List of basic Canada topics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For an alphabetical index of this subject, see the List of Canada-related articles.
Canada (IPA: /ˈkænədə/) is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area,[1] and shares land borders with the United States to the south and northwest.
The lands have been inhabited for millennia by various groups of aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion.[2][3][4][disputed] This began an accretion of additional provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster in 1931 and culminating in the Canada Act in 1982 which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.
A federation now comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. Technologically advanced and industrialized, Canada maintains a diversified economy that is heavily reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has a long and complex relationship.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Canada:
- Pronunciation:
- International rankings of Canada
[edit] Geography of Canada
- Main articles: Geography of Canada
- Canada is: a country
- Location:
- Population:
- Size:
- Atlas of Canada
- Extreme points of Canada
[edit] Environment of Canada
- Climate of Canada
- Ecology of Canada
- Ecoregions in Canada
- Renewable energy in Canada
- Geology of Canada
- National parks of Canada
- Protected areas of Canada
- Wildlife of Canada
[edit] Geographic features of Canada
- Main article: Landforms of Canada
- Canadian Arctic
- Fjords of Canada
- Glaciers of Canada
- Islands of Canada
- Lakes of Canada
- Mountains of Canada
- Prairies of Canada
- Rivers of Canada
- Waterfalls of Canada
- Valleys of Canada
- World Heritage Sites in Canada
- Other
[edit] Regions of Canada
- Main article: Regions of Canada
[edit] Other regions
- English Canada, sometimes known as the Rest of Canada (excluding Quebec) when considering topics of language
- French Canada
- Pacific Canada
- Acadia
- Quebec-Windsor Corridor
- Four Corners
[edit] Ecoregions of Canada
- Main article: Ecoregions of Canada
[edit] Administrative divisions of Canada
[edit] Provinces
| Province, with flag | Postal abbreviation/ ISO code |
Other abbreviations | Capital | Entered Confederation | Population (2007)[5] |
Area (km²) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land | Water | Total | ||||||
 Ontario1 |
ON | Ont. | Toronto | July 1, 1867 | 12,753,702 | 917,741 | 158,654 | 1,076,395 |
 Quebec1 |
QC | Que., PQ, P.Q. | Quebec City | 7,687,068 | 1,356,128 | 185,928 | 1,542,056 | |
 Nova Scotia2 |
NS | N.S. | Halifax | 932,966 | 53,338 | 1,946 | 55,284 | |
 New Brunswick2 |
NB | N.B. | Fredericton | 748,878 | 71,450 | 1,458 | 72,908 | |
 Manitoba3 |
MB | Man. | Winnipeg | July 15, 1870 | 1,182,921 | 553,556 | 94,241 | 647,797 |
 British Columbia2 |
BC | B.C. | Victoria | July 20, 1871 | 4,352,798 | 925,186 | 19,549 | 944,735 |
 Prince Edward Island2 |
PE | PEI, P.E.I., P.E. Island | Charlottetown | July 1, 1873 | 138,800 | 5,660 | — | 5,660 |
 Saskatchewan4 |
SK | Sask., SSK, SKWN | Regina | September 1, 1905 | 990,212 | 591,670 | 59,366 | 651,036 |
 Alberta4 |
AB | Alta. | Edmonton | 3,455,062 | 642,317 | 19,531 | 661,848 | |
 Newfoundland and Labrador5 |
NL | Nfld., NF, LB | St. John's | March 31, 1949 | 506,548 | 373,872 | 31,340 | 405,212 |
Notes:
- Immediately prior to Confederation, Ontario and Quebec were part of the Province of Canada.
- Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island were separate colonies at the time of joining Canada.
- Manitoba was established simultaneously with Northwest Territories.
- Saskatchewan and Alberta were created out of land that had been part of Northwest Territories.
- Prior to its entry, Newfoundland was a Dominion within the British Commonwealth.
[edit] Territories
There are currently three territories in Canada. Unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent jurisdiction and only have those powers delegated to them by the federal government.
| Territory, with flag | Postal abbreviation/ ISO code |
Other abbreviations | Capital | Entered Confederation | Population (2007) |
Area (km²) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land | Water | Total | ||||||
 Northwest Territories |
NT | N.W.T., NWT | Yellowknife | July 15, 1870 | 41,795 | 1,183,085 | 163,021 | 1,346,106 |
 Yukon |
YT | Y.T., YK | Whitehorse | June 13, 1898 | 30,883 | 474,391 | 8,052 | 482,443 |
 Nunavut |
NU | NV | Iqaluit | April 1, 1999 | 31,216 | 1,936,113 | 157,077 | 2,093,190 |
Note: Canada did not acquire any new land to create Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Nunavut. All of these originally formed part of Northwest Territories.
[edit] Municipalities of Canada
[edit] Demography of Canada
[edit] Demographics by political division
[edit] Provinces
[edit] Territories
[edit] Government and politics of Canada
- Main article: Government of Canada and Politics of Canada
- Form of government: constitutional monarchy and democratic parliamentary federation
- Capital of Canada: Ottawa
- Canadian and American politics compared
- Canadian and Australian politics compared
- Canadian Conservatism
- Canadian federal election results since 1867
- Canadian Nationalism
- Elections in Canada
- (specific elections)
- Human rights in Canada
- Liberalism in Canada
- Political culture of Canada
- Political parties in Canada
- Political scandals of Canada
- Socialism and Social Democracy in Canada
- Taxation in Canada
[edit] Branches of the government of Canada
[edit] Executive branch of the government of Canada
- Head of state: Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
- Governor General of Canada, the Queen's representative
- Head of government: Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
[edit] Legislative branch of the government of Canada
[edit] Judicial branch of the government of Canada
- Supreme Court of Canada
- Appellate Courts of the provinces and territories
- Alberta Court of Appeal
- British Columbia Court of Appeal
- Manitoba Court of Appeal
- New Brunswick Court of Appeal
- Supreme Court of Newfoundland (Court of Appeal)
- Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
- Nunavut Court of Appeal
- Ontario Court of Appeal
- Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island - Appeal Division
- Quebec Court of Appeal
- Saskatchewan Court of Appeal
- Court of Appeal of the Yukon Territory
- Superior-level courts of the provinces and territories
- Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
- Supreme Court of British Columbia
- Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba
- Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick
- Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (Trial Division)
- Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories
- Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
- Nunavut Court of Justice
- Ontario Superior Court of Justice
- Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island - Trial Division
- Quebec Superior Court
- Court of Queen's Bench for Saskatchewan
- Supreme Court of the Yukon Territory
[edit] Foreign relations of Canada
- Canadian Confederation
- Canada-France relations
- Canada-Latin America relations
- Canada-New Zealand relations
- Canada-United Kingdom relations
- Canada – United States relations
[edit] International organization membership
Canada is a member of:
[edit] Law and order in Canada
- Main article: Law of Canada
[edit] Military of Canada
- Main article: Military of Canada
- Command structure
- Commander-in-chief: Governor General of Canada (nominally, see also The Canadian Crown and the Canadian Forces)
- Prime Minister of Canada (de facto Commander-in-chief)
- Minister of National Defence
- Chief of the Defence Staff
- Maritime Command (MARCOM), command of the Navy;
- Land Force Command (LFC) command of the Army;
- Air Command (AIRCOM), command of the Air Force.
- Canada Command (CANCOM), responsible for all operations within Canada;
- Canadian Expeditionary Force Command (CEFCOM), responsible for operations outside of Canada;
- Canadian Special Operations Forces Command (CANSOFCOM), responsible for special forces operations within Canada and abroad.
- Canadian Operational Support Command (CANOSCOM)
- Chief of the Defence Staff
- Minister of National Defence
- Canadian Forces
- Army of Canada: Canadian Forces Land Force Command
- Navy of Canada: Canadian Forces Maritime Command
- Air force of Canada: Canadian Forces Air Command
- Special forces of Canada: Canadian Special Operations Forces Command
- Military reserve force: Canadian Forces reserve force
[edit] Province governments
[edit] Territory governments
[edit] Politics by political division
[edit] Provinces
|
[edit] Territories
- Politics of Northwest Territories
- Politics of Nunavut
- Politics of the Yukon
[edit] History of Canada
- Main article: History of Canada, Timeline of the history of Canada, and Current events of Canada
[edit] History of Canada by period
- New France
- Canada under British Imperial Control (1764-1867)
- Post-Confederation Canada (1867-1914)
- Canada in the World Wars and Interwar Years
- History of Canada (1945-1960)
- History of Canada (1960-1981)
- History of Canada (1982-1992)
- History of Canada (1992-Present)
[edit] History of Canada by political division
[edit] Provinces
[edit] Territories
[edit] Culture of Canada
- Main article: Culture of Canada
- Age and internet use in Canada
- Architecture of Canada
- Cuisine of Canada
- Ethnic groups in Canada
- Festivals in Canada
- Humour in Canada
- Languages of Canada
- Media in Canada
- National symbols of Canada
- Prostitution in Canada
- Public holidays in Canada
- Religion in Canada
- Buddhism in Canada
- Christianity in Canada
- Hinduism in Canada
- Islam in Canada
- Judaism in Canada
- Sikhism in Canada
- World Heritage Sites in Canada
[edit] Culture by political division
[edit] Provinces
|
|
[edit] Territories
- Culture of Northwest Territories
- Culture of Nunavut
- Culture of the Yukon
[edit] The Arts in Canada
[edit] Music of Canada
- Main article: Music of Canada
- Canadian blues
- Canadian classical music
- Canadian hip hop
- Canadian Idol
- Canadian rock
- Caribbean music in Canada
[edit] Music by political division
[edit] Provinces
|
[edit] Territories
[edit] Sport in Canada
- Main article: Sport in Canada
[edit] Economy of Canada
- Economic rank: 9th (ninth)
- Agriculture in Canada
- Communications in Canada
- Companies of Canada
- Currency: Canadian dollar
- Economic history of Canada
- Mining in Canada
- National Bank of Canada
- Tourism in Canada
- Transport in Canada
- Stock exchanges:
-
- CNQ
- Nasdaq Canada
- Toronto Stock Exchange, S&P/TSX 60 is the main index of TSX
- TSX Venture Exchange
- Winnipeg Commodity Exchange
- Montreal Exchange
[edit] Economics by political division
[edit] Provinces
|
[edit] Territories
- Economy of Northwest Territories
- Economy of Nunavut
- Economy of the Yukon
[edit] Education in Canada
- Main article: Education in Canada
[edit] Infrastructure of Canada
- Communications in Canada
- Energy in Canada
- Health care in Canada
- Transportation in Canada
- Water supply and sanitation in Canada
[edit] See also
- English Wikipedia
- List of basic geography topics
- List of Canada-related articles (alphabetical index)
- List of Canada-related topics
- List of international rankings
- North America
[edit] References
- ^ Central Intelligence Agency (2006-05-16). The World Factbook: Canada. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved on 2007-05-06.
- ^ Territorial evolution (html/pdf). Atlas of Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. “In 1867, the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are united in a federal state, the Dominion of Canada....”
- ^ Canada: History (html/pdf). Country Profiles. Commonwealth Secretariat. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. “The British North America Act of 1867 brought together four British colonies ... in one federal Dominion under the name of Canada.”
- ^ Hillmer, Norman; W. David MacIntyre. Commonwealth (html). Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Project. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. “With CONFEDERATION in 1867, Canada became the first federation in the British Empire ...”
- ^ Statistics Canada Population Estimates (April 1, 2007)
[edit] External links
| Find more about Canada on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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Dictionary definitions |
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Textbooks |
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Quotations |
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Source texts |
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Images and media |
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News stories |
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Learning resources |
- Government
- Official website of the Government of Canada
- Official website of the Prime Minister of Canada
- Official website of the Governor General of Canada
- Official website of the Canadian Forces
- Official Government of Canada online Atlas of Canada
- Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations
- Crown corporations
- Other
- Culture.ca — Canada's Cultural Gateway
- Culturescope.ca — Canadian Cultural Observatory
- Canadian Studies: A Guide to the Sources
- Statistics Canada with Canada's population clock
- The Canadian Atlas Online
- Canada entry at The World Factbook
- UN Human Development Program: Country Fact Sheet: Canada, Statistics — Country Sheet: Canada
- Canada travel guide from Wikitravel
- Canada from The Canadian Encyclopedia
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