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Saturday, May 25, 2024

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Introduction

Flag and Arms of Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. It is a sparsely inhabited country of 40 million people, the vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is "called upon" by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and gender equality. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history, economy, and culture.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, commonly known as Holy Rosary Cathedral, is a late 19th-century French Gothic revival church that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver. It is located in the downtown area of the city at the intersection of Richards and Dunsmuir streets. (Full article...)

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Pam McConnell in 2014

Pamela Margaret McConnell (February 14, 1946 – July 7, 2017) was a Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council. She was first elected to the Metro Toronto Council in 1994, representing a series of downtown Toronto wards until 2017. She served as a deputy mayor of Toronto, representing Toronto and East York from 2014 to 2017. (Full article...)

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Panoramic view of Mono Cliffs Provincial Park

Credit: Giligone

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A serving of poutine from Montreal, Quebec

Poutine (Quebec French: [put͡sɪn] ^ⓘ) is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its exact origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims regarding its invention. For many years, it was used by some to mock Quebec society. Poutine later became celebrated as a symbol of Québécois culture and the province of Quebec. It has long been associated with Quebec cuisine, and its rise in prominence has led to its growing popularity throughout the rest of Canada. (Full article...)

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The politics of Canada functions within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Canada is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch is head of state. In practice, executive authority is entrusted to the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown chaired by the Prime Minister of Canada that act as the executive committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada and are responsible to the democratically elected House of Commons. (Full article...)

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John A. Macdonald, first Prime Minister of Canada
Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Brady-Handy Photograph Collection.

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Current events

May 21, 2024 –: Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is reported to be on life support after being physically attacked in a prison in Port-Cartier, Quebec. (Vancouver Sun)
May 18, 2024 –: Three people are killed and five others are injured in a boat collision on Bobs Lake in Ontario, Canada. (CBC News)
May 17, 2024 –: A child in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, dies of measles, the province's first such death since 1989. (CBC News); The RCMP identifies the killer of four people in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1976 and 1977 as American serial rapist Gary Allen Srery, who died in prison in 2011. (CFCN-TV)
May 16, 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Global Affairs Canada announces sanctions on four "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank for engaging in violence against Palestinian civilians and their property. (CBC News)
May 15, 2024 – 2024 Canada wildfires: Authorities evacuate over 6,000 people as wildfires approach the city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. (Reuters) (NPR)

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... that Jonathan Beaulieu-Richard retired from the Canadian Football League to become a pharmacist?
... that two hours before Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold competed in a 2016 Summer Olympics fight, she had been in hospital with gastroenteritis?
... that Canadian peacekeepers participated in every UN peacekeeping effort from its inception until 1989?
... that 1.8 percent of people in Japan have used cannabis, compared to 44.2 percent of Americans and 41.5 percent of Canadians?
... that Bethune: The Making of a Hero, once Canada's most expensive film, had a documentary about its troubled production shown at the 1988 Toronto International Film Festival instead of itself?
... that Eagle-Dogtooth Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, contains part of the Experimental Lakes Area, a controlled area for conducting scientific experiments in lakes?
... that the Saskatchewan Conservation House, built in 1977 to withstand Canadian winter temperatures, did not use a furnace?

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Canada's Walk of Fame, located in Toronto, Ontario, is a walk of fame that acknowledges the achievements and accomplishments of successful Canadians. It consists of a series of stars imbedded in 13 designated blocks worth of sidewalks in Toronto, located in front of Roy Thomson Hall, the Princess of Wales Theatre, and the Royal Alexandra Theatre on King and Simcoe streets. The first group of members was inducted in 1998, and it has since expanded to include the RBC Emerging Artist Music Mentorship Prize competition, which assists emerging Canadian musicians with getting their careers off the ground. (Full article...)

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