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HISTORY

Canada is the northernmost country in North America, bordered by the


United States in the south (the world's longest undefended border) and
northwest (Alaska).
The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean
in the west, with the Arctic Ocean in the north (Canada's territorial claim
extends to the North Pole).

The island of Greenland is just northeast of Canada's northern most islands,


while the French possession of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is just off the east
coast.
Canada is the world's second-largest country in terms of land area (after
Russia), but has a low population density, with approximately 31 million
inhabitants (Canadians).

Canada is a modern and technologically advanced country and is energy self-


sufficient.Its economy heavily relies on its abundance of natural resources
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
The name Canada originated from a Huron-Iroquoian word, Kanata meaning
"village", referring to Stadacona, a settlement on the site of present-day
Quebec City.
In practice, the country's official name is simply Canada.It has been argued
that the country's official name still is The Dominion of Canada, as the British
North America Act, section 3, created "one Dominion under the name of
Canada;" and while the 1982 Canadian Constitution does not use the term,
neither does it amend the earlier usage.
However, starting in the 1950s the federal government began to gradually
phase out the use of the word "Dominion" in official texts and instead simply
refer to the nation as "Canada."
The last major change was renaming the national holiday from Dominion Day
to Canada Day in 1982.Dominion is still occasionally used to distinguish
the federal government as from the provinces.
National motto; AMariUsqueAdMare(Fromseatosea)
Official languages; EnglishandFrench
Capital; Ottawa,Ontario
Largest City; Toronto,Ontario
Queen; ElizabethII
Area; 9,984,670km
Population; 32,207,113
Independence; BritishNorthAmericaActJuly1,1867
Currency; Canadiandollar($)

National Anthem OCanada


GEOGRAPHY
Eastern Canada is divided between boreal forest and the barren
Canadian Shield in the north and the highly fertile Saint Lawrence
River Valley in the south, where most of the country's population is
concentrated.
Large parts of south central Canada are covered by plains and
prairies.The west of Canada mostly consists of rolling terrain on
either side of the Rocky Mountains.
The Hudson Bay sea arm cuts deep into the country.A number of
large lakes are located throughout Canada, including the Great Lakes,
which form part of the border with the United States.
The vast north of the country is mainly arctic lowlands with a polar
climate, and is therefore extremely sparsely populated; for example,
fewer than 30,000 people live in Nunavut Territory, which is the size
of Western Europe.
Most of the major cities are located in the more temperate south,
with largest concentration in the east.
PROVINCE CAPITALS

Ontario Toronto

Quebec Quebec City

Nova Scotia Halifax

New Brunswick Fredericton

Manitoba Winnipeg

British Columbia Victoria

Prince Edward Island Charlotte Town

Saskatchewan Regina

Alberta Edmonton

Newfoundland & Labrador St. Johns


TERRITORIES CAPITALS

Nunavut Iqawit

Yukon White Horse

Northwest Territories Yellowknife


EDUCATION
How Canadian schools work

Most children attend elementary school (or primary school) and then
high school (or secondary school). Usually, children enter high school at
about age 13 or 14. Some school systems have middle schools that children
attend for two years before they enter high school.

Children between six and 16 must attend school and most of them go to
public schools. In elementary and high school, classes usually start in early
September and end in late June. There is usually a two-week vacation in
December and a one-week vacation in either February or March. Children
attend school Monday to Friday, for about six hours a day. They usually bring
their lunch to school, but sometimes return home for lunch if they live close
to their school.
Elementary school for younger
children
Elementary school starts with Kindergarten at age four or five. The
purpose of Kindergarten is to help young children become used to school. At
age six, children attend Grade 1 and continue through to Grade 6 or 8 before
they enter high school.
High school and middle school
forteenagers
Some provinces have middle schools for children in grades seven and
eight. Middle school is a transition for children aged 12 and 13 between
elementary school and high school.
Religious education
Some families in Canada choose to educate their children at faith-
based schools. In some provinces, children can receive a Catholic education
within the public school system. Across Canada, there are many private
schools where you can send your children for a faith-based education. Private
schools require a fee.
FAMOUS UNIVERSITIES IN CANADA

University Of Alberta
University Of Toronto
University Of Western Ontario
.
RELIGION
St. Mary's Cathedral
inCalgary,Alberta,CanadaisaRoman
Catholiccathedral.Thebuildingsfullname
isThe Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Christ Church Cathedral
inVancouver,BritishColumbia,isthecathedralchurchoftheAnglicanDioceseofNew
WestminsteroftheAnglicanChurchofCanada.AplaceofworshipinGreater
Vancouver,theCathedralislocatedat690BurrardStreetonthenorth-eastcornerof
WestGeorgiaStreetandBurrardStreet,directlyacrossfromtheFairmontHotel
Vancouver
St. Matthew's Cathedral
istheAnglicancathedralinBrandon,Manitoba.Thecathedralislocatedinaresidential
neighborhoodon13thStreetnearVictoriaAvenue.
Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception
inSaintJohn,New
Brunswick,Canadaislocatedon91
WaterlooStreet.
All Saints Cathedral
isthecathedralchurchoftheAnglicanChurchof
CanadainHalifax,NovaScotia.Itisreportedtobethe
largestAnglicanchurchinCanada.
literature
Charles Fenerty
(January,182110June1892),was
aCanadianinventorwhoinvented
thewoodpulpprocessforpapermaking,
whichwasfirstadaptedintotheproduction
ofnewsprint.Fenertywasalsoapoet
(writingover32knownpoems).Healsodid
extensivetravellingthroughoutAustralia
betweentheyears1858to1865(livingin
theheartoftheAustraliangoldrushes).
Cornelius David Krieghoff
(June19,1815April8,1872)isa
Canadianpainterofthe19th
century.Krieghoffismostfamousforhis
paintingsofCanadianlandscapesand
Canadianlifeoutdoors,whichweresought-
afterinhisowntimeastheyaretoday.[He
isparticularlyfamousforhiswinterscenes,
someofwhichhepaintedinanumberof
variants(e.g.Running the Toll).
Paul Kane
(September3,1810February20,1871)
wasanIrish-bornCanadianpainter,
famousforhispaintingsofFirstNations
peoplesintheCanadianWestandother
NativeAmericansintheOregonCountry.
Meredith Quartermain
haswonthisyearsCanadian
LiteratureawardforbestarticlewithTangs
Bathtub:InnovativeWorkbyFour
CanadianPoets.Quartermaindescribes
herselfasverymuchafull-timecultural
worker.HernovelRuperts Land,herfifth
booksince2000,iscomingoutthisfall
fromNeWestPessandsheshardatwork
onanothernovel.
GOVERNMENT
HOW
GOVERNMENT
WORKS
Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The Canadian government has two branches:
legislative and judicial. The legislative branch handles the executive duties. The British
monarch (king or queen) is Canadas head of state. He or she has little real power.
.
Canadas legislature is called Parliament. It is made up of the House of Commons and the
Senate. Together, they determine Canadian laws and policies. Citizens elect
members of the House of Commons. The leader of the political party with the most elected
members becomes the head of government, or prime minister. The prime minister
runs the executive branch within the legislative branch. The prime minister chooses
senators from each of the ten provinces and three territories in Canada.

Canadas judicial branch has both federal and provincial courts. The highest court is the
federal Supreme Court. It is made up of the chief justice of Canada and eight other judges.

Canadas government is responsible for protecting peoples rights. Former Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau led a drive to add a Charter of Rights and Freedoms to the Canadian
Constitution in 1982. The Charter guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the
right to vote. It says that Canadians are free to live and work anywhere in
Canada. The Charter guarantees equal rights regardless of a persons race, religion, gender,
age, or national origin.
How government works
Canada is a democratic constitutional monarchy, with a Sovereign as head of State and an
elected Prime Minister as head of Government.
Canada has a federal system of parliamentary government, where federal, provincial and
territorial governments share government responsibilities and functions.
The Monarchy and the executive, legislative and judicial branches of Government carry out
federal responsibilities.
Constitutional monarchy
Sovereign- Queen Elizabeth II: Monarch, Leader of Commonwealth, Canada's formal Head of
State, head of both the executive and legislative branches
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Governor General- Viceroy - represents the Queen in Canada and carries out the duties of
head of state
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston

Governors General since Confederation

Executive branch
Legislative branch
Judicial branch
Elizabeth II
Queen of Canada
DAVID LLOYD JOHNSTON
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA
Justin Trudeau,
current Prime Minister
Canada's Head of
Government
The Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings
on Parliament Hill
SYMBOLS
FLAG

Red and white are Canada's official colors.


The flag first flew on February 15, 1965.
Maple leaf
It is said that the maple leaf served as a symbol of Canada as early
as 1700.
In 1867 Canada's confederation song The Maple Leaf Forever was
written by Alexander Muir.
The coat of arms created for Ontario and Quebec both included the
maple leaf.
The maple leaf appears on the penny, on the arms of Canada and on
Canada's flag (1965).
The red maple leaf is recognized around the world as a symbol of
Canada.
The Aboriginal people of Canada made syrup and sugar from the sap
of the sugar maple tree.
In 1996 the maple tree was officially recognized as a national
emblem.
Coat and Arms The Royal Crown is at the very top.
A crowned lion is above the shield
holding a red maple leaf.
The shield is divided into five sections.
Three golden lions of England and the
lion of Scotland are at the top of the shield.
The harp of Ireland and the fleur-de-lis of
France are next.
Below the harp and the fleur-de-lis are
three maple leaves which represent
Canadians of all origins.
A lion and a unicorn stand on either side
of the shield.
The lion of England holds the Royal
Union Flag.
The unicorn of Scotland holds the flag of
Royal France.
The motto is right below the shield.

The coat of arms rests on the floral emblems


of the founding countries : the fleur-de-lis
MOTTO (France), the shamrock (Ireland), the thistle
A MARI USQUE AD MARE (Scotland) and the rose (England).
"From sea to sea"
BEAVER
It is a symbol of the fur trade of the early days
Beaver pelts were needed for fur hats.
The fur traders explored large parts of Canada and fur
trading posts were built.
There were six million beavers before the start of the fur
trade.
It was also featured on the first postage stamp in 1851.
The beaver officially became an emblem of Canada in
1975.
A beaver is on the coat of arms for Saskatchewan, Alberta and
Manitoba.
The beaver appears on the nickel
LANDMARKS
THE NIAGARA FALLS

TheNiagaraFallsarelocatedontheNiagaraRiverwhichliesontheborderofthe
provinceofOntarioandthestateofNewYork.TheNiagaraFallsarethemost
powerfulwaterfallinNorthAmericawithanaverageof4millioncubicfeetofwater
fallingoverthecrestlineeveryminute
THE CHATEAU FRONTENAC

TheChateauFrontenacisagrandhotellocatedinQuebecCityoverlookingthe
St.LawrenceRiver.ThehotelwasnamedafterLouisdeBaude,Countof
Frontenac.HewasthegovernorofthecolonyofNewFrancefrom1672to1682
andagainfrom1689until1698.
THE CN TOWER

TheCNTowerislocatedinToronto,Ontario,itisacommunicationsand
observationtower,whichisusedbyradioandtelevisionstations.Thetoweris
builtin1976,itisanastonishing1,815feettall.
THE CANADIAN ROCKIES

TheCanadianRockiesalsofamousasamajormountainrangeinwesternNorth
America,TheRockyMountainsextendmorethan3,000milesbetweenthestateof
NewMexicointheUnitedStatesandtheprovinceofBritishColumbiainCanada.
CHATEAU LAKE LOUISE

LocatedontheeasternshoreofLakeLouise,nearBanff,Alberta,
ChateauLakeLouisewasoriginallybuiltin1890.
FOODS
Tourtiere

Tourtiere,whichisaChristmasdinnerstapleonthetablesof
Quebeckers,isameatpieoftenmadewithgroundpork,vealorbeef.
MAPLE SYRUP

maplesyrupmaybeinpantriesacrosstheglobe,butthisyummy
concoctionwasfirstdiscoveredandusedbyNativeAmericansinnorth-
easternNorthAmerica,soCanadianswillgladlytakecreditformaking
maplesyrupasweetstaple.
NANAIMO BARS

NamedafterthecityinBC,Nanaimobarshavelayersuponlayersofsugary
goodnessfirst,athickcrumbcrust,thenalayerofvanillafrostingorcustard,
andthenitstoppedwithmeltedchocolate.
POUTINE

Poutine,aQuebecstaplethatsamelangeofgreasythick-cutfries,squeakycheese
curdsandwarmpepperygravy.
BEAVER TAILS

Awholewheatpastryisflattenedtoresembleabeavertail(howpatriotic!)andis
cookedbyfloatingontopofhotoil.Thentheyremoveit,slatheritwithbutter,andadd
yourfavouritetoppings(theclassicissweetcinnamonsugar).

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