Canada is the second largest country in the world (after Russia) by land mass. It
has a total area of 9.9 million sq. km. and touches the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic
oceans (which is why, its motto, “from sea to sea”, is quite logical), making it
the country with the longest coastline (243,791 km. long). It is composed of 10
provinces and three territories with Ottawa as its capital. It is the first country
in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism, embracing diversity and pluralism.
English and French are its official languages. Today, of Canada’s total population
of more than 35 million, a fifth are immigrants. In fact, based on the 2011 National
Household Survey (NHS), Canada is home to people from over 200 ethnic origins. Around
4.3 per cent of the total Canadian population reported an Aboriginal identity and
19.1 per cent belong to a visible minority. The largest groups among these visible
minorities are South Asians, Chinese and Africans, followed by Filipinos, Latin
Americans, Arabs, Southeast Asians, West Asians, Koreans and Japanese.
Canada is a Parliamentary Democracy headed by a Prime Minister. However, it is also
a constitutional monarchy with executive authority vested in the Queen. This means
that the Queen is the head of state, while the Prime Minister is the head of government.
A parliamentary democracy has three parts: the Sovereign (Queen), the Senate, and
the House of Commons. Meanwhile, the government has three levels: federal, provincial
and municipal. The federal government is based in Ottawa and is headed by the Prime
Minister. Provincial and territorial governments are headed by premiers, while municipal
governments are led by mayors.
Hockey is the national winter sport of Canada, while lacrosse is the national summer
sport. To give you an indication of how Canadians love hockey, the Canada-US Men’s
Gold Hockey Game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics was the most watched television
broadcast ever in Canadian history according to NHL.com. Meanwhile, the women’s
hockey team has also been dominating the Olympics, winning gold medals, the most
recent of which was at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.
What does basketball, the pacemaker, IMAX, and the Blackberry have in common? Yes,
they were all invented by Canadians. Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith,
a Canadian PE instructor in Massachusetts who wanted to create a game that can be
played indoors during winter. Meanwhile, the first pacemaker was invented by electrical
engineer John Hopps, and the IMAX (for Image Maximum) was created by Toronto-based
Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr and William Shaw. Lastly, the Blackberry
cellphone is a product of Research in Motion (RIM), in Waterloo, Ontario.