CANADA
I am a Canadian,
free to speak without fear,
free to worship in my own way,
free to stand for what I think right,free to oppose what I believe wrong,
or free to choose those who shall govern my country.
This heritage of freedom
I pledge to uphold
for myself and all mankind.
- John Diefenbaker (From the Canadian Bill of Rights, July 1, 1960.)
The basics about Canada...
The name Canada is derived from the Huron-Iroquois word "Kanata", meaning a "village" or "settlement". On August 13, 1535, Jacques Cartier is reported to have encountered the word when some Indian youths directed him to the village of Stadacona, on the site of present-day Quebec City. The word soon came to mean "the province of Canada".
The Canadian flag is red and contains a white square with a red maple leaf in the centre. It was adopted by Parliament on February 15, 1965. Prior to its adoption, Canada did not have a national flag and the red ensign, a British maritime flag, was in general use as the flag of Canada.
Canada's coat of arms contains the arms of England, France, Ireland, and Scotland denoting the founding peoples. Beneath the four quarters is a white field with a sprig of three maple leaves, originally green, but changed to red in 1957. The arms were proclaimed by George V on November 21, 1921.
Canada's motto is A Mari Usque ad Mare (From sea to sea).
Canada's emblems are the maple leaf and the beaver.
Canada's official languages are English and French.
Canada came into its own in 1791 when the Constitutional Act (or Canada Act) divided Quebec into the provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. In 1841 they were joined together to form the Province of Canada. On July 1, 1867, the British North America Act came into effect and, the Province of Canada (divided into Ontario and Quebec) joined with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form "One Dominion under the name of Canada". In 1870 the Hudson's Bay Company surrendered to the crown large territories in its possession from which the remaining provinces and territories were created. Manitoba entered Confederation in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 1873, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905, and Labrador and Newfoundland in 1949. Yukon Territory was created in 1898, Northwest Territories in 1905, and Nunavut "Our Land", Canada's newest Territory, on April 1, 1999.
Ottawa is Canada's capital city and is situated in the province of Ontario on the Ottawa River. The name is said to derive from an Indian tribe of the same name, which means "to trade". The city was selected by Queen Victoria as the capital of the Province of Canada in 1857 and was named the capital of the newly created Dominion of Canada in 1867.
Canada's provinces and territories...10 provinces, listed from East to West are:
Newfoundland
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
The three territories from East to West are:
Nunavut Territory
Northwest Territories
Yukon Territory
According to the 2001 census, Canada has a total of 9,012,112 square kilometres.
Canada is the second largest country in the world with a population of 30,007,094 (according to census 2001).
Have I convinced you yet how proud I am to be a Canadian?
The above images are thumbnails and larger images are available by clicking on the thumbnails.
Some graphics on this page were borrowed from
