The terrain consists of plains, mountains in the west, and lowlands in the southeast. Lakes include part of the Great Lakes (Erie, Huron, Ontario and Superior), the Great Bear, the Great Slave Lake, Lake Athabasca and Lake Winnipeg. Major rivers are the St Lawrence and the MacKenzie.
The climate varies from temperate in the south to sub-arctic and arctic in the north. On the whole, the climate tends to be warm in the summer and cold in the winter.
Environment
Canada's protected areas are the responsibility of the Parks Canada Agency. A number of the National Parks are World Heritage sites. These include Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Yoho National Park), Gros Morne National Park, Kluane National Park, Nahanni National Park, Tremblant National Park and Wood Buffalo National Park.
UNESCO-MAB Bisphere Reserves include Charlevoix, to the north of the Saint Lawrence River, Georgian Bay Littoral, the largest island archipelago of the North American Great Lakes, and Waterton, encompassing a section of the Rocky Mountains.
Over thirty-five sites are listed on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.
Animals living in Canada are musk oxen, bison, caribou, bear, beaver and mink.
Architecture
First Nation Peoples in Canada lived in homes suited to their lifestyle. Iroquois were farmers living in villages of "longhouses" surrounded by fence fortifications. Families had their own space within the wooden houses. Other First Nation Peoples were hunters and lived in wigwams. The Algonkian used dome shaped wigwams covered with sheets of birch bark.
Wood was in plentiful supply for use by the early European settlers although colonists preferred to construct buildings in stone. French colonists introduced French architecture and, later, American designs became popular.
Quebec is the only city in North America to preserve its fortifications and the Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another Canadian World Heritage site is the British Colonial town of Lunenburg where buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are still in use today.
The Toronto architect Edmund Burke (1850-1919), who designed the Simpson department store and the Bloor Viaduct, is one of Canada's most famous architects. Impetus was given to Canadian architectural design by the introduction of the national Massey Medals for architecture in the 1950s and 1960s. Graham House, designed by Arthur C. Erickson and built in Vancouver in 1963, is a spectacular example of modern Canadian architecture.
Perhaps Canada's most famous building is the CN Tower, a broadcast and observation tower, designed by John Andrews in the 1970s. The tower is one of the world's tallest buildings at a height of 553.33 m.
Population
The population of Canada was estimated at 33,390,141 in 2007.
Languages
Canada has been officially bilingual since the Official Languages Act was passed in 1969. Official languages are English and French. Most French speakers live in Quebec. Cree is the most commonly used language of the Canadian indigenous peoples.
Religion
Religion in Canada is almost equally divided between the Roman Catholic and Protestant religions. Other religions include Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam.
Food
Canadian food reflects the variety of ethnic groups living in Canada, for example Scottish Bannock, Pate Aux Poireaux, Pasta, and Windsor Canadian Goose.
Fish, seafood, beef, lamb and poultry are popular ingredients for main dishes. Desserts include Maple Mousse and Maple Syrup Pie.
History
During the last Ice Age migrants from Siberia travelled across a land bridge to Alaska and into Canada. Among early peoples inhabiting Canada were the Dorset, the Thule, the Inuit, the Dene and the indigenous peoples of the Yukon.
The Vikings were early seafarers who visited Canada, wintering in longhouses. Remains of these buildings have been found in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland.
John Cabot, in the service of Henry VII of England, reached Newfoundland in 1497. At this time Canada was occupied by the Inuit and people such as Algonkians and Huron-Iroquois.
In 1534 the Frenchman Jacques Cartier claimed an area of the St Lawrence River for France. However, colonists did not arrive until Samuel de Champlain founded the first French colony in Quebec. Later, in 1583, Newfoundland became Britain's first overseas colony in Canada.
Early settlers were fur traders; other traders and missionaries soon followed. In 1627 the French established the Company of New France to oversee its interests in Canada and in 1670 a group of London merchants formed the Hudson's Bay Company.
In 1763 Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War. Canada was ceded to Britain but the French-speaking colonists kept their language and way of life; the Quebec Act (1774) protected the use of French, educational rights and civil law.
More people moved to Canada including those who had fought for Britain in the American War of Independence (1775-1783). Migrants also came from the UK, Ireland and other European countries.
The black population of Canada also grew as slave-owning settlers arrived. In 1793 the governor of Upper Canada, John G. Simcoe, passed the Abolition Act making it illegal to bring in new slaves. In 1807 the British government passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act prohibiting the slave trade within the British Empire. (Slaves in the British colonies did not gain their freedom until the 1830s. The Abolition of Slavery Act 1833 began the process leading to emancipation).
The discovery of gold in the Fraser River (1858), and in the Klondike (1896), attracted many prospectors. In the same way that the Gold Rush in America led to the movement of many people, similar events took place in Canada.
In 1867 the Confederation of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick formed a constitutional monarchy under the British Crown. Manitoba joined the Canadian federation in 1870, followed by British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1872, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, and Newfoundland in 1949.
Canada's ties with Britain were strong and during the First World War (1914-18) Canadian troops supported the British. Canada also fought with the Allies during the Second World War (1939-45) when Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, attacked Poland, and Britain and France declared war upon Germany, followed by Canada and Australia.
Canada became an independent country in 1931 but remained a constitutional monarchy with the British monarch as head of state. Reforms took place in 1982 and Canada was free to adopt its own Constitution.
Economy
Canada is a successful high-tech industrial society with a highly developed infrastructure. There are major transcontinental freight railway systems, hundreds of kilometres of waterways, a number of ports and harbours and many airports. An advanced telecommunications system is in operation and large businesses are fully computerised.
Industries include transportation equipment, chemicals, wood and paper products and food processing. Natural resources are timber, zinc, nickel, copper, gold, silver, lead, iron ore, potash, coal, petroleum, natural gas and hydropower.
Agricultural products include wheat, barley, peas, potatoes, apples, oilseed and maple syrup. Dairy products are produced. Tobacco is grown and mink ranches produce skins for the fur trade. Canada's fishing grounds are among the world's most productive, especially the Grand Banks off Newfoundland.
The services sector provides over sixty-eight percent of the Gross Domestic Product employing the largest percentage of the working population. Tourism is an important part of this sector. (2006)
Arts
There are a number of aboriginal rock art sites in Canada including sites in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta.
Artistic decoration was an integral part of life of the indigenous peoples such as the Cree and Ojibway people and the Inuit.
The first Canadian painter to gain international success was Montreal-born James Wilson Morrice (1865-1924). His early work was influenced by Whistler, whilst his later work was influenced by artists such as Matisse.
Before the First World War, a number of Toronto artists joined together to promote Canadian painting. One of the group was Tom Thomson who painted large canvases, influenced by Art Nouveau. In 1917 Thomson died and the remaining artists formed the "Group of Seven". The ideals of the Group of Seven dominated Canadian painting in the 1920s and 1930s.
Other Canadian artists include Maxine Noel, who signs her work in her native Sioux language, Ioyan Mani, "She Who Walks Beyond".
One of Canada's most famous novels is Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Other authors include Margaret Duley (1894-1968), Edna Jaques (1891-1978) and Margaret Atwood. One of Canada's foremost novelists is Mordecai Richler whose novels "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" and "Joshua Then and Now" have been made into films.
Leonard Cohen, the Canadian poet and songwriter, has achieved international fame. Other Canadian musicians include Bryan Adams, Alanis Morisette, Celine Dion and K.D Lang.
Canada also has a host of famous film actors such as Michael J. Fox, Jason Priestly and Dan Ackroyd.
Sport
Ice hockey is Canada's favourite sport, followed by baseball, football and lacrosse. Surfing, sailing, canoeing and fishing are also popular. Winter sports include skiing, skating and curling.
Canadian sportsmen and sportswomen compete successfully at international and Olympic level.
The Ironman Canada Triathlon is an annual Canadian event.
Holidays
Holidays such as Christmas and Easter are observed. Canada Day is on 1 July. Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day are celebrated in September and October respectively.
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