Canada: Background

	Canada has two mountain ranges: the Pacific Range and the Rocky Mountains.

Canada is the world's second largest country, with 3,849,674 square miles. It has ten provinces and two territories and stretches from the icy, rugged polar north to prairie, farmland, and cities in the south. From the Atlantic to the Pacific, Canada is wide enough coast to coast to have six time zones. Its climates range from frozen icecaps in the Arctic north with glaciers and polar bears to the farmlands of Saskatchewan and the green forests of British Columbia.

Canada has one of the most multicultural populations on earth. You can see Ukrainian folk dances in Alberta, French plays in Quebec, or the Chinese New Year parade in Vancouver. There are Native people who came here many thousands of years ago and many ethnic groups who immigrated during the 19th and 20th centuries. While the country has age-old cultures, such as that of the Inuit — the Eskimo people of Canada — immigrants continue to come here today. They are drawn by Canada's reputation for being open to different peoples.

Canada has two official languages, English and French. Even though it is one nation, the country has faced some major disagreements: Many people in Quebec, for example, want to secede and set up their own country. Canada is a democracy; people settle such differences peacefully, through voting and debating the issues, whether it is in the tribal assemblies of Native people or the halls of parliament.

History Highlights
10,000 to 30,000 years ago: Native people arrive in North America. Some settle in Canada while others go to other parts of the Americas.

1,000 A.D. (approximate): Vikings reach the Atlantic coast of Canada and settle for a time in Newfoundland.

1608: Samuel de Champlain founds settlement of Kebec, known as Quebec City today.

1896: Discovery of gold sets off the Klondike Gold Rush.

1918: Women win the right to vote in federal elections.

1962: Canada becomes the third nation in space, with the launch of the Alouette 1.

1999: A new territory will be created in far northern Canada called Nunavut. The Inuit people won the right to the land on which their ancestors lived.

And Did You Know That...

• over 15,000 years ago, most of Canada was covered by great sheets of ice?
  
• singer Celine Dion, actor William Shatner of Star Trek fame, Pamela Anderson of TV's Baywatch, and hockey star Wayne Gretzky are from Canada?
  
• as many as 100 different bird species have been spotted in a single day at Point Pelee National Park, Ontario?
  
• western red cedars are the oldest trees in Canada? Found in British Columbia, they are 1,300 years old.
  
• if you look at a map of North America, Winnipeg looks like it is right in the middle? It is only 186 miles from the geographic center of the continent!
  
• Bugs Bunny was created and named by Charles Thorason of Winnipeg, Canada, in 1940?
  
• on Feb. 3, 1947, the temperature in Snag, Yukon Territory, dropped to –81°F (–63°C), the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada?
  

Tour Canada From Space
http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/ccrs/learn/tour/tour_e.html
Take a tour of Canada from space! View satellite images and learn more about the varied regions, climates, and environments that together make up Canada!

Fun Things to Do in Canada
http://travelwithkids.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?
site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.travelforkids.com%2FFuntodo%2FCanada%2Fcanada.htm
Learn about fun things to do in every region of Canada.

The Ontario Premier's Web Site
http://www.kids.premier.gov.on.ca/english/
Tour Ontario with Max the Moose. Learn history, tour Queens Park, meet kids who work in government, and play games.

The Inuit
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/arctic/inuit/people.htm
Learn about the economy, harvesting, and land agreements with settlers of Canada's first residents.