Canada: Difference between revisions

Canada is a [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy]] and a [[constitutional monarchy]] in the [[Westminster system|Westminster tradition]]. The country's [[head of government]] is the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]], who holds office by virtue of their ability to [[Confidence and supply|command the confidence]] of the elected [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] and is "called upon" by the [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]], representing the [[Monarchy of Canada|monarch of Canada]], the ceremonial [[head of state]]. The country is a [[Commonwealth realm]] and is [[Official bilingualism in Canada|officially bilingual]] (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is [[International rankings of Canada|very highly ranked in international measurements]] of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and gender equality. It is one of the world's most [[Ethnic origins of people in Canada|ethnically diverse]] and [[Multiculturalism in Canada|multicultural]] nations, the product of [[Immigration to Canada|large-scale immigration]]. Canada's long and complex [[Canada–United States relations|relationship with the United States]] has had a significant impact on [[History of Canada|its history]], [[Economy of Canada|economy]], and [[Culture of Canada|culture]].

 

 

==Etymology==

From the 16th to the early 18th century, "[[Canada (New France)|Canada]]" referred to the part of [[New France]] that lay along the Saint Lawrence River.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Magocsi |first=Paul R. |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofca0000unse_q5r1 |title=Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8020-2938-6 |page=1048 |url-access=registration}}</ref> In 1791, the area became two British colonies called [[Upper Canada]] and [[Lower Canada]]. These two colonies were collectively named [[the Canadas]] until their union as the British [[Province of Canada]] in 1841.<ref>{{cite web |year=1841 |title=An Act to Re-write the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCQtAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA20 |publisher=J.C. Fisher & W. Kimble |page=20}}</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>

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 }}</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= 4th |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|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 }}</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}}</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>

 

 

{{multiple image

Each of the 338 [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|members of Parliament]] in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an [[Electoral district (Canada)|electoral district]] or riding. The ''[[Constitution Act, 1982]]'', requires that no more than five years pass between elections, although the ''[[Canada Elections Act]]'' limits this to four years with a "fixed" election date in October; [[Elections in Canada|general elections]] still must be called by the governor general and can be triggered by either the advice of the prime minister or a lost [[confidence vote]] in the House.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Elections and Ridings |url=http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Compilations/ElectionsAndRidings.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224103929/http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Compilations/ElectionsAndRidings.aspx |archive-date=December 24, 2016 |access-date=September 3, 2016 |publisher=Library of Parliament}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Neal |first1=Brian |last2=Bédard |first2=Michel |last3=Spano |first3=Sebastian |date=April 11, 2011 |title=Government and Canada's 41st Parliament: Questions and Answers |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/2011-37-e.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522071714/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/2011-37-e.htm |archive-date=May 22, 2011 |publisher=[[Library of Parliament]]}}</ref> The 105 members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Griffiths |first1=Ann L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GytLtJacxY8C&pg=PA116 |title=Handbook of Federal Countries |last2=Nerenberg |first2=Karl |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7735-7047-4 |page=116}}</ref>

 

 

===Law===

{{legend|#b4b4b4|Countries that do not host Canadian diplomatic missions}}

{{legend|#22b14c|Canada}}}}]]

 

[[Canada–United States relations|Canada and the United States]] have a long and complex 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 |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" />

 

 

===Military and peacekeeping===

{{Main|Science and technology in Canada}}

 

 

[[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>]]

 

 

The [[Canadian Space Agency]] operates a highly active space program, conducting deep-space, planetary, and aviation research and developing rockets and satellites.<ref>{{cite web |year=2016 |title=Canadian Space Milestones |url=http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/about/milestones.asp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008060654/http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/about/milestones.asp |archive-date=October 8, 2009 |publisher=Canadian Space Agency}}</ref> Canada was the third country to design and construct a satellite when in 1962 [[Alouette 1]] was launched.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Angelo |first=Joseph A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUWno1sOwnUC&pg=PA22 |title=Encyclopedia of Space and Astronomy |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4381-1018-9 |page=22}}</ref> Canada is a participant in the [[International Space Station]] (ISS), and is a pioneer in space robotics, having constructed the [[Canadarm]], [[Canadarm2]], [[Canadarm3]] and [[Dextre]] robotic manipulators for the ISS and NASA's [[Space Shuttle]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bidaud |first1=Philippe |title=Field Robotics: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines |last2=Dupuis |first2=Erick |publisher=[[World Scientific]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-981-4374-27-9 |pages=35–37 |chapter=An overview of Canadian space robotics activities |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSlqDQAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA35}}</ref> Since the 1960s, Canada's aerospace industry has designed and built numerous marques of satellite, including [[Radarsat-1]] and [[Radarsat-2|2]], [[ISIS (satellite)|ISIS]], and [[MOST (spacecraft)|MOST]].<ref>{{cite web |date=March 11, 2010 |title=The Canadian Aerospace Industry praises the federal government for recognizing Space as a strategic capability for Canada |url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2010/11/c9200.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609224813/http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2010/11/c9200.html |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |publisher=Newswire}}</ref> Canada has also produced one of the world's most successful and widely used [[sounding rocket]]s, the [[Black Brant (rocket)|Black Brant]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Godefroy |first=Andrew B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVLJDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |title=The Canadian Space Program: From Black Brant to the International Space Station |publisher=Springer |year=2017 |isbn=978-3-319-40105-8 |page=41}}</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]]

 

 

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>

Respondents in the [[2021 Canadian census]] self-reported over 450 "[[Ethnic origins of people in Canada|ethnic or cultural origins]]".<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 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>]]

 

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>

[[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 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}}</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>

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]]", reflects the colours of the maple leaf 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 |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>

 

 

===Literature===