Canada
General information: Canada is a land of vast distances and rich natural resources.
Location: In the northern part of North America bordering the North Atlantic Ocean in
the east and North Pacific Ocean in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the north.
Area: The second largest country in the world after Russia.
9, 984, 670 sq. km.
Highest point: Mount Logan 5, 959 m.
Population: 33, 601, 360 (August 2006 est.)
Official languages: English and French
Capital: Ottawa
Largest city: Toronto
Other major cities: Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipex, Halifax etc.
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 3 territories
Provinces: 1. Alberta ( in honour of the daughter of Queen Victoria )
2. British Columbia ( began as a British colony )
3. Manitoba
4. New Brunswick
5. Newfoundland and Labrador
6. Nova Scotia ( means „new Scotland“ in Latin )
7. Ontario ( means „beautiful lake or sparkling water“ in the Iroquis language)
8. Prince Edward Island ( was father of Queen Victoria )
9. Quebec ( means „narrow passage“ where the St. Lawrence River narrowed)
10. Saskatchewan ( means „swift flowing river“ in Cree language )
Territories: 1. Northwest Territories
2. Nunavet ( means „our land“ in Inuktitut, it’s the newest territory , 1999 )
3. Yukon Territory
Independence: 1. July, 1867, it’s national holiday called Canada Day
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II represented by Governor General (now Michaelle
Jean since 2005 )
Head of Government: Prime Minister ( now Stephen Harper )
Government: Federal constitutional monarchy
Bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate(members appointed by the Governor
general) and the House of Commons(elected members)
Industries: transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals,
food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum and natural gas
Currency: Canadian dollar ( CAD )
History: Native Americans lived in Canada for thousands of years. In the early 1600s
colonists from Britain and France began to settle in eastern Canada along the St.
Lawrence River. Canada proved to be an excellent spot for trapping and trading of furs.
In the 1800s settlers began to push west. Most of the native Americans were displaced by
the Europeans. Canada was founded as a union of British colonies, some of which had
earlier been French colonies. Canada peacefully obtained independence from the UK in
1867. Most of the Quebec and parts of eastern Canada are heavily influenced by their
French origins. Much of the rest of Canada is of English origin.
Name: Canada was named by the French explorer Jacques Cartier. „Kanata“ means
„village or settlement“ in the Huron-Iroquois language. Cartier was given directions by
Huron-Iroquois Indians for the route to „kanata“, a village near what is now Quebec, but
Cartier later named the entire region Canada.
Symbols:
Flag: Popularly known as the Maple Leaf. The flag first flew on Feb. 15, 1965. Red and
white are official colours of Canada. There are two vertical bands of red, with white
square between them, an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square. The
maple leaf is a sugar maple leaf. Sugar maples are natives to Canada and have brilliant
fall foliage. They are the major source of sap for making maple syrup.
Coat of arms: The shield reflects the royal symbols of Great Britain and France: the
royal lions of England, the royal lion of Scotland, the harp of Ireland and the fleur-de-lis
of France. On the bottom portion of the shield there is a sprig of 3 Canadian maple
leaves. On the red ribbon there is a motto: „They desire a better country“. Above the
shield there is a helm with a red and white mantle. On the helm there stands a crowned
golden lion holding in its right paw a red maple leaf. The lion is asymbol of valour and
courage.The lion of England holds the British flag, the unicorn of Scotland holds the flag
of royal France. At the base there are floral emblems: the fleur-de-lis (France), the
shamrock (Ireland), the thistle (Scotland) and the rose(England). Motto:“From sea to sea“
comes from the Bible. The imperial crown symbolises a monarch as Canada’s head of
state.
Other symbols: the beaver, Canada goose, common loon, the RCMP(Royal Canadian
Mounted Police).
Geography: In northern part of Canada near the Arctic Circle the sea is covered with
ice and floating icebergs. There are large areas of frozen land, called tundra, where very
little grows. South of tundra are rocks, forests, swamps, rivers and lakes. Much of Canada
is still wilderness covered by forests. The Rocky Mountains cover a major part of western
Canada – British Columbia, the Yukon Territory and the western part of Alberta. Westcentral Canada is mostly prairie, consisting of large grain farms. The east –central part
are the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. These are major population and industrial areas.
The Niagara Falls is one of Canada’s best-known tourist attractions.
Canada by far has more lakes than any other country in the world – about 2 million. The
biggest lakes are: Lake Huron, Lake Great Bear, Lake Superior, Lake Great Slave, Lake
Erie, LakeOntario etc.
The longest river is the Mackenzie River. Other large and important rivers are the St.
Lawrence River, the Yukon River, the Columbia River etc.
Weather: The climate varies considerably throughout the country. Canada is generally
known for its cold winters and hot, but short summers.
Animals and birds:
Beavers are the national animals of Canada. They are best-known for their natural trait of
building dams in rivers and streams and making their homes or lodges in the artificial
pond. They are the second largest rodents. Beavers continue to grow throughout their
life.However in several areas of Canada they are considered pests.
Canada geese breed in Canada and in the northern USA. The black head and neck with
white „chinstrap“ distinguish them from all the others.The Great Lakes region maintains
a very large population of Canada geese. Like most geese, they are naturally
migratory.the calls overhead from large groups of these birds flying in v-shaped
formation signal the transitions into spring and fall.
Common loon or diver is a well-known bird in Canada. Their call sometimes referred to
as „loon laughter“ is an eerie wailing, a symbol of the Canadian wilderness, and often
used as atmosphere in horror films. Native tribes of British Columbia believed that an
excess of calls from this bird predicted rain and even brought it.
Other animals and birds who live in Canada are the arctic fox, the moose, the badger,
the polar bear, the musk ox, the Canada lynx, the prairie dog, the raccoon, seals, whales,
snowy owls, snow geese, ravens, wild turkeys etc.
Sports: Canada’s official national sports are ice- hockey in winter and lacrosse in
summer. Hockey is a national pastime and is by far the most popular spectator sport.
Other popular Canadian sports include curling and Canadian football. Canada will host
the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler BC.
Famous people:
Pamela Anderson – actress and model
Kiefer and Donald Sutherland – television and film actor
Christopher Plummer – actor
Linda Evangelista – supermodel
Bryan Adams – singer, musician
Paul Anka – singer
Celine Dion – singer
Alanis Morissette – singer
Weyne Gretzky – hockey player
Dan Aykroyd – actor
James Cameron – director of the movie „Titanic“