I.

Introduction

Canada, federated country in North America, made up of ten provinces and three territories. Canada is a vast nation with a wide variety of geological formations, climates, and ecological systems. It has rain forest, prairie grassland, deciduous forest, tundra, and wetlands. Canada has more lakes and inland waters than any other country. It is renowned for its scenery, which attracts millions of tourists each year. On a per-capita basis, its resource endowments are the second richest in the world after Australia. See Canada: Land and Resources.

Canada is the second largest country in the world but has about the same population as the state of California, which is about 4 percent of Canada’s size. This is because the north of Canada, with its harsh Arctic and sub-Arctic climates, is sparsely inhabited. Most Canadians live in the southern part of the country. More than three-quarters of them live in metropolitan areas, the largest of which are Toronto, Ontario; Montréal, Québec; Vancouver, British Columbia; Ottawa, Ontario; Hull, Québec; and Edmonton, Alberta.

French and English are the official languages, and at one time most Canadians were of French or English descent. However, diversity increased with a wave of immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that brought in people from many other European nations. This trend continues into the 21st century: Canada is one of the few countries in the world that still has significant immigration programs. Since the 1970s most immigrants have come from Asia, increasing still further the diversity of the population. See Canada: People.

Canada’s prosperity and diversity have encouraged a variety of artistic pursuits. Most major cities have symphony orchestras, opera companies, classical and modern dance groups, and live theater. Canadian popular musicians have built highly successful careers both in Canada and in the world at large. Canadian writers have also gained worldwide recognition, as have painters, sculptors, filmmakers, and architects. To nurture Canadian arts, the government has imposed quotas on foreign content in Canadian media.

Canada has impressive reserves of timber, minerals, and fresh water, and many of its industries are based on these resources. Many of its rivers have been harnessed for hydroelectric power, and it is self-sufficient in fossil fuel. Industrialization began in the 19th century and a significant manufacturing sector emerged, especially after World War II (1939-1945). Canada’s resource and manufacturing industries export about one-third of their output. While Canada’s prosperity is built on the resource and manufacturing industries, most Canadians work in service occupations, including transportation, trade, finance, personal services, and government. See Canada: Economy.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The federal, provincial, and territorial legislatures are all directly elected by citizens. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is recognized as the queen of Canada. She is the official head of state. The queen is represented in Canada by the governor-general and ten lieutenant governors. Canada's constitution guarantees equality under the law to all of its citizens. Powers of the federal and provincial governments are spelled out separately under the constitution, but over the past 50 years they have increasingly cooperated in programs that provide a wide range of social services to the public. See Canada: Government.

Canada’s indigenous peoples (original inhabitants) are often called First Nations or Indians (see Native Americans of North America). The name Canada comes from a word meaning “village” or “community” in one of the indigenous Iroquoian languages. Indigenous peoples had developed complex societies and intricate political relations before the first Europeans, the Vikings, arrived in the 11th century. The Vikings soon left, but more Europeans came in the 16th century and were made welcome because they brought manufactured goods and traded them for furs and other native products. However, the Europeans settled down and gradually displaced the indigenous peoples over the next 250 years. This process of dispossession has left a legacy of legal and moral issues that Canadians are grappling with today. See Canada: History.

European settlers came in a series of waves. First were the French, followed by the English, and these two groups are considered the founding nations. France lost its part of the territory to Britain in a war in 1760, but most of the French-speaking colonists remained (see French and Indian War). Their effort to preserve their language and culture has been a continuing theme of Canadian history and has led to a movement to become independent of the rest of Canada.

Modern Canada was formed in an event that Canadians call Confederation, in 1867, when three colonies of Britain merged to create a partially independent state of four provinces. Since then, six more provinces and three territories have been added. Canada achieved full independence in 1931 but continues to belong to the Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association of countries with ties to the United Kingdom.

II.

Land and Resources

Canada’s physical characteristics have heavily influenced the course of its development. It is a very large country (only Russia is larger) composed of several distinct regions that are often separated from each other by natural barriers. Canada has an abundance of natural resources, such as forests, minerals, fish, and hydroelectric power. These resources have encouraged Canadians to focus their economic development on the export of raw materials. Conservation of these resources has become a national priority.

Canada is a country of difficult terrain; much of its area is underwater, rocky, marshy, mountainous, or otherwise uninhabitable. Settlement has therefore been concentrated in the areas that are more level and have the better soils. The northern climate, with its long winters, has encouraged the population to settle in the south, where agricultural and living conditions are most favorable. The vast majority of Canadians live within 320 km (200 mi) of the American border.

A.

Extent

Canada occupies nearly all of North America north of latitude 49° north and east of longitude 141° west. It has an area of 9,984,670 sq km (3,855,103 sq mi), of which 7.6 percent or 755,180 sq km (291,577 sq mi) is covered by fresh water such as rivers and lakes, including part of the Great Lakes. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the northeast by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, which separate it from Greenland; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; on the south by the United States; and on the west by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska. Cape Columbia, a promontory of Ellesmere Island, is the country’s northernmost point; the southernmost point, 4,600 km (2,900 mi) away, is Middle Island in Lake Erie. The easternmost and westernmost limits, which are separated by 5,500 km (3,400 mi), are respectively Cape Spear, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the greater part of the border with Alaska.

Long distances and a challenging physical environment make transportation and communication across the country very difficult. This reality has made it a challenge for Canadians to maintain a sense of nationhood.

B.

Natural Regions

Six general landform regions are distinguishable in Canada: the Appalachian Region, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Canadian Shield, the Great Plains, the Canadian Cordillera, and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

B.1.

Appalachian Region and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands

Eastern Canada consists of the Appalachian Region and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands. The Appalachian Region embraces Newfoundland Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Québec. This region is an extension of the Appalachian mountain system (continuations of the Green Mountains of Vermont and the White Mountains of New Hampshire) and of the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands are a generally level plain that includes southern Québec and Ontario. This region has the largest expanse of good farmland in eastern and central Canada. The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Lowlands also contain the so-called manufacturing heartland of Canada, along the corridor from Windsor, Ontario, to Québec City. Ontario and Québec provinces together account for 76 percent of Canada’s employment in manufacturing and two-thirds of the nation’s manufacturing shipments.

B.2.

Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield is the largest region, extending from Labrador to Great Bear Lake, from the Arctic Ocean to the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, and into the United States west of Lake Superior and in northern New York. This region of ancient granite rock is sparsely covered with soil and deeply eroded by glacial action. It includes all of Labrador (the easternmost part of the mainland), most of Québec, northern Ontario, Manitoba, Nunavut Territory, and part of the Northwest Territories, with Hudson Bay in the center.

B.3.

Great Plains

Bordering the Canadian Shield on the west are the Great Plains, an extension of the Great Plains of the United States. About 1,300 km (about 800 mi) wide at the U.S. border, the region narrows to about one-quarter of that size west of Great Bear Lake and widens again to about 500 km (about 300 mi) at the mouth of the Mackenzie River on the Arctic Ocean coast. Within the Great Plains are the northeastern corner of British Columbia province, most of Alberta, the southern half of Saskatchewan, and the southern one-third of Manitoba. This region has the most fertile soil in Canada.

B.4.

Canadian Cordillera

Canada’s westernmost region, the Canadian Cordillera, embraces the mountains west of the Great Plains. The region belongs to the vast mountain system extending from the southernmost extremity of South America to westernmost Alaska. The Canadian Cordillera has an average width of about 800 km (about 500 mi). It includes part of western Alberta, much of British Columbia, the Inuvik Region and part of the Fort Smith Region of Northwest Territories, and practically all of Yukon Territory.

The eastern portion of the Canadian Cordillera consists of the Rocky Mountains and related ranges, including the Mackenzie, Franklin, and Richardson mountains. Mount Robson at 3,954 m (12,972 ft) is the highest summit of the Canadian Rockies, and ten other peaks reach elevations of more than 3,500 m (11,500 ft). To the west of the Canadian Rockies are numerous isolated ranges, notably the Cariboo, Stikine, and Selkirk mountains, and a vast plateau region. Deep river valleys and extensive tracts of arable land are the chief features of the plateau region, particularly in British Columbia.

Flanking this central belt on the west and generally parallel to the Pacific Ocean is another great mountain system. This system includes the Coast Mountains, which are an extension into British Columbia of the Cascade Range of the United States, and various coastal ranges. The highest of these, the Saint Elias Mountains, are on the boundary between Yukon Territory and Alaska. Among noteworthy peaks of the western Canadian Cordillera is Mount Logan, which at 5,959 m (19,551 ft) is the highest point in Canada and second highest mountain in North America. Others are Mount Saint Elias at 5,489 m (18,008 ft), Mount Lucania at 5,226 m (17,146 ft), and King Peak at 5,173 m (16,972 ft). All are in the Saint Elias Mountains.

B.5.

Canadian Arctic Archipelago

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago is a collection of islands north of Hudson Bay and between the Beaufort Sea and Davis Strait. All but the southern tip of Baffin Island are above the Arctic Circle. The archipelago is a complex region including mountains, uplands, plateaus, and lowlands. There are three main subareas: the Innuitian region, the shield territories, and the Arctic lowlands.

The Innuitian region, in the far north, consists of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. The northernmost of these, Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands, are almost entirely mountainous and glacier-covered. The Sverdrup Islands to the southwest are lowlands, forming a basin between the Queen Elizabeths and the plateaus of the Parry Islands.

The second major part of the archipelago is an extension of the Canadian Shield and includes most of Baffin Island, Devon Island, part of Somerset Island, and the southeast tip of Ellesmere. This is mainly granite bedrock that has been uplifted and folded into mountains.

The Arctic lowlands make up most of the remainder of the archipelago. These lowlands extend from the Arctic coastal plain in the far west through the interior lowlands of Banks Island. They include most of Victoria Island, Prince of Wales Island, and King William Island.

The archipelago has a cold, dry Arctic climate. Much of the region is covered by glaciers or polar deserts composed of gravel and other unconsolidated material. The sparse vegetation is mainly lichens and mosses.

C.

Geology

The Canadian Shield, which occupies the eastern half of Canada’s landmass, is an ancient craton (stable continental platform). It is made of rocks that formed billions of years ago during the Precambrian Era of Earth history and includes granites, gneisses, and schists 2 to 4 billion years old. It became the nucleus of the North American crustal plate when Earth’s crust first experienced the tectonic forces that drive continental drift (see Plate Tectonics).

In the Paleozoic Era (about 540 million to 250 million years ago), large parts of Canada were covered by shallow seas. Sediments deposited in these seas formed the sandstone, shale, and limestone that now surround the shield. During the Cambrian and Silurian periods of the Paleozoic Era, layers of rocks were formed that appear as outcroppings in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador, along the St. Lawrence valley, and on the shores of Lake Ontario. Flat beds of Paleozoic and younger rocks extend westward across the Great Plains through the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The rocks in these areas contain valuable deposits of oil and gas.

In the Canadian Cordillera, the rocks were subjected to tectonic forces generated by the collision of the North American plate with the Pacific plate. In the ensuing upheavals, which began during the Cretaceous Period (about 145 million to 65 million years ago), mountain ranges rose throughout the Canadian Cordillera. The easternmost of these ranges, the Rocky Mountains, run from Canada south through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. They were built by uplifting and folding of sedimentary rocks and, to a lesser degree, by volcanic activity. The strata composing them range in age from the Paleozoic Era to the Tertiary Period (about 65 million to 1.8 million years ago) and contain valuable deposits of metals as well as fossil fuels.

During the Pleistocene Epoch (about 1.8 million to 11,500 years ago), nearly all of Canada was covered by vast ice sheets that extended into the northern United States. As these ice sheets moved, they profoundly modified Canada’s landscapes, creating many thousands of lakes and extensive deposits of sand, clay, and gravel. See also Ice Ages.

D.

Soils

Canada’s largest area of high-quality farmland is a formation of rich dark brown and black prairie, or grassland, soils that run from southern Manitoba west across Saskatchewan and into Alberta. The gray-brown soil of the St. Lawrence valley and the Great Lakes is also good farmland. Only about 5 percent of Canada’s land is suitable for raising crops, however; the remainder is too mountainous, rocky, wet, or infertile.

Large areas of Canada are covered by boggy peat that is characteristic of the tundra and adjoining forest areas. This land is generally infertile and frequently mossy. In the Arctic regions, most of the soil is classified as permafrost, meaning that at least 80 percent of the ground is permanently frozen. The freeze-thaw action that occurs in the more southern parts of the permafrost zone frequently causes so-called patterned ground features, such as polygonal rings of stones, ice wedges, and pingos (ice domes).

E.

Rivers and Lakes

Canada contains more lakes and inland waters than any other country in the world. In addition to the Great Lakes on the American border (all partly within Canada except Lake Michigan), the country has 31 lakes or reservoirs of about 1,300 sq km (about 500 sq mi) in area. Canada’s two largest lakes are Superior and Huron, at 82,100 sq km (31,700 sq mi) and 59,600 sq km (23,000 sq mi), respectively. About one-third of Lake Superior and about three-fifths of Lake Huron are in Canada.

The largest lakes wholly within Canada are Great Bear, at 31,790 sq km (12,270 sq mi), and Great Slave, at 28,570 sq km (11,030 sq mi), both in the Northwest Territories. Each of these immense lakes is larger than either Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, at 24,390 sq km (9,417 sq mi), also compares in size with Lake Erie and is much larger than Lake Ontario. Other very large bodies of freshwater are Lake Athabasca and Reindeer Lake in Saskatchewan and the Smallwood Reservoir in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also significant in size are Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba in Manitoba, Lake Nipigon and Lake of the Woods in Ontario, and Lake Melville in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Canada’s two greatest rivers are the St. Lawrence, which drains the Great Lakes and empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Mackenzie, which empties into the Arctic Ocean and drains a large part of northwestern Canada. While the St. Lawrence is the largest river in Canada in volume of water discharged at its mouth, the Mackenzie is the longest. Through its tributary, the Peace River, and tracing to its source in the Finlay River of British Columbia, the Mackenzie is 4,241 km (2,635 mi) long and is one of the longest rivers in the world. The St. Lawrence and the Mackenzie are the second and third largest rivers by volume of discharge, respectively, in North America.

Other large Canadian rivers in terms of both length and discharge are the Yukon, flowing from Yukon Territory across Alaska into the Bering Sea; the Nelson-Saskatchewan system, flowing across the Great Plains into Hudson Bay; the Churchill, also flowing into Hudson Bay; and the Fraser and the Columbia in British Columbia. Other significant regional rivers are the Saint John, emptying into the Bay of Fundy between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; the Churchill, in Newfoundland and Labrador; and the many rivers flowing into the St. Lawrence from the shield, including the Ottawa, the Saguenay, and the Saint-Maurice. All these rivers are navigable for at least some of their length, but only the St. Lawrence and Mackenzie are used for commercial navigation.

In general, all rivers and lakes in Canada have value as sources of water for agricultural, industrial, urban, and recreational uses; but some have more specific commercial uses. The St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes together form an important transportation network for eastern Canada, allowing oceangoing vessels to travel deep into the heartland. The Great Lakes are used to transport bulk materials, such as grain and iron ore, and have been important for the industrial development of the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes region.

Many of the rivers emptying into the St. Lawrence are also important producers of hydroelectric power. In contrast, the rivers of the Arctic drainage basin have little commercial importance. Although the Mackenzie is navigable for most of its length and has been used for transportation, its isolation limits its usefulness. The rivers draining into Hudson Bay are important primarily as power sources, particularly the Nelson in northern Manitoba and the La Grande in northern Québec. The fast-flowing rivers draining into the Pacific, such as the Fraser, are particularly suitable for power generation. They are also crucial for the salmon fishing industry, but these two uses are not compatible. For this reason, hydroelectric development has been prohibited on the Fraser.

F.

Coastline

The coast of the Canadian mainland, about 58,500 km (about 36,350 mi) in length, is extremely broken and irregular, with alternating large bays and peninsulas. Canada also has numerous coastal islands, with a total island coastline of about 185,290 km (about 115,130 mi). Off the eastern coast the largest islands are Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward, and Anticosti. Off the western coast, which is fringed with fjords, are Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Hudson Bay contains Southampton Island and many smaller islands. The Canadian Arctic Archipelago contains many large and small islands, the largest of which are Baffin, Ellesmere, and Victoria.

The importance of the coastline lies in the access it provides to marine resources. Canada has jurisdiction over resources in the oceans that are within 200 nautical miles (230 mi/370 km) of its shores. It has exclusive rights to the resources within that zone, including fisheries and oil deposits. The most important oil sources at present are the Hibernia Oilfields off Newfoundland and Labrador and the Sable Island reserves off Nova Scotia.

The coastline is also important because it provides many natural harbors that have been developed into ports. Ocean ports handle much of Canada’s international trade and provide a significant portion of local and regional coastal economies. Of course, the commercial value of the coastline varies with location; the southern coasts and their ports, such as Vancouver and Victoria in the west and Halifax in the east, are much more important than similar locations in the north, which are icebound much of the year. Finally, coastlines in Canada are very scenic and attract visitors from around the world.

G.

Climate

Because of its size, Canada has a great variety of climatic conditions. Part of the mainland and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are within Earth’s north frigid zone; the remainder of the country lies in the northern half of the north temperate zone. Climatic conditions range from the extreme cold of the Arctic regions to the moderate temperatures of more southerly latitudes. Average summer temperatures range from 8°C (46°F) in the far north to more than 22°C (72°F) in some parts of the far south. Average January temperatures range from -35°C (-31°F) in the far north to 3°C (37°F) in southwestern British Columbia. Similarly, precipitation ranges from near-desert conditions of less than 300 mm (12 in) per year in the far north to very wet conditions of more than 2,400 mm (more than 90 in) in parts of the west coast. Therefore, there is no single Canadian climate, but rather several regional climates.

In the Atlantic provinces, the ocean lessens the extremes of winter cold and summer heat but also causes considerable fog and precipitation. The Pacific coast, which is influenced by warm ocean currents and moisture-laden winds, has mild summers and winters, high humidity, and abundant precipitation. In the Canadian Cordillera, the higher western slopes of certain uplifts, particularly the Selkirks and the Rockies, receive sizable amounts of rain and snow. The eastern slopes and the central plateau receive little precipitation. In the eastern Canadian Cordillera, the chinook, a warm, dry westerly wind, makes winters substantially less severe in the Rocky Mountain foothills and adjoining plains. The Prairie provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan) are marked by the most extreme ranges of summer heat and winter cold in Canada. Eastern Canada (Ontario and Québec), which also has great variations in heat and cold, is the snowiest region in Canada.

Climate has been a factor in the development of Canada because people have settled where temperatures are warmest and agricultural growing seasons longest. Climate also influences vegetation, producing, for example, the rain forest of coastal British Columbia. Southern Ontario and southwestern British Columbia have the mildest climates and greatest population densities in Canada. In contrast, the central and northern regions are sparsely populated. The permafrost region in the north poses great challenges for settlement and development. Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories, the Nunavut Territory, northern Québec and Labrador, and the far northern areas of Ontario and Manitoba are all affected by this condition. Houses, roads, runways, and pipelines require special, expensive adaptations. Water and sewage lines are especially troublesome to maintain. Permafrost also makes mining and other forms of development more difficult and environmentally damaging. Disruption of the environment through development can induce thermokarst, the formation of thaw lakes into which buildings can sink.

H.

Plant Life

The flora of the entire northern part of Canada is Arctic and sub-Arctic (see Tundra). The tree line—the northern limit beyond which trees cannot grow—extends roughly from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to Hudson Bay, just north of Manitoba’s northern border, and continues east from Hudson Bay at approximately 58° north. The tree line is simultaneously a climatic, soil, vegetation, and cultural boundary. It divides the zone of Arctic climate and permafrost, which is the traditional homeland of the Inuit, from the sub-Arctic zone of intermittent permafrost and stunted forest, which was the northern limit of the Athapaskan and Algonquian peoples.

South of the tree line, eastern Canada was originally thickly forested, primarily with coniferous trees. The typical vegetation of southern Ontario, southern Québec, and the Maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) is mixed coniferous and deciduous forest. The only part of Canada dominated by deciduous forest is southernmost Ontario, bordering Lakes Erie and Ontario. Point Pelee on Lake Erie, at roughly the same latitude as the northern border of California, is known for its variety of deciduous trees, including southern species found nowhere else in Canada, such as the Kentucky coffee tree.

The Prairie provinces are largely treeless as far north as the Saskatchewan River system; prairie grasses, herbage, and bunchgrasses are the chief vegetation. Short grasses dominate the dry belt known as Palliser’s Triangle in the southeast portion of the prairie region; an arc of tall grass extends north and west, and this is in turn surrounded by parkland, or mixed grass and mainly deciduous forest.

North of the Saskatchewan River is a broad belt of conifers known as the boreal forest. This belt includes Newfoundland and Labrador, the regions south and east of Hudson Bay, and lands extending westward to the Rocky Mountains. Spruce, tamarack, and poplar are the principal species. The dry slopes and valleys of the Rocky Mountains support thin forests, mainly pine, but the forests increase in density and the trees in size westward toward the region of greater rainfall. On the coastal ranges, especially on their western slopes, are dense forests of mighty conifers, principally spruce, hemlock, Douglas and balsam firs, jack and lodgepole pines, and cedar.

Canada’s extensive coniferous forests constitute the plant life that is most important to its economy. This living resource provides valuable raw products, manufactured products, and thousands of jobs. The coastal and interior forests of British Columbia are the largest and most valuable portion, containing about 35 percent of the country’s timber value. The smaller trees of the boreal forest are used across Canada for pulp and paper. The southeastern mixed zone in the Maritimes also supports a lumber industry. The natural vegetation of Canada also has commercial value as a tourist attraction.

I.

Animal Life

The animals of Canada are similar to those of northern Europe and Asia. Among the carnivores are several species of the weasel family, such as the ermine, sable, fisher, wolverine, and mink. Other representative carnivores are the black bear, brown bear, lynx, wolf, coyote, fox, and skunk. The polar bear is distributed throughout the Arctic; the puma is found in British Columbia. Of the rodents, the most characteristic is the beaver. The porcupine, the muskrat, and many smaller rodents are numerous, as are hares. Gophers are found in the Great Plains.

Several varieties of Virginia deer are native to southern Canada; the black-tailed deer occurs in British Columbia and parts of the Great Plains. This region is also the habitat of pronghorns. The woodland caribou and the moose are numerous and widely distributed, but the Barren Ground caribou is found only in the far north, which is also the habitat of the musk ox. Elk and bison (often called buffalo) are found in various western areas. Bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats are numerous in the British Columbia mountains. Birds are abundant and diverse, and fish are numerous in all the inland waters and along all the coasts. Reptiles and insects are scarce except in the far south.

Many animal species in Canada are threatened with extinction as urban, agricultural, and industrial uses envelop and pollute natural environments. Some species have already become extinct, such as the passenger pigeon, the sea mink, and the Dawson caribou. Among the endangered animals are the whooping crane, swift fox, peregrine falcon, beluga (white whale), and the spotted owl. Furthermore, some animals are threatened by illegal hunting; for example, an illegal market in bear parts used in some Asian medicines has had a severe impact on black and grizzly bear populations. In 2005 there were 345 animal and aquatic species categorized as “at risk” in Canada. In contrast, some of Canada’s animals have adapted very well to new environments and have become so numerous as to be considered pests in some areas. Others have been brought back from the brink of extinction by conservation efforts.

Except for fish, native animals are no longer of much economic importance in Canada. Although beaver, bison, sea otter, and whale were once hunted to virtual extinction, they are now either protected or largely ignored as an economic asset. Canada still has a fur industry, but the demand for furs has lessened substantially. Hunting for sport, however, generates a certain amount of income across Canada. Also, a growing number of people participate in other recreations related to wildlife, such as birdwatching, whale watching, and nature photography; all of these generate jobs and income.

J.

Natural Resources

Canada is richly endowed with valuable natural resources that are commercially indispensable to the economy. Most are specific to one region or another; for this reason separate resource-based economies have tended to develop across Canada. The country has enormous areas of fertile, low-lying land in the Prairie provinces and bordering the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Profitable agricultural economies have developed in both of these regions. Canadian forests cover 34 percent of the country’s land area and abound in commercially valuable stands of timber, especially in British Columbia, Québec, northern Ontario, the northern Prairie provinces, and the Maritimes.

Canada’s extensive mineral resources provide valuable exports and also supply domestic industries. Five of the country’s six major regions contribute to these resources. The Québec portion of the Appalachian Region has the world’s largest reserves of asbestos, along with deposits of copper and zinc. The Canadian Shield is a rich source of metals such as nickel, copper, gold, uranium, silver, aluminum, and zinc. Minerals from the shield helped fuel the manufacturing development of southern Ontario and Québec. The Great Plains region is rich in reserves of crude petroleum and natural gas; these are concentrated in the Prairie provinces, particularly in Alberta. These fuel deposits are responsible for the dynamic energy-producing economy of these provinces. The Great Plains region also has deposits of nonfuels, such as potash, gypsum, and salt. The western Canadian Cordillera provides copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and asbestos, and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago provides zinc and lead. Increasingly important to the mining industry, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago features the world’s northernmost base metal mine, the Polaris mine, on Little Cornwallis Island.

The river and lake systems of the country combine with topography to make hydroelectric energy one of the permanent natural assets of Canada. Here British Columbia and the shield provinces are particularly well endowed. As with other natural resources, much of the energy is exported.

The wildlife of the country is extensive and varied and attracts tourists from around the world, but it is the fish stocks that have the greatest economic value. The cod stocks off the eastern coast provided export revenue and livelihoods for Atlantic Canadians for centuries. In the early 1990s, however, this fishery experienced a sudden collapse due to overfishing and other factors and has not recovered. Other edible fish and shellfish are present in Atlantic coastal waters but do not represent the same commercial value as cod. In the Pacific region, the various salmon species are the most important fish resource, although many other varieties of fish and shellfish are also economically significant. Finally, freshwater fish in Canada’s numerous lakes and rivers are a source of food and revenue for many local communities.

K.

Environmental Issues

The Canadian environment is being altered by many human activities. The growth of industries and urban areas has caused air quality to decline, raising concerns among many people about the effects of fossil fuel use, acid rain, and global warming. Urban growth has reduced agricultural lands and has become a major issue near large urban centers, especially in the Windsor-Montréal corridor of Ontario and Québec and in the Fraser River valley adjoining Vancouver. Waste management in urban areas is also a growing environmental problem, and many communities are having problems siting waste facilities and reducing the volume of waste generated.

Outside cities, agriculture, forestry, fishery, hydroelectric development, and mining have increasingly met with controversy over their effects on environmental quality and loss of wilderness areas. In agriculture, global competition has intensified, leading to lower prices for many agricultural products. Farmers have tried to stay competitive by adopting practices, such as the use of chemical fertilizers, that degrade the natural resource base. In other resource industries, notably forestry and fishing, concern has been expressed that historical and current rates of extraction threaten the viability of the resources. Thus government resource management policies are under more scrutiny than ever before.

Since the 1970s the federal and provincial governments have required an environmental impact assessment for new projects, such as mines, pulp and paper mills, and irrigation projects. At first these reviews were not very demanding and were not universally applied, but they became more stringent over time. In 1995 federal laws were passed making such reviews universal. The legislation mandates that all projects on federal land, using federal funds, or run by federal agencies must be reviewed to determine their impact on the environment. Most provinces now have legislation requiring environmental assessments of projects within their jurisdiction.

K.1.

Sustainable Development

Increasingly, federal and provincial governments in Canada have adopted the concept of sustainable development as a standard. Sustainable development has been defined by the World Commission on Resources and Development to mean development that meets the needs of the present without compromising future generations. The World Commission, of which Canada is a member, was created by the United Nations. In 1987 it produced an influential report, Our Common Future, on environment and economic development. Two of the report’s recommendations in particular were taken up by Canada: establishing roundtables (policy groups of people with diverse backgrounds) and increasing the amount of protected land. The federal government and most provincial governments established roundtables on the economy and the environment.

In 1990 the Canadian government established the Green Plan, which emphasized more monitoring of the environment, tighter environmental regulations, and the restoration of damaged areas, and set a goal of protecting 12 percent of the country’s land by placing it in parks, special resource management zones, ecological reserves, and other designations. By 2001 Canada had reached 10 percent, although only 6 percent of all land was defined as “strictly protected.”

Most government ministries dealing with land and resources are continuing to emphasize sustainable development. The provinces, which control most of Canada’s public land, are protecting more of it. Many provinces have made a commitment to increase their allocation of land for parks, wildlife reserves, and other ecosystem protection zones. Decisions to protect more land have frequently pitted urban-based environmental activists against rural communities whose residents rely on the resources that will be protected.

As people have become more concerned about protecting the environment, policymakers have begun to make decisions about resource management by considering both the needs of human activities and those of ecosystems. In Ontario remedial action plans have been established to clean up industrial pollution in the Great Lakes.

Decisions regarding the management of resources have often led to political conflict and lawsuits. Alternative methods of resolving these conflicts are increasingly being promoted. One method is mediation, in which an intermediary helps the opposing sides resolve a problem. In Ontario a joint agency was set up to make recommendations to the provincial government on land allocation and resource management in the Temagami region north of Toronto. The agency included representatives of government, indigenous peoples, and the general public.

In several provinces the process for making decisions about resources has been broadened to include different groups of people. In part, this is the result of indigenous peoples’ demands for more input into the process, but it also reflects demands by the general public to be included in decisions that directly affect them. The trend is particularly strong in fisheries, forestry, and wildlife management. For example, local communities are becoming more involved in forest management through programs such as the Community Forests Initiative in Ontario and Forest Renewal BC in British Columbia. In addition, several provinces have begun forestry education programs for indigenous peoples and have sought ways, including shared management of public lands, to increase indigenous involvement in forest and land management.

K.2.

Fisheries Management

Licenses for sport fishing are usually distributed by the provincial or territorial governments, which retain the revenue collected. Many provinces put these revenues into fish conservation projects. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for regulating, developing, and conserving Canada’s commercial fisheries, although it delegates part of the management of freshwater fisheries to the provinces through federal-provincial agreements. The department also conducts research and represents Canada in international agreements on fisheries management and marine research. There are management problems involving other countries on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

In the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean the fisheries are regulated by an international body called the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), whose member states include Canada, the United States, and the countries of the European Union (EU). Disputes involving NAFO are worked out in international negotiations and through the United Nations. Canada controls fishing within 200 nautical miles (230 mi/370 km) of its shores, and NAFO recognizes Canada’s right to enforce its regulations to protect fish stocks that are partly within and partly outside this limit. Not all countries respect this right, however, and international tensions sometimes flare.

On the Pacific coast, salmon spawned in Canadian streams are caught by American fishing boats and also as an incidental (unintentional) catch in trawl nets and drift nets operated by Japanese, Koreans, and Taiwanese. Issues between Canada and the United States are dealt with under the Canada-United States Pacific Salmon Treaty, signed in 1985. The two nations, however, have not always agreed on how the treaty should be implemented. Issues with other nations are handled through an international organization, the North Pacific Anadromous Fisheries Commission, which promotes the conservation of salmon and other anadromous fish (fish species that migrate between rivers and the ocean) on the high seas. Trade sanctions are applied to countries that break its rules.

Controversy has also surrounded the Atlantic seal fishery. Protesters from several nations objected to the harvesting of whitecoat harp seal pups, which they charged was done in a cruel manner. It was banned in the 1980s, and today only harp seals that have molted their white coats—and are therefore considered mature—are harvested.

K.3.

Forest Management

As of 2001, the federal government owned about 42 million hectares (about 104 million acres) of forest. The provinces owned about 243 million hectares (600 million acres) or 81 percent of the forests south of latitude 60° north (the northern border of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). The remaining 19 percent was reserved for national parks or held privately. The provinces are responsible for managing their public lands and the timber on those lands.

Increasingly, policymakers are recognizing the intangible benefits of forests. These include recreational pursuits such as park visitation, birdwatching, nature photography, hunting, hiking, and canoeing. Forests are also recognized as important reserves of scientific information and habitats for wildlife, as well as important to water and soil conservation, air quality improvement, and maintenance of biological diversity (including both genetic diversity and ecosystem diversity). In recognition of these benefits, commercial logging is not permitted on about 5 percent of the productive forestland; this land is set aside in parks and other reserves. Several provinces have made commitments to set aside more forested lands in parks and reserves. Reforestation efforts are also an important aspect of the government’s forest management programs.

K.4.

Wildlife Management

Wildlife is an important component of the Canadian heritage. More than 90 percent of Canadians participate in wildlife-related activities, such as nature photography, wildlife watching, bird feeding, hunting, fishing, and subsistence use (obtaining food). In addition, many visitors come to Canada to view wildlife, especially birds and large mammals. Canada still has important wildlife populations, including a large proportion of the world’s stock of mountain sheep, wolves, and grizzly bears, but many animal populations have shrunk or even disappeared. These losses are due in part to overhunting in the days before hunting restrictions and in part to habitat loss, which continues to this day.

Wildlife is a natural resource and therefore falls under provincial jurisdiction. However, the Canada Wildlife Act of 1973 enables the federal government to work with the provinces on wildlife conservation and research. The act gives the federal government special responsibilities to protect and manage marine species and certain migratory birds and to conserve wildlife and habitat of national or international importance. Endangered species and those that migrate across provincial or national boundaries are covered by the act, as are wetlands that provide waterfowl habitat. The federal Canadian Wildlife Service works with provincial wildlife agencies to establish annual revisions of hunting seasons and catch limits, undertake ecological research, coordinate national efforts to protect wildlife and habitat, and manage wildlife areas and bird sanctuaries.

In addition, some indigenous peoples have a special interest in wildlife, largely because it is important to their way of life. Contemporary treaties—covering most of the Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut—have provided indigenous peoples with a direct say in wildlife management in Canada’s north.

III.

People

The estimated population of Canada in 2007 was 33,390,141. At the time of the last census in 2001, the official population was 30,007,094, compared to about 28.8 million in 1996. The population growth rate from 1994 to 2003 was 1 percent per year; this was the eighth highest rate among the 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a list that makes up the most developed industrial countries of the world. Two-thirds of this growth was due to immigration. Canada’s liberal immigration program accepts newcomers from nearly every other country in the world.

Most Canadians live in cities, and most of the cities are close to the country’s southern border. The largest urban centers are in Québec and Ontario provinces, or central Canada, where almost two-thirds of the people live. Most of the population is ethnically British or French, although other European countries are well represented, and indigenous peoples are the majority in the north. French and English are the official languages, although the people who speak English as their mother tongue outnumber those whose mother tongue is French by about 2.5 to 1. Roman Catholics, who include most French-speaking people, are the most numerous religious group, followed by the United Church of Canada and the Anglican Church. Immigrants are a growing minority, particularly those from Asia, and have been changing the face of Canada’s largest urban areas. See also Ethnic Groups in Canada.

Canadians have a high literacy rate and a number of top universities. The standard of living is one of the world’s highest, although one in seven households lives in poverty. Violent crime is low compared to other North American societies but has been rising.

A.

Population Characteristics

A.1.

Demographic Trends

Canada is a nation of people who came from somewhere else. All but the indigenous people arrived there within the past 400 years, most within the past few generations. For that reason most Canadians still feel some attachment to their old homelands. The majority of the population is of European descent, but the proportion of Asians is increasing. Nearly 60 percent of all immigrants in the decade from 1991 to 2001 came from Asia, and Chinese is the fastest-growing mother tongue in Canada. As ethnic groups intermarry, however, ethnic identities are becoming more blurred; more than one-third of Canadians report multiple ethnic origins. Indigenous peoples make up about 3 percent and blacks about 2 percent of the population.

Immigration is important to maintaining Canada’s population. The current childbearing generation has smaller families than earlier generations: The fertility rate (average number of children born per woman) is 1.6. At the same time, older people are living longer, so that the average age of the population is higher. In 2007 Canada’s rate of natural increase was 0.29 percent, resulting from a birth rate of 10.8 per 1,000 persons and a death rate of 7.9 per 1,000. There is a downward trend in the birth index—in 1981 it was 15.3—and the likely end result will be zero growth or population loss. For this reason the Canadian government decided in the 1980s to compensate for the low birth rate by allowing more immigration.

A.2.

Distribution of Population

Although Canada has a very low population density of 3.7 persons per sq km (9.6 persons per sq mi), this is a misleading statistic. Actually the population is highly concentrated, with about three-quarters of all Canadians living within about 300 km (about 200 mi) of the U.S. border. Canadians are further concentrated into about 25 metropolitan areas. Overall, according to the 2001 census, a total of 79.7 percent live in urban areas (communities of 1,000 people or more). The percentage of urban dwellers has remained relatively stable since 1971.

There is also a regional dimension to population distribution in Canada. In 2005 about 62 percent of Canadians were concentrated in Québec and Ontario. Nearly all of the rest lived in the other eight provinces: 17 percent in the Prairie provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan; about 7 percent in the Atlantic provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick; and about 13 percent in British Columbia. The Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut were sparsely inhabited, with only about 0.3 percent of the country’s total population.

During the last quarter of the 20th century the Canadian population shifted westward. British Columbia and Alberta were beneficiaries of this movement and enjoyed growth rates well above the Canadian average. However, Ontario continued to be the most populous and economically vibrant province.

A.3.

Population Centers

The largest urban centers of Canada are found mostly in the southern parts of Ontario and Québec. They are ranked according to the population of their Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). A CMA is a geographic area that contains the main labor market of an urban zone—that is, the area from which at least 25 percent of the residents commute to work at jobs in the core built-up area. As of 2005 the largest CMAs in Canada were as follows. Toronto, Ontario (5,304,100), is the country’s leading financial and manufacturing center and one of the most ethnically varied cities in the world; its local government provides services in some 70 languages. Montréal, Québec (3,635,700), a major manufacturing and commercial center, is the world’s largest French-speaking city outside France. Vancouver, British Columbia (2,208,300), is a scenic, rapidly growing commercial, transportation, and forest-products manufacturing center.

Ottawa, Ontario, the hub of the Ottawa-Hull metropolitan area (1,148,800), is the national capital and an emerging center of high-technology research. Calgary, Alberta (1,060,300), is the headquarters of Canada’s petroleum industry and an important farm trade center. Edmonton, Alberta (1,016,000), a petroleum and farming center, is the capital of Alberta and site of the West Edmonton Mall, one of the world’s largest indoor malls.

Québec City (717,600), founded in 1608, is the capital of Québec province, with a well-preserved center that has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Hamilton, Ontario (714,900), is the principal center of Canadian steel production. Winnipeg, Manitoba (706,900), is a major wheat market and railroad hub. London, Ontario (464,300), is an industrial and commercial city. Kitchener, Ontario (458,600), is a manufacturing center that forms the hub of Canada’s so-called technology triangle, an economic region comprising the cities of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo. St. Catharines, Ontario, in the St. Catharines-Niagara metropolitan area (396,900), is a center of agricultural and industrial production. Halifax, Nova Scotia (380,800), is a seaport and the economic center of the Atlantic region.

B.

Languages

Canada is officially bilingual, and all services provided by the federal government are available in English and French. The selection of Ottawa as the national capital, located on the Ontario-Québec border, reflects the long-standing political and cultural importance of the two founding nations. The 2001 census reported that just 1.5 percent of Canadians lack the ability to speak at least one of the official languages; 18 percent of Canadians are fluently bilingual. The majority, 59 percent, reported English as their mother tongue in 2001, while 23 percent reported French and 18 percent declared a nonofficial language. Some of the most prevalent nonofficial languages in Canada are Chinese, Italian, German, Punjabi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.

Historically, the indigenous peoples of Canada spoke dozens of different languages. More than 50 are still recognized today. Almost all fall into groups of related languages traceable from a common ancestral tongue. The largest such group is the Algonquian; Cree, an Algonquian language, is the most significant indigenous language in Canada today. Other large groups are Dene (also called Athapaskan), Iroquoian, Siouan, Salishan, Wakashan, Tsimshian, and Inuit-Aleut (Eskimaleut). There are also three indigenous languages of British Columbia—Kootenay, Haida, and Tlingit—that are not clearly related to any other known tongue. See also Native American Languages.

C.

Ethnic Groups

C.1.

Ethnic Composition

The ethnic composition of the Canadian people is diverse. Historically, the Canadian population has been dominated by those of British and French origins. At the time of the 1996 census these two groups made up about 35 and 25 percent of the country’s population, respectively. Ethnic data collection processes were changed for the 2001 census, however, allowing respondents to list multiple ethnicities, including “Canadian.” Under this method the most popular ethnic background checked was Canadian (39.4 percent of respondents), followed by English (20.2 percent), French (15.75 percent), Scottish (14.3 percent), Irish (12.9 percent), and German (9.25 percent). Among those respondents that checked only one ethnicity, the leading categories were Canadian (37 percent), English (8 percent), French (6 percent), Chinese (5 percent), German and Italian (4 percent each), and Irish and Scottish (3 percent each).

The majority of French-speaking Canadians live in Québec, where they make up about 70 percent of the population, although only 29.6 percent of the province’s residents identified themselves as ethnically French Canadian in the 2001 census. Significant numbers of this ethnic group also live in Ontario and New Brunswick. The remaining French Canadians are thinly scattered through the rest of Canada, but there are a few concentrations, such as the Saint Boniface district of Winnipeg.

While French Canadians form a cultural group based on their language, history, and religion, British Canadians do not. The four nationalities of the British Isles—English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish—all had different histories, belonged to various religions, and developed different cultural traditions and beliefs. While an economic elite of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, mostly of English and Scottish background, has dominated the business and industry of every province, even Québec, they are a minority of British Canadians.

The ethnic population trends and settlement patterns have been heavily influenced by Canadian immigration policy. The policy during the early 20th century, a time of vigorous western settlement, focused on Europeans. As a result, the proportion of European Canadians in the Prairie provinces is especially high. More recently, Asian immigration has coincided with the growth of the largest metropolitan centers—Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver—and thus Chinese Canadians and Indo-Canadians are most visible there. See also Ethnic Groups in Canada.

C.2.

French Canadians

Four-fifths of French Canadians live in Québec province. Many, if not most, of them regard Québec as the center of their society and culture, and their effort to preserve it has led to a movement of French Canadian nationalism that has taken several forms. Surrounded by an English-speaking society and living in an economy dominated by an English-speaking elite, the Québécois (French-speaking residents of Québec) made a concerted effort beginning in 1960 to increase their control of Québec affairs. A nationalist provincial government revamped the educational system, provided aid to small businesses, and took control of some industries, all with the objective of increasing Québécois’ control of the economy.

Many Québécois nationalists have gone further: Some support a separatist movement that seeks independence for the province; others advocate a more moderate alternative, keeping Québec in Canada but giving it more powers than the other provinces. The English-speaking minority in Québec is opposed to its separation from Canada. The other provinces also oppose it and are also generally against the more moderate alternative.

Both the Parti Québécois, the party elected in 1993 to govern Québec, and the Bloc Québécois, the party elected the same year to represent the province in Canada’s Parliament, are officially dedicated to separation. This situation has intensified the historical mistrust between French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians, a legacy from the time when English speakers in Canada focused solely on their own interests (see Canada: Laurier). Emphasis on French Canadian culture and aspirations has also damaged the Québécois’ relations with other minorities in the province. Among these are indigenous peoples, who have lately begun to pursue their own rights and political powers.

C.3.

Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples, designated in the census as “Aboriginal,” made up about 3.3 percent of Canada’s inhabitants at the beginning of the 21st century. They live across Canada in every province and territory, with about 45 percent concentrated in the Prairie provinces, according to the 2001 census. Less than half of Canada’s indigenous peoples live on reservations (or reserves). In the Arctic and sub-Arctic, where the climate has discouraged permanent European settlement, indigenous peoples are the majority. They divide themselves into nations, each with a traditional territory, language, and culture. The groupings and homelands have changed over time. For example, the Bearlake only became a nation in the 20th century; the Neutral and several neighboring nations were broken up in the 17th century; and the Sioux did not arrive in Canada until the 19th century.

The federal Indian Act recognizes four categories of indigenous people: Status Indians, who are registered on an official roll; Inuit; Métis, people of mixed European and indigenous heritage; and non-Status Indians, people of indigenous descent who are not on the official roll. For administrative purposes, indigenous peoples in Canada are also divided according to band. A band is the smallest indigenous political unit; there are about 600 bands in Canada, corresponding roughly to local indigenous communities.

The indigenous peoples speak many different languages, engage in different cultural processes, pursue economic well-being in diverse ways, and have created a variety of governing systems. Yet they have historically shared many characteristics and conditions of life. The land continues to have social and cultural significance for a large proportion of them. Their relation to the land has not been well understood by European Canadians.

Land and resource development has had social costs for indigenous people, particularly those living in the north. In the first place, it often destroys fragile physical environments. With the loss or reduction of traditional hunting and fishing lifestyles comes damage to indigenous identities and self-esteem. Furthermore, the economic benefits of development mostly accrue to developers rather than local people. Even where indigenous Canadians have negotiated a share in the profits, economic benefits tend to be only temporary while the social problems associated with a rapid influx of people and money are often of longer duration.

Tensions have sometimes erupted into violence. The most serious confrontations have occurred in Oka, Québec, and Gustafson Lake, British Columbia, where armed standoffs with police lasted many days. Smaller incidents, such as blockades across access roads to resource sites, are becoming more common. Problems are generally related to disagreements over land use and ownership. The situation is unlikely to improve until land negotiations between governments and indigenous peoples are complete.

The Canadian government, through the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), administers the Indian Act and other legislation relating to Status Indians. The department is responsible for meeting the federal government’s treaty obligations, negotiating with Status Indian communities regarding increased autonomy for these communities, supporting indigenous people’s economic development and self-sufficiency, and negotiating with them to resolve their land claims.

DIAND has begun transferring to indigenous reserves the responsibility of managing their own affairs. These communities now control the majority of all funding from Indian and Inuit Affairs, one of the four programs within DIAND. The program provides funds for housing; education; economic development; child, family, and adult care services; and other social services, including initiatives to prevent family violence and substance abuse.

Since 1986 the Canadian government has negotiated with indigenous communities to develop self-government. The first communities to do so created their own local political entities, which have municipal status and are accountable to an indigenous electorate. This model, however, is not accepted by all indigenous peoples. Some indigenous organizations have demanded a much broader set of powers that would recognize their inherent right to be self-governing, independent of the jurisdiction of the provinces.

In November 1992 Ottawa and the Inuit of the eastern Arctic signed a comprehensive agreement to resolve outstanding grievances. This agreement also authorized the new territory of Nunavut, which was created in 1999 from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories. In 2001 almost 90 percent of the people in Nunavut were Inuit (Nunavut is the Inuit word for “our land”). The territory became the first large political unit in North America with an indigenous majority. It is governed by its own legislative assembly, territorial court, and civil service.

C.4.

Blacks

Blacks, or African Canadians, have never been a major segment of the country’s population, but their history is interesting. Although King Louis XIV of France authorized the importation of slaves from the West Indies in 1689, few were brought to Canada or Acadia. Some refugees from the American Revolution (1775-1783) brought slaves north with them, and a greater number of blacks came as free persons, many of them having won their freedom by fighting for the British side in that conflict. Nova Scotia abolished slavery in 1787, as did Upper Canada (Ontario) six years later; their actions set precedents for the British Empire. When British troops burned Washington, the U.S. capital, in the War of 1812 (1812-1815), they brought back to Halifax many slaves who had sought refuge with them. Escape to Canada meant freedom, and thus it was a major destination of the so-called Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes by which U.S. abolitionists spirited slaves out of the American South. They transported many slaves into Canada, particularly to Chatham and Sarnia in Ontario. See also Slavery.

Blacks in Canada have generally been equal under the law, although Nova Scotia and Ontario formerly had legally segregated public schools, and the schools for blacks were often poorly funded. Traditionally, blacks have been employed in jobs that pay low wages. They remain among the poorest and worst educated of Canada’s citizens. Since an upsurge of civil rights activism in the 1960s, blacks have pressed for improvement of their condition, and their leadership has been enhanced by the addition of educated black immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa. Some urban black communities in Canada have had protests over police mistreatment of black people in recent decades, including in Toronto, Montréal, and Halifax.

C.5.

Immigrants

Immigrants accounted for about 18 percent of Canada’s population in 2001, and immigration has been a key force in the country’s growth since the beginning of the colonial era. For most of postcolonial history Canada’s immigration policy favored people of European descent. This practice was replaced in the 1960s by new rules classifying immigrants into three groups: refugees fleeing political persecution, family members of Canadian citizens, and independent immigrants (sometimes called “economic immigrants”). The last group is admitted under a point system, where they are allocated points for level of education, experience in the labor market, facility in one or both official languages, and so on. Those with enough points are allowed to become permanent residents and, three years later, Canadian citizens. The policy is designed so that half of Canada’s immigrants are family members or political refugees and half are economic immigrants.

Immigration to Canada often reflects international developments and trends. During the 1990s, for example, immigrants from Hong Kong accounted for 15 to 20 percent of all immigration to Canada in most of those years. This movement was related to the widespread concern in Hong Kong over the return of the colony to China in 1997. In 2004, 48.6 percent of Canada’s 235,824 new immigrants came from Asia and the Pacific Rim, 21 percent from Africa and the Middle East, 17.8 percent from Europe and the United Kingdom, 9 percent from South and Central America, and 3.2 percent from the United States. During the same year the top ten source countries for immigrants to Canada (in order) were China, India, Philippines, Pakistan, the United States, Iran, the United Kingdom, Romania, Korea, and France.

The federal government is required to consult the provinces each year on immigration policy. The government is also required to set an annual target figure for immigration, although it has been common in recent years to plan in five-year stages. In the early 21st century the targets were set at between 220,000 and 245,000 immigrants annually. Because of Canada’s low birth rate and aging population, some government officials pushed for raising the yearly target up to 1 percent of the Canadian population, or about 325,000 people per year.

Arriving immigrants require settlement services. These are provided by provincial and municipal governments and a variety of nongovernmental organizations. Much of the funding for these programs comes from the federal government. Services include temporary accommodation, language classes, and employment counseling.

The overwhelming majority of newcomers settle in cities, which has altered the ethnic compositions of large Canadian cities such as Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver. Each of these cities has a different immigrant profile: Persons arriving from French-speaking countries are most likely to settle in Montréal, those from Latin America in Toronto, and those from the Pacific Rim in either Toronto or Vancouver. Certain resources in these cities have become strained, particularly the school systems. It is common, for example, for entire elementary classrooms in some parts of Vancouver to consist of recent immigrants from Asian countries. Beyond the cost of providing instructional programs in English as a second language, these cities are faced with the challenge of integrating diverse cultures. A number of problems have arisen, such as immigrants’ complaints of discrimination. Although some Canadians have pressured the government to cut back the annual immigration target, immigration is generally well supported.

In response to requests by various cultural groups, the Canadian government established a multicultural policy in 1971 that recognizes the changing composition of the Canadian population. This policy was intended to acknowledge the contribution of all groups that make up Canada and to signal that there is no official culture into which everyone is expected to assimilate. In 1972 a new position was added to the federal cabinet: the minister of state for multiculturalism. The federal Human Rights Act, passed in 1977, made discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, or ethnic origin illegal. In 1982 these rights were included in the new constitution, and in 1986 a program was established to ensure that minorities have equal access to federal employment.

D.

Religion

Most Canadians are Christians (about 75 percent in the 2001 census), although a rapidly growing number have no religious affiliation (16 percent). The remainder practice non-Christian Eastern religions, Judaism, indigenous traditions, or other forms of belief such as the New Age movement. The Roman Catholic Church is by far the largest single denomination, representing 43 percent of the Canadian population in 2001; approximately half of Roman Catholics live in Québec. The great majority of French Canadians are Roman Catholics. The next two largest denominations in 2001 were the United Church of Canada (10 percent), formed in the 1920s through a merger of Methodists, Congregationalists, and most Presbyterians; and the Anglican Church (7 percent). Other significant religious affiliations in Canada were Baptist (3 percent); Muslim (2.0 percent); Lutheran (2.0 percent); Protestant (1.9 percent); Presbyterian (1.4 percent); Pentecostal (1.2 percent); and Jewish (1.1 percent). Immigration from eastern and southern Asia in recent years has also brought increasing numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs.

Most religious groups are widely distributed across Canada, but some communities are concentrated in specific areas. For example, the Mennonites, the Hutterites, and the Ukrainian Orthodox are mainly located in the Prairie provinces, the majority of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) reside in Alberta, most Hindus live in Toronto, and most Sikhs live in Vancouver. In each of these cases, religious communities have created visible landscapes that add to the distinctiveness and variety of Canadian places. In Vancouver, for example, there are several Sikh temples that are each large enough to accommodate more than 1,000 worshippers at a service. The Vancouver area also has thriving Indo-Canadian shopping areas that specialize in traditional products of the Punjab, the district in India where Sikhism originated.

E.

Education

The educational systems in Canada derive from British, American, and—particularly in the province of Québec—French traditions. Students in Québec are taught in French unless specific conditions apply, for example, if their parents were taught in an English-language school in Québec. English is the principal language of instruction in other provinces and the territories, but there are exceptions. Many of New Brunswick’s schools are French-language schools, reflecting the high proportion of French Canadians in the province as well as the official policy of bilingualism there. French immersion programs, where students are taught almost completely in French, are also popular in many parts of the country.

E.1.

Administration

The earliest Canadian schools date from the early 17th century and were conducted by French Catholic religious groups. Higher education began in 1635 with the founding of the Collège des Jésuites in the city of Québec. It was not until the transfer of Canada from French to British jurisdiction in 1763 that an educational system began to emerge that augmented church schools with secular public schools and private schools. When the dominion was created in 1867, education was defined as a provincial responsibility, and it has remained so ever since.

There is no central ministry of education in Canada. The federal government steps in only for special populations outside normal provincial jurisdiction, such as inmates of federal prisons, the families of Canada’s armed forces, and indigenous peoples on reserves. Increasingly, indigenous groups are acquiring more control over their local educational programs.

Although education is administered by the government, churches frequently play an integral role in its delivery. Church-run schools that are alternatives to the secular system of elementary and secondary schools exist in all provinces and territories. Typically these schools receive state funding if they agree to teach the regular curriculum; in addition, they offer extra language and/or religion courses.

The vast, sparsely settled areas of Canada present special problems in delivering education. Initially, governments and religious groups established residential schools, especially for indigenous children, but these were never popular. The indigenous peoples saw them as a way for white society to dominate indigenous cultures. Eventually these schools were closed. A less centralized system emerged, which increasingly has been augmented with correspondence programs and more recently with educational television, teleconferencing, and Internet programs. Some of the more successful distance education technologies, such as those developed by the Knowledge Network in British Columbia, have been exported to other provinces and countries.

Canadian educators are increasingly occupied with the issue of funding current education programs while budgets are shrinking. Almost all provincial governments have adopted deficit reduction strategies that make money increasingly less available for schools. At the same time, schools must meet a number of demands. Many schools are faced with large numbers of immigrant children requiring language training. In Toronto and Vancouver, the two cities with the greatest ethnic diversity in Canada, more than half of all students in the regular school system did not learn English as their first language. In poor neighborhoods, the schools provide free or subsidized meals to many children.

Schools are also facing a demand for sophisticated and expensive technological training to equip students for the future. At the individual school level, parents are demanding and receiving a greater say in policy-making and program choices. In response, provincial governments have attempted to deliver education services more efficiently by consolidating school districts and collaborating with other provinces.

E.2.

Literacy

By world standards, Canada has a high literacy rate. Complete illiteracy—the inability to read or write at all in any language—is very rare in Canada, at just 3 percent of the adult population. However, there is a greater level of functional illiteracy—the inability to read well or to understand what is read. Illiteracy is more likely to be found among the elderly and poor of Canada. Programs to combat illiteracy are offered by the National Literacy Secretariat, which promotes and supports organizations dedicated to adult literacy training.

E.3.

Elementary and Secondary Schools

Education is compulsory for children from age 6 or 7 to age 15 or 16, depending on the province they live in, and it is free until the completion of secondary school studies. Participation in the school system is almost universal. After the period of mandatory education is completed, participation decreases. In 2001 some 85 percent of adults had high school degrees.

E.4.

Universities

Canada’s large universities were established in the 19th century, beginning with McGill University in 1821. Since World War II (1939-1945), higher education has expanded. Many new institutions have been founded, and the older universities have increased in size, scope, and influence. The federal and provincial governments fund the university system in Canada, including sectarian institutions, and students pay only a small portion of the cost. Universities are still the predominant institutions offering higher education, but the number of nonuniversity postsecondary institutions, particularly community colleges, has increased sharply in recent decades.

Nursing education, formerly concentrated at special schools attached to hospitals, has been transferred to universities and community colleges. Similarly, teacher training has been shifted from specialized institutions to universities.

Among the country’s larger universities are the following: the University of Alberta (1906) and the University of Calgary (1945), in Alberta; the University of British Columbia (1908) and Simon Fraser University (1963), in British Columbia; the University of Manitoba (1877); the University of Moncton (1864) and the University of New Brunswick (1785), in New Brunswick; Memorial University of Newfoundland (1925); Acadia University (1838) and Dalhousie University (1818), in Nova Scotia; Carleton University (1942), McMaster University (1887), the University of Ottawa (1848), the University of Toronto (1827), the University of Waterloo (1957), and York University (1959), in Ontario; the University of Prince Edward Island (1834); Concordia University (1974), Université Laval (1852), McGill University (1821), the Université de Montréal (1876), and the Université du Québec (1969), in Québec; and the University of Saskatchewan (1907).

F.

Way of Life

The complex regional and cultural composition of Canadian society means that there is no single Canadian way of life, but certain generalizations can be made. Perhaps the clearest is that Canada shares with the United States, most European countries, and Japan a high standard of living relative to the remainder of the world. Most Canadians are well housed, fed, and clothed. Canadians also enjoy an advanced, efficient health care system that is universally available to all citizens and landed immigrants (immigrants who are allowed permanent residence in the country) regardless of their location, income, or social standing. In fact, recent opinion polls have shown that Canadians see this system of socialized medicine as a defining characteristic of their national identity.

Generally, Canadians devote the highest portion of their income to housing. Most own their homes, and the majority reside in single-family detached homes. Housing quality is generally high, and only about 1 percent live in units defined by government agencies as crowded. However, housing quality is not as high in rural and northern areas as it is in Canada’s cities. Problems are especially prevalent on Indian Reserves (lands set aside for Status Indians). Housing in the Arctic region poses special problems; permafrost can cause foundations to shift and makes providing water and sanitary services difficult. Frequently, aboveground insulated utility systems are the only feasible solution.

The nature of Canadian households has changed considerably over the past quarter-century. With the liberalization of divorce legislation in the late 1960s and changing social attitudes about marriage, the number of single-parent households and common-law unions has increased.

Canadian eating habits are also being transformed. Concern for better health has led to a small decline in total meat consumption; Canadians are also spending more on fruits, vegetables, pasta, and other complex carbohydrates. Canadians, especially those in the larger cities, have also acquired more cosmopolitan tastes. The range of foods and beverages available is far greater than ever before, and includes dishes from Ethiopia, Thailand, Latin America, and a variety of Chinese regions. Still, many traditional regional eating habits have been retained, such as the distinctive diets of the Inuit and other indigenous groups, and the French-influenced cuisine of Québec.

Although lacrosse was Canada’s first national game, ice hockey is its most popular sport. At the professional level, there are six National Hockey League (NHL) teams in Canada, including two of its most venerable, the Montréal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canadian Football League was created in 1956. Baseball has been played in Canada since at least 1838, and a Canadian professional league was established in 1876. The Montréal Expos became Canada’s first major league baseball team in 1969. The Toronto Blue Jays began play eight years later and became one of the sport’s most successful teams, attracting more than 4 million fans in a single season and winning the World Series twice (1992 and 1993). After years of declining attendance, however, the Expos franchise moved to Washington, D.C., in 2005 to become the Washington Nationals. Two Canadian teams joined the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1990s: the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies. The Grizzlies subsequently relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2001.

Canada consistently produces Olympic medal winners in a variety of sports, including ice hockey, rowing, track and field, and, most notably, ice skating. A large and growing number of ordinary Canadians regularly participate in sporting leagues, fitness classes, and individual exercise.

G.

Social Issues

G.1.

Poverty

While Canada is affluent by world standards, approximately one in eight Canadian families lives below the level of income deemed necessary to provide a decent standard of living. The most commonly cited measure of poverty in Canada is the one used in the annual Statistics Canada survey. Statistics Canada defines low income based on the share of income an average person or family devotes to food, clothing, and shelter needs. Adjustments are made for family size and for rural or urban location. By this standard in 2003, 12.3 percent of families and 38 percent of unattached individuals were deemed to have low incomes. Among families, low income was especially prevalent in single-parent households. More than half the families headed by single mothers had low incomes, and about 18 percent of Canada’s children were living in families with low incomes. Among all Canadians, elderly women were the most likely to have low incomes (19.1 percent).

Incomes are also considerably below normal among indigenous peoples in Canada, who earn less than half the Canadian average. While Ottawa has special responsibility for indigenous people, the reserves have some of Canada’s worst social conditions. There, poor housing and chronic unemployment are a way of life for many. Among indigenous peoples, suicide is closely linked to the problems associated with poverty, such as alcohol abuse, family violence, and family disintegration. In some communities where these problems are especially acute, the rate is more than 10 times the national average. Suicide has become the leading cause of death among indigenous teenagers and young adults. Poverty underlies indigenous peoples’ struggles for land and self-government.

Poverty is also prevalent in cities. However, while each Canadian city has its skid row of bars, rooming houses, and relief agencies, there are few large areas of poverty. In fact, many declining neighborhoods have been redeveloped for middle-class residents in recent years. Government-funded housing projects have also been dispersed throughout most of the larger metropolitan areas, rather than concentrated. As a result, poverty rates in many suburbs are no longer appreciably different than in urban core areas.

G.2.

Crime

The issue of crime is highly visible in the Canadian media. In 2004 there were 946 violent crimes (attacks on the person, abduction, and robbery) and 3,990 crimes against property per 100,000 Canadians. There were 2 homicides for every 100,000 people the same year. In comparison, in the early 1990s the homicide rate was 0.6 in Japan, 0.9 in Britain, 9.9 in the United States, and 17.2 in Mexico. Generally, crime rates fell during the 1990s.

Concern about crime in Canada was heightened in 1989 when a man used an assault rifle to murder 14 women enrolled in the engineering program at the École Polytechnique in Montréal. More-stringent gun control legislation was proposed soon after the incident but did not become law until 1995. The legislation banned a number of assault weapons, further limited the legal use of handguns, and required that all handguns and rifles in Canada be registered. These regulations have drawn vocal public criticism from rural areas and certain lobby groups but are widely supported by the general population. The number of violent crimes involving firearms declined about 7 percent in Canada in 1995, but it is unclear whether any of this drop was attributable to the new law.

IV.

Arts

Canada is a relatively young country and is still forging a cultural identity that is distinct from those of its European founding nations and the United States. Establishing a national culture is made difficult by a strong tendency within Canada toward regional forms of cultural expression. Furthermore, many different cultures must be accommodated within the national identity. Thus it is more appropriate to speak of Canadian cultures rather than a single national culture.

A.

Indigenous Art

The indigenous peoples had a rich artistic tradition long before European colonization. Many native forms of expression, such as dance, woodcarving, soapstone sculpture, and decorative handicrafts, were highly developed and are still practiced. The artistic power of indigenous art, with its strong attachment to nature and spiritual values, has had a great impact on postcolonial Canadian culture and remains an important element today. A recent renaissance of indigenous art is exemplified by the sculptures by Bill Reid of the Haida nation, which have been shown around the world. Inuit carvings are highly valued by collectors and critics alike. See also Native American Art.

B.

Colonial Art

In the colonial period, culture was heavily influenced by French and British models. Colonists brought their culture with them and tried to reproduce it in the new land. Simplified and practical versions of European styles of architecture, craftsmanship, and music date from this period. Colonists were also confronted by new landscapes and new peoples, producing a strong urge to describe and portray them. Thus colonial writing and painting about Canada were largely documentary, including explorers’ accounts of their travels, missionaries’ reports, and naturalistic portrayals of landscapes and ways of life. Typical of these are paintings of the St. Lawrence valley in the 1840s by Cornelius Krieghoff, paintings of the Métis people by Paul Kane, and literary descriptions of pioneer life by Susanna Moodie. All of this early art was infused by European sensibilities.

C.

Nationalism and Government Support

After Canada became a nation in 1867, a new nationalist sentiment appeared in public art. The country’s history and institutions became the subject of monumental and heroic artworks. Prominent examples include the architecture of the Parliament buildings built in 1867 and the National Gallery of Canada constructed in 1880; sculptures on historical monuments and war memorials; and paintings such as The Fathers of Confederation, painted by Robert Harris in 1883. The Confederation Poets of the late 19th century tried to show that Canadian topics, such as the plight of the indigenous peoples, could be the subject of poetry. However, most artistic expression in Canada was still dominated by European models. Québec artists in particular, such as poet Louis Honoré Fréchette, strove to maintain and promote French culture in the face of English dominance. Painting, as well as French-language literature and music, tended to celebrate the rural and religious values of the Québec people. The culture of other regions also often expressed a strong sense of place. Such small-town attitudes were the subject of humorous works by essayist Stephen Leacock.

A real break from tradition and regionalism came in the 1920s, when the Group of Seven introduced revolutionary new techniques and concepts to painting, as well as a strong commitment to a national perspective. The group rebelled against the conservative art then being produced in Canada and shifted emphasis away from slavish imitation of nature toward bold, colorful expressiveness. Also at this time Emily Carr in British Columbia was painting nature in a new personal style that expressed the themes of the Pacific landscape and was strongly influenced by the Northwest coast style of indigenous art.

In the postwar period from the 1940s through the 1960s, Canadian culture truly began to expand and respond to new influences, such as the media theories of writer Marshall McLuhan and the liberation manifesto of Les Automatistes, a group of painters in Québec. McLuhan stimulated interest in the use of multiple media, which engage all the senses to create what he called “mosaic patterns” of meaning.

Renewed nationalism was also a factor as Canadians began to channel government funds to invest in their own culture. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, founded in 1936, provided a forum for artists across the country. The Canada Council was established in 1957 to fund artistic endeavors and became a crucial agent in supporting creativity. Support for Canadian culture has also come from such prizes as the Governor General’s Literary Awards, instituted in 1936. The film industry was nurtured by the National Film Board of Canada, an advisory board that became a producer of highly acclaimed short films, and by Telefilm Canada, a producer of feature-length films. Programs to support the Canadian publishing industry were also implemented in the postwar period.

The result of these initiatives was an explosion of artistic opportunities. New ballet and modern dance companies emerged, including the National Ballet of Canada in 1951; theatrical festivals were established, particularly the Stratford and the Shaw; and new orchestras and music festivals were created. Support for the arts continued through the 1980s but began to decline in the 1990s.

D.

Architecture

Canadian architects have generally participated in global trends in architectural styles. In the 1930s they adopted the modern International Style of cubic forms, austere surfaces, and large windows. In the past few decades they have helped to define the Post-Modern movement, returning to historical elements such as classical motifs and 19th-century decorations. Interesting examples of vernacular, or folk, architecture—architecture designed by everyday people for everyday purposes—abound throughout the country. So-called significant buildings, those that exemplify particular movements or set new styles, are largely to be found in Canada’s metropolitan areas, especially Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, and Ottawa-Hull.

Many influential architects practice in Canada, but Arthur Erickson and Moshe Safdie are probably the best known. Erickson’s dramatic designs began to achieve prominence in the early 1960s after his proposal for the Simon Fraser University campus was selected; he is also well known for the University of Lethbridge, the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Safdie’s career was established with his innovative design of Habitat at Expo ‘67 in Montréal, and he has since worked in a variety of international settings, including Israel, Iran, Mexico, and Singapore. Aside from Habitat, his principal contributions to Canada have been in important civic structures, particularly the in Ottawa and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Québec. See also Canadian Architecture.

E.

Writers, Artists, and Musicians

The field of Canadian literature is large and complex, and includes voices from the various regions and many cultural groups of the country. Notable Canadian poets include Irving Layton and Dorothy Livesay. Children around the world have enjoyed Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery, a 1908 novel set in rural Prince Edward Island. Hugh MacLennan, Robertson Davies, and Margaret Laurence set new standards for Canadian fiction in the mid-20th century. Other important writers have followed, such as Margaret Atwood, Gabrielle Roy, Anne Hébert, Marie Claire Blais, and Alice Munro. Many have drawn on their experiences as immigrants or members of minority groups in their fiction: Mordecai Richler (Jewish), Michael Ondaatje (Sri Lankan), and Neil Bissoondath (Caribbean) are just a few examples. See Canadian Literature.

The earliest works of visual art in North America were produced by indigenous groups. European colonists introduced their artistic traditions almost as soon as they settled in the land that became Canada. The defining moment for post-Confederation Canadian art, however, is generally acknowledged to have been the formation of the Group of Seven in Toronto during the 1910s and 1920s. The post-Impressionist images of elemental nature created by these painters have inspired generations of Canadian artists.

Other distinctly Canadian schools were the Canadian Group, the Contemporary Art Society, Les Automatistes, and Painters Eleven. The Canadian Group, formed in Toronto in 1933, practiced regionalist painting, which took daily life as its subject matter. The Contemporary Art Society was formed in Montreal in 1940 to produce experimental work based on Parisian models. Among this group was Paul-Émile Borduas, who developed a spontaneous, abstract painting style. Les Automatistes, who emulated his style, formed around him after 1945; they included the renowned abstract expressionist painter Jean Paul Riopelle. Painters Eleven, including Jock Macdonald, William Ronald, and Harold Town, was formed in Toronto in 1953 to produce abstract works in the cubist tradition. There are thousands of artists now at work in Canada, producing paintings, sculptures, and other media of great variety. Among the best-known are Michael Snow, Joyce Wieland, Greg Curnoe, and Bill Reid. See Canadian Art.

Pianist Glenn Gould is probably Canada’s most widely recognized classical musician, particularly for his innovative interpretations of Bach. In the 1990s, guitarist Leona Boyd and opera tenor Ben Hoeppner were among the more visible Canadians on the international stage. In the past, Canadian popular-music artists looked to the United States as the primary market for their music; in fact, several, such as Paul Anka, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell, immigrated to the United States. By the 1970s, however, Leonard Cohen, Anne Murray, and other artists demonstrated that it was possible to reach an international audience from a Canadian base. A thriving Canadian popular-music industry emerged in the 1980s and 1990s; a few particularly well-known Canadian performers are Bryan Adams, Céline Dion, k.d. lang, Shania Twain, and Alanis Morissette.

F.

Theatrical and Musical Institutions

The performing arts in Canada are supported by government and private grants. The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, which opened in 1969, has a resident symphony orchestra and both French and English theater companies. Visiting opera and dance companies perform there, and in summer its terraces along the Rideau Canal are the scene of band concerts.

A number of major theater, opera, dance, and musical groups are found in the large cities; these groups also tour the provinces and travel abroad. The chief theatrical centers are the cities of Québec, Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The theaters of these cities make an effort to present new Canadian plays as well as imports and classics. Among the principal dance companies are the National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montréal. The Toronto Dance Theatre, Les Ballets Jazz in Montréal, and a number of small companies present modern dance. The prominent orchestras include the Montréal Symphony, the Toronto Symphony, and the Vancouver Symphony.

There is also a thriving film industry in Canada that is bolstered by popular film festivals—the Toronto International Film Festival, Montréal World Film Festival, and Vancouver International Film Festival—as well as state support through Telefilm Canada. Canadian-born Norman Jewison, a prominent director in the U.S. film industry, has helped support Canadian filmmaking. Other well-known Canadian directors include Atom Egoyan, Denys Arcand, and François Girard.

G.

Libraries and Museums

The federal government’s National Museum Policy of 1972 provides subsidies to regional and local museums and has encouraged and supported the growth of museums throughout the country. Canada has more than 2,000 museums, archives, and historic sites, the most important of which are in the national capital region. These include the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Québec, which celebrates Canada’s multicultural heritage; and, in Ottawa, the Canadian Museum of Nature (formerly the National Museum of Natural Sciences), the National Museum of Science and Technology, and the National Gallery of Canada. The last exhibits European art, a growing collection of Asian art, and a large body of work by Canadians.

The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has collections of art, life and earth sciences, and materials typical of Canadian culture. Among more-specialized museums are Upper Canada Village, a restoration of 18th- and 19th-century buildings in Morrisburg, Ontario; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Museum in Regina, Saskatchewan; and the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, which contains important displays of indigenous artifacts.

The National Library of Canada, in Ottawa, issues the national bibliography and maintains union catalogs of the collections of more than 300 other libraries. The Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, also in Ottawa, is the center for the dissemination of scientific and technical data. Provinces and cities have their own libraries. Particularly outstanding university libraries are those of the universities of Toronto, British Columbia, and Montréal.

H.

Festivals

Canadians and visitors enjoy summer festivals, such as the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario; the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario; and Cultures Canada, a series of multicultural events in Ottawa. Local traditions are preserved in a wide variety of events, including the Highland Games on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; the Sherbrooke Festival de Cantons in Québec City, celebrating French Canadian culture and cuisine; the Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin, Manitoba; and Discovery Day in Dawson, Yukon Territory. There are also a number of music festivals in Canada. Montréal is known for its jazz festival, and Toronto and Winnipeg for their folk music festivals. In the fall, “Fringe Festivals” in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria showcase new theatrical performances.

V.

Economy

Canada has an advanced economy, and the majority of its citizens enjoy a high quality of life by world standards. Historically, much of this wealth has been generated through the extraction and processing of natural resources, especially fish, furs, timber, minerals, and farm produce. Increasingly, however, manufacturing and service activities have been added, and Canada now has one of the most complex economies in the world. Canada is also highly integrated into the global economy through trade, with more than a third of its GDP dedicated to exports.

The Canadian economy has grown more rapidly than those of most other developed countries since the recession of the early 1990s. This success is due to several factors, including low inflation, low interest rates, and a low Canadian dollar (with respect to other major currencies), all of which helped exports to grow. However, this growth has not generated as many jobs as analysts expected. Canadian businesses have found ways to increase their output by introducing more-efficient methods of production rather than hiring more workers. Also, the role of government in the Canadian economy has declined, and with it the number of jobs in the public sector. In early 2006 Canada’s unemployment rate was 6.6 percent.

From 1990 to 2003 the Canadian economy grew an average of 3.28 percent per year, reaching a GDP of C$857 billion, which represented a per-capita income of C$27,080. By 2003 Canada had achieved the second highest budget surplus and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio of any Group of Eight (G-8) nation. The proportion of GDP accounted for by federal government expenditure decreased from 15.7 percent in 1994 to 11.5 percent in 2003. Employment growth in Canada’s manufacturing industries began to slow in the late 1990s, while employment in the service industry saw a strong increase. By 2003 three out of four Canadians worked in service industries, including the fields of health care and public administration.

A.

Labor

The Canadian civilian labor force numbered 17.3 million in 2005. The participation rate of men in the labor force reached a postwar high in 1981 of 78.7 percent and declined to 72.9 percent by 2005. The participation rate of women, on the other hand, has risen steadily to about 62 percent in 2005. In part, the shift toward a more gender-balanced labor force is the outcome of the women’s movement, but it is also a reflection of wider economic change, especially the growth of the services sector. The vast majority of workers in goods-producing industries continue to be men, while women outnumber men in finance, business, and community and personal services; the numbers of men and women in trade and public administration are roughly equal. In general, women work fewer hours than men (women hold almost 70 percent of all part-time jobs) and are paid less; in 2003 men in full-time, full-year employment earned C$39,100 on average, while women averaged less than two-thirds that amount (C$24,800).

In 1999 the Canadian government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), one of Canada’s largest unions, reached a pay-equity settlement to end a 16-year dispute. The settlement was one of the largest in North American history. In the dispute, the PSAC accused the federal government of discriminating against women by paying lower salaries for female-dominated jobs, including secretaries and librarians, than for male-dominated jobs of “equal value,” involving comparable education, demands, and responsibility. The federal government agreed to distribute about $C3.6 billion in back pay among some 230,000 past and present public service workers, primarily women.

The number of self-employed Canadians has risen substantially in recent decades, from 7 percent of the labor force in the 1970s to more than 14 percent in 2005. Many choose self-employment as a way to achieve greater independence; for some, however, it is a last resort when opportunities for regular employment are scarce.

Jurisdiction over labor matters is split between the federal and provincial governments, and legislation therefore varies across the country. Minimum standards are established by the Canada Labour Code, but provinces enact further rules. Canada also has federal and provincial laws that prohibit child employment, provide for maternity leave, guarantee the right to collective bargaining, require paid holidays, and require equal pay for