Portal:Canada

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

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Introduction

Flag and Arms of 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 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.

A developed country, Canada has 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 support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada promotes its domestically shared values through participation in multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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The Battle of Vimy Ridge by Richard Jack

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle occurred from 9 to 12 April 1917, marking the commencement of the Battle of Arras and serving as the inaugural assault of the Nivelle Offensive. The objective was to draw German reserves away from the French forces, preparing for a crucial offensive along the Aisne and the Chemin des Dames ridge several days later. (Full article...)

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Current events

April 28, 2025 – 2025 Canadian federal election: Voters in Canada go to the polls to elect the 343 members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. (BBC); The Liberal Party under leader Mark Carney is projected to form government for the party's fourth consecutive mandate, with Carney remaining prime minister. (The Globe and Mail); Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh lose their seats, with the NDP also losing official party status in the House. Each make speeches conceding the election, with Singh announcing his intention to resign as party leader. (CTV News)
April 27, 2025 – 2025 Vancouver car attack: The death toll from yesterday's vehicle-ramming attack at a street festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, rises to eleven with at least 20 others injured, making the attack tied for the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history. The British Columbia Prosecution Service charges the perpetrator with eight counts of second-degree murder, while investigators also rule out terrorism. (CTV News) (AP)
April 26, 2025 – 2025 Vancouver car attack: Nine people are killed and several others injured, after a car is driven through a crowd at a Philippine-Canadian festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Al Jazeera)
April 25, 2025 –: A Royal Thai Police Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft crashes while conducting a test flight for parachuting training near Hua Hin Airport in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand, killing all six people on board. (The Nation) (AP)

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Panoramic view of Montreal

Credit: Diliff

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"O Canada" (French: Ô Canada) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French-language words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. (Full article...)

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Toronto, the financial centre of Canada, and one of the largest in the world

The economy of Canada is a highly developed mixed economy, the world's ninth-largest as of 2024^[update], and a nominal GDP of approximately US$2.117 trillion. Canada is one of the world's largest trading nations, with a highly globalized economy. In 2021, Canadian trade in goods and services reached $2.016 trillion. Canada's exports totalled over $637 billion, while its imported goods were worth over $631 billion, of which approximately $391 billion originated from the United States. In 2018, Canada had a trade deficit in goods of $22 billion and a trade deficit in services of $25 billion. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the tenth-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, listing over 1,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of over US$3 trillion. (Full article...)

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Yellow Warbler. Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, Ontario, Canada
Credit: Mdf

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Innis in the 1920s

Harold Adams Innis FRSC (November 5, 1894 – November 8, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition. Innis has been referred to as the "father of communications theory" and as the "father of Canadian economic history". (Full article...)

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... that Canadian heritage minister Pascale St-Onge was the bassist in an all-lesbian alternative rock quartet?
... that Canadian singer Tate McRae is a trained ballet dancer and started her musical career by accident?
... that Robert Home was sent by the British Army to Canada in 1864 to report on the defence of the frontier against the eventuality of an American invasion?
... that the entire inventory of historic string instruments in Canada's Musical Instrument Bank are loaned to musicians in a competition held every three years?
... that Pituamkek National Park Reserve, Canada's newest national park, protects a chain of barrier islands that have been used for fishing and hunting by the Mi'kmaq for 4,000 years?
... that during combat, the Canadian-designed SW1C radar failed to find not only its U-boat target, but also an iceberg near the ship?
... that Canadian rapper Apt Exact, who has been described as "not gangster", was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 2024?

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Canada's national parks are protected areas under the Canada National Parks Act, owned by the Government of Canada and administered for the benefit, education, and enjoyment of the people of Canada and its future generations. National parks are administered by Parks Canada, a Crown agency operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The goal of the national parks system is to set aside lands representing the country's 39 distinct natural regions described in the National Parks System Plan, primarily to protect the ecological integrity of the land, and secondarily to allow the public to explore, learn about and enjoy Canada's natural spaces. (Full article...)