AN INTRODUCTION TO CANADA
In 1867,Ontario,Quebec,New Brunswick and Nova Scotia formed a confederation.On July 1,1867,the British North America Act declared Canada a country.We celebrate Canada's national day on July 1 as Canada Day.The name "Canada" originally came from a First Nations' word "kanata" meaning village.Later,European map makers changed it to "Canada" to identify all the land north of the St.Lawrence River.In 1965,we adopted the red and white flag with the maple leaf as our official flag.
Queen Elizabeth II of England is still Canada's Head of State,and until 1982 Canada could not make any changes to its constitution without the approval of the British Government.In 1982 the Constitution Act came into effect,which allows Canada to make these changes without British approval.We made the Charter of Rights and Freedoms part of the Constitution in 1982.The Official Languages Act protects English and French,the two official languages in Canada.
Canada is the second largest country in the world with 10 million square kilometres of land mass.The country has a population of approximately 30 million people.Three oceans border the country - the Atlantic,the Pacific and the Arctic.Due to its size,there are many different geographical areas and regions.We divide these into the following:the Atlantic region,Central Canada,the Prairie Provinces,the West Coast and the North.We divide the country into 10 provinces and 3 territories each with its own capital.The capital of Canada is Ottawa.
People from 150 different countries call Canada home.The first people who lived in Canada were the aboriginals,the native people of Canada.They are separated into three distinct groups:First Nations who lived in all areas of Canada,the Inuit who lived in the northern region,and the Metis who are descendants of First Nations women and English and French fur traders.
