, Quebec.

It´s a member of many international organisations – UN, UNESCO, NATO, The Commonwealth etc.

Canada has its own national flag since 1964. It is red and in the centre there is a white square with a simple red maple leaf.. The red stripes are symbolical of Canada’s position between the two oceans, a maple leaf has been used as Canada’s national symbol because it is a land of forests. Red colour symbolises the blood of the Canadians died in the WW II, white represents the snow of the Canadian North. The Canadian anthem is called Oh, Canada.

Economy

Canada has a lot of natural resources – mainly coal, metal, oil and gas, but is also rich in gold, uranium and other metals ores. The main mining province is Alberta. Machine, building and chemical industries are highly developed. Almost half the land area is covered by forests and especially the provinces of Ontario and Newfoundland have large paper mills and wood industry. Ships are built on the banks of Great Lakes, in Montreal and Toronto.Hamilton and Sydney are main centres of iron and steel industries. Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia with their large forests provide wood for building, furniture and paper production.

Forests cover almost half the land area of Canada. Only 7 per cent of the land are suitable for farming. Canada is the world’s fifth largest producer of wheat and the second largest exporter of wheat. Other important agricultural items are live-stock production, oats, vegetables, fruits, tobacco, leather and dairy products.

Valid currency is Canadian dollar.