GEOGRAPHY

Canada is in the Northern area of the American continent. It is the forth country in the world in extension (after Russia, China and the USA). It borders on the South with USA, with which shares a land border of 6,415 km, with a the Atlantic Ocean on the East, the Pacific Ocean on the West and the Arctic Ocean and the state of Alaska on the West - North. On the East, the Canadian coast of the continent is quite irregular, with broad bays and a number of large isles, being Terranova, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton as Anticosti Island worthy of mention.

Canada is one of the countries with the greatest amount of lakes and inner waters in the world. More than the 60% of fresh water in the world is in Canada. The Great Lakes (Huron, Erie, Ontario, Superior) are in the country apart from 31 lakes of more than 1.300 km2. Canada is a country with a low population density, less than 3 inhabitants per square Km. However people say as a joke that real overpopulation in Canada is in mostly in rivers and lakes, because of the abundant fish banks.

There are 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada, located in 5 geographical areas. Each province has its own political and administrative capital city.

The Atlantic Region of Canada is formed one by the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Farming.  These provinces base their economy on he fishing,  agriculture, forest industry, mining industry and tourism.

The Central Region is composed by the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The valley of San Lorenzo (St.  Lawrence river), is a densely populated area in the Province of Quebec, and the cities of Montreal and Quebec Cities are on the margins of that river.  In the area of the lake Ontario we find the most populated area in Canada, with the outstanding city of Toronto and its metropolitan area. The 75% of Canadian of products are manufactured in this area. 

On the west of Ontario, the wide and extensive Canadian Prairies are found , that comprise the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and which extend to the Rocky Mountains.  The latter being great chain that states the border of the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. 

The West Coast, among the Rocky Mountains and up to the Atlantic Ocean, is the land of the British Columbia, famous for its mountains and forests.  The capital is Vancouver, with a mild climate with milder winters than in the rest of the country.  Ii is important for its wood industry (role, wood, etc,) as for its fruits, fishing and tourism as well. 

The territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut form the North Region of Canada.  These territories with a population of less than 300.000 inhabitants on the whole, occupy more than a third part of the Canadian land and its temperatures are low, most of the year. Its important resources are mining industry, gold, oil, natural gas. 

The political capital of Canada is Ottawa, situated in Ontario and on the border with the province of Quebec. 

  WEATHER

Canada has four different well defined seasons. Temperatures and the weather in every season can vary a little from a region to another, given the large  extension of the country.  These are the most important aspects of each season: 

Spring :  Spring is a cool season and at times very rainy in Canada. Temperatures usually range between 5 and 15 °C, being the highest during the day, and the lowest at night. Daylight varies between 12 and 14 hours per day. The daily average temperature is 12  °C  in March, April and half May.

Summer:  Summer begins officially on June 21.  The hottest period is in July and August when temperatures reach up to 30 °C or more, in a few days.  Normally, Summer is always hot enough in Canada.  In general temperatures between 20 and 30 °C are expected.  Daylight in Summer is between 14 and 16 hours a day. In June and July, daylight begins approximately at 5am and the sun sets 9.00 p.m. 

Autumn: Autumn, also called fall, starts on September 21^st and ends in December. It starts getting cooler and the green Summer vegetation  turns to shocking colours when leaves start losing their power until they wither and fall. It is sometimes quite rainy and snow starts falling on regular bases in some areas in November. Average temperatures range from 10 to 12 grades C in the Southern area of the Country.

Winter: It goes from the previous week to Christmas to March 20^th. Landscapes get full of snow and temperatures may stay below 0C in vast areas of the country. Sometimes it reaches minus 28 grades C, day and night. Take into account that the Northern you live or the higher the mountainous area is, the colder it will get. Towards the Atlantic shore, in British Columbia, temperatures reach below 0 C. Day light hours are fewer and some weeks in December the sun rises around 8 AM and goes down before 5 PM.

In general, the Northest the area, the lower temperatures will be.  For that reason, the more temperate southern areas are also the most populated of Canada, especially in the valley of river St.  Lawrence (Montreal, Quebec City) and by lake Ontario (Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara).  The climate in the coasts is quite wet year round, although the rainiest period coincides with the Winter.  The plains of the regions of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the east of Alberta they are a very dry environment along the year. 

                                               MONTHLY AVERATE TEMPERATURE

        ● Temperature in Celsius degrees.

- ECONOMY

One of the advantages of Canada is that it has a very diversified economy. Because of its vast territory it has many natural resources, such as forests (paper, wood, building) mining industry, iron, gold, diamonds, oil, natural gas, agriculture. Another great advantage is that Canada is a great trade affiliate of The United States. Both countries share a similar life-style, and have a long and close relationship, thanks to the Free Trade Agreement. On the other hand, Canada is an industrialised and self-sufficient nation regarding energy. It owes hydrocarbons deposits and generates nuclear and hydroelectric power (the first electric plant in the world was in the area of Niagara). Canada is a world leader in some fields such as telecommunications, biotechnology and in pharmaceutical industries.

Canada is one of 8 principal industrialized nations of the world, having also experienced a notable growth in the sectors of high technology. The majority of its manufacturing industries are located in Ontario and Québec. The most important sector of this industry is shaped by the production of parts for vehicles that are exported to the United States and vehicles for internal commerce, both for American companies (Ford, General Motor) and Japanese (Sling, Toyota). Other manufacturing important sectors include those of food and drinks, paper and related products, primary metals, processed metals and petrochemical and chemical products.

The economies of the regions of the Atlantic Ocean, of the Prairies and of the Pacific Ocean are principally based on natural resources. The provinces of the Atlantic Ocean focus on fishing, forest resources and mining, whereas the provinces of the Prairies depend on agriculture and on mineral fuels. Fromthe fertile prairies of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, thousands of tons of food and agricultural products are exported to the whole world. The main sectors in British Columbia are the forest, mining, and the tour industries. Canada also is provided with remarkable tour industry and it is the place where many students from the whole world come to study English.

Canadian agriculture is one of the modern and industrialised in the world. This level of sophistication allows for a highest agricultural productivity that compensates the little time available per year to cultivate the land, due to the bad weather conditions in the rest of the year. During the agricultural period (May to September) thousands of agricultural workpeople of several parts of the world (specially from Mexico, Jamaica and India) come to Canada to be employed at the sowing, care and compilation of the crops.

● MAIN CANADIAN EXPORTS

-           Industrial Products and Machinery, Automotive parts

-          Hi tech products, Telecommunications. Medical equipment.

-          Pharmaceutical Products, Medicaments

-          Foods, Wheat, Potatoes, Corn, Soy, Meat, Beans, Fruits

-          Oil and derived Products, and otehr sources of energy

-          Forest Products, such as paper and wood

-          Minerals. Aluminium, Manganesiom, Gold. diamonds

● MAIN IMPORTS INTO CANADA

-          Raw materials, Copper, Steel

-          Foods, Tropical fruits, Coffee, Bananos

-          Clothing and Textiles

-          Industrial Machinery

-          Industrial Materials

-          Chemical Products

-          Vehicles

Canada keeps very good commercial and cultural relationships with many countries in the world. The main trade associates are United States of America, Japan, United Kingdom (England), China, India, Australia and Mexico. Nevertheless, Canadian trade is related to many other countries, included Cuba, country that is an important destination for Canadian tourists in the Caribbean.

-  HISTORY

The first inhabitants of Canadian lands arrived approximately 20,000 years ago from Asia, crossing the Bering Strait, which joins both continents and can be crossed over on foot.

It is said that the first European explorers in these lands were the Vikings, who came from Scandinavia. By the year 1000 northerly explorers, supervised by Lief Ericsson, son of Erik the Red, came up to the island of Terranova.

Some centuries later, in 1497 the Italian navigator Giovanni Cabot (1450 - 1499) explored the islands and the Atlantic coast under the service of the British crown, taking possession of the island of Terranova as part of the English lands..

The first French explorers came to Quebec in 1534 and it was Jacques Cartier who first tamed the land  on behalf of France, founding Old Fort Bay on Lower North Shore. Cartier sailed the river St. Lawrance and founded the first European colony in the area where the City of Quebec is at present, in the lands where the Iroquoians were inhabiting. Very soon the French named the territory as New France, turning it in a French province.

The city of Quebec was founded in 1606 by Champlain, turning very soon into an important area  of trade with the Algonkian and Huran. Soon, the Frenchmen did alliance with these two groups and, militarily close, they fought against the Iroquois and the English. Quebec was also turned into an important Catholic area, and the starting point from which the exploration of the Northern parts of the continent began, on the part of the French. In 1663 the province of New France turned into a Royal Province, with its own council, under king Luis XIV of France. The population grew rapidly and, by 1760, more than 50.000 persons living there and cultivated the lands in the valley of the river St. Lawrence, who begun to be called “Canadiens “ or inhabitants.

Diverse wars and battles were fought between  1754 and 1759, leading the defeated France to delivering the control of the territory to  the English, in 1759. They changed the name of New France into that of Province of Quebec.

With the impulse of the American revolution on the south, the English were afraid that the French speaking inhabitants of Quebec may rebel and join the rebel forces of Washington. To get ready, they created the Act of Quebec, by which they gave official recognition to both the French language and culture.

The act also allowed the Canadians to support his Roman Catholic religion and the civil French law. Later, with the victory of the American revolution, Quebec had to give in the lands on the South (Northern States of the USA). More than 50.000 defeated "loyalists", loyal to England, emigrated from the United States and settled down in what now it is Ontario and the East area of Quebec, beginning this way the English important presence, earlier only French.

  In 1837 the French and English Canadians together raised their weapons against the English, in an attempt to finish their domain in Canada. After some battles and victories, the Canadians wrote their conditions to the British Parliament to continue under its control.

Canadian Confederation.  Origen

The Confederation was started in 1867. The British states in North America and Canada joined in a confederacy. Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Terranova started to belong to it.

In 1870, the province of Manitoba and the Territories on the Northeast joined. In 1871 British Columbia joins Canada on the condition that a railroad is constructed to connect the East to the West. This project turns into in a colossal work, especially for the difficult topography of the Rocky Mountains. Thousands of Asian workers, especially Chinese arrived in Canada in order to develop this important work that would be the spine of the country and would allow the union and communication among the different provinces. In 1885, the railroad is finished. It joins Canada from Halifax, on the Atlantic Ocean, with Vancouver, on the Pacific Ocean.

In 1873 the province of Prince Edward Island joins the Confederacy. In 1898, Yukon is constituted a separated territory, and takes preponderance thanks to the fever of gold and many people go to try their luck in this cold region. In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan get to be provinces, separating from the Northeast Territories. Terranova was the last province to join Canada.

In the decade of 1960 movements began to appear in strong Quebec in favour of the separation of this province from the rest of Canada and then form a French independent nation. This fact has triggered several political thunderstorms in the country. In 1977 the province of Quebec imposed French as its official language. Numerous political changes in the constitution and laws have been made with the aim to keep Canada and Quebec together.

In October, 1995, with the party Quebecois in the power, a referendum was conducted to vote if Quebec had to get separate or keep joined to Canada. The result was favoured the non-separation party for the smallest margin (50.6 % NOT to 49.4 % YES). The topic regarding the separation of the province of Quebec has not ended yet, and new reforms and discussions are foreseen.

- SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

Canada is a federation, ruled by a parliamentary democratic system. This means that there are three levels of government: federal, provincial and territorial or municipal.

The federal government takes charge of the biggest responsibilities on the matters that affect the whole Canada. This government is responsible for:

 -          Defending the country

-          Exterior Politics and relationships with other countries

-          Banks and economy

-          Postal Service

-          Crime Laws

-          Immigration

-          Citizenship

The Provincial government is responsible for:

-          Education

-          Municipal Institutions

-          Health Care Services

-          Agriculture

-          Transportation

-          Environment

The municipal government is in charge of:

-          Police and Fire Brigade

-          Water, aqueducts and sewer system

-          Local Transportation

- LANGUAGES

 Canada is a country where diverse cultures and religions of all parts of the world coexist. Out of its 33 million inhabitants, about an 18 % were born in another country. English and French are the official languages, but more than 150 different languages are spoken in the country.

                       Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census

                   Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 Census

- EDUCATION

Canada counts on public free education from kindergarten up to high school, where most Canadians attend. In all the provinces, excepting Quebec, most schools are in English (anglophone). Also, there are some francophone schools, whose education is in French. There is also a group of private schools, where students pay for their education.

All schools must follow the same programs and texts of the Ministry of Education, Therefore, in theory, the quality of education is more or less homogeneous. The difference between the public and Catholic schools is only the Catholic orientation and the religious topics that are taught in the above mentioned.

Children are assigned to their corresponding grade in accordance with age. This way for example, if a kid is 6, he will be assigned to grade 1 or, if he is 12, to grade 7. This way, all children of the same age will be in the same course

●  KINDERGARDEN – PRE-SCHOOL

This is the first stage in the educational system and its aim is to acquaint the students with his partners and teachers in a school stimulant ambience. It serves to prepare children to begin successfully their elementary education. It is not compulsory and it is available for every child in the province. Students attend pre-school in one of the following ways:

• Part Time, for children four year old.

• Full Time, for children five years old.

● ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Every child of  6 or those who turn 6 before October 1st, must be enrolled on elementary school. It is not a requisite to have attended pre-school. Elementary education in Canada goes from grade 1 to grade 8. Classes begin in the first week of September and finish in the last week of June. IN general terms, schools request that parents take part in the education and the school life of their children.

IMPORTANT: The students from other countries to Canada can have access to complementary classes of English (ESL) to improve their performance in the language and integrate rapidly into the educational system.

 ● HIGH SCHOOL

 After the 8 elementary forms, the student will go on his education in high school. Its aim is to prepare the student for the post-secondary education or for a future job.

The student is free to choose some areas of interest. Students also have the alternative of taking one of the different programs that will allow him /her to acquire some knowledge in a specific craft, called vocational training.

Courses have three levels of difficulty:

• Basic, focused basically towards employment.

• General, preparing the student for COLLEGE or for employment.

• Advanced, which prepares the student for university education or any special college.

● COLLEGE

The general program of high school or secondary education allows the student to attend college courses of studies, the first step of higher education. Colleges, both public and private, offer students the following alternatives:

• Two-year pre-university studies as a preparation for a university education.

• Three-year Technical Studies that allow them to get a certificate as Technicians or Technologists

● UNIVERSITIES

The requirements to start university education change in accordance with the program or career chosen and the educational institution. To enter to a professional program generally it is needed to have the most advanced level and high academic performance. The university courses are organised in several levels. The first professional level is named Undergraduate study, and they grant the professional grades of Bachelor's degree. (The bachelor degree is the equivalent to a university grade in many countries, such as the ones to be a Lawyer, Doctor in Medicine or Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Civil Engineer, etc, with regular duration of 10 semesters of full time studies.

The second university level of education is achieved by getting a Master Degree and the third level, by getting a PhD. degree

- RELIGION EN CANADA

●  Big religious Groups

● Religion per Churches

Maclean's Religion Poll (April 19, 1998)

- HEALTH IN CANADA

In Canada all citizens and residents are covered by health plan protecting them in case of needing medical assistance. This plan is run by the government of every province and, in  general terms, offers the following services:

-                    Health Care and services

-                    Hospitalisation

-                    Specialised Treatments

It does not cover the following services:

-                    Dentist Services

-                    Drugs and medicaments

-                    Cosmetic o stetic surgery

● Family Doctors: Everyone in Canada  may have a free family doctor. To lear nore about the health system in Canada and Ontario, visit the following links

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/program/ohip/ohip_mn.html

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/index_e.html

- SOCIAL SECURITY AND ASSISTANCE IN CANADA

There are various programs by the federal, provincial and municipal government that help the families who need it most, especially to children in Canada. In addition to the completely free elementary and high-school education, the family has right to receive economic help and assistance while they find a job. The following ones are the most common benefits:

-          Canada Child Tax Benefit.

-          Universal Child Care Benefit

-          Social Assistance – Ontario Welfare Program

-          Employment Insurance

-           Food Banks

● CANADA CHILD TAX BENEFIT – CCTB

In Ontario and in all the provinces, families with younger children under 18 and those who have a low income, can benefit from financial help from the province and from the state, to satisfy their basic needs. As permanent residents in Ontario, immigrant families have the right to receive this help from his arrival. The federal program of help is known as Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) and it is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency. By means of this program the government gives economical assistance to the mothers of kids under age, until these turn 18. The amount per child varies according to the family annual income, the number of children, the age of every child, and the general situation of the family. There is additional help in case of children with physical or mental limitations or handicaps.

Annual maximum CCTB for the July 2006 to June 2007 benefit year for families with net incomes below $20,435 in 2005

● UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE BENEFIT – UCCB

From July, 2006, the Universal Child Care Benefit was implemented – UCCB - in order to help  mothers with children under 6. This help has the aim to recognise the work of upbringing children and to stimulate mothers in this work, by helping economically. The UCCB is a monthly payment of $ 100 for every child under 6.

● SUBSIDIZED CHILD-CARE 

For families that have children where both parents work, take courses, etc. a child-care centre may be necessary for taking care of their children. If parents cannot afford the cost, they might be eligible to obtain a benefit known as “subsidised child-care”. For more information consult the Ministry of Social Community and Services.

● ONTARIO WELFARE PROGRAM – (Welfare)

In Canada, families have the support of the government to guarantee the minimal well-being of his citizens, especially of CHILDREN, when parents are unemployed or going through a bad economical situation. There are assistance programs from the Ministry of Community to and Social Services, form the province of Ontario and the city of Toronto for resident families. The program called “Ontario Works” provides economical and job assistance to those who need it temporarily, and the program also provides them with a temporary occupation.