CANADA
Let’s go play some hockey, eh?
SECTION 1: PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
LANDFORMS
Western 1/3 is
mountainous
 Contains: Pacific Ranges
(Cascade and Coast
Ranges)
 Canadian Rockies are
east of those
 Rockies flatten into the
Great Plains and Interior
Lowlands

LANDFORMS CONTINUED
Canadian Shield east of
Great Plains
 Appalachian Mountain
range extends into the
maritime provinces
 Coastal Lowlands in
extreme east

WATER SYSTEMS
Mackenzie River (from
Great Slave Lake to
Arctic Ocean) drains
much of northern
Canada
 St. Lawrence River (from
Lake Ontario to Atlantic
Ocean) forms part of
border with the U.S.

CLIMATE REGIONS
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Marine West Coast climate
on Pacific coast
Semi-arid climate btwn
Pacific Ranges and
Rockies (rain-shadow
effect)
TIMBERLINE: point in
elevation where trees can
not grow
CHINOOK: seasonal
(spring) warm wind that
blows down the Rockies
CLIMATE CONTINUED
Humid continental
climate for the southern
1/3 of Canada
 Subarctic and tundra
climates in the north
 Boreal Forest makes up
majority of the north
 BF is the 2nd largest area
of uninterrupted forest in
the world

NATURAL RESOURCES
Energy: Athabasca TAR
SANDS: large deposit of
semisolid heavy crude oil
 Minerals: gold, silver,
copper (Rockies); iron
ore and nickel
(Canadian Shield)
 Fish
 Timber

SECTION 2: HISTORY AND
GOVERNMENT
INDIGENOUS GROUPS
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Inuits, Metís, and First
Nations are the main
indigenous peoples
Inuits around Canadian
Arctic
Metís: FN and French
ancestry
FN: indigenous but not
Inuit or Metís
1.25 million indigenous
people today
FRENCH EXPLORERS
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Early 1600s
Jacques Cartier came in
mid-1500s
Named New France
(Quebec today)
Began clashes w/British
in 1670
Britain wins control in
1763
DOMINION
Early 1800s
 French and English
communities feud over
policy
 Fear of U.S. takeover forced
alliance
 1867: colonies of Quebec,
Ontario, Nova Scotia, and
New Brunswick unite
 This is the DOMINION OF
CANADA
 DOMINION: partially selfgoverning country; close ties
to another country

GOVERNMENT
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Close ties to Great Britain
Gained full independence
in 1931
1982: Constitution Act cut
legislative link to Britain
Executive branch:
governor general, prime
minister, and cabinet
Legislative branch:
Parliament (Senate and
House of Commons)
Judicial: Supreme Court
LE QUEBECOIS
Def: Quebec’s Frenchspeaking inhabitants
 Became minority in early
to mid 1800s
 Being in minority creates
nationalism

MODERN CHALLENGES
North American Free
Trade Agreement
(NAFTA): eliminated
tariffs and other trade
barriers btwn Canada,
U.S., and Mexico
 Many Canadians dislike
effect of NAFTA
 Imports U.S. pop culture

MODERN CHALLENGES CONT.
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Strong support for Quebec
independence
2012: members of the Parti
Québécois were elected
to political office
They support SEPARATISM:
breaking away one part of
a country to create a
separate, independent
country
POPULATION PATTERNS
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Pop: 35,706,000
9 ppl/sq. mile
75% live within 100 miles of
U.S. border
81% live in urban centers
Major cities:
Toronto (largest)
Montreal
(industry/shipping)
Vancouver (trade w/Asia)
Edmonton (oil)
SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Very multicultural
 2 official languages
(French and English)
 Education and health
care supported by
government
 Only required to go to
school until 16

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Leader in production of
uranium, iron ore, coal,
petroleum, copper, and
silver
 World’s 3rd largest
producer of
hydroelectric power

ECON CONT
Natural resources and ag make up 60% of
exports
 70% of GDP is service industry
 GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP): value of
goods and services produced WITHIN a country
in a year

ECON CONT
Prairie Provinces are
major producers of grain
and cattle
 Atlantic coast: fishing
 Tech and electronics are
growing fast
 Space and aircraft
industry are growing
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SECTION 3: PEOPLE AND THEIR
ENVIRONMENT
MANAGING RESOURCES
OLD GROWTH FORESTS:
relatively untouched by
human activity
 Boreal (Taiga) Forest is
shrinking
 Only 10% is federally
protected
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RESOURCES CONTINUED
Overfishing led to laws
protecting certain fish
 Hydroelectricity requires
damming (protests)
 Crude oil extraction and
processing releases CO2
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