Canada is a North American country located in the northern part of the
continent. This article dwells on some interesting facts about Canada
that you may like to know. Read on...
Canada was founded in 1867
as a union of the British Colonies. It extends from the Atlantic Ocean
in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and is surrounded by the
Arctic Ocean on the north and the United States to the South. The
country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1982.
Facts About Canada
The first inhabitants of Canada were aborigines. The explorers from
Western Europe settled in Canada during the 1500s and the country was
named 'Canada' by Jacques Cartier in 1535. The name comes from the Huron
and Iroquois word 'kanata' which literally means village.
Canada is the second largest country in the world, next only to the Russian Federation.
Canada has the world's largest coastline. The country has about
one-fourth of all the freshwater available in the world. Many of the
lakes in Canada have been created by the Glaciers shaping.
The
largest river in Canada is the Mackenzie river. The six geographical
regions in Canada are Cordillera, Interior Plains, Lowlands, Arctic,
Canadian Shield and the Appalachian Highlands.
The official
languages of Canada are English and French. These languages have equal
status in the Parliament, Federal Institutions and Federal Courts. The
other non-official languages spoken in Canada are German, Italian,
Punjabi and Chinese.
Canada has ten provinces and three
territories. The ten provinces are: Alberta (capital: Edmonton), British
Columbia (capital: Victoria), Manitoba (capital: Winnipeg), New
Brunswick (capital: Fredericton), Newfoundland and Labrador (capital:
St. John's), Ontario (capital: Toronto), Prince Edward Island (capital:
Charlottetown), Quebec (capital: Quebec City), Saskatchewan (capital:
Regina) and Nova Scotia (capital: Halifax). The territories include -
Northwest Territories (capital: Yellowknife), Nunavut (capital: Iqaluit)
and Yukon (capital: Whitehorse).
Newfoundland is probably the
first part of Canada to be explored by the Europeans. It became a
province and joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949.
Alert, in the Nunavut territory, is reported to be the permanently inhabited place in the world.
The former name of Ottawa was Bytown after Colonel John By. He
oversaw the building of the Rideau Canal. The name was changed to Ottawa
in 1855.
Canada is a democracy. The Parliament of Canada is
based in Ottawa, Ontario. The Parliament consists of the House of
Commons and the Senate.
The main highway in Canada is known as
the Trans-Canada highway and it travels from St. John's in Newfoundland
and Labrador to Victoria in British Columbia. The highway is seven
thousand six hundred and four kilometers long and is the longest
national highway in the world. The Canadian National and the Canadian
Pacific are the major freight systems in Canada.
Canada is one of the world's wealthiest countries. It has a very high per capita income.
Canada is a member of the Organization for Economic Progress and
Development and the Group of Eight. It is also a free market economy.
The market has lesser government intervention as compared to many other
European countries.
The total unemployment rate in Canada is around six percent. It has been the lowest in the past thirty years.
Service sectors and mining have succeeded in throwing away the
'rural economy' tag to a large extent. Today, the Canadian economy is
dominated by the service sector. Other important sectors in Canada are
the oil, logging and the automobile industry.
Canada is an
exporter of net energy. It has large oil and natural gas deposits in
places like Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The Athabasca
Tar Sands is one of the world's largest natural gas reserves, second
only to Saudi Arabia. Canada also uses the environment friendly
hydroelectric power as an energy supplier.
Apart from agriculture, the other important exports of Canada are lead, zinc, uranium, gold and nickel.
Canada has many unique places for a tourist to explore. The
country's tourism is centered around the four largest cities - Ottawa,
Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.
These were some amazing facts
about Canada. Canada is a beautiful country with breathtaking landscapes
and multicultural cities to amaze and inspire tourists from all over
the world. It is one of the popular tourist destinations and draws
millions of visitors every year.
By Roy D'Silva
