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P:CA

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

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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. It is a sparsely inhabited country of just over 41 million people, the vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in 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 the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and gender equality. 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 a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, 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 is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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Exterior view of Qu'Appelle Indian Industrial School in Lebret, District of Assiniboia, c. 1885. Surrounding land and tents are visible in the foreground. — The Qu'Appelle Indian Industrial School in Lebret, Assiniboia, North-West Territories, c. 1885

The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The school system was created to isolate Indigenous children from the influence of their own culture and religion in order to assimilate them into the dominant Euro-Canadian culture . Over the course of the system's more than hundred-year existence, around 150,000 children were placed in residential schools nationally. By the 1930s, about 30 percent of Indigenous children were attending residential schools. The number of school-related deaths remains unknown due to incomplete records. Estimates range from 3,200 to over 30,000, mostly from disease. (Full article...)

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Terry Fox in Toronto during his Marathon of Hope cross-country run (July 1980)

Terrance Stanley Fox CC OD (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$850 million has been raised in his name as of September 2022. (Full article...)

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See also: historically significant biographies

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Panoramic view of Calgary

Credit: Calgarypano

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Totem poles (Haida: gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large trees, mostly western red cedar, by First Nations and Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast including northern Northwest Coast Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth communities in southern British Columbia, and the Coast Salish communities in Washington and British Columbia. (Full article...)

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The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous law systems developed by the various Indigenous Nations. (Full article...)

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The Death of General Wolfe depicting the 1759 Battle of Quebec of the Seven Years' War
Credit: Benjamin West

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Current events

September 25, 2024 –: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau survives a no-confidence vote by a vote of 211–119. (BBC News)
September 24, 2024 –: Scientists from the University of Waterloo announce that they have positively identified bones found on King William Island in Nunavut, Canada, as those of James Fitzjames, captain of HMS Erebus during Franklin's lost expedition. (CBC News)
September 20, 2024 –: Three people are injured in a stabbing attack at a mosque in Châteauguay, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The perpetrator is arrested and charged. (CTV News)
September 9, 2024 –: Finnish-Canadian sportswear mogul Peter Nygård is sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexual assault. (CBC News)
September 4, 2024 –: In Canada, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh announces that he has terminated the confidence and supply agreement his party made with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government in 2022. (CBC News)
August 27, 2024 – Canada–Mexico relations, Mexico–United States relations: Mexico suspends all interactions with the Canadian and American embassies in Mexico City due to claimed interference with its independence and internal affairs after both ambassadors criticized reform plans for members of the judiciary, up to and including Supreme Court justices, to be elected by popular vote. (Reuters)

Past Canadian events

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... that Darryl Milburn made his Canadian Football League debut on his birthday, but did not appear in any other games that year?
... that Canadian painter Ethel Ogden was central to developing china painting within the Fine Arts Department at the Mount Allison Ladies' College?
... that journalist Maurice Smith helped establish a national curling championship for high school students in Canada?
... that in 2020 when Persian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi performed in Written on Skin in Cologne, his "Luciferian charm" and "iridescent voice" were noted?
... that jazz singer Judi Singh's mother and father were, respectively, among the earliest Black and Sikh settlers of Alberta, Canada?
... that Zebedee Nungak, taken as a child for an experiment by the Canadian government, went on to "cross antlers with prime ministers, premiers and Québec separatists"?
... that Oakwood Cemetery contains the graves of Confederate soldiers and officers, English, Canadian, and French World War II pilots, and Hank Williams?

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The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champion. Each year the champions from three CHL member leagues—the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), along with a host team—compete in the Memorial Cup Tournament. The OHL's Saginaw Spirit are the defending champions. (Full article...)