Portal:Canada

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

Shortcut

P:CA

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Showcase

Contents

Contributing

Introduction

Flag and Arms of Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. It is a sparsely inhabited country of just over 41 million people, the vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and gender equality. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history, economy, and culture.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Featured article - show another

Columbia River from Rowena Crest with Interstate 84 on the right

The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: Wimahl or Wimal; Sahaptin: Nch’i-Wàna or Nchi wana; Sinixt dialect swah'netk'qhu) is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river forms in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 mi (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven states of the United States and one Canadian province. The fourth-largest river in the United States by flow, the Columbia has the greatest flow of any river into the eastern Pacific and the 36th greatest discharge of any river in the world. (Full article...)

More featured Canadian content

See also: historic events and sites

Featured biography - show another

Pam McConnell in 2014

Pamela Margaret McConnell (February 14, 1946 – July 7, 2017) was a Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council. She was first elected to the Metro Toronto Council in 1994, representing a series of downtown Toronto wards until 2017. She served as a deputy mayor of Toronto, representing Toronto and East York from 2014 to 2017. (Full article...)

More featured Canadian biographies

See also: historically significant biographies

Selected panorama - show another

View of the far side of Pangnirtung, Nunavut

Credit: Slp1

More Canadian panoramas

National symbol - show another

A serving of poutine from Montreal, Quebec

Poutine (Quebec French: [puˈt͡sɪn] ^ⓘ) is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain, and there are several competing claims regarding its invention. For many years, it was used by some to mock Quebec society. Poutine later became celebrated as a symbol of Québécois culture and the province of Quebec. It has long been associated with Quebec cuisine, and its rise in prominence has led to its growing popularity throughout the rest of Canada. (Full article...)

More symbols of Canada

Selected vital article - show another

The politics of Canada functions within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch is head of state. In practice, executive authority is entrusted to the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown chaired by the Prime Minister of Canada that act as the executive committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada and are responsible to the democratically elected House of Commons. (Full article...)

More Canadian vital articles

Selected picture - show another

Dickson Falls, Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
Credit: Danielle Langlois.

More information

More Canadian pictures

Current events

September 20, 2024 –: Three people are injured in a stabbing attack at a mosque in Châteauguay, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The perpetrator is arrested and charged. (CTV News)
September 9, 2024 –: Finnish-Canadian sportswear mogul Peter Nygård is sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexual assault. (CBC News)
September 4, 2024 –: In Canada, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh announces that he has terminated the confidence and supply agreement his party made with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government in 2022. (CBC News)
August 27, 2024 – Canada–Mexico relations, Mexico–United States relations: Mexico suspends all interactions with the Canadian and American embassies in Mexico City due to claimed interference with its independence and internal affairs after both ambassadors criticized reform plans for members of the judiciary, up to and including Supreme Court justices, to be elected by popular vote. (Reuters)
August 26, 2024 – Canada–China relations: Canada announces a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. (AP)
August 22, 2024 – 2024 Canada railway shutdown: Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City lock out roughly 10,000 unionized railroad workers in Canada, leading to a railway stoppage that impacts many North American supply chains and may cost the economy of Canada C$341 million per day. (Reuters)

Past Canadian events

Did you know - show another

... that during combat, the Canadian-designed SW1C radar failed to find not only its U-boat target, but also an iceberg near the ship?
... that mountaineer Edmund Hillary asked Canadian doctor Joan Ford to take her "Adidas runners, a stethoscope and an umbrella" and get to the Himalayas?
... that journalist W. A. Hewitt refereed the first game played in the history of ice hockey at the Olympic Games?
... that Paul Joseph Cini, a Canadian skyjacker, thought that he could evade justice by parachuting from the plane before landing?
... that Canadian artist Tom Forrestall spent six months painting his own car?
... that when the Canadian baritone Iain MacNeal appeared as Odysseus in Dallapiccola's Ulisse at the Oper Frankfurt, a reviewer noted that he portrayed the "character's self-exegeses"?
... that Canadian diver Jeff Hirst won his event at the 1988 Canadian Championships despite having fractured his thumb five weeks before?

More Did you know facts

Featured list - show another

Canada's national parks are protected areas under the Canada National Parks Act, owned by the Government of Canada and administered for the benefit, education, and enjoyment of the people of Canada and its future generations. National parks are administered by Parks Canada, a Crown agency operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The goal of the national parks system is to set aside lands representing the country's 39 distinct natural regions described in the National Parks System Plan, primarily to protect the ecological integrity of the land, and secondarily to allow the public to explore, learn about and enjoy Canada's natural spaces. (Full article...)