Canada consists of 10 provinces and
three territories in five main regions: the Atlantic
region, Central Canada, the Prairies, the West Coast and
the North. The culture and population are different in
each region.
Canada has about 31 million people.
More than 80 percent of all the people in Canada live in
towns and cities within 250 kilometres of the United
States border. Ottawa is Canada's capital city, with a
population of nearly one million. It is located in the
province of Ontario. Canada's largest cities are
Toronto, Ontario (4.4 million people); Montréal, Quebec
(3.4 million); and Vancouver, British Columbia (1.9
million).
Under the Official Languages Act, Canada is an
officially bilingual country. This means that Canadians
have the right to get federal government services in
English or French, no matter what part of Canada they
are living in.
French is the mother tongue of 6.6 million Canadians.
Most Francophones live in Quebec, but almost one million
Francophones live in Canada's other provinces and
territories.
Over the last 50 years, people from
all over the globe have sought a better life or have
sought refuge in Canada, fleeing civil wars, political
unrest and natural disasters.
Canada still needs the skills, talents and enthusiasm of
newcomers to build our country, together with those who
have come before them. All of this has been reflected in
Canada's immigration and refugee policies. Today, Canada
is home to immigrants from more than 240 countries. Most
newcomers decide to become citizens of Canada, after
they are settled and have met the requirements of
Canadian citizenship.
Canada is populated by people who
have come from every part of the world. Through the
Canadian Multiculturalism Act, the government encourages
Canadians to take pride in their language, religion and
heritage and to keep their customs and traditions, as
long as they don't break Canadian laws.
Copyright 2005 Ayodele
Akintunde & Co. All rights reserved
