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Canada is located to the North of America and is enclosed by the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. It shares its world's longest border in terms of total area with the United States and is currently inhabited by Aboriginal. The capital city of the country is Ottawa, with Toronto being its largest city.

Although the official languages in Canada are English and French, the country also recognizes other regional languages.

History

Through archeological studies and genetic analysis, it is believed that the Aboriginals were the first inhabitants of the northern region, mainly in Yukon. With the European arrival in the country, the Aboriginal population suffered cases of infectious diseases like measles and smallpox.

Since they did not have natural immunity, the population decreased significantly. Today, the Aboriginals include the First Nations, Inuit and the Métis, with the Métis as a mixed blood, after the First Nations and the Métis intermarried with European settlers.

The three major events in the history of Canada were the European colonization period, confederation and expansion. The French and British colonized Canada. The country was officially proclaimed a Canadian Confederation in 1867. Canada played a key role during the World War II and the war played a crucial role in strengthening the country's army and economy.

Government and Politics

Canada's government is highly influenced by the British system of governance. The country has a parliamentary system and a constitutional monarch. The monarch of Canada consists of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary.

Queen Elizabeth 11 is the sovereign ruler and also the head of state of Canada's provinces as well as other Commonwealth countries. The federal duties of the country are performed by the Governor General. The Prime Minister chooses and heads the Cabinet to the House of Commons.

The House of Commons consists of 308 members, elected in a riding or electoral district.

Elections in Canada are generally done after every four years or can be triggered by a vote of no confidence on the government in the House. There are currently 105 members of the Senate and 5 parties, with the Conservative party of Canada as the governing party.

Economy

The country has one of the largest and most advanced economies in the world.

This has been made possible by its reliance on natural resources and its international trades. It is one of the large exporters of energy and agricultural supplies and a major producer of minerals such as zinc and uranium.

It has a sizable manufacturing industry of automobiles and aeronautics. Although the global recession of 2008 significantly affected Canada's economy, its nominal GDP (2011), stands at US$1.74 trillion.

Demographics

The total population in Canada as per the 2011 census is about 33,477,000 people, with 80% of this population living in urban areas.

The population growth is majorly caused by immigration and consists of Canadians, English, French, Scottish, Irish, Germans, Italians, Chinese, First Nations, Ukrainians and Dutch. A large part of this population is made up of Christians, with Catholic being the major religion.

Climate and Terrain

The country experiences temperate climate in the south but this varies to the north where the climate is more subarctic and arctic. Temperatures range from -40 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius.

To the west of the country, the terrain is mainly made up of plains and mountains. However, it is lowlands to the southeast.