Canada

Location

• a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean.

Basic info

• The world´s second largest country by total area

• Area - Total 9,984,670 km² (2nd)

• Population - 2006 estimate32,623,490

(the density of 3.5 people per square kilometre is among the lowest in the world)

• Population:

• Concentrated in a narrow belt close to the US border

• Most densely populated provinces are : Ontario, Quebec

• Capital: Ottawa

• Largest City: Toronto

Flag Coat of Arms

History

• First inhabitants came from Asia about 20,000 and 35,000 years ago over the Bering Strait (American Indians)

• Later they were joined by Eskimos who live in Arctic regions

• 10th century – Vikings from Norway

• John Cabot (Giovanni Gabotto – Italian seaman) discovered the coast of Canada in 1497 (he served the English King)

• First permanent settlers were French - in the 17th century

• The Seven Years´ War ended in the defeat of the French and in 1763 Canada became a British Colony

• 1867 – it became the Dominion of Canada

• it consisted of only four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick

Canada today:10 provinces and 3 territories:

• the provinces are:

• 1. Alberta, 2. British Columbia, 3.Manitoba,4. New Brunswick, 5.Newfoundland and Labrador, 6. Nova Scotia, 7. Ontario, 8. Prince Edward Island, 9. Quebec, and 10. Saskatchewan.

• The territories are:

the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon Territory.

The provinces have a large degree of autonomy from the federal government, the territories somewhat less.

Nunavut (April 1991)

Government

• Constitutional Monarchy, in practice a parliamentary democracy with a federal system

• Head – the Queen, in practice the Governor General - Michaëlle Jean

• Parliament – 2 houses Senate, House of Commons)

Appointed in 2005

• Head of Government:

• Prime Minister

(Stephen Harper –

Feb. 2006)

Relief:

• W – mountainous – the Cordilleras

• Centre – prairies – with rich, fertile soil, suitable for wheat growing (agricultural area)

• E – lowlands

• The highest peak – Mt. Logan (6,050m) in Yukon

Rivers

• Principal rivers: The Mackenzie (flowing from the Great Slave Lake to the north)

• The St. Lawrence River (flows into the Atlantic)

• The Fraser River (flows into the Pacific)

• In the N – rivers are ice-covered most of the year

Lakes

• Northern part of the Great Lakes excluding Lake Michigan (on U.S. territory)

• (Ontario, Huron, Erie,Superior)

• The Lake of the Woods

• The Great Slave Lake

• The Great Bear Lake

Largest towns

• Toronto

• Montreal (3mil.)

• Vancouver (over 1 mil.)

• Ottawa

• Quebec

• Calgary

Languages

• English

• French (30 per cent) – most of them live in Quebec

Climate

• Extremely cold in the N - arctic

• Warmer temperatures along the west coast

• Pacific Coast – moderate west coast temperatures – mild summers, cool winters

• Cenre – short, mild summers, very cold winters

Economy

• To be continued…