Canada: Difference between revisions

| GDP_PPP = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$2.472&nbsp;trillion}}<ref name="IMFWEO.CA">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=156,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024 Edition. (Canada) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=April 16, 2024 |access-date=April 16, 2024}}</ref>

| GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{increase}} $60,495<ref name="IMFWEO.CA" />

| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} {{nowrap|$2.242{{nbsp}}trillion}}<ref name="IMFWEO.CA" />

| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $54,866<ref name="IMFWEO.CA" />

'''Canada'''<!--Before you edit this article to change the name of the country to "Dominion of Canada", please read the Talk Page Archive.--> is a country in [[North America]]. Its [[Provinces and territories of Canada|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 [[List of countries and dependencies by area|second-largest country by total area]], with the [[List of countries by length of coastline|world's longest coastline]]. [[Canada–United States border|Its border with the United States]] is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both [[Temperature in Canada|meteorologic]] and [[Geography of Canada|geological]] regions. It is [[Population of Canada|a sparsely inhabited country]] of 40{{nbsp}}million people, the vast majority residing south of the [[55th parallel north|55th parallel]] in [[List of the largest population centres in Canada|urban areas]]. Canada's capital is [[Ottawa]] and [[List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada|its three largest metropolitan areas]] are [[Toronto]], [[Montreal]], and [[Vancouver]].

A [[developed country]], Canada has a [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|high nominal per capita income globally]] and its advanced economy ranks among the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|largest in the world]], relying chiefly upon [[Geography of Canada#Natural resources|its abundant natural resources]] and well-developed [[List of the largest trading partners of Canada|international trade networks]]. Recognized as a [[middle power]], Canada's strong support for [[multilateralism]] and [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalism]] has been closely related to [[Foreign relations of Canada|its foreign relations policies]] of [[Canadian peacekeeping|peacekeeping]] and [[Aid|aid for developing countries]]. Canada is part of multiple [[International organisation membership of Canada|international organizations and forums]].

Upon [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation in 1867]], ''Canada'' was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the [[London Conference of 1866|London Conference]] and the word ''[[dominion]]'' was conferred as the country's title.<ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Toole |first=Roger |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OGHgLlxfh7wC&pg=PA137 |title=Holy Nations and Global Identities: Civil Religion, Nationalism, and Globalisation |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |isbn=978-90-04-17828-1 |editor-last=Hvithamar |editor-first=Annika |page=137 |chapter=Dominion of the Gods: Religious continuity and change in a Canadian context |editor-last2=Warburg |editor-first2=Margit |editor-last3=Jacobsen |editor-first3=Brian Arly}}</ref> By the 1950s, the term ''Dominion of Canada'' was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "realm of the Commonwealth".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morra |first=Irene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9OLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT49 |title=The New Elizabethan Age: Culture, Society and National Identity after World War II |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-85772-867-8 |page=49}}</ref><ref name="b597">{{cite book | last=McIntyre | first=D. | title=British Decolonization, 1946–1997: When, Why and How did the British Empire Fall? | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | series=British History in Perspective | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-349-26922-8 | url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=h5FKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 | page=108}}</ref>

The ''[[Canada Act 1982]]'', which brought the [[Constitution of Canada]] fully under Canadian control, referred only to ''Canada''. Later that year, the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to [[Canada Day]].<ref name="buckner">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmXnLGX7FvEC&pg=PA37 |title=Canada and the British Empire |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-927164-1 |editor-last=Buckner |editor-first=Philip |pages=37–40, 56–59, 114, 124–125}}</ref> The term ''Dominion'' was used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces, though after the [[Canada in World War II|Second World War]] the term ''federal'' had replaced ''dominion''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Courtney |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KomEXgxvMcC&pg=PA114 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics |last2=Smith |first2=David |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-533535-4 |page=114}}</ref>

The [[Settlement of the Americas|first inhabitants of North America]] are generally hypothesized to have migrated from [[Siberia]] by way of the [[Beringia|Bering land bridge]] and arrived at least 14,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dillehay |first=Thomas D. |title=The Settlement of the Americas: A New Prehistory |publisher=Basic Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7867-2543-4 |page=61}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fagan |first1=Brian M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fMneCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA124 |title=World Prehistory: A Brief Introduction |last2=Durrani |first2=Nadia |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-317-34244-1 |page=124}}</ref> The [[Paleo-Indian]] archeological sites at [[Old Crow Flats]] and [[Bluefish Caves]] are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rawat |first=Rajiv |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwlYiuPAX-UC&pg=PT58 |title=Circumpolar Health Atlas |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4426-4456-4 |page=58}}</ref> The [[Technological and industrial history of Canada#The Stone Age: Fire (14,000 BC – AD 1600)|characteristics of Indigenous societies]] included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hayes |first=Derek |title=Canada: An Illustrated History |publisher=Douglas & Mcintyre |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-55365-259-5 |pages=7, 13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Macklem |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quM1xyFyfhQC&pg=PA170 |title=Indigenous Difference and the Constitution of Canada |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8020-4195-1 |page=170}}</ref> Some of these cultures had collapsed by the time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archeological investigations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sonneborn |first=Liz |title=Chronology of American Indian History |date=January 2007 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-6770-1 |pages=2–12}}</ref> [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada]] include the [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]], [[Inuit]], and [[Métis people in Canada|Métis]],<ref name="GraberKuprecht2012">{{Cite book |last1=Graber |first1=Christoph Beat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5dv2d57n52MC&pg=PA366 |title=International Trade in Indigenous Cultural Heritage: Legal and Policy Issues |last2=Kuprecht |first2=Karolina |last3=Lai |first3=Jessica C. |author-link3=Jessica Lai |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-85793-831-2 |page=366}}</ref> the last being of [[mixed-blood|mixed descent]] who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations people married European settlers and subsequently developed their own identity.<ref name="GraberKuprecht2012" />[[File:Indigenous population by census division.svg|upright=1.3|thumb| A map of Canada showing the percent of [[Population of Canada#Indigenous peoples|self-reported indigenous identity]] (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) by census division, according to the [[2021 Canadian census]]<ref name="Statistics Canada 2022 u867">{{cite web | title=Census Program Data Viewer dashboard | website=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/dv-vd/cpdv-vdpr/index-eng.cfm | access-date=February 3, 2024|archive-date=January 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125123112/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/dv-vd/cpdv-vdpr/index-eng.cfm |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Although not without conflict, [[European Canadians]]' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Preston |first=David L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-9N6-6UCnoC&pg=PA43 |title=The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Frontiers of Iroquoia, 1667–1783 |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8032-2549-7 |pages=43–44}}</ref> First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of [[Former colonies and territories in Canada|European colonies in Canada]], particularly for their role in assisting European [[coureur des bois|coureurs des bois]] and [[voyageurs]] in their explorations of the continent during the [[North American fur trade]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=J.R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TcPckf7snr8C&pg=PT34 |title=Compact, Contract, Covenant: Aboriginal Treaty-Making in Canada |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4426-9227-5 |page=34}}</ref> These early European interactions with First Nations would change from [[Peace and Friendship Treaties|friendship and peace treaties]] to the dispossession of Indigenous lands through treaties.<ref name="Williams 2021 p. 51">{{cite book |last=Williams |first=L. |title=Indigenous Intergenerational Resilience: Confronting Cultural and Ecological Crisis |publisher=Taylor & Francis |series=Routledge Studies in Indigenous Peoples and Policy |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-000-47233-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HehEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT51 |page=51}}</ref><ref name="Turner 2020 p. 14">{{cite book |last=Turner |first=N.J. |title=Plants, People, and Places: The Roles of Ethnobotany and Ethnoecology in Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights in Canada and Beyond |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |series=McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-2280-0317-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVjZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |page=14}}</ref> From the late 18th century, European Canadians forced Indigenous peoples to assimilate into a western Canadian society.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Asch |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Uae4mTTyYYC&pg=PA28 |title=Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada: Essays on Law, Equity, and Respect for Difference |publisher=UBC Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-7748-0581-0 |page=28}}</ref> These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with [[Canadian Indian residential school system|forced integration through state-funded boarding schools]],<ref name="Truth">{{cite book |author=Commission de vérité et réconciliation du Canada |title=Canada's Residential Schools: The History, Part 1, Origins to 1939: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7gWQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |date=January 1, 2016 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-7735-9818-8 |pages=3–7}}</ref> [[Indian hospital|health-care segregation]],<ref name="Lux 2016 p. 7">{{cite book |last=Lux |first=M.K. |title=Separate Beds: A History of Indian Hospitals in Canada, 1920s-1980s |publisher=University of Toronto Press |series=G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4426-1386-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o9gQDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |page=7}}</ref> and [[High Arctic relocation|displacement]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kirmayer |first1=Laurence J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AXYDxvx3zSAC&pg=PA9 |title=Healing Traditions: The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada |last2=Guthrie |first2=Gail Valaskakis |publisher=UBC Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7748-5863-2 |page=9}}</ref> A period of redress began with the formation of the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada]] by the [[Government of Canada]] in 2008.<ref name="trc">{{cite web |year=2015 |title=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action |url=http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615202024/http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2015 |publisher=National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation |page=5}}</ref> This included recognition of past [[Genocide of indigenous peoples#Canada|cultural genocide]],<ref name="TRCSummary">{{cite web |title=Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada |url=https://nctr.ca/assets/reports/Final%20Reports/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf |website=National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation |publisher=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada |access-date=January 6, 2019 |date=May 31, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706170855/http://www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/Findings/Exec_Summary_2015_05_31_web_o.pdf |archive-date=July 6, 2016 }}</ref> [[Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement|settlement agreements]],<ref name="trc" /> and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of [[missing and murdered Indigenous women]].<ref name="Ministère de la Justice 2017">{{cite web |title=Principles respecting the Government of Canada's relationship with Indigenous peoples |website=Ministère de la Justice |date=July 14, 2017 |url=https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/principles-principes.html |archive-date=June 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610052703/https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/principles-principes.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Nouvelle-France map-en.svg|upright=1.3|thumb|Map of territorial claims in [[North America]] by 1750. Possessions of [[British America]] (pink), [[New France]] (blue), and [[New Spain]] (orange); California, Pacific Northwest, and Great Basin not indicated.<ref name="Chapman p.">{{cite AV media | last=Chapman | first=Frederick T. | title=European Claims in North America in 1750 | jstor=community.15128627 | url=https://jstor.org/stable/community.15128627 | access-date=July 23, 2023 }}</ref>]]

It is believed that the first documented European to explore the east coast of Canada was [[Vikings|Norse]] explorer [[Leif Erikson]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Wallace |first=Birgitta |date=October 12, 2018 |title=Leif Eriksson |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/leif-ericsson |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413193628/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/leif-ericsson |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Johansen |first1=Bruce E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGKL6E9_J6IC&pg=PA727 |title=Encyclopedia of American Indian History |last2=Pritzker |first2=Barry M. |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-85109-818-7 |pages=727–728}}</ref> In approximately 1000 AD, the Norse built a small short-lived encampment that was occupied sporadically for perhaps 20 years at [[L'Anse aux Meadows]] on the northern tip of [[Newfoundland]].<ref name="CordellLightfoot2008">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site |encyclopedia=Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=arfWRW5OFVgC&pg=PA82 |year=2009 |pages=27, 82 |isbn=978-0-313-02189-3 |last2=Lightfoot |first2=Kent |last3=McManamon |first3=Francis |last4=Milner |first4=George |first1=Linda S. |last1=Cordell}}</ref> No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when seafarer [[John Cabot]] explored and claimed Canada's [[Atlantic Canada|Atlantic coast]] in the name of [[Henry VII of England]].<ref name="BlakeKeshen2017p19">{{Cite book |last1=Blake |first1=Raymond B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4kwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 |title=Conflict and Compromise: Pre-Confederation Canada |last2=Keshen |first2=Jeffrey |last3=Knowles |first3=Norman J. |last4=Messamore |first4=Barbara J. |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4426-3553-1 |page=19}}</ref> In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]] where, on July 24, he planted a {{convert|10|m|ft|adj=on}} cross bearing the words, "long live the King of France", and took possession of the territory New France in the name of [[Francis I of France|King Francis I]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cartier |first1=Jacques |url=https://archive.org/details/voyagesofjacques0000cart |title=The Voyages of Jacques Cartier |last2=Biggar |first2=Henry Percival |last3=Cook |first3=Ramsay |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-8020-6000-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/voyagesofjacques0000cart/page/n79 26] |url-access=registration}}</ref> The early 16th century saw European mariners with navigational techniques pioneered by the [[Basques|Basque]] and [[Portuguese discoveries|Portuguese]] establish seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kerr |first=Donald Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itsTLSnw8qgC&pg=PA47 |title=Historical Atlas of Canada: From the beginning to 1800 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-8020-2495-4 |page=47}}</ref> In general, early settlements during the [[Age of Discovery]] appear to have been [[Population of Canada#Ephemeral European settlements|short-lived]] due to a combination of the harsh climate, problems with navigating trade routes and competing outputs in Scandinavia.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Baten |first=Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-50718-0 |page=84}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wynn |first=Graeme |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxGFaFvo2oMC&pg=PA49 |title=Canada and Arctic North America: An Environmental History |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-85109-437-0 |page=49}}</ref>

The English established additional settlements in [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] in 1610 along with settlements in the [[Thirteen Colonies]] to the south.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Buckner |first1=Phillip Alfred |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5AHjGRigpYC&pg=PA55 |title=The Atlantic Region to Confederation: A History |last2=Reid |first2=John G. |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-8020-6977-1 |pages=55–56}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hornsby |first=Stephen J |title=British Atlantic, American frontier: spaces of power in early modern British America |publisher=[[University Press of New England]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-58465-427-8 |pages=14, 18–19, 22–23}}</ref> A series of [[French and Indian Wars|four wars]] erupted in colonial North America between 1689 and 1763; the later wars of the period constituted the North American theatre of the [[Seven Years' War]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nolan |first=Cathal J |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nn_61ts-hQwC&pg=PA160 |title=Wars of the age of Louis XIV, 1650–1715: an encyclopedia of global warfare and civilization |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-313-33046-9 |page=160}}</ref> Mainland [[Nova Scotia]] came under British rule with the 1713 [[Treaty of Utrecht]] and Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years' War.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allaire |first=Gratien |date=May 2007 |title=From 'Nouvelle-France' to 'Francophonie canadienne': a historical survey |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |issue=185 |pages=25–52 |doi=10.1515/IJSL.2007.024|s2cid=144657353 }}</ref>

[[File:Benjamin West 005.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of General Wolfe dying in front of the British flag while attended by officers and native allies|[[Benjamin West]]'s ''[[The Death of General Wolfe]]'' (1771) dramatizes [[James Wolfe]]'s death during the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]] at [[Quebec City]].<ref name="National Gallery of Canada n963">{{cite web | title=The Death of General Wolfe | website=National Gallery of Canada | url=https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artwork/the-death-of-general-wolfe-0 | access-date=July 23, 2023| |archive-date=July 26, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726125332/https://www.gallery.ca/collection/artwork/the-death-of-general-wolfe-0 | url-status=live}}</ref>]]

[[File:Laura Secord warns Fitzgibbons, 1813.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of Laura Secord warning British commander James FitzGibbon of an impending American attack at Beaver Dams|[[War of 1812]] heroine [[Laura Secord]] warning British commander [[James FitzGibbon]] of an [[Battle of Beaver Dams|impending American attack at Beaver Dams]]<ref name="Collection Search 2023 k800">{{cite web | title=Meeting Between Laura Secord and Lieut. Fitzgibbon, June 1813 | website=Collection Search | date=July 13, 2023 | url=https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=2837234 | archive-date=October 9, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009191745/https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=2837234 | url-status=live}}</ref>]]

The desire for [[responsible government]] resulted in the abortive [[Rebellions of 1837]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Read |first=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWhXHCXuVvcC&pg=PR99 |title=Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-7735-8406-8 |page=99}}</ref> The [[Durham Report]] subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture.<ref name="buckner" /> The [[Act of Union 1840]] merged the Canadas into a united Province of Canada and responsible government was established for all provinces of British North America east of Lake Superior by 1855.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Romney |first=Paul |date=Spring 1989 |title=From Constitutionalism to Legalism: Trial by Jury, Responsible Government, and the Rule of Law in the Canadian Political Culture |journal=Law and History Review |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=121–174 |doi=10.2307/743779 |jstor=743779|s2cid=147047853 }}</ref> The signing of the [[Oregon Treaty]] by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the [[Oregon boundary dispute]], extending the border westward along the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]]. This paved the way for British colonies on [[Colony of Vancouver Island|Vancouver Island (1849)]] and in [[Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866)|British Columbia (1858)]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Evenden |first1=Leonard J |title=Geographical Snapshots of North America |last2=Turbeville |first2=Daniel E |publisher=Guilford Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-89862-030-6 |editor-last=Janelle |editor-first=Donald G |page=[https://archive.org/details/geographicalsnap0000unse/page/52 52] |chapter=The Pacific Coast Borderland and Frontier |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/geographicalsnap0000unse/page/52}}</ref> The Anglo-Russian [[Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1825)]] established the border along the Pacific coast, but, even after the US [[Alaska Purchase]] of 1867, disputes continued about the exact demarcation of the Alaska–Yukon and Alaska–BC border.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Farr |first1=DML |last2=Block |first2=Niko |date=August 9, 2016 |title=The Alaska Boundary Dispute |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alaska-boundary-dispute |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215092859/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/alaska-boundary-dispute/ |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref>

[[File:Canada provinces evolution 2.gif|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Refer to caption|Animated map showing [[Territorial evolution of Canada|the growth and change of Canada's provinces and territories]] since Confederation in 1867<ref name="Natural Resources Canada 2016 m242">{{cite web | title=Territorial Evolution | publisher=Natural Resources Canada | date=September 12, 2016 | url=https://atlas.gc.ca/ette/en/index.html | archive-date=September 2, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902165955/https://atlas.gc.ca/ette/en/index.html | url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Following three constitutional conferences, the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867|British North America Act, 1867]]'' officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, initially with four provinces: [[Ontario]], Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dijkink |first1=Gertjan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3RRJr-5q1H0C&pg=PA226 |title=The Territorial Factor: Political Geography in a Globalising World |last2=Knippenberg |first2=Hans |publisher=[[Amsterdam University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-90-5629-188-4 |page=226}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bothwell |first=Robert |title=History of Canada Since 1867 |publisher=[[Michigan State University Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-87013-399-2 |pages=31, 207–310}}</ref> Canada assumed control of [[Rupert's Land]] and the [[North-Western Territory]] to form the [[Northwest Territories]], where the Métis' grievances ignited the [[Red River Rebellion]] and the creation of the province of [[Manitoba]] in July 1870.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bumsted |first=JM |title=The Red River Rebellion |publisher=Watson & Dwyer |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-920486-23-8}}</ref> British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which [[Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)|had been united]] in 1866) joined the confederation in 1871 on the promise of a transcontinental railway extending to Victoria in the province within 10 years,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/railway-history |title=Railway History in Canada |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429164701/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/railway-history |url-status=live}}</ref> while Prince Edward Island joined in 1873.<ref name="canatlas">{{cite web |title=Building a nation |url=http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=building&sub=building_basics_confederation&lang=En |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060303140806/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/atlas/themes.aspx?id=building&sub=building_basics_confederation&lang=En |archive-date=March 3, 2006 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |website=Canadian Atlas |publisher=[[Canadian Geographic]]}}</ref> In 1898, during the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] in the Northwest Territories, Parliament created the Yukon Territory. [[Alberta]] and [[Saskatchewan]] became provinces in 1905.<ref name="canatlas" /> Between 1871 and 1896, almost one quarter of the Canadian population emigrated south to the US.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Denison |first=Merrill |title=The Barley and the Stream: The Molson Story |date=1955 |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Limited |page=8}}</ref>

To open [[Western Canada|the West]] and encourage European immigration, the Government of Canada sponsored the construction of three transcontinental railways (including the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]), passed the ''[[Dominion Lands Act]]'' to regulate settlement and established the [[North-West Mounted Police]] to assert authority over the territory.<ref>{{cite web |year=2008 |title=Sir John A. Macdonald |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sir-john-a-macdonald/023013-5000-e.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614221958/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sir-john-a-macdonald/023013-5000-e.html |archive-date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |publisher=Library and Archives Canada}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cook |first=Terry |year=2000 |title=The Canadian West: An Archival Odyssey through the Records of the Department of the Interior |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/publications/archivist-magazine/015002-2230-e.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614222015/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/publications/archivist-magazine/015002-2230-e.html |archive-date=June 14, 2011 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |website=The Archivist |publisher=Library and Archives Canada}}</ref> This [[Post-Confederation Canada (1867–1914)#Expansion|period of westward expansion]] and [[National Policy|nation building]] resulted in the displacement of many [[Plains Indians|Indigenous peoples of the Canadian Prairies]] to "[[Indian reserve]]s",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hele |first=Karl S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhLaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT248 |title=The Nature of Empires and the Empires of Nature: Indigenous Peoples and the Great Lakes Environment |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-55458-422-2 |page=248}}</ref> clearing the way for ethnic European [[block settlement]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gagnon |first=Erica |title=Settling the West: Immigration to the Prairies from 1867 to 1914 |url=https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/settling-the-west-immigration-to-the-prairies-from-1867-to-1914 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |publisher=Canadian Museum of Immigration |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128194403/https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/settling-the-west-immigration-to-the-prairies-from-1867-to-1914 |url-status=live}}</ref> This caused the collapse of the [[History of bison conservation in Canada#Plains bison|Plains Bison in western Canada]] and the introduction of European [[Agriculture in Canada|cattle farms and wheat fields]] dominating the land.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Armitage |first1=Derek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z68_-biGhU8C&pg=PA183 |title=Adaptive Capacity and Environmental Governance |last2=Plummer |first2=Ryan |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-642-12194-4 |pages=183–184}}</ref> The Indigenous peoples saw widespread famine and disease due to the loss of the bison and their traditional hunting lands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daschuk |first=James William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxwwZmSSOssC&pg=PA99 |title=Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-88977-296-0 |pages=99–104}}</ref> The federal government did provide emergency relief, on condition of the Indigenous peoples moving to the reserves.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hall |first=David John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLoeDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA258 |title=From Treaties to Reserves: The Federal Government and Native Peoples in Territorial Alberta, 1870–1905 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-7735-4595-3 |pages=258–259}}</ref> During this time, Canada introduced the ''[[Indian Act]]'' extending its control over the First Nations to education, government and legal rights.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Robert J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u6zNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT186 |title=Canadian Government and Politics |last2=Jackson |first2=Doreen |last3=Koop |first3=Royce |publisher=Broadview Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-4604-0696-0 |edition=7th |page=186}}</ref>

The [[Great Depression in Canada]] during the early 1930s saw an economic downturn, leading to hardship across the country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bryce |first=Robert B. |url=https://archive.org/details/maturinginhardti0000bryc |title=Maturing in Hard Times: Canada's Department of Finance through the Great Depression |year=1986 |publisher=[[McGill–Queen's University Press|McGill-Queen's]] |isbn=978-0-7735-0555-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/maturinginhardti0000bryc/page/41 41] |url-access=registration}}</ref> In response to the downturn, the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] (CCF) in Saskatchewan introduced many elements of a [[welfare state]] (as pioneered by [[Tommy Douglas]]) in the 1940s and 1950s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mulvale |first=James P |date=July 11, 2008 |title=Basic Income and the Canadian Welfare State: Exploring the Realms of Possibility |journal=Basic Income Studies |volume=3 |issue=1 |doi=10.2202/1932-0183.1084|s2cid=154091685 }}</ref> On the advice of Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]], [[Declaration of war by Canada#Nazi Germany|war with Germany was declared]] effective September 10, 1939, by King [[George VI]], seven days after the United Kingdom. The delay underscored Canada's independence.<ref name="morton-milhist" />

Canada's post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to the emergence of a new [[Canadian identity]], marked by the adoption of the [[Flag of Canada|maple leaf flag]] in 1965,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mackey |first=Eva |title=The house of difference: cultural politics and national identity in Canada |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8020-8481-1 |page=57}}</ref> the implementation of [[official bilingualism]] (English and French) in 1969,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Landry |first1=Rodrigue |last2=Forgues |first2=Éric |date=May 2007 |title=Official language minorities in Canada: an introduction |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |issue=185 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1515/IJSL.2007.022|s2cid=143905306 }}</ref> and the institution of [[Multiculturalism#Canada|official multiculturalism]] in 1971.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Esses |first1=Victoria M |last2=Gardner |first2=RC |date=July 1996 |title=Multiculturalism in Canada: Context and current status |journal=[[Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science]] |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=145–152 |doi=10.1037/h0084934}}</ref> [[Socially democratic]] programs were also instituted, such as [[Medicare (Canada)|Medicare]], the [[Canada Pension Plan]], and [[Student financial aid in Canada|Canada Student Loans]]; though, provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sarrouh |first=Elissar |date=January 22, 2002 |title=Social Policies in Canada: A Model for Development |url=http://www.escwa.un.org/information/publications/edit/upload/sd-01-09.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717075406/http://www.escwa.un.org/information/publications/edit/upload/sd-01-09.pdf |archive-date=July 17, 2010 |website=Social Policy Series, No. 1 |publisher=United Nations |pages=14–16, 22–37}}</ref>

[[File:Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (English).jpg|thumb|A copy of the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]''<ref name="Ministère de la Justice 2021 d986">{{cite web | title=The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms | website=Ministère de la Justice | date=March 15, 2021 | url=https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/ | archive-date=September 22, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922224653/https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/ | url-status=live}}</ref>|alt=refer to caption]]

At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the [[Quiet Revolution]] of the 1960s, giving birth to a secular [[Quebec nationalism|nationalist]] movement.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Lance W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3VcVpWNSPfkC&pg=PA415 |title=Recent Social Trends in Canada, 1960–2000 |last2=Clifton |first2=Rodney A. |last3=Ferguson |first3=Barry |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7735-7314-7 |page=415}}</ref> The radical [[Front de libération du Québec]] (FLQ) ignited the [[October Crisis]] with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Munroe |first=HD |year=2009 |title=The October Crisis Revisited: Counterterrorism as Strategic Choice, Political Result, and Organizational Practice |journal=Terrorism and Political Violence |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=288–305 |doi=10.1080/09546550902765623|s2cid=143725040 }}</ref> and the [[Quebec sovereignty movement|{{Not a typo|sovereigntist}}]] [[Parti Québécois]] was elected in 1976, organizing an [[1980 Quebec referendum|unsuccessful referendum]] on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through the [[Meech Lake Accord]] failed in 1990.<ref name="sorens">{{Cite journal |last=Sorens |first=J |date=December 2004 |title=Globalization, secessionism, and autonomy |journal=Electoral Studies |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=727–752 |doi=10.1016/j.electstud.2003.10.003}}</ref> This led to the formation of the [[Bloc Québécois]] in Quebec and the invigoration of the [[Reform Party of Canada]] in the West.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leblanc |first=Daniel |date=August 13, 2010 |title=A brief history of the Bloc Québécois |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/a-brief-history-of-the-bloc-qubcois/article1672831/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901151147/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/a-brief-history-of-the-bloc-qubcois/article1672831/ |archive-date=September 1, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Betz |first1=Hans-Georg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9cGkDJgW7wC&pg=PA173 |title=The New Politics of the Right: Neo-Populist Parties and Movements in Established Democracies |last2=Immerfall |first2=Stefan |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-312-21134-9 |page=173}}</ref> A [[1995 Quebec referendum|second referendum]] followed in 1995, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of 50.6 to 49.4 percent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmid |first=Carol L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIuO9HmX_8QC&pg=PA112 |title=The Politics of Language: Conflict, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in Comparative Perspective: Conflict, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in Comparative Perspective |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-803150-5 |page=112}}</ref> In 1997, the [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court]] ruled [[Reference Re Secession of Quebec|unilateral secession]] by a province would be unconstitutional, and the [[Clarity Act]] was passed by Parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation.<ref name="sorens" />

In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of [[Air India Flight 182]] in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history;<ref>{{cite web |title=Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182 |url=http://www.majorcomm.ca/en/termsofreference/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622063429/http://www.majorcomm.ca/en/termsofreference/ |archive-date=June 22, 2008 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> the [[École Polytechnique massacre]] in 1989, a [[School shooting|university shooting]] targeting female students;<ref>{{cite web |last=Sourour |first=Teresa K |year=1991 |title=Report of Coroner's Investigation |url=http://www.diarmani.com/Montreal_Coroners_Report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228182645/http://www.diarmani.com/Montreal_Coroners_Report.pdf |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |access-date=March 8, 2017}}</ref> and the [[Oka Crisis]] of 1990,<ref>{{Cite news |year=2000 |title=The Oka Crisis |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/civil_unrest/topics/99/ |access-date=May 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804233458/http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/civil_unrest/topics/99/ |archive-date=August 4, 2011}}</ref> the first of a number of violent confrontations between provincial governments and Indigenous groups.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roach |first=Kent |url=https://archive.org/details/september11conse00roac/page/15 |title=September 11: consequences for Canada |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7735-2584-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/september11conse00roac/page/15 15, 59–61, 194]}}</ref> Canada joined the [[Gulf War]] in 1990 and was active in [[List of Canadian peacekeeping missions|several peacekeeping missions]] in the 1990s, including operations in the [[Balkans]] during and after the [[Yugoslav Wars]],<ref name="Defence 2016 d710">{{cite web | last=Defence | first=National | title=Canadian Armed Forces operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina | website=Canada.ca | date=Jul 25, 2016 | url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/recently-completed/canadian-armed-forces-operations-bosnia-herzegovina.html | access-date=MarMarch 23, 2024 |archive-date=March 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323054357/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/recently-completed/canadian-armed-forces-operations-bosnia-herzegovina.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and in [[Somalia]], resulting in an incident that has been described as "[[Somalia affair|the darkest era in the history of the Canadian military]]".<ref name="canencsompck">{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-peacekeepers-in-somalia |title=Canadian Peacekeepers in Somalia |date=2 August 2019 |last=Foot |first=Richard |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |publisher=Historica Canada |access-date=26 February 2024 |archive-date=12 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240312044307/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-peacekeepers-in-somalia |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cohen 2010 p. 160">{{cite book | last=Cohen | first=S.A. | title=Israel's Armed Forces in Comparative Perspective | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=BESA studies in international security | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-135-16956-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yiMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 | access-date=2024-02-27 | page=160 | archive-date=2024-03-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304062940/https://books.google.com/books?id=0yiMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 | url-status=live }}</ref> Canada sent [[Canada in the War in Afghanistan|troops to Afghanistan in 2001]], resulting in the largest amount of [[Canadian Forces casualties in Afghanistan|Canadian deaths]] for any single military mission since the [[Canada in the Korean War|Korean War]] in the early 1950s.<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia 2001 e998">{{cite web | title=Canada and the War in Afghanistan | website=The Canadian Encyclopedia | date=Sep 11, 2001 | url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/international-campaign-against-terrorism-in-afghanistan | access-date=March 25, 2024 |quote=In total, 165 Canadians died during the war in Afghanistan (158 soldiers, 7 civilians). More than 2,000 members of the CAF were wounded or injured during the war.|archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129023800/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/international-campaign-against-terrorism-in-afghanistan |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Defence 2016 d621">{{cite web | last=Defence | first=National | title=Canada in Afghanistan (2001-2014) | website=Canada.ca | date=Aug 30, 2016 | url=https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/militaryhistory/wars-operations/afghanistan.html | access-date=March 25, 2024|archive-date=March 25, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325072429/https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/militaryhistory/wars-operations/afghanistan.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2011, Canadian forces participated in the NATO-led intervention into the [[First Libyan Civil War|Libyan Civil War]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hehir |first1=Aidan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2TchAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT88 |title=Libya, the Responsibility to Protect and the Future of Humanitarian Intervention |last2=Murray |first2=Robert |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-137-27396-3 |page=88}}</ref> and also became involved in battling the [[Islamic State]] insurgency in Iraq in the mid-2010s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Juneau |first=Thomas |year=2015 |title=Canada's Policy to Confront the Islamic State |url=http://www.cgai.ca/canadas_policy_to_confront_the_islamic_state |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151211070017/http://www.cgai.ca/canadas_policy_to_confront_the_islamic_state |archive-date=December 11, 2015 |access-date=December 10, 2015 |publisher=[[Canadian Global Affairs Institute]]}}</ref> The country celebrated [[150th anniversary of Canada|its sesquicentennial]] in 2017, three years before the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Canada]] began on January 27, 2020, with widespread social and economic disruption.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html |publisher=Government of Canada |year=2021 |archive-date=June 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613213135/https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, the possible graves of [[Canadian Indian residential school gravesites|hundreds of Indigenous people were discovered]] near the former sites of [[Canadian Indian residential school]]s.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 25, 2021 |title=Catholic group to release all records from Marievel, Kamloops residential schools |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/catholic-group-to-release-all-records-from-marievel-kamloops-residential-schools-1.5485691 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625180324/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/catholic-group-to-release-all-records-from-marievel-kamloops-residential-schools-1.5485691 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |publisher=CTV News}}</ref> Administered by various Christian churches and funded by the Canadian government from 1828 to 1997, these [[boarding school]]s attempted to assimilate Indigenous children into [[European Canadians#Culture|Euro-Canadian culture]].<ref name="Truth" />

By total area (including its waters), Canada is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|second-largest country]] in the world, after [[Russia]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Brescia |first1=Michael M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2qzBUEWxpoC&pg=PA38 |title=North America: An Introduction |last2=Super |first2=John C. |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8020-9675-3 |page=38}}</ref> By land area alone, Canada [[List of countries and dependencies by area|ranks fourth]], due to having the world's largest area of [[List of lakes of Canada|fresh water lakes]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Battram |first=Robert A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pBc9349sw4QC&pg=PA1 |title=Canada in Crisis: An Agenda for Survival of the Nation |publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4269-3393-6 |page=1}}</ref> Stretching from the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in the east, along the [[Arctic Ocean]] to the north, and to the [[Pacific Ocean]] in the west, the country encompasses {{convert|9984670|km2|abbr=on}} of territory.<ref name="McColl2005">{{Cite book |last=McColl |first=R. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA135 |title=Encyclopedia of World Geography |date=September 2005 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-5786-3 |page=135}}</ref> Canada also has vast maritime terrain, with the world's longest coastline of {{convert|243042|km|mi}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geography |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/2012000/chap/geo/geo-eng.htm |access-date=March 4, 2016 |publisher=Statistics Canada |archive-date=July 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719113340/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-402-x/2012000/chap/geo/geo-eng.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="International Boundary Commission" /> In addition to sharing the [[Canada–United States border|world's largest land border with the United States]]—spanning {{convert|8,891|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}{{efn|name="canadausa"|{{cvt|6,416|km}} via the [[contiguous 48 states]] and {{cvt|2,475|km}} via [[Alaska]]<ref name="International Boundary Commission">{{cite web |title=Boundary Facts |publisher=International Boundary Commission |url=https://www.internationalboundarycommission.org/en/the-boundary-and-you/interesting-facts.php | access-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520142611/https://www.internationalboundarycommission.org/en/the-boundary-and-you/interesting-facts.php |url-status=live}}</ref>}}—Canada shares a land border with [[Greenland]] (and hence the [[Kingdom of Denmark]]) to the northeast, on [[Hans Island]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chase |first1=Steven |title=Canada and Denmark reach settlement over disputed Arctic island, sources say |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-and-denmark-reach-settlement-over-disputed-arctic-island/ |website=The Globe and Mail |date=June 10, 2022 |archive-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612214859/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-and-denmark-reach-settlement-over-disputed-arctic-island/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and a [[maritime boundary]] with [[France]]'s [[overseas collectivity]] of [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]] to the southeast.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gallay |first=Alan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=22rbCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT429 |title=Colonial Wars of North America, 1512–1763: An Encyclopedia |date=2015 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-48718-0 |page=429}}</ref> Canada is also home to the world's northernmost settlement, [[CFS Alert|Canadian Forces Station Alert]], on the northern tip of [[Ellesmere Island]]—latitude 82.5°N—which lies {{convert|817|km|mi}} from the North Pole.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Canadian Geographic |publisher=[[Royal Canadian Geographical Society]] |year=2008 |page=20}}</ref>

Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions: the [[Canadian Shield]], the [[interior plains]], the [[Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands]], the [[Appalachian Mountains|Appalachian region]], the [[Pacific Cordillera (Canada)|Western Cordillera]], [[Hudson Bay Lowlands]], and the [[Arctic Archipelago]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://atlas.gc.ca/phys/en/index.html |work=The Atlas of Canada |title=Physiographic Regions of Canada |publisher=Natural Resources Canada |date=September 12, 2016 |archive-date=June 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621185011/https://atlas.gc.ca/phys/en/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Taiga|Boreal forests]] prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in [[Northern Canada|northern Arctic regions]] and through the [[Rocky Mountains]], and the relatively flat [[Canadian Prairies]] in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture.<ref name="McColl2005" /> The Great Lakes feed the [[St. Lawrence River]] (in the southeast) where the lowlands host much of Canada's economic output.<ref name="McColl2005" /> Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 of which are larger than {{convert|100|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}—containing much of the world's [[fresh water]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bailey |first1=William G |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oxNMhw-rRrQC&pg=PA244 |title=The surface climates of Canada |last2=Oke |first2=TR |last3=Rouse |first3=Wayne R |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-7735-1672-4 |page=124}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=December 5, 2012 |title=Physical Components of Watersheds |url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/hydrology/watershed1/1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121205125542/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/hydrology/watershed1/1 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |website=The Atlas of Canada}}</ref> There are also fresh-water glaciers in the [[Canadian Rockies]], the [[Coast Mountains]], and the [[Arctic Cordillera]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sandford |first=Robert William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UANY2ftt4pEC&pg=PR11 |title=Cold Matters: The State and Fate of Canada's Fresh Water |publisher=Biogeoscience Institute at the University of Calgary |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-927330-20-3 |page=11}}</ref> [[Geology of Canada|Canada is geologically active]], having [[List of earthquakes in Canada|many earthquakes]] and [[Volcanism of Canada|potentially active volcanoes]], notably [[Mount Meager massif]], [[Mount Garibaldi]], [[Mount Cayley]], and the [[Mount Edziza volcanic complex]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Etkin |first1=David |title=An Assessment of Natural Hazards and Disasters in Canada |last2=Haque |first2=CE |last3=Brooks |first3=Gregory R |date=April 30, 2003 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |isbn=978-1-4020-1179-5 |pages=569, 582, 583}}</ref>

Much of [[Northern Canada]] is covered by ice and [[permafrost]]. The future of the permafrost is uncertain because the Arctic has been warming at three times the global average as a result of [[climate change in Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bush |first1=E. |last2=Lemmen |first2=D.S. |year=2019 |title=Canada's Changing Climate Report |url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/energy/Climate-change/pdf/CCCR_FULLREPORT-EN-FINAL.pdf |publisher=Government of Canada |page=84 |archive-date=April 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422235552/https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/energy/Climate-change/pdf/CCCR_FULLREPORT-EN-FINAL.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Canada's annual average temperature over land has risen by {{convert|1.7|C-change}}, with changes ranging from {{convert|1.1|to|2.3|C-change}} in various regions, since 1948.<ref name="McColl2005" /> The rate of warming has been higher across the North and in the Prairies.<ref name="ClimateReport">{{cite web |first1=X. |last1=Zhang |first2=G. |last2=Flato |last3=Kirchmeier-Young |first3=M. |first4=L. |last4=Vincent |first5=H. |last5=Wan |first6=X. |last6=Wang |first7=R. |last7=Rong |first8=J. |last8=Fyfe |first9=G. |last9=Li|first0=V. |last0=KharinV. |year=2019 |title=Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Across Canada; Chapter 4 |url=https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/energy/Climate-change/pdf/CCCR-Chapter4-TemperatureAndPrecipitationAcrossCanada.pdf |website=Canada's Changing Climate Report |publisher=Government of Canada |pages=112–193 |editor-last=Bush |editor-first=E. |editor-last2=Lemmen |editor-first2=D.S. |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218102442/https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/energy/Climate-change/pdf/CCCR-Chapter4-TemperatureAndPrecipitationAcrossCanada.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> In the southern regions of Canada, [[Air pollution in Canada|air pollution from both Canada]] and the United States—caused by metal smelting, burning coal to power utilities, and vehicle emissions—has resulted in [[acid rain]], which has severely impacted waterways, forest growth, and agricultural productivity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boyd |first=David R |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeYgVGE9j3EC&pg=PA67 |title=Unnatural Law: Rethinking Canadian Environmental Law and Policy |publisher=UBC Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7748-4063-7 |pages=67–69}}</ref> Canada is one of the largest [[List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions|greenhouse gas emitter globally]],<ref>{{cite web |title={{!}} Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions {{!}} Climate Watch |url=https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions |website=www.climatewatchdata.org |access-date=29 March 2022 |archive-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321170958/https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions |url-status=live }}</ref> with emissions increased by 16.5 percent between 1990 and 2022.<ref name="j018">{{cite web | last=Canada | first=Climate Change | title=Greenhouse gas emissions | website=Canada.ca | date=January 9, 2007 | url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html | access-date=May 18, 2024|archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411165603/https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/greenhouse-gas-emissions.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Terrestrial ecozones and ecoprovinces of Canada, 2017.gif|thumb|upright=1.3| [[Ecozones of Canada|Terrestrial ecozones and ecoprovinces of Canada]]. Ecozones are identified with a unique colour. Ecoprovinces are subdivisions of ecozones and are identified with a unique numeric code.<ref name="Statistics Canada 2018 u350">{{cite web | title=Terrestrial ecozones and ecoprovinces of Canada | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=January 12, 2018 | url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/environment/elc/2017-map | archive-date=September 2, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902211146/https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects/standard/environment/elc/2017-map | url-status=live}}</ref>|alt=Map showing Canada divided into different ecozones]]

Canada is divided into [[Ecozones of Canada|15 terrestrial and five marine ecozones]].<ref>{{cite web |date=January 10, 2018 |title=Introduction to the Ecological Land Classification (ELC) 2017 |url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/subjects/standard/environment/elc/2017-1 |publisher=Statistics Canada |archive-date=November 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116145635/https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/subjects/standard/environment/elc/2017-1 |url-status=live}}</ref> These ecozones encompass over 80,000 classified species of [[Wildlife of Canada|Canadian wildlife]], with an equal number yet to be formally recognized or discovered.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/reports/Wild%20Species%202015.pdf |title=Wild Species 2015: The General Status of Species in Canada |work=National General Status Working Group: 1 |publisher=Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council |year=2016 |quote=The new estimate indicates that there are about 80,000 known species in Canada, excluding viruses and bacteria |page=2 |archive-date=January 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127203149/https://wildlife-species.canada.ca/species-risk-registry/virtual_sara/files/reports/Wild%20Species%202015.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Although Canada has a low percentage of [[Megadiverse countries|endemic species compared to other countries]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=ca |title=Canada: Main Details |publisher=Convention on Biological Diversity |access-date=August 10, 2022 |archive-date=August 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810215710/https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=ca |url-status=live}}</ref> due to human activities, [[Wildlife of Canada#Invasive species|invasive species]], and [[Environmental issues in Canada|environmental issues in the country]], there are currently more than [[List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Canada)|800 species at risk of being lost]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-annual-reports/2019-2020.html |publisher=Species at Risk Public Registry |title=COSEWIC Annual Report |year=2019 |archive-date=March 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305111710/https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-annual-reports/2019-2020.html |url-status=live}}</ref> About 65 percent of Canada's resident species are considered "Secure".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=17F0CBCE-1#s1i |title=Wild Species 2000: The General Status of Species in Canada |year=2001 |publisher=Conservation Council |archive-date=October 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016214436/https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=17F0CBCE-1#s1i |url-status=live}}</ref> Over half of Canada's landscape is intact and relatively free of human development.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://naturecanada.ca/news/archived/state-of-canadas-biodiversity-highlighted-in-new-government-report/ |title=State of Canada's Biodiversity Highlighted in New Government Report |date=October 22, 2010 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122031530/https://naturecanada.ca/news/archived/state-of-canadas-biodiversity-highlighted-in-new-government-report/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[boreal forest of Canada]] is considered to be the largest [[Intact forest landscape|intact forest]] on Earth, with approximately {{Convert|3000000|km2|abbr=on}} undisturbed by roads, cities or industry.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Peter H. |last1=Raven |first2=Linda R. |last2=Berg |first3=David M. |last3=Hassenzahl |title=Environment |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVpO2R51JBIC&pg=RA1-PA361 |year=2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-94570-4 |pages=1–3}}</ref> Since the end of the last [[glacial period]], Canada has consisted of [[Forests of Canada#Regions|eight distinct forest regions]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=National Atlas of Canada |publisher=[[Natural Resources Canada]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7705-1198-2 |page=1}}</ref> with 42 percent of its land area covered by forests (approximately 8 percent of the world's forested land).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Luckert |first1=Martin K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Gm-rBnGghcC&pg=PA1 |title=Policies for Sustainably Managing Canada's Forests: Tenure, Stumpage Fees, and Forest Practices |last2=Haley |first2=David |last3=Hoberg |first3=George |publisher=UBC Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7748-2069-1 |page=1}}</ref>

Approximately 12.1 percent of the nation's landmass and freshwater are [[National Wildlife Area|conservation areas]], including 11.4 percent designated as [[Protected areas of Canada|protected areas]].<ref name="conserved" /> Approximately 13.8 percent of its territorial waters are conserved, including 8.9 percent designated as protected areas.<ref name="conserved">{{cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/conserved-areas.html |title=Canada's conserved areas |publisher=Environment and Climate Canada |year=2020 |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402184441/https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-indicators/conserved-areas.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Canada's first [[National Parks of Canada|National Park]], [[Banff National Park]] established in 1885, spans {{convert|6,641|km2}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/pm-mp/guidem-mguide/sec15/gm-mg15_e.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615122147/http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/pm-mp/guidem-mguide/sec15/gm-mg15_e.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2006 |title=The Mountain Guide – Banff National Park |publisher=Parks Canada |year=2006}}</ref> of mountainous terrain, with many [[glacier]]s and [[ice field]]s, dense [[conifer]]ous forest, and alpine landscapes.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin F. |last=Price |title=Mountain Area Research and Management: Integrated Approaches |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hNIZihxXTwsC&pg=PA217 |year=2013 |publisher=Earthscan |isbn=978-1-84977-201-3 |pages=217–218}}</ref> Canada's oldest provincial park, [[Algonquin Provincial Park]], established in 1893, covers an area of {{convert|7653.45|km2}}. It is dominated by [[old-growth forest]] with over 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometres of streams and rivers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/algonquin-provincial-park-management-plan |title=Algonquin Provincial Park Management Plan |year=1998 |publisher=Queen's Printer for Ontario |archive-date=February 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209143502/https://www.ontario.ca/page/algonquin-provincial-park-management-plan |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area]] is the world's largest freshwater protected area, spanning roughly {{convert|10000|km2}} of lakebed, its overlaying freshwater, and associated shoreline on {{convert|60|km2}} of islands and mainland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/publications/mpaspotlight-pleinsfeuxzpm/index-eng.html |title=Spotlight on Marine Protected Areas in Canada |publisher=Fisheries and Oceans Canada |date=December 13, 2017 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413193502/https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/publications/mpaspotlight-pleinsfeuxzpm/index-eng.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Canada's largest national wildlife region is the [[Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area]], which spans {{convert|11570.65|km2}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scott Islands Marine National Widllife Area |url=https://www.protectedplanet.net/555695926 |access-date=September 25, 2020 |website=Protected Planet}}</ref> and protects critical breeding and nesting habitat for over 40 percent of British Columbia's [[seabirds]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-wildlife-areas/locations/scott-islands-marine/regulatory-strategy.html |title=Proposed Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area: regulatory strategy |publisher=Environment and Climate Change Canada |date=February 7, 2013 |archive-date=January 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123182613/https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-wildlife-areas/locations/scott-islands-marine/regulatory-strategy.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Canada is described as a "[[Democracy Index|full democracy]]",<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=2021 Democracy Index |url=https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/eiu-democracy-index-2021.pdf?mkt_tok=NzUzLVJJUS00MzgAAAGI0GGHOJ2F2YyVeWTMPBvGitE1QlEWRD5yPY_rnJ7yECNSo-bJC-UDL28b-Jbo7b3rOFkdk4UXgoR60SFZUwf1xCQFR_IZjXHkR6eeaGzObViC1Q |website=Economist Intelligence Unit |archive-date=December 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220221533/https://pages.eiu.com/rs/753-RIQ-438/images/eiu-democracy-index-2021.pdf?mkt_tok=NzUzLVJJUS00MzgAAAGI0GGHOJ2F2YyVeWTMPBvGitE1QlEWRD5yPY_rnJ7yECNSo-bJC-UDL28b-Jbo7b3rOFkdk4UXgoR60SFZUwf1xCQFR_IZjXHkR6eeaGzObViC1Q |url-status=live }}</ref> with a tradition of [[liberalism]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Westhues |first1=Anne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chTaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=Canadian Social Policy: Issues and Perspectives |last2=Wharf |first2=Brian |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-55458-409-3 |pages=10–11}}</ref> and an [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bickerton |first1=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jd6oqRHxLYC&pg=PA56 |title=Canadian Politics |last2=Gagnon |first2=Alain |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4426-0121-5 |page=56}}</ref> [[Political moderate|moderate]] political ideology.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_HzDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |title=Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4426-3521-0 |edition=4th |pages=13–23}}</ref> An emphasis on [[social justice]] has been a distinguishing element of Canada's political culture.<ref>{{cite book |last=McQuaig |first=L. |title=Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire |publisher=Doubleday Canada |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-385-67297-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9g4Xd12rIGYC&pg=PT14 |page=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fierlbeck |first=Katherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bZBHlF4V8EC&pg=PA87 |title=Political Thought in Canada: An Intellectual History |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55111-711-9 |page=87}}</ref> [[Peace, order, and good government]], alongside an [[Implied Bill of Rights]], are founding principles of the Canadian government.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dixon |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=npzDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 |title=Social Welfare in Developed Market Countries |last2=P. Scheurell |first2=Robert |date=March 17, 2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-36677-5 |page=48}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Boughey |first=Janina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgK-DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 |title=Human Rights and Judicial Review in Australia and Canada: The Newest Despotism? |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5099-0788-5 |page=105}}</ref>

At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two relatively [[Centrism|centrist]] parties practising "brokerage politics":{{efn| name=politics|"Brokerage politics: A Canadian term for successful [[Big tent|big tent parties]] that embody a [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralistic]] catch-all approach to appeal to the median Canadian voter ... adopting [[Centrism|centrist policies]] and [[Electoral alliance|electoral coalitions]] to satisfy the short-term preferences of a majority of electors who are not located on the ideological fringe."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Marland |first1=Alex |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSeSaYPa2A4C&pg=PA257 |title=Political Marketing in Canada |last2=Giasson |first2=Thierry |last3=Lees-Marshment |first3=Jennifer |publisher=UBC Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7748-2231-2 |page=257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Courtney |first1=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KomEXgxvMcC&pg=PA195 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics |last2=Smith |first2=David |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-533535-4 |page=195}}</ref> "The traditional ''brokerage'' model of Canadian politics leaves little room for ideology."<ref>{{cite journal |first=Christopher |last=Cochrane |year=2010 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40983510 |title=Left/Right Ideology and Canadian Politics |journal= Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne de Science Politique |volume= 43 |issue=3 |pages= 583–605 |doi=10.1017/S0008423910000624 |jstor=40983510 |s2cid=154420921 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Brooks |title=Canadian Democracy: An Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeQnPIXV5CEC |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-541806-4 |page=265 |quote=Two historically dominant political parties have avoided ideological appeals in favour of a flexible centrist style of politics that is often labelled brokerage politics}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Miriam |last=Smith |title=Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada: Second Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG4rAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |year=2014 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-0695-1 |page=17 |quote=Canada's party system has long been described as a "brokerage system" in which the leading parties (Liberal and Conservative) follow strategies that appeal across major [[Cleavage (politics)|social cleavages]] in an effort to defuse potential tensions.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Johnson |title=Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada,|edition= Fourth Edition4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_HzDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 |year=2016 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-3521-0 |pages=13–23 |quote=...most Canadian governments, especially in the federal sphere, have taken a moderate, centrist approach to decision making, seeking to balance growth, stability, and governmental efficiency and economy...}}</ref>}} the [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] leaning [[Liberal Party of Canada]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bittner |first1=Amanda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdFTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA300 |title=Parties, Elections, and the Future of Canadian Politics |last2=Koop |first2=Royce |date=March 1, 2013 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn=978-0-7748-2411-8 |page=300}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Johnston |first=Richard |title=The baffling history of Canada's party system |website=Policy Options |date=April 13, 2021 |url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2017/the-baffling-history-of-canadas-party-system/ |archive-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209225002/https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2017/the-baffling-history-of-canadas-party-system/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[centre-right]] leaning [[Conservative Party of Canada]] (or its [[Conservative Party of Canada#Predecessors|predecessors]]).<ref name="Gill 2021 p. 485">{{cite journal | last=Gill | first=Jessica K. | title=Unpacking the Role of Neoliberalism on the Politics of Poverty Reduction Policies in Ontario, Canada: A Descriptive Case Study and Critical Analysis | journal=Social Sciences | publisher=MDPI AG | volume=10 | issue=12 | date=December 20, 2021 | issn=2076-0760 | doi=10.3390/socsci10120485 | page=485 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The historically predominant Liberals position themselves at the centre of the political scale.<ref name="Gill 2021 p. 485" /> Five parties had representatives elected to the Parliament in the [[2021 Canadian federal election|2021 election]]—the Liberals, who formed a minority government; the Conservatives, who became the [[Official Opposition (Canada)|Official Opposition]]; the New Democratic Party (occupying the [[Left-wing politics|left]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Geoffrey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZhcx6hLOMMC&pg=PA166 |title=Political Choice Matters: Explaining the Strength of Class and Religious Cleavages in Cross-National Perspective |last2=de Graaf |first2=Nan Dirk |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-966399-6 |pages=166–167}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnston |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aZAwDwAAQBAJ |title=The Canadian Party System: An Analytic History |publisher=UBC Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-7748-3610-4}}</ref>); the [[Bloc Québécois]]; and the [[Green Party of Canada|Green Party]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Election 2015 roundup |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/results-2015/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022233012/http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/results-2015/ |archive-date=October 22, 2015 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> [[Far-right]] and [[far-left]] politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ambrose |first1=Emma |last2=Mudde |first2=Cas |year=2015 |title=Canadian Multiculturalism and the Absence of the Far Right |journal=Nationalism and Ethnic Politics |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=213–236 |doi=10.1080/13537113.2015.1032033|s2cid=145773856 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Taub |first=Amanda |date=June 27, 2017 |title=Canada's Secret to Resisting the West's Populist Wave |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/world/canada/canadas-secret-to-resisting-the-wests-populist-wave.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627090321/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/world/canada/canadas-secret-to-resisting-the-wests-populist-wave.html |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |issn=1553-8095 |oclc=1645522}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Geddes |first=John |title=What's actually standing in the way of right-wing populism in Canada? |website=Macleans.ca |date=February 8, 2022 |url=https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/whats-actually-standing-in-the-way-of-right-wing-populism-in-canada/ |archive-date=October 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031024415/https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/whats-actually-standing-in-the-way-of-right-wing-populism-in-canada/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Canada has a [[parliamentary system]] within the context of a [[constitutional monarchy]]—the [[monarchy of Canada]] being the foundation of the executive, [[legislative]], and [[judicial]] branches.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dowding |first1=Keith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AClHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT395 |title=The Selection of Ministers around the World |last2=Dumont |first2=Patrick |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-63444-7 |page=395}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 29, 1867 |title=Constitution Act, 1867: Preamble |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203024121/http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html |archive-date=February 3, 2010 |publisher=[[Queen's Printer]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=David E |date=June 10, 2010 |title=The Crown and the Constitution: Sustaining Democracy? |page=6 |work=The Crown in Canada: Present Realities and Future Options |publisher=[[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]] |url=http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/ConferenceOnTheCrown/CrownConferencePapers/The_Crown_and_the_Constitutio1.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5qXvz463C?url=http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/ConferenceOnTheCrown/CrownConferencePapers/The_Crown_and_the_Constitutio1.pdf |archive-date=June 17, 2010}}</ref><ref name="MacLeod16">{{Cite book |last=MacLeod |first=Kevin S |url=http://canadiancrown.gc.ca/DAMAssetPub/DAM-CRN-jblDmt-dmdJbl/STAGING/texte-text/crnMpls_1336157759317_eng.pdf?WT.contentAuthority=4.4.4 |title=A Crown of Maples |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-662-46012-1 |edition=2nd |page=16 |author-link=Kevin S. MacLeod |access-date=March 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105160848/http://canadiancrown.gc.ca/DAMAssetPub/DAM-CRN-jblDmt-dmdJbl/STAGING/texte-text/crnMpls_1336157759317_eng.pdf?WT.contentAuthority=4.4.4 |archive-date=January 5, 2016}}</ref> The [[reign]]ing monarch is also monarch of [[Commonwealth realm|14 other sovereign Commonwealth countries]] (though, all are sovereign of one another<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2WHDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT196 |title=Battle Royal: Monarchists vs. Republicans and the Crown of Canada |date=2018 |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-4597-4015-0 |page=196}}</ref>) and [[Monarchy in the Canadian provinces|each of Canada's 10 provinces]]. To carry out most of their federal royal duties in Canada, theThe monarch appoints a representative, the [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]], on the [[Advice (constitutional law)|advice]] of the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]], to carry out most of their ceremonial royal duties.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Governor General of Canada: Roles and Responsibilities |url=http://gg.ca/document.aspx?id=3 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |publisher=Queen's Printer |archive-date=September 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915122338/http://gg.ca/document.aspx?id=3 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATi5R5XNb2MC&pg=PA54 |title=Commonwealth public administration reform 2004 |publisher=Commonwealth Secretariat |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-11-703249-1 |pages=54–55}}</ref>

The monarchy is the source of [[Canadian sovereignty|sovereignty]] and authority in Canada.<ref name="MacLeod16" /><ref name="Forseyp1">{{Cite book |last=Forsey |first=Eugene |url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/sites/lop/aboutparliament/forsey/PDFs/How_Canadians_Govern_Themselves-6ed.pdf |title=How Canadians Govern Themselves |publisher=Queen's Printer |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-662-39689-5 |edition=6th |pages=1, 16, 26 |author-link=Eugene Forsey |access-date=May 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229155255/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/AboutParliament/Forsey/PDFs/How_Canadians_Govern_Themselves-6ed.pdf |archive-date=December 29, 2009}}</ref><ref name="Montpetit">{{cite web |last1=Marleau |first1=Robert |last2=Montpetit |first2=Camille |title=House of Commons Procedure and Practice: Parliamentary Institutions |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Lang=E&Print=2&Sec=Ch01&Seq=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828112251/http://www.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Lang=E&Print=2&Sec=Ch01&Seq=5 |archive-date=August 28, 2011 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |publisher=Queen's Printer}}</ref> However, while the governor general or monarch may exercise their power without ministerial [[Advice (constitutional law)|advice]] in certain rare [[Constitutional crisis|crisis situations]],<ref name="Forseyp1" /> the use of the executive powers (or [[royal prerogative]]) is otherwise always directed by the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]], a committee of [[Minister of the Crown|ministers of the Crown]] responsible to the elected [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] and chosen and headed by the prime minister,<ref>{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=Peter |date=November 4, 2015 |title='A cabinet that looks like Canada:' Justin Trudeau pledges government built on trust |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/04/new-government-to-be-sworn-in-today.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128075156/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/04/new-government-to-be-sworn-in-today.html |archive-date=January 28, 2017 |website=Toronto Star}}</ref> the [[head of government]]. To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the individual who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a [[Majority rule|majority]] of members in the House of Commons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/thinkinggovernme02ndjohn/page/134 |title=Thinking government: public sector management in Canada |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55111-779-9 |edition=2nd |pages=[https://archive.org/details/thinkinggovernme02ndjohn/page/134 134–135, 149]}}</ref> The [[Office of the Prime Minister (Canada)|Prime Minister's Office]] (PMO) is thus one of the most powerful institutions in government, initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by the Crown, besides the aforementioned, the governor general, [[Lieutenant Governor (Canada)|lieutenant governors]], senators, federal court judges, and heads of [[Crown corporations of Canada|Crown corporations]] and government agencies.<ref name="Forseyp1" /> The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|leader of the Official Opposition]] and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Opposition in a Parliamentary System |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/researchpublications/bp47-e.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125122354/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/bp47-e.htm |archive-date=November 25, 2010 |access-date=May 23, 2011 |publisher=Library of Parliament}}</ref>

[[File:West Block Temp House of Commons, 2022.jpg|thumb|The [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] in its temporary location, the [[West Block]]<ref name="Services Canada 2023 u321">{{cite web | publisher=Public Services and Procurement Canada | title=Restoring and modernizing the West Block | date=August 15, 2023 | url=https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/infrastructure-buildings/parliamentary-precinct/projects-in-parliamentary-precinct/west-block-project.html | archive-date=October 22, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022035846/https://www.canada.ca/en/public-services-procurement/services/infrastructure-buildings/parliamentary-precinct/projects-in-parliamentary-precinct/west-block-project.html | url-status=live}}</ref>|alt=The House of Commons chamber]]

The [[Parliament of Canada]] passes all federal statute laws within the federal sphere. It comprises the monarch, the House of Commons, and the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]]. While Canada inherited the British concept of [[parliamentary supremacy]], this was later, with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982, all but completely superseded by the American notion of [[Supremacy Clause|the supremacy of the law]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sovereignty |last=McWhinney |first=Edward Watson |title=Sovereignty |date=October 8, 2019 |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529215957/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sovereignty |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Canadian federalism]] divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the 10 provinces. [[Legislative assemblies of Canadian provinces and territories|Provincial legislatures]] are [[unicameral]] and operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the House of Commons.<ref name="Montpetit" /> Canada's three territories also have legislatures;, but, these are not sovereign and, have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces.,<ref>{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Difference between Canadian Provinces and Territories |url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/index.asp?lang=eng&page=provterr&doc=difference-eng.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201135354/http://pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/index.asp?lang=eng&page=provterr&doc=difference-eng.htm |archive-date=December 1, 2015 |access-date=November 23, 2015 |publisher=Intergovernmental Affairs Canada}}</ref> The territorial legislatures alsoand differ structurally from their provincial counterparts.<ref>{{cite web |year=2008 |title=Differences from Provincial Governments |url=http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca/visitors/what-consensus/differences-provincial-governments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203044824/http://www.assembly.gov.nt.ca/visitors/what-consensus/differences-provincial-governments |archive-date=February 3, 2014 |access-date=January 30, 2014 |publisher=Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories}}</ref>

The [[Constitution of Canada]] is the supreme law of the country and consists of written text and unwritten conventions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dodek |first=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=86s7CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT13 |title=The Canadian Constitution |publisher=Dundurn – University of Ottawa Faculty of Law |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4597-3505-7 |page=13}}</ref> The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (known as the [[British North America Acts|British North America Act, 1867]] prior to 1982), affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olive |first=Andrea |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bvw_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |title=The Canadian Environment in Political Context |date=2015 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-0871-9 |pages=41–42}}</ref> The ''Statute of Westminster, 1931'', granted full autonomy, and the ''Constitution Act, 1982'', ended all legislative ties to Britain, as well as adding a constitutional amending formula and the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bhagwan |first1=Vishnoo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YatgyeA5R4sC&pg=PA550 |title=World Constitutions |last2=Vidya |first2=Bhushan |publisher=Sterling Publishers |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-207-1937-8 |pages=549–550}}</ref> The ''Charter'' guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be over-riddenoverridden by any government; though, a [[Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|notwithstanding clause]] allows Parliament and the provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the ''Charter'' for a period of five years.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bakan |first1=Joel |title=Canadian Constitutional Law |last2=Elliot |first2=Robin M |publisher=Emond Montgomery Publications |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-55239-085-6 |pages=3–8, 683–687, 699}}</ref>

[[Court system of Canada|Canada's judiciary]] plays an important role in interpretinginterprets laws and has the power to strike down acts of Parliament that violate the constitution. The [[Supreme Court of Canada]] is the highest court, final arbiter, and has been led since December 18, 2017, by [[Richard Wagner (judge)|Richard Wagner]], the [[Chief Justice of Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |date=December 18, 2017 |title=Current and Former Chief Justices |url=http://www.scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/cfcju-jucp-eng.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180116062534/http://www.scc-csc.ca/judges-juges/cfcju-jucp-eng.aspx |archive-date=January 16, 2018 |publisher=Supreme Court of Canada}}</ref> The governor general appoints the court's nine members on the advice of the prime minister and [[Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada|minister of justice]].<ref name="UCP-2018">{{cite book |title=Law, Politics, and the Judicial Process in Canada, 4th Edition |publisher=University of Calgary Press |edition=4 |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-55238-990-4 |jstor=j.ctv56fggn |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv56fggn |pages=117–172 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv56fggn|s2cid=240317161 }}</ref> The federal Cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts in the provincial and territorial jurisdictions.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Yates |first1=Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontola00yate/page/93 |title=Introduction to Law in Canada |last2=Bain |first2=Penny |last3=Yates |first3=Ruth |publisher=Prentice Hall Allyn and Bacon Canada |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-13-792862-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontola00yate/page/93 93]}}</ref>

[[Common law]] prevails everywhere, except in Quebec, where [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] predominates.<ref>{{cite book |first=Julian |last=Hermida |title=Criminal Law in Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MT9sDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT10 |date=May 9, 2018 |publisher=Kluwer Law International B.V. |isbn=978-90-411-9627-9 |pages=10–}}</ref> [[Criminal law of Canada|Criminal law]] is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sworden |first=Philip James |title=An introduction to Canadian law |publisher=Emond Montgomery Publications |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55239-145-7 |pages=22, 150}}</ref> Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is officially a provincial responsibility, conducted by provincial and municipal police forces.<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |title=Who we are |url=https://www.opp.ca/index.php?id=123 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826073944/http://www.opp.ca/index.php?id=123 |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |access-date=October 24, 2012 |publisher=Ontario Provincial Police}}</ref> In most rural and some urban areas, policing responsibilities are contracted to the federal [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]].<ref name="Sullivan-2005">{{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=L.E. |title=Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement |publisher=SAGE Publications |issue=v. 3 |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7619-2649-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L145DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA995 |page=995}}</ref>

[[File:Political map of Canada.svg|upright=1.3|thumb|alt=Labelled map of Canada detailing its provinces and territories|Political map of Canada showing its [[Provinces and territories of Canada|10 provinces and 3 territories<ref name="Anon. y967">{{cite web | title= Canada Political Divisions | url=https://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/Geographical-maps_Carte-geographique/SmallScaleReferenceMaps/english_canada/colour/Canada.pdf |publisher=Natural Resources Canada | access-date=October 16, 2023 | archive-date=April 15, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415114431/https://ftp.maps.canada.ca/pub/nrcan_rncan/Geographical-maps_Carte-geographique/SmallScaleReferenceMaps/english_canada/colour/Canada.pdf| |url-status=live}}</ref>]]|link=Provinces and territories of Canada]]

Canada is a federation composed of 10 [[federated states]], called provinces, and three [[federal territories]]. In turn, theseThese may be grouped into [[List of regions of Canada|four main regions]]: [[Western Canada]], [[Central Canada]], [[Atlantic Canada]], and [[Northern Canada]] (''[[Eastern Canada]]'' refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hamel |first1=Pierre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rB-NBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |title=Suburban Governance: A Global View |last2=Keil |first2=Roger |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-4426-6357-2 |page=81}}</ref> Provinces and territories have responsibility for social programs such as [[Healthcare in Canada|healthcare]], [[Education in Canada|education]], and [[Social programs in Canada|welfare]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Doern |first1=G. Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FBXaFRZtKJsC&pg=RA1-PA1976 |title=Canadian Public Budgeting in the Age of Crises: Shifting Budgetary Domains and Temporal Budgeting |last2=Maslove |first2=Allan M. |last3=Prince |first3=Michael J. |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-7735-8853-0 |page=1}}</ref> as well as administration of justice (but not criminal law). Although the provinces collect more revenue than the federal government, [[equalization payments]] are made by the federal government to ensure reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Clemens |first1=Jason |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yc6RakXxLy0C&pg=PA8 |title=Beyond Equalization: Examining Fiscal Transfers in a Broader Context |last2=Veldhuis |first2=Niels |publisher=[[Fraser Institute]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-88975-215-3 |page=8}}</ref>

The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their sovereignty from the Crown<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson |first=Michael D. |title=The Canadian Monarchy in Saskatchewan |publisher=Queen's Printer for Saskatchewan |year=1990 |location=Regina |page=14 |edition=2nd}}</ref> and power and authority from the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', whereas territorial governments have powers delegated to them by the [[Parliament of Canada]]<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Oliver |first1=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulsvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA498 |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution |last2=Macklem |first2=Patrick |last3=Des Rosiers |first3=Nathalie |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-066482-4 |pages=498–499}}</ref> and the commissioners represent the [[King-in-Council|King in his federal Council]],<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.commissioner.gov.nt.ca/en/role-commissioner |author=Commissioner of the Northwest Territories |title=Role of the Commissioner |publisher=Government of Northwest Territories |access-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308194120/https://www.commissioner.gov.nt.ca/en/role-commissioner |url-status=live}}</ref> rather than the monarch directly. The powers flowing from the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', are divided between the federal government and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meligrana |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uL9hLqPSdi0C&pg=PA75 |title=Redrawing Local Government Boundaries: An International Study of Politics, Procedures, and Decisions |publisher=UBC Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7748-0934-4 |page=75}}</ref> and any changes to that arrangement require a [[Amendments to the Constitution of Canada|constitutional amendment]], while changes to the roles and powers of the territories may be performed unilaterally by the Parliament of Canada.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Norman L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ek7cloNk3E8C&pg=PA174 |title=The boundaries of the Canadian Confederation |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-7705-1742-7 |pages=174–175}}</ref>

[[File:Canadian embassies map.png|right|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Diplomatic missions of Canada]]<ref name="GAC 2014 c263">{{cite web | title=Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts Accredited to Canada | website=GAC | date=Jun 10, 2014 | url=https://www.international.gc.ca/protocol-protocole/missions.aspx?lang=eng |accessdate=February access26, 2024|archive-date=FebFebruary 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226073816/https://www.international.gc.ca/protocol-protocole/missions.aspx?lang=eng |url-status=live}}</ref>

Canada is recognized as a [[middle power]] for its role in global affairs with a tendency to pursue [[Multilateralism|multilateral]] and [[Internationalism (politics)|international]] solutions.<ref name="Chapnick2011a">{{Cite book |last=Chapnick |first=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S2DPElbLK5sC&pg=PA2 |title=The Middle Power Project: Canada and the Founding of the United Nations |publisher=UBC Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7748-4049-1 |pages=2–5}}</ref><ref name="Gabryś Soroka 2017 p. 39">{{cite book | last1=Gabryś | first1=M. | last2=Soroka | first2=T. | title=Canada as a selective power: Canada's Role and International Position after 1989 | publisher=Neriton, Wydawnictwo | series=Societas | year=2017 | isbn=978-83-7638-792-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTpyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 | page=39}}</ref><ref name="Munton Keating 2001 pp. 517–549">{{cite journal | last1=Munton | first1=Don | last2=Keating | first2=Tom | title=Internationalism and the Canadian Public | journal=Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue canadienne de science politique | publisher=Canadian Political Science Association | volume=34 | issue=3 | year=2001 | issn=0008-4239| jstor=3233002 | pages=517–549 | doi=10.1017/S0008423901777992 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3233002 | access-date=March 5, 2024}}</ref> Canada's foreign policy based on international peacekeeping and security is carried out through coalitions, international organizations, and the work of numerous federal institutions.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sens |first1=Allen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLc8BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6 |title=Global Politics |last2=Stoett |first2=Peter |publisher=Nelson Education |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-17-648249-7 |edition=5th |page=6}}</ref><ref name="c733">{{cite webbook |title last=PlansMcKercher at| a glance and operating context |urlfirst=https://wwwB.internationalJ.gcC.ca/gac-amc/priorities-priorites.aspx?lang=eng |access-date title=AugustRoutledge 4,Handbook 2020of Diplomacy and Statecraft | publisher=GlobalTaylor Affairs& CanadaFrancis |archive-date series=SeptemberRoutledge 25,handbooks 2020| year=2012 |archive isbn=978-1-136-66437-3 | url=https://webbooks.archivegoogle.orgcom/web/20200925025404/https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/priorities-priorites.aspxbooks?langid=engdGypAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA131 | access-date=June 17, 2024 | page=131}}</ref> Canada is known for its strong commitment to international peace and security, as well as being a mediator in conflicts,<ref name="o407">{{cite book | lastlast1=Courtney | firstfirst1=J. | last2=Courtney | first2=J.C. | last3=Smith | first3=D. | title=The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics | publisher=OUP USA | series=Oxford Handbooks in Politics & International Relations | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-19-533535-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KomEXgxvMcC&pg=PA363 | page=363}}</ref> and for providing [[Aid|aid to developing countries]] representing 0.37 percent of its [[gross national income]] (GNP).<ref name="p004">{{cite web | title=Development Co-operation Profiles – Canada | website=OECD iLibrary | url=https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/aa7e3298-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/aa7e3298-en | access-date=May 28, 2024|archive-date=May 28, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528044344/https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/aa7e3298-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/aa7e3298-en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="o880">{{cite web | title=Report to parliament on the Government of Canada’sCanada's international assistance 2021-2022 | website=GAC | date=2023-05-May 15, |2023 |url=https://www.international.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/international-assistance-report-rapport-aide-internationale/2021-2022-toc-tdm.aspx?lang=eng | access-date=2024-05-May 29}}</ref> The [[Canadian Security Intelligence Service]] (CSIS) is tasked with gathering and analyzing intelligence to prevent threats such as [[Terrorism in Canada|terrorism]], espionage, and foreign interference,<ref name="Lowenthal 2019 p. 480">{{cite book 2024| lastarchive-date=LowenthalMay |29, first=M.M.2024 |authorlink=Mark Lowenthal| title=Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy | publisher=SAGE Publications | year=2019 | isbn=978archive-1-5443-5836-9 | url=https://booksweb.googlearchive.comorg/booksweb/20240529014333/https://www.international.gc.ca/transparency-transparence/international-assistance-report-rapport-aide-internationale/2021-2022-toc-tdm.aspx?idlang=Tx2yDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA480eng | pagesurl-status=480, 482live}}</ref> while the [[Communications Security Establishment]] (CSE) is focused on [[Cybercrime in Canada|cyber security]] and protecting Canada's digital infrastructure.<ref name="Lowenthal 2019 p. 480"/>

[[Canada–United States relations|Canada and the United States]] have a long, complex, and intertwinedcomplex relationship;<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia 2020 s579">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Canada and the United States | encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia | date=June 11, 2020 | url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-and-the-united-states | archive-date=October 29, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029025447/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-and-the-united-states | url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Nord Weller p.">{{cite book | last1=Nord | first1=D.C. | last2=Weller | first2=G.R. | title=Canada and the United States: An Introduction to a Complex Relationship | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GO7PGwAACAAJ| |page=14}}</ref> they are close allies, co-operating regularly on military campaigns and humanitarian efforts.<ref name="Carment Sands 2019 p. 3">{{cite book | last1=Carment | first1=D. | last2=Sands | first2=C. | title=Canada–US Relations: Sovereignty or Shared Institutions? | publisher=Springer International Publishing | series=Canada and International Affairs | year=2019 | isbn=978-3-030-05036-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TT6EDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 | pages=3–10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Haglung |first=David G |date=Autumn 2003 |title=North American Cooperation in an Era of Homeland Security |journal=[[Orbis (journal)|Orbis]] |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=675–691 |doi=10.1016/S0030-4387(03)00072-3}}</ref> Canada also maintains historic and traditional [[Canada–United Kingdom relations|ties to the United Kingdom]] and [[Canada–France relations|to France]],<ref name="Morrison 2008 p. 177">{{cite journal | last=Morrison | first=Katherine L. | title=The Only Canadians: Canada's French and the British Connection | journal=International Journal of Canadian Studies | publisher=Consortium Erudit | issue=37 | year=2008 | issn=1180-3991 | doi=10.7202/040800ar | page=177 | language=fr | doi-access=free }}</ref> along with both countries' former colonies through its membership in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and the {{Lang|fr|[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]]}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=James |first=Patrick |title=Handbook of Canadian Foreign Policy |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7391-1493-3 |editor-last=Michaud |editor-first=Nelson |pages=213–214, 349–362 |editor-last2=O'Reilly |editor-first2=Marc J}}</ref> Canada is noted for having a positive [[Canada–Netherlands relations|relationship with the Netherlands]], owing, in part, to its contribution to the [[Liberation of the Netherlands|Dutch liberation during the Second World War]].<ref name="netherlands" /> [[List of diplomatic missions of Canada|Canada has diplomatic and consular offices]] in over 270 locations in approximately 180 foreign countries.<ref name="GAC 2014 c263" />

Canada is a [[International organisation membership of Canada|member of various international organizations and forums]].<ref>{{cite web |year=2013 |title=International Organizations and Forums |url=http://www.international.gc.ca/cip-pic/organisations.aspx?lang=eng |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227153935/http://www.international.gc.ca/cip-pic/organisations.aspx?lang=eng |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |access-date=March 3, 2014 |publisher=Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada}}</ref> [[Canada and the United Nations|Canada was a founding member of the United Nations]] in 1945 and formed the [[North American Aerospace Defense Command]] together with the United States in 1958.<ref name="Wilson 2012 p. 10">{{cite book | last=Wilson | first=G.A.A. | title=NORAD and the Soviet Nuclear Threat: Canada's Secret Electronic Air War | publisher=Dundurn Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4597-0412-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S-nvkPFdUREC&pg=PT10 | page=10}}</ref> The country has membership in the [[World Trade Organization]], the [[Five Eyes]], the [[G7]] and the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD).<ref name="Chapnick2011a" /> The country was a founding member the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] forum (APEC) in 1989 and joined the [[Organization of American States]] (OAS) in 1990,.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKenna |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IoputVv15MEC&pg=PA91 |title=Canada Looks South: In Search of an Americas Policy |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4426-1108-5 |page=91}}</ref> and seeks to expand its ties to [[Pacific Rim]] economies through membership in the [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]] forum (APEC).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Canada Intelligence, Security Activities and Operations Handbook Volume 1 Intelligence Service Organizations, Regulations, Activities |year=2015 |publisher=International Business Publications |isbn=978-0-7397-1615-1 |page=27}}</ref> Canada ratified the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] in 1948, and seven principal UN human rights conventions and covenants since then.<ref name="Heritage 2017 a990">{{cite web | last=Heritage | first=Canadian | title=Human rights treaties | website=Canada.ca | date=October 23, 2017 | url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/canada-united-nations-system/treaties.html | access-date=March 15, 2024|archive-date=March 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315141714/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/canada-united-nations-system/treaties.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{seefurther|Military history of Canada}}

[[File:CAFDay-27 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=A fighter jet taking off from a runway|A Canadian [[McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet]] in "special markings" used by the 2014 [[CF-18 Demonstration Team]]<ref name="Skies Mag 2014 p953">{{cite web | title=RCAF 2014 Demo Jet revealed | website=Skies Mag | date=March 27, 2014 | url=https://skiesmag.com/press-releases/rcaf2014demojetrevealed/ | archive-date=October 10, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010180249/https://skiesmag.com/press-releases/rcaf2014demojetrevealed/ | url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Alongside many [[List of Canadian military operations#Domestic|domestic obligations]], more thenthan 3,000 [[Canadian Armed Forces]] (CAF) personnel are currently [[List of Canadian military operations#Foreign|deployed in multiple foreign military operations]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/list.html |title=Current operations list |year=2024 |publisher=National Defence|archive-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102133817/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/operations/military-operations/current-operations/list.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Canadian unified forces comprise the [[Royal Canadian Navy]], [[Canadian Army]], and [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]. The nation employs a professional, volunteer force of approximately 68,000 active personnel and 27,000 reserve personnel—increasing to 71,500 and 30,000 respectively under "Strong, Secure, Engaged"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/policies-standards/canada-defence-policy.html |title=Strong, Secure, Engaged: Canada's Defence Policy |publisher=National Defence |date=September 22, 2017 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924030653/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/policies-standards/canada-defence-policy.html |url-status=live}}</ref>—with a sub-component of approximately 5,000 [[Canadian Rangers]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/transition-materials/defence-101/2020/03/defence-101/caf-101.html |title=Canadian Armed Forces 101 |date=March 11, 2021 |publisher=National Defence |archive-date=October 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030051937/https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/transition-materials/defence-101/2020/03/defence-101/caf-101.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn| name=Force| "The [[Royal Canadian Navy]] is composed of approximately 8,400 full-time sailors and 5,100 part-time sailors. The Army is composed of approximately 22,800 full-time soldiers, 18,700 reservists, and 5,000 [[Canadian Rangers]]. The Royal Canadian Air Force is composed of approximately 13,000 Regular Force personnel and 2,400 Air Reserve personnel."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/about/canadian-armed-forces.page |title=About the Canadian Armed Forces |date=March 11, 2021 |publisher=National Defence |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317004607/http://forces.gc.ca/en/about/canadian-armed-forces.page |url-status=dead}}</ref>}} In 2022, Canada's military expenditure totalled approximately $26.9&nbsp;billion, or around 1.2&nbsp;percent of the country's [[gross domestic product]] (GDP){{snd}}placing it 14th for [[List of countries by military expenditures|military expenditure by country]].<ref name="SIPRI-2022">{{cite web |date=April 2023 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf |access-date=29 April 2023 |publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]]|archive-date=April 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423231601/https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Canadian peacekeeping|Canada's role in developing ''peacekeeping'' and its participation in major peacekeeping initiatives]] during the 20th century has played a major role in its positive global image.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sorenson |first1=David S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2OZ6NRiL5MkC&pg=PA158 |title=The Politics of Peacekeeping in the Post-cold War Era |last2=Wood |first2=Pia Christina |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7146-8488-8 |page=158}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sobel |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RsY3pK_993EC&pg=PA21 |title=International Public Opinion and the Bosnia Crisis |last2=Shiraev |first2=Eric |last3=Shapiro |first3=Robert |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7391-0480-4 |page=21}}</ref> The notion of peacekeepingPeacekeeping is deeply embedded in Canadian culture and a distinguishing feature that Canadians feel sets their foreign policy apart from its closest ally, the United States.<ref name="Gutiérrez-Haces 2018 s015">{{cite book | last=Gutiérrez-Haces | first=Maria Teresa | title=Identity and Otherness in Canadian Foreign Policy | series=Collection internationale d'Études canadiennes &#124; International Canadian Studies Series | date=Nov 6, 2018 | pages=231–250 | publisher=University of Ottawa Press | isbn=978-0-7766-2722-9 | url=https://books.openedition.org/uop/1488?lang=en | access-date=March 4, 2024 | archive-date=March 4, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304065237/https://books.openedition.org/uop/1488?lang=en | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Carroll 2016 pp. 167–176">{{cite journal | last=Carroll | first=Michael K | title=Peacekeeping: Canada's past, but not its present and future? | journal=International Journal | publisher=[Sage Publications, Ltd., Canadian International Council] | volume=71 | issue=1 | year=2016 | issn=0020-7020 | jstor=44631172 | pages=167–176 | doi=10.1177/0020702015619857 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44631172 | access-date=February 28, 2024 | archive-date=February 28, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228173148/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44631172 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Anon. u211">{{cite web | title= Canada's Current Role in World | url= https://www.environicsinstitute.org/docs/default-source/project-documents/canada-s-world-survey/canada%27s-current-role-in-world.pdf?sfvrsn=d5590018_4| |publisher= Environics Institute for Survey Research | access-date= 2024-03-04 | archive-date= 2024-03-04 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240304065232/https://www.environicsinstitute.org/docs/default-source/project-documents/canada-s-world-survey/canada%27s-current-role-in-world.pdf?sfvrsn=d5590018_4 | url-status= live}}</ref> Canada has long been reluctant to participate in military operations that are not sanctioned by the United Nations,<ref name="Massie 2019 pp. 575–594" /><ref name="Mingst Karns 2019 p. 63">{{cite book | last1=Mingst | first1=K. | last2=Karns | first2=M.P. | title=The United Nations In The Post-cold War Era, Second Edition | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-000-30674-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kk2fDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT63| |page=63}}</ref> such as the [[Canada and the Vietnam War|Vietnam War]] or the [[Canada and the Iraq War|2003 invasion of Iraq]].<ref name="Massie 2019 pp. 575–594">{{cite journal | last=Massie | first=Justin | title=Why Canada Goes to War: Explaining Combat Participation in US-led Coalitions | journal=Canadian Journal of Political Science | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=52 | issue=3 | date=2019-04-30 | issn=0008-4239 | doi=10.1017/s0008423919000040 | pages=575–594}}</ref><ref name="Mingst Karns 2019 p. 63">{{cite book | last1=Mingst | first1=K. | last2=Karns | first2=M.P. | title=The United Nations In The Post-cold War Era, Second Edition | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-000-30674-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kk2fDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT63| page=63}}</ref> Since the 21st century, Canadian direct participation in UN peacekeeping efforts has greatly declined.<ref name="JohnsonJoshee2007">{{cite book |first1=Lauri |last1=Johnson |first2=Reva |last2=Joshee |title=Multicultural education policies in Canada and the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I8jr_pE3YPwC&pg=PA23 |year=2007 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn=978-0-7748-1325-9 |page=23}}</ref> The large decrease was a result of Canada directing its participation to UN-sanctioned military [[Canada in NATO|operations through NATO]], rather than directly through the UN.<ref name="McQuaig2010bt">{{cite book |authorfirst=Linda |last=McQuaig |title=Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9g4Xd12rIGYC&pg=PT50 |year=2010 |publisher=Random House Digital |isbn=978-0-385-67297-9 |page=50}}</ref> The change to participation via NATO has resulted in a shift towards more militarized and deadly missions rather than traditional peacekeeping duties.<ref name="James Michaud OReilly 2006 p. 177">{{cite book | last1=James | first1=P. | last2=Michaud | first2=N. | last3=O'Reilly | first3=M. | title=Handbook of Canadian Foreign Policy | publisher=Lexington Books | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-7391-5580-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTk2AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA177 | page=177}}</ref>

Canada has a [[Developed country|highly developed]] [[Mixed-market|mixed-market economy]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Peter A. |last2=Soskice |first2=David |date=2001 |title=Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EU02HzYJeFsC&q=canada+a+market+economy |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=570 |isbn=9780191647703}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Capitalism in Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/capitalism-in-canada#:~:text=Canada%20has%20a%20%E2%80%9Cmixed%E2%80%9D%20economy |first=Peter |last=Diekmeyer |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |date=June 11, 2020 |archive-date=October 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016165252/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/capitalism-in-canada#:~:text=Canada%20has%20a%20%E2%80%9Cmixed%E2%80%9D%20economy |url-status=live}}</ref> with the world's [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|ninth-largest economy]] {{As of|2023|lc=y}}, and a [[nominal GDP]] of approximately {{US$|2.221&nbsp;trillion|link=yes}}.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2, 2019 |title=World Economic Outlook Database |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2022/April/weo-report?c=156,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPRPPPPC,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2015&ey=2026&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922140957/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2022/April/weo-report?c=156,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPRPPPPC,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2015&ey=2026&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is one of the world's largest [[trading nation]]s, with a highly [[globalized]] economy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://unctad.org/topic/trade-analysis/chart-10-may-2021 |title=Evolution of the world's 25 top trading nations – Share of global exports of goods (%), 1978–2020 |publisher=[[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] |archive-date=July 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715130020/https://unctad.org/topic/trade-analysis/chart-10-may-2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Canadian trade in goods and services reached $2.016&nbsp;trillion.<ref name="econ">{{cite journal |year=2021 |title=U.S.-Canada Trade Facts |url=https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/americas/canada |url-status=live |journal=Canada's State of Trade |edition=20 |publisher=Global Affairs Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417130737/https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/americas/canada |archive-date=April 17, 2022}} [https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/assets/pdfs/publications/State-of-Trade-2019_eng.pdf PDF version]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003053553/https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/assets/pdfs/publications/State-of-Trade-2019_eng.pdf|date=October 3, 2019}}.</ref> Canada's exports totalled over $637&nbsp;billion, while its imported goods were worth over $631&nbsp;billion, of which approximately $391&nbsp;billion originated from the United States.<ref name="econ" /> In 2018, Canada had a [[trade deficit]] in goods of $22&nbsp;billion and a trade deficit in services of $25&nbsp;billion.<ref name="econ" /> The [[Toronto Stock Exchange]] is the ninth-largest stock exchange in the world by [[market capitalization]], listing over 1,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of over {{US$|2&nbsp;trillion}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monthly Reports |url=https://www.world-exchanges.org/our-work/statistics |publisher=World Federation of Exchanges |archive-date=February 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218202537/https://www.world-exchanges.org/our-work/statistics |url-status=live}}{{as of|2018|November|lc=y}}</ref>

The [[Bank of Canada]] is the [[central bank]] of the country.<ref name="Watts-1993">{{cite book |last=Watts |first=George S. |title=Bank of Canada/La Banque du Canada: Origines et premieres annees/Origins and Early History |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-88629-182-2 |jstor=j.ctt9qf36m |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qf36m}}</ref> The [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|minister of finance]] and [[Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry|minister of innovation, science, and industry]] use data from [[Statistics Canada]] to enable financial planning and develop economic policy.<ref>{{cite web |year=2014 |title=About |url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/about-apercu/mandate-mandat-eng.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115144515/http://statcan.gc.ca/about-apercu/mandate-mandat-eng.htm |archive-date=January 15, 2015 |access-date=March 8, 2017 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref> Canada has a strong [[cooperative banking]] sector, with the world's highest per-capita membership in [[credit union]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kobrak |first1=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yw9aDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA220 |title=From Wall Street to Bay Street: The Origins and Evolution of American and Canadian Finance |last2=Martin |first2=Joe |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4426-1625-7 |page=220}}</ref> It ranks low in the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]] (14th in 2023)<ref name="cpi">{{cite web |title=Corruption Perceptions Index (latest) |date=January 31, 2023 |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi |publisher=[[Transparency International]] |archive-date=July 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724013412/http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and "is widely regarded as among the least corrupt countries of the world".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rotberg |first1=Robert I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ujOoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT12 |title=Canada's Corruption at Home and Abroad |last2=Carment |first2=David |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-351-57924-7 |page=12}}</ref> It ranks high in the [[Global Competitiveness Report]] (14th in 2019)<ref name="rank 2019">{{Cite web |title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf |access-date=October 21, 2022 |archive-date=October 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009004538/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2019.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Global Innovation Index]] (15th in 2023).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=October 17, 2023 |publisher=WIPO |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022042128/https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |url-status=live |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |last3=Wunsch-Vincent |first3=Sacha |last4=León |first4=Lorena Rivera |last5=World Intellectual Property Organization |date=April 29, 2024 |isbn=978-92-805-3432-0 }}</ref> Canada's economy ranks above most [[Western nations]] on [[The Heritage Foundation]]'s [[Index of Economic Freedom]]<ref>{{cite web |year=2020 |title=Index of Economic Freedom |url=https://www.heritage.org/index/country/canada |access-date=May 8, 2021 |publisher=[[The Heritage Foundation]] |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420111447/https://www.heritage.org/index/country/canada |url-status=live}}</ref> and experiences a relatively low level of [[Economic inequality|income disparity]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/corporate/en/research/research-institute/global-wealth-report.html |publisher=[[Credit Suisse]] |title=Global Wealth Report |date=October 2018 |first1=Anthony |last1=Shorrocks |first2=Jim |last2=Davies |first3=Rodrigo |last3=Lluberas |archive-date=July 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718173830/https://www.credit-suisse.com/corporate/en/research/research-institute/global-wealth-report.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The country's average household [[disposable income]] per capita is "well above" the OECD average.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/canada/#:~:text=In%20Canada%2C%20the%20average%20household%20net%20adjusted%20disposable%20income%20per,average%20of%20USD%2030%20490. |title=Canada |work=OECD Better Life Index |date=2021 |archive-date=March 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305123737/https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/canada/#:~:text=In%20Canada%2C%20the%20average%20household%20net%20adjusted%20disposable%20income%20per,average%20of%20USD%2030%20490. |url-status=live}}</ref> Canada ranks among the lowest of the most developed countries for [[Affordable housing in Canada|housing affordability]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.oecd.org/price/housing-prices.htm |title=Prices - Housing prices |publisher=OECD |access-date=August 14, 2022 |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811142758/https://data.oecd.org/price/housing-prices.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nationalpost 2022" /> and [[foreign direct investment]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/sppp/article/view/72311/55149 |title=View of 2020 Tax Competitiveness Report: Canada's Investment Challenge |year=2021 |doi=10.11575/sppp.v14i1.72311 |last1=Mintz |first1=Jack |last2=Bazel |first2=Philip |journal=The School of Public Policy Publications |volume=14 |issue=1}}</ref><ref name="nationalpost 2022">{{cite web |title='Worst in the world': Here are all the rankings in which Canada is now last |website=National Post |date=August 11, 2022 |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/worst-in-the-world-here-are-all-the-rankings-in-which-canada-is-now-last |archive-date=November 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130234013/https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/worst-in-the-world-here-are-all-the-rankings-in-which-canada-is-now-last |url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the early 20th century, the growth of [[Manufacturing in Canada|Canada's manufacturing]], mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an urbanized, industrial one.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Harris |first1=R. Cole |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pD7vTXLqkugC&pg=PA2 |title=Historical Atlas of Canada: Addressing the Twentieth Century, 1891–1961 |last2=Matthews |first2=Geoffrey J. |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-8020-3448-9 |page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320150918/https://books.google.com/books?id=pD7vTXLqkugC&pg=PA2 |archive-date=March 20, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Canadian economy is dominated by the [[Tertiary sector of the economy|service industry]], which employs about three-quarters of the country's workforce.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 8, 2009 |title=Employment by Industry |url=http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/econ40-eng.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524063742/http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/econ40-eng.htm |archive-date=May 24, 2011 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref> Canada has an unusually important [[Primary sector of the economy|primary sector]], of which the [[Forestry in Canada|forestry]] and [[Petroleum industry in Canada|petroleum industries]] are the most prominent components.<ref name="SueyoshiGoto2018">{{Cite book |last1=Sueyoshi |first1=Toshiyuki |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0RKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA496 |title=Environmental Assessment on Energy and Sustainability by Data Envelopment Analysis |last2=Goto |first2=Mika |publisher=Wiley |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-118-97933-4 |page=496}}</ref> Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustained by nearby mines or sources of timber.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vodden |first1=K |last2=Cunsolo |first2=A. |year=2021 |url=https://natural-resources.canada.ca/sites/nrcan/files/pdf/National_Issues_Report_Final_EN.pdf |title=Rural and Remote Communities; Chapter 3 |work=Canada in a Changing Climate: National Issues Report |editor1-first=F.J. |editor1-last=Warren |editor2-first=N. |editor2-last=Lulham |publisher=Government of Canada|archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209174936/https://natural-resources.canada.ca/sites/nrcan/files/pdf/National_Issues_Report_Final_EN.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:FTAs with Canada.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|{{Legend|#000|Canada}}{{Legend|#393|[[Free trade agreements of Canada|Countries and territories with free-trade agreements]]<ref name="GAC 2020" />}}]]

Canada's economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mosler |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l00i5PKYDwcC&pg=PA38 |title=The American Challenge: The World Resists US Liberalism |last2=Catley |first2=Bob |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4094-9852-0 |page=38}}</ref> The [[Canada&nbsp;– United States Free Trade Agreement]] (FTA) of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries, while the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) expanded the free-trade zone to include [[Mexico]] in 1994 (later replaced by the [[United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement|Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement]]).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wd30pXJxpYC&pg=PA569 |title=The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-19-511739-4 |editor-last=Krieger |editor-first=Joel |edition=2nd |page=569}}</ref> As of 2023, [[Free trade agreements of Canada|Canada is a signatory to 15 free trade agreements]] with 51 different countries.<ref name="GAC 2020">{{cite web |title=Expand globally with Canada's free trade agreements |publisher=Trade Commissioner |date=December 3, 2020 |url=https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/fta-ale-canada.aspx?lang=eng |archive-date=March 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306015044/https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/fta-ale-canada.aspx?lang=eng |url-status=live}}</ref>

Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.<ref name="SueyoshiGoto2018" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Charles E |title=World Energy Resources |publisher=Springer |year=2002 |isbn=978-3-540-42634-9 |pages=323, 378–389}}</ref> [[Offshore drilling in Atlantic Canada|Atlantic Canada possess vast offshore deposits of natural gas]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapshots/2017/market-snapshot-25-years-atlantic-canada-offshore-oil-natural-gas-production.html |title=CER – Market Snapshot: 25 Years of Atlantic Canada Offshore Oil & Natural Gas Production |publisher=Canada Energy Regulator |date=January 29, 2021 |archive-date=November 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128010325/https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapshots/2017/market-snapshot-25-years-atlantic-canada-offshore-oil-natural-gas-production.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and Alberta hosts the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world.<ref name="Monga 2022">{{cite web |last=Monga |first=Vipal |title=One of the World's Dirtiest Oil Patches Is Pumping More Than Ever |website=Wall Street Journal |date=January 13, 2022 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-sands-canada-dirty-carbon-environment-11642085980 |archive-date=June 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601095803/https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-sands-canada-dirty-carbon-environment-11642085980 |url-status=live}}</ref> The vast [[Athabasca oil sands]] and other oil reserves give Canada 13&nbsp;percent of global oil reserves, constituting the [[List of countries by proven oil reserves|world's third or fourth-largest]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lopez-Vallejo |first=Marcela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fgDtCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 |title=Reconfiguring Global Climate Governance in North America: A Transregional Approach |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-317-07042-9 |page=82}}</ref> Canada is additionally one of the [[Agriculture in Canada|world's largest suppliers of agricultural products]]; the Canadian Prairies region is one of the most important global producers of wheat, [[canola]], and other grains.<ref>{{cite web |year=2017 |title=Trade Ranking Report: Agriculture |url=https://www.fcc-fac.ca/fcc/knowledge/ag-economist/trade-ranking-report-agriculture-e.pdf |publisher=FCC |archive-date=October 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003070556/https://www.fcc-fac.ca/fcc/knowledge/ag-economist/trade-ranking-report-agriculture-e.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[List of exports of Canada|country is a leading exporter]] of zinc, uranium, gold, nickel, [[Platinum group|platinoids]], aluminum, steel, iron ore, coking coal, lead, copper, [[molybdenum]], cobalt, and cadmium.<ref name="OEC-Complexity">{{cite web |title=Canada (CAN) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners |publisher=The Observatory of Economic Complexity |url=https://oec.world/en/profile/country/can | access-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112011418/https://oec.world/en/profile/country/can |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Atlas of Economic Complexity">{{cite web |title=The Atlas of Economic Complexity by @HarvardGrwthLab |website=The Atlas of Economic Complexity |url=https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/countries/39 | access-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520150209/https://atlas.cid.harvard.edu/countries/39 |url-status=live}}</ref> Canada has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and [[aeronautics]] representing particularly important industries.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 22, 2015 |title=Mapping Canada's Top Manufacturing Industries |url=https://www.ibisworld.com/media/2015/01/22/mapping-canadas-top-manufacturing-industries/ |website=Industry Insider}}</ref> The [[Fishing industry in Canada|fishing industry]] is also a key contributor to the economy.<ref name="Statistics Canada 2021 n754">{{cite web | title=Canada's oceans and the economic contribution of marine sectors | website=Statistics Canada | date=July 19, 2021 | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/16-002-x/2021001/article/00001-eng.htm | access-date=September 15, 2023}}</ref>

In 2020, Canada spent approximately $41.9&nbsp;billion on domestic [[research and development]], with supplementary estimates for 2022 at $43.2&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230127/dq230127b-eng.htm |title=Gross domestic expenditures on research and development, 2020 (final), 2021 (preliminary) and 2022 (intentions) |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=January 27, 2023}}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, the country has produced 15 [[List of Nobel laureates by country|Nobel laureates]] in [[Nobel Prize in Physics|physics]], [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|chemistry]], and [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|medicine]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Nobel Prize in Science Laureates |url=http://www.science.ca/scientists/nobellaureates.php |access-date=December 19, 2020 |publisher=Science.ca}}</ref> The country [[List of countries by number of scientific and technical journal articles|ranks seventh]] in the worldwide share of articles published in [[scientific journals]], according to the [[Nature Index]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 tables: Countries/territories {{!}} 2022 tables {{!}} Countries/territories |work= Nature Index|url=https://www.nature.com/nature-index/annual-tables/2022/country/all/all |access-date=June 10, 2023}}</ref> and is home to the headquarters of a number of global technology firms.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top Technology Companies in Canada |website=World Top 25,000 Companies by market cap as on Dec 2022 |date=January 1, 2020 |url=https://www.value.today/top-companies/top-technology-companies-canada}}</ref> Canada [[List of countries by number of Internet users|has one of the highest levels of Internet access in the world]], with over 33&nbsp;million users, equivalent to around 94 percent of its total population.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210531/dq210531d-eng.htm |title=Access to the Internet in Canada, 2020 |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=May 31, 2021}}</ref>

[[File:STS-116 - P5 Truss hand-off to ISS (NASA S116-E-05765).jpg|thumb|right|The Canadian-built [[Space Shuttle]] robotic arm (left), referred to as [[Canadarm]], transferred the [[Integrated Truss Structure|P5 truss segment]] over to the Canadian-built [[space station]] robotic arm, referred to as [[Canadarm2]].<ref name="Canadian Space Agency 2002 a865">{{cite web | title=Canadarm, Canadarm2, and Canadarm3 – A comparative table | website=Canadian Space Agency | date=December 31, 2002 | url=https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/canadarm2/canadarm-canadarm2-canadarm3-comparative-table.asp | access-date=September 7, 2023}}</ref>]]

[[List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries|Canada's developments in science and technology]] include the creation of the modern [[alkaline battery]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Lew Urry |url=http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=277 |website=Science.ca}}</ref> the [[Insulin#Discovery|discovery of insulin]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Proteins, Enzymes, Genes: The Interplay of Chemistry and Biology |last=Fruton |first=Joseph |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=95–96 |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-300-15359-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X6skaZlZNdsC&pg=PA95}}</ref> the development of the [[polio vaccine]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Leone N. Farrell |url=http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=438 |website=Science.ca}}</ref> and discoveries about the interior structure of the [[atomic nucleus]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Leon Katz |url=http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=404 |website=Science.ca}}</ref> Other major Canadian scientific contributions include the [[artificial cardiac pacemaker]], mapping the [[visual cortex]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Strauss |first=Evelyn |year=2005 |title=2005 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award |publisher=[[Lasker Award|Lasker Foundation]] |url=http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/2005_b_description.htm |url-status=live |access-date=November 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716192333/http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/2005_b_description.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2010}}</ref><ref name="topten">{{cite web |year=2015 |title=Top ten Canadian scientific achievements |url=http://www.science.ca/askascientist/topachievements.php |website=GCS Research Society}}</ref> the development of the [[electron microscope]],<ref>{{cite web |title=James Hillier |url=http://web.mit.edu/Invent/iow/hillier.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808192011/http://web.mit.edu/Invent/iow/hillier.html |archive-date=August 8, 2013 |access-date=November 20, 2008 |website=Inventor of the Week |publisher=[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearce |first=Jeremy |date=January 22, 2007 |title=James Hillier, 91, Dies; Co-Developed Electron Microscope |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/science/22hillier.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325113042/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/science/22hillier.html |archive-date=March 25, 2014}}</ref> [[plate tectonics]], [[deep learning]], [[multi-touch]] technology, and the identification of the first [[black hole]], [[Cygnus X-1]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bolton |first=C. T. |year=1972 |title=Identification of Cygnus X-1 with HDE 226868 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=235 |issue=2 |pages=271–273 |doi=10.1038/235271b0 |bibcode=1972Natur.235..271B |s2cid=4222070 }}</ref> Canada has a long history of discovery in genetics, which include [[stem cell]]s, [[site-directed mutagenesis]], [[T-cell receptor]], and the identification of the genes that cause [[Fanconi anemia]], [[cystic fibrosis]], and [[early-onset Alzheimer's disease]], among numerous other diseases.<ref name="topten" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Strathdee |first1=C.A. |first2=H. |last2=Gavish |first3=W. |last3=Shannon |last4=Buchwald, M. |year=1992 |title=Cloning of cDNAs for Fanconi's anemia by functional complementation |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=356 |issue=6372 |pages=763–767 |bibcode=1992Natur.356..763S |doi=10.1038/356763a0 |pmid=1574115|s2cid=4250632 }}</ref>

[[File:Population density statistics canada.gif|thumb|[[Population of Canada|Canada population]] density map (2014)<ref name="Statistics Canada 2015 l621">{{cite web | title=Section 4: Maps | website=Statistics Canada | date=February 11, 2015 | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/91-214-x/2015000/section04-eng.htm | access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref>|upright=1.3]]

The [[2021 Canadian census]] enumerated a [[Population of Canada by year|total population]] of 36,991,981, an increase of around 5.2 percent over the 2016 figure.<ref name="2021cen">{{cite web |last=Zimonjic |first=Peter |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Despite pandemic, Canada's population grows at fastest rate in G7: census |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/census-2021-release-population-cities-1.6344179 |work=CBC News}}</ref> It is estimated that Canada's population surpassed 40,000,000 in 2023.<ref name="Statistics Canada 2023 e538">{{cite web | title=Canada's population reaches 40 {{nbsp}}million | website=Statistics Canada | date=June 16, 2023 | url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/subjects-start/population_and_demography/40-million | access-date=September 7, 2023}}</ref> The main drivers of population growth are [[Immigration to Canada|immigration]] and, to a lesser extent, natural growth.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Edmonston |first1=Barry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVYOgvFPvBEC&pg=PA181 |title=The Changing Canadian Population |last2=Fong |first2=Eric |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7735-3793-4 |page=181}}</ref> Canada has one of the highest per-capita immigration rates in the world,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zimmerman |first=Karla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kv4nlSWLT8UC&pg=PA51 |title=Canada |publisher=[[Lonely Planet]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-74104-571-0 |edition=10th |page=51}}</ref> driven mainly by [[Economic impact of immigration to Canada|economic policy]] and also [[Immigration categories (Canada)|family reunification]].<ref name="HollifieldMartin2014">{{Cite book |last1=Hollifield |first1=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ys9jBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |title=Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective |last2=Martin |first2=Philip |last3=Orrenius |first3=Pia |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-8047-8627-0 |edition=3rd |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beaujot |first1=Roderic P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CofPBh5BRhwC&pg=PA178 |title=The Changing Face of Canada: Essential Readings in Population |last2=Kerr |first2=Donald W. |publisher=Canadian Scholars' Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-55130-322-2 |page=178}}</ref> A record 405,000 immigrants were admitted to Canada in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sangani |first1=Priyanka |date=February 15, 2022 |title=Canada to take in 1.3 {{nbsp}}million immigrants in 2022–24 |work=[[The Economic Times]] |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/canada-to-take-in-1-3-million-immigrants-in-2022-24/articleshow/89593324.cms?from=mdr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215120744/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/canada-to-take-in-1-3-million-immigrants-in-2022-24/articleshow/89593324.cms?from=mdr |archive-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref> Canada leads the world in [[Third country resettlement|refugee resettlement]]; it resettled more than 2847,000600 in 20182022.<ref name="Radford Connor 2020 c180g225">{{cite web | last1last=RadfordKim | first1first=JynnahSoo-Jung | last2title=ConnorUNHCR |calls first2=Phillipfor |concerted title=Canadaaction nowas leadsforced thedisplacement worldhits innew refugeerecord resettlement,in surpassing the U.S.2022 | website=PewUNHCR Research CenterCanada | date=August 20, 20202023-06-14 | url=https://www.pewresearchunhcr.orgca/short-readsnews/2019/06/19/canadaunhcr-nowcalls-leadsfor-theconcerted-worldaction-inas-refugeeforced-resettlementdisplacement-surpassinghits-thenew-urecord-sin-2022/#:~:text=OTTAWA%2C%2014%20June%202023%20%E2%80%93%20Canada,UNHCR%2C%20the%20UN%20Refugee%20Agency. | access-date=August 15, 20232024-07-04}}</ref> New immigrants settle mostly in [[List of the largest population centres in Canada|major urban areas in the country]], such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grubel |first=Herbert G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=48LOyfxYihoC&pg=PA5 |title=The Effects of Mass Immigration on Canadian Living Standards and Society |publisher=Fraser Institute |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-88975-246-7 |page=5}}</ref>

Canada's population density, at {{convert|4.2|PD/km2}}, is among the lowest in the world.<ref name="2021cen" /> Canada spans latitudinally from the 83rd parallel north to the 41st parallel north and approximately 95&nbsp;percent of the population is found south of the 55th parallel north.<ref name="OECD2014" /> About 80 percent of the population lives within {{convert|150|km|mi}} of the border with the contiguous United States.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Custred |first=Glynn |url=https://archive.org/details/immigrationpolic0000unse/page/96 |title=Immigration policy and the terrorist threat in Canada and the United States |publisher=Fraser Institute |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-88975-235-1 |editor-last=Moens |editor-first=Alexander |page=[https://archive.org/details/immigrationpolic0000unse/page/96 96] |chapter=Security Threats on America's Borders |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HmiqBgnkAXYC&pg=PA96}}</ref> Canada is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of the population living in urban centres.<ref name="World Bank Open Data s787">{{cite web | title=World Bank Open Data | website=World Bank Open Data | url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?locations=CA&name_desc=true | language=la | access-date=August 15, 2023}}</ref> The most densely populated part of the country, accounting for nearly 50 percent, is the [[Quebec City–Windsor Corridor]] in Southern Quebec and Southern Ontario along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.<ref name="McMurryShepherd2004">{{Cite book |last1=McMurry |first1=Peter H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1giH-mvhhw8C&pg=PA391 |title=Particulate Matter Science for Policy Makers: A NARSTO Assessment |last2=Shepherd |first2=Marjorie F. |last3=Vickery |first3=James S. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-84287-7 |page=391}}</ref><ref name="OECD2014">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_mjWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA142 |title=OECD Environmental Performance Reviews OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Canada 2004 |publisher=OECD |year=2014 |isbn=978-92-64-10778-6 |pages=142–}}</ref>

The majority of Canadians (81.1&nbsp;percent) live in family households, 12.1&nbsp;percent report living alone, and those6.8&nbsp;percent livinglive with other relatives or unrelated persons reported at 6.8&nbsp;percent.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=February 9, 2022 |title=Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Canada [Country] |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E}}</ref> Fifty-one&nbsp;percent of households are couples with or without children, 8.7&nbsp;percent are single-parent households, 2.9&nbsp;percent are multigenerational households, and 29.3&nbsp;percent are single-person households.<ref name=":0" />

AccordingRespondents toin the [[2021 Canadian census]], self-reported over 450 "[[Ethnic origins of people in Canada|ethnic or cultural origins]]" were self-reported by Canadians.<ref name="2021newsrelease" /> The major [[Panethnicity|panethnic]] groups chosen were: [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] ({{Percentage | 19062115 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), [[North America]]n ({{Percentage | 8329945 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), [[Ethnic groups in Asia|Asian]] ({{Percentage | 7013835 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|North American Indigenous]] ({{Percentage | 2204475 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), [[List of ethnic groups of Africa|African]] ({{Percentage | 1394170 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), [[Latin America|Latin, Central and South American]] ({{Percentage | 900495 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), [[Caribbean people|Caribbean]] ({{Percentage | 774515 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), [[Oceanian people|Oceanian]] ({{Percentage | 105010 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}), and other ({{Percentage | 2163380 | 36328475 | 1 | % = &nbsp;percent}}).<ref name="2021newsrelease">{{Cite web |date=October 26, 2022 |title=The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country's religious and ethnocultural diversity |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227102217/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htm |archive-date=27 December 2023 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref><ref name="ethnicpopulation2021">{{Cite web |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Ethnic or cultural origin by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810035601}}</ref> Over 60 percent of Canadians reported a single origin, and 36 percent of Canadians reported having multiple ethnic origins, thus the overall total is greater than 100&nbsp;percent.<ref name="2021newsrelease" />

[[File:Canadian ethnocultural diversity.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The top 168 [[Ethnic origins of people in Canada|ethnic or cultural origins self-reported by Canadians]] in the 2021 census<ref name="Statistics Canada u055">{{cite web |title=''Canadian'' tops the more than 450 ethnic or cultural origins reported by the population of Canada |website=Statistics Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/g-b001-eng.htm | access-date=July 8, 2023}}</ref>]]

The country's ten largest self-reported specific ethnic or cultural origins in 2021 were [[Canadian ethnicity|Canadian]]{{efn| name=Canadian|1=All citizens of Canada are classified as "Canadians" as defined by [[Canadian nationality law|Canada's nationality laws]]. "Canadian" as an ethnic group has since 1996 been added to census questionnaires for possible ancestral origin or descent. "Canadian" was included as an example on the English questionnaire and "Canadien" as an example on the French questionnaire.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Patrick |last1=Simon |first2=Victor |last2=Piché |title=Accounting for Ethnic and Racial Diversity: The Challenge of Enumeration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6t7p-xxFhnwC&pg=PT48 |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-98108-4 |pages=48–49}}</ref> "The majority of respondents to this selection are from the eastern part of the country that was first settled. Respondents generally are visibly European (Anglophones and Francophones) and no longer self-identify with their ethnic ancestral origins. This response is attributed to a multitude or generational distance from ancestral lineage."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bezanson |first1=Kate |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWO_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA455 |title=Rethinking Society in the 21st Century |last2=Webber |first2=Michelle |publisher=Canadian Scholars' Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-55130-936-1 |edition=4th |pages=455–456}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Edmonston |first1=Barry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVYOgvFPvBEC&pg=PA294 |title=The Changing Canadian Population |last2=Fong |first2=Eric |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7735-3793-4 |pages=294–296}}</ref>}} (accounting for 15.6&nbsp;percent of the population), followed by [[English Canadians|English]] (14.7&nbsp;percent), [[Irish Canadians|Irish]] (12.1&nbsp;percent), [[Scottish Canadians|Scottish]] (12.1&nbsp;percent), [[French Canadians|French]] (11.0&nbsp;percent), [[German Canadians|German]] (8.1&nbsp;percent), [[Chinese Canadians|Chinese]] (4.7&nbsp;percent), [[Italian Canadians|Italian]] (4.3&nbsp;percent), [[Indo-Canadians|Indian]] (3.7&nbsp;percent), and [[Ukrainian Canadians|Ukrainian]] (3.5&nbsp;percent).<ref name="ethnicpopulationordered2021">{{Cite web |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Canada [Country] Total – Ethnic or cultural origin for the population in private households – 25% sample data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124&HEADERlist=31&SearchText=Canada}}</ref>

Of the 36.3 {{nbsp}}million people enumerated in 2021, approximately 25.4 {{nbsp}}million reported being "[[White people|White]]", representing 69.8&nbsp;percent of the population.<ref name="Statistics Canada 2022a">{{cite web |title=The Daily — Indigenous population continues to grow and is much younger than the non-Indigenous population, although the pace of growth has slowed |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=September 21, 2022 |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220921/dq220921a-eng.htm}}</ref> The Indigenous population representing 5&nbsp;percent or 1.8 {{nbsp}}million individuals, grew by 9.4&nbsp;percent compared to the non-Indigenous population, which grew by 5.3&nbsp;percent from 2016 to 2021.<ref name="Statistics Canada 2022a" /> One out of every four Canadians or 26.5&nbsp;percent of the population belonged to a non-White and non-Indigenous [[visible minority]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Visible Minority |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date=October 27, 2022 |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/minorite-visible#:~:text=In%20the%202021%20census%2C%20around,as%20defined%20by%20Canadian%20law.}}</ref>{{efn|Indigenous peoples are not considered a visible minority in Statistics Canada calculations. Visible minorities are defined by Statistics Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour".<ref>{{cite web |date=July 25, 2008 |title=Classification of visible minority |url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/concepts/definitions/minority01-minorite01a-eng.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714060402/https://www.statcan.gc.ca/concepts/definitions/minority01-minorite01a-eng.htm |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref>}} the largest of which in 2021 were [[South Asian Canadians|South Asian]] (2.6 {{nbsp}}million people; 7.1&nbsp;percent), Chinese (1.7 {{nbsp}}million; 4.7&nbsp;percent), and [[Black Canadians|Black]] (1.5 {{nbsp}}million; 4.3&nbsp;percent).<ref name="Statistics Canada 2022">{{cite web |title=The Daily — The Canadian census: A rich portrait of the country's religious and ethnocultural diversity |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htm}}</ref>

A multitude of languages are used by Canadians, with [[Canadian English|English]] and [[Canadian French|French]] (the [[official language]]s) being the [[First language|mother tongues]] of approximately 54&nbsp;percent and 19&nbsp;percent of Canadians, respectively.<ref name=":0" /> As of the 2021 census, just over 7.8&nbsp;million Canadians listed a non-official language as their [[Mother-tongue|mother tongue]]. Some of the most common non-official first languages include [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] (679,255 first-language speakers), [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (666,585), [[Cantonese]] (553,380), Spanish (538,870), [[Arabic]] (508,410), [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] (461,150), Italian (319,505), German (272,865), and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] (237,890).<ref name=":0" /> [[Official bilingualism in Canada|Canada's federal government practises official bilingualism]], which is applied by the [[Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|commissioner of official languages]] in consonance with [[section 16 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|section 16 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'']] and the federal ''[[Official Languages Act (Canada)|Official Languages Act]]''. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. Citizens have the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French and official-[[Minority language|language minorities]] are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 16, 2009 |title=Official Languages and You |url=http://www.ocol-clo.gc.ca/html/faq1_e.php |publisher=[[Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages]] |access-date=September 10, 2011 |archive-date=October 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027121057/http://www.ocol-clo.gc.ca/html/faq1_e.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Quebec's 1974 ''[[Official Language Act (Quebec)|Official Language Act]]'' established French as the only official language of the province.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bourhis |first1=Richard Y |last2=Montaruli |first2=Elisa |last3=Amiot |first3=Catherine E |date=May 2007 |title=Language planning and French-English bilingual communication: Montreal field studies from 1977 to 1997 |journal=[[International Journal of the Sociology of Language]] |issue=185 |pages=187–224 |doi=10.1515/IJSL.2007.031|s2cid=144320961 }}</ref> Although more than 82 percent of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, there are substantial [[Francophone]] populations in [[Demographics of New Brunswick|New Brunswick]], [[Franco-Albertans|Alberta]], and [[Franco-Manitoban|Manitoba]]; [[Franco-Ontarian|Ontario]] has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Webber |first=Jeremy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f357BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA214 |title=The Constitution of Canada: A Contextual Analysis |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-78225-631-1 |page=214}}</ref> New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province, has a French-speaking Acadian minority constituting 33 percent of the population.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Auer |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_aPmMkzK_AC&pg=PA387 |title=Language and Space: An International Handbook of Linguistic Variation. Theories and methods |publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-11-018002-2 |page=387}}</ref> There are also clusters of Acadians in southwestern Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island, and in central and western Prince Edward Island.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hayday |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D6LPBGT59kC&pg=PA49 |title=Bilingual Today, United Tomorrow: Official Languages in Education and Canadian Federalism |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7735-2960-1 |page=49}}</ref>

Additionally, Canada is home to many [[sign language]]s, some of which are Indigenous.<ref>{{cite web |year=2015 |title=Sign languages |url=http://cad.ca/issues-positions/language/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730163508/http://cad.ca/issues-positions/language/ |archive-date=July 30, 2017 |publisher=Canadian Association of the Deaf – Association des Sourds du Canada}}</ref> [[American Sign Language]] (ASL) is used across the country due to the prevalence of ASL in primary and secondary schools.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jepsen |first1=Julie Bakken |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZqnCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA702 |title=Sign Languages of the World: A Comparative Handbook |last2=De Clerck |first2=Goedele |last3=Lutalo-Kiingi |first3=Sam |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-61451-817-4 |page=702}}</ref> [[Quebec Sign Language]] (LSQ) is used primarily in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bailey |first1=Carole Sue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_D_ZRFm_4EsC&pg=PR11 |title=The Canadian Dictionary of ASL Canadian Cultural Society of the Dead |last2=Dolby |first2=Kathy |last3=Campbell |first3=Hilda Marian |publisher=University of Alberta |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-88864-300-1 |page=11}}</ref>

[[File:Freedom of Religion (38007857792).jpg|thumb|[[Freedom of religion in Canada|Freedom of religion]] sculpture by Marlene Hilton Moore at the McMurtry Gardens of Justice in [[Toronto]]<ref name="McMurtry Gardens of Justice">{{cite web |title=Freedom of Religion - by Marlene Hilton Moore |website=McMurtry Gardens of Justice |url=https://mcmurtrygardensofjustice.com/content/freedom-religion-marlene-hilton-moore | access-date=June 12, 2023}}</ref>]]

Canada is religiously diverse, encompassing a wide range of beliefs and customs.<ref name="Cornelissen 2021" /> The [[Constitution of Canada]] refers to God and the [[Monarchy of Canada|monarch]] carries the [[Style and title of the Canadian sovereign|title]] of ''[[Fidei defensor|Defender of the Faith]]''; however, Canada has no official church and the government is officially committed to [[religious pluralism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moon |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ah66SQsk4hAC&pg=PA1 |title=Law and Religious Pluralism in Canada |publisher=UBC Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7748-1497-3 |pages=1–4}}</ref> [[Freedom of religion in Canada]] is a constitutionally protected right, allowing individuals to assemble and worship without limitation or interference.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=Jamie S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbZJ2ZszYw8C&pg=PA345 |title=The Religions of Canadians |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4426-0516-9 |page=345}}</ref>

Rates of religious adherence have steadily decreased since the 1970s.<ref name="Cornelissen 2021">{{cite web |last=Cornelissen |first=Louis |title=Religiosity in Canada and its evolution from 1985 to 2019 |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=October 28, 2021 |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2021001/article/00010-eng.htm}}</ref> With Christianity in decline after having once been central and integral to Canadian culture and daily life,<ref name="Roberts2005w">{{cite book |authorfirst=Lance W. |last=Roberts |title=Recent Social Trends in Canada, 1960–2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnPOqwsR5UsC&pg=PA359 |year=2005 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |isbn=978-0-7735-2955-7 |page=359}}</ref> Canada has become a [[Postchristianity|post-Christian]], [[secular]] state.<ref name="BramadatSeljak2009">{{cite book |author1first1=Paul |last1=Bramadat |author2first2=David |last2=Seljak |title=Religion and Ethnicity in Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VymssyK1Hs0C&pg=PA3 |year=2009 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-1018-7 |page=3}}</ref><ref name="Bowen2004">{{cite book |authorfirst=Kurt |last=Bowen |title=Christians in a Secular World: The Canadian Experience |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__38sGZLrvYC&pg=PA174 |year=2004 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press |isbn=978-0-7735-7194-5 |page=174}}</ref><ref name="GregoryJohnston2009">{{cite book |author1first1=Derek |last1=Gregory |author2first2=Ron |last2=Johnston |author3first3=Geraldine |last3=Pratt |author4first4=Michael |last4=Watts |author5first5=Sarah |last5=Whatmore |title=The Dictionary of Human Geography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5liCbG4J9LYC&pg=PT672 |year=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-1056-6 |page=672}}</ref> Although the majority of Canadians consider [[Importance of religion by country|religion to be unimportant]] in their daily lives,<ref name="Punnett2015">{{cite book |authorfirst=Betty Jane |last=Punnett |title=International Perspectives on Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tG2mBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-46745-8 |page=116}}</ref> they still believe in God.<ref name="Haskell2009">{{cite book |authorfirst=David M. |last=Haskell (Wilfrid Laurier University) |title=Through a Lens Darkly: How the News Media Perceive and Portray Evangelicals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzJMfNOR5O0C&pg=PA50 |year=2009 |publisher=Clements Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-894667-92-0 |page=50}}</ref> The practice of religion is generally considered a private matter throughout Canadian society and by the state.<ref name="BoyleSheen2013">{{cite book |author1first1=Kevin |last1=Boyle |author2first2=Juliet |last2=Sheen |title=Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxgFWwK8dXwC&pg=PT219 |year=2013 |publisher=University of Essex – Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-72229-7 |page=219}}</ref>

According to the 2021 census, [[Christianity in Canada|Christianity]] is the largest religion in Canada, with [[Roman Catholic]]s representing 29.9&nbsp;percent of the population having the most adherents. [[Christians]] overall representing 53.3&nbsp;percent of the population,{{efn| name=religion|[[Roman Catholicism in Canada|Catholic Church]] (29.9%), [[United Church of Canada|United Church]] (3.3%), [[Anglican Church of Canada|Anglican Church]] (3.1%), [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] (1.7%), [[Baptists in Canada|Baptistism]] (1.2%), [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostalism and other Charismatic]] (1.1%) [[Anabaptism|Anabaptist]] (0.4%), [[Jehovah's Witnesses|Jehovah's Witness]] (0.4%), [[Latter Day Saint movement|Latter Day Saints]] (0.2%), [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] (0.9%), [[Methodism|Methodist]] and [[Wesleyan Church|Wesleyan]] (Holiness) (0.3%), [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] (0.8%), and [[Reformed Episcopal Church|Reformed]] (0.2%).<ref name="religion2021">{{Cite web |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Religion by visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810034201 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref> 7.6{{nbsp}}percent simply identified as "Christians".<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia 2022 z483">{{cite web | title=Christianity | website=The Canadian Encyclopedia | date=October 27, 2022 | url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/christianity | access-date=August 31, 2023}}</ref>}} are followed by people reporting [[Irreligion in Canada|irreligion or having no religion]] at 34.6&nbsp;percent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130508/dq130508b-eng.htm?HPA |title=Religions in Canada—Census 2011 |date=May 8, 2013 |publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref> Other faiths include [[Islam in Canada|Islam]] (4.9&nbsp;percent), [[Hinduism in Canada|Hinduism]] (2.3&nbsp;percent), [[Sikhism in Canada|Sikhism]] (2.1&nbsp;percent), [[Buddhism in Canada|Buddhism]] (1.0&nbsp;percent), [[Judaism in Canada|Judaism]] (0.9&nbsp;percent), and [[Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous spirituality]] (0.2&nbsp;percent).<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=Statistics Canada |date=October 26, 2022 |title=Religion by visible minority and generation status: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810034201}}</ref> Canada has the [[Sikhism by country|second-largest national Sikh population]], behind [[Sikhism in India|India]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/AnnualStatutes/2019_5/FullText.html |title=Sikh Heritage Month Act |website=laws.justice.gc.ca |date=January 14, 2020}}</ref>

Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of [[publicly funded health care]], informally called [[Medicare (Canada)|Medicare]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Aase |first1=Karina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jvs1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 |title=Researching Quality in Care Transitions: International Perspectives |last2=Waring |first2=Justin |last3=Schibevaag |first3=Lene |publisher=Springer |year=2017 |isbn=978-3-319-62346-7 |pages=128–129}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=December 1, 2006 |title=Public vs. private health care |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/healthcare/public_vs_private.html |work=CBC News}}</ref> It is guided by the provisions of the ''[[Canada Health Act]]'' of 1984<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bégin |first=Monique |title=Medicare: Canada's Right to Health |publisher=Optimum Pub. International |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-88890-219-1 |chapter=Intro}}</ref> and is [[Universal health care|universal]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Leatt |first1=Peggy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_y6J647QFoC&pg=PA81 |title=Government Relations in the Health Care Industry |last2=Mapa |first2=Joseph |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-56720-513-8 |page=81}}</ref> Universal access to publicly funded health services "is often considered by Canadians as a fundamental value that ensures national healthcare insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country.".<ref>{{Cite report |title=The Health of Canadians – The Federal Role |publisher=Parliament of Canada |access-date=January 5, 2017 |section-url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/sen/committee/372/soci/rep/repoct02vol6part7-e.htm |section=17.2 Universality |archive-date=January 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117231017/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/372/soci/rep/repoct02vol6part7-e.htm}}</ref> Around 30&nbsp;percent of Canadians' healthcare is paid for through the private sector.<ref name="Kroll2012">{{Cite book |last=Kroll |first=David J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=STnr1N89LIUC&pg=PA126 |title=Capitalism Revisited: How to Apply Capitalism in Your Life |publisher=Dorrance Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4349-1768-3 |page=126}}</ref> This mostly pays for services not covered or partially covered by Medicare, such as [[prescription drug]]s, [[dentistry]] and [[optometry]].<ref name="Kroll2012" /> Approximately 65 to 75&nbsp;percent of Canadians have some form of supplementary health insurance; many receive it through their employers or access secondary social service programs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chen |first=Tsai-Jyh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1bBhDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 |title=An International Comparison of Financial Consumer Protection |publisher=Springer |year=2018 |isbn=978-981-10-8441-6 |page=93}}</ref><ref name="Kroll2012" />

In 2021, the [[Canadian Institute for Health Information]] reported that healthcare spending reached $308{{nbsp}}billion, or 12.7 percent of Canada's GDP for that year.<ref>{{cite web |year=2022 |title=National Health Expenditure Trends |url=https://www.cihi.ca/en/national-health-expenditure-trends |access-date=August 23, 2022 |publisher=Canadian Institute for Health Information}}</ref> In 2022, Canada's per-capita spending on health expenditures ranked 12th among [[List of countries by total health expenditure per capita|health-care systems in the OECD]].<ref name="theOECD h799">{{cite web | title=Health resources - Health spending | website=theOECD | url=https://data.oecd.org/healthres/health-spending.htm | access-date=August 31, 2023}}{{doi|10.1787/8643de7e-en}}</ref> Canada has performed close to, or above the average on the majority of OECD health indicators since the early 2000s, ranking above the average on OECD indicators for wait-times and access to care, with average scores for quality of care and use of resources.<ref>{{cite web |year=2017 |title=Health at a Glance 2017 |url=https://www.oecd.org/canada/Health-at-a-Glance-2017-Key-Findings-CANADA.pdf |publisher=OECD}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2017 |title=Health at a Glance: OECD Indicators by country |url=http://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/health-at-a-glance-19991312.htm |publisher=OECD}}</ref> The [[Commonwealth Fund|Commonwealth Fund']]s 2021 report comparing the healthcare systems of the 11 most [[developed countries]] ranked Canada second-to-last.<ref name="commonwealthfund">{{Cite journal |url=https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2021/aug/mirror-mirror-2021-reflecting-poorly |title=Mirror, Mirror 2021: Reflecting Poorly |date=August 4, 2021 |website=commonwealthfund.org |doi=10.26099/01dv-h208 |last1=Schneider |first1=Eric C. |last2=Shah |first2=Arnav |last3=Doty |first3=Michelle M. |first4=Roosa |last4=Tikkanen |last5=Fields |first5=Katharine |last6=Williams |first6=Reginald D. II}}</ref> Identified weaknesses were comparatively higher infant mortality rate, the prevalence of chronic conditions, long wait times, poor availability of after-hours care, and a lack of prescription drugs and dental coverage.<ref name="commonwealthfund" /> An increasing problem in Canada's health system is a lack of healthcare professionals,<ref name="Duong Vogel 2023 pp. E309–E310">{{cite journal |last1=Duong |first1=Diana |last2=Vogel |first2=Lauren |title=Overworked health workers are 'past the point of exhaustion' |journal=Canadian Medical Association Journal |volume=195 |issue=8 |date=February 26, 2023 |pmc=9970629 |doi=10.1503/cmaj.1096042 |pages=E309–E310 |pmid=36849179}}</ref> and hospital capacity.<ref name="Thiessen Partner Organization Ma 2023 j399">{{cite web |title=Taking the pulse: A snapshot of Canadian health care, 2023 | website=[[Canadian Institute for Health Information]] | date=August 2, 2023 | url=https://www.cihi.ca/en/book/export/html/10799 | access-date=February 15, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Educationincanada-eng.png|thumb|upright=1.3| Canada by province and territory, showing the percentage of the population aged 25 to 64 who had a bachelor's degree or higher, and the percentage point change from 2016 to 2021<ref name="Statistics Canada 2022 i032">{{cite web | title=British Columbia and Ontario saw the largest percentage point increases in degree holders from 2016 to 2021 | website=Statistics Canada | date=November 30, 2022 | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221130/mc-a002-eng.htm | access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref>]]

Education in Canada is for the most part [[State school|provided publicly]], funded and overseen by [[Government of Canada|federal]], [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provincial]], and [[local government]]s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Scholey |first=Lucy |date=April 21, 2015 |title=2015 federal budget 'disappointing' for post-secondary students: CFS |url=http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1347155/2015-federal-budget-disappointing-for-post-secondary-students-cfs/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150603103455/http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1347155/2015-federal-budget-disappointing-for-post-secondary-students-cfs/ |archive-date=June 3, 2015}}</ref> Education is within provincial jurisdiction and a province's curriculum is overseen by its government.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Canada 1956 the Official Handbook of Present Conditions and Recent Progress |publisher=Canada Year Book Section Information Services Division Dominion Bureau of Statistics |year=1959}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Montesinos |first1=Vicente |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rqzwBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA305 |title=Innovations in Governmental Accounting |last2=Manuel Vela |first2=José |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-4757-5504-6 |page=305}}</ref> Education in Canada is generally divided into [[primary education]], followed by [[Secondary education|secondary]] and [[Tertiary education|post-secondary education]]. Education in both English and French is available in most places across Canada.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Epstein |first=Irving |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FI3zJQzOdcIC&pg=PA73 |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Children's Issues Worldwide |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-313-33617-1 |page=73}}</ref> Canada has a large number of universities, almost all of which are publicly funded.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shanahan |first1=Theresa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VpcHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |title=The Handbook of Canadian Higher Education |last2=Nilson |first2=Michelle |last3=Broshko |first3=Li Jeen |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-55339-506-5 |page=59}}</ref> Established in 1663, {{Lang|fr|[[Université Laval]]|italic=no}} is the oldest post-secondary institution in Canada.<ref name="BlakeKeshen2017p249">{{Cite book |last1=Blake |first1=Raymond B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PqEvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA249 |title=Conflict and Compromise: Pre-Confederation Canada |last2=Keshen |first2=Jeffrey A. |last3=Knowles |first3=Norman J. |last4=Messamore |first4=Barbara J. |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4426-3555-5 |page=249}}</ref> The nation's three top ranking universities are the [[University of Toronto]], [[McGill University|McGill]], and the [[University of British Columbia]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings?countries=ca | title=QS World University Rankings | publisher=QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited | accessdateaccess-date=May 4, 2024}}</ref> The largest university is the [[University of Toronto]], which has over 85,000 students.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richards |first=Larry Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTKODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |title=University of Toronto: An Architectural Tour (The Campus Guide) |publisher=Princeton Architectural Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-61689-824-3 |edition=2nd |page=11}}</ref>

According to a 2022 report by the OECD, Canada is one of the most educated countries in the world;<ref name="Statistics Canada 2022 n626">{{cite web | title=The Daily — Canada leads the G7 for the most educated workforce, thanks to immigrants, young adults and a strong college sector, but is experiencing significant losses in apprenticeship certificate holders in key trades | website=Statistics Canada | date=November 30, 2022 | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221130/dq221130a-eng.htm | access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref><ref name="GAC 2022 x071">{{cite web | title=Key facts about Canada's competitiveness for foreign direct investment | website=GAC | date=January 17, 2022 | url=https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/economist-economiste/analysis-analyse/key_facts-2022-01-faits_saillants.aspx?lang=eng | access-date=March 9, 2024}} [https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/ Raw data OECD]</ref> the country ranks first worldwide in the percentage of adults having tertiary education, with over 56 percent of Canadian adults having attained at least an undergraduate college or university degree.<ref name="Education c106">{{cite web | last=Education | first=Level Of | title=Canada | website=Education GPS | url=https://gpseducation.oecd.org/CountryProfile?primaryCountry=CAN&treshold=10&topic=EO | access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref> Canada spends an average of 5.3&nbsp;percent of its GDP on education.<ref name="TheGlobalEconomy.com 1971 w626">{{cite web | title=Canada Education spending, percent of GDP | website=TheGlobalEconomy.com | date=December 31, 1971 | url=https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Canada/Education_spending/#:~:text=Public%20spending%20on%20education%2C%20percent%20of%20GDP&text=For%20that%20indicator%2C%20we%20provide,from%202022%20is%204.14%20percent. | access-date=March 9, 2024}}</ref> The country invests heavily in tertiary education (more than {{US$|20,000}} per student).<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Financial and human resources invested in Education |url=http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/48630868.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308202848/http://www.oecd.org/education/skills-beyond-school/48630868.pdf |archive-date=March 8, 2014 |access-date=July 4, 2014 |publisher=OECD}}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, 89 percent of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, compared to an OECD average of 75 percent.<ref name="OECD 2023 t514">{{cite web | title=Education at a Glance | website=OECD | date=September 12, 2023 | url=https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/ | access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Statue outside Union Station.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Monument to Multiculturalism]]'' by Francesco Pirelli, in Toronto<ref name="Kuitenbrouwer 2010 g035">{{cite web | last=Kuitenbrouwer | first=Peter | title=Where is the Monument to Multiculturalism? | website=National Post | date=August 19, 2010 | url=https://nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/where-is-the-monument-to-multiculturalism | access-date=January 11, 2024}}</ref>]]

Canada's culture draws influences from its broad range of constituent nationalities, and policies that promote a "[[just society]]" are constitutionally protected.<ref>{{Cite book |last=LaSelva |first=Samuel Victor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rcqMl9MK_x0C&pg=PA86 |title=The Moral Foundations of Canadian Federalism: Paradoxes, Achievements, and Tragedies of Nationhood |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7735-1422-5 |page=86}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dyck |first=Rand |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BUOoN8e5Ps0C&pg=PA88 |title=Canadian Politics |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-17-650343-7 |page=88}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Newman |first=Stephen L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ELWjuzADl7UC&pg=PA203 |title=Constitutional Politics in Canada and the United States |date=2012 |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |isbn=978-0-7914-8584-2 |page=203}}</ref> Since the 1960s, Canada has emphasized equality and inclusiveness for all its people.<ref name="Conway-2018">{{cite journal |last=Conway |first=Shannon |title=From Britishness to Multiculturalism: Official Canadian Identity in the 1960s |journal=Études canadiennes / Canadian Studies |issue=84 |date=June 2018 |doi=10.4000/eccs.1118 |pages=9–30|s2cid=158927935 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Linda |last=McQuaig |date=June 4, 2010 |title=Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire |publisher=Doubleday Canada |page=14 |isbn=978-0-385-67297-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9g4Xd12rIGYC&pg=PT14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Guo |first1=Shibao |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HW8iCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA317 |title=Revisiting Multiculturalism in Canada: Theories, Policies and Debates |last2=Wong |first2=Lloyd |publisher=University of Calgary |year=2015 |isbn=978-94-6300-208-0 |page=317}}</ref> [[Multiculturalism in Canada|The official state policy of multiculturalism]] is often cited as one of Canada's significant accomplishments<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sikka |first=Sonia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e4NLBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA237 |title=Multiculturalism and Religious Identity: Canada and India |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-7735-9220-9 |page=237}}</ref> and a key distinguishing element of Canadian identity.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Azeezat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ib2rDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT148 |title=The Fire Now: Anti-Racist Scholarship in Times of Explicit Racial Violence |last2=Joseph-Salisbury |first2=Remi |last3=Kamunge |first3=Beth |date=2018 |publisher=Zed Books |isbn=978-1-78699-382-3 |page=148}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Caplow |first=Theodore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JRunB0w4G-EC&pg=PA146 |title=Leviathan Transformed: Seven National States in the New Century |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7735-2304-3 |page=146}}</ref> In Quebec, cultural identity is strong and there is a [[Culture of Quebec|French Canadian culture]] that is distinct from English Canadian culture.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Franklin |first1=Daniel P |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NtvKidOH9pgC&pg=PA61 |title=Political Culture and Constitutionalism: A Comparative Approach |last2=Baun |first2=Michael J |publisher=Sharpe |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-56324-416-2 |page=61}}</ref> As a whole, Canada is in theory a [[cultural mosaic]] of regional ethnic subcultures.<ref name="Meister b610">{{cite web | last=Meister | first=Daniel R. | title=Racial Mosaic, The | website=McGill-Queen’sQueen's University Press | url=https://www.mqup.ca/racial-mosaic--the-products-9780228008712.php | page= 234}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Garcea |first1=Joseph |last2=Kirova |first2=Anna |last3=Wong |first3=Lloyd |date=January 2009 |title=Multiculturalism Discourses in Canada |journal=Canadian Ethnic Studies |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1353/ces.0.0069 |s2cid=144187704}}</ref><ref name="Ministère de la Justice 2003 d004">{{cite web | title=Cultural Diversity in Canada: The Social Construction of Racial Difference | website=Ministère de la Justice | date=February 24, 2003 | url=https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/rp02_8-dr02_8/p2.html | access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref>

Canada's approach to governance emphasizing multiculturalism, which is based on selective [[Economic migrant|immigration]], [[social integration]], and [[Dissent|suppression]] of far-right politics, has wide public support.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ambrosea |first1=Emma |last2=Muddea |first2=Cas |year=2015 |title=Canadian Multiculturalism and the Absence of the Far Right – Nationalism and Ethnic Politics |journal=Nationalism and Ethnic Politics |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=213–236 |doi=10.1080/13537113.2015.1032033|s2cid=145773856 }}</ref> Government policies such as publicly funded health care, [[Income taxes in Canada|higher taxation]] to redistribute wealth, the [[Capital punishment in Canada|outlawing of capital punishment]], strong efforts to [[Poverty in Canada|eliminate poverty]], [[Gun politics in Canada|strict gun control]], a [[social liberal]] attitude toward [[Feminism in Canada|women's rights]] (like [[Abortion in Canada|pregnancy termination]]) and [[LGBT rights in Canada|LGBT rights]], and legalized [[Euthanasia in Canada|euthanasia]] and [[Cannabis in Canada|cannabis use]] are indicators of Canada's political and [[Canadian values|cultural values]].<ref name="HollifieldMartin2014b">{{Cite book |last1=Hollifield |first1=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oec_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 |title=Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective |last2=Martin |first2=Philip L. |last3=Orrenius |first3=Pia |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-8047-8735-2 |edition=3rd |page=103}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bricker |first1=Darrell |title=What Canadians Think About Almost Everything |last2=Wright |first2=John |publisher=Doubleday Canada |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-385-65985-7 |pages=8–28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=October 2016 |title=Exploring Canadian values |url=http://www.nanosresearch.com/sites/default/files/POLNAT-S15-T705.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405113447/http://nanosresearch.com/sites/default/files/POLNAT-S15-T705.pdf |archive-date=April 5, 2017 |access-date=February 1, 2017 |publisher=Nanos Research}}</ref> Canadians also identify with the country's foreign aid policies, peacekeeping roles, the [[National Parks of Canada|national park system]], and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.<ref>{{cite web |year=2011 |title=A literature review of Public Opinion Research on Canadian attitudes towards multiculturalism and immigration, 2006–2009 |url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/research/por-multi-imm/sec02-1.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222133226/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/research/por-multi-imm/sec02-1.asp |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |access-date=December 18, 2015 |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2010 |title=Focus Canada (Final Report) |url=http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/fc2010report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204231952/http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/fc2010report.pdf |archive-date=February 4, 2016 |access-date=December 12, 2015 |publisher=Queen's University |page=4 (PDF page 8) |department=The Environics Institute}}</ref>

Historically, Canada has been influenced by [[Culture of the United Kingdom|British]], [[French culture|French]], and Indigenous cultures and traditions. Through their language, [[Native American art|art]], and [[First Nations music|music]], Indigenous peoples continue to influence the Canadian identity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Magocsi |first=Paul R |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkAuYRVjlE8C&pg=PA3 |title=Aboriginal Peoples of Canada: a short introduction |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8020-3630-8 |pages=3–6}}</ref> During the 20th century, Canadians with African, Caribbean, and Asian nationalities have added to the Canadian identity and its culture.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tettey |first1=Wisdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpoxptJZ73sC&pg=PA100 |title=The African Diaspora in Canada: Negotiating Identity & Belonging |last2=Puplampu |first2=Korbla P. |publisher=University of Calgary |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-55238-175-5 |page=100}}</ref>

Themes of nature, pioneers, trappers, and traders played an important part in the early development of Canadian symbolism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadiana.org/citm/themes/pioneers/pioneers7_e.html |title=Canada in the Making: Pioneers and Immigrants |publisher=The History Channel |date=August 25, 2005}}</ref> Modern symbols emphasize the country's geography, cold climate, lifestyles, and the Canadianization of traditional European and Indigenous symbols.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cormier |first=Jeffrey |year=2004 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303410887 |title=The Canadianization Movement: Emergence, Survival, and Success |doi=10.3138/9781442680616 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9781442680616}}</ref> The use of the [[maple leaf]] as a Canadian symbol dates to the early 18th century. The maple leaf is depicted on Canada's [[Flag of Canada|current]] and [[Canadian Red Ensign|previous flags]] and on the [[Arms of Canada]].<ref name="symbol1" /> Canada's official tartan, known as the "[[Regional tartans of Canada|maple leaf tartan]]", has four colours that reflectreflects the colours of the maple leaf as it changes through the seasons—green in the [[Spring (season)|spring]], gold in the early [[autumn]], red at the first [[frost]], and brown after falling.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/951077--maple-lead-tartan-becomes-official-symbol |location=Toronto |work=[[Toronto Star]] |title=Maple Leaf Tartan becomes official symbol |date=March 9, 2011}}</ref> The Arms of Canada are closely modelled after [[Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom|those of the United Kingdom]], with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gough |first=Barry M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4xK6CasigkC&pg=PA71 |title=Historical Dictionary of Canada |date=2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7504-3 |page=71}}</ref>

Other prominent symbols include the national motto, "{{lang|la|[[A mari usque ad mare]]|italics=on}}" ("From Sea to Sea"),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nischik |first=Reingard M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYgTaGwa4nsC&pg=PA113 |title=History of Literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian |publisher=Camden House |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-57113-359-5 |pages=113–114}}</ref> the sports of [[ice hockey]] and [[lacrosse]], the [[beaver]], [[Canada goose]], [[common loon]], [[Canadian horse]], the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Rockies,<ref name="symbol1">{{Cite book |url=http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.693005/publication.html |title=Symbols of Canada |publisher=Canadian Government Publishing |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-660-18615-3}}</ref> and, more recently, the [[totem pole]] and [[Inuksuk]].<ref name="Nels">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0hwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT92 |title=Sociology in Action |publisher=Nelson Education-McGraw-Hill Education |isbn=978-0-17-672841-0 |edition=2nd Canadian |page=92}}</ref> [[Canadian beer]], [[maple syrup]], [[tuque]]s, [[canoes]], [[nanaimo bar]]s, [[butter tart]]s, and [[poutine]] are defined as uniquely Canadian.<ref name="Nels" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hutchins |first1=Donna |title=The Maple Leaf Forever: A Celebration of Canadian Symbols |last2=Hutchins |first2=Nigel |publisher=The Boston Mills Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55046-474-0 |page=iix}}</ref> Canadian coins feature many of these symbols: the loon on the [[Loonie|$1 coin]], the Arms of Canada on the [[50-cent piece (Canadian coin)|50¢ piece]], and the beaver on the [[Nickel (Canadian coin)|nickel]].<ref name="Berman2008">{{Cite book |last=Berman |first=Allen G |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRFWcmAr68YC&pg=PA137 |title=Warman's Coins And Paper Money: Identification and Price Guide |publisher=Krause Publications |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4402-1915-3 |page=137}}</ref> An image of the previous monarch, Queen [[Elizabeth II]], appears on [[Canadian dollar|$20 bank notes]] and the obverse of all current Canadian coins.<ref name="Berman2008" />

Canadian literature is often divided into French- and English-language literatures, which are rooted in the literary traditions of France and Britain, respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keith |first=W. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rGawhTGpGK0C&pg=PA19 |title=Canadian Literature in English |publisher=[[The Porcupine's Quill]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-88984-283-0 |page=19}}</ref> The earliest Canadian narratives were of travel and exploration.<ref>{{cite book |editor=R.G. Moyles |date=September 28, 1994 |title=Improved by Cultivation: English-Canadian Prose to 1914 |publisher=Broadview Press |page=15 |isbn=978-1-55111-049-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvJgb1-zQJkC&pg=PA15}}</ref> This progressed into three major themes that can be found withinof historical Canadian literature: nature, frontier life, and Canada's position within the world, all three of which tie into the [[garrison mentality]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=New |first=William H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mkh2vJ_9GpEC&pg=PA259 |title=Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8020-0761-2 |pages=259–261}}</ref> In recent decades, Canada's literature has been strongly influenced by immigrants from around the world.<ref>{{cite book |date=December 28, 2021 |title=Crabtracks: Progress and Process in Teaching the New Literatures in English. Essays in Honour of Dieter Riemenschneider |publisher=BRILL |pages=388–391 |isbn=978-90-04-48650-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WSNXEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA388}}</ref> By the 1990s, Canadian literature was viewed as some of the world's best.<ref name="Dominic2010">{{Cite book |last=Dominic |first=K. V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spW-K5UiJVkC&pg=PT9 |title=Studies in Contemporary Canadian Literature |publisher=Pinnacle Technology |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-61820-640-4 |pages=8–9}}</ref>

[[File:The Jack Pine, by Tom Thomson.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|alt=Oil on canvas painting of a tree dominating its rocky landscape during a sunset|''[[The Jack Pine]]'' by [[Tom Thomson]]. Oil on canvas, 1916, in the collection of the [[National Gallery of Canada]].<ref name="Art Canada Institute - Institut de l'art canadien h165">{{cite web | title=Tom Thomson, The Jack Pine, 1916–17 | website=Art Canada Institute - Institut de l'art canadien | url=https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/tom-thomson/key-works/the-jack-pine/ | access-date=October 16, 2023}}</ref>]]

Art in Canada is marked by thousands of years of habitation by its Indigenous peoples,<ref>{{cite book |first=Carol A. |last=Mullen |date=2020 |title=Canadian Indigenous Literature and Art: Decolonizing Education, Culture, and Society |publisher=Brill Sense |chapter=Introduction |isbn=978-90-04-41426-6}}</ref> and, in later times, artists have combined British, French, Indigenous, and American artistic traditions, at times embracing European styles while working to promote nationalism.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cook |first=Ramsay |title=Landscape Painting and National Sentiment in Canada |journal=Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques |volume=1 |issue=2 |year=1974 |issn=0315-7997 |jstor=41298655 |pages=263–283}}</ref> The nature of Canadian art reflects these diverse origins, as artists have taken their traditions and adapted these influences to reflect the reality of their lives in Canada.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Mark J. |last1=Kasoff |first2=Patrick |last2=James |year=2013 |title=Canadian Studies in the New Millennium |edition=2 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |pages=198–204 |isbn=978-1-4426-6538-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gYqBAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT198}}</ref>

The Canadian government has played a role in the development of Canadian culture through the department of [[Canadian Heritage]], by giving grants to art galleries,<ref>as, for instance, in the following example of a show funded by the Government of Canada at the Peel Art Gallery Museum + Archives, Brampton:{{cite web |title=Putting a spotlight on Canada's Artistic Heritage |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2020/01/putting-a-spotlight-on-canadas-artistic-heritage.html |date=January 14, 2020 |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> as well as establishing and funding art schools and colleges across the country, and through the [[Canada Council for the Arts]], the national public arts funder, helping artists, art galleries and periodicals, and thus contributing to the development of Canada's cultural works.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first1=Devin |editor-last1=Beauregard |editor-first2=Jonathan |editor-last2=Paquette |date=July 28, 2021 |title=Canadian Cultural Policy in Transition |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-00-041721-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-k3EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT68}}</ref>

[[File:O-Canada-1908.pdf|thumb|upright|Original publication of "[[O Canada]]" in English, 1908<ref name="The Canadian Encyclopedia 2018 g033">{{cite web | title="O Canada" | website=The Canadian Encyclopedia | date=February 7, 2018 | url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/o-canada | access-date=January 11, 2024}}</ref>]]

Canadian music reflects a [[Music of Canadian cultures|variety of regional scenes]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Shane |editor-last=Homan |date=January 13, 2022 |title=The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music Policy |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |page=179 |isbn=978-1-5013-4534-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCdVEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA179}}</ref> Canada has developed a vast music infrastructure that includes [[church hall]]s, [[Chamber music|chamber halls]], [[Music school|conservatories]], [[academies]], [[performing arts center|performing arts centres]], [[record company|record companies]], [[radio stations]], and television [[music video]] channels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/timeline/CCFTimeline.html |title=The history of broadcasting in Canada |authorpublisher=The Canadian Communications Foundation |access-date=October 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309132436/http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/timeline/CCFTimeline.html |archive-date=March 9, 2012}}</ref> Government support programs, such as the Canada Music Fund, assist a wide range of musicians and entrepreneurs who create, produce and market original and diverse Canadian music.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first1=Shane |editor-last1=Homan |editor-first2=Martin |editor-last2=Cloonan |editor-first3=Jen |editor-last3=Cattermole |year=2017 |title=Popular Music and Cultural Policy |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-65952-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUg4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT161}}</ref> As a result of its cultural importance, as well as government initiatives and regulations, the Canadian music industry is one of the largest in the world,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Global_Music_Report_2023_State_of_the_Industry.pdf |title=IFPI Global Music Report 2023 |page=10 |access-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325055720/https://www.ifpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Global_Music_Report_2023_State_of_the_Industry.pdf |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> producing internationally renowned [[List of Canadian composers|composers]], [[List of Canadian musicians|musicians]], and [[List of bands from Canada|ensembles]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hull |first1=Geoffrey P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BWUil8OuXS8C&pg=PA304 |title=The Music Business and Recording Industry: Delivering Music in the 21st Century |last2=Hutchison |first2=Thomas William |last3=Strasser |first3=Richard |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-415-87560-8 |page=304}}</ref> Music broadcasting in the country is regulated by the CRTC.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Acheson |first1=Archibald Lloyd Keith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5gCzOUo6YhkC&pg=PA181 |title=Much Ado about Culture: North American Trade Disputes |last2=Maule |first2=Christopher John |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-472-02241-0 |page=181}}</ref> The [[Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences]] presents Canada's music industry awards, the [[Juno Award]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edwardson |first=Ryan |url=https://archive.org/details/canadiancontentc0000edwa |title=Canadian Content: Culture and the Quest for Nationhood |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8020-9759-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/canadiancontentc0000edwa/page/127 127] |url-access=registration}}</ref> The [[Canadian Music Hall of Fame]] honours Canadian musicians for their lifetime achievements.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hoffmann |first=Frank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FOSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA324 |title=Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-135-94950-1 |page=324}}</ref>

[[Anthems and nationalistic songs of Canada|Patriotic music in Canada]] dates back over 200 years. The earliest work of patriotic music in Canada, "[[The Bold Canadian]]", was written in 1812.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jortner |first=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l6whyXqA7BUC&pg=PA217 |title=The Gods of Prophetstown: The Battle of Tippecanoe and the Holy War for the American Frontier |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-19-976529-4 |page=217}}</ref> "[[The Maple Leaf Forever]]", written in 1866, was a popular patriotic song throughout [[English Canada]] and, for many years, served as an unofficial national anthem.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.utoronto.ca/icm/0101b.html |title=Maple Cottage, Leslieville, Toronto |work=Institute for Canadian Music |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331095214/http://www.utoronto.ca/icm/0101b.html |archive-date=March 31, 2009}}</ref> "[[O Canada]]" also served as an unofficial national anthem for much of the 20th century and was adopted as the country's official anthem in 1980.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kallmann |first1=Helmut |author-link=Helmut Kallmann |last2=Potvin |first2=Gilles |date=February 7, 2018 |title=O Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/o-canada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203021353/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/o-canada/ |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |website=Encyclopedia of Music in Canada}}</ref> [[Calixa Lavallée]] wrote the music, which was a setting of a patriotic poem composed by the poet and judge Sir [[Adolphe-Basile Routhier]]. The text was originally only in French before it was adapted into English in 1906.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 23, 2008 |title=Hymne national du Canada |url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/anthem-fra.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129084708/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/anthem-fra.cfm |archive-date=January 29, 2009 |publisher=Canadian Heritage}}</ref>

[[File:Canada2010WinterOlympicsOTcelebration.jpg|thumb|The [[Canadian men's national ice hockey team]] celebrates shortly after winning the gold medal final at the [[2010 Winter Olympics]].<ref name="Olympics.com 2020 i548">{{cite web | title=Vancouver 2010 ends in wild celebrations after Canadian ice hockey victory | website=Olympics.com | date=February 28, 2020 | url=https://olympics.com/en/news/vancouver-2010-ends-in-wild-celebrations-after-canadian-ice-hockey-victory | access-date=January 11, 2024}}</ref>]]

TheCanada's [[Historyofficial of Canadiannational sports|roots ofare organized[[Ice sportshockey in Canada|ice hockey]] dateand back[[Lacrosse toin the 1770s,Canada|lacrosse]].<ref>{{Citecite bookweb |lastdate=RoxboroughNovember |first=Henry5, 2015 |title=TheNational BeginningSports of OrganizedCanada SportAct in|url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-16.7/page-1.html Canada|url-status=live |yeararchive-url=1975https://web.archive.org/web/20151124142348/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-16.7/page-1.html |pagesarchive-date=30–43November 24, 2015 |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> culminating in the development and popularization of theOther major professional games of [[Ice hockey in Canada|ice hockey]], [[Lacrosse in Canada|lacrosse]],include [[curling]], [[Basketball in Canada|basketball]], [[Baseball in Canada|baseball]], [[Soccer in Canada|soccer]], and [[Canadian football]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Canadian Sports History |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sports-history |date=September 30, 2016 |last2=West |first2=J. Thomas |last1=Lindsay |first1=Peter}}</ref> Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 5, 2015 |title=National Sports of Canada Act |url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-16.7/page-1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124142348/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-16.7/page-1.html |archive-date=November 24, 2015 |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> Other sports such as [[golf]], [[Volleyball in Canada|volleyball]], [[skiing]], [[cycling in Canada|cycling]], [[swimming (sport)|swimming]], [[badminton]], [[tennis]], [[bowling]], and the study of [[martial arts]] are all widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels.<ref>{{cite web |year=2013 |title=Canadian sport participation – Most frequently played sports in Canada (2010) |url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/pc-ch/CH24-1-2012-eng.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110193033/http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/pc-ch/CH24-1-2012-eng.pdf |archive-date=January 10, 2017 |access-date=January 27, 2017 |publisher=Government of Canada |page=34}}</ref> Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by [[Canada's Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Danilov1997cv">{{cite book |first=Victor J. |last=Danilov |title=Hall of fame museums: a reference guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUO_J0YzpP0C&pg=PA24 |year=1997 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-30000-4 |page=24}}</ref> There are numerous other sport "halls of fame" in Canada, such as the [[Hockey Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Danilov1997cv" />

* {{Cite report |url=https://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm |title=Canada Year Book, 2012 |date=December 2012 |publisher=Statistics Canada |issn=0068-8142 |id=Catalogue no 11-402-XWE |ref=none}}

*{{cite book | last=Leiss | first=W. | title=Canada and Climate Change | publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press | series=Canadian Essentials | year=2022 | isbn=978-0-2280-0985-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_vYrEAAAQBAJ&pg=PP1}}

* {{cite book | last=MacDowell | first=L.S. | title=An Environmental History of Canada | publisher=UBC Press | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-7748-2103-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j7-803ot3DIC&pg=PP1 }}