| Canada is the world's
second largest country by area and covers most of northern North
America. It extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward
to the Arctic Ocean, Canada shares land borders with the United States
to the south and to the northwest.
The country was inhabited first by Aboriginal
people with the present country being a union of British colonies, some of which
were former French colonies. Canada gained full independence from the United Kingdom in 1982.
Canada is a constitutional
monarchy with Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, as head of state. It is a parliamentary
democracy with a federal system of parliamentary government and strong
democratic traditions.
Canada has a close relationship
with the United States. It shares the world's longest undefended border and have joint military exercises and they are each other's
largest trading partners.
Canada is composed of ten
provinces and three territories. The provinces are: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba,
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan
The three territories are: The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon Territory.
The Provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories
somewhat less. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols.
Average winter and summer
high temperatures across Canada range depend on the location. Winters
can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the Prairie
provinces, where daily average temperatures are near 15 °C, but can
drop below -40 °C with severe wind chills. Coastal British
Columbia is an exception and enjoys a temperate climate with a mild and
rainy winter.
On the east and west coast
average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C, while inland the average summer high temperature range between 25 °C
to 30 °C with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding
40 °C.
Canada is one of the world's
wealthiest nations, a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) and Group of Eight (G8). Canada is a free market
economy with slightly more government intervention than the United States,
but much less than most European nations.
The population is in excess of 32 million people with growth largely through immigration. About three-quarters
of Canada's population live within 160 kilometres of the U.S. border with a
similar proportion living in urban areas.
Canada has two official languages, English and French, which are the mother tongues of 59.7% and 23.2% of the population respectively. Canada is now officially a "bilingual" nation.
In this vast and ethnically diverse country, there are cultural variations and
distinctions between regions. Canadian culture has also been greatly influenced by more recent immigration. Many Canadians value this multiculturalism.
Canada's official national
sports are ice hockey in winter and lacrosse in summer with ice hockey being particularly strong.
Other popular Canadian
spectator sports include curling, Canadian football, golf, baseball, skiing, soccer, volleyball,
and basketball.
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A link to the Canada Tourist Board giving the Regional tourist sites for more detailed Tourist Information
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