Common Nouns

Ottawa

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

Newfoundland

Nova Scotia

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Quebec and Saskatchewan

Yukon

The Northern Territories

Nunavut

Official name: Canada

Status: a constitutional monarchy, independent federal state and parliamentary democracy

Flag: the Maple Leaf. The maple leaf was used as a symbol of Canada as early as 1700. Since February 15, 1965, a red maple leaf has been on the national flag of Canada. It has become the most well-known and important symbol.

National colours: red and white

Population: 30.000.000

Capital: Ottawa

Location: The country is situated in North America. It is bordered in the north by the Arctic Ocean, in the east by the Atlantic Ocean, in the south by the United States, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska.

In the center there is a great plain the Canadian Shield.

Climate: Climate, while generally temperate, varies from freezing winter cold to blistering summer heat.

Nature: Canada’s natural vegetation can be best described as falling into five areas: the boreal forest, the forests of the southeast and the southwest, the grasslands, and the tundra.

History: The story of Canada goes back over 400 years. The French were the first settlers to this country. In 1759 Canada became a part of the British Empire. In 1931 became independent from Britain.

Government: Canada is a federative state consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Canadian provinces are: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. There are three large northern territories — Yukon, the Northern Territories, and Nunavut, which mainly lie north of the 60th parallel.

Head of State is Queen of Britain, represented by Governor General. Head of Government is Prime Minister. The roots of Canada’s parliamentary system lie in Britain. The Canadian Parliament consists of the Senate (the Upper House) and the House of Commons.

The Senate is patterned after the British House of Lords. Its 104 members are appointed, not elected, and are divided essentially among Canada’s four main regions of Ontario, Quebec, the West and the Atlantic Provinces. The Senate has the same powers as the House of Commons, with a few exceptions.

The House of Commons is the major law-making body. It has 301 members, one from each of the 301 electoral districts. The representatives are elected every five years.

But the real executive power is in the hands of the Cabinet under the Prime Minister. Strictly speaking, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are the advisers of the monarch. However, the real power belongs to the Cabinet, and the Governor General acts on its advice. The Cabinet develops government policy and is responsible to the House of Commons.

Ethnic composition: in the 1996 census, about 19% of the population reported "Canadian" as their single ethnic origin, with 17% reporting British Isles-only ancestry and 9% French-only ancestry. About 10% reported a combination of British Isles, French, or Canadian origin, with another 16% reporting an ancestry of either British Isles, French or Canadian in combination with some other origin. Some 28% reported origins other than the British Isles, French or Canadian.

Language: The two official languages are English and French. But many other languages are spoken: Italian, Chinese, German, Polish and Greek.

Currency: Canadian Dollar

Economy: Canada’s economy is made up of many different industries. There are three main types of industries in Canada: natural resources, manufacturing and services.

1. Natural resource industries include forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy. These industries have played an important part in the country’s history and development. Today, the economy of many areas of the country still depends on developing natural resources.

2. Manufacturing industries make products to sell in Canada and around the world. Manufactured products include paper, technological equipment, automobiles, food, clothing and many other goods. Our largest international trading partner is the United States.

3. Service industries provide thousands of different jobs in areas like transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications and government. More than 70 percent of working Canadians now have jobs in service industries.

Canada is a country with very high standards of living. This country is particularly advanced in the areas of health, education, social protection and human rights.

The largest cities:

Ottawa
It is the capital of Canada. Ottawa is a great example of a metropolitan city It has lots of banks, big skyscrapers and embassies. The symbol of Ottawa is its Parliament buildings. It’ s really worth seeing. The buildings are home to the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament, the Hall of Honour, the Senate, and the impressive Peace Tower. In summer you can watch the Changing of the Guard Ceremony on the hill. You won’ t see much difference between this ceremony and equivalent one in England. In Ottawa you can take the Amphibus — the bus that not only rides on the streets, but also can float on water like a boat. In the city one can see the residence of the Canada’ s Governor General. It’ s a big beautiful building. There are a lot of other interesting places in Ottawa. They include the National Museum of Canada, which has collections representing Indian and Eskimo culture; the Public Archives of Canada; Royal Canadian War Museum; the Design center; Royal Canadian Mint and others. You can see Ottawa University with classes for English- and French-speaking students.

Montreal
It is situated in Quebec — the French part of Canada. It really looks like France: lots of narrow, small streets, cafes, and other tilings typical for France. It combines modern skyscrapers and XEX century mansions in a unique mixture. It’ s usually called ’ Paris of the Western Hemisphere’. The most interesting part of the city is the Notre-Dame de Montreal that is known as the most beautiful church in North America. The Basilica of Mary Queen is nearly half-size replica of St. Peter’ s in Rome. The Royal Place is the oldest place in Montreal. In the eastern part of Montreal you can see Olympic Park with its famous tower that close resembles the one that is in Pisa, Italy (the leaning one). One can take an elevator and go up this tower. Near the leaning tower there is a special place, where different animals and plants survive in their natural conditions.

The city’ s first subway, called the Metro was opened in 1966. Montreal is Canada’ s most important port. It is the chief manufacturing centre of Canada. It has a number of large libraries and several theatres. It is the seat of McGill University (English- speaking), the University of Montreal (French-speaking) and several colleges. There are many museums in the city and among them are the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Archaeology and History, Wax Museum and others.