About Canada

Landmass

Canada is the world's second-largest country (9 970 610 km2), surpassed only by the Russian Federation.

Capital

Canada's Capital is Ottawa, in the province of Ontario.

Provinces and Territories

Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories, each with its own capital city (in brackets): Alberta (Edmonton); British Columbia (Victoria); Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown); Manitoba (Winnipeg); New Brunswick (Fredericton); Nova Scotia (Halifax); Nunavut (Iqaluit); Ontario (Toronto); Quebec (Quebec City); Saskatchewan (Regina); Newfoundland (St. John's); Northwest Territories (Yellowknife); and Yukon Territory (Whitehorse).

Geography

Diversity is the keynote of Canada's geography, which includes fertile plains suitable for agriculture, vast mountain ranges, lakes and rivers. Wilderness forests give way to Arctic tundra in the Far North.

Climate

There are many climatic variations in this huge country, ranging from the permanently frozen icecaps north of the 70th parallel to the luxuriant vegetation of British Columbia's west coast. Canada's most populous regions, which lie in the country's south along the U.S. border, enjoy four distinct seasons. Here daytime summer temperatures can rise to 35ºC and higher, while lows of -25ºC are not uncommon in winter. More moderate temperatures are the norm in spring and fall.

Parks and Historic Sites

Canada maintains 38 national parks, which cover about 2% of the country's landmass. Banff, located on the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains, is the oldest (est. 1885); Tuktut Nogait, in the Northwest Territories, was established in 1996. There are 836 national historic sites, designated in honour of people, places and events that figure in the country's history. Canada also has over 1000 provincial parks and nearly 50 territorial parks.

Currency

Canada uses the Canadian dollar. Find out the current value of the Canadian dollar vis-a-vis the currencies of its most important trading partners.

Population

The current population of Canada is over 32 million.

Main Cities

As of 2001, the leading Canadian cities are Toronto (4.68 million), Montreal (3.42 million), Vancouver (1.98 million), Ottawa (1.06 million).

Languages

Canada has two official languages: English, the language of about 59% of Canadians; and French, the first language of 23% of the population. Most, though not all, French speakers live in the province of Québec. A full 18% speak either more than one language or a language other than English or French, such as Chinese, Italian, German, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Ukrainian, Arabic, Dutch, Tagalog, Greek, Vietnamese, Cree, Inuktitut, or other languages. The Official Languages Act makes French and English the official languages of Canada and provides for special measures aimed at enhancing the vitality and supporting the development of English and French linguistic minority communities. Canada's federal institutions reflect the equality of its two official languages by offering bilingual services.

Sports

Canada's most popular sports include swimming, ice hockey, cross-country and alpine skiing, baseball, tennis, basketball, golf and curling. Ice hockey and lacrosse are Canada's national sports.