Canada Facts: Interesting Facts About Canada

Canada was founded in 1867 as a union of the British Colonies. Canada gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1982. Here are some other facts about Canada.

The first inhabitants of Canada were aborigines. The explorers from Western Europe settled in Canada during the 1500s and the country was named 'Canada' by Jacques Cartier in 1535. The name comes from the Huron and Iroquois word 'kanata' which literally means village.

Canada is a country on the Continent of North America. The country covers the area between Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean on the north and the United States to the South. Canada is the second largest country in the world, next only to the Russian Federation.

Canada has the world's largest coastline and it is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Arctic ocean to the south. Canada has about one fourth of all the fresh water available in the world. Many of the lakes in Canada have been created by the Glaciers shaping. The largest river in Canada is the Mackenzie river. The six geographical regions in Canada are Cordillera, Interior Plains, Lowlands, Arctic, Canadian Shield and the Appalachian Highlands.

The official languages of Canada are English and French. These languages have equal status in the Parliament, Federal Institutions and Federal Courts. The other non-official languages spoken in Canada are German, Italian, Punjabi and Chinese.

Canada has ten provinces and three territories. They are Alberta, with Edmonton as it's capital, British Columbia, with Victoria as it's capital, Manitoba, whose capital is Winnipeg, New Brunswick having Fredericton as the capital, Newfoundland and Labrador, having St. John's as the capital, Northwest Territories with Yellowknife as its capital, Nova Scotia with Halifax as the capital, Nunavaut with Iqaluit as its capital, Ontario with Toronto as its capital, Prince Edward Island with Charlottetown as its capital, Quebec with Quebec City as its capital, Saskatchewan with Regina as its capital and the Yukon Territory with Whitehorse as its capital

Canada is a democracy. The Parliament of Canada is based in Ottawa in Ontario. The Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the Senate. The main highway in Canada is known as the Trans-Canada highway and it travels from St Johns, in Newfoundland and Labrador to Victoria in British Columbia. The highway is seven thousand six hundred and four kilometers long and is the longest national highway in the world. The Canadian National and the Canadian Pacific are the major freight systems in Canada.

Canada is one of the world's wealthiest countries. It has a very high per capita income. Canada is a member of the Organisation for Economic Progress and Development and the Group of Eight. It is also a free market economy. The market has lesser government intervention as compared to many other European countries. The total unemployment rate in Canada is around six percent.It has been the lowest in the past thirty years. Canada has grown immensely in the areas of manufacturing,

Service sectors and mining and has succeeded in throwing away the 'rural economy' tag to a large extent. Today, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service sector. Other important sectors in Canada are the oil, logging and the automobile industry.

Canada is a exporter of net energy. It has large oil deposits and natural gas deposits in places like Alberta, Saskatchewan and and British Columbia. The Athabasca Tar Sands have one of the world's largest natural gas reserves, second only to Saudi Arabia. Canada also uses the environment friendly hydroelectric power as an energy supplier.

Apart from agriculture, the other important exports of Canada are lead, zinc, uranium, gold and nickel.