Canada
Test Study Guide
• Canada shares Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake
Erie, and Lake Ontario with the United States
(p. 175)
• The Atlantic Ocean
moderates the
temperatures of eastern
Canada
Main Languages
• English 58.7%
• French 22%
• The Northern Lands – Nunavut, Northwest
Territories, and Yukon – are the least
populated region in Canada.
• Much of the area is covered by a subarctic
climate zone with cold winters, and the areas
farthest north have a tundra climate.
• A tundra is a flat, treeless plain with
permanently frozen ground.
• (p. 173)
• Canadians worry about cultural dominance, or
takeover, from the United States
• Canada’s government even promotes the
production of Canadian movies and television
shows
• (p. 184)
$$$
• East of the Atlantic
Provinces is an area called
the Grand Banks.
• This part of the Atlantic
Ocean is one of the world’s
great fisheries, which are
areas where fish come to
feed in huge numbers.
• The Grand Banks is visited
by fishing fleets from all
over the world.
• This means lots of revenue!
• (p. 174)
First Nations
• The first people to arrive
in Canada came from
Asia.
• They came during a long
period of intense cold
called the Ice Age.
• The first groups to arrive
moved south because
Canada was covered with
ice.
• (p. 176)
• Ninety percent of Canadians live within 150
miles of the Canada-U.S. border
• During the early 1800s, English and French
communities disagreed over colonial
government policies.
• Fears of a U.S. takeover, however, forced them
to work together. In 1867 the British colonies
of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick united as provinces of the
Dominion of Canada.
• (p. 178)
• France and Britain fought wars in the 1700s.
As a result of British victory in 1763, France
was forced to give up much of its land in North
America.
• However, the Quebec Act, passed by the
British in 1774, gave French settlers in Canada
the right to keep their language, religion, and
system of laws.
• (p. 178)
• Canada’s government is modeled on Britain’s
• Voters elect members of the legislature, or
Parliament
• The party with the most members chooses the
prime minister, who carries out the laws
• The British king or queen is officially Canada’s
king or queen as well (p. 182)
Vancouver – busiest port
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Nicknamed Mounties
• Symbolize Canadian law
and order
• Formed under the
name North West
Mounted Police in 1873
to help created order in
the west, where there
was a gold rush in the
Yukon Territory
• In the late 1600s, some
British merchants formed
a company called the
Hudson’s Bay Company.
They set up trading posts
around the bay in the
hope of gaining some of
the profitable fur trade.
• Today, they are still in
business selling luxury
clothing!
• (p. 178)
• Most Canadians live in
the provinces Quebec
and Ontario
• Canadian government
gave the First Nations
more power by creating
a new territory,
Nunavut, for them in
1999.
• (p. 186)
• Canada’s biggest
challenge might be
staying together as a
nation.
• Some French people in
Quebec called separatists
want to create their own
nation
• The issue remains
unsettled
• (p. 186)
• A signature dish in
Canada is called poutine
and consists of french
fries, gravy, and cheese