Portal:Canada
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Introduction
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. It is a sparsely inhabited country of 40 million people, the vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. 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 "called upon" 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 gender equality. 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.
A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)
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Canadians (French: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian. (Full article...)
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Wilfrid Eggleston OBE (25 March 1901 – 13 June 1986) was an Anglo-Canadian journalist, author and civil servant. Born in Lincoln to middle-class English parents, he relocated to Netherfield, Nottinghamshire where his father was convinced to move the family to a ranch in Orion, Alberta. Suffering from boredom in his teenage years, Eggleston advanced his basic English education through a fast-track course at Regina College, which qualified his entrance to Queen's University in 1926. Graduating in 1928, he found journalistic work at the Lethbridge Herald before occupying his role as Ottawa correspondent for the Toronto Star by the following year, becoming parliamentary correspondent before his resignation in 1936. (Full article...)
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National symbol -
Regional tartans of Canada are represented by all Canada's provinces and territories having a regional tartan, as do many other regional divisions in Canada. Tartans were first brought to Canada by Scottish settlers; the first province to adopt one officially was Nova Scotia in 1956 (when registered at the Court of the Lord Lyon; adopted by law in 1963), and the most recent province was Ontario, in 2000. Except for the tartan of Quebec, all of the provincial and territorial tartans are officially recognized and registered in the books of the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland. (Full article...)
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The politics of Canada functions within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch is head of state. In practice, executive authority is entrusted to the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown chaired by the Prime Minister of Canada that act as the executive committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada and are responsible to the democratically elected House of Commons. (Full article...)
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Current events
- May 31, 2024 –
- Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton dies in prison after being attacked by another inmate earlier this month. (AP)
- May 21, 2024 –
- Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is reported to be on life support after being physically attacked in a prison in Port-Cartier, Quebec. (Vancouver Sun)
- May 18, 2024 –
- Three people are killed and five others are injured in a boat collision on Bobs Lake in Ontario, Canada. (CBC News)
- May 17, 2024 –
- A child in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, dies of measles, the province's first such death since 1989. (CBC News)
- The RCMP identifies the killer of four people in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1976 and 1977 as American serial rapist Gary Allen Srery, who died in prison in 2011. (CFCN-TV)
- May 16, 2024 – Israel–Hamas war
- Global Affairs Canada announces sanctions on four "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank for engaging in violence against Palestinian civilians and their property. (CBC News)
Did you know -
- ... that Canadian brothers Graeme and Jacob Saunders learned to sail at the Chester Yacht Club, and campaigned a two-person dinghy in the 2016 Summer Olympics?
- ... that the book Sinews of Survival by Canadian ethnologist Betty Kobayashi Issenman was described on release as "a cardinal reference in the field"?
- ... that the parasitic fossil fungus Paleoserenomyces allenbyensis was named after a Canadian ghost town?
- ... that the entire inventory of historic string instruments in Canada's Musical Instrument Bank are loaned to musicians in a competition held every three years?
- ... that Robert Randal delivered a petition to British officials that requested civil rights for aliens living in Upper Canada?
- ... that Canadian painter Ethel Ogden was central to developing china painting within the Fine Arts Department at the Mount Allison Ladies' College?
- ... that photographing Elliot Page for the cover of Time "really meant the world" to Canadian photographer Wynne Neilly?
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The Parliament of Canada is the legislative body of the government of Canada. The Parliament is composed of the House of Commons (lower house), the Senate (upper house), and the sovereign, represented by the governor general. Most major legislation originates from the House, as it is the only body that is directly elected. A new parliament begins after an election of the House of Commons and can sit for up to five years. The number of seats in parliament has varied as new provinces joined the country and as population distribution between the provinces changed; there are currently 338 House MPs and 105 Senators (when there are no vacancies). (Full article...)
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