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Canada

Definition: Canada

Canada

Noun

1. A nation in northern North America; the French were the first Europeans to settle in mainland Canada; "the border between the United States and Canada is the longest unguarded border in the world".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "Canada" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1644. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: Canada

DomainDefinition

Computing

Canada Country with domain "ca". (1995-04-06). Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing.

Mining

A. A term used in the Western United States for a ravine, glen, or narrow valley, smaller and less steep-sided than a canyon, such as the V-shaped valley of a dry river bed; a dale or open valley between mountains b. A term used in the Western United States for a small stream; a creek.Etymol: Spanish cana, cane, reed. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Canada is the northernmost country in North America, bordered by the United States in the south (the world's longest undefended border) and northwest (Alaska). The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, with the Arctic Ocean in the north (Canada's territorial claim extends to the North Pole). The island of Greenland is just northeast of Canada's northern most islands, while the French possession of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is just off the east coast.

Canada is the world's second-largest country in terms of land area (after Russia), but has a low population density, with over 31 million inhabitants (Canadians). Canada is a modern and technologically advanced country and is energy self-sufficient. Its economy relies heavily on its abundance of natural resources.

Canada
(In Detail) (In Detail)
National motto: A Mari Usque Ad Mare (From sea to sea)
Official languages English and French
Capital Ottawa, Ontario
Largest City Toronto, Ontario
QueenElizabeth II
Governor-GeneralAdrienne Clarkson
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Area
 - Total
 - % water		Ranked 2nd
9,984,670 km²
8.62%
Population
 - Total (2003)
 - Density 		Ranked 35th
32,207,113
3/km²
Independence
-Constitution Act
-Canada Act 		From the UK:
July 1, 1867
April 17, 1982
GDP (PPP)
 - Total (2002)
 - GDP/head 		Ranked 12th
923 billions $
29,400 $
Currency Canadian dollar ($)
Time zone UTC -3.5 to -8
National anthem O Canada
Internet TLD.CA
Calling Code1

Origin of the name

The name Canada originated from a Huron-Iroquoian word, Kanata meaning "village" [1], referring to Stadacona, a settlement on the site of present-day Quebec City.

In practice, the country's official name is simply Canada. It has been argued that the country's official name still is the Dominion of Canada, as the British North America Act, section 3, created "one Dominion under the name of Canada;" and while the 1982 Canadian Constitution does not use the term, neither does it amend the earlier usage.

However, starting in the 1950s the federal government began to gradually phase out the use of the word "Dominion" in official texts and instead simply refer to the nation as "Canada." The last major change was renaming the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day in 1982. Dominion is still occasionally used to distinguish the federal government as from the provinces.

History

Main article: History of Canada

Canada, which has been inhabited by natives including the First Nations and the Inuit for about 10,000 years, was first visited by Europeans around 1000, when the Vikings briefly settled at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. More permanent European visits came in the 16th and 17th century, as the French settled here.

They traded much of their lands with the British in 1763, and after the American Revolution, many British Loyalists settled in Canada. With the passing of the British North America Act the British government granted the request of the French and English leaders of the colony of Canada, the status of an self-governing country on July 1, 1867. More definitive independence came in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster, and in 1982 with the repatriation of Canada's constitution.

On July 7, 1969 French was made equal to English throughout the Canadian national government.

In the second half of the 20th century, some citizens of the French-speaking province of Quebec have sought independence, but two referendums have been defeated, albeit marginally in the last case (50.6% were against independence).

Politics

Main article: Politics of Canada

Canada is a constitutional monarchy, the head of state being the monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch's representative in Canada is the Governor-General, who fills the role of approving bills, and other state functions. For the most part, the monarch (through her representative, the Governor-General) is a figurehead, and what little real power she has is reserved for times of crisis. The text of Canada's constitution can be found at this page. It should be noted that the province of Quebec has refused to ratify the Constitution Act, 1982, which contained procedures for amending the Constitution.

The Governor-General appoints the Prime Minister, generally the leader of the political party that holds the most seats in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister in turn appoints the Cabinet, drawn by convention from members of the Prime Minister's party in the House of Commons (thought not necessarily). The legislative branch of government consists of the Parliament, including the elected House of Commons and the appointed Senate.

Canada is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, NATO, the G8, and APEC.

Provinces and territories

Main article: Canadian provinces and territories

Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories. The provinces have a reasonable large autonomy from the federal government, while the territories have somewhat less. The provinces and territories each have their own unicameral legislatures.

The provinces are:

And the territories: See also:

Geography

Main article: Geography of Canada

Eastern Canada is divided between boreal forest and the barren Canadian Shield in the north and the highly fertile Saint Lawrence River Valley in the south, where most of the country's population is concentrated. Large parts of south central Canada are covered by plains and prairies. The west of Canada mostly consists of rolling terrain on either side of the Rocky Mountains. The Hudson Bay sea arm cuts deep into the country.

A number of large lakes are located throughout Canada, including the Great Lakes, which form part of the border with the United States.

The vast north of the country is mainly arctic lowlands with a polar climate, and is therefore extremely sparsely populated; for example, fewer than 30,000 people live in the territory of Nunavut, which is the size of Western Europe. Most of the major cities are located in the more temperate south, with largest concentration in the east. The largest cities are (in descending order pop. wise): Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Vancouver, British Columbia; the Capital Region of Ottawa-Hull; Calgary, Alberta.

See also:

Economy

Main article: Economy of Canada

As an affluent, high-tech industrial society, Canada today closely resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. Energy self-sufficient, Canada has vast deposits of natural gas on the East Coast and in the three western provinces, and a plethora of other natural resources. The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. As a result of the close cross-border relationship, the economic downturn in the United States in 2001 had an impact on the Canadian economy which was negative but less than expected. Real growth averaged nearly 3% from 1993 to 2000, but declined in 2001. As of 2003, unemployment is up, with contraction in the manufacturing and natural resource sectors. Yet, Canada has succesfully avoided economic recession after 2001 and has maintained the best economic growth rates in the G7 group of nations. With its great natural resources, skilled labour force, and modern capital plant, Canada enjoys solid economic prospects.

Two shadows loom, the first being the continuing constitutional impasse between English- and French-speaking areas, (see article: Politics of Canada) which has been raising the possibility of a split in the federation. Another long-term concern is fears of a flow south to the US of professionals, referred to as the Brain Drain, lured by higher pay, lower taxes, and the immense high-tech infrastructure. However, "Brain Gain", a largely unrecognized phenomenon, is progressing simultaneously, cancelling out "Brain Drain" or even exceeding it, as educated immigrants enter Canada in the late 20th century and 21st century. [1]

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Canada

As of 2001, 66% of Canadians are of European descent (mostly British and French origins), 26% are of mixed backgrouds, and 6% are of solely non-European descent, mostly from Asia. Only 2% of the population is formed by the native population. Canada's two official languages are French and English; French is mostly spoken in Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick. An immigrant-heavy nation, fully one-sixth of Canadians are foreign-born, a percentage second only to Australia.

Most Canadians are Christians, with about 42% being Roman Catholic, and 38% Protestant. The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Canada

While it retains unique characteristics, Canadian culture is heavily influenced by British and American culture. In the past few decades, a more robust and distinct Canadian culture has developed, partially because of the nationalism that pervaded Canada in the years leading up to the Canadian Centennial in 1967.

The province of Quebec has maintained a distinct French culture, which is protected by special laws and constitutional agreements. For example, Quebec uses civil law based on the Napoleonic code, whereas the rest of the county uses common law derived from the British parlimentry tradition.

The large American cultural presence in Canada has prompted some fears of a cultural takeover, and has initiated the establishment of many laws and institutions to protect Canadian culture. Unlike the United States, Canada is not a melting-pot; unique cultures are encouraged.

See also: Music of Canada, Canadian literature, Theatre in Canada, Art in Canada.

Canadian holidays

Holidays
DateEnglish NameLocal NameRemarks
January 1New Year's DayNew Year's Day, Jour de l'anStatutory.
(varies)Good FridayGood Friday, Vendredi saintStatutory. Typically celebrated in April; see Easter article for details.
(varies)Easter MondayEaster Monday, Pâques Typically celebrated in April; see Easter article for details.
Monday preceding May 25Victoria DayVictoria Day; Fête de la Reine (Quebec: Fête des Patriotes)Celebration of the Queen's birthday. Statutory.
July 1Canada DayCanada Day, Fête du CanadaStatutory. Commemoration of Canada's 1867 Confederation.
First Monday in SeptemberLabour DayLabour Day, Fête du TravailStatutory.
Second Monday in OctoberThanksgivingThanksgiving, Action de grâceStatutory. Thanksgiving is not celebrated on the same day as it is in the U.S.
November 11Remembrance DayRemembrance Day, Jour du souvenirObservance of Canada's war dead.
December 25ChristmasChristmas, NoëlStatutory.
December 26Boxing DayBoxing Day, Lendemain de NoëlStatutory. Day when shops sell off excess Christmas inventory.

Note: Each province also has its own provincial holiday or holidays. Links: Canadian Heritage

International rankings

Miscellaneous topics

References

External links

Countries of the world  |  North America
simple:Canada

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Canada."

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Canadian space program

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Canada has contributed expertise and personnel to the world space effort, especially in collaboration with NASA.

Eight Canadians have participated on 11 NASA missions to date:

Name Shuttle Mission Launch Date Notes

Marc Garneau Challenger STS-41-G October 5, 1984 First Canadian in space

Roberta Bondar Discovery STS-42 January 22, 1992 First Canadian woman in space

Steven G. MacLean Columbia STS-52 October 22, 1992

Chris Hadfield Atlantis STS-74 November 12, 1995

Marc Garneau Endeavour STS-77 May 19, 1996

Robert Thirsk Columbia STS-78 June 20, 1996

Bjarni Tryggvason Discovery STS-85 August 7, 1997

Dafydd Rhys Williams Columbia STS-90 April 17, 1998

Julie Payette Discovery STS-96 May 27, 1999

Marc Garneau Endeavour STS-97 November 30, 2000

Chris Hadfield Endeavour STS-100 April 19, 2001 First spacewalk by a Canadian

Owing to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, two further shuttle flights (Steve MacLean in May 2003 and Dave Williams in November 2003) have been put on hold. Two Canadian experiments were destroyed in the loss of Columbia.

Some aspects of Canada's space experience:

The Canadarm

Canadian satellites:

Canada's space program is administered by the Canadian Space Agency. The current president of the CSA is Marc Garneau.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Canadian space program."

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Coat of Arms of Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Canada's coat of arms was proclaimed by King George V on April 30, 1921. The official title now is The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Canada.

Symbols

Shield

The shield contains five coats: the three gold English "leopards" or lions passant, the Scottish lion and royal tressure; the Irish harp of Tara; the gold fleurs de lis of royal France; and a sprig with three red maple leaves to represent Canadians of all origins.

Ribbon

The ribbon is marked Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam, meaning "they desire a better country." It is the motto of the Order of Canada.

Helmet

The gold helmet facing forward represents royal sovereignty; the mantling is in Canada's national colours, red and white.

Crest

The crest is a crowned gold lion holding a maple leaf. This is used by the Governor-General of Canada , representing the Queen of Canada. At the top is St. Edward's Crown, the style of royal crown preferred by Her Majesty.

Supporters

The English lion and Scottish unicorn hold spears from which fly the Union Jack and the three fleurs-de-lis of royal France.

Motto

The motto is A Mari Usque Ad Mare, meaning "from sea to sea." It is taken from Psalm 72:8, first used in Canada in 1906 when it was engraved on the legislative mace of Saskatchewan.

See list of state mottos.

Beneath the motto is a wreath of roses, thistles, shamrocks, and fleurs-de-lis, the floral emblems of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France.

Heraldry

Here is the heraldic blazon of Canada's coat of arms:

Tierced in fesse the first and second divisions containing the quarterly coat following, namely, 1st Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or, 2nd, Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory gules, 3rd, Azure a harp or stringed argent, 4th, Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or, and the third division Argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem proper. And upon a Royal helmet mantled argent doubled gules the Crest, that is to say, On a wreath of the colours argent and gules a lion passant guardant or imperially crowned proper and holding in the dexter paw a maple leaf gules. And for Supporters On the dexter a lion rampant or holding a lance argent, point or, flying therefrom to the dexter the Union Flag, and on the sinister A unicorn argent armed crined and unguled or, gorged with a coronet composed of crosses-patée and fleurs-de-lis a chain affixed thereto reflexed of the last, and holding a like lance flying therefrom to the sinister a banner azure charged with three fleurs-de-lis or; the whole ensigned with the Imperial Crown proper and below the shield upon a wreath composed of roses, thistles, shamrocks and lillies a scroll azure inscribed with the motto A mari usque ad mare.

Other Canadian coats of arms

Alberta - British Columbia - Manitoba - New Brunswick - Newfoundland and Labrador - Northwest Territories - Nova Scotia - Nunavut - Ontario - Quebec - Prince Edward Island - Saskatchewan - Yukon

See also

External links

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Constitution of Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Canadian Constitution is the highest law of Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens. Generally speaking all of the British laws that predate or modify the British North America Act make up the legislation that has been come to be known as the Canadian Constitution.

The Constitution, as it is generally known, is made up of many parts (see the list below) , the most significant that are most often cited today are:

Since 1982 the Charter has become an often cited portion of the Constitution. The predecessor acts and orders that are listed below are generally not as well known. These acts have sometimes been denounced as "messy," "almost incoherent" or worse for their somewhat convoluted form and long, unconsolidated history. However, they remain the laws that determine the division of powers between federal and provincial jurisdictions, the terms upon which new provinces entered Canada and the division between executive, legislative and judicial areas of power in a manner very different from the United States.

Much of how Canada's government works cannot be accurately learned from a simple reading of the constitution, as like Britain, the Canadian government is heavily dependent on unwritten constitutional conventions. For example, a literal reading of the constitution would seem to indicate that Canada is an authoritarian nation run almost single-handedly by a dictatorial Monarch. This is not the case, of course. The Monarch is merely a figurehead, and the true power rests in the prime minister, despite the fact that until 1983 the latter office was not even mentioned in the constitution.

Amending the Canadian Constitution is a topic of great debate in Canada. While there seems to be general agreement among provincial governments that some parts of constitution need to be amended to deal with long-standing demands from many provincial governments, , agreement on details of amendments has been elusive. Further complicating attempts to amend the Constitution is the complexity of the procedure for doing so, which in most cases requires approval from both the federal parliament and two-thirds of the provincial governments, and in some cases requires the approval of all ten provincial governments.

The 1987 Meech Lake Accord, a package of Constitutional amendments intended to deal with long-standing concerns of western provinces and demands from the province of Quebec, failed in 1990 when it failed to be ratified by all ten provincial governments. The last attempt at a comprehensive package of constitutional amendments was the Charlottetown Accord, which arose out of the failure of the Meech Lake Accord in 1990. The Charlottetown Accord was defeated in a national referendum in 1992.

There have been several relatively minor amendments to the Constitution since it was repatriated in 1982 including amendments dealing with provincial schooling in Newfoundland and Quebec, making New Brunswick officially bilingual, changing the name of Newfoundland to Newfoundland and Labrador, and creating the territory of Nunavut.

The following is a list of pre-1982 legislation, Orders-in-Council and Statutory Instruments of the United Kingdom that form, or formed, part of the Canadian Constitution:

External Link

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Culture of Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

It has been said in jest that a fair percentage of Canadian culture rests in the effort to distinguish itself culturally from its southern neighbour, the United States. However, while the two regions share some aspects of a common cultural heritage, there is certainly a separately identifiable "Canadian culture." This is marked by such elements as a greater integration of Native American cultures than elsewhere in the Americas; the retention of traditions descended from those of French settlers; and a notable infusion of Celtic settlers in later phases of the region's history.

One matter of contention in the effort to study Canadian culture rests in the fact of Canada's bilingualism; there is little reason to question the distinct identity of the English- and French-speaking peoples of Canada. However, John Ralston Saul conjectures that Gabrielle Roy and Denys Arcand are better known in anglophone Canada than in France, and more French-Canadians than Americans know of Margaret Laurence and Atom Egoyan.

Canadian art

See Art in Canada.

Canadian literature

See Canadian literature and List of Canadian writers.

Canadian theatre

Canada has a thriving stage theatre scene, especially around Toronto. Theatre festivals draw many tourists in the summer months, especially the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario Ontario, and the Shaw Festival in Niagara On The Lake, Ontario. The Famous People Players are only one of many touring companies that have also developed an international reputation.

See Theatre in Canada.

Canadian film and television

Although often eclipsed at cinemas abroad and at home by Hollywood, Canada has a vigorous film industry that has produced a variety of well-known films, actors, and auteurs. In fact, this eclipsing may sometimes be creditable for the rather bizarre and quite innovative directions of the works of such auteurs as Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, 1997) and David Cronenberg. Also, the distinct French-Canadian society permits the work of directors such as Denys Arcand and Denis Villeneuve. However because of the closeness of the giant American TV and film industries, distinctively Canadian productions are relatively thin on the ground, compared with the situations in Britain or Australia. Canadian TV stations usually fill their prime times with US shows, often running at the same time as they are broadcast in the US.

A number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood significantly contributed to the creation of the motion picture industry in the early days of the 20th century. Over the years, many Canadians have made enormous contributions to the American entertainment industry, although they are frequently not recognised as Canadians (see Famous Canadians).

Canada's film industry is in full expansion as a site for Hollywood productions. The series The X-Files was famously shot in Vancouver as is Stargate SG-1, and The Outer Limits. The American Queer as Folk is filmed in Toronto. Montreal, due to its European appearance, has served in a great variety of mainstream movies, attracting the loyalty of industry people such as Bruce Willis; there are plans to build the world's biggest film studio on the outskirts of the city. The choice of location is usually due to cost, rather than a requirement for a 'Canadian atmosphere'. The frequent question of a Canadian, seeing a film crew on their local streets is "Which bit of America are we pretending to be today?".

Canadian television, especially supported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is the home of a variety of locally-produced shows. French-language television, like French Canadian film is buffered from excessive American influence by the fact of language, and likewise supports a host of home-grown productions. The relative success of French-language domestic television and movies in Canada often exceeds that of its English-language counterpart.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's Canadian content regulations dictates that a certain percentage of a domestic broadcaster's transmission time per day must include content that is produced by Canadians, or covers Canadian subjects. This also applies to US cable television channels such as MTV and the Discovery Channel, which have local versions of their channels available on Canadian cable networks. Similarly, BBC Canada, while primarily showing BBC shows from the UK, also carries Canadian output.

One of the country's attempts to counteract the overwhelming influence of American media is the National Film Board of Canada/Office National du Film du Canada, "a public agency that produces and distributes films and other audiovisual works which reflect Canada to Canadians and the rest of the world".

Canadian comedy

Canadian TV is noted for cutting political satire such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Monday Report, Talking To Americans, and Royal Canadian Air Farce.

There are plenty of eminent Canadian humorists. The Kids in the Hall were a popular Canadian sketch group. Also the Second City Television show originated in the Toronto Second City operation, which produced many comedians that went on to success worldwide, including John Candy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Katherine O'Hara, and others.

Other Canadian comics and comedy groups include Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, CODCO (the precursors to This Hour Has 22 Minutes), Maggie Cassella, and Elvira Kurt. The Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal is one of the world's most important comedy festivals.

Canadian music

Canada has developed its own brands of traditional musics, including the Scottish-derived Cape Breton Violin Music of the Maritimes, the Franco-Celtic styles of Quebec that often include foot percussion and a scat style called turlutte; and other national styles from the Ontario Valley to the west. Noted proponents are Buddy MacMaster and his niece Natalie of Cape Breton and Madame Bolduc of Quebec, whose recordings in the 1930s lifted her people through depressing times.

In the realm of popular music, Canada has produced a variety of internationally successful performers, such as the Barenaked Ladies, Dream Warriors, Guess Who, Rush, The Band, Finger Eleven, The Tragically Hip, Prozzak, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, Celine Dion, Roch Voisine, Avril Lavigne, Paul Anka, and Gordon Lightfoot.

See also: Music of Canada

Canadian stereotypes

Canadians are stereotyped by other nationalities as being nice, but rather dull-'decaffeinated Americans' being one description, while the definition of a Canadian as 'an American with healthcare and no gun' is another. One joke goes 'How do you get Canadians out of a swimmming pool? You ask them.' A Canadian politician remarked that Canada was supposed to have British government, French culture and American know-how, but instead ended up with French government, American culture and British know-how. Part of Canadian culture is a self-deprecating awareness of these stereotypes and assorted cultural highlights, for example Canadian French, Canadian English, eh, the RCMP, joual, poutine, winter, the Canadian Arctic, First Nations people and Inuit (to the extent to which the cultures of these groups are mapped onto that of the country as a whole), maple syrup, ice hockey, and beer.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Culture of Canada."

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Flag of Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Flag Ratio: 1:2

The National Flag of Canada, popularly known as the Maple Leaf Flag (French: l'Unifolié "the one-leaved"), is a base red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a red stylized 11-pointed maple leaf.

For much of its post-Confederation history, Canada had used the British Union Jack as its official national flag, with the Canadian Red Ensign as a popularly recognized specifically Canadian variant.

Although the idea of a new design for the national flag had been discussed for decades in the 1900s, it was in the 1960s that the debate intensified and became a subject of considerable controversy. The principal political opponent of the change was former prime minister and then current leader of the opposition, John Diefenbaker, who made it his personal crusade not only for sentimental reasons but also for political advantage. Eventually, a multi-party parliamentary committee was established to select a new design. Through a period of study with some political manoeuvring the committee came up with the current design, which was created by George Stanley, inspired by the flag of The Royal Military College of Canada. The committee made its final selection on October 22, 1964.

Under the supervision of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, the new flag was adopted by the House of Commons on December 15, 1964 (the Senate added its approval two days later). It was officially proclaimed into law by Queen Elizabeth II on February 15, 1965. Since 1995, February 15 has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day.

Despite the preceding acrimony, the new flag was quickly embraced by the Canadian public, and internationally the flag quickly became a welcome marker of Canadians around the world.

The white centre is a device unique to Canada, blazoned a Canadian pale, being a pale 1/2 the width of the field rather than 1/3.

Flags of Canadian Provinces and Territories:

Alberta - British Columbia - Manitoba - New Brunswick - Newfoundland and Labrador - Northwest Territories - Nova Scotia - Nunavut - Ontario - Prince Edward Island - Quebec - Saskatchewan - Yukon

See also

External Links

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Flag of Canada."

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Governor General of Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)


Governor-General's
Flag 1981-

The Governor General of Canada (Fr. Gouverneur(e) général(e)) is the representative in Canada of Queen Elizabeth II who is also the Queen of Canada, the country's head of state. (The Prime Minister of Canada is the head of government.) The Governor General is named by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.


The Throne of Canada
Throne Chairs for The Queen of Canada, and the Duke of Edinburgh and the Governor General, in the Canadian Senate, Ottawa. (The front chair is used by the Speaker of the Senate)

Although state power rests legally with the Governor General - Parliament sits at his or her pleasure, Royal Assent is necessary for all laws passed by Parliament, and the Governor General is the commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces - real political power rests with the Prime Minister, Parliament, and the provincial governments. The Governor General's is a formal, ceremonial, and cultural office. Current and past Governors General use the title "Right Honourable" (très honorable), like the Prime Minister. However, Governors General in office also use the title "His/Her Excellency". The Governor General's official residence is Rideau Hall; by tradition, he or she also spends several weeks a year at the Citadelle in Quebec City.

The Queen also has representatives in each provincial government: Lieutenant Governors (lieutenants gouverneurs) who are nominally appointed by the Governor General but in practice appointed by the Prime Minister.

The current Governor General of Canada is Adrienne Clarkson.

Unlike in some other countries, the title of the Governor General of Canada has no hyphen.

See also

External link

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History of Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This is an outline of the history of Canada.

The First Nations

At around 10,000 BC, the first people entered what is now Canada, having travelled over the Bering Strait. These First Nations, as they are called in Canada, spread over all of Canada, adapting themselves to the various surroundings. Peoples varied from the Cree in northern Quebec, the Haida and Salish on the Pacific coast, the Iroquois in the Saint Lawrence River valley, and the Beothuks on Newfoundland. Another group, the Inuit, lived in the arctic regions.

The First Nations populations were extremely diverse. Some such as the Iroquois and Haida were settled and agricultural. Others like the Blackfoot were nomadic hunter gatherers. Some states like the Iroquois had adavanced political structures, others still operated almost wholly on the tribal level. Some common factors include a shamanistic religion, a lack of all but stone age technology, and all partiticipated in a trading network that spanned the continent.

The European Arrival

The first Europeans to arrive in Canada were the Vikings. Around the year 1000, Leif Ericsson briefly established a colony at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. The Vikings may have travelled the coast from Labrador to Nova Scotia, and possibly even further south, but they were soon forced to abandon their colony due to attacks from an unknown native group and the poor quality of the soil in the area they settled.

It is possible that Basque and Portuguese fishermen visited the coast of Newfoundland in the 15th century, but the first person known to land in what is now Canada is John Cabot, who landed somewhere on the coast of North America (probably Newfoundland or Cape Breton) in 1497 and claimed it for King Henry VII of England. Portuguese and Spanish explorers also visited Canada, but it was the French who first began to explore further inland and set up colonies, beginning with Jacques Cartier in 1534. Under Samuel de Champlain, the first settlement was made in 1608, which would later grow to be Quebec City. The French claimed Canada as their own and settlers arrived settling along the St. Lawrence and in the Maritimes. Britain also had a presence in the region, however, and with the advent of settlements, claimed the south of Nova Scotia as well as the areas around the Hudson Bay.

The first contact with the Europeans was disastrous for the native peoples. Relations varied between the settlers and the Natives. The French quickly befriended the Huron peoples and entered into a mutually beneficial trading relationship with them. The Iroquois, however, became dedicated opponents of the French and warfare between the two was unrelenting, especially as the British armed the Iroquois in an effort to weaken the French. It was not warfare that destroyed the native way of life, however, but diseases imported from Europe to which they had no immunities. Smallpox and other maladies wiped out a large portion of Canada's native population.

The first people to regularly visit Canada from Europe were fishers. Fleets from all of the Atlantic nations came to the Grand Banks to take advantage on one of the world's richest fisheries. Fishers from Spain, Portugal, and the South of France had a distinct advantage in this trade. They had large supplies of solar salt and thus could cure their catches aboard ship. The British ships, and those from Northern France did not have this advantage and they had to land at Newfoundland or Nova Scotia and hand their catch to dry in the sun. These sporadic landfalls soon lead to permanent settlements and the southern coast of Newfoundland and the eastern coast of Nova Scotia was soon dotted with small French and English fishing villages.

The first agricultural settlements in what was to become Canada were located around the French settlement of Port Royale in what is now Nova Scotia. The population of Acadians, as this group became known, reached 5000 by 1713.

New France

After Champlain's founding of Quebec City in 1608 it became the capital of New France. While the coastal communities were based upon the cod fishery, the economy of the interior revolved around beaver fur which was the rage in Europe. French voyageurs would travel into the hinterlands and trade with the natives. The voyageurs ranged throughout what is today Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba trading guns, gun powder, textiles and other European manufacturing goods with the natives for furs. The fur trade only encourages a small population, however, as minimal labour was required. Encouraging settlement was always difficult, and while some immigration did occur, by 1759 New France only had a population of some 60,000.

New France had other problems besides low immigration. The French government had little interest or ability in supporting their colony and it was mostly left to its own devices. The economy was primitive and much of the population was involved in little more than subsistence agriculture. The colonists also engaged in a long running series of wars with the Iroquois.

French vs. English

The French were well established in Canada, while Britain had control over the Thirteen Colonies to the south as well as control over Hudson Bay. The British, however, with greater financial power and a larger navy, were consistently in a better position to defend and expand their colonies than the French. The French government gave very little support to their colonists in New France and the colonists, for the most part, had to fend for themselves. Thus in the long series of Anglo-French wars, which dominated the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the French steadily lost ground. Quebec City itself was briefly taken by the British in 1629 (but was returned in 1632).

The first areas lost to the British were the Maritimes. After the War of the Spanish Succession Nova Scotia, other than Cape Breton, was ceeded to the English by the Treaty of Utrecht. This gave Britain control over a large number of French-speaking Acadians. Not trusting these new subjects the British tried to dilute their numbers. Thus an effort to recreuit Foreign Protestants, primarily from Germany and Switzerland was launched. After only mild success with this effort the British ordered a massive deportation in 1755 and spread the Acadians throughout their North American holdings. While many subsequently returned the era of francophone Nova Scotia was at and end.

Canada was also an important battlefield in the Seven Years' War, during which Great Britain gained control of Quebec City after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759, and Montreal in 1760. Under the Treaty of Paris (1763) France ceded almost all of its Canadian territory to the British. Many British people (including the American colonies to the south) hoped the French Canadians would be assimilated, but distinct rules of governance for Quebec were set out in the Quebec Act of 1774.

The Quebec Act expanded the territory of Quebec, which was then limited to a narrow area around the St-Lawrence river. The most significant expansion was to the southwest, into land that American colonists wanted to settle. The Act also allowed French Canadians to retain their Catholic religion and their French system of civil law. The Quebec Act became one of the Intolerable Acts that infuriated the thirteen American colonies.

The American Revolution

In 1775 American revolutionaries attempted to push their insurrection into Quebec. The Canadiens did not support the revolution, preferring British protection under the Quebec Act than certain assimilation under an American government. The Americans took the towns of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Montreal and laid siege to Quebec City. An attempt to take the city on the night of New Year's Eve 1775 failed, and the Americans were driven from Quebec in 1776.

The American Revolution also led to the arrival of thousands of Loyalists (referred to as "Tories" in the United States) who, as their name suggests, remained loyal to Britain and fled north to more securely-held British territory. However, they did not want to live under French law, and the colonies of Ontario and New Brunswick were created for them. The rights of English and French Canadians were set out in the Constitutional Act of 1791, which separated the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada along the Ottawa river, and set up more effective colonial governments.

The War of 1812

Canada was once again a battleground, this time between the British and the relatively young United States, in the War of 1812. During the war unsuccessful attempts were made by the Americans to invade Ontario, after overestimating the amount of support they would receive from Canadian colonists. Many of the inhabitants of Upper Canada (Ontario) were Americans who had very recently arrived in the colony, and some of them did support the invading force; however, the rest of the population was made up of the descendants of Loyalists or the original French colonists, who did not want to be part of the United States. The first American invasion came in October of 1812, but they were defeated by General Isaac Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights. The Americans invaded again in 1813, capturing Fort York (now Toronto, Ontario). Later in the year the Americans took control of the Great Lakes after the Battle of Lake Erie and the Battle of the Thames, but they had much less success in Quebec, where they were defeated at the Battle of Chateauguay and the Battle of Chrysler's Farm. The Americans were driven out of Ontario in 1814 after the Battle of Lundy's Lane, although they still controlled the Great Lakes and also defeated the British at the Battle of Lake Champlain. The war was essentially a draw, and it is much more important for Canadian mythology than it is as a historical event. In English Canada it is seen as a victory against American invasions, with heroic legends surrounding many of the participants (such as Isaac Brock and Laura Secord) and battles (especially those in the Niagara Peninsula).

The Timber Trade

As the fur trade declinned in importance the timber trade became Canada's most important commodity. The industry became concentrated in three main regions. The first to be exploited was the St. John River system. Trees in the still almost deserted hinterland of [New Brunswick]] were cut and transported to St. John where they were shipped to England. This area soon could not keep up with demand and the trade moved to the St. Lawrence River where logs were shipped to Quebec City before being sent on to Europe. This area also insufficient and the trade expanded westward, most notably to the Ottawa River system, which by 1845 provided three quarters of the timber shipped from Quebec City. The timber trade became a massive business. In one summer 1200 ships were loaded with timber at Quebec City alone.

The cutting of the timber was done by small groups of men in isolated camps. For most of the nineteenth century the most common product was square timber, which was a log that had been cut into a square block in the forest before being shipped. The timber was transported from the hinterlands to the major markets by assembling it into a raft and floating it downstream. Because of the narrower and more turbulent waters that one would encounter on the Ottawa River system smaller rafts, known as "cribs," were employed. On the St. Lawrence, however, very large rafts, some up a third of a mile in length would be employed. The most common type of tree harvested was white pine, mostly because it floated well. Oak, which does not float, was in high demand but was much harder to transport and oak timbers needed to be carefully integrated into the raft if they were to be carried to market.

In 1842 the British preferential tariff were lifted, however, the transatlantic trade still remained a profitable one. Demand in Britain remained high, especially for railway ties. Improved ships and new technologies, especially the steam engine, allowed the trade to continue to prosper. After the middle of the century the trade in timber began to decline, being replaced by trade in cut lumber and the pulp and paper industry.

One of the most important side effects of the timber trade was immigration to British North America. Timber is a very bulky and not a particularly valuable cargo. For every ship full of British manufactured goods dozens would be needed to carry the same value of timber. There was no cargo coming from the British Isles to Canada that could take up as much room on the return voyage. Exporting salt filled a few ships, some vessels were even filled with bricks, many timber ships, however, made the westward voyage filled with ballast. The population of Canada was so small and the lack of wealth in the area made it not a very attractive market. There was, however, one cargo that the ship-owners did not have to worry about finding a market for in the sparsely populated New World: people. Many of the timber ships turned to carrying immigrants for the return voyage from the British Isles to fill this unused capacity. Timber ships would unload their cargo and sell passage to those desiring to emigrate. During the early nineteenth century, with the preferential tariff in full effect, the timber ships were among the oldest and most dilapidated in the British merchant fleet, and travelling as a passenger upon them was extremely unpleasant and dangerous. It was, however, very cheap. Since timber exports would peak at the same time as conflicts in Europe, such as the Napoleonic Wars, a great mass of refugees could find cheap passage across the Atlantic. In later decades after the repeal of the tariff and the increase of competition the quality, and safety of the ships improved markedly. Since the travelers would bring along their own food and bedding the trade was an extremely easy one to operate. All that was required was a few advertisements, generally in Irish newspapers, and the installation of bunks along the side of the hold. An average timber ship could thus carry about 200 passengers. Even with only a fraction of the hundreds of timber ships carrying passengers, this created an unprecedented influx of new inhabitants. By comparison it has been calculated that the trade between New France and Europe only included an average sixty-six immigrants per year over the lifetime of that colony.

"Responsible Government" and the Rebellions of 1837-38

After the War of 1812, the first half of the 19th century saw the growth of political reform movements in both Upper and Lower Canada, largely influenced by American and French republicanism. The colonial legislatures set out by the Constitutional Act had become dominated by wealthy elites, the Family Compact in Upper Canada and the Chateau Clique in Lower Canada. The moderate reformers, such as Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, argued for a more representational form of government which they called "responsible government." By "responsible," the reformers meant that such a government would be ultimately responsible to the will of the subjects of the colonies, not to the British legislature or monarchy. The radical reformers, such as William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau demanded equality or a complete break from British rule and the establishment of a republic.

Lower Canada - the Patriotes Rebellion

Louis-Joseph Papineau was elected speaker of the colonial assembly in 1815. His attempts at reform were ignored by the British, and in 1834, the assembly passed The Ninety-Two Resolutions, outlining its grievances against the legislative council. Papineau organized boycotts and civil disobedience. The colonial government illegaly ordered the arrest of Papineau. The Patriotes resorted to armed resitance and planned a rebellion in the fall of 1837, although the British troops in the colony quickly put down and forced Papineau to flee to the United States. A second rebellion by the Frères chasseurs of Robert Nelson broke out one year later, but the British put it down as well, with much loss of life and destruction of property.

The Rebellion in Upper Canada

William Lyon Mackenzie, a Scottish immigrant and reformist mayor of York (Toronto), organized a rebellion in December of 1837 after the Patriotes rebellion had begun. Upper Canadians had similar greivances, they were annoyed at the undemocratic governance of the colony. Especially by the corrupt and innefficient Canada Company. On December 4 the rebels assembled near Montgomery's Tavern, where the British troops stationed in the city met them on December 7. The rebels were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, and were defeated in less than an hour. Mackenzie escaped to the United States.

Also in December, a group of Irish immigrants attempted to seize southwestern Ontario by force in the Patriot War. They were defeated by government troops at Windsor.

Lord Durham's Report

Lord Durham was appointed Governor General of Canada in 1838. He was assigned to investigate the causes of the Rebellions, and concluded that the problem was essentially animosity between the British and French inhabitants of Canada. His Report on the Affairs of British North America contains the famous description of "two nations warring in the bosom of a single state." For Durham, the French Canadians were culturally backwards, and he was convinced that only a union of French and English Canada would allow the colony to progress in the interest of Great Britain. A political union would, he hoped, cause the French-speakers to be assimilated by English-speaking settlements, solving the problem of French Canadian nationalism once and for all.

Union Act

Lord Durham was succeeded by Lord Sydenham, who implemented Durham's suggestions in the Union Act, passed on July 23, 1840. Upper and Lower Canada became, respectively, Canada West and Canada East, both with 42 seats in the legislature of the Province of Canada despite Lower Canada being more populated. The official language of the province became English and explicitely banned French in the parliament and in the courts.

It took the administration of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin, who had remained moderate reformers during the Rebellions, to undo this discrimination. Lafontaine and Baldwin reintroduced French as an official language alongside English the Assembly, the Courts and other governmental bodies. Under the progressive Governor General Lord Elgin, a bill was passed to allow the leaders of former Patriote movement to return to their homeland; Papineau returned and for a short time re-entered Canadian politics. A similar bill was passed for the former Upper Canadian rebels.

The parliament of United Canada in Montreal was set on fire by a mob of tories in 1949 after the passing of an indemnity bill for the people who suffered losses during the rebellions of Lower Canada.

The Union Act was ultimately unsuccessful, and led to calls for a greater political union in the 1850s and 1860s.

Confederation

In the 1860s, in the wake of the American Civil War, the British were concerned with possible American reprisals against Canada for Britain's tacit support of the Confederacy. Britain also feared that American settlers might expand to the north, into land that was technically British but which was sparsely settled. There were also problems with raids into Canada launched by the Fenian Brotherhood, a group of Irish Americans who wanted to pressure Britain into granting independance to Ireland. Canada was already essentially a self-governing colony, and Britain no longer felt it was worth the expense of keeping it as a colony. Both sides would, it was felt, be better off politically and economically if Canada was independent. These factors led to the first serious discussions about real political union in Canada.

However, there were internal political obstacles to overcome first. The Province of Canada had little success in keeping a stable government for any period of time; the Tories, led by John A. Macdonald and Georges-Etienne Cartier, were constantly at odds with the "Clear Grits" led by George Brown. In 1864 the two parties decided to unite in the "Great Coalition." This was an important step towards Confederation.

Meanwhile, the colonies further east, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, were also discussing a political union with each other. Representatives from the Province of Canada joined them at the Charlottetown Conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 1864 to discuss a union of all the colonies, and these discussions were extended into the Quebec Conference of 1866. While there was opposition in each of the colonies, only Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland decided to remain outside of the planned Confederation. In 1867 the other colonies travelled to Britain to finalize the union, which was granted by the British North America Act on July 1, 1867. July 1 is now celebrated as Canada Day. While the BNA Act gave Canada a high degree of autonomy within the British Empire, this autonomy extended only to internal affairs. External affairs, such as border negotiations with the United States, were still controlled from Britain.

The Red River Rebellion

The new country was led by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. Under Macdonald, Canada bought Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869, and westward settlement was encouraged. However, the people who already lived there, natives and Métis (descendants of the children of natives and French Canadian fur traders), were opposed to waves of English-speaking settlers buyin their lands. The Métis of the Red River settlement (near present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba, led by Louis Riel, formed a provisional government to negotiate with the Canadian government, although these negotiations quickly fell apart. Riel led the Red River Rebellion in 1869 and 1870, during which he executed an Orangeman, causing an uproar among Protestant English Canadians. Macdonald sent a militia to put down the rebellion, which they quickly did, and Riel fled to the United States.

The Rebellion led to the creation of the province of Manitoba in 1870, with laws protecting the rights of the natives, Métis, French-speakers and English-speakers, Catholics and Protestants.

Expansion westward

Despite the violence of the Red River rebellion and the later North-West Rebellion Canada evaded the widespread Indian Wars fought by the United States. Rather than fight, the government sent negotiators to the prairie First Nations and worked out a series of treaties. While these treaties were often ignored by the settlers and the government they did bring peace to the region, and are today recognized by the courts as valid.

In 1866 the colonies of British Columbia (formerly New Caledonia) and Vancouver's Island were united. British Columbia had been important for British control of the Pacific Ocean, and was a centre of the fur trade between Britain, the United States, Russia, Spain, and China. It did not participate in the original Confederation conferences, but agreed to join Canada in 1871 when Macdonald promised to built a railroad across the continent through the Northwest Territories (formerly Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory), which at this time still extended to the U.S. border. The Canadian Pacific Railway and the Dominion Land Survey were begun soon after.

In 1873, Prince Edward Island, the Maritime colony that had opted not to join Confederation in 1867, was admitted into the country. That same year, Macdonald created the North West Mounted Police to help police the Northwest Territories, and assert Canadian independence over possible American encroachments into the sparsely populated land. The "Mounties" became legendary for keeping law and order in the west, while at the same time the American west so violent.

However, also in 1873, Macdonald and the Conservative government faced a major political crisis, when it was revealed that the Canadian Pacific Railway Company had helped fund Macdonald's election camptain in 1872. A new election was called in 1874 and Alexander Mackenzie was elected Prime Minister. Under Mackenzie the Canadian Pacific Railway continued to expand to the west, but the public's suspicion of Macdonald was erased by 1878, when the Macdonald and the Conservatives were re-elected.

Macdonald's "National Policy"

After being restored as Prime Minister, Macdonald introduced the National Policy, a system of protective tariffs meant to strengthen the Canadian economy. Part of the policy was the completion of the railroad, which would allow products to be transferred more easily across the country. It was also a response to the United States, which had a much stronger economy that threatened to overwhelm Canada; the United States had a trade reciprocity treaty with Canada while it was still a colony, but did not renew the treaty with the new nation in 1874. Many people believed this Policy was only beneficial to Ontario, as the Maritimes especially depended on trade with the United States. While it was somewhat beneficial for asserting Canadian independence, it was not very useful in the less industrial Maritimes and West.

The North-West Rebellion

After the Red River Rebellion, many Métis moved west to what is now Saskatchewan. However, with the expansion of the railway, as well as increased European immigration to western Canada, they felt their way of life was once again being attacked. In 1884 Louis Riel returned from exile, and in the spring of 1885 he led the Métis and other natives against the North West Mounted Police. The Mounties surrounded the Métis settlement at Batoche, and by May reinforcements of Canadian militia had arrived on the new railway. The Métis and natives were decisively defeated, and this tiime Riel was not allowed to escape. In November, he was found guilty of treason and hanged, causing an uproar among French Canadians who felt English-speaking Canada was unfairly prejudiced against him. This incident caused a deeper rift between the two populations, leading to a renewed sense of French Canadian nationalism that is still felt today. However, the crisis allowed the Canadian Pacific Railway company to show its worth by quickly transporting troops west which encouraged enough political support for further funding to complete the line, thus realizing MacDonald's dream of a transcontinetal railway to help strengthen the nation building.

The Manitoba Schools Question

After the Red River Rebellion and the entrance of Manitoba into Confederation, settlers from English Canada arrived in the new province in greater numbers. In 1890 the provincial government passed the Manitoba Schools Act, abolishing government funding for Catholic schools and abolishing French as an official language - contrary to the Manitoba Act that created the province. This led to another federal political crisis, and by 1896 Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell was forced to resign. Wilfrid Laurier, a Catholic from Quebec, was then elected. Laurier developed a compromise stating that French would be used in schools when there were a significant number of French-speaking students; this compromise was denounced by both sides, but was recognized as the only possible solution. However, along with the execution of Louis Riel, the Manitoba Schools Question led to an increase of French Canadian nationalism.

The Boer War

Laurier hoped to unite French and English Canada in a unique sense of Canadian nationalism, rather than remain unquestionably loyal to Britain. Along with some Americans, he also hoped for a shift of focus towards North America, a policy often known as "continentalism." However, in 1899, the British immediately assumed Canada would send military support to the war in South Africa, and there was indeed enormous support for military action from English Canada. French Canada was, of course, strongly opposed to military support for Britain's imperialist wars. The opposition was led by Henri Bourassa, who, like Laurier, preferred a united, independent Canada. Bourassa denounced Laurier when Laurier eventually decided to allow a volunteer force to fight in the war, even though the other option would have been calling up an official army.

Laurier's Government

Laurier successfully brought Saskatchewan and Alberta into Confederation in 1905, carving those provinces out of the Northwest Territories. He felt Canada was on the verge of becoming a world power, and declared that the 20th century would be "Canada's century." However, he faced even more criticism when he introduced the Naval Service Bill in 1910. It was meant to make Canada less dependent on Britain and British imperialism, but Bourassa felt the British would now call on the Canadian navy whenever it was needed, just as they did with the Canadian army. Pro-British imperialists were also opposed to the attempt to remove Canada from the Empire. The Naval Service Bill led to Laurier's downfall in the election of 1911, in which Robert Laird Borden became Prime Minister.

World War I

Borden's government did not solve the naval crisis, but in 1914 he oversaw Canada's entry into the First World War. Although Canada had no choice in the matter, as foreign affairs were still conducted from Britain, the war was initially popular even among French Canadians, including Henri Bourassa. Canadians fought at Ypres, the Somme, Passchendaele, and other important battles, originally under British command, but eventually under a unified Canadian command. From a Canadian point of view the most important battle of the war was the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, during which Canadian troops captured a fortified German hill that had eluded both the British and French. Vimy, as well as the success of the Canadian flying ace Billy Bishop, helped give Canada a new sense of identity.

With mounting costs at home, Sir Thomas Whyte introduced the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure. The lowest bracket was 4% and highest was 25%.

The Conscription Crisis of 1917

After three years of a war that was supposed to have been over in three months, Canada was suffering from a shortage of volunteers. Borden had originally promised not to introduce conscription, but now believed it was necessary to win the war. The Military Service Act was passed in July, but there was fierce opposition, mostly from French Canadians (led not only by Bourassa, but also Wilfrid Laurier), as well as Quakers, Mennonites, and other pacifists. Borden's government almost collapsed, but he was able to form a Union government with the Liberal opposition (although Laurier did not join the new government). In the 1917 election, the Union government was re-elected, but with no support from Quebec. Over the next year, the war finally ended, with very few Canadian conscripts actually participating.

Post-War Society

During the war, the women's suffrage movement gained support. The provinces began extending voting rights to women in 1916, and women were finally allowed to vote in federal elections in 1918 (but only if they were over 21 years of age). Canada was also faced with the return of thousands of returning soldiers, with few jobs waiting for them at home. They also brought back with them the Spanish Flu, which killed over 50 000 people by 1919, almost the same number that had been killed in the war itself.

The move from a wartime to a peacetime economy, combined with the return of the soldiers from Europe, led to another crisis. In 1919 the One Big Union was formed, an organization of the various unions across the country. This Union was a large influence on the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, which some saw as as outbreak of Bolshevism, especially as the Soviet Union had recently been formed. The army had to be sent in to break up the strike.

Meanwhile, in western Canada, and to some extent in the Maritimes, populist reformers were pushing for increased provincial rights and a focus on agriculture, rather than the industrial focus of central Canada. They formed the Progressive Party, which supported the Liberal party of William Lyon Mackenzie King and helped elect Mackenzie King as Prime Minister in 1921. Mackenzie King eventually lost support, however, because of the trade tariffs issue, as well as a liquor smuggling scandal. He was forced to resign in 1925, but was re-elected in 1926.

The Great Depression

Canada, as one of the major producers of wheat, suffered greatly when the Great Depression began in 1929. Mackenzie King believed the crisis would pass and refused to send federal aid to the provinces; as a result he lost the election of 1930 to Richard Bedford Bennett. Bennett attempted to introduce policies based on the New Deal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the United States, but this was largely unsuccessful. The remnants of the Progressive Party from the 1920s organized to form the Social Credit Party during this period.

However, Bennett also oversaw further independence for Canada in the Statute of Westminster, passed by Britain in 1931. Britain had been making foreign policy decisions for Canada up to the late 1920s, but now renounced authority over the legislatures of Canada and its other colonies. Nevertheless, Bennett's perceived failures during the Great Depression led to the re-election of Mackenzie King in 1935.

By this time the worst of the Depression was over. Mackenzie implemented some relief programs such as the National Housing Act and National Employment Commission, and also established the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (1936) and Trans-Canada Airlines (1937, the precursor to Air Canada).

World War II

The Canadian economy, like the economies of many other countries, improved in an unexpected way - the outbreak of the Second World War. Canada had been a founding member of the League of Nations, but elected to remain neutral throughout the 1930s. Mackenzie King even met with Adolf Hitler and decided he was not a threat. When Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, Mackenzie King was finally convinced that military action would be necessary, but, in a show of independence, waited until September 10 to declare war (unlike World War I, when Canada was automatically at war as soon as Britain was).

Canada's major contribution to the war was the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, run by Billy Bishop and the Royal Air Force as a training ground for Commonwealth pilots. The first military action of the war for Canadians came in 1941, when they unsuccessfully defended Hong Kong from the Japanese. Hong Kong was taken on December 25, which horrendous Canadian and British casualties. On August 19, 1942, Canadians were again defeated in the Dieppe Raid, an unsuccessful attempt at an invasion of Europe. Canadian troops fought in Italy in 1943, and in 1944 successfully captured Juno Beach during the Battle of Normandy. They were instrumental in liberating the Netherlands, for which the Dutch still fondly remember Canadians today.

The Conscription Crisis of 1944

As in World War I, the number of volunteers began to run dry as the war dragged on. Mackenzie King had promised, like Borden, not to introduce conscription, though his position was somewhat ambiguous, as he had declared "conscription if necessary, but not necessarily conscription."

With rising pressure from the people, on June 21, 1940, King passed the National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA) which gave the government the power to "call out every man in Canada for military training for the defense of Canada", and only Canada. Conscripts could not be sent overseas to fight. English Canadians, expectedly, were displeased and took to calling these soldiers "zombies" who they stereotyped as French Canadians who were "sitting comfortably" while countrymen died.

On April 27, 1942 Mackenzie King held a national plebiscite to decide on the issue, having made campaign promises to avoid conscription (and, it is thought, winning the election on that very point). English Canada was mostly in favour of conscription, but, as expected, French Canada was not. Nevertheless, the vote was yes all overall and King was free to bring in a conscription law if he wanted. However, the issue was put off for another two years, until 1944, when it was decided conscription was now necessary. There were riots in Quebec, and even an aged Henri Bourassa spoke out against the decision.

In the end, 16 000 new men, in addition to 12 000 NRMA "zombies", were sent overseas. Of these, but 2500 reached the front and 69 were killed in action. Basically it was quite pointless, because in the end, the war ended before conscripts played a major role in battle.

The Post-War World and the Cold War

The Second World War brought many changes to Canada; the government was necessarily more centralized during the war, and it remained so afterwards. The federal government also began to adopt social welfare policies, often borrowed from the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, which had introduced such policies in the western provinces even before the war. Federally, these included universal health care, old-age pensions, and veterans' pensions. Due to the post-war Baby Boom, the government also introduced allowances known as "baby bonuses." The economy had prospered because of the war, and in Alberta, there was an economic boom due to the discovery of new oil fields in 1947.

Mackenzie King won the election of 1945, but retired in 1948 and was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent. St. Laurent succeeded in extending the welfare state, and also brought Newfoundland into Confederation as Canada's 10th province in 1949. Before joining Canada, Newfoundland had been an independent dominion of the British Empire; when it joined, Newfoundland was essentially bankrupt.

Meanwhile, Canadian foreign relations were beginning to focus on the United States, which had eclipsed Britain as a world power. During World War II, Canada was a minor partner in the alliance between the United States and Britain, and the US had pledged to help defend Canada if necessary. Canada was one of the founding members of the United Nations in 1945, and also of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949, but was largely overshadowed in world affairs by the United States.

Canada participated, under the United Nations, in the Korean War. St. Laurent's Minister of External Affairs, Lester Bowles Pearson, was involved in the diplomatic side of the conflict, and became more active in diplomacy with the United Nations after the war ended. In 1956 Pearson suggested a solution to the Suez Crisis - the creation of an international peacekeeping force. For his efforts, Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.

St. Laurent and his successor John George Diefenbaker attempted to create a new, highly advanced jet fighter, the Avro Arrow. This controversial aircraft was cancelled by Diefenbaker in 1959, although Diefenbaker did help establish a missile defense system with the United States, NORAD.

The New Flag

Diefenbaker was succeeded by Pearson in 1963, at a time of increasing political unrest in much of the Western world. In Canada the largest crises involved provincial rights, especially in Quebec, where nationalism had been increasing and was on the verge of violent explosion. Pearson recognized Quebec to be a "nation within the nation". One attempt at pacifying Quebec, and moving Canada away from the old British imperialism, was creating a new flag. The old Red Ensign no longer reflected Canada's place in the world, and Pearson felt a new flag would help unite French and English Canada with truly Canadian symbols. After lengthy debates over numerous designs, the current maple leaf flag was adopted in 1965 and was quickly embraced by the public. 15 Years before, Quebec had replaced the British provincial flag with the current Quebec flag, which was quickly embraced by Quebecers.

The Quiet Revolution

The Quiet Revolution began in Quebec when Jean Lesage became premier in 1960. It was, essentially, a peaceful nationalist movement to give to Quebec a modern secular state, seen as the only way to propulse Quebec's into full modernity. The Quiet Revolution was boosted by the success of Expo '67 in 1967 and the adoption the Official Languages Act in 1969, making Canada officially bilingual. However, not everyone in Quebec was content with peaceful means of attaining a unique status. A very marginal grou

The October Crisis

Pierre Elliott Trudeau, himself a French Canadian, came to power in 1968, just as the Quiet Revolution was at its height. Unfortunately, Quebec also produced a more radical nationalist group, the Front de Libération du Québec, who since 1963 had been using terrorism in an attempt to make Quebec a sovereign nation. In October of 1970, in response to the arrest of some of its members earlier in the year, the FLQ kidnapped James Cross and Pierre Laporte, later killing Laporte. Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act, declaring martial law in Quebec, and by the end of the year the kidnappers had all been arrested.

Trudeau and the 1970s

Trudeau was a somewhat unconventional Prime Minister; he was more of a celebrity than previous leaders, and in the 1960s had been the centre of "Trudeaumania." He also did not unquestioningly support the United States, especially over the Vietnam War and relations with the People's Republic of China and Cuba; Richard Nixon particularly disliked him.

Domestically Trudeau had to deal with the aftermath of the October Crisis. The separatist movement was not aided by the FLQ, yet it still existed in a less radical form under Premiers Robert Bourassa (1970-1976) and René Lévesque (1976-1985). Lévesque came to power as leader of the Parti Québécois, which wanted to make Quebec at least an autonomous society in Canada and at best an independent nation. A step towards this was taken in 1977 with the adoption of Bill 101, making French the only official language in the province.

The 1980 Quebec Referendum

In 1980 the Parti Québécois launched a referendum on the question of sovereignty. The question actually asked whether Quebec should negotiate for sovereignty, not whether Quebec should simply declare independence, but it was vaguely worded and confused many voters. Trudeau, although it was not a federal referendum, supported the "no" side, promising constitutional reform to keep Quebec as an officially distinct part of Confederation. The "no" side won by a margin of 60% to 40% when the question was put to the voters on May 20.

The New Constitution

In 1982 Britain passed the Canada Act, repatriating the Constitution of Canada. Previously, the Constitution has existed only as an act passed by the British parliament, and was not even physically located in Canada. As Trudeau promised, the new constitution gave Quebec a special status, although this was a rather controversial addition. Trudeau also added the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which had also not previously existed in Canada in a true legal sense. It was also controversial, and in order for it to be accepted, Trudeau had to include the notwithstanding clause in Section 33, allowing the provinces to override certain sections if and when they found it necessary to do so. There is still ongoing debate over the merits of the new constitution, although it is generally accepted as an improvement over the former dependence on the British parliament to make amendments. The new constitution was Trudeau's last major act as Prime Minister. He resigned in 1984.

Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney came to power in 1984 and quickly restored friendlier relations with the United States, which had been strained during Trudeau's time as Prime Minister. Mulroney's major focus was the establishment of free trade with the US, a very controversial topic. This eventually culminated in the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992.

Mulroney also worked to appease the sovereignty movement in Quebec. In 1987 he attempted to draft the Meech Lake Accord, amending the 1982 constitution so that it would be acceptable to Quebec, which had not yet signed it. However, the Meech Lake Accord was defeated in a national referendum, as was the Charlottetown Accord in 1992. These setbacks, along with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, forced Mulroney to resign in 1993.

The 1995 Quebec Referendum

Jean Chrétien became Prime Minister in the 1993 election, pledging to repeal the GST. While this proved to be unfeasable, Chrétien faced another sovereignty referendum in Quebec in October of 1995. The federal Bloc Québécois and the provincial Parti Québécois campaigned for the "yes" side, but the referendum question was perhaps even more vague and confusing than the 1980 question. On October 30, the referendum was defeated by the narrowest of margins, a victory for the "no" side of less than 1%.

Contemporary Issues

While the sovereignty issue in Quebec is no longer as strong as it once was, there are still debates over the nature of the "distinct society," and whether or not this applies to other provinces as well. In 1999, the first new territory to be added to Canada since 1898 was created, when a large part of the Northwest Territories became the separate region of Nunavut, a sparsely populated territory inhabited mostly by Inuit.

Some of the problems faced by the Chrétien government include the debate over the universal health care system, as well as military spending, which has been greatly decreased in recent years. Canada does not play as large a role in United Nations peacekeeping as it once did, and Chrétien faced much criticism for not participating in 2003 invasion of Iraq. However, with the mounting criticisms about the apparently false pretenses for that war and the USA's troubled occupation, Chretien was hailed for keeping the nation out of the affair. The value of the Canadian dollar has also been greatly weakened during Chrétien's time as Prime Minister although in late 2003, it had regained so much strength that industry leaders were then worrying that the high currency would harm exports.

See also: List of Canadian Prime Ministers, Canadian federal elections, Timeline of Canadian history, Military history of Canada

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "History of Canada."

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Law of Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Canada is a constitutional monarchy modeled on the British system which is governed by courts formed under the common law system. The Canadian Constitution divides powers between federal and provincial competences, since 1982 the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms functions as an entrenched bill of rights.

Public law

The enactment of Criminal law is under the jurisdiction of the federal government and thus Canada has one Criminal Code that is applicable throughout Canada. However the administration of justice and penal matters are under the jurisdiction of the provinces, so each province administers most of the criminal and penal law through a provincial and municipal police forces. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police functions as a federal police force somewhat similar to the US FBI. Eight of the ten provinces have contracted the RCMP to act as their provincial police force. As well the federal parliament has various other public law powers including the regulation of commerce, the military, international relations, etc.

Private civil law

Under the Canadian constitution the powers dealing with private law matters rests with the provinces. All the provinces follow common law jurisprudence except for Quebec where the law is French in origin and its civil law system in incorporated into the Civil Code of Quebec though the court system is run on civil procedures more similar to that of English courts. While the courts are common law they tend to follow decisions of other common law jurisdictions outside North America, i.e. other commonwealth countries, rather than the United States, their closest common law neighbour.

Courts in Canada

The ultimate court is the Supreme Court of Canada which since 1949 has been the court of last resort for all issues of law. Prior to that date, cases could be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Great Britain. Article 92 courts exist throughout Canada and are often called Superior Courts. While the judges in these courts are appointed through a federal process the courts are administered by the provinces. As well there are appelate courts in each province and territory and a federal court system, which unlike the United States federal court system, only deals with issues that clearly fall under the sole jurisdiction of the federal government.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Law of Canada."

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Lighthouses in Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Lighthouses in Canada is a link page for any lighthouse in Canada.

See: List of lighthouses and lightvessels, lightvessel, Lighthouses in the United States

Nova Scotia

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List of Ambassadors to Canada

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Ambassadors to Canada in order of seniority

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List of Canada-related topics

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See Also:

Lists of country-related topics

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Canada-related topics."

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List of Canadian national parks

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Canada's national park system is run by Parks Canada, which also runs Canada's National Historic Sites.

This list also includes Canada's two National Marine Conservation Areas.

The province of Quebec also refers to its provincial parks as parcs nationaux: see Parks in Quebec.

External link

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List of Canadian Prime Ministers

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Prime Ministers of Canada

While there is a long standard tradition of considering John A. Macdonald Canada's first Prime Minister, since he was prime minister after Canadian Confederation, a number of modern scholars, foremost amongst them John Ralston Saul, argue that Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine are truly Canada's first Prime Ministers. They were the first to govern the Province of Canada (consisting then of only Canada East and Canada West - modern Ontario and Quebec) as democratically elected leaders.

# Name Took Office Left Office Party

1.Sir John A. Macdonald July 1, 1867 November 5, 1873 Conservative

2.Alexander Mackenzie November 7, 1873 October 8, 1878 Liberal

Sir John A. Macdonald (2nd time) October 17, 1878 June 6, 1891 Conservative

3.Sir John Abbott June 16, 1891 November 24, 1892 Conservative

4.Sir John Thompson December 5, 1892 December 12, 1894 Conservative

5.Sir Mackenzie Bowell December 21, 1894 April 27, 1896 Conservative

6.Sir Charles Tupper May 1, 1896 April 27, 1896 Conservative

7.Sir Wilfrid Laurier July 11, 1896 October 7, 1911 Liberal

8.Sir Robert Laird Borden October 10, 1911 July 10, 1920 Conservative

9.Arthur Meighen July 10, 1920 December 29, 1921 Conservative

10.William Lyon Mackenzie King December 29, 1921 June 28, 1926 Liberal

Arthur Meighen (2nd time) June 29, 1926 September 25, 1926 Conservative

William Lyon Mackenzie King (2nd time) September 25, 1926 August 7, 1930 Liberal

11.Richard Bedford Bennett August 7, 1930 October 23, 1935 Conservative

William Lyon Mackenzie King (3rd time) October 23, 1935 November 15, 1948 Liberal

12.Louis St. Laurent November 15, 1948 June 21, 1957 Liberal

13.John Diefenbaker June 21, 1957 April 22, 1963 Progressive Conservative

14.Lester Bowles Pearson April 22, 1963 April 20, 1968 Liberal

15.Pierre Trudeau April 20, 1968 June 3, 1979 Liberal

16.Joe Clark June 4, 1979 March 2, 1980 Progressive Conservative

Pierre Trudeau (2nd time) March 3, 1980 June 30, 1984 Liberal

17.John Napier Turner June 30, 1984 September 17, 1984 Liberal

18.Brian Mulroney September 17, 1984 June 25, 1993 Progressive Conservative

19.Kim Campbell June 25, 1993 November 4, 1993 Progressive Conservative

20.Jean Chrétien November 4, 1993 present Liberal

21.Paul Martin (Prime Minister-designate) December 12, 2003 Liberal

Other lists of first ministers:
Alberta - B.C - Manitoba - N.B - Nfld.-Lab - N.S - Ontario - P.E.I - Quebec - Sask - Yukon - N.W.T - Nunavut

See other lists of incumbents

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Canadian Prime Ministers."

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List of Canadian television channels

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Broadcast Television Networks

Regional Broadcast Television Stations

Cable and digital cable Television Networks

See also: Lists of television channels
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of Canadian television channels."
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List of Canadian television series
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)


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List of cities in Canada
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This is a list of the principal cities of Canada in alphabetical order. More thorough lists are available by province; see the bottom of this page for links.

This listing includes the thirty most populous metropolitan areas in Canada (see [1] for numbers) (including particularly prominent components, such as Gatineau, Quebec) and all of the provincial and territorial capitals.


Other cities, towns, and villages in Canada may be found in the following links:


External link

Map
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of cities in Canada."
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Military history of Canada
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Canada's history is one of the most peaceful of any nation, but war and the military has still played an important role in the nations history, from the early conflicts between the First Nations, the battles between the French and the England through to the First and Second World Wars, and finally to international peacekeeping.


The First Nations

In the beginning, there was indigenous peoples’ warfare. Although initially tending to be formal and ritualistic in nature, entailing relatively few casualties, over time it tended to become bloodier and more decisive, especially as these peoples increasingly became caught up in the economic and military rivalries of the European settlers. Native tribes were to become important allies of both the French and English in the struggle for North American hegemony during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  


First meetings with Europeans

The first fighting between Europeans and native peoples occurred around 1006 when parties of Norseman  attempted to establish settlements on the coast of Newfoundland. The native Inuit (or skraelings as they were known to the Norse) responded so ferociously that the newcomers withdrew, and evidently gave up intentions to settle.  


European Colonization

The French under Samuel de Champlain first founded a settlement at Quebec in 1608, while further to the south the English began their first settlement at Jamestown in Virginia in 1607.  From these original footholds much larger colonies were to emerge. But while the French colony on the St. Lawrence River, based primarily on the fur trade, and enjoying only lukewarm support from the French monarchy, grew only slowly amidst its tough and unyielding geographic and climatic circumstances, the more favourably situated English colonies to the south developed  more diversified economies and  flourished. The result was that by the 1750s, when the their ongoing economic, political, and military rivalries came to a head in the climactic struggle of the Seven Years War, the population of the thirteen English colonies was 1,500,000, where as that of their rivals to the north was only about 60,000.    

For nearly all of the first century of its existence, the chief threat to the inhabitants of New France] came not from the English to the south, but rather from  a mighty confederacy of Native tribes, the Iroquois, and particularly form its eastern-most component, the Mohawks.  These French and Iroquois Wars continued intermitently saw great brutality on both sides.

In response to the Iroquois threat the French govenrment dispatched the Carignan-Salières Regiment, the first group of uniformed professional soldiers to set foot on what is today Canadian soil.  After peace was obtained they were sent back to France, but were replaced by the Compagnies Franches de la Marine, which became a permenanent fixture in New France, and were thus Canada's first professional standing army.


French English Conflict

During the seventeenth century there were only minor skirmishes between the two great powers.  In 1629 a group of English marauders actually captured and burnt the stronghold at Québec and carried off Champlain and its other leaders into captivity in England. These leaders returned in 1632, however, rebuilt their capital and resumed their endeavours. The next most serious threat to Québec in the seventeenth century came in 1690 when, alarmed by the attacks of the la petite guerre, the new England colonist armed an expedition under Sir William Phips and sent them north to capture the source of the problems, Québec itself. This expedition was poorly organized and had little time to do its work, as it arrive in mid-October with little time left before the St. Lawrence would freeze over. The expedition was responsible for eliciting one of the most famous pronouncements in all of Canadian military history, however. When called upon by Phips to surrender, the aged Governor Frontenac, who was then serving his second term in that position, replied “I will answer … only with the mouths of my cannon and the shots of my muskets.” In truth, though, the only evidence for his having made this response comes from Frontenac’s own self-congratulatory writings, recorded some time after the event. At any rate, after a single abortive landing on the Beauport shore to the east of the city, the American force withdrew down the icy waters of the St. Lawrence at the end of October.

During the eighteenth century matters became much more serious. As British-French struggles came to a head in Europe, local rivalries became absorbed into these much larger struggles waged in Europe between the respective mother countries in Europe. As concerns grew, the French government poured more and more military spending into its North American colonies. Expensive garrisons were  maintained at distant fur trading posts, the fortifications of Québec were improved and augmented, and an entirely new fortified town was built on the east coast of  Ile Royale, or Cape Breton Island - the fortress of Louisbourg, the so-called "Dunkirk of the North."

Three times during the 18th century the French and English North American Colonies found themselves at war with one another, in local off-shoots of larger European conflicts - the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713), the War of the Austrian Succession (1744-48), and the Seven Years' War (1756-63). Each witnessed attacks by the English colonists on French areas of settlement, while the petite guerre of the Canadiens  left a trail of terror and devastation through northern towns and villages of New England.

In 1713 a British force managed to capture Port Royal, the French capital of Acadia in present-day Nova Scotia. And by the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the war in 1713, France was forced to cede control of mainland Nova Scotia to Great Britain, leaving present-day New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton Island in the hands of the French.

During the War of the Austrian Succession was actually a force of New England militia under one of its officers, William Pepperell, and Commodore Peter Warren of the Royal Navy, succeeded in capturing Louisbourg in 1745. Yet by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that ended the war in 1748, France got Louisbourg back by trading off other of its conquests in the Netherlands and India. The New Englanders were outraged, and as a counterweight to the continuing French strength at Louisbourg, the British founded the military settlement of Halifax in 1749, with a strong naval base in its spacious harbour.

In the meantime the depredations of the petite guerre had continued, and perhaps even more importantly the French had begun to challenge the claims of the New England colonists for supremacy in the Ohio country to the west of the Appalachian mountains, into which increasing numbers of the latter were moving to find cheap homesteading land. By 1755 the English had determined to eliminate what they saw as this northern menace once and for all. Two regiments of the line were sent to New England and another three were raised on the spot. The French responded by sending six of their own regiments of troupes de terre or line infantry to Québec in the same year. In 1756 these came under the command of the newly-arrived general, the 44 year old Marquis de Montcalm. Accompanying him were another two battalions of troupes de terre, bringing the total number of French professional soldiers in the colony up to about 4000. This was the first significant aggregation of trained professional soldiers on what was to be Canadian soil. 

Under their new commander, the French at first achieved a number of startling victories over the British, first at Fort William Henry to the south of Lake Champlain where in 1757 over 2400 men, mostly British regulars surrendered to his forces. In the next year an even greater victory followed when the British army, numbering about 15,000 under Major-General James Abercrombie,  wasted itself in attacking a French fortification at Carillon (later renamed Fort Ticonderoga by the Americans) at the southern tip of Lake Champlain. The French numbered no more than 3500, and before the British withdrew at the end of the day they had lost about 2000 men, mostly regulars, for a total French loss of about 350.

In the meantime the British war effort had bee galvanized by the appointment of William Pitt as Prime Minister, a man who was determined to win battles, and who also determined that the crux of the British war effort would be in North America. In June 1758 a strong British force of 13,000 regulars under Major-General Geoffrey Amherst, with James Wolfe present as one of his brigadiers, landed and captured, the Fortress of Louisbourg, this for time for good.

An even greater victory occured a year later when at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham a British force under Wolfe defeated the French lead by Montcalm and took Quebec City.  At the end of the Seven Years' War the entire area of New France was given to the British.


The American Threat

With the French threat gone, Britain's own eastern seaboard colonies became increasingly restive, as they were now found themselves taxed to pay for a much larger military establishment than previously, with no obvious enemy in place against which it was needed to defend. The result was the American Revolution, and their war of independence from British rule of 1776-1783. American attempts to take Québec and a number of posts in the Maritimes during this conflict, were repelled by superior British military and/or naval power. The American failure to achieve success in these areas and their peoples' own continuing allegiance to Britain resulted in the splitting in two of  Britain's former North American empire, with the independent republic of the United States emerging to the south and a series of loyal British colonies remaining in place in along its northern border, collectively referred to as British North America. 


War of 1812

After the cessation of hostilities much animosity and suspicion continued between the United States and Great Britain, focused especially on the latter’s retention of its North American colonies. This erupted into a shooting war in 1812 when the Americans, seeing Britain involved in a major war in Europe against Napoleon, and irked by what they perceived to be British harassment of their ships on the high seas, declared war on the British. The time seemed ripe to eliminate their  former imperial rulers from North America altogether, and with this aim in mind they launched an invasion across the northern border in July. With seven and a half million Americans facing an opposing population of just half a million, this was truly a war of survival for the hard-pressed British North Americans.

The battle raged back and forth along the border of Upper Canada, on land as well as on the waters of the Great Lakes. The British succeeded in capturing Detroit in July, and in October a major American thrust across the Niagara frontier was defeated at the battle of Queenston Heights by a combined force of British regular troops and colonial  militia under Sir Isaac Brock, who lost his life in the battle.  The year 1813 was the year of American victories, with their retaking Detroit and enjoying a string of successes along the western end of Lake Erie, culminating in the battle of Moraviantown October 5th. Further east they succeeded in capturing and burning York (later Toronto) and taking Fort George at Niagara, which they held until the end of the year. In the same year, however, two American thrusts against Montreal were defeated - one by a force of British regulars at Chrysler's Farm to the west of the city on the St. Lawrence;  the other by a force of mostly French Canadian militia under the command of a native son, Charles de Salaberry at Chateauguay to the south of the city on the River Richelieu.

Valued allies of the British throughout the campaign were the Iroquois tribes of  the Upper Canada, as well as Caughnawagas from near Montreal, and western tribes under the great Ojibwa chief, Tecumseh. These First Peoples played an important part in many battles, and often had psychologically debilitating impact upon the enemy.  

In December of 1814, the two exhausted opponents signed a peace treaty. The borders that had existed before the war remained as they were, and the American scheme to fulfill their manifest destiny to dominate the continent through the seizure of the Canadas had been thwarted. Sir Isaac Brock became a martyred Canadian hero, and although the war had been won largely by British regular troops and by her navy, the conviction took root in Canada that it had been accomplished by its own militia. The resulting so-called "militia myth", that a citizen militia was preferable to disciplined regular troops, was to weigh heavily in Canadian defence councils into the next century.


British Withdrawal

The fear that the Americans might reactivate their wish to conquer Canada remained a serious concern for at least the next half century, and was the chief reason for the British maintaining a large garrison here. The years of the 1820s-40s witnessed fairly extensive fortifications building in the colonies, as the British attempted to create strongpoints around which defending forces might centre in the event of an American invasion - such as the Citadels at Québec and Halifax, and Fort Henry in Kingston. The Rideau Canal was also built during these years, to allow ships in wartime to travel a more northerly route from Montreal to Kingston. The customary peacetime route was the St. Lawrence River, which, of course, constituted the northern edge of the American border, and hence was vulnerable to enemy attack and interference. 

By the 1850s fears of an American invasion had begun to diminish, and the British felt able to commence reductions in the size of their garrison. A free trade or Reciprocity Treaty negotiated between the Canada and the United States in 1854 further helped to alleviate concerns. Tensions picked up again during the American Civil War of 1861-65, however, reaching a peak probably with the Trent crisis of late 1861 early 1862. This was touched off when the captain of a U.S gun boat stopped the Royal Mail steamer Trent and removed a couple of Confederate officials who were bound for Great Britain. The British government was outraged and, with war seeming imminent, took steps to reinforce its British North American garrison, which in the end expanded from a strength of 4000 before the crisis to 18000 afterwards. In the end cooler heads prevailed, war was averted, and the sense of crisis subsided. This incident in fact proved to be the final episode  of Anglo-American military confrontation in North America, as thereafter Britain increasingly became persuaded of the benefits of amicable relations with its onetime colony.  

In the meantime, Britain was becoming concerned with military threats closer to home, and disgruntled at paying the costs of maintaining a garrison in colonies what were becoming increasingly self-assertive, and that after 1867 were united in the self-governing Dominion of Canada. Consequently in 1871 the troops of the British garrison were withdrawn from Canada completely, save for Halifax, where a British garrison remained in place until 1905 for purely British imperial-strategic  reasons. 



Fenian Raids

Ironically, it was during this period of re-examination of the British military presence in Canada and its ultimate withdrawal that the last American invasion of Canada in fact occurred. It was not carried out by any official U.S government  force, however, but by an organization called the Fenians. This was a group of Irish-Americans who believed that by seizing Canada and holding her hostage concessions could be wrung from the British occupiers of the Irish homeland. They were not an inconsiderable threat, as most of their number were veterans of the Union Army of the American Civil War and they were well armed. They made two attacks in 1866, one on Campobello Island in New Brunswick and the other in the Niagara region. Both attacks fizzled, that in New Brunswick due to the presence of a strong force of British regulars, and that in Niagara at least partially due to the Fenians' own ineptitude in not following up a victory over the Canadian militia at Ridgeway. (Two later attacks along the Québec-Vermont frontier in 1870 proved similarly fruitless.)

Despite these failures, however, the raids had some impact on Canadian politicians then locked in negotiations leading up to the Confederation agreement of 1867. The raids reinforced amongst them a sense of military vulnerability, especially in light of the fact that the British were known to be seriously considering the downsizing of their garrison, if not its outright withdrawal. Thus the Confederation Debates were to some degree held in an atmosphere of military crisis, and the greater military security that would be brought about through the pooling of colonial resources was one of the factors that weighed heavily in Confederation’s favour.


The Canadian Militia

With Confederation in place and the British garrison gone, Canada assumed full responsibility for its own defence (with, of course, Britain being prepared to send aid in the event of a serious emergency and the Royal Navy continuing to provide oceanic defence). Small professional batteries of artillery were maintained at Québec and Kingston, and in 1883 a third battery of artillery was added and small professional schools of cavalry and infantry created. These were intended to provide professional backbone to the much larger force of militia which was to form the bulk of the Canadian defence effort. In theory every able-bodied man between the ages of  eighteen and sixty was liable to be conscripted for service; but in practice the defence of the country rested on the services of  volunteers who made up the so-called Active Militia, which in 1869 numbered 31,170 officers and men. 

During the remaining decades of the century this force spent its time consolidating itself, attending summer camps, parading about in colourful uniforms, and occasionally being mustered to serve in times of strikes or other civil emergencies. Although they did mange to undertake a large expedition against the rebel forces of Louis Riel in the Canadian Northwest in 1885 (the largest military effort undertaken on Canadian soil since the end of they war of 1812), there was little in these men's activities and  responsibilities in this period to foretell the awesome efforts that were to be required of their heirs and successors in the violent century that was to come.


The Creation of a Canadian Navy


Canada in WWI


Canada in WWII


Canada in Korea


Peacekeeping


Canada in the Gulf War and Afghanistan

The 1991 Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. The result was a decisive victory of the coalition forces.

Canada was one of the first nations to agree to condemn Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and it quickly agreed to join the U.S. lead coalition.  In August Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sent the destroyers HMCS Terra Nova and HMCS Athabaskan to enforce the trade blockade against Iraq.  The supply ship Protecteur was also sent to aid the gathering coalition forces.  When the UN authorized full use of force in the operation Canada sent a CF18 sqaudron with support personel.  Canada also sent a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war.

When the air war began Canada's planes were integrated into the coalition force and provided air cover and attacked ground targets.  This was the first time since the Korean War that Canadian forces had participated in combat operations.

Canada suffered no casualties during the conflict but since its end many veterans have complained of suffering from Gulf War Syndrome.

Canada also joined a U.S. coalition in the 2001 Attack on Afghanistan.  The war was a response to the September 11th Attacks and its goal was to defeat the Taliban government and rout Al-Queda.  Canada sent special forces and groud troops to the conflict.  Four Canadian were killed in a friendly fire incident when an American plane bombed a group of Canadian soldiers.  After the war Canada formed an important part of the NATO lead peacekkeping force.

In 2003 Jean Chretien's Liberals refused to take part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq angering their American allies.  This move was a popular one at home, however.


See also


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Politics of Canada
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Government

Canada is a constitutional monarchy with a federal system, a parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions. Many of the country's legislative practices derive from the unwritten British parliamentary custom in which the executive and legislative branches of government are merged. In that context the executive tends to apply strict party discipline on members of its party, with the net effect of seriously diminishing the influence of its own "backbenchers" and opposition parties alike.

This situation, where control is held in the hands of the Prime Minister, has been characterized recently by Liberal Party leadership candidate, Paul Martin, Jr, as a "democratic deficit".   The situation may be contrasted with the written constitutional provisions of its American neighbour that provide for the separate elections of a president and a legislature.

The political system under which Canada operates was first set forth by the Constitution Act 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act 1867) adopted by the British Parliament in 1867. An effect of this was that any amendments to Canada's "constitution" required the approval of the British Parliament. Over time, and particularly after World War I citizens of the self-governing "dominions" began to develop a strong sense of identity, and in the Balfour Declaration 1926 the British government expressed its intent to grant full independence to these dominions.  Thus in 1931 the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster giving legal recognition to the independence of Canada and the other "white" dominions.  The British Parliament still retained its power to amend the Canadian Constitution. This was an improvement, but still unacceptable for many Canadians even as this power was only treated as a formality. However, political partisanship and the inability to obtain consensus on an amending process led to the status quo remaining in effect until 1982.

Queen Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, has no power but serves as a symbol of tradition. She appoints a governor-general, but only one requested by the Prime Minister of Canada, usually for a 5-year term that may be extended. The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party in power and is the head of the cabinet. Members of the cabinet remain in office solely at the will of the Prime Minister.

Canada's parliament consists of an elected House of Commons and a Senate whose members are appointed by the Prime Minister alone without the review or concurrence of anyone. Legislative power rests with the party that won the majority of seats in the House of Commons which is elected from a current 301 constituencies (or electoral districts) for a period not to exceed 5 years. This period has only been extended once, in 1916.  The prime minister alone may ask the governor general to dissolve parliament and call new elections at any time during that period; that request was also refused only once, during the minority government of 1926.

Referenda have never popular among Canadian politicians.  Since 1867 there have been only three Canada-wide referenda.

Criminal law, based largely on British law, is uniform throughout the nation and is under federal jurisdiction. Civil law is also based on the common law of England, except in Quebec, which was granted the right by Britain in 1774 to retain the French civil code. Justice is administered by federal, provincial, and municipal courts. Beyond the lower courts and Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada is the court of final jurisdiction. 

Each province is governed by a premier and a single, elected legislative chamber. A lieutenant governor, appointed by the governor general but only the person requested by the Prime Minister of Canada, represents the Crown in each province. A lieutenant governor, like the governor-general, is a symbol who in practice carries no real power.


Canada: Political Information

Country name:
Data code: CA

Government type: Constitutional Monarchy
Capital: Ottawa, Ontario

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*

Independence: 1 July 1867 (from UK)

National holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)

Constitution: 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867; charter of rights Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms adopted in 1982, interpreted by case law and unwritten constitutional conventions

Legal system: based on English common law, except in Quebec, where a civil law system, centred around the Civil Code of Quebec and based on early French customary law and the Napoleonic Code prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. See Law of Canada.

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

Legislative branch: The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Commons. Currently the Senate is normally limited to 104 members, who are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister to serve until age 75.  The number of normally allowed Senators was exceeded once when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sought to ensure the passage of a national sales tax.  The House of Commons currently has 301 members elected by a plurality of popular votes in separate constituencies for terms that do not exceed five years.  The five year term has been exceeded once when Prime Minister Robert Borden perceived the need during World War I.
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the prime minister alone without review.

Political parties and leaders: by number of elected representatives


Notable Government Departments, Agencies, and Crown Corporations
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), Council of Europe (observer), The Commonwealth, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, La Francophonie, G-7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, Kyoto Protocol, MINURCA, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, Zangger Committee

Flag description: three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centered in the white band (See Flag of Canada)


Principal Government Officials


Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II

Governor General: Adrienne Clarkson

Prime Minister: Jean Chrétien

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance: John Manley

Ambassador to the United Nations: Paul Heinbecker


Political conditions

The current Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien, is a Quebecer and, for almost forty of the past fifty years, that position has been held by a Quebecer. Quebecers have always been prominent in the federal cabinet, and Quebecers, by law, must hold three of the nine positions on the Supreme Court of Canada.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party won another majority victory in the November 2000 general elections. Mr. Chrétien, a member of parliament from his native Quebec, became the first prime minister to lead three consecutive majority governments since 1945, as the Liberals increased their majority in Parliament to 57% (172 of the 301 Parliamentary seats), with 40.9% of the popular vote. The Canadian Alliance, which did well in western Canada but was unable to make significant inroads in the East, won the second-highest number of seats (66).

Federal-provincial relations is a regular issue in Canadian politics: Quebec wishes to preserve and strengthen its distinctive nature, western provinces desire more control over their abundant natural resources, especially energy reserves, industrialized central Canada is concerned with its manufacturing base, and the Atlantic provinces strive to escape from being less affluent than the rest of the country.

The government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has responded to these different regional needs by seeking to rebalance the Canadian confederation, giving up its spending power in areas of provincial jurisdiction, while attempting to strengthen the federal role in other areas. The federal government has reached agreement with a number of provinces returning to them authority over job training programs and is embarked on similar initiatives in other fields. Meanwhile, it has attempted to strengthen the federal role on interprovincial trade, while also seeking central regulation of securities.


National Unity

National unity has been a major issue for Canada since its very beginning with the forced union of the Canadas in 1840. In recent years the oil-rich province of Alberta has threatened to separate from Canada if the Kyoto Protocol was applied in the country. However, the predominant issue concerning Canadian national unity is the ongoing conflict between the French-speaking majority of Québec and the English-speaking majority of Canada.


History of National Unity pre-Confederation

For hundreds of years since the European discovery of the Americas, the vast majority of the North American continent (from present-day Quebec to present-day Louisiana) was under French control and known as "La Nouvelle France". However, in 1763, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris which effectively ended the Seven Years' War, France yielded control of its colonies in North America to Britain in order to retain control of its sugar-rich colony of Guadaloupe. Tensions quickly developed between French Canadians and their new British rulers due to the application of British laws such as the Penal Laws and the Test Act which guaranteed the exclusion of French Catholics from administrative positions in Canada. But once the American Revolution was underway, Britain sought the loyalty of the discontent French Canadian population with the passing of the Quebec Act in 1774. The act allowed for the restoration of French civil law and British criminal law and allowed the Catholic Church to extend its power. However, the representative assembly demanded by both the Canadiens and the few British merchants of the colony were ignored. The colony's policies, however, were still controlled by a British-appointed governor.

Shortly after, the American War of Independence provoked a mass migration of British Loyalists from the United States into Canada. The newly-arrived and influential Loyalists  refused to be ruled by a British-appointed governor, as were the French, and requested that the political institutions of the pre-independence Thirteen Colonies (eastern USA) be brought to their new home. That is to say, they requested the creation of a legislative assembly with elected representatives, as well as the formation of an Executive Council. The power would still rest in the hands of a British-appointed governor aided by his appointed Executive Council, but the latter would receive recommandations presented by the elected legislative assembly. But the Loyalists also refused to constitute a minority in the assembly, given that French Canadians were still more numerous at the time.

Following these requests, Canada (then known as the "Province of Quebec") was divided into two distinct entities, each with its own elected assembly: Lower Canada (present-day Quebec) with a majoritarily French-Speaking and Catholic population and Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) with a majoritarily British-Loyalist population. This division ensured that British Loyalists would constitute a majority in their assembly. It also allowed for the application of exclusively British laws (particularly in regards to land tenure) in Upper Canada.

Despite the modernisation of political institutions, most of the recommendations brought forth by the elected assemblies were systematically ignored by the Executive Council. This was particularly true in Lower Canada with an assembly consisting mostly of French Canadian members of the Parti Patriote. This impasse created considerable tensions between the French Canadian political class and the British. In 1834, French Canadian political leader, Louis-Joseph Papineau submitted a document entitled the 92 Resolutions to the British crown. The document requested vast democratic reforms such as the transfer of power to elected representatives. The reply came three years later in the form of the Russell Resolutions which not only rejected the 92 resolutions but also revoked the assembly's only right, the power to vote its budget. This rebuff heightened tensions and esclalated into armed rebellions in 1837 and 1838, known as the "Rebellion des Patriotes. The uprisings were short-lived, however, as British troops quickly defeated the rebels and burned their villages in reprisal.

The rebellion was also contained by the Catholic clergy, which, by representing the only empowered French Canadian institution, exercised a tremendous influence over its constituents. During and after the rebellions Catholic priests and the bishop of Montreal told their disciples that questioning established authority was considered a sin that would prevent them from receiving the sacraments. The Church refused to give Christian burials to supporters of the revolution. With the liberal and progressive forces evicted from Quebec, the Catholic Church's influence characterised most of the French Canadian/British relations from the 1840s until the Quiet Revolution secularised Quebec society in the 1950s and 60s.

Following the rebellions, in May 1838, the queen of England sent Governor General Lord Durham to Lower and Upper Canada in order to investigate the uprisings and to bring forth solutions. His recommandations were formulated in what is known as "Lord Durham's Report" and suggested the forced union of the Canadas with the expressed purpose of "making [Lower Canada] an English Province [that] should never again be placed in any hands but those of an English population." Doing so, he claimed, would speed up the assimilation of the French Canadian population, "a people with no history, and no literature" into a homogenized English population. This would prevent what he considered to be ethnic conflicts.

As a result, Lower Canada and Upper Canada, with its enormous debt, were united in 1840 and French was banned in parliament and in governmental organisms for about eight years. Eight years later, an elected and responsible government was granted. Thus the French majority of Lower Canada became a political minority in a unified Canada. This, as Lord Durham had expressed in his report, allowed for a legitimized English political control over the former French majority of Canada and ensured the colony's loyalty to the British crown.


History of Quebec Sovereignty movements

Present day politics regarding Quebec sovereignty have largely pursued a reversal of this situation by increasing Quebeckers' control over their institutions and by preventing the assimilation of Quebec's distinct character.


The Quiet Revolution

In the early 1960s, the Quiet Revolution, stemming from a new assertiveness and a heightened sense of national identity among Québécois, dramatically changed the face of Quebec's institutions. The new provincial government headed by Jean Lesage and operating under the slogans "Il faut que ça change!" and "Maître chez nous" ("It must change!", "Masters at home") secularised government institutions, nationalised electricity production and encouraged unionising. The reforms sought to redefine the relations between the vastly working-class francophone Quebecois and the mostly anglophone business class. Thus passive Catholic nationalism stylized by Father Lionel Groulx gave way to a more active pursuit of independence and in 1963, the first bombings by the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) occured. The FLQ's violent pursuit of a socialist and independent Quebec culminated in the 1970 kidnappings of British diplomat, James Cross and then Minister of Labour, Pierre Laporte in what is known as the October Crisis.

The Quiet Revolution also forced the evolution of several political parties, and so in 1966, a reformed Union Nationale lead by Daniel Johnson Sr returned to power under the slogan "Equality or Independence". The new Premier of Quebec stated: "As a basis for its nationhood, Quebec wants to be master of its own decision-making in what concerns the human growth of its citizens -- that is to say education, social security and health in all their aspects -- their economic affirmation -- the power to set up economic and financial institutions they feel are required -- their cultural development -- not only the arts and letters, but also the French language -- and the Quebec community's external development -- its relations with certain countries and international bodies".

For the federal government this demand for an enormous shift in power to a province done under a threat of a possible unilateral declaration of independence, was cause for great alarm. In 1967, on the initiative of Premier John Robarts of Ontario, a provincial first ministers' conference was held in Toronto to discuss the Canadian confederation of the future. From this, a first round of what would become annual constitutional meetings of all provincial premiers and the prime minister of Canada, was held in February 1968. On the initiative of Prime Minister Lester Pearson the conference undertook to address the desires of Quebec. Amongst numerous initiatives, the conference members examined the recommendations of a Bilingualism and Biculturalism Commission, the question of a Charter of Rights, regional disparities, and the timeliness of a general review of the Constitution (the British North America Act).

In 1968, René Lévesque's Mouvement Souveraineté-Association joined forces with the Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale and the Ralliement National to create the Parti Québécois; Quebec's provincial political party that has since espoused the province's sovereignty. That same year, Pierre Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada by winning the leadership race for the federal Liberal Party. He would undertake numerous legislative measures to enhance the status of Quebec within Canada, including the passage into law in 1969 of the Official Languages Act that expanded upon the original official language status of both French and English from the 1867 British North America Act.


The Parti Québécois and the 1980 Referendum

In 1976 the Parti Québécois won the provincial election in Quebec with a 41,4% to 33,8% margin over the Parti Libéral du Québec and in a 1980 referendum, the Parti Québécois sought a mandate from the people of Quebec to negotiate new terms of association with the rest of Canada. The resolution read as follows: 
"The Government of Quebec has made public its proposal to negotiate a new agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations; this agreement would enable Quebec to acquire the exclusive power to make its laws, levy its taxes and establish relations abroad - in other words, sovereignty - and at the same time to maintain with Canada an economic association including a common currency; no change in political status resulting from these negotiations will be effected without approval by the people through another referendum; on these terms, do you give the Government of Quebec the mandate to negotiate the proposed agreement between Quebec and Canada?" With an 84% voter turnout, 60% percent of Quebec voters rejected the proposal.

After losing the 1980 referendum, the government of Quebec passed Resolution 176, which states: "A lasting solution to the constitutional issue presupposes recognition of the Quebec-Canada duality."

Meeting in Ottawa on June 9, 1980, the newly re-elected Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the provincial premiers set an agenda and gave their ministers responsibility for constitutional issues and a mandate to proceed with exploratory discussions to create a new Canadian Constitution. However, given the separatist government of Quebec's position that there be two nations established first in accordance with Resolution 176, approval by Quebec of any changes to the BNA Act were impossible. This assertion of national duality was immediately followed with Resolution 177 that stated: "Quebec will never agree, under the existing system, to the patriation of the Constitution and to an amending formula as long as the whole issue of the distribution of powers has not been settled and Quebec has not been guaranteed all the powers it needs for its development." As such, Quebec's government refused to sign the new Canadian Constitution a year later.  This failure to sign was a highly symbolic act, but one without direct legal consequence as no one questions the authority of the Canadian Constitution within Quebec.

After losing the vote to secede from Canada, the government of Quebec made specific demands as minimum requirements for the Province of Quebec. These demands included control by the government of Quebec over:

The province of Quebec already had theoretically full control over education, health, mineral resources, supplemental taxation, social services, seniors' retirement pension funds, inter-provincial trade, and other areas affecting the daily lives of its citizens. Many Canadians viewed the additional demands as too greatly reducing the power of the federal government, assigning it the role of tax collector and manager of the national border with the United States.  Others viewed these changes as desirable, concentrating power in the hands of Québécois politicians, who were more in tune with Québécois desires and interests.

Though the Parti Québécois government said that the federal government of Canada would be responsible for international relations, Quebec proceeded to open its own representative offices in foreign countries around the world. These quasi-embassies were officially named "Quebec Houses". Today, the international affairs minister is responsible for the less expensive Quebec delegation system.


Constitutional Issues, 1982+

Subsequently, an agreement between the federal government and all provincial governments (except Quebec's) agreed to Canada's assumption of full responsibility for its own constitution in 1982 (formerly the responsibility of the United Kingdom).  The agreement was enacted as "The Canada Act" by the British Parliament, and was proclaimed into law by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17, 1982. In Canada, this is referred to as the patriation of the Constitution.

This action (followed by the creation of a new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) came from an initiative by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau to create a multicultural and bilingual society in all of Canada. Some Canadians saw Trudeau's actions as an attempt to "shove French down their throats" (a common phrase at the time). Many Québécois viewed his compromise as a sell-out and useless: Quebec already had a Charter voted in 1975 and was not interested in imposing French on other provinces, rather it wished to safeguard it inside Quebec.  Many Canadians recognize that the province of Quebec is distinct and unique but they do not conclude from this that Quebec merits a position of greater autonomy than the other provinces, which they feel would be the result of granting special powers that are unavailable to the other provinces.

The government of Quebec, in line with its policy of the duality of nations, objected to the new Canadian constitutional arrangement of 1982 (the patriation), because its formula for future constitutional amendments failed to give Quebec veto power over constitutional changes.

Some believe that the leaders of Quebec used their refusal to sign the 1982 Constitution as a bargaining tool to gain leverage in future negotiations, because the federal Canadian government desired (though it is not legally necessary) to include all the provinces and territories willingly into the new Constitution. The National Assembly of Quebec rejected the repatriation unanimously. In spite of Quebec's lack of assent, the Constitution still applies within Quebec and to all Quebec residents. Many Québécois felt that the other provinces' adoption of the Constitution without Quebec's assent was a betrayal of the central tenets of democracy. They referred to the decision as the "Night of the Long Knives."

Two later initiatives sought to address the Québécois desire of securing greater autonomy within the Canadian federation. In 1987, the administration of Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to address these concerns and bring the province into an amended constitution. Quebec's provincial government, then controlled by a party who advocated remaining in Canada on certain conditions (the Liberal Party of Quebec), endorsed the accord (called the Meech Lake Accord).  Premier Robert Bourassa of Quebec referred to it as the first step towards gaining new powers from the federal government. The accord failed, however, as the legislatures in Newfoundland and Manitoba did not support it, primarily because they saw it as a change which granted exclusive powers to the province of Quebec and would severely and permanently weaken the country.

The federal government, the twelve provincial and territorial governments and four first peoples' groups then negotiated a second proposed constitutional accord in 1992 -- the Charlottetown Accord. Despite near-unanimous support from the country's political leaders, this second effort at constitutional reform was rejected in a nationwide October 1992 referendum. Only 32% of British Columbians supported the accord, because it was seen there and in other western provinces as blocking their hopes for future constitutional changes over such issues as Senate reform. In Quebec, 57% opposed the accord, seeing it as a step backwards compared to the Meech Lake Accord.

In 1990, after the Charlottetown Accord failed, Quebec representatives of the ruling Progressive Conservative Party left to form the Bloc Québécois, a federal political party intent on defending Quebecois' interests while pursuing independence. In the 1993 federal elections the Bloc Québécois became the official opposition. The following year, the provincial Parti Québécois, also separatist, was elected to the provincial government of Quebec. The two parties' high profile led to a second referendum on independence in 1995, with the question: "Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign, after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership, within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995?" The June 12 agreement referred to the agreement between the Bloc Québécois, the Parti Québécois and the Action Démocratique du Québec which elaborated guidelines for post-referendum negociations with Canada.

This referendum was a major concern for the country. The federalist faction argued that the question posed was not only ambiguous, but that a 50% plus 1 result in favour of sovereignty meant that 12% of Canadian citizens (50% of Quebec's population) were able to determine the fate of the entire nation. Held unilaterally in Quebec on October 30, 1995 the referendum resulted in a narrow 50,56% to 49.44% decision against Quebec sovereignty, with a 93% voter turnout. One of the leaders of the separatist cause, Quebec's Premier Jacques Parizeau, vowed to hold another referendum in his defeat speech, saying "It's true we have been defeated, but basically by what? By money and the ethnic vote. All it means is that in the next round, instead of us [francophones] being 60 or 61 per cent in favour, we'll be 63 or 64 per cent.." This remark caused a huge public outcry because it was perceived as racist and Parizeau resigned shortly after.

Parizeau and his supporters claimed that the money issue referred to the illegal spending made by federal agencies for the October 27 federalist rally in Montreal. The total cost was estimated at approximately $4 million, which is more than was spent by both the Yes and No sides during the campaign. Statisticians refer to "ethnic vote" as being the traditional voting pattern in Quebec, where the francophone vote is split between federalist and sovereignist elements (40 and 60% respectively) whereas the anglophone and allophone (in Quebec, term used to refer to residents whose native tongue is neither English or French) votes are largely federalist (roughly 93%). Allophones had traditionally given a very marginal support to sovereignty, around 8% in the 1980 referendum. But in 1995, allophone support for sovereignty dropped to 3%, despite tireless attempts at augmenting the support from the Latino, Haitian, and Arab communities who are considered more open towards Francophones. During the 2003 elections, however, surveys showed that the Children of Law 101 (the younger generation of immigrants) were voting more and more along the lines of the francophone voting pattern.

In response to concern expressed by immigrants and english-speaking Canadians regarding the wording of the question and the possibility of another referendum, Prime Minister Chrétien referred the matter to the Supreme Court of Canada in December 1999. The Court ruled that Quebec, with less than 23 percent of Canada's population, could only access to sovereignty if the referendum has a clear majority in favour of a clearly worded question.

Following the Supreme Court's decision, the federal government introduced legislation known as the "Clarity Bill" which set forth the guidelines for any future referendum undertaken by the government of the Province of Quebec on the subject of separation. Ironically, the definition of "clearly worded" and "clear majority" were never given in the bill. Instead, it stated that the federal government would determine "whether the question is clear" and whether a "clear majority" is attained. Sovereigntists argue that this bill grants veto power to the federal governement over referenda on sovereignty.

Consequentially, with a majority vote supported by all members of the House of Commons of Canada, except for members of the Bloc Québécois party, both houses of the Parliament of Canada approved the legislation.


Current Issues

In March 2001, Bernard Landry succeeded Lucien Bouchard as premier of Quebec (see List of Quebec Premiers) and pledged to promote independence for Quebec and to hold another referendum on separation from Canada. In April 2003 Quebecers elected Jean Charest as premier, the first solidly federalist premier since the 1960s.

Currently, such issues as medicare, unemployment, housing, education, taxes, trade and the environment preoccupy many Canadians more urgently than national unity.


See also


External Links


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Province of Canada
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Note: for information about Canada's present-day provinces and territories, see Canadian provinces and territories.

The Province of Canada was a British colony in North America, created by the fusion of the Canadas into one province. The former Lower Canada became known Canada East and Upper Canada as Canada West. The Province of Canada ceased to exist upon Confederation (1867), when it joined with the colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to form the Dominion of Canada. At that point, the Province of Canada redivided into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Province of Canada."
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Transportation in Canada
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Railways:
Cities with commuter train systems:
Cities with underground or light rapid transit railway systems: 

Highways:
See Trans-Canada Highway

Waterways: 3,000 km, including Saint Lawrence Seaway

Pipelines: crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km

Ports and harbors: Becancour, Quebec; Churchill, Manitoba; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Hamilton, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; New Westminster, British Columbia; Prince Rupert, British Columbia; Quebec City, Quebec; Saint John, New Brunswick; St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador; Sept Iles, Quebec; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Trois-Rivieres, Quebec; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia; Windsor, Ontario

Merchant marine:

Airports: 1,411 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:

Airports - with unpaved runways:
Heliports: 15 (1999 est.)

Somewhere it should be mentioned how the Canadian railway linking east and west Canada paralled the transcontinental railroad in the United States.  Both of these were extremely important to the development of each country.


See also : Canada
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Transportation in Canada."
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Abbreviations & Acronyms: Canada
The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted.
EntrySourceExpressionField
CAEnglishCanadaGeography
CAFrenchLe CanadaGeography
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).
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Crosswords: Canada
English words defined with "Canada": Canada ginger, Canada thistle, capital of Canada. (references)
Specialty definitions using "Canada": acting marshall in admiralty, AES ♦ Bank Credit Analyst, Basle Committee, Basle Supervisor's Committee, blackhead minnow, Border Crosser, Bum-boat ♦ Cairns Group, Canadian rollover mortgage, Canadian shield, Canamin clay, chemawinite, City of Saints, Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices, Commodore 65, Computing Devices Canada Ltd., concertation procedure, Cooke Committee, Cordilleran ice sheet, Core War ♦ Defense Trade Regulations, Denturists ♦ electronic mail address, Encephalitis Virus, Eastern Equine, Encephalitis Virus, Western Equine, End-use certificate, Enteroviruses, Porcine, Environment Canada, Exchequer Courts Reports ♦ Fathead minnow, Flowers and Trees, freedom of testation ♦ Geographic Locations, Group of Seven, GVL ♦ Inprise Corporation, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, Internex On-Line ♦ Kootenai series ♦ latrobite, Laurentian granite, Linola ♦ Macintosh Common Lisp, man, mechanical room, Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 ♦ NASABF, National Science Foundation Network, NIAL, NIAL Systems Ltd., North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, North American Free-Trade Agreement, North American Industry Classification System, North American Securities Administrators Association, North American Waterfowl Management Plan, northern fathead minnow ♦ One-horse Universities, Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation, Overland Common Point, oversize coupling ♦ Pasqual, Penberthy anoloader, petroglyph, Portable Commodore 64, proposed rate ♦ Q'NIAL ♦ restoral service charge ♦ service room, service space, Simware, Inc., Software Productivity Centre, sudburite ♦ testamentary freedom, THAW, Tower Technology Corporation, Trade Adjustment Assistance, Tree Transformation Language ♦ U.S. Robotics, Inc., Unified screw thread, Unified thread, United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement, United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988, United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement ♦ Watcom International, WATFIV, WATFOR, wheat soil, wheatland, WSL ♦ X.400. (references)
Etymologies containing "Canada": Perthite. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Canada" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.
Dutch (Canada), French (Canada), Italian (Canada), Romanian (Canada), Swedish (Canada).
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Modern Usage: Canada
DomainUsage
Screenplays
She's letting me stay here while she's working on a movie that's being made in Canada. But I guess you already know that (Mulholland Dr.; writing credit: David Lynch)
Some say the ducks went to Canada, others say Toronto (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge)
We were going for breakfast in Canada. We made a deal; if she'd stop hookin', I'd stop shooting people (Payback; writing credit: Brian Helgeland)
My roommate is from Canada, so we told him that American girls really like it when guys wear mesh tank tops and quote Billy Joel (Saturday Night Live; writing credit: Doug Abeles; Leo Allen)
I wanted that part, but it was dubbed in Canada! (Excel Saga; writing credit: Hideyuki Kurata; Yôsuke Kuroda)
Clever
Canada is an Indian word meaning "Big Village". (references; author: unknown)
Movie/TV Titles
Stompin' Tom's Canada (1974)
Inside Canada (1973)
Canada A.M. (1972)
Here Is Canada (1972)
Le Ministère des affaires extérieures du Canada (1972)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Commercial Usage: Canada
DomainTitle
References
  • Air Canada: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)
  • AT&T Canada Inc.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)
  • Beau Canada Exploration Ltd.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)
  • BAE Systems Canada Inc: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)
  • Bell Canada International Incorporated: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)
    (more reference examples)
  
Books
  • The Coasting trade act : a position paper dealing with the policy implications of a proposed bill on the coasting trade of Canada [La Loi sur le cabotage : exposé de position sur les répercussions du bill proposé sur le cabotage au Canada] (reference)
  • Web Services, E-Business, and the Semantic Web: Caise 2002 International Workshop, Wes 2002, Toronto, Canada, May 27-28, 2002: Revised Papers) (reference)
  • Alces, écologie de l'orignal : Symposium international sur l'écologie de l'orignal tenu à Québec, Canada, du 25 au 28 mars 1973 = Alces, moose ecology : International Symposium on Moose Ecology held in Quebec City, Canada, 26 [sic]-28 March 1973 (reference)
  • Enzymology of carbonyl metabolism 2 : aldehyde dehydrogenase, aldo-keto reductase, and alcohol dehydrogenase : proceedings of an international workshop, held in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, July 1-4, 1984 (reference)
  • How Domestic Anti-Avoidance Rules Affect Double Taxation Conventions: Proceedings of a Seminar Held in Toronto, Canada, in 1994 During the 48th congr (reference)
    (more book examples)
  
Periodicals
  • Annual Conference Of The Atlantic Canada Economics Association (reference)
  • Food Consumption In Canada - Part 2 (reference)
  • Canada Pension Plan Contributions (reference)
  • Corporate Board Governance And Director Compensation In Canada (reference)
  • Adult Corrections Services In Canada - Print On Demand Servi (reference)
    (more periodical examples)
  
Theater & Movies
  • Leonard Maltin's Animation Favorites From the National Film Board of Canada (reference)
  • Tower of Song - An Epic Story of Canada and Its Music (reference)
  • Canada Goose:A Love Story (reference)
  • World of the Canada Goose (reference)
  • Calgary to Victoria, a journey across Western Canada (reference)
    (more DVD examples; more video examples)
  
Music
  
High Tech
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Image Slideshow: Canada
Photos:
Canada
More pictures...
Illustrations:
Canada
More pictures...
Computer Images:
Canada
More pictures...
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Photo Album: Canada
ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit
Map of eastern United States and Canada showing distribution of reported cases of blastomycosis. Credit: CDC.
Akpatok Island lies in Ungava Bay in northern Quebec, Canada. Accessible only by air, Akpatok Island rises out of the water as sheer cliffs that soar 500 to 800 feet (150 to 243km) above the sea surface. The island is an important sanctuary for cliff-nesting seabirds. Numerous ice floes around the island attract walrus and whales, making Akpatok a traditional hunting ground for native Inuit people. Credit: NASA.
Extensive wetlands lie near the town of Yellowknife, near the Great Slave Lake in Northwest Territories, Canada. The shallow lakes seen in this image have formed in grooves in the landscape that were carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age. Credit: NASA.
Climbing peak 5300 with survey gear - 141st meridian Alaska - Canada Boundary Survey. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.
Wrangler with horses on 49th Parallel Triangulation party of Ector B. Latham Boundary survey of U.S. - Canada border. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.
Resident Canada Geese - the ones who "forget" to fly home for the summer. Resident Canada Geese put additional stress on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Credit: America's Coastlines.
Canada geese flying into the Jug Bay area at sunset. Credit: America's Coastlines.
Mileage posts to a few home towns in the United States and Canada. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.
Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Credit: Geodesy - Measuring the Earth.
Cambridge Bay, Northwest Territories, Canada. Credit: Geodesy - Measuring the Earth.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.
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Digital Photo Gallery: Canada
 
"29er Championship in Canada" by Denis Nordmann
Commentary: "July 2002: Swiss and Spanish 29er-Skiff at the Youth Sailing World Championship in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada - contact me for more pictures and infos."		"Sunny Harbour" by Michael Nixon
Commentary: "Victoria Harbour, BC, Canada, May 2003."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.
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Sounds Captioned with "Canada".
PlayCaption
Honk; geese; goose; Canada.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Historic Usage: Canada
AuthorDateQuotation
Winston S. Churchill
1946
The United States has already a Permanent Defense Agreement with the Dominion of Canada, which is so devotedly attached to the British Commonwealth and Empire. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
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Non-Fiction Usage: Canada
SubjectTopicQuote
Health
From the Alzheimer Society of Canada. (references)
This method has worked well in both Europe and Canada. (references)
The big brown bat is found throughout most of the United States and Canada. (references)
Business
China mainly imports fertilizers from the U.S., Russia, and Canada. (references)
The GST is paid to Revenue Canada by the importer once the goods clear customs. (references)
Competition comes mainly from Canada, Korea and Japan and is based primarily on price. (references)
Children
Ghana
In 2000 the Governments of Ghana and Canada hosted a conference on children affected by war in West Africa. (references)
Civil Liberties
Czech Republic
Since 1997 when over 1,200 Roma submitted applications for refugee status in Canada and the United Kingdom, Romani families have continued to emigrate. (references)
Canada
He was released due to political pressure from inside Tunisia and Canada, and was readmitted to Canada under a special permit from the Minister of Immigration. (references)
Economic History
Sri Lanka
Major competitors are Australia and Canada. (references)
Dominican Republic
Markets--U.S. (72%), Canada, western Europe. (references)
Canada
Patents in Canada are governed by the Patent Act. (references)
Human Rights
Tunisia
His passport eventually was returned to him and, in September, Mbarek was granted permission from Canadian authorities to return to Canada. (references)
Guatemala
On September 23, another attempted jailbreak left 10 prisoners injured after an exchange of gunfire with prison guards at the Canada Prison Farm in Escuintla. (references)
Singapore
In July opposition politician J.B. Jeyaretnam's bankruptcy appeal was witnessed by a Canadian observer, who acted as a representative of both Amnesty International and the Lawyers' Rights Watch in Canada. (references)
Indigenous People
Canada
Quebec's Indian people remain overwhelmingly opposed to separation from Canada and deeply distrust the separatist government of the province. (references)
Canada
In response to court decisions over the past few years, the Government continues to work at resolving a variety of issues, including fishing rights in Atlantic Canada. (references)
Canada
Despite the Quebec Premier's recent overtures to the leaders of the Cree and Inuit nations, surveys indicate that most of Quebec's 60,000 Indians would favor partition of the province in the event of Quebec's separation from Canada. (references)
Minorities
Canada
Quebec's language law restricts access to publicly funded, English language schools through grade 11 to children whose parents were educated in English in Canada and to short-term residents. (references)
Canada
Another case was brought by a group whose native tongue is neither French nor English, who alleged that the law restricting English-language schools to children whose parents were educated in English in Canada is discriminatory. (references)
Canada
The League for Human Rights of B'nai Brith in Canada reported that there were 280 incidents of anti-Semitism in 2000--a 5 percent increase from 1999. Harassment comprised 192 of the incidents, a decrease of 6 percent over 1999. However, the League stressed that many of those incidents were far more violent than in past years. (references)
Political Economy
COSTA RICA
The agreement with Canada remains to be ratified by both countries. (references)
CANADA
The banking industry in Canada is governed by the federal Bank Act. (references)
CANADA
Canada operates a partially bifurcated trade remedies system under SIMA. (references)
Political Rights
Canada
The Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that a unilateral declaration of independence would be illegal, but that the Federal Government and other provinces would be obligated to negotiate Quebec's separation if a clear majority of Quebeckers voted to change their relationship with Canada on the basis of a clearly phrased referendum question. (references)
Trade
Canada
Canada and Chile implemented a bilateral FTA in mid-1997. (references)
Jamaica
Jamaica exports certain items duty-free to Canada under CARIBCAN. (references)
Travel
Canada
Business customs in Canada closely mirror those of the United States. (references)
Canada
Most food and other consumables available in the United States can be found in Canada. (references)
Canada
Canada also has an extensive railway system connecting the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific. (references)
Worker Rights
Mexico
Some children are trafficked to the U.S. and Canada. (references)
Honduras
Boys reportedly are trafficked to Canada for the purpose of drug trafficking. (references)
Canada
Asian women and girls who are smuggled into Canada often are forced into prostitution. (references)
Lexicography
Devil's Dictionary
MAN, n.  An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be.  His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earh and Canada. When the world was young and Man was new, And everything was pleasant, Distinctions Nature never drew 'Mongst kings and priest and peasant. We're not that way at present, Save here in this Republic, where We have that old regime, For all are kings, however bare Their backs, howe'er extreme Their hunger.  And, indeed, each has a voice To accept the tyrant of his party's choice. A citizen who would not vote, And, therefore, was detested, Was one day with a tarry coat (With feathers backed and breasted) By patriots invested. "It is your duty," cried the crowd, "Your ballot true to cast For the man o' your choice."  He humbly bowed, And explained his wicked past: "That's what I very gladly would have done, Dear patriots, but he has never run." Apperton Duke
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.
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Spoken Usage: Canada
SpeakerPhrase(s)
Rush Limbaugh
There are liberals all over the world, and there are loads of them in Canada.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Speeches: Canada
SpeakerTermPhrase(s)
Gerald Ford
1974-1977Our alliances with major partners, the great industrial democracies of Western Europe, Japan, and Canada, have never been more solid.
Ronald Reagan
1981-1989I'm speaking of the historic Free Trade Agreement negotiated between our country and Canada.
Bill Clinton
1993-2001We will convene a summit of the Western Hemisphere's leaders from Canada to the tip of South America.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
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Usage Frequency: Canada
"Canada" is generally used as a noun (proper) -- approximately 99.93% of the time. "Canada" is used about 2,910 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words		Rank in English
Noun (proper)99.93%2,9083,207 
Noun (singular)0.07%2245,945 
                    Total100.00%2,910N/A
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
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Name Usage Frequency: Canada
The following table summarizes the usage of "Canada" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.
NameUsage/GenderUsage per 100
million Persons		Rank in USA
CanadaLast name4,0003,332
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
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Usage in Company Names: Canada
CountryNameCountryName
Canada
Air Canada
Netherlands
Uni-Invest Canada N.V.
USA
Sun Life Assurance Company Of Canada U S
 (more examples...)  
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
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Cities: Canada

1. Canada, KY 
Zip Code(s): 41519
Country: USA
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Expressions: Canada
Expressions using "Canada": Canada anemone ♦ Canada balsam ♦ Canada garlic ♦ Canada ginger ♦ Canada goose ♦ Canada grouse ♦ Canada hemp ♦ Canada jay ♦ Canada lily ♦ Canada lynx ♦ Canada moonseed ♦ Canada odorata ♦ Canada pitch ♦ Canada plum ♦ Canada porcupine ♦ Canada rice ♦ Canada robin ♦ Canada thistle ♦ Canada violet ♦ Canada wild rye ♦ capital of Canada ♦ computing Devices Canada Ltd. ♦ Elacate canada ♦ La Canada Flintridge ♦ Little Canada. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
Beginning with "Canada": canada-based, Canada-mexico-usa, canada-united.
Ending with "Canada": China-canada, Petro-canada, Us-canada.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Canada
The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day		ExpressionFrequency
per Day
canada 411
20,138
wal mart canada
2,871
air canada
18,305
revenue canada
2,723
toronto canada
16,751
canada hotel
2,640
canada
15,791
victoria canada
2,543
montreal canada
15,263
canada weather
2,378
vancouver canada
9,178
royal bank of canada
2,373
travel to canada
8,149
winnipeg canada
2,195
canada post
7,413
halifax canada
2,065
government of canada
5,892
alberta canada
1,992
canada map
5,766
quebec canada
1,972
ottawa canada
5,208
canada ebay
1,836
yahoo canada
4,944
canada job
1,827
calgary canada
4,718
niagra falls canada
1,817
environment canada
4,463
windsor canada
1,724
td canada trust
3,981
niagara falls canada
1,717
canada immigration
3,350
mls canada
1,669
edmonton canada
3,340
canada health
1,653
sears canada
2,982
job bank canada
1,631
bell canada
2,979
bank of canada
1,585
canada vacation
2,944
canada sars
1,483
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.
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Modern Translation: Canada
Language Translations for "Canada"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Afrikaans
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Albanian
  
Kanadë. (various references)
   
Arabic 
  
‏كندا. (various references)
   
Asturian
  
Canadá. (various references)
   
Blackfoot
  
áápsspini (Canada goose). (various references)
   
Bulgarian 
  
Канада. (various references)
   
Chinese 
  
加拿大 (Canadian). (various references)
   
Czech
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Danish
  
Canada. (various references)
   
Dutch
  
Canada. (various references)
   
Esperanto
  
Kanado, Kanadio. (various references)
   
Faeroese
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Farsi 
  
کشورکانادا. (various references)
   
Finnish
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
French
  
Canada. (various references)
   
Frisian
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
German
  
Kanada (Canada (ca)). (various references)
   
Greek 
  
Καναδάς (Canadian). (various references)
   
Hungarian
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Irish
  
Ceanada. (various references)
   
Italian
  
Canadà, Canada. (various references)
   
Japanese Kanji 
  
加奈陀 , カドミウム標準電池  (cadmium standard cell, Canadian canoe, canape, canary, kanamycin). (various references)
   
Japanese Katakana 
  
かなだ, カナダ . (various references)
   
Korean 
  
캐나다 (Canadian). (various references)
   
Macedonian
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Manx
  
Yn Chanadey. (various references)
   
Maori
  
Kaanata. (various references)
   
Papiamen
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Pig Latin
  
anadacay.(various references)
   
Polish
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Portuguese
  
Canadá. (various references)
   
Romanian
  
Canada. (various references)
   
Russian 
  
Канада. (various references)
   
Samoan
  
Kanata. (various references)
   
Serbo-Croatian
  
kanada. (various references)
   
Spanish
  
Canadá. (various references)
   
Swedish
  
Kanada. (various references)
   
Tagalog
  
Kanadá. (various references)
   
Thai
  
แคนาดา, ประเทศแคนาดา. (various references)
   
Turkish
  
Kanada (the dominion). (various references)
   
Ukrainian
  
Канада. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.
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Misspellings: Canada
Misspellings
"Canada" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Achada, Anada, Anadac, Caade, Camada, Camarda, canaa, Canaday, Canadia, canata, Candao, Candau, Caneva, Caniadau, canidi, cansada, cantada, Cantade, Canudo, Carneddeu, Carneddi, Cavada, Cebado, Chandana, Cinda, Condado, Cuanza, Cunedda, Cyaneka, Kafadar, Kanata, Kapadia, Kasarda, Kinunda, Panada, Sajadah, Sanada, Sanandaj, Sankawa, Shihada. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).
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Anagrams: Canada
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
Words within the letters "a-a-a-c-d-n"
-2 letters: nada.
-3 letters: ana, and, cad, can.
-4 letters: aa, ad, an, na.
 Words containing the letters "a-a-a-c-d-n"
 
+2 letters: acaridan, adamance, adamancy, anaconda, arcadian, dracaena, sandarac.
 
+3 letters: acaridans, adamances, anacondas, arcadians, caravaned, dandiacal, dracaenas, jacaranda, sandaracs.
 
+4 letters: adamancies, aficionada, avalanched, calamander, candelabra, caravanned, jacarandas.
 
+5 letters: abecedarian, academician, aficionadas, antiradical, calamanders, candelabras, cardinalate, pachysandra.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.
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INDEX
 1. Definition 
 2. Crosswords 
 3. Usage: Modern 
 4. Usage: Commercial 		 5. Images: Slideshow 
 6. Images: Photo Album 
 7. Images: Digital Art 
 8. Sounds 		 9. Quotations: Historic 
 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 
 11. Quotations: Spoken 
 12. Quotations: Speeches 		 13. Usage Frequency 
 14. Names: Frequency 
 15. Names: Company Usage 
 16. Cities 		 17. Expressions 
 18. Expressions: Internet 
 19. Translations: Modern 
 20. Abbreviations 		 21. Acronyms 
 22. Derivations 
 23. Anagrams 
 24. Bibliography 


  
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