In 1898, after the Klondike Gold Rush in the Northwest Territories, the Canadian government decided to create the Yukon territory as a separate territory in the region to better control the situation. Under Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, continental European immigrants settled the prairies, and Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute, extending the border westward along the 49th parallel, and paving the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858). Canada launched a series of western exploratory expeditions to claim Rupert’s Land and the Arctic region. The Canadian population grew rapidly because of high birth rates; British immigration was offset by emigration to the United States, especially by French Canadians moving to New England. Aboriginal and Inuit tradition holds that the First Peoples inhabited parts of Canada since the dawn of time.

Population

After the British conquest of New France, the name Quebec was sometimes used instead of Canada. The name Canada was fully restored after 1791, when Britain divided old Quebec into the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada (renamed in 1841 Canada West and Canada East, respectively, and collectively called Canada). In 1867 the British North America Act created a confederation from three colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada) called the Dominion of Canada. The act also divided the old colony of Canada into the separate provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Canada’s official national sports are ice hockey (winter) and lacrosse (summer).32 Hockey is a national pastime and the most popular spectator sport in the country. Canada’s six largest metropolitan areas – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, and Edmonton – have franchises canadian forex review in the National Hockey League (NHL), and there are more Canadian players in the league than from all other countries combined. After hockey, other popular spectator sports include curling and football; the latter is played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Canada automatically entered the First World War in 1914 with Britain’s declaration of war, sending volunteers to the Western Front. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden brought in compulsory military service over the objection of the French-speaking people of Quebec. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain; in 1931 the Statute of Westminster affirmed Canada’s independence. Territory of Nunavut is created in northern Canada – the first Canadian territory to have a majority Inuit population.

• Under Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, continental European immigrants settled the prairies, and Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905.
• Canada’s four major political parties are the Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party (NDP), and the Bloc Québécois.
• Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years.

Canada’s response to the situation in the Middle East

The Charter of the French Language in Quebec makes French the official language in Quebec, and New Brunswick is the only province to have a statement of official bilingualism in the constitution. Other provinces have no official language(s) as such, but French is used as a language of instruction, in courts, and other government services in addition to English. Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec allow for both English and French to be spoken in the provincial legislatures, and laws are enacted in both languages. Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut, and one of three official languages in the territory.

• Canada’s official national sports are ice hockey (winter) and lacrosse (summer).32 Hockey is a national pastime and the most popular spectator sport in the country.
• Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic, and economic neighbour—the United States.
• Canada and the United States share the world’s longest undefended border, co-operate on military campaigns and exercises, and are each others largest trading partners.
• Alongside a dominant service sector, Canada also has vast oil reserves and is a major exporter of energy, food and minerals.
• The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor along the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River in the southeast.

Northern Canadian vegetation tapers from coniferous forests to tundra and finally to Arctic barrens in the far north. The northern Canadian mainland is ringed with a vast archipelago containing some of the world’s largest islands. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and dotted with lakes and rivers. Canada by far has more lakes than any other country and has a large amount of the world’s freshwater. Strong attachment to the British Empire and Commonwealth in English Canada led to major participation in British military efforts in the Second Boer War, the First World War, and the Second World War. Since then, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to resolve global issues in collaboration with other nations.1819 Canada joined the United Nations in 1945 and became a founding member of NATO in 1949.

Indigenous peoples

In 1769, Saint John’s Island (now Prince Edward Island) became a separate colony. Approximately 50,000 United Empire Loyalists fled the United States to Canada.12 New Brunswick was split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes. To accommodate English-speaking Loyalists in Quebec, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province into French-speaking Lower Canada and English-speaking Upper Canada, granting each their own elected Legislative Assembly. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada’s social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world.

Major Projects Office

The country’s head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada’s long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history, economy, and culture.

While the Green Party of Canada and other smaller parties do not have current representation in Parliament, the list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial. The English established fishing outposts in Newfoundland around 1610 and colonized the Thirteen Colonies to the south. Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713); the Treaty of Paris (1763) ceded Canada and most of New France to Britain following the Seven Years’ War.

With a population of over 41 million, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in its urban areas and large areas being sparsely populated. Canada’s capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. The Royal Proclamation (1763) carved the Province of Quebec out of New France and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia.

The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor along the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence River in the southeast. The position of Prime Minister, Canada’s head of government, belongs to the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet ministers, all of whom are sworn into the King’s Privy Council for Canada to become Ministers of the Crown and responsible to the elected House of Commons.

Archaeological studies support a human presence in northern Yukon from 26,500 years ago, and in southern Ontario from 9,500 years ago.10 Europeans first arrived when the Vikings settled briefly at L’Anse aux Meadows circa 1000 C.E. The next Europeans to explore Canada’s Atlantic coast included John Cabot in 1497 for England and Jacques Cartier in 1534 for France; seasonal Basque whalers and fishermen would subsequently exploit the region between the Grand Banks and Tadoussac for over a century. Canada has been an influential member of the Commonwealth and has played a leading role in the organization of French-speaking countries known as La Francophonie. It was a founding member of the United Nations and has been active in a number of major UN agencies and other worldwide operations. In 1989 Canada joined the Organization of American States and signed a free trade agreement with the United States, a pact that was superseded in 1992 by the North American Free Trade Agreement (which also includes Mexico).

Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in rural areas of all provinces except Ontario and Quebec, policing is contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The desire for responsible government resulted in the aborted rebellions of 1837. The Durham Report (1839) would subsequently recommend responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into British culture.13 The Act of Union (1840) merged The Canadian Provinces into the United Province of Canada. French and English Canadians worked together in the Assembly to reinstate French rights. Responsible government was established for all British North American provinces by 1849. Both English and French enjoy official status, and mainly French-speaking Quebec – where pressure for full sovereignty has abated in recent years – has wide-ranging cultural autonomy.

Ethnicity

During the Cold War, Canada was a major contributor to UN forces in the Korean War, and founded the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in cooperation with the United States to defend against aerial attacks from the Soviet Union. Canada and the United States share the world’s longest undefended border, co-operate on military campaigns and exercises, and are each others largest trading partners. Canada has nevertheless maintained an independent foreign policy, most notably maintaining full relations with Cuba and declining participation in the Iraq War.

Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F) but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills. In non-coastal regions, snow can cover the ground almost six months of the year, (more in the north). Coastal British Columbia is an exception and enjoys a temperate climate with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coast average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (75 to 85 °F) with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). In eastern Canada, the Saint Lawrence River widens into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world’s largest estuary, that contains the island of Newfoundland.