A grade 6 student's research project.

1. Canada’s link to Thailand

3. Population T hailand’s population is relatively homogeneous, however, this is changing due to immigration. More than 85% speak a Thai language and share a common culture. This core population includes the central Thai (33.7% of the population, including Bangkok’s population), Northeastern Thai or Lao (34.2%), northern Thai (18.8%), and southern Thai (13.3%).

4. Government Head of State: King Bhumibol Adulyadej Head of Government: Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinwatra Council of Ministries Ministry of Justice Ministry of Transportation and Communications Ministry of Public Health Independent Agencies Ministry of Finance Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare Ministry of Industry Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative Ministry of Education Ministry of Defence Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Interior Office of Attorney General Ministry of University Environment Affairs Secretariats of National Assembly Type of State: Constitutional Monarch Type of Government: Parliamentary Democracy Main Political Parties: Pheu Thai Party, Democrat Party, Bhunjaithai Party, Thai Nation Development Party, National Development Party for the Homeland, Phalang Chon Party Elections: general elections are held every 4 years Last Election: July, 2011 Source: Statistics Canada, September, 2011

5. HISTORY OF THAILAND 10,000 BC Upper Palaeolithic (the Old Stone Age) period 5000 - 3000BC Neolithic (New Stone Age) period 3000BC - 1000BC Bronze age culture at Ban Chiang 600 B.C. Chinese Thai migration recorded 300 B.C. Indian settlements bringing the Hindu religion 1000 AD The Mons, from Burma, had established themselves in Central Thailand 1150 Suriyavarman II built Angkor Wat in today's Cambodia 1497 July 8 - Vasco da Gama set out on expedidition to India via Africa stopping at Mombasa, Mozambique, Malindi, Kenya, and Quilmana trading centres 1516 Portuguese send an envoy to Thai Court and sign a treaty 1529 - 1569 War with Burma 1571 The Spanish settle in Manila to trade and spread Christianity 1575 - 1650 The Dutch, French, Danish, Arabs, Chinese and British established trade agreements 1833 - 1847 Thai-Vietnam war 1833 - First American envoy to the Thai Court 1905 - Slavery was abolished 1909 - Great Britain establishes protectorates 1914 - 1918 WWI - Thailand joins the Allies 1932 - Revolution and the obsolete monarchy is abolished 1939 - 1945 WWII Thailand declares war on the Allies 1957 – Vietnam War starts 1984-1985 Major recession slow down 1985 – 1994 First place among world nations in economic growth 1991 – 1995 Exports doubled in value 1997 – Devaluing of the Thai currency meant inflation increased and markets became unstable (many people lost a lot of $) 2007 – Thailand’s boom helped rebuild the economy

10. language The official national language, spoken by almost 100 per cent of the population is, THAI , classified by linguists as belonging to a Chinese-Thai branch of the Sino-Tibetan family. It is a tonal language, uninflected, and predominantly monosyllabic. Most polysyllabic words in the vocabulary have been borrowed, mainly from Khmer, Pali or Sanskrit. Dialects are spoken in rural areas. Principal other languages are Chinese and Malay. English, a mandatory subject in public schools, is widely spoken and understood, particularly in Bangkok and other major cities. Language More than 92% of the population speaks Thai or one of it’s regional dialects. While the Thai language is the official language of Thailand, as a result of its cosmopolitan capital city and established tourism infrastructure, English is spoken and understood throughout much of Thailand

11. Religion Religion 94.6% of Thais are Buddhist, 4.6% of Thais are Muslim 0.7% of Thais are Christian

21. Canada’s Merchandise Trade with Thailand, 2010 Canadian Imports from Thailand Canadian Exports to Thailand Merchandise Classification % Merchandise Classification % 1 Electrical machinery and equipment 27.23 Wood pulp; paper or paperboard scraps 21.70 2 Boilers, mechanical appliances, etc. 14.21 Fertilizers 13.90 3 Prepared food: meat, fish, seafood 9.19 Electrical machinery and equipment 9.85 4 Rubber and rubber articles 7.33 Boilers, mechanical appliances, etc. 8.41 5 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs 5.40 Pearls, precious stones or metals 6.09 6 Pearls, precious stones or metals 4.53 Cereals 5.31 7 Cereals 3.94 Fish, crustaceans, molluscs 3.19 8 Optical, medical, scientific, technical instrumentation 3.18 Lead and lead articles 2.59 9 Iron or steel articles 2.32 Optical, medical, scientific, technical instrumentation 2.53 10 Prepared food: vegetable, fruit, nuts 2.28 Oil seeds and misc. fruit, grain, etc. 2.47 Top 10 as % of total from Thailand 79.60 Top 10 as % of total to Thailand 76.04 Thai imports as % of Cdn total 0.60 Thai exports as % of Cdn total 0.17

24. The Tsunami The waves devastated the shores of parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries with waves reported up to 15 m high, reaching as far as Somalia on the east coast of Africa, 4500 km west of the epicentre. Refraction and diffraction of the waves meant that the impact of the tsunami was noticed around the world and sea-level monitoring stations in places such as Brazil and Queensland also felt the effect of the tsunami. December 24 , 2004 Source: Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior, Thailand (Figures as of 07 September 2005) Recovery Issues Source: Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior, Thailand Description Figure No. people killed 5,395 No. people missing 2,817 1,972 Thai, 2,248 foreign nationals : 37 countries Bodies still unidentified 1,650 No. of affected people 58,550 Children orphaned (loss of one or both parents) 1,480 Lost livelihoods in fisheries 30,000 Fishing boats destroyed or damaged 7,500 Lost livelihoods in tourism 120,000+ Houses destroyed or badly damaged 4,806 Estimated value of damages (not. inc. housing) 353.4 million USD Thai Government assistance /compensation (as of 01 September 2005) 1.06 billion USD (inc. budget contributions, Prime Minister's Office, bank credit) Relief Fund for Disaster Victims 31.75 million USD UN emergency phase relief assistance 2.6 million USD UN recovery programming (till mid 2006) 38.3 million USD(Figures as of 07 September 2005) Recovery Issues

25. Sources/Bibliography http://www.asiapacific.ca/statistics/trade/bilateral-trade-asia-product/canadas-merchandise-trade-thailand . web http://www.thailandtourismupdate.com/Home . web http://thailand.prd.go.th/ web http://www.tourismthailand.org/about-thailand/fast-facts/ . web McNair, Sylvia. Thailand . New York: Children's, 1998. Print. Boraas, Tracey. Thailand . Mankato, MN: Bridgestone, 2003. Print. "Thailand Tourism Surging Ahead." Jakarata Post . Web. www.state.gov/=/pa/ei/bgn/2814.htm . web www.thaifood.about.com .web www.thailandlife.com . web www.wes.org . web www.asianinfo.org . web thegovernmentpublicrelationsdepartmentthailand.prd.go.th/view. web www.mapcrow.info.com . web “ Foreign investment in Thailand is constantly expanding, supporting the strong economic growth of the country.” Thailand Business News. web Canada Economy 2011; 2011 CIA World Fact Book and other sources, 2012. web Canada. Statistics Canada. Foreign Affairs, 2011.Print. Thailand . 2007. DVD. Schiller, Bill. "Analysis: Thailand's Problems Far from Being Resolved." The Star [Toronto] 21 May 2010. Print. Http://www.un.or.th/tsunamiinthailand/Tsunami2004anditsimpact.html . 16 Jan. 2012. web CANADA. Statistics Canada. Foreign Affairs. CANADA ADAPTS ANTI-PROTECTIONIST PLEDGE AT World Trade Organization . 2012. Print.

26. This was by: CELESTE WATERS