THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 9,984,670 million sq km
Population: Estimated population
(October 2002) is 31.49 million
Capital City: Ottawa
People: Canada is a multicultural
country with people from all over the
world who have now made Canada
their home. Ethnic Groups (wholly or
partly): North American Origin 40%,
British Origin 33%, French Origin 16%,
Other European 29%, Aboriginal
peoples 4%, South, East & South-East
Asian 9%, Other (mostly Caribbean,
Arab, African, Latin/Central/South
American and West Asian) 6%. The total
comes to more than 100% because
many Canadians (approximately 38%)
have a mixed background. A fuller
breakdown is available at Statistics
Canada website
Languages: Canada has two official
languages, English (59%) and French
(23%). 18% of the population have
another language as their æmother
tongueÆ. (source: Statistics Canada û
2001 Census.)
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 43%;
Protestant 29%. (source: Statistics
Canada û 2001 Census)
Currency: Canadian Dollar: 1 Dollar is
made up of 100 cents.
Major Political Parties: The main
political parties are: Bloc Quebecois,
Canadian Alliance, Liberal Party, New
Democratic Party, Progressive
Conservative Party at Federal level.
Many of these parties are also
represented at Provincial Level but
there are some notable other
Provincial parties, e.g. the Parti
Quebecois in Quebec.
Government: Canada is a constitutional
monarchy and a federal state with a
democratic system of government.
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II (since
6 February 1952),
GEOGRAPHY
Location: Northern North America,
bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and
North Pacific Ocean, north of the
conterminous US
Area: total - 9,984,670 sq km; land û
9,093,507 sq km; water - 891,163 sq
km Canada is the second-largest
country in world (after Russia) with a
strategic location between Russia and
US via north polar route. It is slightly
larger than the US. Approximately 85%
of the population is concentrated within
300 km of the US/Canada border.
Land boundaries: total - 8,893 km;
border countries - US 8,893 km
(includes 2,477 km with Alaska)
Coastline: 243,791 km
Climate: varies from temperate in
south to sub-arctic and arctic in north.
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains
in west and lowlands in south-east.
Elevation extremes: lowest point -
Atlantic Ocean 0 m; highest point -
Mount Logan 5,959 m
Natural hazards: continuous
permafrost in the north is a serious
obstacle to development. Cyclonic
storms form east of the Rocky
Mountains, a result of the mixing of air
masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and
North American interior, and produce
most of the country's rain and snow.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
People migrating from Asia, probably
crossing the Bering Strait first settled
the North American continent. They
formed a number of tribes that can be
distinguished by language. The largest
group was the Algonquian, often
migratory, who inhabited the eastern
sub-arctic and maritime areas but by
the 18th century had spread into the
prairies and plains of the mid-west.
The Iriquioian speaking tribes lived
mostly in the St Lawrence Valley and
around Lakes Ontario and Erie. The
Salishan, Athabascan and other
linguistic groups lived along the rivers
and coastline of British Columbia. Small,
isolated Inuit bands developed a unique
culture in the harsh environment of the
Arctic. The first Europeans to reach
North America were probably from
Greenland in about AD 1000. But the
firm knowledge of the existence of
land was not established until around
1480 to 1500 AD. John Cabot, a
Venetian working in the service of the
English sailed to Newfoundland in 1497.
This and later explorations formed the
basis of the English claim to Canada.
The Frenchman Jacques Cartier
undertook a series of explorations,
mainly along the route of the St
Lawrence River during the 1530s and
1540s and he claimed the land for
France.
Hunting and trading was the principal
interest of the European settlers in
Canada and rival companies, including
the HudsonÆs Bay Company, dominated
economic activity. But the rivalries in
Europe spilled over into North America
and a number of conflicts were fought
leading up to the truce agreed in the
Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The peace
was short-lived however and the
period from about 1745 to 1760 was
one of Anglo-French conflict leading to
the surrender of Montreal to the
British. The 1763 Treaty of Paris
brought British rule to the area known
as British North America. Tensions
between the French and English
speaking communities continued to
affect the Colony although in the War
of 1812 against the Americans most
Canadians sided with the British army
in the defence of what was known as
Upper and Lower Canada.
Partly arising from concern about
developments in the USA (the
American Civil War of 1861-1865) came
a movement for the unification of the
colonies of British North America. A
new nation, called the Dominion of
Canada, was created by the British
North America Act of 1867 and
proclaimed in Canada on 1 July 1867.
The federation included Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.
Prince Edward Island and
Newfoundland refused to join. The
Province of Manitoba was created in
1870 and with the North West
Territories joined the confederation.
British Columbia joined the
confederation in 1871. Prince Edward
Island agreed to join in 1873. The
District of Saskatchewan was created
in 1882. The Yukon Territory joined
Canada in 1898. In 1905 Saskatchewan
and Alberta joined the Dominion.
Newfoundland joined in 1949. In 1999
Nunavut was created. Further
information about the road to
Confederation:
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts (Year 2002 to
date)
Canada UK
Nominal GDP (billion US$) 730 1545
Population (millions) 31.4 60.1
Nominal GDP per head (US$) 23,240
25,690
GDP per head ($ at PPP) 30,750 26,150
Exports of goods & services (% of
GDP) 41.3 25.9
Agriculture (% of GDP) 2.1 1.0
Industry (% of GDP) 28.9 26.3
Services (% of GDP) 69.5 72.6
(Source: EIU country data.)
Major trading partners (% share):
1. US (88.1)
2. Japan (2.0)
3. UK (1.2)
4. China (1.0)
(Source: EIU country data. Note: where
actual figures are not available, we
have used the latest estimates.)
Major Industries: Exports include
automobile manufacturing, pulp and
paper, iron and steel work, machinery
and equipment manufacturing, mining,
extraction of fossil fuels, forestry and
agriculture. Canada's leading exports
are automobile vehicles and parts,
machinery and equipment,
high-technology products, oil, natural
gas, metals, and forest and farm
products.
Indicator 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
2003(f)
GDP (% change pa) 4.1 5.4 4.5 1.5 3.4
2.8
Budget balance (% of GDP) 0.1 1.7 3.1 1.8
1.1 0.7
Exchange rate per US$ (av) 1.48 1.49
1.49 1.55 1.57 1.5
Real exchange rate (% change) -4.5
-1.0 2.0 -0.8 -0.9 3.4
Inflation rate (%) 1.0 1.7 2.7 2.5 2.2 2.9
Recorded unemployment (%) 8.3 7.6 6.8
7.2 7.7 7.1
Current account balance (% of GDP)
-1.3 0.2 2.6 2.8 1.5 1.2
Deposit interest rate (%) 5.0 4.9 5.7 3.9
2.6 3.1
Budget Revenue (% of GDP) 40.7 40.4
40.5 39.8 38.6 37.4
Inward direct investment ($m) 22,742
24,487 66,018 27,439 21,305 22,235
(Source: EIU country data.)
Exchange rate: ú1 = approx. Canadian
Dollar 2.31 (June 2003)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Canadian Relations with its Neighbours
Canada has particularly close relations
with its immediate neighbour, the
United States of America. There is a
thriving economic relationship and the
two countries, with Mexico, comprise
the North America Free Trade
Association (NAFTA). Canada and the
US are both members of NATO. The
United States remains Canada's most
important bilateral relationship, which
includes joint Canadian and US
membership of the NORAD defence
alliance. One of CanadaÆs major
objectives for the Summit of the
Americas (held in Quebec in April 2001)
was to pursue the goal of a Free
Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by
2005.
Canadian Relations with the
International Community
The Prime Minister, Jean ChrTtien,
has laid much emphasis on trade
promotion and trade liberalisation.
Canada is a strong supporter of the
World Trade Organisation and of
expanded free trade areas. The other
strand in foreign policy includes the
promotion of international
peace/security through multilateral
bodies and of respect for human
rights/human security (e.g. on
landmines, where the Canadians were
instrumental, strongly supported by
UK, in concluding the Landmines Treaty
in 1997). Canada currently has 11
personnel attached to the International
Military Advisory Training Team
(IMATT) in Sierra Leone. The Canadian
Government has continued to focus on
key transatlantic relationships, including
bilateral ties with the United Kingdom.
The Canadian Government has also
confirmed its commitment to NATO
and the OSCE and is supportive of
ESDP. The Canadians have contributed
forces to NATO-led operations in
Bosnia and Kosovo and have deployed
forces to join the US-led coalition
presence in Afghanistan.
Flags Of The World: Canada
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