Canada – General info

Geography
Canada is a country of almost unimaginable proportions. It is the second largest country in the world with a size of 10 million square kilometers. This makes Canada 28 times larger than Germany. If all the lakes of Canada were to be combined, they would correspond to twice the area of Germany. The coastline of Canada measures around 58,000 km. The extension from north to south is = 5,500 km and from west to east = 4,600 km.

Economy
Canada has a highly developed economy and has enormous mineral resources with huge energy reserves. The main trading partners are the USA. This is followed by the Commonwealth, the EU, Japan and the CIS. Commodity trading is Canada’s great strength. The manufacturing industry in the east of the country is the main source of income. As a result, almost a third of Canadians live in the metropolitan areas around Ontario and Quebec. The service director is the fastest growing sector.

Politics
Canada is a federalist state with a separation of powers between the national government and the governments of the ten individual provinces.

Religion
The population is 88% Christian, of which 47% are Roman Catholic and 41% belong to the many different Protestant denominations. In addition, due to the high immigration rate, there are various other faiths such as: Buddhists, Muslims, Mennorites, Mormons, Greeks, etc.

Population
Around 30 million people live in Canada. That is not even half as much as in Germany. Two-thirds live in the eastern provinces. The largest city is Toronto. 4.3 million people live here alone. The second largest city is Montreal (3.4 million), followed by Vancouver with 1.8 million inhabitants. Ottawa, the capital, is home to about 1.0 million people. This means that there are 3 Canadians per square kilometer. 77% of Canadians live in the big cities. Canada is a classic immigration country. However, due to the pool of nations, the problems are also increasing more and more.

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

If you go further north, the seasons of spring and autumn are shorter and all the more so the further north you go. Here, these seasons are 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° Celsius are often found in the southern regions of Canada due to the warm air fronts from the Gulf of Mexico. In the northern parts of the country, however, summer temperatures average +15° during the day. These can drop to below freezing at night.

In winter, temperatures drop to an average of -5° to + 10° in the south and +5° to -40° in the north of the country.

On British Columbia’s milder southern Pacific coast, temperatures tend to stay above freezing. In winter, heavy snowfall can be found in all parts of the country except Nova Scotia.

Canada’s animal species find a rich habitat in the large forest areas.

It is home to numerous smaller animal species such as rabbits, hares, squirrels and foxes, but also the larger species such as bears, moose and porcupines.

Forest buffalo still live in the national parks. Mountain sheep and goats hide in the mountain forests. In addition, Waipiti deer can be found. Even the grizzly bears, which weigh up to 800 kilos, can be found there.

The northern areas on the edge of the Arctic are home to numerous fur animal species such as ermines, minks, wolverines and wolves.

Caribou and musk oxen live in the subarctic. The caribou live in large herds with often several hundred thousand animals. In summer, millions of migratory birds can be found here.

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

But this enormous population of wild animals should not hide the fact that resources are limited even here.

Fish stocks in the richest fishing grounds on earth, the continental shelf off the coast of Newfoundland, are already declining alarmingly.

The game population in the forests is steadily decreasing. The exploitation of the rainforest native to the west coast of Canada further limits the habitat of wild animals.

The pollution of the large lakes has reached such severe proportions due to industrial use that only 2% of the total lake population still has drinking water quality.

However, there has already been a rethink in the use of nature. Deforestation has recently been subject to strict quotas. Tougher environmental laws are intended to reduce the poisoning of waters.

The future will show to what extent these measures will be sufficient to reverse the negative trend.

Half of Canada’s area is covered with forests. In southwestern Ontario you can find partly pure deciduous forest.

In the area of the large lakes, mixed forest predominates. This consists of beeches, oaks, elms, firs and pines, not to forget the maple (sugar maple), which is needed to obtain the maple syrup.

In the northern regions there is an approximately 6000-kilometre-long belt of pure coniferous forest, consisting of firs, spruces and pines. The largest forest area on earth is located here. At an altitude of 2000 meters above the tree line, this merges into alpine flora.

In the rainy areas of the west coast there is a veritable tropical forest. Ferns and giant cedar trees also have their stock here.

In the south of the country, prairie grass predominates due to the long dry seasons in the prairies. This can store rainwater with its close-meshed roots and thus prevent soil erosion. In some coastal areas you can even find cacti.

High in the north of the country, there is no extensive tree population due to the cold winters and permafrost. Here are mainly crippled spruces and willows.

In the tundra of the north, only alpine flowers and grasses as well as lichens can be found.

Early history – The first settlement took place about 15,000 years ago over a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska.

around 1000 – The Vikings briefly settle in Newfoundland.

1497 – John Cabots (Giovanni Caboto of Venice – in British service) lands in Labrador or Newfoundland.

1534/35 – Jacques Cartier carries out a land grab for France on the Gaspésie peninsula and the upper St. Lawrence River.

1608 – Quebec City and Montreal are founded (1642) by the French (Samuel de Champlain and de Maisonneuve).

1663 – the settlement areas are united to form the colony “Nouvelle France”.

1670 – The Hudson’s Bay Company is founded by English aristocrats: English settlers come in the following period. This leads to Anglo-French rivalries and disputes over fishing rights and the fur trade.

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

01.07.1867 – “Canada” is elevated to the “Dominion of Canada” by the British North America Act together with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and expanded between 1870 and 1905 to include the provinces of Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and in 1949 Newfoundland (after referendum).

1931 – Canada is granted Dominion status (Westminster Statute)

1980 – Quebec referendum results in the province remaining with Canada.

17.04.1982 – Canada receives its full sovereignty (Canada Act of the British Parliament). The new constitution also applies to the province of Québec.

1987 – Meech Lake Agreement is signed. This is a reform project by the conservative Mulroney government regarding the status of Quebec (failed in 1990 due to rejection by the provinces of Manitoba and Newfoundland).

10/26/1992 – A referendum reveals that 54% of Canadians – including a majority in Quebec – oppose the Charlottetown Accord, a concept to strengthen the provinces and create a special status for Quebec.

1993 – The separatist Bloc Québécois wins the federal elections (the strongest opposition party in the federal parliament with 54 seats).>

30.10.1995 – a second referendum is held on the question of Quebec’s independence: the result is a narrow majority in favour of remaining with Canada (50.6 to 49.4%).

01.04.1999 – the Territory of Nunavut is established

28.06.2004 – The result of the federal elections: minority government of the Liberals led by Prime Minister Paul Martin

Some believe that in Canada there are only hamburgers, beefsteak and cardboard coffee. That’s not true.

Canadians, for example, are real artists in preparing tasty salads.

They create wonderful desserts.

There are a wide variety of “burgers” that are related to the hamburger only in name.

Immigrants from Italy, India, China, etc. imported their cuisine.

So you can find many specialty restaurants from these countries in almost all places in Canada.

A special feature in Canada are the so-called “free refills” of cheap drinks such as coffee or soft drinks.

In the big cities, there are thousands of offers of memorably delicious cuisine. Urban food lovers frequent bistros, eateries and cafes that offer everything from home cooking in usually full eateries to gourmet masterpieces in the posh restaurants.