Government of Canada

Canada is an independent constitutional monarchy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is also the monarch of Canada and is represented in the country by the office of governor-general. The basic constitutional document is the Canada Act of 1982, which replaced the British North America Act of 1867 and gave Canada the right to amend its own constitution.

The Canada Act, passed by Great Britain, made possible the Constitution Act, 1982, which was passed in Canada. The document includes a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the rights of women and native peoples and protects other civil liberties.

The Canadian federal government has authority in all matters not specifically reserved to the provincial governments. The provincial governments have power in the fields of property, civil rights, education, and local government. They may levy only direct taxes. The federal government may veto any provincial law.

Power on the federal level is exercised by the Canadian Parliament and the cabinet of ministers, headed by the prime minister. (See the table entitled Canadian Prime Ministers since Confederation for a list of Canada’s prime ministers.) Canada has an independent judiciary; the highest court is the Supreme Court, with nine members.

The Parliament has two houses: the Senate and the House of Commons. There are generally 104 senators, apportioned among the provinces and appointed by the governor-general upon the advice of the prime minister. Senators may serve until age 75; prior to 1965 they served for life. The 301 members of the House of Commons are elected, largely from single-member constituencies. Elections must be held at least every five years.

The Commons may be dissolved and new elections held at the request of the prime minister. There are four main political parties: the Liberal party, the Conservative party (formed in 2003 by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative party), the Bloc Quebecois (aligned with the Parti Quebecois of Quebec), and the New Democratic party.

Food and Dining in Canada

Canadian cuisine is as varied as the country. The hundreds of miles of coastline offer varied seafood, and the central plains provide first-class beef and agricultural produce. Some more unusual produce might include elk, bison and caribou. The colonial influence is still strong, with European menus available in all major cities.

The French influence in Quebec is easily discernible in the many restaurants which specialize in French cuisine. Waiter service in restaurants is common. Dress requirements and billing procedures vary. Spirits may only be purchased from specially-licensed liquor stores or restaurants displaying the sign ‘Licensed Premises’ if alcohol is served on the premises.

Many allow customers to bring their own beer or wine. A wide variety of alcohol is sold in most hotels, restaurants and bars. A selection of European/US wines and spirits are imported, although the Canadians also enjoy their own, such as rye whisky.

Bars may have table or counter service and payment is generally made after each drink. Opening hours vary from province to province. The legal age for drinking in bars is 18 or 19 depending on local regulations. See also Social Profile in the individual Provinces/ Territories sections.

Land and People of Canada

Land

Canada has a very long and irregular coastline; Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence indent the east coast and the Inside Passage extends along the west coast. The ice-clogged straits between the islands of N Canada form the Northwest Passage. During the Ice Age all of Canada was covered by a continental ice sheet that scoured and depressed the land surface, leaving a covering of glacial drift, depositional landforms, and innumerable lakes and rivers.

Aside from the Great Lakes, which are only partly in the country, the largest lakes of North America-Great Bear, Great Slave, and Winnipeg-are entirely in Canada. The St. Lawrence is the chief river of E Canada. The Saskatchewan, Nelson, Churchill, and Mackenzie river systems drain central Canada, and the Columbia, Fraser, and Yukon rivers drain the western part of the country.

Canada has a bowl-shaped geologic structure rimmed by highlands, with Hudson Bay at the lowest point. The country has eight major physiographic regions-the Canadian Shield, the Hudson Bay Lowlands, the Western Cordillera, the Interior Lowlands, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, the Appalachians, the Arctic Lowlands, and the Innuitians.

The exposed portions of the Canadian Shield cover more than half of Canada. This once-mountainous region, which contains the continent’s oldest rocks, has been worn low by erosion over the millennia. Its upturned eastern edge is indented by fjords. The Shield is rich in minerals, especially iron and nickel, and in potential sources of hydroelectric power. In the center of the Shield are the Hudson Bay Lowlands, encompassing Hudson Bay and the surrounding marshy land.

The Western Cordillera, a geologically young mountain system parallel to the Pacific coast, is composed of a series of north-south tending ranges and valleys that form the highest and most rugged section of the country; Mt. Logan (19,551 ft/5,959 m) is the highest point in Canada. Part of this region is made up of the Rocky Mts. and the Coast Mts., which are separated by plateaus and basins. The islands off W Canada are partially submerged portions of the Coast Mts. The Western Cordillera is also rich in minerals and timber and potential sources of hydroelectric power.

Between the Rocky Mts. and the Canadian Shield are the Interior Lowlands, a vast region filled with sediment from the flanking higher lands. The Lowlands are divided into the prairies, the plains, and the Mackenzie Lowlands. The prairies are Canada’s granary, while grazing is important on the plains.

The smallest and southernmost region is the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, Canada’s heartland. Dominated by the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, the region provides a natural corridor into central Canada, and the St. Lawrence Seaway gives the interior cities access to the Atlantic. This section, which is composed of gently rolling surface on sedimentary rocks, is the location of extensive farmlands, large industrial centers, and most of Canada’s population. In SE Canada and on Newfoundland is the northern end of the Appalachian Mt. system, an old and geologically complex region with a generally low and rounded relief.

Activities in Canada

Outdoor pursuits
Canada’s vast wilderness areas and rich natural beauty offer scope for all kinds of outdoor activities. From fishing in the countless lakes and rivers to trekking in the back country, long-distance canoeing, horse riding, rafting and skiing, there are wonderful opportunities for those with a pioneering spirit. All activities are easy to arrange, given Canada’s well-developed infrastructure: outfitters, guides, equipment hire and charters can be organized practically anywhere. Activities are often best pursued in national parks, of which there are about 41 in the whole of Canada, with other conservation areas and provincial parks adding to the range of facilities.

At least one of the parks is larger than Switzerland (Wood Buffalo Park in Alberta and the Northwest Territories) and seven of them have been listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. The national parks are administered by Parks Canada, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0M5 Each national park has an information center where advice on outdoor activities can be obtained, as can weather reports and bear sightings. Permits are required for fishing and camping and can be bought at these centers.

Regulations common to all national parks include prohibitions on firearms, snowmobiles and off-road vehicles. Natural features may not be removed or damaged and hunting is also forbidden in most parks. Permits are required for all motor vehicles (approximately CUSD 5-10 per person per day). Regional and national passes are available. Camping regulations vary, but in general, an overnight permit is required, whether or not the traveller camps at a campsite.

Visitors intending to fish should note that regulations apply regarding closed seasons, quotas and equipment. Fishing permits are also usually required from the provincial authorities. For further information, contact regional tourist boards or the Visit Canada Center .

Hiking
All the national parks and most of the provincial parks have well-marked and well-maintained trails. Maps may be obtained from information centers, but those intending to go into the back country should obtain the appropriate map from the Canadian Topographical Series. Walkers should not venture into the wilder areas without ensuring that they are fit and properly equipped. Canada’s long-distance footpaths include the Voyageur Trail along the northern shores of Lakes Superior and Huron and the 690km- (428 mile-) Bruce Trail from Queenstown on the Niagara River to Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula.

Canoeing
Regional tourist boards can supply lists of outfitters who will help make arrangements. Aeroplane and boat drop-offs, and boat and equipment hire, are among the services offered, and maps can be supplied. The most challenging canoeing is in the northern areas, in the Northwest Territories and British Columbia, while the rivers and lakes in Ontario are often easier to negotiate.

Further advice and information can be obtained from the Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association. Excellent facilities for sailing and other watersports are available throughout the country.

Ottawa is the capital of Canada and the country’s fourth largest city. It is located in the Ottawa Valley on the eastern edge of the province of Ontario, right at the border with Quebec, about 400 km (250 miles) east of Toronto and 190 km (120 miles) west of Montreal.

It is a city on the banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway that forms the border between the two provinces. Unlike the capital cities of countries like the United States, Mexico, and Australia, there is no federal capital district in Canada: Ottawa is a provincial municipality. The population of the city proper is 808,391, while the population of the larger Ottawa region is 1,146,790 (2004). The mayor of the city is Bob Chiarelli.

History

The Ottawa region was long home to First Nations peoples who were part of the Algonquin. The Algonquin called the river the Kichi Sibi or Kichissippi, meaning “Great River”. The first European settlement in the Ottawa region was that of Philemon Wright who started a community on the Quebec side of the river in 1800. Wright discovered that transporting timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to Montreal was possible and Ottawa was soon booming based almost entirely off timber.

In the years following the war of 1812, in addition to settling some military regiment families, the government began sponsored immigration schemes which brought over both poor Irish Catholics and Protestants to settle the Ottawa area, which began a steady stream of Irish immigration there for the next few decades. Along with French Canadians who crossed over from Quebec, many worked on the canal project and in the timber trade.

The region grew even further in importance when the Rideau Canal was completed and constructed by Colonel John By in 1832 to connect Ottawa with Kingston and Lake Ontario. The west side of the canal became known as “Uppertown” where the Parliament buildings are located, while the east side of the canal (between the canal and Rideau River) was known as the “Lowertown”. At that time, Lowertown was a crowded, boisterous shanty town, frequently receiving the worst of disease epidemics, such as the Cholera outbreak in 1832 or later typhus in 1847.

After the work was completed on the canal, Ottawa became the centre for lumber milling and square-cut timber industry in Canada. From there, it quickly expanded further up (or westward along) the Ottawa River and logs were boomed by raftsmen great distances down the river to the mills. Ottawa was then known as Bytown, named after Colonel By until it was renamed Ottawa in 1855.

Original city leaders of Bytown include a number of Wright’s sons, most notably Ruggles Wright. Nicholas Sparks, Braddish Billings and Abraham Dow who were the first to settle on the Ontario side of the Ottawa river.

On December 31, 1857, Queen Victoria was asked to choose a common capital for the then province of Canada (modern Quebec and Ontario) and chose Ottawa. There are old folk tales about how she made the choice: that she did so by sticking her hatpin on a map roughly halfway between Toronto and Montreal, or that she liked watercolours she had seen of the area. While such stories have no historical basis, they do illustrate how arbitrary the choice of Ottawa seemed to Canadians at the time.

While Ottawa is now a major metropolis and Canada’s fourth largest city, at the time it was a sometimes unruly logging town in the hinterland, far away from the colony’s main cities, Quebec City and Montreal in Canada East, and Kingston, and Toronto in Canada West. In fact, the Queen’s advisors had her pick Ottawa for two important reasons: first, it was the only settlement of any significant size located right on the border of Canada East and Canada West (Quebec/Ontario border today), so it was a clever compromise between the two colonies and their French and English populations; second, the War of 1812 had shown how vulnerable the major cities were to American attack, since they were all located very close to the border.

Ottawa’s position in the back country made it more defensible, while still allowing easy transportation via the Ottawa River to Canada East and the Rideau Canal to Canada West. Two other considerations were that Ottawa was at a point nearly exactly midway between Toronto and Quebec City (about 500 km as the crow flies) and that the small size of the town made it less likely that politically motivated mobs could go on a rampage and destroy government buildings, as had been the case in the previous Canadian capitals.