Canada is an immense country. It is very diverse in its people, its landscape, its climate, and its way of life. However, Canadians do share the same important values. These values guide and influence much of our everyday life. These are values of pride, a belief in equality and diversity and respect for all individuals in society. Women, men, children and seniors are all equally respected in Canada. Canadians may be different from each other but it is these shared values that make Canada a friendly, caring, peace loving and secure society in which to live. For nine consecutive years ( ), a United Nations survey found Canada to be among the top three places in the world to live. Conducted every year, the survey evaluates quality of life in 174 countries, using over 200 performance indicators. Canada earned particularly high marks for its access to education, high life expectancy (due to universal health care system); and low crime and violence rates. Canada continues to remain in the top five on the list. The Canadian way of life

Geography Canada is the world’s second-largest country (9,976,140 km2), surpassed only by the Russian Federation. The country is encased by the world’s longest coastline. Distances in Canada can be vast. Consider the Trans- Canada Highway, which at 7,821 km long is longer than the distance from London to Bombay. More than 50 percent of Canada’s land is blanketed with rich forest ranges, accounting for 10 percent of the world’s remaining forests and 20 percent of the world’s remaining wilderness areas. Canada is made up of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces from west to east are: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and furthest east, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The territories are the Yukon, the Northwest Territories (NWT), and Nunavut, Canada’s newest territory, formed in 1999 out of the eastern part of the NWT and the homeland of the native Inuit.

History As early as 40,000 years ago, Canada’s first inhabitants crossed what is now the Bering Strait. For thousands of years, the aboriginal population flourished in Canada. The first fully documented exploration by Europeans was that of John Cabot with an English expedition in France made one of its first claims in 1534, when Jacques Cartier landed on the Gaspé Peninsula and sailed up the St. Lawrence River. The early French settlers populated what was known as Lower Canada, in present-day Quebec. The French claimed Canada for King Louis XIV and the British made similar claims for the English monarch. These conflicting claims set the stage for nearly two centuries of warfare, and are still felt today in the struggle for independence by some in the French-speaking population of the province of Quebec.

People Canada’s population is over 30 million with the vast majority (77%) living in cities and towns. The largest cities in Canada are: Toronto (4.44 million), Montréal (3.33 million), Vancouver (1.89 million), Ottawa-Hull, the National Capital Region (1.03 million). In the 1996 census, about 19% of the population reported "Canadian" as their single ethnic origin, with 17% reporting British Isles-only ancestry and 9% French-only ancestry. About 10% reported a combination of British Isles, French, or Canadian origin, with another 16% reporting an ancestry of either British Isles, French or Canadian in combination with some other origin. Some 28% reported origins other than the British Isles, French or Canadian.

Languages Canada has two official languages: English, the mother tongue of about 59% of Canadians; and French, the first language of 23% of the population. A full 18% have either more than one mother tongue or a mother tongue other than English or French, such as Chinese, Italian, German, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Ukrainian, Arabic, Dutch, Tagalog, Greek, Vietnamese, Cree, Inuktitut, or other languages. The Official Languages Act makes French and English the official languages of Canada and provides for special measures aimed at enhancing the vitality and supporting the development of English and French linguistic minority communities. Canada's federal institutions reflect the equality of its two official languages by offering bilingual services.

The Maple Leaf The maple leaf was used as a symbol of Canada as early as Since February 15, 1965, a red maple leaf has been on the national flag of Canada. It has become our most well- known and important symbol. Other Symbols The beaver is one of the symbols of Canada. It appears on the five-cent coin. Beavers are known to be hard-working In 1965, Canada adopted its official red and white flag with the maple leaf. Canadian Symbols