Canada Notes

Landforms and Climate  The Canada/ United States border- World’s longest undefended border (meaning they are friendly)  How big is Canada compared to other countries in physical size?- World’s 2 nd largest country.  Explain these vocabulary words and why they are important to Canada; provinces, territories, indigenous, glaciers, and tundra.

 Provinces- regional political division similar to a state. Canada has 10 provinces.  Indigenous- native to or originating from a place. Canada’s indigenous population includes the Inuit and the Métis.  Glaciers- giant, slow moving sheet of ice.  Tundra- vast, rolling, treeless plain in high latitude climates in which only the top few inches of ground thaw in summer.

The Canadian Economy  What are Canada’s major economic activities? Manufacturing, farming, service industries, fishing, mining, and lumbering.  How is Canada’s economy similar to the United States? Both have a free market economy where people are allowed to start and run businesses with limited government involvement.  How is it different? Canada’s government plays a more direct role by providing health care instead of people having to get it through their employer. Also some industries are heavily regulated such as broadcasting, transportation, and electric power companies.  NAFTA- an agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to remove trade barriers between the countries.

Canada’s History  Canada is divided culturally.  Just like the United States, Canada was inhabited by a group of Native Americans called the Inuits when the Vikings arrived.  In the 1500s and 1600s both Britain and France claimed areas of Canada, eventually fighting over the land. In 1763 the British won control making Canada a colony under the British Empire.  Just like in the US warfare and diseases destroyed a large part of Native American cultures in Canada.

From Colony to Nation  As a colony this meant that Canada was politically and economically dependent on England. Also was under the English government across the sea.  The French and English areas were kept separated at this time too, each having different governments.  In 1876 the different colonies became the Dominion of Canada meaning it had its own government to run local affairs but that government still answered to England.  Even though the government promised to protect the French culture there were often disputes.  In 1982 Canada was finally allowed to change their own government without British approval.  Canada is now independent of England except that the British King or Queen is still considered the king or queen of Canada too but this is a ceremonial position with no real power.

Canada’s Government  Canada has a parliamentary democracy where voters elect representatives to a lawmaking body called Parliament (like our Congress).  These representatives then choose a prime minister to head the government. So that would be like if Congress picked our President instead of the voters.  Even though the British king/queen has no power they still perform ceremonial duties but since they are in England the governor-general is responsible for carrying out these duties.

A Bilingual Country  How many Canadians are descended from French-speaking settlers? One-fourth of the population.  Where do most of these people live ? Quebec  What is the majority ethnic group there? French  Define bilingual. Ability to speak more than one language. Canada is a bilingual country because English and French are considered official languages.  How does being a bilingual country change the way things are done in Canada? Government documents and publications are printed in both languages. Students learn to speak both languages in school. Traffic signs are printed in both languages. Some citizens want Quebec to become an independent country to preserve its culture.

Nunavut, A New Territory  Why was the territory of Nunavut created? For the use of the Inuit.  What does “ Nunavut” mean? “our land”  What does autonomy mean for the Inuit? They have the right to govern themselves, however the national government of Canada still governs them too.  What is this territory like physically? Large- 3 times size of Texas. Made up if 100s of islands.  Do all Inuits live in Nunavut? No, many choose to live in other areas.  How would you characterize the Nunavut population? Young, more than 60% is under the age of 25  How does this affect the economy there? Not enough jobs to take care of the young, weak economy. The government is the largest employer. Still people must hunt and fish to provide food and clothes for their family.