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CANADA

ANADA occupies the northern half of the North American continent with the exception of Alaska, which is part of the United States, Greenland which belongs to Denmark, and the small islands of St Pierre and Miquelon off the coast of Newfoundland which belong to France. In latitude the country stretches from Middle Island in Lake Erie, at 41° 41′ N., to Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island, at 83° 07′ N. It thus includes the islands immediately north of the mainland such as Victoria Island and Baffin Island as well as those in the extreme north known collectively as the Queen Elizabeth Islands. Other islands of importance are Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast; the island of Newfoundland forming part of the Province of Newfoundland; the Province of Prince Edward Island; Cape Breton Island forming part of the Province of Nova Scotia; Grand Manan and Campobello Islands forming part of the Province of New Brunswick; Anticosti Island and the Magdalen group included in the Province of Quebec. Canada is the largest country in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest country in the world, comprising an area computed at 3,851,809 square miles of land and fresh water, over forty times the area of Britain.

The predominant geographical feature is the Great Cordilleran Mountain System which contains many peaks over 10,000 feet in height. The highest peak in Canada is Mount Logan, in the St Elias Mountains of Yukon Territory, which rises 19,850 feet above sea level. The highest elevations in the country are to be found in Yukon (19 other peaks over 10,000 feet), Alberta (32 peaks over 10,000 feet in the Rockies) and British Columbia (32 peaks over 10,000 feet).

Another geographical feature of note is the area known as the great Canadian Shield. This is a vast area of ancient rocks occupying the greater part of the territory north of the River St Lawrence. It consists of plateau-like highlands, made up of a great mass of ancient, very hard rocks, which present a rough, broken surface strewn with lakes and varying in height from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level with a few higher peaks. It contains rich mineral deposits, and its vast forest and water power resources contribute much to the wealth of the country.

Canada's inland waters are very extensive, constituting about 7.6 per cent of the total area of the country. The Great Lakes are the outstanding lakes of the country, their total Canadian area being almost 36,000 square miles. Other large lakes ranging in area from 9,500 to 12,300 square miles are Lake Winnipeg, Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake. In addition there are innumerable lakes scattered over that major portion of Canada lying within the Canadian Shield; in an area of 6,094 square miles south and east of Lake Winnipeg there are 3,000 lakes. Eastern Canada is dominated by the Great Lakes-St Lawrence system which drains an area of about 678,000 square miles and forms an unequalled navigable inland waterway through a region rich in natural and industrial resources. From the head of Lake Superior to the entrance to the Gulf of St Lawrence the distance is 2,280 miles. In the mid-west two main branches of the Saskatchewan River, tributary to the Nelson flowing into Hudson Bay, drain one of Canada's great agricultural regions and are now the bases of important irrigation projects. North-westward, one of the world's longest rivers, the

For further information about Canada see Canada Year Book.

Mackenzie, flows 2,635 miles to the Arctic Ocean and drains an area in the three westernmost provinces of approximately 700,000 square miles.

There are great differences in the weather throughout Canada at any given time, as there are many climates. Because Canada is situated in the northern half of the hemisphere, most of the country loses more heat annually than it receives from the sun. The general atmospheric circulation compensates for this and at the same time produces a general movement of air from west to east. Migrant low pressure areas move across the country in this 'westerly zone', producing storms and bad weather. In intervals between storms there prevails the fair weather associated with high pressure areas. The physical geography of North America also contributes greatly to the climate. On the west coast, the western Cordillera limits mild air from the Pacific to a narrow band along the coast, while the prairies to the east of the mountains are dry and have extreme temperatures. The prairies are part of a wide north-south corridor open to rapid air flow from either north or south which often brings sudden and drastic weather changes. On the other hand, the large water surfaces of eastern Canada produce a considerable modification to the climate. In south-western Ontario winters are milder with more snow, and in summer the cooling effect of the lakes is well illustrated by the number of resorts along their shores. On the east coast the Atlantic Ocean has considerable effect on the immediate coastal area where temperatures are modified and conditions made more humid when the winds blow inland from the ocean. The following figures give some indication of the varying mean temperatures (Fahrenheit): Newfoundland (Gander) January 21.1, July 61.7; Nova Scotia (Halifax) January 26.0, July 65.3; Quebec (Montreal) January 16.0, July 70-8; Prairie Provinces (Regina) January 0·9, July 66-0; British Columbia (Vancouver) January 36.3, July 63-4; Smith River, January 11.4, July 57.4; Yukon (Whitehorse) January 2·0, July 57.3.

The Canadian federal state was established by the British North America Act, 1867, and now consists of ten Provinces and two Territories. The Provinces, with the date on which they joined the Confederation, are: Ontario (1867), Quebec (1867), Nova Scotia (1867), New Brunswick (1867), Manitoba (1870), British Columbia (1871), Prince Edward Island (1873), Saskatchewan (1905), Alberta (1905) and Newfoundland (1949). The Territories are the Northwest Territories (1870) and the Yukon Territory (1898). The Northwest Territories were divided in 1920 into the Districts of Mackenzie, Keewatin and Franklin. As recorded at the Census of 1971 the population of Canada was 21,568,311 of which 76.1 per cent were classed as urban dwellers; 56-5 per cent lived in or on the fringes of urban centres having a population of 30,000 or more, and 6.6 per cent lived on farms. Of the total population, 29.6 per cent were under 15 years of age and 62.3 per cent were in the working age group of 15-64 years; 8.1 per cent were 65 years of age or over. The 5-year average birth and death rates are 17.5 and 7.3 per 1,000 respectively. The two basic ethnic groups in the Canadian population are the British Isles group and the French. In 1971 figures showed that 44.6 per cent of the po pulation belonged to the former group and 28.7 per cent to the latter. The next largest ethnic group was German with 6-1 per cent of the total population; followed by Italian with 3.4 per cent; Ukrainian with 2.7 per cent and the Netherlands with 2 per cent. Asians made up 1.3 per cent of the population.

At the time of the 1971 Census the native peoples of Canada, the Indians and Eskimos, together made up only 1.5 per cent of the total population. The Indian

population numbered 297,000 including all persons with a paternal ancestor of Indian race who have chosen to remain under Indian legislation. About 230,000 of the Indians live on reserves having a total area of 9,953 square miles. The remainder reside away from reserves, including those in the Yukon and Northwest Territories for whom reserves have not been set aside. In the northern and other outlying areas, hunting, fishing and trapping remain an important means of livelihood for them but in the more settled areas many Indians have fitted into the economy of the communities in which they live in a wide range of occupations. Subject to special provisions in the Indian Act, all laws of general application are applicable to Indians, and they may vote in federal elections on the same basis as other citizens and in provincial elections where the electoral laws of the provinces permit. Indian affairs are administered by the Federal Government and are conducted in a manner that will enable the Indians to participate fully in the social and economic life of the country. A wide range of programmes has been brought into effect in the fields of education, economic development, social welfare and community development; nearly 71,523 Indians were enrolled in schools throughout the country in January 1972.

The affairs of approximately 18,000 Canadian Eskimos living in the Northwest Territories, northern Quebec and Labrador are also administered by the Federal Government. While many of them still hold to the traditional way of life, an ever-increasing number are making the change from a nomadic existence to regular wage employment. Continued development in the north, coupled with a decrease in some types of game, is resulting in more and more Eskimos settling in modern communities with schools, health and transportation facilities and wage employment opportunities. The Canadian Government is helping this transition by providing such forms of assistance as education and welfare services, vocational training and economic development programmes. About 4,375 Eskimo children regularly attended schools in 1971/72.

Under the provisions of the British North America Act, 1867, either the English or the French language may be used in debates in the Parliament of Canada and in the Legislature of Quebec and either of these languages may be used by any person or in any Pleading or Process in or issuing from any Court of Canada established under the Act and in or from all or any of the Courts of Quebec. Figures for the 1971 Census showed that 14,469,000 persons spoke English only, 3,880,000 spoke French only, 2,900,000 spoke English and French and 320,000 spoke neither English nor French.

The main religious denominations were: Roman Catholic 9,975,000; United Church of Canada 3,768,000; Anglican Church of Canada 2,544,000; Presbyterian 872,000; Baptist 667,000 and Lutheran 716,000.

Primary education is free and universal.

Total tonnages handled in 1973 in the principal ports, including those on the St Lawrence River and Great Lakes, were, in millions of tons: Montreal (23.9), Vancouver (42·1), Thunder Bay (19·8), Sept Iles (30·5), Hamilton (13·3), Halifax (14-1), Port Cartier (17.3), Baie Comeau (8-6), Toronto (3-4), Sault Ste Marie (5.5), Quebec (16.7), St John (6·1).

There are two major Canadian air lines, Air Canada and Canadian Pacific Airlines Limited. There are also five domestic air carriers licensed to operate scheduled commercial air services in Canada, namely, Eastern Provincial Airways (1963) Limited, Gander, Newfoundland; Quebecair, Montreal, Quebec;

Nordair Ltée-Ltd., Dorval, Quebec; Transair Limited, Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Pacific Western Airlines Limited, Vancouver, British Columbia.

The 1970 road mileage figure was 515,922 (400,870 surfaced and 115,052 earth) and in 1971 there were 59,710 miles of railway track.*

As of March 1974 television stations and their rebroadcast stations in Canada reach at least 97% of the population.

The Government-owned CBC network is made up of 15 owned and operated stations plus 30 privately owned affiliated stations. The CBC French network is composed of 7 owned and operated stations, plus 6 affiliates. The independent network, CTV, provides a national, privately owned and financed English network. There are 17 privately owned affiliated English language stations. An independent French network, TVA, operates in the Province of Quebec and is composed of 5 stations. In other parts of Canada there are 6 other independent French language stations which are not affiliated with any network.

There are 387 cablevision stations in Canada which are owned and operated by private companies. Basically these stations are antenna systems which make it possible for a subscriber to receive US and Canadian transmissions which would not normally be available.

There are 365 AM and 101 FM radio stations which reach at least 98% of the population. All accept advertising. The CBC owns and operates 40 AM and 18 FM stations and has 111 AM affiliates. There are also 214 private AM and 83 FM stations.

Exports and re-exports for the calendar year 1973 were valued at $25,500 million and imports at $23,269 million.

The National Day of Canada is 1st July, Dominion Day.

HISTORY

Discovery and Exploration. The original inhabitants of North America migrated from Asia across the Bering Strait over twenty-five thousand years ago, gradually dispersing themselves throughout the continent. The first Europeans known to have landed on Canadian shores were the Vikings under Leif Ericson who founded short-lived settlements, probably in Newfoundland or Labrador, about A.D. 1000. Thereafter contact was lost between Europe and the New World.

The re-discovery of North America by Columbus encouraged other mariners to sail westward, among them John Cabot who, in the service of King Henry VII, made a land-fall in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1497. Cabot's reports of the abundance of fish off Newfoundland attracted French, Spanish, Portuguese and English fishermen, who have continued to frequent these fishing grounds ever since. As early as 1534 Jacques Cartier, in the service of France, visited the Gulf of St Lawrence and in 1535 sailed up the St Lawrence River, where he visited Indian villages on the sites of present-day Quebec and Montreal. The name 'Canada' may be derived from the Indian word kanata, meaning a town, applied to one of these villages.

Seeking a north-west passage to the Orient, Frobisher in 1576 and Davis in 1585 penetrated into the Frobisher and Davis Strait, and in 1602 Hudson Strait was discovered, and Hudson himself explored Hudson Bay in 1610. But the

There are two trans-continental railway systems in Canada, Canadian National
Railways (government-owned) and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.