Early People First migrations were ancestors of Inuit North American Indians lived in present-day British Columbia (West) 16 th and 17 th centuries, French and British explorers came to exploit the fish and fur trade Britain defeated France in the French and Indian War to gain control of the territory

Unity Conflict between the Roman Catholic French and Protestant English resulted in the split of Canada into two provinces (political units) Upper Canada (Ontario) primarily English speaking and Lower Canada (Quebec) primarily French By 1867, British government created the Dominion of Canada which was a loose confederation (union) of the two

Expansion Transcontinental railroad was built between Montreal and Vancouver Gold, zinc, and silver discoveries brought in people from around the world Moved from an agricultural society to a major economic power in the 20 th century

Government Recognized as independent from Britain in 1931 Has a parliamentary government – legislative and executive branches are combined into parliament Head of state remains the British monarch Parliament handles legislative duties, composed of appointed Senate and elected House of Commons Majority party’s leader is the prime minister (head of government) Each province has its own premier and legislature, but the federal government has ultimate control

Economy Early economy based on trade of natural resources (fur) Biggest export trade is in forest products Exports more fish than any other country Service industries make up most of the economy, especially tourism U.S. is Canada’s chief trading partner because of a shared border NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement between Mexico, Canada, and U.S. makes trade easier

Culture Métis – people of mixed French and Native heritage (First Nations) Bilingual (English majority, French minority) 80% of Canadians live on just 10% of the land just north of U.S. border Inuit live on reserves (land set aside by govt.) in the Arctic north Natives invented lacrosse, early European settlers invented ice hockey

Subregions (chart) Atlantic Provinces Core Provinces Prairie Provinces Pacific Province Territories Names of locations Population and Description Economies and Government (Core)