Introduction

Canada is a country of tremendous contrasts. It is almost 10 million km² in area making it one of the largest countries in the world. Its population of 30 million is almost half of that of the United Kingdom and these figures give us a clear picture of a huge, almost empty country. For much of Canada this is true with almost 90% of the land being uninhabited and 30% of all Canadians living in just the three cities of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

• Total Land Area: 9,215,430 km²
• Continent: North America
• Capital City: Ottawa
• Highest Point: Mt. Logan (5,959m)
• Population: 30,286.6 million

30% of all Canadians live in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. Click on the city to see photographs.

Contents

(Selecting the 'Useful facts' part of the link will take you straight to the summary at the bottom of the selected page.)

• Canada - More facts

• Canada - The Province of Quebec

• Landscape / Useful facts
• Climate / Useful facts
• Natural Resources / Useful facts
• Agriculture & fishing / Useful facts
• Industry & Trade / Useful facts
• Transport / Useful facts
• Population & immigration / Useful facts
• Daily Life / Useful facts
• Government / Useful facts
• The Environment / Useful facts

• Web Links

• Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia.

• Its population of 30 million is only half that of the United Kingdom.

• It has a population density of 3.2 per km² compared with 237 per km² in the United Kingdom.

• Canada ranks seventh in the world's industrial countries after the USA, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.

• Canada is rich in minerals and other natural resources such as timber.

• It is a country with high incomes and low population which has resulted in low levels of pollution and high quality health and education systems.

• In 1994, it was ranked by the United Nations as the best country in the world in which to live.

• Although it was once a British colony and is still a member of the Commonwealth, the main influence is from the USA.

• The province of Quebec has over 80% of the population speaking French as a first language.

The Province of Quebec

The province of Quebec, with 82% of the population speaking French as a first language, has been given increasing powers to run its own affairs independent of the rest of Canada but, as in Scotland, there is strong pressure for complete independence. Because of the geography of the country this move would be very divisive cutting off the eastern provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland from the rest of Canada. As well as the splitting up of the country, independence for Quebec would mean partly destroying Canada as a nation and the situation seems likely to continue for many years before a solution is found.

The other major problem facing Canada is the relationship with the USA. The two countries share the longest undefended border in the world, almost 9000km from east to west with free access in each direction. With the United States having ten times the number of inhabitants as Canada the fear is that Canada will become almost another American state. American influence on the media, industry and way of life is so strong that, for many Canadians, this is as severe a problem as relations between Quebec and the rest of the country.

The province of Quebec