The notes that we cover in class should all be contained here.

1. CANADA SHARABLE NOTES
GEOGRAPHY
 3.8 million square miles (second largest nation only to Russia)
 Slightly larger than the United States
 Variety of landforms – mountains, lowlands, prairies, and arctic wilderness
 North Pole is in this region
 Covers most of the NORTHERN PART of North America
 Has coastlines on the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific Oceans, giving it the
longest coastline of any country
 Canada has more lakes and inland waterways than any other country in the
world
 Most of Canada has a cool or cold climate
Mountains
 Mount Logan (Yukon) at 19,850 feet high is the tallest mountain
 The Appalachians are in the east region
 The Rocky Mountains are in the west region
Lakes
 Canada has over two million lakes
 The United States shares the Great Lakes with Canada (Huron, Ontario,
Michigan, Erie, Superior)
Rivers
 Mackenzie River is the longest river at 2,635 miles long.
 Saint Lawrence and the Yukon rivers are also important

MAJOR CITIES AND LOCATION INFORMATION
- National Capital – Ottawa (located in the province of Ontario)
- Ottawa = Washington, D.C. (basically the same)
- Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary are major cities
Provinces
 There are ten provinces and three territories.
 Nunavut – carved out of the Northwest Territory for the Inuit people to live
in. Created in 1999.

2. CULTURE
 Most Canadians live near the United States border.
 Native Americans were the first Canadians.
 British and French later settled along the St. Lawrence River and Great
Lakes.
 Cultural differences exist between the French speaking province of Quebec
and the rest of Canada.
 Very diverse in population.
 Some people in French-speaking Quebec want independence from the rest of
Canada.
 In 1995, voters narrowly defeated a proposal for independence.
ECONOMY
- One of the world’s most developed economies.
- Like the U.S., Canada has a strong free market economy
- Manufacturing and service industries
- Very rich in mineral deposits and forests.
- Fishing, mining, and lumbering also important to the economy
- Canada is the world's leading producer of newsprint.
- The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has brought an
economic boom—about 80 percent of Canada's trade is with the U.S.
GENERAL NOTES
- HDI ranking of #8 out of 170 (approximately)
- Only has 11 percent as many people as the U.S. making Canada one of the
least densely inhabited and most prosperous countries
- Native Americans and the Inuit were the first Canadians.
- Canada was a colony of Great Britain until the Dominion of Canada was
established in 1867.
- Canada's government is a confederation with a parliamentary democracy,
headed by a prime minister.
- Its culture reflects the country's diverse ethnic heritage.
- Some 28 percent of Canadians are of British descent, 23 percent claim
French descent (concentrated in Quebec), and 2 percent are aboriginal
peoples
- Other minorities include Italians, Germans, Ukrainians, and Chinese.
- A bilingual country—its two official languages are French and English.

3. - Highly urbanized population - most people live in four areas: 1 -southern
Ontario, 2 - Montréal region, 3 -Vancouver city and southern Vancouver
Island, and 4 - Calgary-Edmonton corridor.
- In fact, an estimated 75 percent of Canadians live within 100 miles of the
U.S. border.
Faces three major challenges
 Holding separate regions together
 Working out trade issues with the United States
 Dealing with environmental issues
CANADA QUICK FACTSHEET
Population Currency
33 Million (33,000,000 +) Canadian dollar
80% Urban
Life Expectancy
Capital and Major Cities 79 (77 males, 84 females)
Ottawa // Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary
Literacy Percent
Area 99
9,984,670 sq. kilometers (3,855,101 sq. miles)
4 per sq. kilometer (10 per sq. mile) Internet Usuage
22 million (out of 33+)
Language
English, French (Bilingual country) Government
Confederation with Parliamentary Democracy
Religion
Roman Catholic, Protestant