Portal:Canada

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

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Introduction

Flag and Arms of Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of just over 41 million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world by nominal GDP, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada promotes its domestically shared values through participation in multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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Insignia of a Member

The Order of Canada (French: Ordre du Canada) is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. (Full article...)

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Current events

April 28, 2025 – 2025 Canadian federal election: Voters in Canada go to the polls to elect the 343 members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. (BBC); The Liberal Party under leader Mark Carney is projected to form government for the party's fourth consecutive mandate, with Carney remaining prime minister. (The Globe and Mail); Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh lose their seats, with the NDP also losing official party status in the House. Each make speeches conceding the election, with Singh announcing his intention to resign as party leader. (CTV News)
April 27, 2025 – 2025 Vancouver car attack: The death toll from yesterday's vehicle-ramming attack at a street festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, rises to eleven with at least 20 others injured, making the attack tied for the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history. The British Columbia Prosecution Service charges the perpetrator with eight counts of second-degree murder, while investigators also rule out terrorism. (CTV News) (AP)
April 26, 2025 – 2025 Vancouver car attack: Nine people are killed and several others injured, after a car is driven through a crowd at a Philippine-Canadian festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Al Jazeera)
April 25, 2025 –: A Royal Thai Police Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft crashes while conducting a test flight for parachuting training near Hua Hin Airport in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand, killing all six people on board. (The Nation) (AP)

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Sunset on North Tea Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park

Credit: Raul Heinrich

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Regional tartans of Canada are represented by all Canada's provinces and territories having a regional tartan, as do many other regional divisions in Canada. Tartans were first brought to Canada by Scottish settlers; the first province to adopt one officially was Nova Scotia in 1956 (when registered at the Court of the Lord Lyon; adopted by law in 1963), and the most recent province was Ontario, in 2000. Except for the tartan of Quebec, all of the provincial and territorial tartans are officially recognized and registered in the books of the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland. (Full article...)

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The politics of Canada functions within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch is the ceremonial head of state. In practice, executive authority is entrusted to the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown chaired by the prime minister of Canada that act as the executive committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada and are responsible to the democratically elected House of Commons. (Full article...)

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Polar bear at Cape Churchill (Wapusk National Park, Manitoba)
Credit: Ansgar Walk

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Pam McConnell in 2014

Pamela Margaret McConnell (February 14, 1946 – July 7, 2017) was a Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council. She was first elected to the Metro Toronto Council in 1994, representing a series of downtown Toronto wards until 2017. She served as a deputy mayor of Toronto, representing Toronto and East York from 2014 to 2017. (Full article...)

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... that Canadian surgeon Robin McLeod advocated for post-operative patients to get back on their feet and move around immediately, against the prevailing guidance that they should stay in bed?
... that Moses Judah Hays leased a block of buildings to the Canadian Parliament after its seat was burned down in 1849?
... that Canadian photographer and architectural activist Brian Merrett's works prompted the preservation of Montreal's Shaughnessy House, now the Canadian Centre for Architecture?
... that Brian Fawcett, who would have turned 78 today, taught English to inmates before becoming a full-time writer?
... that an ancient Canadian archaeological site was discovered during the construction of a dump?
... that Canadian heritage minister Pascale St-Onge was the bassist in an all-lesbian alternative rock quartet?
... that Jennifer Reid at first could not find a Canadian publisher for her book on Canadian identity?

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The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) champion. Each year the champions from three CHL member leagues—the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), along with a host team—compete in the Memorial Cup tournament. Sixty teams across the CHL's three member leagues are eligible to compete for the Memorial Cup, representing nine provinces in Canada and four American states. The OHL's Saginaw Spirit are the defending champions. (Full article...)