Introduction
It is the second largest country in the world after Russia and is a huge country, occupying 1/3 of the area of the North American continent, but the places where people can live are limited. The etymological origins of the name Canada are variously suggested, but it is generally accepted that it originated from the word “kanata,” which means village or settlement in the Huron-Iroquois language, a descendant of Indians. The name Canada was used to refer to the region of New France along the Saint Lawrence River from the 16th to the early 18th century.
It borders the US state of Alaska to the west, 12 US states to the south, the North Pacific Ocean to the west, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean, Davis Strait, and Baffin Bay to the east. The Arctic Ocean islands from 144°W (near the Alaskan border) east to the Baffin Islands belong to Canada. The administrative region consists of 10 provinces and 3 territories. In the 15th century, England and France explored Canada, and immigrants from Europe began settling along the eastern Atlantic coast. Britain and France fought for control of Canada in the Seven Years’ War, and in 1763, France was defeated and forced to withdraw from Canada.
In 1791, this region became two British colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, and then was incorporated into British Canada in 1841, giving it the name Canada. Later, in 1867, under the British North America Act, a federation consisting of three colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada) called the Dominion of Canada was created, and Canada’s former colonies were separated into Ontario and Quebec. Although Dominion Canada was granted considerable autonomy, matters of practical international diplomatic and military alliances were left to the British Crown. Canada gained full self-government within the British Empire in 1931, but full legislative independence was not achieved until 1982, when Canada gained the right to amend its own constitution.
The capital is Ottawa, the fourth largest city in Canada. Toronto and Montreal are Canada’s first and second largest cities, respectively, and play a major role in population size, economic size, and cultural and educational importance. Vancouver, located in western Canada, is the third largest city and serves as a trade center with Pacific Rim countries and a gateway city to the inland. Other major cities include Calgary, Edmonton, and Quebec City.
Population
Population composition
According to the 2021 Canadian Census, the total population is 36,991,981, an increase of approximately 5.2% over the 2016 figure. When looking for the cause of Canada’s population increase, it is believed that the population increased due to a combination of continuous immigration and natural growth. Canada has a relatively open immigration policy, and in particular, the policy led by the family reunification policy can be said to have led to the highest per capita immigration rate in the world. In addition, Canada’s economic policy can also be seen as a factor that attracts immigrants. The number of immigrants coming to Canada in 2021 reached a high level of approximately 400,000. Immigrants mainly settled in major cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. In addition, the Canadian government is actively accepting refugees, accepting more than 10% of the world’s resettled refugees in Canada, and as of 2018, about 28,000 refugees have been resettled.
Although the overall population is increasing, Canada has one of the lowest population densities due to its vast territory. At 4.2 people per square kilometer, it is the lowest in the world. Due to the nature of the topography and climate, it is difficult to settle in the north, which is covered with ice and permafrost, so 95% of the population of the country spanning from the 83rd parallel to the 41st parallel north latitude lives south of the 55th parallel. Among them, the most densely populated area is within a 150 km (93 mile) radius of the border with the United States, where four-fifths of the total population lives, and more than 50% of the population is in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. I live in the state.
Ethnic composition
Canada is widely known as a multicultural society comprised of various races. This is the result of actively accepting immigrants and refugees for the purposes of economic development and population growth. Approximately 25% of Canada’s workforce are immigrants. The top 10 ethnic groups that account for a large proportion of the ethnic composition are Canadian, British, Scottish, French, Irish, German, Chinese, Italian, Native American, Indian, and Ukrainian. It can be seen that outside ethnic groups account for a larger proportion. According to the 2016 Canadian census, four out of 10 people have more than one ethnic or cultural origin. Of the total population, 20 million people, or about 72%, have European ancestry, followed by Asians (17.7%), Native Americans (4.9%), Africans (3.1%), Latin Americans (1.3%), and Oceanians ( 0.2%). Of course, the largest ethnic group is Canadian, making up 32% of the population, followed by British (18.3%), Scottish (13.9%), French (13.6%), Irish (13.4%) and German (13.4%). Total) (9.6%) in that order. It is followed by Chinese (5.1%), Italian (4.6%), Native (4.4%), Indian (4.0%), and Ukrainian (3.9%).
The indigenous population also appeared to have increased, increasing by 42.5% compared to 2006. Among ethnic minorities, the largest groups were South Asians (5.6%), Chinese (5.1%), and blacks (3.5%). According to the 2016 census, 21.9% of Canadians identified themselves as permanent immigrants or permanent residents in Canada, and in 2021, India, China, and the Philippines became the top three countries for immigrants to Canada.
Indigenous people
The indigenous people are collectively referred to as ‘Aboriginals’ and are known to number approximately 1.63 million people. They are largely divided into three groups: First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. They make up 4.9% of Canada’s total population. First Nations, known as North American Indians, number approximately 970,000 people, accounting for approximately 2.8% of the population, and reside throughout Canada, with a total number of approximately 600 villages. Matis number approximately 580,000, accounting for approximately 1.7% of the total population. Their characteristics include mixed blood between North American Indians and Europeans, with the majority having mixed blood with French people. There are about 60,000 Inuit, making up 0.2% of the population. They are also called Eskimos, meaning “humans who eat raw meat,” but this is a derogatory title and is not used. They mainly live in the Arctic region.
It is generally believed that the first indigenous people to reach North America crossed the Bering Sea about 14,000 years ago, and the oldest indigenous settlements found in Canada can be found in the ‘Paleo-Indian’ ruins of ‘Old Crow Flats’ and Bluefish Caves. . The indigenous people had a unique agricultural, social class, and commercial network, but their lifestyle began to collapse around the late 15th and early 16th centuries when European explorers began to arrive, and is now difficult to find. When Europeans first settled, the indigenous population was estimated at between 200,000 and 2 million, but it is known that the indigenous population began to decline by 40-80% as a result of colonization. The causes of their disappearance included the introduction of infectious diseases prevalent in Europe such as flu, measles, and smallpox, as well as conflicts between colonial authorities and settlers, including conflicts over the fur trade, loss of land, and the collapse of self-sufficient ecosystems.
First Nations and Matis peoples played an important role in the development of European colonies in Canada, especially during the North American fur trade and in helping European navigators explore the continent. In general, the Inuit had limited interaction with European settlers, but it is known that the royal family and the indigenous people began to interact during the European colonial period. Beginning in the late 18th century, European Canadians encouraged indigenous peoples to assimilate into their culture, and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries they implemented strong policies of forced integration and relocation.
Language
Canada’s official languages are English and French, with 56% of Canadians speaking English as their native language and 21% speaking French as their native language. The 1977 French Charter designated French as the official language of Quebec. More than 85% of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, but there are significant French-speaking populations in other provinces, including New Brunswick, Alberta, and Manitoba.
Although English and French are the majority official languages, according to the 2016 census, 7.3 million people, or about 20%, reported speaking a language other than these as their mother tongue. The most common unofficial first languages were Chinese (1,227,680), Punjabi (501,680), Spanish (458,850), Tagalog (431,385), Arabic (419,895), German (384,040), and Italian (375,640). Canada’s federal government is officially bilingual under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Federal Official Languages Act. English and French have equal status in the federal courts, Congress, and all federal agencies, the right to receive federal government services in both languages, and minority languages are used as official languages, ensuring instruction in these languages in the public education system. do. There are 11 indigenous language groups comprising more than 65 different languages and dialects. In places such as the North West, several indigenous languages are officially recognized.
Religion
According to statistics released in 2021, 63.2% of Canadians responded that they were Christians, and 26.3% responded that they had no religion. Next, Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Canada, accounting for 3.7% of the total population, and the Muslim population is rapidly increasing. In addition, the population who believed in Hinduism was 1.7%, Sikhs and Buddhists were 1.4% each, those with other religions or beliefs were 1.2%, and Jews were 1%. Canada has no official religion and the government officially recognizes religious pluralism. Therefore, freedom of religion is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, and assembly and worship are permitted without any restrictions or interference.
History of Canada
The advent of European colonialism
It is believed that the first European to explore Canada’s east coast was Northern European explorer Leif Erikson. It is known that around 1,000 AD, the Norse people built a small camp at L’Anse aux Meadows in the northern tip of present-day Newfoundland and stayed there for about 20 years. Full-scale exploration and research did not take place until 1497, when Italian national John Cabot explored Canada’s Atlantic coast at the order of King Henry VII of England. In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and on July 24 planted a 10-metre (33-foot) high cross inscribed with the words “Long live the King of France” and entered the territory of New France. declared. In 1600, the French established their first seasonal trading post at Tadoussac along the Saint Lawrence, and in 1603 the French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in Canada, establishing Port Royal in 1605 and Port Royal in 1608. Quebec City was established, establishing the first permanent European settlement. Among the colonists of New France, Canadians settled extensively in the St. Lawrence River Valley, Acadians settled in what is now the Maritimes, and fur traders and Catholic missionaries are known to have explored the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi Valley leading to Louisiana. there is.
In the case of England, in 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert established a camp in St. John’s, Newfoundland, under the order of Queen Elizabeth I. The British established an additional settlement in Newfoundland in 1610, along with settlements in the 13 colonies to the south. Between 1689 and 1763, four wars broke out in colonial North America, the last of which lasted for seven years and affected all of North America. Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, and Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years’ War.
British North America
The British Crown established sovereignty over British North America with the Proclamation of 1763. The province of Quebec was created in New France, and Cape Breton Island was annexed to Nova Scotia. To avoid conflict in Quebec, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774, expanding Quebec’s territory into the Great Lakes and Ojai Valley. In addition, special autonomy was granted to Quebec, which contrasted with the oppressive measures taken by the 13 colonies when they rebelled against British rule. It sought to block the possibility of an independence movement in advance by granting special autonomy and allowing the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law.
After the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the newly formed United States and set peace terms, ceding British North American territory south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River to the new country. In particular, as the American Revolutionary War ended with the victory of those who wanted independence, Loyalist settlers who fought against independence migrated to Atlantic Canada. The 1791 Constitution divided Canada into the French-speaking Lower Canada region (later Quebec) and the English-speaking Upper Canada region (later Ontario), each with an elected legislature.
In the war between the United States and Britain that broke out in 1812, Canada was a major frontline where the two countries clashed. Between 1815 and 1850, more than 900,000 people emigrated from England, including Scottish people driven out by the Highland Clearances, which targeted refugees and natives who had escaped the Great Irish Famine (1847-1852). achieved the majority. However, between 25 and 33 percent of Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891 died from infectious diseases.
The Act of Confederation of 1840 unified Canada and provided for the establishment of regional governments in all British North American provinces east of Lake Superior by 1855. In 1846, Britain and the United States signed the Oregon Treaty, ending the Oregon boundary dispute and extending Canada’s border westward along the 49th parallel. This led to the expansion of British colonies on Vancouver Island and British Columbia. The 1825 Treaty of St. Petersburg between Britain and Russia established the border along the Pacific coast, but debate continued over the exact boundaries of the Alaska-Yukon and Alaska-British Columbia boundaries even after the U.S. purchase of Alaska in 1867.
Union and Expansion
The British North America Act officially declared Canadian federation on July 1, 1867. The four provinces initially included in the federation were Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Canada took control of Rupert’s Land and the Northwestern Territory to form the Northwest Territories, which later established Manitoba. Vancouver Island, united with British Columbia in 1866, was located on the transcontinental railroad that extended to Victoria within a decade, and was admitted to the Confederation in 1871. Prince Edward Island joined the Union in 1873. In 1898, during the Klondike Gold Rush in the Northwest Territories, Congress created the Yukon Territory. Alberta and Saskatchewan joined the federation in 1905, and between 1871 and 1896, about a quarter of Canada’s population is known to have immigrated to the United States.
Afterwards, the Canadian government implemented the construction of transcontinental railways (including the Canadian Pacific Railway) to encourage the migration of Europeans, and made efforts to modify the Dominion Land Act to encourage them to settle in the prairies. During this process, indigenous people living in the prairies were forcibly relocated to “Indian reservations,” and cattle farms and wheat fields were created on the land where they lived. Many indigenous people die due to loss of traditional hunting grounds, famine, and disease. Additionally, the Indian Act was introduced during this period to control indigenous people.
Independence and completion of a sovereign nation
Because Britain controlled Canada’s independent diplomatic rights under the British North America Act of 1867, Canada naturally entered World War I following Britain’s declaration of war in 1914. Of the approximately 625,000 Canadians who fought in World War I, approximately 60,000 were reported to have died and 172,000 were wounded. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain, and Canada’s independence was confirmed in 1931 with the Statue of Westminster.
The process of Canada becoming a sovereign nation must be understood in light of changes in its relationship with its native country, England. Because Canada was a country created by people who immigrated after the American Revolution and did not abandon their loyalty to their native country, the British Empire and its monarch, ties with Britain were a very important factor. Although he was compensated in some ways by refusing to become an American and living as a subject of the British Empire, he had to pay a corresponding price. The biggest cost was that Canadian citizens had to participate in Britain’s war.
Of course, there were political reasons for Canada’s involvement in the war in which Britain participated. In 1899, Canada participated in the Boer War fought by Britain in South Africa. At the time, Canada and the United States were in conflict over the Alaska border issue, and Canada needed Britain’s help to resolve this issue. For that reason, he participated in the Boer War.
Canada also participated on the side of Britain in World War I and World War II. From the Canadian government’s perspective, it participated in the war because it believed it was an opportunity to gain independent status as a sovereign nation, and after the war ended, it acquired the status of an official member of the League of Nations. Afterwards, the Statue of Westminster was passed by the British Parliament in 1931, effectively ending British colonial rule over Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. With this law, British law no longer applied in Canada, and the decisions of the Canadian Parliament were respected. Implemented in 1917, Canada gained independent diplomatic rights along with its status as an independent country.
Even after the enactment of the Westminster Act, the British North American Act, which was considered Canada’s constitution, was amended several times, and Canada began to gradually erase traces of British colonialism. From 1844 to 1949, jurisdiction over the Canadian judiciary was held by the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council. The Westminster Act enacted in 1931 contained provisions reducing the authority of the Judicial Committee, and in 1949, the Supreme Court Act was amended and the Supreme Court of Canada became the Supreme Court of Canada. It became the final adjudicatory body on legal matters. In December 1961, the country’s name was changed from Dominion of Canada to Canada, and in 1982, the Canadian government transferred the Canadian Constitution, which remained in the form of the British North American Act, to Parliament, transforming the country into a sovereign nation that secured both constitutional and legal sovereignty.
Economy
Canada has recorded remarkable economic growth since World Wars I and II and has the world’s 10th largest economy as of 2022. The nominal GDP is approximately $1.647 trillion, ranking 10th after Italy. GDP per capita was $43,242. Canada’s economic freedom index is higher than that of the United States and most Western European countries, and the income gap is relatively low compared to these countries, making it a representative example of a country with a free market economy and balanced growth. The average per capita household real income of Canadians was found to be significantly higher than the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average.
Industry
Canada has undergone significant changes compared to its past structure. The industries currently leading the Canadian economy are the automobile and aviation/space industries. In particular, Ontario is located close to Detroit in the United States, so global automobile companies such as FCA, Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota operate production plants, and Ontario’s proportion of GDP is much higher than that of other provinces. Canada’s automobile production ranks 12th in the world in terms of annual production. As the federal government is actively encouraging the production and use of electric vehicles to achieve carbon emissions reduction goals, demand for related automobile parts and charging facilities continues to increase.
The aviation and space industry is Canada’s representative industry and ranks fifth in the world, with exports reaching 11.3 billion Canadian dollars as of 2019. Canada is known to have a high level of technology across all areas of this industry, including military aircraft and aircraft, landing gear systems, flight simulators, helicopters, robotics and satellite technology, and maintenance and repair. Approximately 75% of the products produced domestically are exported to countries around the world. Quebec, along with Ontario, is the center of the aviation and space industry. In particular, Quebec accounts for about 60% of Canada’s aerospace manufacturing production, and major companies include Bombardier, Bell Helicopter, and Pratt & Whitney Canada.
In addition, the proportion of industries utilizing cutting-edge technologies, such as the information and communication technology (ICT) industry and artificial intelligence research, is increasing. The ICT industry is showing growth despite the coronavirus pandemic, and the software, computer systems, and mobile communications industries account for more than half of the ICT market. It was found that there are approximately 44,000 ICT companies, and these companies employ more than 670,000 workers. Representative companies include BCE, Telus, CGI, Rogers, Celestica, Opentext, and Videotron. In addition, we have signed supply contracts with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung to commercialize 5G technology, and are using this to lead the advancement of existing industrial fields such as autonomous driving, smart factories, smart farms, and digital media.
In addition, Canada established the world’s first pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy in 2017 and is focusing on fostering future growth industries. Thanks to this, Canada ranked 14th out of 172 countries in the 2020 Government Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index ranking published by Oxford Insight in the UK.
Canada’s service industry also accounts for a large portion of the national economy. About 12% of Canada’s population is employed in the retail sector, with shopping malls and small franchises being major employers. Recently, the number of large stores such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Real Canadian Superstore in the United States is increasing. The industries with the second highest proportion of the service sector are business industries, including financial services, real estate, and telecommunications.
In addition to the service industry, the mining industry is also significant, making Canada a world-class mineral producer. As of 2019, it is the world’s 4th largest producer of sulfur, the 7th largest producer of molybdenum and cobalt, and the 8th largest producer of lithium and zinc.
Trade
Canada’s main export products are computers, automobiles, and semiconductors, and its main import products are coal, pulp, and machinery. It is highly dependent on trade, with one-third of natural resource production and more than one-half of manufactured goods being exported. The United States accounts for the largest proportion of Canada’s total trade volume, so it can be said that Canada is highly dependent on the United States.
After World War II, economic integration between Canada and the United States accelerated. Canada’s borders began to open with the 1965 Automotive Products Trade Agreement. Later, in the 1970s, due to concerns about energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership of the manufacturing sector, the Liberal government led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau established the National Energy Program (NEP) and the Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA). designed. However, in the 1980s, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives abolished the NEP and renamed FIRA to Investment Canada to encourage foreign investment. In 1988, the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) eliminated tariffs between the two countries, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the free trade area to include Mexico in 1994.
Canada is one of the few net energy exporters among developed countries. The Atlantic coast has vast natural gas reserves, and Alberta also has natural resources such as oil and gas. For this reason, Canada boasts the world’s third largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, equivalent to 13% of the world’s oil reserves. Canada is also a major exporter of zinc, uranium, gold, nickel, platinum, aluminum, steel, iron ore, coking coal, lead, copper, molybdenum, cobalt and cadmium. Canada is also one of the world’s largest producers and suppliers of agricultural products, and its grasslands are a major producer of wheat, canola and other grains. The northern region, where agricultural activities are difficult, sustains its economy through mining and lumber industries. It has large manufacturing sectors such as automobiles and aviation, centered in southern Ontario and Quebec, which represent Canada’s manufacturing industry.
Conclusion
It is a country in the northern part of the North American continent and belongs to the British Commonwealth. After the Treaty of Paris signed between Britain and France in 1763, it remained a British colony and became independent as the Dominion of Canada in 1867. In 1951, the official name of the country was changed to Canada.