Canada's different!
Like the other countries we've visited for "Destinations", Canada is an English-speaking country. But there are several things that we believe make Canada different. Here are some:
A
big country but a small population
Canada has a total area of 9,976,140 square kilometres. It's the second largest country in the world (after Russia), but it has a population of only 33,098,932. By way of comparison, Spain has a total area of 504,782 square kilometres a population of 40,397,842.
Not one but two official languages
Canada is a bilingual country, with English and French as the official languages. This means that all Canadian children learn English and French at school, and all government documents are in both languages. Around 25 per cent of Canadians speak French as their first language, and the majority lives in the province of Quebec. Only 18 per cent of Canadians are completely bilingual in English and French.
A national government but lots of local decentralised power
Canada is a parliamentary democracy. Stephen Harper is the current
Canadian prime minister. Canada is divided into 10 provinces and three
territories. The government in Canada is very decentralised. The provinces
and territories are responsible for several aspects of daily life, including
health, education, the environment and social security.
The national government is based in the capital city of Ottawa. Other
important cities in Canada are Montreal (in the province of Quebec),
Vancouver (in the province of British Columbia) and the biggest city,
Toronto (in the province of Ontario).
A northern country but not always a cold country
Canada is in the most northern part of North America. It has borders with the United States to the south and the Arctic to the north. The weather and temperatures across Canada are not all the same. The winters in Canada can have daily temperatures of less than -15º C (sometimes going down to -40º C). But in the summer the temperature in the big cities can go up to 35º C.
A new country but with many old traditions
The French and the English were the first Europeans to arrive in Canada in the 1400s. Canada was a British colony for many years, and only became a country in 1867. The Canadian flag, with its distinctive maple leaf, is 40 years old (before 1965 Canada used the British flag). Compared with other countries, Canada is very young. However, there were people living in Canada long before the Europeans arrived. The English called them Indians, but the official name is First Nations people, or Native Canadians, or Aboriginal Canadians. These people have their own languages and traditions that are thousands of years old.
A diverse country and an open country
Canada is a multicultural country. Over the years, people from many different countries have come to live in Canada. Canada has a long history of tolerance of different cultures. This is very evident in the city of Toronto, which has lots of different cultural neighbourhoods such as Little Italy, Portuguese Village, Korea Town, Chinatown, Greektown and many others.