Canada is located in North America, and is the second largest country in the world, after Russia. Canada's total area is 9,984,670 square kilometers and is slightly larger than the United States, its southern neighbor. Canada is bordered on the East by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the West by the North Pacific Ocean, and on the North by the Arctic Ocean.
Canada contains one-third of all the fresh water on earth. The Atlantic Basin contains the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, as well as the Niagara River which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Niagara Falls is located in the Niagara River, approximately midway between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Saint Lawrence Seaway, the world's longest navigable inland waterway, connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes. These waters feed into the Atlantic Ocean at several large inlets, which include the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy, between the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, has the highest tides in the world.
The Hudson Bay Basin is drained by the rivers flowing into the Hudson Bay from the Plains. The Arctic Basin contains several large rivers of which the longest is the Mackenzie River. The Pacific Basin's longest river is the Yukon River, which flows through the Yukon Territory and Alaska into the Bering Sea.
Other physical features of Canada include the Interior Plains and the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the West.
Although its territory is large, Canada is sparsely populated, with 85 percent of its population living within 180 miles (300 kilometers) from the United States border. Much of the northern portion of Canada is uninhabitable, having a subarctic and arctic climate and barren terrain. The estimated total population, as of July 2006, was 33,098,932. Ethnically, Canada is: 28 percent of British origin, 23 percent of French origin, 15 percent of other European origin, 2 percent Amerindian including Inuit, and 26 percent of a mixed background. The smaller ethnic groups are concentrated predominantly in the major cities, with the exception of the Amerindian.
The largest portion of the population is Roman Catholic (46 percent), followed by Protestant (several denominations) 23.3 percent, Christian 4 percent, Muslim 1.9 percent, other religions 11.8 percent, and none 16 percent, as of the 2001 census.
There are two official languages in Canada, English and French.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation. Its constitution is both unwritten and written. The unwritten portion includes unwritten acts, customs, judicial decisions, and tradition; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867. The Act created a federation of four provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec), and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Great Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and also procedures for adding constitutional amendments.
There have been a series of constitutional disputes since 1931, especially since the 1960s, to modernize the constitution, particularly by the citizens of the province of Quebec, which is predominately populated by citizens of French ethnic origin and culture, known as Quebecois.
Canada's independence from Great Britain was formally recognized on 11 December 1931, but it remains part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Canada's head of state is Queen Elizabeth II who is represented by a governor general; the governor general serves for five years. The head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the governor general. The leader of the majority political party or majority party in the House of Commons after legislative elections is automatically designated Prime Minister. The cabinet is a Federal Ministry appointed by the Prime Minister from the sitting Parliament.
National elections are held at least every five years, or whenever the majority party is voted down or calls an election.
The capital of Canada is Ottawa, which is also the seat of the Federal government.
Canada is a federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories which are represented by a Parliament of two branches, the Senate and the House of Commons (Chambre des Communes). Members of the Senate are appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister; the members of the House of Commons are directly elected by popular vote. Each province or territory has a provincial legislature, called a legislative assembly, except in the province of Labrador, where the body is called the House of Assembly and in Quebec, where it is the National Assembly. Each provincial legislature is headed by a premier, who is usually a member of the majority party.
The currency in Canada is the Canadian dollar.
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