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By Maïté and Marion, 2e 2, Lycée des Arènes, Toulouse.
GEOGRAPHY
Canada is located on the North American continent. Its superficy is about ten million square kilometres, it’s the second biggest country in the world. However the population density is among the lowest in the world (3.5/ square kilometre). It is surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, in the east, the Pacific ocean, in the west and the Arctic ocean in the north. The capital, Ottawa, is situated in the province of Ontario.
Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories. Canada has got lots of mountains : the Appalachians, the Laurentians and the Torngats ranges in the east, the Rocky, Coastal and Mackenzie Mountains in the western region, and Mount St Elias and Pelly Mountains in the north. The country has got about two million lakes, and a lot of rivers too. The Mackenzie river, the largest in Canada, flows in the north-western region. The climate depends on the location, because Canada is very large. The temperatures vary according to regions: a mild climate in the south-west of the country (British Columbia), and it is a freezing climate in the north.
Most of the rest of Canada is subject to cold winters, which is typical of this region of the world.
ANIMALS AND PLANTS
 Plant life in Canada varies with land and climate. In the north, there are boreal forests and taiga. We can also find freezing tundra and mixed boreal forests.
In the south, fertile agricultural plains dominate. North American Pacific forest is located in the west, with its magnificent conifers.
There are a lot of wild animals in Canada. We can find polar bears in the northern region, black bears almost everywhere and brown bears in the west. Beavers live near every river in the country. They used to be hunted by Europeans for their fur.
Dogs are the descendants of domesticated wolves which pulled Inuit sleds and protected  them from polar bear attacks. There are three different species of eagles in the country: golden, bald eagles and ospreys.
Moose can be found almost every regions. They live in birch forests and on lakesides. Wolves are in Arctic tundra, mountainous regions and plains and forests in the east of Canada.
ECONOMY
Canada is one of the world’s largest economies: it is a member of Group Of Eight, the eight leading industrial countries in the world. Canada’s currency is the Canadian dollar. Canada main partners are European Union, Japon and especially the United States; both are members of the North American Free Trade Agreement (ALENA in French) with Mexico.=
Like the other industrial countries, Canada’s economy is essentially based on industry and services (69.8 per cent). However, agriculture and the food industry and the natural resources are  a large part of Canada’s exports too; it is a particularity of this country. Indeed, Canada has got many natural resources (oil, coal and uranium, natural gas, hydroelectricity…) because of its enormous area. For this reason, Canada has an important energy industry; activities such as transformation, transportation, the distribution of energy products are very developed.
Mining is an enormous and vital contributor to the Canadian economy: 3.7 % of the national gross domestic product, over three hundred eighty thousand people are employed in this activity, second in the world in exploration investment… For one hundred and thirteen Canadian communities, mining is the major source of their economic activities. So mining has a direct impact on their everyday lives.
Agriculture has always been a vital force in the economy. This is the major reason why Canada is one of the world’s leading food producers nowadays. It is best known for its grains, oilseeds and vegetables. The agricultural sector is the third largest employer in Canada.
 Because of its large area (ten million square kilometers), transportation has always played a major role in Canada. People need a safe, efficient transport system to overcome the various geographical obstacles. Transportation includes all modes of transport: air, rail, marine, ro,etc. Other Canadian leading exports are cars, machinery and equipment, high-technology products, forests and farm products.
PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Canada has got two official languages: English and French, both are heritage of colonies. These two languages have an equal status because Canada is a bilingual country and Official Bilingualism is a law.
English is spoken by 68% of the population, and French by 22%. Only 18% speak the both languages. In total 98.5% of Canadians speak English or French. Then, there are eleven major languages families (ten main nations and Inuktitut). They are many and diverse and have an immense importance for indigenous population.
The country numbers thirty-two million inhabitants, but its density is one of the lowest in the world. There are a lot of ethnic groups; indeed Canada is a multicultural country. The two main groups are British Isles origin (28%) and French origin (23%). Then, there is 15% of the population which have other European origin, plus indigenous people in the north. On October 1982, the National Holiday, best known as “Dominion Day” became “Canada Day”. People celebrate this event on July first, it is an Holiday. It is celebrated in memory of the formation of the Union of British North America provinces in a federation: Canada.
The large majority of the population is Christian: Roman Catholics represents 44.4% of it, and protestant 29%. Then, the largest group is the other Christians with 4.2%. However, the government is officially attached to religious pluralism, even if Christianity has the strongest influence. For example, in the National Anthem “Ô Canada”, we can find an overtly Christian reference to “carrying the cross”.
Ice hokey is the most popular sport in Canada. It is its official winter sport. And it is the most successful in international competition. Ray BOURQUE, who won five times the “James Norris Memorial Trophee” and Wayne GRETZKY, who holds the most NHL scoring records are two stars of this sport. Lacrosse is Canada’s official summer sport. It is the oldest too because of its Native North American origin.
Then, Canadian football is the second most popular sport. There is a Canadian Football League annual championship, the Grey Cup, which is the largest annual sport event in the country.
In 2010, Canada will organize the Winter Olympics.
A speciality of the region: maple syrup.  Maple sap is extracted directly from the maple tree and collected in a big container. Warm sunny days and frosty nights are ideal for the collect. Then, sap is evaporated to make maple syrup. It can produce maple sugar, candy and ice cream. Here are some of famous people who come from Canada: James CAMERON, Jim CARREY, Hayden CHRISTENSEN, Kristin KREUK and Evangeline LILLY; all actors. Céline DION, Nelly FURTADO and Avril LAVIGNE are Canadian singers. An example of Canada’s art, in cinema category: Titanic, which is one of the most famous movies in the world, written and directed by a Canadian Céline DION has sung for the soundtrack.
HISTORY AND GOVERMENT
Some regions of Canada have been inhabited by Inuits and indigenous since the down of time. The first European explorations began from the first millennium when the Vikings and the Basques came to fish. The history of white men in the country began in 1497, when John CABOT reached Newfoundland, also called Nova Scotia.
In 1534, Jacques CARTIER discovered Canada and a French colony was founded.  Jacques CARTIER In 1608, the city of Quebec was created. In 1750, France controlled three quarters of the territory of North America.
The English Hudson’s Bay Company was established in 1670. Because of fisheries and fur trade, a conflict started between the French and the English. Canada became a British Colony in 1763 by the Royal Proclamation and the Treaty of Paris.
In 1849, Canada got its self-government. The Confederation was created in 1867. At this point, the name Canada was officially adopted by the crown of England. In 1931, The British dominions, including Canada, got the statute of Westminster, which declared equality between self-government dominions and the British Empire. They only have a common Crown. Nowadays, Canada is a federal Constitutional Monarchy. It counts ten federal states.
Queen Elizabeth II is the head of Canada. A governor general represents her and exercises most of her powers, and a Prime Minister is the head of Government. The Prime minister of Canada .
In 1968, Pierre Elliott Trudeau imposed the Official Languages Bill and named a French-speaking minister, Jean CHRETIEN, two measures which aimed at increasing French-speaking politician influence in the federal Government.
Today, Canada has one of the world’s most liberal social policies. For example, in 2001, medical marijuana was legalized, such as gay marriage in 2005.
Date de création : 23/04/2008 - 15:36
Dernière modification : 10/07/2008 - 18:50
Catégorie : Seconde
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