Canada Flashcards
Canada
from the Huron-Iroquois word Kanata, meaning “ village ”.
Capital:
Ottawa in Ontario
First Nations
original inhabitants of what is now called Canada, they’ve lived there for at least 10,000 years (nowadays - more than 630 communities speaking over 70 distinct languages), 15th century - the arrival of the European settlers: colonisation, forced assimilation and displacement. policies - the Indian Act (1876) and the Residential School System had devastating effects
Inuit
descendants of the Thule culture, Arctic regions of Canada (Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Labrador,.), traditional way of life - hunting, fishing, igloos, clothing (animal skins + fur - harsh conditions), 20th century - policies that disrupted Inuit life: forced relocation, residential schools, identification with disc numbers
Métis
descendants of unions between Indigenous women (primarily First Nations) and European settlers, such as French and Scottish fur traders, during the 17th to 19th centuries, their homeland centred on the Red River Settlement in present-day Manitoba, officially recognized as one of Canada’s Indigenous people under the Constitution Act (1982)
Currency:
canadian dollar
language
English + French
symbols
national flag, maple tree, beaver (bobr)
History:
The first inhabitants were people from northern Asia who crossed the Bering land bridge more than 20,000 years ago. The descendants of these people are the First Nations, the Inuit and many smaller nations. Around the 10th century, the country was discovered by the Vikings, but they did not colonise it. Much later, after the European discovery of America, the French sailor Jacques Cartier explored it and the French and British colonisation began. Soon, the two nations started to have conflicts over the land, leading to wars and British victory. In the 19th century, Canada became a British dominion even though the French influence is still present in Canadian culture.
1763 - part of the British Empire
In 1867 the provinces united and gained independence.
Dark history: historical treatment of the native population; a country founded by white European colonists; they’ve stolen land from native tribes, and native children from their parents and turned a whole group of people into second-class citizens because they weren’t white
largest city
Toronto (Ontario)
Political system
Canada is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as the head of state. It is a federal parliamentary democracy, and the king is represented by the Governor-General. The country has its constitution. Laws are made by the Parliament (the House of Commons and the Senate), and the government is led by the Prime Minister.
Governor-General
Mary Simon (the first Indigenous governor general in Canada since Confederation)
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau
industry
a developed country and one of the wealthiest in the world.
huge forests, rich in mineral resources and fertile farmland. The forests support the timber industry (British Columbia, Québec, Ontario).
world’s largest producer of zinc ore and uranium.
top exporter of wheat, oats, barley and maize (Saskatchewan). In the east, the maple trees give rich syrup. It was first collected and used by the indigenous peoples (often eaten with pancakes, waggles, toasts, oatmeal and porridge).
vastness
second-largest country in the world, covering the entire northern half of North America except Alaska
borders
w USA to the south (the longest - almost 9000 km) + to the noth-west (Alaska)
geography
north:tundra + islands, lakes (Great Bear + Great Slave)
south: forests
centre: lowlands, Interior Plains
west: Rocky Mountains
highest point
Mt Logan (5959 m)
longest river
Mackenzie (4000 km)
climate
mostly continental (long winter, humid summers), temperate on the west, subarctic in the north
