Welcome to Canada

  • A First Nations dancer at a pow-wow

    © Pete Ryan/Getty Images

    Photo of a First Nations dancer at a pow-wow

  • An Inuit and his dogs

    © Wayne R Bilenduke/Getty Images

    Photo of an Inuit man and his two dogs

  • Moraine Lake in Banff National Park

    © jlazouphoto/Fotolia

    Photo of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park

  • Rue du Petit-Champlain – a famous shopping street in Quebec

    © Wangkun Jia/dreamstime

    Photo of Rue du Petit-Champlain which is a famous shopping street in Quebec

  • Aerial view of Vancouver

    © Pete Spiro/Shutterstock

    Photo of Vancouver

  • Fishing village in Nova Scotia

    © Meunierd/dreamstime

    Photo of a fishing village and boats in Nova Scotia
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Welcome to Canada

Welcome to Canada

Did you know that Canada got its name by mistake? The Inuit and First Nations have lived there for thousands of years. The first Europeans to arrive were the Vikings. The French were the next to arrive. In the 1530s Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, was asked by the local people to come their kanata, their village. He thought it was the name of the whole country.

Canada is the second largest country in the world (10 million km2). The 35 million people who live there today have plenty of space, but most live near the Canadian-American border. Canada consists of 10 provinces and three territories, and in the north there is snow for up to 10 months a year. Half the country is covered in forest, and Canada has 60% of the world’s lakes.

If you like learning, you’ll feel at home in Canada. Half of all school students continue into higher education or training after high school. You can still find work in farming and fishing, but farming is difficult in many areas because of the climate. However, Canada has forests, oil and gas. It also has minerals and metals such as gold, iron and uranium. These are used in industry. Many Canadian factories also make parts for American industries.

Who rules Canada today? The British and the French fought over Canada for a long time. At the end of the 18th century Britain had power over most of Canada. But now it is an independent country and part of the Commonwealth. It has two official national languages – English and French. Some French-speaking people in Quebec want independence, but not as much as before. In Canada, there are many different cultures, languages and religions. In the USA, people talk about a melting pot. In Canada, however, they speak with pride of their cultural mosaic.

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