Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 07/2015
Motto:
"A Mari Usque Ad Mare" (Latin)
"From Sea to Sea"
Anthem:
"O Canada"
Royal anthem: "God Save the Queen"
Capital:
Ottawa
45°24′N 75°40′W
Largest city
Toronto
Official languages
• English
• French
Recognised regional languages
• Chipewyan Cree Gwich’in Inuinnaqtun Inuktitut Inuvialuktun North Slavey South Slavey Tłı̨chǫ
Ethnic groups
• 76.7% White
• 14.2% Asian
• 4.3% Aboriginal
• 2.9% Black
• 1.2% Latin American
• 0.5% multiracial
• 0.3% other
Demonym
• Canadian
Government
• Federal parliamentary
constitutional monarchy
• Monarch: Elizabeth II
• Governor General
• Prime Minister
• Chief Justice
Legislature
• Parliament
Upper house
• Senate
Lower house
• House of Commons
Establishment from the United Kingdom
Constitution Act
• July 1, 1867
Statute of Westminster
• December 11, 1931
Canada Act
• April 17, 1982
Area:
• Total: 9,984,670 km2 (2nd) - 854,085 sq mi
• Water (%): 8.92 (891,163 km2 / 344,080 mi2)
Population: Q2 2015 estimate
• 35,749,600 (37th)
2011 census
• 33,476,688
Density: 3.41/km2 (228th) - 8.3/sq mi
GDP (PPP): 2014 estimate
• Total: $1.591 trillion (15th)
• Per capita: $44,843 (20th)
Currency:
Canadian dollar ($) (CAD)
Time zone: (UTC−3.5 to −8)
Summer (DST): (UTC−2.5 to −7)
Date format:
• dd-mm-yyyy
• mm-dd-yyyy
• yyyy-mm-dd (CE)
Drives on the
right
Calling code:
+1
ISO 3166 code:
CA
Internet TLD:
.ca
Canada is a country, consisting of ten provinces and three territories, in the northern part of the continent of North America.
It extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles) in total, making it the world's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area.
Canada's common border with the United States forms the world's longest land border.
The land now called Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples.
Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonies were established on the region's Atlantic coast.
As a consequence of various conflicts, the United Kingdom gained and lost North American territories until left, in the late 18th century, with what mostly comprises Canada today.
Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1, 1867, three colonies joined to form the autonomous federal Dominion of Canada.
This began an accretion of provinces and territories to the new self-governing Dominion.
In 1931, Britain granted Canada near total independence with the Statute of Westminster 1931 and full sovereignty was attained when the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.
Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II being the current 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 countries, with a population of approximately 35 million as of 2015.
Its advanced economy is one of the 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 one of the wealthiest in the world, with the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally, and the eighth 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 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.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement".
In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona.
Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village, but the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona).
By 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this region as Canada.
In the 17th and early 18th centuries, "Canada" referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River.
In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas; until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841.
Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country, and the word Dominion was conferred as the country's title.
The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, which refers only to Canada.
Later that year, the national holiday was renamed from Dominion Day to Canada Day.
The term "Dominion' is also used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though after the Second World War the term "federal" had replaced "dominion".