Canada country profile

Canada is the second largest country in the world after

Russia. However, its population is only about one-fifth of
Russia's.

Nearly 90% of Canadians live within 200km of the border

with the United States, which means that Canada contains
vast expanses of wilderness to the north.

The relationship to its powerful neighbour is a defining factor for Canada. The US and Canada
have the world's largest trading relationship.

Overview
• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

The North American Free Trade Agreement, involving Canada, the US and Mexico, has brought
a trade boom for Canada. But thorny issues abound. American moves which impact on Canadian
exports, in the form of tariffs on Canadian timber and increased subsidies for US farmers, have
created particular tension.

Canada is also worried about pollution from US factories near the border, and about the possible
impact on the environment of the exploitation of oil deposits in Alaska.

Canada pursues a foreign policy that is distinct from that of the US. The country has committed
troops to the American-led war on terror, but does not back the US trade embargo on Cuba.
Canada did not send troops to join the US-led war in Iraq.

After the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, the challenge

of securing the 9,000-km Canada-US border from possible
terrorist infiltration prompted both countries to look at ways
of sharing information.

Immigration has helped to make Canada one of the world's

richest nations. Challenges related to discrimination and
integration are gaining increasing attention. Many recent
newcomers hail from Asia. Canada's indigenous peoples
make up less than two per cent of the population. The way in
which provincial governments share land and natural Toronto: The thriving metropolis
resources with native groups is an ongoing issue. is Canada's commercial hub

Separatist aspirations in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec are a major

domestic issue. A referendum in 1995 saw advocates of an independent Quebec only narrowly
defeated. Subsequent opinion polls indicated a fall in support for independence and the pro-
independence Parti Quebecois was defeated in 2003's provincial election.

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The concept of nationhood for Quebec resurfaced in late 2006, when parliament agreed that the
Quebecois should be considered a "nation" within a united Canada. The move was largely
symbolic, having no constitutional or legal grounding.

Canada has been asserting its sovereignty in the Arctic with growing vigour and has become
embroiled in territorial spats with the US and Denmark. At stake is the possible bounty from
previously-untapped reserves of oil and gas.

Facts
• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

• Full name: Canada

• Population: 33.8 million (UN, 2010)
• Capital: Ottawa
• Largest city: Toronto
• Area: 9.9 million sq km (3.8 million sq miles)
• Major languages: English, French (both official)
• Major religion: Christianity
• Life expectancy: 79 years (men), 84 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 Canadian dollar = 100 cents
• Main exports: Machinery and equipment, automotive products, metals and plastics,
forestry products, agricultural and fishing products, energy products
• GNI per capita: US $42,170 (World Bank, 2009)
• Internet domain: .ca
• International dialling code: +1

Leaders
• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General David Johnston

Prime minister: Stephen Harper (outgoing)

The minority Conservative government of Prime Minister

Stephen Harper was toppled by a no-confidence motion in
March 2011, which triggered elections now due on 2 May.

A motion, brought by the main opposition Liberal Party and

backed by two other opposition parties, declared the
government was in contempt of parliament and had lost its
confidence in a row centered on Harper's budget plans.
Stephen Harper's minority
government collapsed in March
2011

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The opposition said Mr Harper's government was in contempt of parliament for failing to
provide the estimated costs for a number of spending programmes.

It is the first time that a Canadian government has been found in contempt of parliament.

Mr Harper became prime minister in 2006, after elections that brought to an end 12 years of
Liberal government.

However, the Conservatives failed to win an overall majority and had to work with opposition
parties in order to govern.

Two years into his first term, Mr Harper called an early election in an attempt to win a working
majority. His party improved its position in the October 2008 election, winning 16 more seats
than in the 2006 election, but still fell short of an overall majority.

Two months later, Mr Harper came close to being toppled by an alliance of the opposition
Liberal and New Democrat parties over his handling of the economic crisis, but avoided a no-
confidence vote by suspending parliament for a month.

He prorogued parliament for a second time in January 2010, this time for two months. He
described the suspension as "routine", but it drew an angry response from opposition leaders.

They said the move was aimed at avoiding a potentially embarrassing debate on the
government's role in the torture of Afghan terror detainees.

On coming to power, the Conservatives promised to cut taxes, fight crime, boost military
spending and repair relations with the US. Mr Harper has denied harbouring a radical right-wing
agenda, a charge levelled by some opponents.

Born in Toronto, Ontario in 1959, Stephen Harper studied economics at the University of
Calgary in Alberta. He became an MP in 1993 and became leader of the newly-merged
Conservative party in 2004.

He is married and has two children. Aside from politics and intellectual pursuits, he is passionate
about ice hockey.

Media
• Overview
• Facts
• Leaders
• Media

Canada has a long history of public broadcasting. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC) was set up in the 1930s in response to the growing influence of American radio.

Broadcasting in French and English, the CBC runs four radio networks featuring speech-based
and cultural programmes. It also operates two national TV channels, TV and radio services for
indigenous peoples in the north and the international broadcaster Radio Canada International.

There are just under 2,000 licensed radio stations in Canada, many of them commercial. There is
extensive take-up of multichannel TV.

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The Canadian media are free to present a wide range of views and opinions. The broadcasting
regulator rules that quotas of Canadian material - usually 30-35% - must be carried by TV and
radio stations.

The press

• The Globe and Mail - Toronto-based national daily

• La Presse - Montreal-based daily
• The Toronto Sun - daily
• National Post - daily
• Le Journal de Montreal - daily
• Vancouver Sun - daily
• The Gazette - Montreal-based daily
• The Toronto Star - daily
• Maclean's - weekly news magazine

Television

• CBC - public, operates English-language national network and cable news channel CBC
Newsworld
• Société Radio-Canada - public, operates national French-language network and cable
news channel RDI
• CTV - major commercial network
• TVA - major French-language commercial network
• Aboriginal People's TV Network (APTN) - Winnipeg-based national network, via cable
and satellite
• CPAC - parliamentary and political channel
• CRTC- regulatory body; the CRTC website has information about the main TV groups
and their services

Radio

• CBC - public, operates English-language network Radio One and cultural network Radio
Two
• Société Radio-Canada - public, operates French-language services Première Chaîne and
Espace Musique
• Radio Canada International - external service run by CBC
• CRTC- regulatory body; the CRTC website has information about the main radio groups
and their stations

News agency

• The Canadian Press