156-706: Luther High School may refer to one of the following high schools: In Canada : In the United States : Canada Canada is a country in North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean , making it the world's second-largest country by total area , with the world's longest coastline . Its border with
312-517: A North American fur trade monopoly was granted to Pierre Du Gua, Sieur de Mons . The fur trade became one of the main economic ventures in North America. Du Gua led his first colonization expedition to an island located near the mouth of the St. Croix River . Among his lieutenants was a geographer named Samuel de Champlain , who promptly carried out a major exploration of the northeastern coastline of what
468-605: A constitutional monarchy . Over centuries, elements of Indigenous, French, British and more recent immigrant customs have combined to form a Canadian culture that has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic and economic neighbour, the United States . Since the conclusion of the Second World War , Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its peacekeeping efforts . Archeological and Indigenous genetic evidence indicate that North and South America were
624-451: A high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world by nominal GDP , relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks . Recognized as a middle power , Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries . Canada
780-467: A parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy —the monarchy of Canada being the foundation of the executive, legislative , and judicial branches. The reigning monarch is also monarch of 14 other sovereign Commonwealth countries and Canada's 10 provinces . The monarch appoints a representative, the governor general , on the advice of the prime minister , to carry out most of their ceremonial royal duties. The monarchy
936-646: A 10-metre (33 ft) cross bearing the words, "long live the King of France", and took possession of the territory New France in the name of King Francis I . The early 16th century saw European mariners with navigational techniques pioneered by the Basque and Portuguese establish seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast. In general, early settlements during the Age of Discovery appear to have been short-lived due to
1092-410: A band of Reformers under the leadership of William Lyon Mackenzie took up arms in a disorganized and ultimately unsuccessful series of small-scale skirmishes around Toronto, London , and Hamilton . In Lower Canada, a more substantial rebellion occurred against British rule. Both English- and French-Canadian rebels, sometimes using bases in the neutral United States, fought several skirmishes against
1248-625: A combination of the harsh climate, problems with navigating trade routes and competing outputs in Scandinavia. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert , by the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I , founded St John's, Newfoundland , as the first North American English seasonal camp . In 1600, the French established their first seasonal trading post at Tadoussac along the Saint Lawrence. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established
1404-554: A constitutional amending formula and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . The Charter guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be overridden by any government; a notwithstanding clause allows Parliament and the provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter for a period of five years. Canada's judiciary interprets laws and has the power to strike down acts of Parliament that violate
1560-506: A distinguishing element of Canada's political culture. Peace, order, and good government , alongside an Implied Bill of Rights , are founding principles of Canadian federalism . At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two relatively centrist parties practising "brokerage politics": the centre-left leaning Liberal Party of Canada and the centre-right leaning Conservative Party of Canada (or its predecessors ). The historically predominant Liberals position themselves at
1716-619: A federated country in its own right. (According to James Bowden, writing in The Dorchester Review , "Ottawa turned its back on 'Dominion' in the 1940s and 1950s," impelled by what historian C.P. Champion referred to as "neo-nationalism.") Federation emerged from multiple impulses: the British wanted Canada to defend itself; the Maritimes needed railroad connections, which were promised in 1867; English-Canadian nationalism sought to unite
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#17328848981661872-677: A federation. This was especially pushed by the liberal Reform movement of Upper Canada and the French-Canadian Parti rouge in Lower Canada who favoured a decentralized union in comparison to the Upper Canadian Conservative party and to some degree the French-Canadian Parti bleu , which favoured a centralized union. Using the lure of the Canadian Pacific Railway , a transcontinental line that would unite
2028-563: A great difference in the number of men at 2,034 versus 1,181 women. By the early 1700s the New France settlers were well established along the shores of the St. Lawrence River and parts of Nova Scotia, with a population of around 16,000. However, new arrivals stopped coming from France in the proceeding decades, meaning that the English and Scottish settlers in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and
2184-753: A group of settlers led by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve , who founded Ville-Marie, the precursor to present-day Montreal . In 1663 the French crown took direct control of the colonies from the Company of New France . Although immigration rates to New France remained very low under direct French control, most of the new arrivals were farmers, and the rate of population growth among the settlers themselves had been very high. The women had about 30 per cent more children than comparable women who remained in France. Yves Landry says, "Canadians had an exceptional diet for their time." This
2340-518: A self-governing entity. "Canada" was adopted as the legal name of the new country and the word " Dominion " was conferred as the country's title. Over the next eighty-two years, Canada expanded by incorporating other parts of British North America , finishing with Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949. Although responsible government had existed in British North America since 1848, Britain continued to set its foreign and defence policies until
2496-668: A separate colony— New Brunswick —was created in 1784; followed in 1791 by the division of Quebec into the largely French-speaking Lower Canada ( French Canada ) along the St. Lawrence River and the Gaspé Peninsula and an anglophone Loyalist Upper Canada , with its capital settled by 1796 in York (present-day Toronto ). After 1790 most of the new settlers were American farmers searching for new lands; although generally favourable to republicanism, they were relatively non-political and stayed neutral in
2652-431: A temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). Much of Northern Canada is covered by ice and permafrost . The future of
2808-736: A transcontinental railway—voted no in 1869, and did not join Canada until 1949. In 1873, John A. Macdonald ( First Prime Minister of Canada ) created the North-West Mounted Police (now the Royal Canadian Mounted Police ) to help police the Northwest Territories . Specifically the Mounties were to assert Canadian sovereignty to prevent possible American encroachments into the area. The Mounties' first large-scale mission
2964-554: Is divided into 15 terrestrial and five marine ecozones . These ecozones encompass over 80,000 classified species of Canadian wildlife , with an equal number yet to be formally recognized or discovered. Although Canada has a low percentage of endemic species compared to other countries , due to human activities, invasive species , and environmental issues in the country , there are currently more than 800 species at risk of being lost . About 65 percent of Canada's resident species are considered "Secure". Over half of Canada's landscape
3120-1019: Is intact and relatively free of human development. The boreal forest of Canada is considered to be the largest intact forest on Earth, with approximately 3,000,000 km (1,200,000 sq mi) undisturbed by roads, cities or industry. Since the end of the last glacial period , Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions . Approximately 12.1 percent of the nation's landmass and freshwater are conservation areas , including 11.4 percent designated as protected areas . Approximately 13.8 percent of its territorial waters are conserved, including 8.9 percent designated as protected areas. Canada's first National Park , Banff National Park established in 1885 spans 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi). Canada's oldest provincial park, Algonquin Provincial Park , established in 1893, covers an area of 7,653.45 square kilometres (2,955.01 sq mi). Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
3276-463: Is now Quebec City , one of the earliest permanent settlements, which would become the capital of New France. He took personal administration over the city and its affairs and sent out expeditions to explore the interior. Champlain became the first known European to encounter Lake Champlain in 1609. By 1615, he had travelled by canoe up the Ottawa River through Lake Nipissing and Georgian Bay to
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#17328848981663432-496: Is now Canada for thousands of years. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts , France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation , Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories resulting in
3588-579: Is now the United States. In the spring of 1605, under Samuel de Champlain, the new St. Croix settlement was moved to Port Royal (today's Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia ). Samuel de Champlain also landed at Saint John Harbour on June 24, 1604 (the feast of St. John the Baptist) and is where the city of Saint John, New Brunswick , and the Saint John River gets their name. In 1608 Champlain founded what
3744-410: Is part of multiple international organizations and forums . While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Canada , the name is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata , meaning "village" or "settlement". In 1535, Indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to
3900-634: Is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is officially a provincial responsibility, conducted by provincial and municipal police forces. In most rural and some urban areas, policing responsibilities are contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police . Canadian Aboriginal law provides certain constitutionally recognized rights to land and traditional practices for Indigenous groups in Canada. Various treaties and case laws were established to mediate relations between Europeans and many Indigenous peoples. The role of Aboriginal law and
4056-399: Is the second-largest country . By land area alone, Canada ranks fourth , due to having the world's largest area of fresh water lakes . Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, along the Arctic Ocean to the north, and to the Pacific Ocean in the west, the country encompasses 9,984,670 km (3,855,100 sq mi) of territory. Canada also has vast maritime terrain, with
4212-512: Is the source of sovereignty and authority in Canada. However, while the governor general or monarch may exercise their power without ministerial advice in rare crisis situations , the use of the executive powers (or royal prerogative ) is otherwise directed by the Cabinet , a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons and chosen and headed by the prime minister,
4368-545: Is the world's largest freshwater protected area, spanning roughly 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi). Canada's largest national wildlife region is the Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area which spans 11,570.65 square kilometres (4,467.45 sq mi). Canada is described as a " full democracy ", with a tradition of liberalism , and an egalitarian , moderate political ideology. An emphasis on social justice has been
4524-644: The Canada Elections Act limits this to four years with a "fixed" election date in October; general elections still must be called by the governor general and can be triggered by either the advice of the prime minister or a lost confidence vote in the House. The 105 members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75. Canadian federalism divides government responsibilities between
4680-605: The Dominion Lands Act to regulate settlement and established the North-West Mounted Police to assert authority over the territory. This period of westward expansion and nation building resulted in the displacement of many Indigenous peoples of the Canadian Prairies to " Indian reserves ", clearing the way for ethnic European block settlements . This caused the collapse of the Plains Bison in western Canada and
4836-522: The Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples. The Algonquian language is believed to have originated in the western plateau of Idaho or the plains of Montana and moved with migrants eastward, eventually extending in various manifestations all the way from Hudson Bay to what is today Nova Scotia in the east and as far south as the Tidewater region of Virginia . Speakers of eastern Algonquian languages included
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4992-787: The American Revolution , there was some sympathy for the American cause among the Acadians and the New Englanders in Nova Scotia. Neither party joined the rebels, although several hundred individuals joined the revolutionary cause. An invasion of Quebec by the Continental Army in 1775, with a goal to take Quebec from British control, was halted at the Battle of Quebec by Guy Carleton , with
5148-662: The Appalachian Mountains to the Rocky Mountains . France and Spain kept the Treaty of Fontainebleau secret from other countries until 1764. However under the Treaty of Paris, the eastern side of the Mississippi river basin became British territory. Great Britain returned to France its most important sugar-producing colony, Guadeloupe , which the French considered more valuable than Canada. (Guadeloupe produced more sugar than all
5304-536: The Arctic archipelago , the distinctive Paleo-Eskimos known as Dorset peoples , whose culture has been traced back to around 500 BCE, were replaced by the ancestors of today's Inuit by 1500 CE. This transition is supported by archeological records and Inuit mythology that tells of having driven off the Tuniit or 'first inhabitants'. Inuit traditional laws are anthropologically different from Western law . Customary law
5460-501: The Atlantic coast communities and sailed into the St. Lawrence River , trading and making alliances with First Nations , as well as establishing fishing settlements such as in Percé (1603). As a result of France's claim and activities in the colony of Canada, the name Canada was found on international maps showing the existence of this colony within the St. Lawrence river region. In 1604,
5616-523: The Atlantic provinces . Official tradition deemed the first landing site to be at Cape Bonavista , Newfoundland, although other locations are possible. After 1497 Cabot and his son Sebastian Cabot continued to make other voyages to find the Northwest Passage , and other explorers continued to sail out of England to the New World, although the details of these voyages are not well recorded. Based on
5772-698: The Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Canada provided asylum for the Dutch monarchy while that country was occupied and is credited by the Netherlands for major contributions to its liberation from Nazi Germany . The Canadian economy boomed during the war as its industries manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China , and the Soviet Union . Despite another Conscription Crisis in Quebec in 1944, Canada finished
5928-602: The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada began on January 27, 2020, with widespread social and economic disruption. In 2021, the possible graves of hundreds of Indigenous people were discovered near the former sites of Canadian Indian residential schools . Administered by various Christian churches and funded by the Canadian government from 1828 to 1997, these boarding schools attempted to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture . By total area (including its waters), Canada
6084-628: The Canada Act 1982 , the patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Canada had established complete sovereignty as an independent country under its own monarchy . In 1999, Nunavut became Canada's third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government. At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through
6240-726: The Canadian Shield , the interior plains , the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands , the Appalachian region , the Western Cordillera , Hudson Bay Lowlands , and the Arctic Archipelago . Boreal forests prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in northern Arctic regions and through the Rocky Mountains , and the relatively flat Canadian Prairies in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture. The Great Lakes feed
6396-675: The Dakelh (Carrier) and the Tsilhqot'in . The inlets and valleys of the British Columbia Coast sheltered large, distinctive populations, such as the Haida , Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth , sustained by the region's abundant salmon and shellfish. These peoples developed complex cultures dependent on the western red cedar that included wooden houses, seagoing whaling and war canoes and elaborately carved potlatch items and totem poles . In
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6552-610: The French and Indian War , an event called the Expulsion of the Acadians or le Grand Dérangement . The "expulsion" resulted in approximately 12,000 Acadians being shipped to destinations throughout Britain's North America and to France, Quebec and the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue . The first wave of the expulsion of the Acadians began with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) and
6708-734: The Great Britain in 1763 at the Treaty of Paris after the Seven Years' War . The now British Province of Quebec was divided into Upper and Lower Canada in 1791. The two provinces were united as the Province of Canada by the Act of Union 1840 , which came into force in 1841. In 1867, the Province of Canada was joined with two other British colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia through Confederation , forming
6864-407: The Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990. This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and the invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada in the West. A second referendum followed in 1995, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of 50.6 to 49.4 percent. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional, and the Clarity Act
7020-434: The Mi'kmaq and Abenaki of the Maritime region of Canada and likely the extinct Beothuk of Newfoundland . The Ojibwa and other Anishinaabe speakers of the central Algonquian languages retain an oral tradition of having moved to their lands around the western and central Great Lakes from the sea, likely the Atlantic coast. According to oral tradition, the Ojibwa formed the Council of Three Fires in 796 CE with
7176-435: The Odawa and the Potawatomi . The Five Nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) were centred from at least 1000 CE in northern New York, but their influence extended into what is now southern Ontario and the Montreal area of modern Quebec. They spoke varieties of Iroquoian languages. The Iroquois Confederacy , according to oral tradition, was formed in 1142 CE. In addition, there were other Iroquoian-speaking peoples in
7332-413: The Oka Crisis of 1990, the first of a number of violent confrontations between provincial governments and Indigenous groups. Canada joined the Gulf War in 1990 and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the 1990s, including operations in the Balkans during and after the Yugoslav Wars , and in Somalia , resulting in an incident that has been described as " the darkest era in the history of
7488-446: The Parliament of Canada and the commissioners represent the King in his federal Council , rather than the monarch directly. The powers flowing from the Constitution Act, 1867 , are divided between the federal government and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively and any changes to that arrangement require a constitutional amendment , while changes to the roles and powers of the territories may be performed unilaterally by
7644-408: The Portuguese Empire . In 1506, King Manuel I of Portugal created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. João Álvares Fagundes and Pero de Barcelos established fishing outposts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1521 CE; however, these were later abandoned, with the Portuguese colonizers focusing their efforts on South America. The extent and nature of Portuguese activity on
7800-425: The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a secular nationalist movement. The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970, and the sovereigntist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, organizing an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through
7956-584: The St. Lawrence River (in the southeast) where the lowlands host much of Canada's economic output. Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 of which are larger than 100 km (39 sq mi)—containing much of the world's fresh water . There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies , the Coast Mountains , and the Arctic Cordillera . Canada is geologically active , having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes . Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of
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#17328848981668112-467: The Tlingit , who lived on the islands of southern Alaska and northern British Columbia . The Na-Dene language group is believed to be linked to the Yeniseian languages of Siberia. The Dene of the western Arctic may represent a distinct wave of migration from Asia to North America. The Interior of British Columbia was home to the Salishan language groups such as the Shuswap (Secwepemc) , Okanagan and southern Athabaskan language groups, primarily
8268-444: The Treaty of Tordesillas , the Spanish Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the area visited by John Cabot in 1497 and 1498 CE. However, Portuguese explorers like João Fernandes Lavrador would continue to visit the north Atlantic coast, which accounts for the appearance of " Labrador " on maps of the period. In 1501 and 1502 the Corte-Real brothers explored Newfoundland (Terra Nova) and Labrador claiming these lands as part of
8424-411: The War of 1812 . In 1785, Saint John, New Brunswick became the first incorporated city in what would later become Canada. The signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 formally ended the war. Great Britain made several concessions to the US at the expense of the North American colonies. Notably, the borders between Canada and the United States were officially demarcated; all land south and west of
8580-400: The Westminster tradition . The country's head of government is the prime minister , who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general , representing the monarch of Canada , the ceremonial head of state . The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in
8736-400: The displacement of Indigenous populations , and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This increased sovereignty was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster, 1931 , and culminating in the Canada Act 1982 , which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in
8892-441: The head of government . To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the individual who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a majority of members in the House. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is one of the most powerful institutions in government, initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by
9048-425: The peopling of the Americas are the subject of an ongoing debate. By 16,000 years ago the glacial melt allowed people to move by land south and east out of Beringia, and into Canada. The Haida Gwaii islands, Old Crow Flats , and the Bluefish Caves contain some of the earliest Paleo-Indian archeological sites in Canada. Ice Age hunter-gatherers of this period left lithic flake fluted stone tools and
9204-415: The republicanism that was common among American immigrants to Canada . The troubling memory of the war and the American invasions etched itself into the consciousness of Canadians as a distrust of the intentions of the United States towards the British presence in North America. The rebellions of 1837 against the British colonial government took place in both Upper and Lower Canada. In Upper Canada,
9360-418: The western frontier . In the former French territory, the new British rulers of Canada first abolished and then later reinstated most of the property, religious, political, and social culture of the French-speaking habitants , guaranteeing the right of the Canadiens to practice the Catholic faith and to the use of French civil law (now Quebec Civil Code ) in the UK's Quebec Act of 1774. During
9516-412: The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established First Nation treaty rights, created the Province of Quebec out of New France, and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia. St John's Island (now Prince Edward Island ) became a separate colony in 1769. To avert conflict in Quebec ,
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#17328848981669672-407: The 1840 Act of Union , and responsible government was achieved in 1848, a few months after it was accomplished in Nova Scotia. The parliament of United Canada in Montreal was set on fire by a mob of Tories in 1849 after the passing of an indemnity bill for the people who suffered losses during the rebellion in Lower Canada. Between the Napoleonic Wars and 1850, some 800,000 immigrants came to
9828-494: The Arctic Ocean on the north and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The Colony of Vancouver Island was chartered in 1849, with the trading post at Fort Victoria as the capital. This was followed by the Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1853, and by the creation of the Colony of British Columbia in 1858 and the Stikine Territory in 1861, with the latter three being founded expressly to keep those regions from being overrun and annexed by American gold miners. The Colony of
9984-405: The British Conquest of Acadia occurred in 1710, resulting in Nova Scotia (other than Cape Breton) being officially ceded to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht , including Rupert's Land, which France had conquered in the late 17th century ( Battle of Hudson's Bay ). As an immediate result of this setback, France founded the powerful Fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island . Louisbourg
10140-405: The British Parliament passed the Quebec Act 1774, expanding Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley . More importantly, the Quebec Act afforded Quebec special autonomy and rights of self-administration at a time when the Thirteen Colonies were increasingly agitating against British rule. It re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law there, staving off
10296-472: The British islands combined, and Voltaire had notoriously dismissed Canada as " Quelques arpents de neige ", " A few acres of snow "). Following the Treaty of Paris, King George III issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763 . The proclamation organized Great Britain's new North American empire and stabilized relations between the British Crown and Aboriginal peoples , formally recognizing aboriginal title, regulated trade, settlement, and land purchases on
10452-482: The British to a settled colony with stronger ties to New England. Britain eventually gained control of Quebec City after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Battle of Fort Niagara in 1759, and finally captured Montreal in 1760. As part of the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763) , signed after the defeat of New France in the Seven Years' War , France renounced its claims to territory in mainland North America , except for fishing rights off Newfoundland and
10608-411: The Canadian mainland during the 16th century remains unclear and controversial. French interest in the New World began with Francis I of France , who in 1524 sponsored Giovanni da Verrazzano 's navigation of the region between Florida and Newfoundland in hopes of finding a route to the Pacific Ocean . Although the English had laid claims to it in 1497 when John Cabot made landfall somewhere on
10764-466: The Canadian military ". Canada sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001 , resulting in the largest amount of Canadian deaths for any single military mission since the Korean War in the early 1950s. In 2011, Canadian forces participated in the NATO-led intervention into the Libyan Civil War and also became involved in battling the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq in the mid-2010s. The country celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2017, three years before
10920-423: The Crown the governor general, lieutenant governors , senators, federal court judges, and heads of Crown corporations and government agencies. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the leader of the Official Opposition and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check. The Parliament of Canada passes all federal statute laws. It comprises
11076-439: The First Nations to education, government and legal rights. Because Britain still maintained control of Canada's foreign affairs under the British North America Act, 1867, its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into the First World War . Volunteers sent to the Western Front later became part of the Canadian Corps , which played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other major engagements of
11232-636: The Great Lakes, which was formerly a part of the Province of Quebec and included modern-day Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, was ceded to the Americans. Fishing rights were also granted to the United States in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the coast of Newfoundland and the Grand Banks . The British ignored part of the treaty and maintained their military outposts in the Great Lakes areas it had ceded to
11388-610: The Hudson's Bay Company claims, and in 1686, Pierre Troyes led an overland expedition from Montreal to the shore of the bay , where they managed to capture a handful of outposts. La Salle 's explorations gave France a claim to the Mississippi River Valley , where fur trappers and a few settlers set up scattered forts and settlements . There were four French and Indian Wars and two additional wars in Acadia and Nova Scotia between
11544-627: The Métis' grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion and the creation of the province of Manitoba in July 1870. British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which had been united in 1866) joined the confederation in 1871 on the promise of a transcontinental railway extending to Victoria in the province within 10 years, while Prince Edward Island joined in 1873. In 1898, during the Klondike Gold Rush in
11700-486: The Norse built a small short-lived encampment that was occupied sporadically for perhaps 20 years at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland . No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when seafarer John Cabot explored and claimed Canada's Atlantic coast in the name of Henry VII of England . In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence where, on July 24, he planted
11856-527: The North American coast (likely either modern-day Newfoundland or Nova Scotia ) and had claimed the land for England on behalf of Henry VII , these claims were not exercised and England did not attempt to create a permanent colony. As for the French, however, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1534 and claimed the land in the name of Francis I, creating a region called " Canada "
12012-681: The Northwest Territories, Parliament created the Yukon Territory. Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905. Between 1871 and 1896, almost one quarter of the Canadian population emigrated south to the US. To open the West and encourage European immigration, the Government of Canada sponsored the construction of three transcontinental railways (including the Canadian Pacific Railway ), passed
12168-546: The Parliament of Canada. History of Canada The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. The lands encompassing present-day Canada have been inhabited for millennia by Indigenous peoples , with distinct trade networks, spiritual beliefs, and styles of social organization. Some of these older civilizations had long faded by
12324-658: The Queen Charlotte Islands and most of the Stikine Territory were merged into the Colony of British Columbia in 1863 (the remainder, north of the 60th Parallel, became part of the North-Western Territory ). The Seventy-Two Resolutions from the 1864 Quebec Conference and Charlottetown Conference laid out the framework for uniting British colonies in North America into a federation. The Resolutions became
12480-571: The Saint Lawrence River. Following the British conquest of New France , this area was known as the British Province of Quebec from 1763 to 1791. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada . These two colonies were collectively named the Canadas until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867 , Canada
12636-604: The Thirteen American Colonies and New France from 1688 to 1763. During King William's War (1688 to 1697), military conflicts in Acadia included the Battle of Port Royal (1690) ; a naval battle in the Bay of Fundy ( Action of July 14, 1696 ); and the Raid on Chignecto (1696) . The Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 ended the war between the two colonial powers of England and France for a brief time. During Queen Anne's War (1702 to 1713),
12792-597: The U.S., and they continued to supply their native allies with munitions. The British evacuated the outposts with the Jay Treaty of 1795, but the continued supply of munitions irritated the Americans in the run-up to the War of 1812. Canadian historians have had mixed views on the long-term impact of the American Revolution. Arthur Lower in the 1950s provided the long-standard historical interpretation that for English Canada
12948-624: The United Kingdom. The delay underscored Canada's independence. The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939. In all, over a million Canadians served in the armed forces during the Second World War . Canadian troops played important roles in many key battles of the war, including the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid , the Allied invasion of Italy , the Normandy landings , the Battle of Normandy , and
13104-538: The United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of just over 41 million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto , Montreal , and Vancouver . Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what
13260-617: The United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute , extending the border westward along the 49th parallel . This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858) . The Anglo-Russian Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1825) established the border along the Pacific coast, but, even after the US Alaska Purchase of 1867, disputes continued about
13416-466: The abortive Rebellions of 1837 . The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture. The Act of Union 1840 merged the Canadas into a united Province of Canada and responsible government was established for all provinces of British North America east of Lake Superior by 1855. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and
13572-664: The area, including the St. Lawrence Iroquoians , the Erie, and others. On the Great Plains , the Cree or Nēhilawē (who spoke a closely related Central Algonquian language , the plains Cree language ) depended on the vast herds of bison to supply food and many of their other needs. To the northwest were the peoples of the Na-Dene languages , which include the Athapaskan-speaking peoples and
13728-490: The assistance of First Nations and loyalist informants, most notably Laura Secord . The War ended with no boundary changes thanks to the Treaty of Ghent of 1814, and the Rush–Bagot Treaty of 1817. A demographic result was the shifting of the destination of American migration from Upper Canada to Ohio , Indiana and Michigan , without fear of Indigenous attacks. After the war, supporters of Britain tried to repress
13884-465: The assistance of local militias. The defeat of the British army during the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781 signalled the end of Great Britain's struggle to suppress the American Revolution. When the British evacuated New York City in 1783, they took many Loyalist refugees to Nova Scotia, while other Loyalists went to southwestern Quebec. So many Loyalists arrived on the shores of the St. John River that
14040-576: The attempted settlement of Vinland by Leif Erikson around the same period or, more broadly, with Norse exploration of the Americas . Under letters patent from King Henry VII of England , the Italian John Cabot became the first European known to have landed in Canada after the Viking Age . Records indicate that on June 24, 1497, he sighted land at a northern location believed to be somewhere in
14196-554: The authorities. The towns of Chambly and Sorel were taken by the rebels, and Quebec City was isolated from the rest of the colony. Montreal rebel leader Robert Nelson read the " Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada " to a crowd assembled at the town of Napierville in 1838. The rebellion of the Patriote movement was defeated after battles across Quebec. Hundreds were arrested, and several villages were burnt in reprisal. The British government then sent Lord Durham to examine
14352-673: The basis for the London Conference of 1866 , which led to the formation of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867. The term dominion was chosen to indicate Canada's status as a self-governing polity of the British Empire, the first time it was used about a country. With the coming into force of the UK's British North America Act, 1867 (enacted by the British Parliament ), Canada became
14508-682: The brisk market for sea otter pelts in China, thereby launching what became known as the China Trade . In 1789 war threatened between Britain and Spain on their respective rights; the Nootka Crisis was resolved peacefully largely in favour of Britain, the much stronger naval power at the time. In 1793 Alexander MacKenzie , a Scotsman working for the North West Company , crossed the continent and with his Aboriginal guides and French-Canadian crew, reached
14664-678: The centre of Huron country near Lake Simcoe . During these voyages, Champlain aided the Wendat (aka "Hurons") in their battles against the Iroquois Confederacy. As a result, the Iroquois would become enemies of the French and be involved in multiple conflicts (known as the French and Iroquois Wars ) until the signing of the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701. The English, led by Humphrey Gilbert , had claimed St. John's, Newfoundland , in 1583 as
14820-763: The centre of the political scale. Five parties had representatives elected to the Parliament in the 2021 election —the Liberals, who formed a minority government; the Conservatives, who became the Official Opposition ; the New Democratic Party (occupying the left ); the Bloc Québécois ; and the Green Party . Far-right and far-left politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society. Canada has
14976-692: The colonies of British North America, mainly from the British Isles , as part of the great migration of Canada . These included Gaelic -speaking Highland Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances to Nova Scotia and Scottish and English settlers to the Canadas, particularly Upper Canada. The Irish Famine of the 1840s significantly increased the pace of Irish Catholic immigration to British North America, with over 35,000 distressed Irish landing in Toronto alone in 1847 and 1848. Spanish explorers had taken
15132-548: The constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court, final arbiter, and has been led since 2017 by Richard Wagner , the Chief Justice of Canada . The governor general appoints the court's nine members on the advice of the prime minister and minister of justice . The federal Cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts in the provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Common law prevails everywhere except Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law
15288-509: The continent during the North American fur trade . These early European interactions with First Nations would change from friendship and peace treaties to the dispossession of Indigenous lands through treaties . From the late 18th century, European Canadians forced Indigenous peoples to assimilate into a western Canadian society. Settler colonialism reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A period of redress began with
15444-557: The country and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act, 1867 (known as the British North America Act, 1867 prior to 1982), affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments. The Statute of Westminster, 1931 , granted full autonomy, and the Constitution Act, 1982 , ended all legislative ties to Britain, as well as adding
15600-421: The country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate , where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F ), but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills . In non-coastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has
15756-577: The early 1930s saw an economic downturn, leading to hardship across the country. In response to the downturn, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Saskatchewan introduced many elements of a welfare state (as pioneered by Tommy Douglas ) in the 1940s and 1950s. On the advice of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King , war with Germany was declared effective September 10, 1939, by King George VI , seven days after
15912-624: The emergence of a new Canadian identity , marked by the adoption of the maple leaf flag in 1965, the implementation of official bilingualism (English and French) in 1969, and the institution of official multiculturalism in 1971. Socially democratic programs were also instituted, such as Medicare , the Canada Pension Plan , and Canada Student Loans ; though, provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions. Finally, another series of constitutional conferences resulted in
16068-534: The end of World War I . The Balfour Declaration of 1926 , the 1930 Imperial Conference and the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931 recognized that Canada had become co-equal with the United Kingdom. The Patriation of the Constitution in 1982 marked the removal of legal dependence on the British parliament. Canada currently consists of ten provinces and three territories and is a parliamentary democracy and
16224-535: The exact demarcation of the Alaska–Yukon and Alaska–BC border. Following three constitutional conferences, the British North America Act, 1867 officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, initially with four provinces: Ontario , Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to form the Northwest Territories , where
16380-416: The federal government and the 10 provinces. Provincial legislatures are unicameral and operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the House of Commons. Canada's three territories also have legislatures, but these are not sovereign, have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces, and differ structurally from their provincial counterparts. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of
16536-488: The federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration . Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history , economy , and culture . A developed country , Canada has
16692-500: The first North American English colony by royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I . In the reign of King James I , the English established additional colonies in Cupids and Ferryland , Newfoundland , and soon after established the first successful permanent settlements of Virginia to the south. On September 29, 1621, a charter for the foundation of a New World Scottish colony was granted by King James to William Alexander . In 1622,
16848-534: The first permanent year-round European settlements at Port Royal (in 1605) and Quebec City (in 1608). Among the colonists of New France, Canadiens extensively settled the Saint Lawrence River valley and Acadians settled the present-day Maritimes , while fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes , Hudson Bay , and the Mississippi watershed to Louisiana . The Beaver Wars broke out in
17004-515: The first settlers left Scotland. They initially failed and permanent Nova Scotian settlements were not firmly established until 1629 during the end of the Anglo-French War . These colonies did not last long except the fisheries in Ferryland under David Kirke . In 1631, under Charles I of England , the Treaty of Suza was signed, ending the war and returning Nova Scotia to the French. New France
17160-477: The following summer. Cartier had sailed up the St. Lawrence river as far as the Lachine Rapids , to the spot where Montreal now stands. Permanent settlement attempts by Cartier at Charlesbourg-Royal in 1541, at Sable Island in 1598 by Marquis de La Roche-Mesgouez, and at Tadoussac, Quebec in 1600 by François Gravé Du Pont all eventually failed. Despite these initial failures, French fishing fleets visited
17316-493: The formation of a reconciliation commission by the Government of Canada in 2008. This included acknowledgment of cultural genocide , settlement agreements , and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women . It is believed that the first documented European to explore the east coast of Canada was Norse explorer Leif Erikson . In approximately 1000 AD,
17472-434: The fortress surrendered. The return of Louisbourg to French control by the peace treaty prompted the British to found Halifax in 1749 under Edward Cornwallis . Despite the official cessation of war between the British and French empires with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle , the conflict in Acadia and Nova Scotia continued as Father Le Loutre's War . The British ordered the Acadians expelled from their lands in 1755 during
17628-541: The fur trade, conflicts with the colonial authorities and settlers, and the loss of Indigenous lands to settlers and the subsequent collapse of several nations' self-sufficiency. Although not without conflict, European Canadians ' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada , particularly for their role in assisting European coureurs des bois and voyageurs in their explorations of
17784-525: The growth of an independence movement in contrast to the Thirteen Colonies. The Proclamation and the Quebec Act in turn angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies, further fuelling anti-British sentiment in the years prior to the American Revolution . After the successful American War of Independence, the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the newly formed United States and set
17940-509: The introduction of European cattle farms and wheat fields dominating the land. The Indigenous peoples saw widespread famine and disease due to the loss of the bison and their traditional hunting lands. The federal government did provide emergency relief, on condition of the Indigenous peoples moving to the reserves. During this time, Canada introduced the Indian Act extending its control over
18096-476: The lands into one country, dominated by the English language and loyalist culture; many French-Canadians saw an opportunity to exert political control within a new largely French-speaking Quebec and exaggerated fears of possible U.S. expansion northward. On a political level, there was a desire for the expansion of responsible government and elimination of the legislative deadlock between Upper and Lower Canada, and their replacement with provincial legislatures in
18252-648: The last continents into which humans migrated . During the Wisconsin glaciation , 50,000–17,000 years ago, falling sea levels allowed people to move gradually across the Bering land bridge ( Beringia ), from Siberia into northwest North America. At that point, they were blocked by the Laurentide Ice Sheet that covered most of Canada, confining them to Alaska and the Yukon for thousands of years. The exact dates and routes of
18408-406: The lead in the Pacific Northwest coast , with the voyages of Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774 and 1775. By the time the Spanish determined to build a fort on Vancouver Island , the British navigator James Cook had visited Nootka Sound and charted the coast as far as Alaska, while British and American maritime fur traders had begun a busy era of commerce with the coastal peoples to satisfy
18564-539: The main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom . Peace came in 1815; no boundaries were changed. Immigration resumed at a higher level, with over 960,000 arrivals from Britain between 1815 and 1850. New arrivals included refugees escaping the Great Irish Famine as well as Gaelic -speaking Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances . Infectious diseases killed between 25 and 33 percent of Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891. The desire for responsible government resulted in
18720-436: The mid-17th century over control of the North American fur trade. The English established additional settlements in Newfoundland in 1610 along with settlements in the Thirteen Colonies to the south. A series of four wars erupted in colonial North America between 1689 and 1763; the later wars of the period constituted the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War . Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with
18876-514: The monarch, the House of Commons, and the Senate . While Canada inherited the British concept of parliamentary supremacy , this was later, with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982, all but completely superseded by the American notion of the supremacy of the law . Each of the 338 members of Parliament in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district or riding. The Constitution Act, 1982 , requires that no more than five years pass between elections, although
19032-412: The mouth of the Bella Coola River , completing the first continental crossing north of Mexico, missing George Vancouver 's charting expedition to the region by only a few weeks. In 1821, the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company merged, with a combined trading territory that was extended by a licence to the North-Western Territory and the Columbia and New Caledonia fur districts, which reached
19188-582: The name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day . The first inhabitants of North America are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago. The Paleo-Indian archeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Indigenous societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks. Some of these cultures had collapsed by
19344-422: The nation, Ottawa attracted support in the Maritimes and in British Columbia. In 1866, the Colony of British Columbia and the Colony of Vancouver Island merged into a single Colony of British Columbia . After Rupert's Land was transferred to Canada by Britain in 1870, connecting to the eastern provinces, British Columbia joined Canada in 1871. In 1873, Prince Edward Island joined. Newfoundland—which had no use for
19500-492: The oldest pottery excavated to date in Canada. The Hopewell tradition is an Indigenous culture that flourished along American rivers from 300 BCE to 500 CE. At its greatest extent, the Hopewell Exchange System connected cultures and societies to the peoples on the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario . Canadian expression of the Hopewellian peoples encompasses the Point Peninsula , Saugeen , and Laurel complexes . The eastern woodland areas of what became Canada were home to
19656-443: The passage of time, there is a pattern of increasing regional generalization (i.e.: Paleo-Arctic , Plano and Maritime Archaic traditions). The Woodland cultural period dates from about 2000 BCE to 1000 CE and is applied to the Ontario, Quebec, and Maritime regions . The introduction of pottery distinguishes the Woodland culture from the previous Archaic-stage inhabitants. The Laurentian-related people of Ontario manufactured
19812-404: The permafrost is uncertain because the Arctic has been warming at three times the global average as a result of climate change in Canada . Canada's annual average temperature over land has risen by 1.7 °C (3.1 °F), with changes ranging from 1.1 to 2.3 °C (2.0 to 4.1 °F) in various regions, since 1948. The rate of warming has been higher across the North and in the Prairies. In
19968-488: The provinces collect more revenue than the federal government, equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their sovereignty from the Crown and power and authority from the Constitution Act, 1867 , whereas territorial governments have powers delegated to them by
20124-473: The remains of large butchered mammals. The North American climate stabilized around 8000 BCE (10,000 years ago). Climatic conditions were similar to modern patterns; however, the receding glacial ice sheets still covered large portions of the land, creating lakes of meltwater. Most population groups during the Archaic periods were still highly mobile hunter-gatherers. However, individual groups started to focus on resources available to them locally; thus with
20280-402: The results were counter-revolutionary: [English Canada] inherited, not the benefits, but the bitterness of the Revolution…. English Canada started its life with as powerful a nostalgic shove backward into the past as the Conquest had given to French Canada: two little peoples officially devoted to counter-revolution, to lost causes, to the tawdry ideals of a society of men and masters, and not to
20436-736: The rights they support were reaffirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 . These rights may include provision of services, such as healthcare through the Indian Health Transfer Policy , and exemption from taxation. Canada is a federation composed of 10 federated states , called provinces, and three federal territories . These may be grouped into four main regions : Western Canada , Central Canada , Atlantic Canada , and Northern Canada ( Eastern Canada refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together). Provinces and territories have responsibility for social programs such as healthcare , education , and social programs , as well as administration of justice (but not criminal law). Although
20592-418: The second wave began after the final Siege of Louisbourg (1758) . Many of the Acadians settled in southern Louisiana , creating the Cajun culture there. Some Acadians managed to hide and others eventually returned to Nova Scotia, but they were far outnumbered by a new migration of New England Planters who settled on the former lands of the Acadians and transformed Nova Scotia from a colony of occupation for
20748-424: The self-reliant freedom alongside of them. Recently Michel Ducharme has agreed that Canada did indeed oppose "republican liberty", as exemplified by the United States and France. However, he says it did find a different path forward when it fought against British rulers after 1837 to secure "modern liberty". That form of liberty focused not on the virtues of citizens but on protecting their rights from infringement by
20904-451: The settlement of the frontier. The war on the border with the United States was characterized by a series of multiple failed invasions and fiascos on both sides. American forces took control of Lake Erie in 1813, driving the British out of western Ontario, killing the Shawnee leader Tecumseh , and breaking the military power of his confederacy . The war was overseen by British army officers like Isaac Brock and Charles de Salaberry with
21060-406: The situation; he stayed in Canada for five months before returning to Britain, bringing with him his Durham Report , which strongly recommended responsible government . A less well-received recommendation was the amalgamation of Upper and Lower Canada for the deliberate assimilation of the French-speaking population. The Canadas were merged into a single colony, the United Province of Canada , by
21216-585: The southeast. Canada is also home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert , on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island —latitude 82.5°N—which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole. In latitude, Canada's most northerly point of land is Cape Columbia in Nunavut at 83°6′41″N, with its southern extreme at Middle Island in Lake Erie at 41°40′53″N. In longitude, Canada's land extends from Cape Spear , Newfoundland, at 52°37'W, to Mount St. Elias , Yukon Territory, at 141°W. Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions:
21372-418: The southern Thirteen Colonies outnumbered the French population approximately ten to one by the 1750s. From 1670, through the Hudson's Bay Company , the English also laid claim to Hudson Bay and its drainage basin, known as Rupert's Land , establishing new trading posts and forts , while continuing to operate fishing settlements in Newfoundland. French expansion along the Canadian canoe routes challenged
21528-422: The southern regions of Canada, air pollution from both Canada and the United States—caused by metal smelting, burning coal to power utilities, and vehicle emissions—has resulted in acid rain , which has severely impacted waterways, forest growth, and agricultural productivity. Canada is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters globally , with emissions increased by 16.5 percent between 1990 and 2022. Canada
21684-410: The state. The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and the British, with the British North American colonies being heavily involved. Greatly outgunned by the British Royal Navy , the American war plans focused on an invasion of Canada (especially what is today eastern and western Ontario ). The American frontier states voted for war to suppress the First Nations raids that frustrated
21840-438: The terms of peace, ceding British North American territories south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River to the new country. The American war of independence also caused a large out-migration of Loyalists , the settlers who had fought against American independence. Many moved to Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada, where their arrival changed the demographic distribution of the existing territories. New Brunswick
21996-446: The time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archeological investigations. Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada include the First Nations , Inuit , and Métis , the last being of mixed descent who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations people married European settlers and subsequently developed their own identity. The Indigenous population at
22152-437: The time of the first European arrivals and have been discovered through archeological investigations. From the late 15th century, French and British expeditions explored, colonized, and fought over various places within North America in what constitutes present-day Canada. The colony of New France was claimed in 1534 with permanent settlements beginning in 1608. France ceded nearly all its North American possessions to
22308-446: The time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples . As a consequence of European colonization, the Indigenous population declined by forty to eighty percent. The decline is attributed to several causes, including the transfer of European diseases , to which they had no natural immunity, conflicts over
22464-424: The two small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon where its fishermen could dry their fish. France had already secretly transferred its vast Louisiana territory to Spain under the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) in which King Louis XV of France had given his cousin King Charles III of Spain the entire area of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from
22620-410: The village of Stadacona . Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the Saint Lawrence River as Canada . From the 16th to the early 18th century, Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along
22776-423: The war with a large army and strong economy. The financial crisis of the Great Depression led the Dominion of Newfoundland to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a Crown colony ruled by a British governor. After two referendums , Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a province. Canada's post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to
22932-428: The war. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when the Unionist Cabinet's proposal to augment the military's dwindling number of active members with conscription was met with vehement objections from French-speaking Quebecers. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain, and the Statute of Westminster, 1931 , affirmed Canada's independence. The Great Depression in Canada during
23088-410: The world's longest coastline of 243,042 kilometres (151,019 mi). In addition to sharing the world's largest land border with the United States —spanning 8,891 km (5,525 mi) —Canada shares a land border with Greenland (and hence the Kingdom of Denmark ) to the northeast, on Hans Island , and a maritime boundary with France 's overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon to
23244-427: Was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference and the word dominion was conferred as the country's title. By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "realm of the Commonwealth". The Canada Act 1982 , which brought the Constitution of Canada fully under Canadian control, referred only to Canada . Later that year,
23400-463: Was due to the natural abundance of meat, fish, and pure water; the good food conservation conditions during the winter; and an adequate wheat supply in most years. The 1666 census of New France was conducted by France's intendant , Jean Talon , in the winter of 1665–1666. The census showed a population count of 3,215 Acadians and habitants (French-Canadian farmers) in the administrative districts of Acadia and Canada. The census also revealed
23556-507: Was in turn split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes, which led to the incorporation of Saint John, New Brunswick , as Canada's first city. To accommodate the influx of English-speaking Loyalists in Central Canada, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province of Canada into French-speaking Lower Canada (later Quebec ) and English-speaking Upper Canada (later Ontario ), granting each its own elected legislative assembly. The Canadas were
23712-545: Was intended to serve as a year-round military and naval base for France's remaining North American empire and to protect the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. Father Rale's War resulted in both the fall of New France's influence in present-day Maine and the British recognition that it would have to negotiate with the Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia. During King George's War (1744 to 1748), an army of New Englanders led by William Pepperrell mounted an expedition of 90 vessels and 4,000 men against Louisbourg in 1745. Within three months
23868-436: Was non-existent in Inuit society before the introduction of the Canadian legal system . The Norse , who had settled Greenland and Iceland , arrived around 1000 CE and built a small settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows at the northernmost tip of Newfoundland (carbon dating estimate 990 – 1050 CE). L'Anse aux Meadows, the only confirmed Norse site in North America outside of Greenland, is also notable for its connection with
24024-425: Was not fully restored to French rule until the 1632 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye . This led to new French immigrants and the founding of Trois-Rivières in 1634. After Champlain's death in 1635, the Roman Catholic Church and the Jesuit establishment became the most dominant force in New France and hoped to establish a utopian European and Aboriginal Christian community. In 1642, the Sulpicians sponsored
24180-430: Was passed by Parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation. In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history; the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students; and
24336-413: Was to suppress the second independence movement by Manitoba 's Métis , a mixed-blood people of joint First Nations and European descent, who originated in the mid-17th century. The desire for independence erupted in the Red River Rebellion in 1869 and the later North-West Rebellion in 1885 led by Louis Riel . Suppressing the Rebellion was Canada's first independent military action and demonstrated
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