Canada Land: 2004-11-25

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Demographic of Canada

In the 2001 Canadian census, respondents reported their ethnicity using the following self-identifications[6] :
Canadian (40.1%)
English (29.17%)
French (23.2%)
Scottish (14.03%)
Irish (12.90%)
German (9.25%)
Italian (4.29%)
Chinese (3.69%)
Ukrainian (3.61%)
First Nations (3.38%)
Dutch (3.12%)
Polish (2.76%)
East Indian (2.41%)
Black African (2.23%)
Norwegian (1.23%)
Portuguese (1.21%)
Welsh (1.18%)
Jewish (1.18%)
Russian (1.14%)
Filipino (1.11%)
M�tis (1.04%)
Swedish (0.95%)

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Quebec Multicultural Place

The official language of Quebec is French, as defined by the province's Charter of the French Language; this law lays out various protections for the use of French as a vehicular language, but also provides certain rights for English speakers and speakers of aboriginal languages. Quebec provides most government services in both English and French.

French is mostly spoken in Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and southern Manitoba. In the 2001 census, 6,864,615 people listed French as a first language, of whom 85% lived in Quebec, and 17,694,835 people listed English as a first language.
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Canada Charter of Rights

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms lays down that:
French and English are equal to each other as official languages;
debate in Parliament may take place in either official language;
laws shall be printed in both official languages, with equal authority;
anyone may deal with any court established by Parliament, in either official language;
everyone has the right to receive services from the federal government in his or her choice of official language;
members of a minority language group of one of the official languages IF learned and still understood (i.e. French speakers in a majority English-speaking province, or vice versa) or received primary school education in that language has the right to have their children receive a public education in their language, where numbers warrant.

At the provincial level, New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, a status specifically guaranteed by the Charter of Rights, with its citizens having the same language rights at the provincial level as all citizens of Canada have at the federal level. While no other province is officially bilingual, most provincial governments do offer some type of service to their English or French minority populations.
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Canada -USA

The Canada-U.S. border is the world's longest undefended border, and the United States and Canadian governments share a variety of close working partnerships in matters of trade, economics, and legal concerns. As Canada and the United States have grown closer, many Canadians have developed complex feelings and concerns regarding what makes Canada a "distinct" nation within North America. The large American cultural presence in Canada has prompted some fears of a "cultural takeover," and has initiated the establishment of many laws and government institutions to protect Canadian culture. Much of Canadian culture remains defined in contrast to American culture (See Canadian identity). For example, Canadians see their country as a mosaic of unique immigrant cultures, a large picture made up of many distinct pieces, rather than a melting-pot. Media outlets that receive government funding such as the CBC attempt to promote such a view of Canada, although in recent years critics have accused Canadian "cultural" programming as being excessively political.
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Canadian Culture

While Canadian culture is heavily influenced by British and American culture and traditions, it retains many unique characteristics. 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 and following the Canadian Centennial in 1967.
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Demographic of Canada

Canada Multicultural Place

Languages other than the official languages are also important in Canada, with 5,470,820 people listing a non-official language as a first language. (The above three statistics include those who listed more than one first language.) Among the most important non-official first language groups are Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), especially Cantonese (322,315); Italian (469,485); and German (438,080).

Speakers of a great many aboriginal languages live in Canada; however, all but a few of the aboriginal languages are in decline. The only aboriginal languages that are believed to be sustainable at present are Cree (an official language in the Northwest Territories; 72,885 first-language speakers), Inuktitut (an official language in the NWT and Nunavut; 29,010 speakers), and Ojibwa (together with Cree, Obijwa will make up 150,000 speakers).
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English French Canada

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. The ongoing uncertainty creates confusion about who will be responsible for the Canadian debt, what trading relationships will look like, and a host of other issues. However, as fears of separation have waned, the economy has become stronger, notably in Quebec.
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Brain drain of Canada

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 high-tech opportunities. Simultaneously, a largely under-recognized Brain Gain is occurring, as educated immigrants continue to enter Canada in the late 20th and early 21st centuries [5] . As in many western countries, however, the benefits of this phenomenon are limited by problems with acceptance of foreign qualifications; many educated and highly skilled immigrants work in unskilled positions in Canada, because their credentials are not recognized by government, employers, and some professional organizations, such as the Canadian Medical Association, which forces foreign-trained doctors to undertake extensive retraining to practise in Canada.
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Canada Languages

Canada's two official languages are English and French.

On July 7, 1969, French was made equal to English throughout the Canadian federal government. This started a process that led to Canada redefining itself as a bilingual and multicultural nation at the federal level.
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Canada Geography

Canada occupies more or less the northern half of the North American continent. It is bordered by the United States to the south and to the northwest (where it borders Alaska). The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. Canada also reaches the Arctic Ocean in the north where Canada's territorial claim extends to the North Pole. Canada Immigration.How to imigrate to Canada.

Internation Discussion over Canada

Canadian culture was a topic of international discussion in 2003, when Canada refused to join the US-led 2003 Iraq War, moved toward legalizing same-sex marriage, and took steps towards decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Many international observers saw these developments as distinguishing Canada as more socially liberal than its southern neighbour. Needless to say, within Canada itself, such notions of Canada being a more fundamentally "left wing" country than the US tend to be more widely embraced by political parties on the left than those on the right. Such liberal social policies can probably best be tied to the political dominance of the Liberal Party of Canada over national debate within the last decade. Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Dominion of Canada

Canada, historically the Dominion of Canada, is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confederation. It occupies most of the northern half of North America.

Canada's capital is Ottawa, home of the nation's parliament as well as the residences of the Governor General and the Prime Minister. A former French then British colony, Canada is a member of both La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations. Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Canada ranked fourth

Canada is a modern and technologically advanced country and is largely energy self-sufficient due to its stores of fossil fuels, nuclear energy generation, and hydroelectric power capabilities. Its economy has traditionally relied heavily on a vast abundance of natural resources. Although the modern Canadian economy has become widely diversified, exploitation of natural resources remains an important driver of many regional economies.

Canada ranked fourth on the 2004 UN Human Development Index, behind Norway, Sweden and Australia. Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Canada Geography

Canada is the world's second-largest country

Canada is the world's second-largest country in total area after Russia. However, it has an extremely low population density of 3 people per square kilometre as there are roughly 32 million Canadians, of whom 80% live within 200 kilometres of the American border. While Canada covers a larger geographic area than the neighbouring United States, it has only one-ninth of the population. As mentioned, Canada's vast and rich territory has led to a historical economic dependence on its natural resources. Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Canadian Nature

The most fertile and heaviest-populated part of the country, the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence River Valley in the east, was the first to be settled by Europeans. To the north of this region is the broad Canadian Shield, an area of rock scoured clean by the last ice age, thinly soiled, rich in minerals, and gouged with lakes and rivers - over 60% of the world's lakes are located in Canada. The Canadian Shield encircles the immense Hudson Bay.

The Canadian Shield extends to the Atlantic Coast in Labrador, the mainland part of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The island of Newfoundland, Canada's easternmost region, is at the mouth of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. The Canadian Maritimes protrude eastward from the southern coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, sandwiched between the Gulf to the north and the Atlantic to the south. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are divided by the Bay of Fundy, an arm of the Atlantic that experiences the world's highest tides.

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Canada Origin of the Name

The name Canada originated from a Huron-Iroquoian word, Kanata meaning "village" or "settlement" or "collection of huts" [3] , referring to Stadacona, a settlement on the site of present-day Quebec City. Maps made by early European explorers show that the name River Canada was given to the Ottawa River, and the Saint Lawrence River below Montreal. A plausible hypothesis is that the river was named for the village on its banks, and the surrounding country for the river used to explore it.

In 1867 through confederation, the British North America Act created "one Dominion under the Name of Canada." The term "Dominion" was chosen (rather than "Kingdom") to avoid the possible antagonizing of anti-monarchist sentiment in the United States and to reflect Canada's status as a self-governing colony of the British Empire. Notwithstanding historical precedents for the term "dominion", the country's name and motto are often linked to Ps 72:8 and Zech 9:10 - "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Until the 1960s, the term Dominion of Canada was commonly used to identify the country, after which time the Dominion Government began simply to use the name "Canada" on all official state documents and treaties. This was to recognize Canadian autonomy from the UK, though some critics insisted that the country's proper name should continue to be regarded as "the Dominion of Canada," even if it remained largely unused. The Canada Act 1982 refers merely to "Canada" and the single name is the current official shortform and longform (as well as bilingual) name in use. Later in 1982, this was reflected in the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day.

History of Canada

Canada, which has been inhabited by aboriginal peoples, known in Canada as the First Nations, for at least 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 there.

In 1763, at the end of the Seven Years' War, France chose to keep its Caribbean Islands and to leave its North American colony, New France, to Britain.

After the American Revolution, many British Loyalists settled in Canada.

On July 1, 1867, with the passing of the British North America Act, the British government granted local self-government to a federation of four provinces formed from three of its North American colonies, Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The former Province (colony) of Canada formed two provinces of the new Dominion of Canada, being partitioned into Quebec and Ontario along the old boundary between Lower and Upper Canada. The term Confederation refers to this act of union and is often used for the resulting federation. Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Canada Politics

Canada is a federation under a system of parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Its Head of State and Sovereign is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the title of Queen of Canada. The Queen's representative in Canada is the Governor General who is generally a retired politician or other prominent Canadian appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada. The Governor General is a non-partisan figure who fills the role of providing Royal Assent to bills passed by the House of Commons and the Senate, reading the Speech from the Throne, signing state documents, formally opening and ending sessions of Parliament, and dissolving Parliament for an election. Both the Queen and the Governor General are primarily figureheads, with little real power as they almost always act on the advice of Canada's Head of Government, the Prime Minister, who is also the government party leader who controls such tools of governance as party discipline and patronage appointments. Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Political System of Canada

The Governor General formally appoints the Prime Minister, who is usually 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 and the Senate.

Canada has three main national parties, the centrist Liberal Party of Canada, the right-of-centre Conservative Party of Canada, and the left-of-centre democratic socialist New Democratic Party (NDP). A regional party, the Bloc Qu�b�cois, holds many seats in Quebec; its agenda is separatist and primarily social-democratic. Other smaller parties exist, but rarely have been able to elect members to the House of Commons. Similarly, independent candidates are rarely elected (Chuck Cadman was an exception in 2004). Canadian Immigration. How to immigrate to Canada.

Thursday, November 25, 2004

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