Canada: by Zephaniah Greer
Introduction: what does other countries have
in common they either have the same language or
they’re near original countries and Canada is one of them
About Canada: Canada is a country in the
northern half of North America. Its ten provinces and
three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific
and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98
million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles),
making it the world's second-largest country by total
area and the fourth-largest country by land area.
Canada's border with the United States is the world's
longest land border. The majority of the country has a
cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas
are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the
majority of its land territory being dominated by forest
and tundra and the Rocky Mountains. About four-fifths
of the country's population of 36 million people is
urbanized and live near the southern border. Its capital is
Ottawa, its largest metropolis is Toronto; other major
urban areas include Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary,
Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Hamilton.
Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various
Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the 16th century, British
and French claims were made on the area, with the
colony of Canada first being established by the French in
1537. As a consequence of various conflicts, the United
Kingdom gained and lost territories within British North
America until it was left, in the late 18th century, with
what mostly geographically comprises Canada today.
Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,
1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova
Scotia joined to form the semi-autonomous federal
Dominion of Canada. This began an accretion of
provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing
Dominion to the present ten provinces and three
territories forming modern Canada.
History behind it: In 1931, Canada
achieved near total independence from the United
Kingdom with the Statute of Westminster 1931, and full
sovereignty was attained when the Canada Act 1982
removed the last remaining ties of legal dependence on
the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a
federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional
monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of
state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal
level. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and
multicultural nations, the product of large-scale
immigration from many other countries. Its advanced
economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying
chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-
developed international trade networks. Canada's long
and complex relationship with the United States has had
a significant impact on its economy and culture.
Canada is a developed country and has the tenth highest
nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth
highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It
ranks among the highest in international measurements
of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life,
economic freedom, and education. Canada is a
Commonwealth realm member of the Commonwealth of
Nations, a member of the Francophonie, and part of
several major international and intergovernmental
institutions or groupings including the United Nations,
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G8, the Group
of Ten, the G20, the North American Free Trade
Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
forum.