Canada Facts

Canada Facts and History

North America

Canada is without a doubt the country where you can still travel and vacation in almost untouched nature.

Huge forests, large lake and river landscapes and, next to that, the flair of large cities with an overwhelming range of culture and entertainment. It is always worth taking a vacation in this country.

You can explore the country with a car or even better with a (rental) caravan. Even a multi-day train journey across the country is a unique experience and also affordable.

You can also hike through the endless forests on foot or explore the country with the help of a kayak. In winter, cross-country skiing or sleigh rides – drawn by horses or dogs – are ideal. The country is a true paradise for anglers – without the local bureaucracy – but helicopter skiing, which is somewhat more expensive, has meanwhile also found many friends in Europe.

At the beginning of May 2009 the parliament of the EUa complete ban on the import of seal products into all 27 EU countries. It is hoped that this will not end the gruesome and bloody slaughter of the seals, but at least limit it considerably.

The Name of the country comes from the language of the indigenous people – the Saint Lawrence Iroquois – and is derived from their word “Kanata = village or settlement”.

The name was basically based on a mistake, since the French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) asked for a route description around 1535 in the area of what is now Quebec and then the term “Kanata” was used for the whole country.

But the independent state of Canada was not established until July 1, 1867 on the basis of the British Parliament’s “British North America Act”. The average economic output per capita is 37,500 euros (Germany 37,900).

In the USA there are around 89 weapons per 100 residents, in Canada there are only 31 weapons per 100 residents.

While the homicide rate in the US is 5.2 murders per 100,000 people per year, in Canada it is around 1.5 murders per 100,000 people. Incidentally, in Germany it is around 0.5 per 100,000 residents.

The capital of Canada is Ottawa with a population of 935,000 or 1.3 million in the greater Ottawa-Gatineau area.

Canada became the second country in the world to fully legalize the sale of cannabis in mid-October 2018 after Uruguay. Canadian citizens aged 18 and over – in some states only 19 and over – are allowed to buy a gram of hashish by placing an order or in authorized stores. Personal possessions are limited to 30 grams.

Name of the country Canada (Canada)
Form of government Federal constitutional monarchyParliament with two chambers (House of Commons, Senate)

Parliamentary system of government with majority voting (direct mandates)

Geographical location The country is located in the north of the American continent and borders the USA.
National anthem “O Canada”
Head of state As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Queen Elizabeth II.
Population approximately 37.8 million (Credit: Countryaah: Canada Population)
Ethnicities Natives (Inuit, First Nations, Métis), French, British, Germans, Italians, Chinese, Ukrainians, Dutch and others
Religions Roman Catholic Christianity (approx. 44%)Protestants (approx. 36%)

In addition, among others, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and others

Languages English and FrenchOf course, the migrants’ languages are also spoken.
Capital Ottawa
Surface 9,970,610 km² – making it the largest country in the world after Russia
Highest mountain Mount Logan with a height of 5,959 m
Longest river Mackenzie River system with a length of 4,241 km
Largest lake Large Bear Lake with an area of 31,328 km²
International license plate CDN
National currency Canadian dollar = 100 cents
Time difference to CET -3.5 h to -9 h
International phone code 001
Mains voltage, frequency 110/120 volts (in big cities also 220/230 volts) 60 Hertz
Internet TLD (Top Level Domain) .ca

Canada: history

Before the year 1000

The first residents of what is now Canada were Indians and Inuit (Eskimos). According to current knowledge, the North American continent was probably settled by the Indians between 30,000 and 8,000 BC. Large groups moved from Northeast Asia over a land bridge (Beringland) to Alaska. From there, the entire double continent was settled in several waves through what is now Canada as far as Tierra del Fuego.

According to Abbreviationfinder website, the oldest known Paleo-Indian culture is the so-called Clovis culture(about 9500 BC). From around 5000 BC There are various archaeological finds that suggest hunter, gatherer and fisherman cultures. Between 3000 and 1000 BC Developments took place in the 3rd century BC, as evidenced by ceramic finds, burial mounds and the beginning of plant cultivation. From 700 AD, large settlement and cultural centers emerged in North America (e.g. Cahokia, Hohokam culture, Mogollon culture).

The Inuit (the name Eskimo means “eater of raw meat” and is considered a degradation among the Inuit) lived in the Canadian-Arctic archipelago mainly as hunters of marine mammals (seals, whales), polar bears and caribou, and as fishermen.

From the year 1000 to the 17th century

Around 1000 the Vikings reached the north of the American continent under their leader Leif Erikson. They established the first branch in what is now Newfoundland, which they called Vinland. Around 1534/35 and 1541, J. Cartier took possession of the Saint Lawrence River area for France; New France came into being. In 1608 Quebec was founded by S. De Champlain. The resident companies, to which the area was initially subject, operated primarily fur trade. In 1674, the administration of the colony, which had been strictly Catholic until then, passed into the hands of the French crown. The French built numerous forts from the Saint Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi area.

In the 18th and 19th centuries

At the beginning of the 18th century, the North American continent included not only Spanish and French mandate areas but also 13 English colonies, which were mainly located on the territory of today’s USA. The English colonial empire stretched from New Hampshire in the north to Georgia in the south. There was considerable tension between the colonial powers Great Britain and France. They ended in a war closely related to the Seven Years’ War in Europe from 1756 to 1763. The reason for the fight on American soil was the spread of British traders and settlers across the Appalachian Mountains into the Ohio valley claimed by France in 1754.

This led to armed conflicts between the British, French and Indians (“French and Indian War”). Between 1758 and 1760 the British conquered the most important French positions and on September 13, 1759 they were victorious in the battle of the Plains of Abraham near Québec (Canada). After Spain entered the war in 1761, the British also occupied Cuba and the Philippines. In the Peace Agreement of Paris (“Paris Peace”) in 1763, France accepted the loss of its possessions in North America with the exception of the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and some islands in the Lesser Antilles. Great Britain expanded its leading role as a colonial power as a result of the war.

Increasing unrest in their old colonies caused the British government to pass the newly acquired territories in what is now Canada through a separate law (“Quebec Act”) in 1774.) to organize. Here, the French Canadians were granted freedom of religion and parts of the French constitution were recognized. This was how Britain secured the loyalty of the French Canadians during the American Revolutionary War of 1775-83. After the war, Americans who remained loyal to the British crown founded the province of New Brunswick. They also settled in Quebec, Lake Ontario, and the Upper St. Lawrence River. In this way, two cultures with different languages, religions and cultures emerged in what is now Canada. In 1791, the constitutional law established two provinces with independent administrations, the French Lower Canada and the English Upper Canada. In 1840 Upper and Lower Canada were declared a Province of Canada,

On July 1, 1867, the state of Canada (Dominion of Canada) was established on the basis of the British North America Act of the British Parliament. In addition to the province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the provinces of Manitoba, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island also joined him in 1873. In 1870 and 1912 the provinces Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories were added.

Canada saw a rapid economic upswing in the period that followed. The prairie was gradually opened up with the construction of the railway. In the period that followed, numerous settlements with industry and agriculture emerged.

In the 20th and 21st centuries

Although the Canadian government supported the mother country Great Britain politically and economically (e.g. in the Boer War and during the First World War), it nevertheless increasingly tried to gain state independence. In 1919 she signed the Versailles Treaty independently. In 1923 the Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874 – 1950) demanded the right to conduct his own foreign policy affairs and to conclude treaties with other states. From 1927 onwards Canada set up the first diplomatic missions in other countries (first USA, France, Japan). In 1931 the country received its state independence in the “Statute of Westminster”.

During the Second World War Canada fought alongside Great Britain and France against Germany between 1943 and 1945. After the war, the country participated in the founding of the UN in 1945. In 1949, Newfoundland became the tenth province of the Canadian alliance.

In the years after the Second World War, the industrial economy in Canada saw strong development. Only in the 1970s and 80s did economic stagnation occur, with rising unemployment and inflation. In the French-speaking part of the country, especially in Quebec, a strong autonomy movement developed under the influence of growing dissatisfaction, which carried out attacks on politicians and leading figures in the country. The plan to replace Quebec from the union of states failed. On April 17th, 1982 the British Crown under Queen Elizabeth II put the “Canadian Act of 1982” into force. It replaced the “British North America Act” of 1867 and forms the current Canadian constitution.

In terms of foreign policy, Canada has been actively supporting the UN’s peace efforts in areas of political crisis for decades. Canada is more liberal, there are far fewer murders and guns in the country than in the USA. The social system is also considerably better.

Canada Facts