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About Canada
GEOGRAPHY
Canada occupies a major northern portion of North America, sharing land borders with the United States to the south and with the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean.
By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second largest country in the world—after Russia—and largest on the continent. By land area it ranks fourth.
Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories.
Provinces
Territories
The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.
ECONOMY
Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high per-capita income, and is a member of the G8. It is one of the world's top 10 trading nations. Canada is a mixed market, ranking lower than the U.S. but higher than most western European nations on the Heritage Foundation's index of economic freedom. Since the early 1990s, the Canadian economy has been growing rapidly with low unemployment and large government surpluses on the federal level. Today Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production, and high living standards. As of October 2007, Canada's national unemployment rate of 5.9% is its lowest in 33 years.
According to the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest companies in 2008, Canada had 69 companies in the list, ranking 5th next to France. As of 2008, Canada’s total government debt burden is the lowest in the G8.
In the past century, the growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban. As with other first world nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians. However, Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most important.
Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy. Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas and large oil and gas resources are centered in Alberta. The vast Athabasca Oil Sands give Canada the world's second largest oil reserves behind Saudi Arabia. In Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Yukon, hydroelectricity is a cheap and clean source of renewable energy.
Canada is one of the world's most important suppliers of agricultural products, with the Canadian Prairies one of the most important suppliers of wheat, canola and other grains. Canada is the world's largest producer of zinc and uranium and a world leader in many other natural resources such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead; Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centered in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.
LANGUAGE
Canada's two official languages are English and French. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French, and official-language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.
In Quebec, French is the official language, and New Brunswick is the only province to have a statement of official bilingualism in its constitution. Other provinces have no official languages as such, but French is used as a language of instruction, in courts, and for other government services in addition to English.
Non-official languages are important in Canada, with over five million people listing one as a first language. Some significant non-official first languages include Chinese, Italian, German, and Punjabi.
CULTURE
Canada is a geographically vast and ethnically diverse country. Canadian culture has also been greatly influenced by immigration from all over the world. Many Canadians value multiculturalism and see Canadian culture as being inherently multicultural.
Canada's official national sports are hockey in the winter and lacrosse in the summer. Canada hosted several high-profile international sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics, the 1988 Winter Olympics, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada will be the host country for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.