Portal:Canada
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Introduction
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. It is a sparsely inhabited country of just over 41 million people, with the majority residing in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and gender equality. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history, economy, and culture.
A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)
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The Accurate News and Information Act (complete title: An Act to Ensure the Publication of Accurate News and Information) was a statute passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada, in 1937, at the instigation of William Aberhart's Social Credit government. It would have required newspapers to print "clarifications" of stories that a committee of Social Credit legislators deemed inaccurate, and to reveal their sources on demand. (Full article...)
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Angus Lewis Macdonald PC QC (August 10, 1890 – April 13, 1954), popularly known as 'Angus L.', was a Canadian lawyer, law professor and politician from Nova Scotia. He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to 1940, when he became the federal minister of defence for naval services. He oversaw the creation of an effective Canadian navy and Allied convoy service during World War II. After the war, he returned to Nova Scotia to become premier again. In the election of 1945, his Liberals returned to power while their main rivals, the Conservatives, failed to win a single seat. The Liberal rallying cry, "All's Well With Angus L.," was so effective that the Conservatives despaired of ever beating Macdonald. He died in office in 1954. (Full article...)
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The Trans-Canada Highway (French: Route Transcanadienne; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast. The main route spans 7,476 km (4,645 mi) across the country, one of the longest routes of its type in the world. The highway system is recognizable by its distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route markers, although there are small variations in the markers in some provinces. (Full article...)
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Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Medicare. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984, and is universal. The 2002 Royal Commission, known as the Romanow Report, revealed that Canadians consider universal access to publicly funded health services as a "fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country." (Full article...)
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Current events
- October 24, 2024 –
- Four people are killed and one other is seriously injured when a Tesla car crashes into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar at high speed after losing control causing a fire in Toronto, Canada. (CTV News Toronto)
- October 15, 2024 –
- The Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is designated as a terrorist group by the Canadian government and is sanctioned by the U.S. government, due to the group's alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (CTV News)
- October 10, 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The World Bank approves a new financial intermediary fund consisting of grants from the United States, Japan, Canada, and other countries coupled with interest from frozen Russian assets to give to Ukraine as part of a $50 billion loan. (Reuters)
- October 4, 2024 –
- At least two people are killed and three others are injured, including one critically, in a suspected arson at a 100-year-old three-story building in the Old Montreal neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (CBC News) (CFCF-TV)
- A woman from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is arrested and charged with murder following a stabbing spree that killed three people in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton between Tuesday and Thursday. (CFTO-TV)
- September 25, 2024 –
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau survives a no-confidence vote by a vote of 211–119. (BBC News)
Did you know -
- ... that a journalists' poll rated Billy Fitzgerald the second-best Canadian lacrosse player of the first half of the 20th century?
- ... that Oakwood Cemetery contains the graves of Confederate soldiers and officers, English, Canadian, and French World War II pilots, and Hank Williams?
- ... that the mainland portion of Lake of the Woods Provincial Park in northwestern Ontario, Canada, was deregulated as part of a First Nations land claim settlement?
- ... that the Canadian House of Commons held a take-note debate on the discovery of the graves of more than 200 Indigenous children near Kamloops Indian Residential School in 2021?
- ... that journalist Charles Edwards relayed a report by The Canadian Press on the torpedoing of SS Athenia without comment, even though his father was aboard the ship?
- ... that before the House of Commons of Canada considers a taxation or spending bill, a royal recommendation has to be given by the governor general?
- ... that Canadian poets Milton Acorn, Margaret Atwood, and Gwendolyn MacEwen performed at the Bohemian Embassy on the same bill as burlesque dancer Libby Jones?
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The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" to members of the British armed forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command although no civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. (Full article...)
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