Canada is a North American nation stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west; sharing a southern land border with the United States, then extending northward to the Arctic Ocean. Canada ranks as the world’s second largest country in total geographic area (3,854,085 sq mi) behind only Russia. Inhabited by aboriginal peoples for several millennia, the 18th century saw Canada settled by both the British and the French, after which it was officially formed into a federal dominion of four provinces by the British in 1867. Canada gained increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom throughout the 20th century, and broke all legal ties to British Parliament after the passage of the Canada Act of 1982.

Today, Canada is parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy made up of ten provinces and three geographic territories. While Queen Elizabeth II remains Canada’s official head of state, all executive authority over the country’s governance is, in practice, held by Canada’s cabinet and the various ministers of that Cabinet. The ministers are, in turn, answerable to Canada’s elected House of Commons. The most powerful arm of the government, however, is the Prime Minister’s Office, which is responsible for the selection of not only cabinet members, but of senators, federal judges, heads of Crown corporations and government agencies, and all federal and provincial viceroys. The current Prime Minister of Canada (since February 6, 2006) is Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper, while the current Governor General is Michaëlle Jean (since September 27, 2005).

A 2006 census of Canada placed its population at 31,612,897 people. Comparing this figure to 2001 census results, Canada’s growth rate is estimated to be 5.4% per annum. It should be noted, however, that a larger percentage of this growth rate is thought to stem from immigration than through “natural” growth resulting from population reproduction (minus death rates). Approximately 75% of Canada’s population lives within 90 miles of the United States border, which also translates into 75% of the population living in one of the country’s major urban areas—primarily the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor (which includes Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa), the BC Lower Mainland (consisting of the region around Vancouver), and the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor (including Alberta).

Canada is a highly culturally diverse nation, however, with more than 100,000 of its residents claiming at least one of 43 ethnic origins in their ancestral backgrounds. The largest ethnic group in Canada are the English (at 21%), with an additional 15.8% reporting French heritage, 15.2% reporting Scottish heritage, and the remainder reporting Irish (13.9%), German (10.2%), Italian (5%), Chinese (4%), Ukrainian (3.6%), or other First Nation heritage (3.5%). Canada is also a highly educated country, with an adult literacy rate of 99%. Due to the fact that postsecondary education is largely funded by provincial and territorial governments, 51% of Canadians between 25 to 34 years of age have some measure of post-secondary education.

Referring back to Canada’s high rates of immigration (immigration rates that are, in fact, the highest per capita in the world), recent years have seen nearly 60% of Canada’s new immigrants hailing from East Asian and Middle Eastern nations. This massive
immigration rate is thought to stem from Canada’s economic climate, its generous policies regarding refugees, and the family reunification issues that naturally follow any prior waves of refugee immigration.

Due to its history of dominant settlement by both the British and French, Canada has two official languages (English and French), with the state of Quebec being almost entirely French-speaking in terms of media, education, and governmental operations. Canadian law officially conveys a “bilingual” status on the country (as defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Official Languages Act, and the Official Language Regulations). In daily practice, English and French have equal status in all federal business matters, and law dictates that Canadian residents have the right (where there is sufficient demand) to receive federal services in either language. English and French are reported to be the mother tongue of 59.7% and 23.2% of the Canadian population, respectively, and the languages most spoken at home by 68.3% and 22.3% of the population, respectively. In terms of religion, 2001 census results find that approximately 77% of Canadians identify themselves as being Christian, with Catholics making up the largest percentage of this group (at 44%). Approximately 17% of Canadians report no religious affiliation, while 1.9% and 1.1% report Islam or Judaism, respectively, as their identified religious preference.

In summary, Canada is an economically successful, multicultural, and technologically advanced industrialized nation with massive amounts of natural resources (see Industry and Trade below). Canada ranks 4th (out of 177 countries) on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index, and 14th (out of 111 countries) in a 2005 Worldwide Quality of Life Index published by The Economist. In addition to its strong English and French cultural heritage, Canada’s way of life and business have been strongly influenced by American culture, with American media and entertainment being as popular (if not more dominate) than Canadian cultural forces.