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P:CA

Saturday, November 16, 2024

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Introduction

Flag and Arms of Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of just over 41 million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history, economy, and culture.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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Featured article - show another

The sculpture framing Vancouver's skyline in 2011

Gate to the Northwest Passage is a 1980 sculpture by Alan Chung Hung, located adjacent to the Vancouver Maritime Museum in Vanier Park in the Kitsilano neighborhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 4.6-metre (15 ft) sculpture of a square, cut and twisted "like a paper clip" to form an arch, is composed of weathered Corten steel that rusts to provide a protective layer. The work was installed in 1980 to commemorate the arrival of Captain George Vancouver in Burrard Inlet, following a competition sponsored by Parks Canada one year prior. Gate to the Northwest Passage received an adverse reaction initially, but reception has improved over time. The sculpture has been included in walking tours of the surrounding neighborhoods as a highlight of Vanier Park. (Full article...)

More featured Canadian content

See also: historic events and sites

Featured biography - show another

Masami Mitsui c. World War I

Masumi Mitsui, MM (7 October 1887 – 22 April 1987), was a Japanese-born Canadian veteran of World War I who had his property confiscated and was detained during World War II as part of the Japanese-Canadian internment. (Full article...)

More featured Canadian biographies

See also: historically significant biographies

Selected panorama - show another

Panoramic view of Calgary

Credit: Calgarypano

More Canadian panoramas

National symbol - show another

Snow Dome, Mt. Forbes, the Lyells, and others from Mt. Kitchener at the edge of the Columbia Icefield

The Canadian Rockies (French: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, which is the northern segment of the North American Cordillera, the expansive system of interconnected mountain ranges between the Interior Plains and the Pacific Coast that runs northwest–southeast from central Alaska to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico. (Full article...)

More symbols of Canada

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Government of Canada wordmark

The Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term Government of Canada refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown (together in the Cabinet) and the federal civil service (whom the Cabinet direct); it is alternatively known as His Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté) and is corporately branded as the Government of Canada. There are over 100 departments and agencies, as well as over 300,000 persons employed in the Government of Canada. These institutions carry out the programs and enforce the laws established by the Parliament of Canada. (Full article...)

More Canadian vital articles

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Polar bear at Cape Churchill (Wapusk National Park, Manitoba)
Credit: Ansgar Walk

More information

More Canadian pictures

Current events

October 25, 2024 –: A man fatally shoots two of his family members before killing himself in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. (CTV News Barrie); Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government announces that Ontario is planning to ban international students from medical schools in the province beginning in 2026. (Pelham Today)
October 24, 2024 –: Four people are killed and one other is seriously injured when a Tesla car crashes into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar at high speed after losing control causing a fire in Toronto, Canada. (CTV News Toronto)
October 15, 2024 –: The Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is designated as a terrorist group by the Canadian government and is sanctioned by the U.S. government, due to the group's alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (CTV News)
October 10, 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine: The World Bank approves a new financial intermediary fund consisting of grants from the United States, Japan, Canada, and other countries coupled with interest from frozen Russian assets to give to Ukraine as part of a $50 billion loan. (Reuters)
October 4, 2024 –: At least two people are killed and three others are injured, including one critically, in a suspected arson at a 100-year-old three-story building in the Old Montreal neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (CBC News) (CFCF-TV)

Past Canadian events

Did you know - show another

... that a journalists' poll rated Billy Fitzgerald the second-best Canadian lacrosse player of the first half of the 20th century?
... that there is an East Quoddy Head Lighthouse and a West Quoddy Head Lighthouse on opposite sides of a bay, but one is in Canada and the other is in the United States?
... that Rod Zaine scored his high school's championship-winning single in Canadian football before playing in the National Hockey League?
... that Amanda Asay was the longest-serving member of the Canadian women's baseball team when she died at 33, having played on the team for sixteen years?
... that because of the increasing prevalence of sesame allergy, the U.S. will join the EU and Canada in 2023 in instituting mandatory food labeling?
... that Damon Severson scored a goal with 0.4 seconds left in regulation time to help lead Canada men's national ice hockey team to a silver medal?
... that Canadian photographer and architectural activist Brian Merrett's works prompted the preservation of Montreal's Shaughnessy House, now the Canadian Centre for Architecture?

More Did you know facts

Featured list - show another

The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champion. Each year the champions from three CHL member leagues—the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), along with a host team—compete in the Memorial Cup Tournament. The OHL's Saginaw Spirit are the defending champions. (Full article...)