Canada is an independent federal state and a member of the British Commonwealth with parliamentary democracy, two official languages and two systems of law: civil law and common law. In 1982 the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was entrenched in the Canadian Constitution. The head of state is the British monarch represented by the Governor General.
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Canada
is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories.
Although the territories occupy nearly 50 per cent of all Canadian area
they are very thinly inhabited by mainly native people - the density here is about 1
person in 65 sq. km (less than one half of 1 per cent of Canadian population lives here).
This area is wild, full of mountains and tundra, ice-peaks, giant lakes and subarctic
bushland.
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Provinces:
Quebec (French-speaking, capital Quebec City)
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Newfoundland (capital St. John's) flag Prince Edward Island (capital Halifax) flag New Brunswick (capital Fredericton) flag Manitoba (capital Winnipeg) flag Saskatchewan (capital Regina) flag Alberta (capital Edmonton) flag British Columbia (capital Victoria) flag |
Territories
the Yukon flag Northwest Territories flag |
The capital of Canada is Ottawa. The biggest city is Toronto. Other large cities are Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Quebec.
In Canada, the responsibilities of the central - federal Parliament include national defence, interprovincial and international trade and commerce, immigration, the banking and monetary system, criminal law and fisheries. The regional or provincional legislatures are responsible for education, property and civil rights, the administration of justice, the hospital system, health and municipal resources within their borders, social security, health and municipal institutions.
The Canadian Parliament is composed of the Queen (who is represented by the Governor General), the Senate and the House of Commons. The Senate, also called the Upper House, has 104 members, who are appointed 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 lawmaking body. It has 295 members elected in their constituencies (he who has the largest number of votes is elected) for the term of five years. The leader of the party which gets the largest number of seats is asked by the Governor General to become the Prime Minister.
The real executive authority is the Cabinet, under the direction of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are advisors of the monarch.
Canada's laws are interpreted and applied by the courts, which are presided over by judges whose independence is guaranteed. Each province is responsible for its own courts and, in addition, the Federal Parliament has established a general court of appeal for Canada and a number of courts of specialized jurisdiction.
Canada has its own flag since 1964. It is red and in the centre there is a white square with a simple maple leaf. The red stripes are symbols of Canada's positions between the two oceans. A maple leaf has been used as Canada's national symbol for the past century or more. Red colour symbolizes the blood of the Canadians who died in WWI, white represents the snow of the Canadian North.
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The Canadian anthem is called Oh, Canada. ♫♫♫♫
O Canada, Our home and native land!
True patriot love in any thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, o Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
