• LANGUAGE: Canada's two official languages are English and

French.

• GEOGRAPHY :

HISTORY : Aboriginal peoples Archaeological and genetic studies support a human presence in the

northern Yukon from 26,500 years ago, and in southern Ontario from 9,500 years ago.

European colonization: European colonization began when Norsemen settled briefly at L'Anse

aux Meadows in Newfoundland around 1000. No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when Italian seafarer John Cabot explored Canada's Atlantic coast for England.

PLACES TO VISIT : The cultural and historic heritage of Canada are

preserved and presented in many different ways and in many different places: Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest, Nunavut, Saskatchewan.

Museums : -Royal British Columbia Museum

- Royal Ontario Museum

- Museum of Civilization

CLIMATES : In Canada, the variety of landscapes shows the diversity of our climate.

In the north, low precipitation and cold temperatures favour permafrost and suppress vegetation growth, resulting in treeless tundra.

South of the tundra, on the Canadian Shield, summers are short and warm, and winters are long and cold.

Annual precipitation is abundant, allowing coniferous forests to establish and grow. On the Pacific coast, the combination of heavy rainfall and mild temperatures year round supports temperate rain forests.

In this region the temperature can climb up to 35 degrees Celsius in the summer and descend to a chilly -25 degrees Celsius during winter.

SURFACE AND POPULATION: The total area of Canada is 9 984 670 square kilometers. Canada's area is

the second largest in the world (after Russia which has a total area of 17 075 000 square kilometers). On Canadian territory, the longest distance North to South (on land) is 4 634 kilometers from Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island.

Nunavut to Middle Island in Lake Erie, Ontario. The longest distance East to West is 5 514 kilometers from Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador.

CANADA CURRENCY : The Canadian dollar (sign: $ ; code: CAD) is the currency of Canada.

As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar -denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.

• CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS• The local customs and traditions in Canada were brought to the

country by the millions of immigrants and were part of the native culture when these people arrived. One of the traditions that Canada shares with the US is the celebration of Thanksgiving. This is a holiday in the country that is held on the first Monday in October. The early settlers were so pleased with their first harvests in the new land that they had a celebration to give thanks. This tradition continues today.

When you visit someone’s home, you always remove your footwear inside the entrance. This is so you won’t track any mud or gravel onto the clean floors of the house. On Halloween, children dress up in all kinds of costumes and go from house to house in their neighborhood receiving treats of candy. During the Christmas season, mummering is a tradition in Newfoundland. Both children and adults dress up in old mismatched clothing and cover their faces. They visit homes and put off a sort of mini-concert by singing and dancing.