Canada 2 Essay, Research Paper

Canada is a country full of excitement and interesting information. There is a poulation of over 20,004,000 in Canada. Seventy out of every hundred canadians live in cities or other communities of more than 1,000 people. About 45% of the canadian people live in metropolitian areas. Canada’s family life is very similar to that of American life. The typical family consists of 3 or 4 members. Canadians earn a little less money than do Americans, but they have about the same standard of living. There are two official languages in Canada; English and French. Both languages appear on money, stamps, and are spoken within the Canadian parliament. Sports in Canada are also very popular. hockey is often called Canada’s official game. Other popular sports in Canada include baseball, football, and lacrosse.

Canada is located at approximately degrees longitude and degrees latitude. The country covers about two-fifths of North America. The country is slightly larger than its only boardering country, United States of America. The country is also boardered by the North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. Canada is a country rich with beautiful forests and scenic fresh-water lakesand rivers. The highest mountain is Mount Logan in the Yukon Territory. The towering mountain is over 19,800 feet above sea level.Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake are both located in The Northwest Territories. Running north off of the Great Slave Lake is the spacius Mackenzie River. Another great river is the St. Lawerence River. The St. Lawerence river is located just above the border of the United States in Quebec. On the border between Canada and the United States is a pair of waterfalls known as Niagra Falls. Together they are over a half a mile wide. The waterfalls fall at a rate of 195,000 cubic feet per second. Canadian coast is extremely irregular, with large bays, peninsulas, and numerous islands, in addition to the Arctic Archipelago. Canada has more lakes and inland waters than any other country in the world. Canada contains five major land regions. The Canadian Shield, granite sparsely covered with soil, extends across most of eastern and northern Canada. The Appalachian region, consisting of a coastal plain, hills, and low mountains, edges southeastern Canada. The fertile Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence lowlands makes southern Qu bec and Ontario. The western Interior Plains region, an extension of the Great Plains of the United States, contains the most fertile soil in Canada. The westernmost region, the Cordillera, includes the Canadian Rockies, the Coast Mountains, and a vast plateau region.

Canada consists of 10 provinces Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia and two territories the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories. A new Inuit-controlled territory, Nunavut, made up from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories. Canada’s capital is Ottawa and its largest city is Toronto. Other important cities include Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Quebec.

Manufacturing accounts for almost three-fourths of the value of all goods produced in Canada. The manufacturing of pulp and paper are Canada’s leading industries. Over forty percent of the world’s total newsprint is produced in Canada. Over eighty-five percent of the newsprint in the United States comes from Canada, The largest mills are in British Columbia, Newfoundland, Ontario, and Quebec.

Agriculture is also very important to Canada. Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of barley, flaxseed, oats and wheats. But the country’s most valuable farm products come from its dairy cattle and livestock. Canada is a fortunate country for having such a rich abundance of agricultural and manufactural resources.

The head of state in Canada is the British monarch. The official head of government is the governor-general, who is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of Canada’s prime minister. The governor-general follows the advice of the majority in the House of Commons in appointing the prime minister, who is the effective head of government. The Canadian federal government has authority in all matters not specifically reserved to the provincial governments. The provincial governments have power in the fields of property, civil rights, education, and local

government. They may impose only direct taxes. The federal government may veto any provincial law. Power on the federal level is exercised by the Canadian Parliament and the cabinet of ministers, headed by the prime minister. Canada has an independent judiciary; the highest court is the Supreme Court, with nine members.

Each province has its own parliament. The Parliament consists of two houses: the Senate and the House of Commons. There are a maximum of 112 senators, apportioned among the provinces and appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister. Senators may serve until age 75, before 1965, they had served for life. Members of the House of Commons are elected, largely from single-member constituencies. The 35th Parliament, elected in October, 1993, has 295 members. Elections must be held at least every five years. The Commons may be concluded and new elections held at the request of the prime minister. There are three main political parties: the Progressive Conservative (or Conservative) party, the Liberal party, and the New Democratic party.

Religion plays an important role in Canada, both architectually and spiritually. Many towns were built around amazing Roman Catholic churches. The churches are among the oldest and most beautiful structures in Canada. There are more than 8,400,000 canadians whom are catholic. The Roman Catholic faith was brought to Canada by the early French settlers. Most other Canadians are protestant. The United Church of Canada is the largest Protestant group holding over 3,660,000 members.

I enjoyed researching information on Canada. I’ve learned considerable amount of information on Canada. Canada is a beautiful country with even more beautiful people. I hope to travel there in the future and put to use my newly aquired knowledge. Canadian culture combine elements of British, French, American and native traditions, with contributions from other groups as well. Canada has all the cultural institutions of a prosperous, modern nation.