Country Profiles: Canada

Canada is located in North America.

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically, the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across the World's longest unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment. CIA World Factbook

. With an area of 9,984,670 sq km, it is slightly Larger than the U.S.

Canada shares a border with the U.S. It is mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast.

People who live in Canada are called Canadians, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 34,300,083 people in Canada. The ethnic groups that reside in Canada are mostly British Isles origin (28%) or French origin (23%), with other European (15%), Amerindian (2%), other Asian, African, Arab (6%), and mixed background (26%). The official languages are English (58.8%) and French (21.6%). Roman Catholics make up approximately 42.6% of the population, while Protestants make up an additional 23.3%.

The capital of Canada is Ottawa, and the country is made up of 10 provinces and 3 territories. Canada gained independence from Great Britain in 1867, and a constitution was drafted that year. The current Prime Minister of Canada is Stephen Joseph Harper, and the Governor is David Johnston. Information about the leaders of Canada's government can be found here. The currency is the Canadian Dollar (abbreviated CAD), which stands at .9895 CAD per USD as of 2011.

All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Canada Government Site

Canada, CIA World Factbook

Background Notes: Canada, U.S. Department of State

2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Canada, U.S. Department of State.

You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.




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