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"Mathias Boesch" <mathias_boesch@hotmail.com>

CANADA

History

Canada’s first inhabitants arrived 30.000 years ago. The first Europeans were Nordsmen, or
Vikings, from Scandinavia. In 1497, an Englishman, John Cabot, set out to try to reach the
Far East, and, instead, landed in Newfoundland. In 1534 a French explorer, Jaques Cartier,
mapped the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Europeans began trade with the Native people. In 1608
groups of French and English were starting permanent settlements. Canada’s first census was
taken in 1667: there were 3215 non-Native inhabitants in 668 families. In the 1750s, the
tensions between the French and the English in the colonies spread to the two groups in
Canada and fighting frequently broke out. A major difference between the groups was
religion: the British were mostly Protestant and the French were Catholics. After the USA
won independance in 1776, many English-speaking colonists came to Canada. The separate
British colonies began to grow. On July 1, 1867, Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia, under the British North America Act, joined together to become one nation:
the Dominion of Canada. New provinces were created from these territories: Manitoba in
1870 and later on, in 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The remaining land became the
Northwest Territories. At hte end of the 19

century, thousands of immigrants were still

arriving in Canada. The world was beginning to see Canada as an independant country. After
World War II Canada was the fourth largest industrial country in the world. Newfoundland
became Canada’s 10th province in 1949. At mid-century, Canada’s population had reached
14009429. 1960 Canada made international headlines when the first Canadian satellite was
launched. 1967 over 55 million visitors came to Montreal to visit Expo 67. Alberta’s economy
grew very quickly in the 1970s. the 1970s also saw the beginnings of the Greenpeace ecology
movement. Hig technology spread into all elements of life in the 1980s. Canada’s Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, which became law in 1982, included a guarantee of equality between
men and women.

Facts about Canada

Climate: Highly varied.
Mountain ranges included: e.g.: West Rockies; highest mountain: Mount Logan, 5951 metres,
Yukon
Principal lakes included: e.g.: Ontario, largest lake entirely within Canada, Great Bear, 3128
square kilometres, Yukon
Principal rivers included: e.g.: St. Lawrence ( 3864 kilometres long carries deep-shipping
from the Atlantic Ocean to the head of the Great Lakes)
System of governement: Canada is a federal state with democratic parliamentary
representation.
National emblem. The meaple leaf.
Currency: The Canadian dollar
Population: 25 million
Native peoples: 491.460- includes Inuit, Indian and Mètis.
Religion: Roman Catholic and Protestant
Official languages: English and French
Mother tongue: English 14.9 million; French 6.2 million; other 3.1 million
Ethnic origin: British and Irish 44.6 per cent; French 28.7 per cent; other European 23 per
cent; Asiatic 1.3 per cent