Canada – General info

Canada – General Information

Geography Canada is a country of almost unimaginable proportions. It is the second largest country in the world after Russia, with an area of around 9.98 million square kilometres – making Canada about 28 times the size of Germany. If all of Canada’s lakes were combined, their area would correspond to about twice the area of Germany. Canada’s coastline measures around 243,000 km (including all islands and bays; the pure mainland coast around 58,000 km) and is thus considered the longest coastline in the world. The extension from north to south is around 5,500 km, from west to east about 5,500–5,800 km.

Economy Canada has a highly developed economy with enormous mineral resources and huge energy reserves (including oil, especially from the oil sands of Alberta, natural gas, hydropower and important mineral and metal deposits). The most important trading partner continues to be the USA, followed by China, other EU countries and Japan. Commodity trade remains a major strength of Canada, while the manufacturing industry is concentrated mainly in the east of the country – accordingly, a significant proportion of Canadians live in the metropolitan areas around Ontario and Québec. Today, the service sector is by far the largest and fastest growing economic sector in Canada.

Politics Canada is a federalist state with a separation of powers between the national government and the governments of the ten provinces and three territories. Canada is a parliamentary monarchy in the Commonwealth; the formal head of state is the British monarch (currently King Charles III), represented by the Governor General. Current Prime Minister: Mark Carney (Liberal Party), in office since March 2025 – a former central bank governor (including the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England) who replaced his predecessor Justin Trudeau.

Religion About two-thirds of the population consists of Christians, the majority of whom are Roman Catholic (especially in Québec) and members of various Protestant religious communities. The proportion of non-denominational Canadians has risen significantly in recent decades and now accounts for a significant proportion of the population. Due to the high immigration rate, numerous other faiths are also represented, including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists as well as Jewish and other communities.

Population Around 40 to 41.6 million people live in Canada today (as of 2026) – significantly more than the 30 million often mentioned in the past, due to persistently high immigration in the last two decades. Most Canadians continue to live in a narrow strip along the border with the USA and in the two most populous provinces of Ontario and Québec.

The largest city or conurbation is Toronto with around 5.6 to 6.3 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, followed by Montreal (around 4.3 million) and Vancouver (around 2.6 million). In Ottawa, the capital, there are around 1.4 million people living in the metropolitan area. The population density is only around 4 inhabitants per square kilometre, one of the lowest in the world. Around 80% of Canadians live in cities. Canada remains a classic immigration country with multiculturalism enshrined in the constitution since 1971; however, the balance between immigration, the housing market and infrastructure expansion is an increasingly discussed issue in domestic politics.

Canada – Entry and Visa

German, Austrian and Swiss nationals do not need a classic visa to enter Canada by air, but they must apply for an eTA (Electronic Travel Authorization) before departure if they are entering for tourism or business purposes for up to 6 months. The eTA is applied for online through the official website (canada.ca), costs 7 Canadian dollars and is usually valid for up to 5 years or until the passport expires, with entitlement to multiple entries.

The prerequisite is a valid, machine-readable passport. If you are entering the country by land (e.g. from the USA) or for certain travel purposes (e.g. long-term stays, work, studies), a regular visa is required instead of the eTA.

The use of unofficial third-party websites that charge excessive fees for the eTA application is not recommended – the application should only be made via the official government website. Since entry requirements can change at short notice, it is advisable to take a look at the current information from the Federal Foreign Office and the Canadian government before each trip.

Canada – Climate

Canada’s climate is divided into arctic and temperate zones due to its continental location. Most of the country has distinctive, dry-hot summers and very cold, mostly sunny winters. These seasons last at least five months each.

The further north you go, the shorter spring and autumn are – in the northern regions, these transitional seasons are often limited to two to three months. In winter, the Arctic climate with its cold air fronts is noticeable far into the southern parts of the country.

In summer, temperatures of up to +35 °C are often reached in the southern regions of Canada due to warm air fronts from the Gulf of Mexico. In the northern parts of the country, summer temperatures average +15 °C during the day and can drop below freezing at night.

In winter, temperatures average between -5 °C and +10 °C in the south, and between +5 °C and -40 °C in the north. On the milder southern Pacific coast of British Columbia, temperatures usually remain above freezing. In winter, heavy snowfall is common in almost all parts of the country, with the exception of some milder coastal regions such as parts of Nova Scotia.

Canada – Fauna

Canada’s animal species find rich habitats in the large forest areas. Numerous smaller species such as rabbits, hares, squirrels and foxes live here, but also larger species such as bears, moose and porcupines.

Forest bison still live in the national parks. Mountain sheep and goats stay in the mountain forests, and elk deer can also be found here. The grizzly bears, which weigh up to 800 kg, can also be found here.

The northern areas on the edge of the Arctic are home to numerous furry species such as ermines, minks, wolverines and wolves. Caribou and musk oxen live in the subarctic – caribou live in large herds, historically with several hundred thousand animals, although some herds have shrunk significantly in recent decades and are now under special observation. In summer, millions of migratory birds can also be found.

Polar bears, seals, walruses and whales live off the Arctic coast.

However, this enormous wildlife population should not obscure the fact that resources are limited: The fish stocks on the continental shelf off Newfoundland, once one of the richest fishing grounds on earth, have not fully recovered since the collapse of cod stocks in the 1990s. The game population in some forest regions is under pressure due to habitat loss, as well as due to the progressive use of coastal rainforests on the west coast.

Environmental protection and sustainable resource use have gained significant political importance in Canada in recent decades: deforestation is now subject to stricter quotas and certification systems, and environmental legislation aims to further reduce the pressure on water bodies and Great Lakes – although significant challenges remain.

Canada – Flora

About half of Canada’s area is covered with forests. In southwestern Ontario, you can find some pure deciduous forest.

In the Great Lakes area, mixed forest predominates, consisting of beeches, oaks, elms, firs and pines, plus the sugar maple, which is used to extract maple syrup.

In the northern regions, an approximately 6,000 km long belt of pure coniferous forest (firs, spruces, pines) stretches – the Canadian Boreal Forest Zone, one of the largest contiguous forest areas on earth. At an altitude of about 2,000 m, this merges into alpine flora above the tree line.

In the rainy areas of the west coast, there is a veritable temperate rainforest with ferns and giant cedars (Western Red Cedar).

In the south of the country, prairie grass predominates due to the long dry seasons in the prairies, whose close-meshed roots store rainwater and counteract soil erosion. In some drier coastal and inland areas, there are even cacti.

Further north, due to the cold winters and permafrost, there is no longer an extensive tree population – crippled spruce and willow dominate here. In the tundra of the far north, only alpine flowers, grasses and lichens can be found.

Canada – History

Early history: According to current research, the first human settlement of North America took place around 15,000 to over 20,000 years ago, probably via a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska and along the Pacific coast.

Around 1000: Nordic seafarers (Vikings) briefly settle on Newfoundland (L’Anse aux Meadows) – the first known, albeit short-lived, European presence in North America.

1497: John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto of Venice, in British service) lands in Labrador or Newfoundland.

1534/35: Jacques Cartier takes possession of the Gaspésie peninsula and the upper St. Lawrence River for France.

1608: Quebec City is founded, followed by Montreal in 1642 – both by the French (Samuel de Champlain and Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve).

1663: Merger of the settlement areas into the colony “Nouvelle-France”.

1670: Founding of the Hudson’s Bay Company by English nobles; as a result, English settlers come to the country, which leads to Anglo-French rivalries over fishing rights and fur trade.

1840: Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada) are united to form the self-governing “Province of Canada”.

July 1, 1867: Canada is elevated to the Dominion of Canada by the British North America Act, along with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, subsequently expanded to include Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, and Saskatchewan (1870–1905), and Newfoundland in 1949 after a referendum.

1931: With the Statute of Westminster, Canada receives Dominion status full of foreign policy sovereignty.

1980: A first referendum in Quebec on sovereignty fails; the province remains with Canada.

April 17, 1982: Canada receives full constitutional sovereignty with the Canada Act of the British Parliament; the new constitution also applies to Quebec.

1987: The Meech Lake Agreement, a reform project of the conservative Mulroney government on the special status of Quebec, fails in 1990 due to rejection by Manitoba and Newfoundland.

1992: A referendum rejects the Charlottetown Accord, a concept for strengthening the provinces and granting special status to Quebec, by 54%.

1995: A second independence referendum in Quebec ends very narrowly with a majority of 50.6% in favor of remaining with Canada.

1999: Creation of the territory of Nunavut.

In the 21st century, Prime Ministers Paul Martin (2003–2006), Stephen Harper (2006–2015) and Justin Trudeau (2015–2025) ruled successively, whose ten-year term in office was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate policy and rising tensions in relations with the US, among other things. After Trudeau’s resignation, former central bank governor Mark Carney took over the leadership of the Liberal Party and the office of prime minister in March 2025; he won the early federal election in 2025 shortly afterwards and has since led a government whose policies are strongly influenced by the question of how Canada can reduce its economic and security dependence on the US in the face of an increasingly confrontational US trade policy.

Canada – Food & Drink

Some believe that in Canada there is only hamburger, beefsteak and thin coffee. This is not true.

The Canadians, for example, are real experts in preparing tasty salads and also create wonderful desserts. There are a wide variety of “burgers”, which are often related to the classic hamburger only in name.

Immigrants from countries such as Italy, India, China and many others have imported and developed the local cuisine – accordingly, you will find numerous specialty restaurants in almost all Canadian cities, complemented by a lively modern Canadian cuisine that reinterprets regional ingredients (including wild salmon, bison meat, maple syrup).

A Canadian peculiarity is the so-called “free refills” for cheap drinks such as filter coffee or soft drinks – this practice is no longer a matter of course everywhere, but is still widespread in many diners and cafés outside the big cities.

There are thousands of memorably delicious cuisine on offer in the big cities. City dwellers with a taste for good food frequent bistros, eateries and cafés that offer everything from hearty comfort food in busy eateries to gourmet masterpieces in upscale restaurants.

Note: All information on population figures, political offices and entry requirements is subject to change and has been researched to the best of our knowledge as of August 2026. For up-to-date, binding information on the eTA/entry, it is advisable to take a look at canada.ca as well as the travel and security advice of the Federal Foreign Office before travelling.