Canada

Canada is a country located in the northern part of North America. Politically Canada is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Bordered to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the north by the Arctic Ocean and on the west by the Pacific Ocean, it is bordered by the United States to the south and northwest. This is the second country in the world by land area after Russia, close to 10 million square kilometers. This is the thirty-fifth most populous country with a population in 2013 estimated at over 35 million people1. The national languages ​​are English and French, the federal capital Ottawa, and the Canadian dollar currency.

Canadian territory was occupied for millennia by various Native American peoples before the exploration and the arrival of Europeans. On 5 August 1583, the British colony of Newfoundland was founded, later, other British colonies will be established, including a portion of the Atlantic coast and in the Arctic, while other European powers such France, Spain and Russia explore the rest of Canada. Following various conflicts, Britain won and lost territories in the eighteenth century, culminating in what is today the Canadian territory. Three of these colonies federated on 1 July 1867 and formed the Dominion of Canada, an independent state. The recent Canadian history was marked by a strong territorial expansion, the gold rush and participation in the First World War. The country was hit hard by the Great Depression in 1929, but the economy rebounded following his participation in the Second World War, where he was one of the winners as part of the Allies.

In macroeconomic terms, Canada is the tenth world power by his GDP5, the main sectors are agriculture, telecommunications, petroleum, automotive and aerospace. Canada enjoys strong ties with the United States (nearest English-speaking country and sharing a part of its history), its main customer and supplier with whom endures one of the most lengthy and complex relationship between the two nations in the world. It is a developed country with the eighth highest per capita income in the world, and is ranked eighth by UNDP in terms of IDH4. Canada is a member of the G8, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), the Economic Cooperation Asia-Pacific (APEC), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Organization for economic Cooperation and development (OECD), the United Nations (UN), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

The name Canada comes from the Iroquois word kanata ("village" or "settlement") 6. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of present-day Quebec City region and used this word to guide the explorer Jacques Cartier to the Breton village of Stadacona. Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only the village but also for all land Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona). In 1545, European books and maps began referring to this region by the word Canada7.

In the seventeenth century and the eighteenth century, the word Canada pointed to a colony of New France, which was located along the St. Lawrence River and the northern shores of the Great Lakes. The word subsequently appointed two British colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, which were reunited in 1841 in the Province of Canada, or more commonly Canada Kingdom8.

In 1864, the project of uniting several colonies of British North America into a nation started. At the London Conference, several names were proposed for the new country that was born, and among these various proposals, the name Canada was suggested in February 1867 and was approved and adopted by all the delegates. On July 1, 1867, three colonies of the British Empire and the new federated country officially became Canada.

The appointment was long form "Dominion of Canada" (in English Dominion of Canada) 9, the federal government used most of the time simply designating short form "Canada", the various treaties and state documents. The word "Dominion" was officially abolished in 1982, since then, the country no longer has any long form. At the same time, the name of the national holiday, the "Confederation Day" (in English Dominion Day, literally the "Dominion Day") was renamed "Canada Day" (in English Canada Day, literally "Canada Day").


While Pangaea is still a vast territory in the Paleozoic era, the formation and development of the Appalachian mountain range begins in the Devonian period, there are 410 million years. After the split of Pangaea in early Mesozoic, the northern part of it, Laurasia - (Laur) entien + Eur (Asia) 10, divided into two during the Jurassic period. The western part formed what later became North America and drifted for several million years to its present location. Then the formation of the Rocky Mountains began there 138 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. It was at the end of this period that the Earth witnessed the mass extinction of animals, including the dinosaurs. Oil reserves began to form thereafter mainly in Alberta and later became one of the main economic resources of Canada. Then, wait for the end of the Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era there 5 million years that begins the formation of the ice cap covering northern Canada. Towards the end of this period, the climate began to cool and opening the door to an ice age and a migration of mammals between continents. It was during the Quaternary period there 1.6 million years the climate became too cold and that changes in sea level provoked the onset of the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence River other large lakes and, in addition to the Laurentian Plateau. The development and migration of modern humans began to Holocene time there 10,000 years. At that time, the climate warmed and became drier, favoring melting glaces11.