CANADA

LOCATION

-Canada is on the continent of North America.
-The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
-The Arctic Ocean is north and the United States is south.
-Canada is north of the 49th parallel of latitude.
-The 49th parallel was chosen as a border from the Great Lakes to the west coast.

FACTS

-second largest country in the world (Russian is the largest.)
-ten provinces and three territories (capital cities are in brackets).

Provinces : Alberta (Edmonton), British Columbia (Victoria), Manitoba (Winnipeg), New Brunswick (Fredericton), Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's), Nova Scotia (Halifax), Ontario (Toronto), Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown), Quebec (Quebec City), Saskatchewan (Regina) Territories : Yukon (Whitehorse), Nunavut (Iqaluit), Northwest Territories (Yellowknife)

-population 35,151,728 (census 2016)
-capital city of Canada - Ottawa (Ontario)
-leader of Canada - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Liberal party)
-emblem - maple leaf
-flag - red and white with a red maple leaf
-Canada's birthday is on the first of July.
-animal - the beaver
-motto - "From sea to sea"
-national anthem - "O Canada"
-RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) the national police force
-six time zones in Canada

THE PEOPLE

-Two-thirds of Canadians live in the southern part close to the Canada/US border.
-Over 80 per cent of Canadians live in urban areas.
-The largest cities Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are home to more than one-third of all Canadians.
-Alberta is the fastest growing province. (2016)
-Canada's two official languages are English and French.
-Ethnic groups include British Isles origin 28%, French origin 23%, other European 15%,
  other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%, mixed background 26%
-Canada is the home of over 1.4 million Aboriginal people. (2011 census)
-The Aboriginal groups are First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
-The largest language families are Algonquian, Inuktitut and Athapaskan.

LAND AND WATER

-Canada has the world's longest coastline.
-There are oceans on three sides - Pacific ( west), Atlantic ( east), Arctic (north).
-Nearly one-fourth of all the fresh water in the world is in Canada.
-Glaciers shaped the land and created many lakes (about 2 million lakes).
-The Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories is the longest river in Canada.
-Ships sail inland on the St. Lawrence River (from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes).
-Canada has one-tenth of the world's forests.
-Mount Logan in Yukon is Canada's tallest peak at 5,959 metres (19,551 feet).

GEOGRAPHY

-Six regions are: Atlantic (Appalachian Highland), Canadian Shield, Arctic, St. Lawrence-Great Lakes Lowlands,
  Interior Plains (prairies), Western Cordillera

HISTORY

-The first people were the Aboriginal people.
-Explorers and settlers from Western Europe arrived in the 1500s.
-Canada was named by the French explorer Jacques Cartier (1535).
-The name "Canada" comes from the Huron and Iroquois word "Kanata" meaning "village".
-Canada became a country on July 1st, 1867.
-The first provinces were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec.
-The first prime minister was Sir John A. Macdonald.

RESOURCES

-Forests, plants, animals and fish are some of Canada's renewable resources.
-Renewable resources can be replaced by nature.
-Canada has 10% of the world's forests.
-Minerals, metal, natural gas, and oil are some of Canada's nonrenewable resources.
-Hydroelectric power is sold to the United States.
-Canada is one of the largest mining nations in the world.
-Over 60 minerals and metals are produced in Canada.
-Canada's top five mineral products are gold, potash, copper, nickel and coal.
-Canada is the third largest diamond producing nation in the world.
-Canada is a world leader in the production of potash and is ranked second in uranium production.

-There are many different types of farms in Canada:
  grain farms, vegetable farms, fruit orchards, livestock and dairy farms

-There are 46 national parks in Canada.
-The largest park is Wood Buffalo National Park located in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
-Wood Buffalo NP is home to world's largest bison herd and the only nesting site of the endangered whooping crane.
-The oldest National Park is Banff in Alberta. It was created in 1885 as Rocky Mountain Park.

EXPORTS

-Canada has the tenth largest economy in the world in 2010.
-Primary exports : motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment;
  chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum
-The United States is Canada's largest trading partner.

TRANSPORTATION

-The main highway system (completed in 1962) is called the Trans-Canada Highway.
-It goes from St. John's NFLD to Victoria, B.C.
-The highway is 7604 kilometres long.
-It is the longest national highway in the world.
-The Dempster Highway in the Yukon is the northernmost highway.

-The major ports are Vancouver, Churchill, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and St. John's.
-The St. Lawrence Seaway allows ocean-going ships to sail inland.
-The Seaway has twenty-six locks and five canals.

-The Confederation Bridge joins the eastern Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
-After four years of construction, it was opened in the spring of 1997.
-The curved, 12.9 kilometre (8 mile) long bridge is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water.

-The two main freight railway systems are the Canadian National and the Canadian Pacific Railway.
-VIA railway provides passenger service.
-Workers began to build the national railroad in 1872.
-The Canadian Pacific Railway was finished in 1885.
-Upon completion many settlers travelled west.

-In 1937 Bombardier invented the first snowmobile.

GOVERNMENT

-Democratic system of government
-Parliament of Canada is in Ottawa, Ontario
-Parliament consists of the House of Commons (elected) and the Senate (appointed)
-Prime Minister - Justin Trudeau (leader of the Liberal Party)
-Governor General of Canada - David Johnston (2010)

SPORTS

-The native people of Canada invented the game of lacrosse.
-Lacrosse is the national summer sport of Canada.
-Ice hockey is the winter national sport of Canada.
-Five pin bowling was invented by T.E. Ryan of Toronto in 1909.
-Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891.