Name	Edmonton
Official name	City of Edmonton
Nickname	City of Champions, Gateway to the North, The Festival City, Deadmonton, E-Town, River City, Oil Capital of Canada, Oil Country, Oil City
Motto	''Industry, Integrity, Progress''
Settlement type	City
Image shield	EdmontonCOA.svg
Shield link	Coat of arms of Edmonton
Pushpin map	Canada Alberta
Pushpin label position
Pushpin map caption	Location of Edmonton in Alberta
Coordinates region	CA-AB
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Canada
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Alberta
Subdivision type2	Region
Subdivision name2	Edmonton Capital Region
Subdivision type3	Census division
Subdivision name3	11
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Stephen Mandel (List of former mayors)
Leader title1	Governing body
Leader name1	Edmonton City Council
Leader title2	Manager
Leader name2	Simon Farbrother
Leader title3	MPs
Leader name3
Leader title4	MLAs
Leader name4
Established title	Established
Established date	1795
Established title2	Incorporated  - Town
Established date2	January 9, 1892
Established title3	- City
Established date3	October 8, 1904
Area footnotes	(2006)
Area total km2	684.37
Area metro km2	9417.88
Population as of	2006
Population total	730,372 (5th)
Population density km2	1067.2
Population urban	862,544
Population metro	1,034,945 (6th)
Population density metro km2	109.9
Population blank1 title	Population rank
Population blank1 title	Demonym
Population blank1	Edmontonian
Timezone	MST
Utc offset	−7
Timezone dst	MDT
Utc offset dst	−6
Elevation m	668
Postal code type	Postal code span
Postal code	T5A to T6Z
Area code	780, 587
Blank name	NTS Map
Blank info	083H11
Blank1 name	GNBC Code
Blank1 info	IACMP
Blank2 name	GDP per capita
Blank2 info	C$39,675 (est. 2010)
Blank3 name	Average income per household
Blank3 info	C$98,857 (est. 2010)
Website	City of Edmonton
Footnotes	}}

Edmonton () is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.

The city and its census metropolitan area had populations of 730,372 and 1,034,945 as of the 2006 Census respectively, making it the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. The city's 2009 civic census showed a population of 782,439, while Statistics Canada estimated its metropolitan population at 1,155,383 in 2009, making it the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the nation. A resident of Edmonton is known as an ''Edmontonian''.

The majority of Edmonton's metropolitan population lives within the City of Edmonton rather than in the surrounding suburban municipalities. Historically Edmonton was surrounded by few other urban municipalities and many of the nearby settlements that did exist were absorbed through amalgamation or annexation. Edmonton annexed a significant amount of land up until the early 1980s, and as such it has sustained much of the region's suburban growth within the city.

Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor and is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.

Edmonton is a cultural, governmental and educational centre. It plays host to a year-round slate of world-class festivals, earning it the title of "The Festival City." It is home to North America's largest mall, West Edmonton Mall (the world's largest mall from 1981 until 2004), and Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum. In 2004, Edmonton celebrated the centennial of its incorporation as a city.

History

The first inhabitants settled in the area that is now Edmonton around 3,000 BC and perhaps as early as 12,000 BC, when an ice-free corridor opened up as the last ice age ended and timber, water, and wildlife became available in the region.

In 1754, Anthony Henday, an explorer working for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), may have been the first European to enter the Edmonton area. His expeditions across the Canadian Prairies were mainly to seek contact with the aboriginal population for the purpose of establishing the fur trade, as competition was fierce between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company. By 1795, Fort Edmonton was established on the north bank of the river, as a major trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company. The name of the new fort was suggested by John Peter Pruden after Edmonton, London, the home town of both the HBC deputy governor Sir James Winter Lake, and Pruden. In the late 19th century, the highly fertile soils surrounding Edmonton helped attract settlers, further establishing Edmonton as a major regional commercial and agricultural centre. Edmonton was also a stopping point for people hoping to cash in on the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897, although the majority of people doing so chose to take a steamship north to the Yukon from Vancouver.

Incorporated as a city in 1904 with a population of 8,350, Edmonton became the capital of Alberta as the province joined Confederation a year later, on September 1, 1905. In November 1905, the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) arrived in Edmonton, accelerating growth.

During the early 1910s, Edmonton grew very rapidly, causing rising speculation in real estate prices. In 1912, Edmonton amalgamated with the City of Strathcona, south of the North Saskatchewan River; as a result, the city extended south of the North Saskatchewan River for the first time.

Just prior to World War I, the real estate boom ended suddenly, causing the city's population to decline sharply from over 72,500 in 1914 to under 54,000 only two years later. Recruitment to the Canadian military during the war also contributed to the drop in population. Afterwards, the city was slow to recover in population and economy during the 1920s and 1930s until World War II.

The first licensed airfield in Canada, Blatchford Field (now Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport), commenced operation in 1929. Pioneering aviators such as Wilfrid R. "Wop" May and Max Ward used Blatchford Field as a major base for the distribution of mail, food, and medicine to Northern Canada; hence Edmonton's role as the "Gateway to the North" was strengthened. World War II saw Edmonton becoming a major base for the construction of the Alaska Highway and the Northwest Staging Route.

Geography

Edmonton is located near the geographic centre of the province, at an elevation of . Edmonton is the most northerly city in North America with a metropolitan population of over one million. It is at the same latitude as Hamburg, Germany and Manchester, England. The terrain in and around Edmonton is generally flat to gently rolling, with ravines and deep river valleys, such as the North Saskatchewan River valley. Despite the fact that the Canadian Rockies come as close to Edmonton as roughly to the southwest, the city is too distant for any of their peaks to be seen from even its tallest buildings.

The North Saskatchewan River originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and bisects the city. It empties via the Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River into Hudson Bay. It runs from the southwest to the northeast and is fed by numerous creeks throughout the city, such as Mill Creek, Whitemud Creek and Blackmud Creek; this creates numerous ravines, many of which have been incorporated into urban parkland. Edmonton is situated at the boundary between prairie to the south and boreal forest to the north, in a transitional area known as aspen parkland. However, the aspen parkland in and around Edmonton has long since been heavily altered by farming and other human activities, such as oil and natural gas exploration.

Parkland and environment

Edmonton's river valley constitutes the longest stretch of connected urban parkland in North America, and Edmonton has the highest per capita area of parkland of any Canadian city; the river valley is 22 times larger than New York City's Central Park. The public river valley parks provide a unique urban escape area, with park styles ranging from fully serviced urban parks to campsitelike facilities with few amenities. This main "Ribbon of Green" is supplemented by numerous neighbourhood parks located throughout the city, to give a total of of parkland. Within the , -long river valley park system, there are eleven lakes, fourteen ravines, and twenty-two major parks, and most of the city has excellent bike and walking trail connections. These trails are also part of the Waskahegan walking trail. The City of Edmonton has named five parks in its River Valley Parks System in honour of each of "The Famous Five".

Edmonton's streets and parklands are also home to one of the largest remaining concentrations of healthy American elm trees in the world, unaffected by Dutch elm disease, which has wiped out vast numbers of such trees in eastern North America. Jack Pine, Lodgepole Pine, White Spruce, White Birch, Aspen, Mountain Ash, Amur Maple, Russian Olive, Green Ash, Basswood, Various Poplars and Willows, Flowering Crabapple, Mayday Tree and Manitoba Maple are also abundant; Bur oak, Silver Maple, Hawthorn and Ohio Buckeye are increasingly popular. Other introduced tree species include White Ash, Blue Spruce, Norway Maple, Red oak, Sugar Maple, Common Horse-chestnut, McIntosh apple, and Evans Cherry. Three walnut species—Butternut, Manchurian walnut, and black walnut—have survived in Edmonton.

Several golf courses, both public and private, are also located in the river valley; the long summer daylight hours of this northern city provide for extended play from early morning well into the evening. Golf courses and the park system become a winter recreation area during this season, and cross-country skiing and skating are popular during the long winter. Four downhill ski slopes are located in the river valley as well, two within the city and two immediately outside.

Neighbourhoods

Edmonton has numerous distinct neighbourhoods. Downtown Edmonton consists of the Commercial Core, the Arts District, Rice Howard Way, McKay Avenue, Jasper-West, the Warehouse District and the Government Precinct (also known as Grandin). The Commercial Core and Rice Howard Way double as Edmonton's Central Business District and the Arts District is home to most of Edmonton's main cultural buildings like the Art Gallery of Alberta. The Warehouse District is home to some old brick warehouses (most have been converted to lofts and condominiums) from when the area was the City's main industrial area and at the same time is one of the most up and coming districts in the City with lots of new construction underway or planned. McKay Avenue is home to many residential towers and some of the Downtown hotels and is fairly quiet, compared to the Government District which is home to the lively Alberta Legislature and many government offices.

Radiating from the core are many older urban neighbourhoods. Oliver, immediately west of Downtown Edmonton, is often mistakenly considered as part of the Downtown due to its high density condos and apartments. Between the old character homes of Westmount and mid and high rises of Oliver is 124 Street which is home to many art galleries and restaurants. Further west of Westmount is Glenora, where the Royal Alberta Museum is located and lots of beautiful old Scottish-inspired mansions. To the east of Downtown is Boyle Street which is one of the lower income neighbourhoods of the city and has many walk up apartments and old brick buildings. Northeast of Downtown is McCauley, which is one of the most ethnically diverse areas of the city and home to Edmonton's Little Italy and part of Edmonton's Chinatown. Also northeast of Downtown is Alberta Avenue and Parkdale, which are formerly run-down neighbourhoods that are undergoing revitalization with young families and artists moving in. Immediately across the river from Downtown Edmonton is Strathcona, which is full of character and home to the vibrant Whyte Avenue. Straddled between the main campus of University of Alberta and Strathcona is Garneau, which has many independent cafes and French-Canadian inspired homes. To the southeast of Downtown are neighbourhoods such as Cloverdale and Bonnie Doon, which are relatively quiet. Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre is located within Bonnie Doon and the Muttart Conservatory is located within Cloverdale.

Edmonton then gives way to matured suburbs that first began to appear in the 1940s through to around 1970. Neighbourhoods such as Strathearn, Rundle Heights, Jasper Park, and Empire Park have many 1950s and 1960s style walk up apartments and townhouse complexes alongside single family homes and mom and pop businesses. These neighbourhoods tend to not be thought of as much as suburbs as the post-1970 suburbs.

Post-1970 suburbs are much less matured and tend to not have back alleys for houses and instead opt for front-car garages so that cars are more convenient. One of the most well-known suburbs from the 1970s and 1980s is Mill Woods, a collection of neighbourhoods in southeast Edmonton. It is often incorrectly referred to as "Millwoods," due to a typographical mistake on street signs dating back to the neighbourhood's inception. Other areas where new suburbs popped up in the 1970s and 1980s into the early 1990s are Belmont and Kirkness in the area generally considered "Clareview" in Northeast Edmonton; areas around Blue Quill and Lendrum Place in the southwest; and areas around Belmead and Callingwood in the west.

Most of the newer suburban growth in the City of Edmonton has occurred in Southwest Edmonton around Terwillegar. More recently, many new suburban neighbourhoods have begun to pop up outside of Edmonton's ring road, Anthony Henday Drive, such as Summerside, Ellerslie, Windermere, The Hamptons, and Rutherford. Many of these are home to small recreational lakes and newer suburban strip malls. Still, there are many new neighbourhoods going up within the ring road, such as The Meadows, east of Mill Woods and Carlton and Cumberland in Northwest Edmonton east of St. Albert Trail.

Several transit-oriented developments (TOD) have begun to appear along the LRT line at Clareview, with future developments planned at Belvedere (part of the Old Town Fort Road Redevelopment Project). Another TOD, called Century Park, is being constructed at the site of what was once Heritage Mall, at the southern end of the LRT line. Century Park will eventually house up to 5,000 residents. The Edmonton City Centre airport is planned to be developed into a TOD.

Metropolitan area

Edmonton is at the centre of Canada's sixth largest census metropolitan area (CMA) that includes Edmonton and 34 other municipalities in the surrounding area. Larger communities include the Urban Service Area of Sherwood Park (part of Strathcona County), the cities of St. Albert, Leduc, Spruce Grove and Fort Saskatchewan, and the towns of Stony Plain, Beaumont, Morinville, and Devon. Major employment areas outside of Edmonton but within the CMA include the Nisku Industrial Business Park and the Edmonton International Airport/Port Alberta in Leduc County, the Acheson Industrial Park in Parkland County, Refinery Row in Strathcona County and Alberta's Industrial Heartland within portions of Fort Saskatchewan, Strathcona County and Sturgeon County. Alberta's Industrial Heartland also extends beyond the CMA's northeastern boundary into a portion of Lamont County.

The individual economic development interests and costs of service delivery in certain municipalities within the region has led to intermunicipal competition, strained intermunicipal relationships and overall fragmentation of the region. Although several attempts have been made by the City of Edmonton to absorb surrounding municipalities or annex portions of its neighbours, the city has not absorbed another municipality since the Town of Jasper Place joined Edmonton on August 17, 1964 and the city has not annexed land from any of its neighbours since January 1, 1982. After years of mounting pressure in the early 21st century, the Province of Alberta formed the Capital Region Board (CRB) on April 15, 2008. The CRB consists of 24 member municipalities – 22 of which are within the Edmonton CMA and two of which are outside the CMA.

Climate

Edmonton has a relatively dry humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification ''Dfb'', USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 3a) with extreme seasonal temperatures—although the city has milder winters than either Regina or Winnipeg, both located at a latitude farther south. It has warm summers and cold winters, with the average daily temperatures ranging from in January to in July. Annually, temperatures exceed on an average of four to five days (but can occur often, anytime from late April to mid September) and fall below on an average of 28 days. The highest temperature recorded within the City of Edmonton was , on August 5, 1998. Some areas, however, such as the City of St. Albert and Sherwood Park, recorded temperatures of on July 22, 2006. The coldest temperature ever recorded at city centre was on January 26, 1972 - this was the only time since recordings began in 1953 that city centre has recorded a temperature below . The coldest overall temperature recorded in Edmonton was , on January 19 and 21, 1886.

The year 2006 was a particularly warm one for Edmonton, as temperatures reached or higher more than twenty times during the year, from as early as Mid-May and again in early September. Typically, summer lasts from late June until late August, and the humidity is seldom uncomfortably high. Winter lasts from November to March, and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable. Edmonton's growing season is from May 7 to September 23; Edmonton averages 140 frost free days a year. At the summer solstice, Edmonton receives seventeen hours and six minutes of daylight, with twilight extending throughout the entire night during summer. Edmonton receives 2,299 hours of sunshine per year and is one of Canada's sunniest cities.

Edmonton has a fairly dry climate. On average, Edmonton receives of precipitation, of which is rain and is the melt from of snowfall per annum. Precipitation is heaviest in the late spring, summer, and early autumn. The wettest month is July, while the driest months are February, March, October, and November. In July, the mean precipitation is . Droughts are not uncommon and may occur at any time of the year. Extremes do occur, such as the of rainfall that fell on July 31, 1953. Summer thunderstorms can be frequent and occasionally severe enough to produce large hail, damaging winds, funnel clouds, and even tornadoes. However, tornadoes near Edmonton are far weaker and short-lived compared to their counterparts farther south. Dangerous weather events are rare in Edmonton, and the F4 tornado that struck Edmonton on July 31, 1987, killing 27, was unique in many respects, including severity, duration, damage, and casualties. It is commonly referred to as ''Black Friday'' due both to its aberrant characteristics and the emotional shock it generated.

A massive cluster of thunderstorms occurred on July 11, 2004, with large hail and over of rain reported within the space of an hour in many places. This "1-in-200 year event" flooded major intersections and underpasses and damaged both residential and commercial properties. The storm caused extensive damage to West Edmonton Mall; a small glass section of the roof collapsed under the weight of the rainwater, causing water to drain onto the mall's indoor ice rink. As a result, the mall was forced to undergo an evacuation as a precautionary measure.

Demographics

According to the 2006 census, there were 730,372 residents within the city of Edmonton proper, compared to 3,290,350 for all of Alberta. The total population of the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) was 1,034,945. In 2009, a municipal census showed the city had a population of 782,439.

In the five years between 2001 and 2006, the population of the city of Edmonton proper grew by 9.6%, compared with an increase of 10.4% for the Edmonton CMA and 10.6% for Alberta as a whole. The population density of the city of Edmonton proper averaged 1,067.2 people per square kilometre (2,764/sq mi), compared with an average of 5.1 people per square kilometre (13.2/sq mi) for Alberta altogether.

In mid-2006, 11.9% of Edmonton's population were of retirement age (65 and over for males and females) compared with 13.7% in Canada. The median age was 35.3 years of age, compared to 37.6 years of age for all of Canada. Also, according to the 2006 census, 50.5% of the population within the city of Edmonton proper were female, while 49.5% were male. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.6% of the resident population of Edmonton. This compares with 6.2% in Alberta, and almost 5.3% for Canada overall.

In 2006, people of European ethnicities formed the largest cluster of ethnic groups in Edmonton, mostly of English, Scottish, German, Irish, Ukrainian, and French origin. According to the 2006 census, the city of Edmonton was 71.8% White and 5.3% Aboriginal, while visible minorities accounted for 22.9% of the population.

Religion

According to the 2001 census, 31.2% of Edmonton residents are Protestant and 29.4% are Catholic. 5.5% belong to other Christian denominations, 2.9% are Muslim, 0.6% are Jewish, 5.1% are adherents of other religions, and 24.4% profess no religion. One of Alberta's three Bahá'í Centres is located in Edmonton; the other two centres are situated in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, and Athabasca, Alberta. The first mosque established in Canada-the Al-Rashid Mosque, founded by Abdullah Yusuf Ali—is situated in Edmonton. Edmonton also hosts a Maronite Catholic church, on 76th Avenue/98th Street, with services in English on Saturdays and Arabic on Sundays. The Lebanese community also has a Druze Community Centre on the north side of the city. The Edmonton Alberta Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated on December 11, 1999. The Hindu Community in Edmonton is served by the ''Hindu Society of Alberta'' (North Indian Temple) and the ''Maha Ganapathy Society of Alberta'' (South Indian Temple). The Sikh community in Edmonton is served by four Gurudawaras. The Jewish Community in Edmonton is served by ''Jewish Federation of Edmonton''. The region is served by five synagogues. Edmonton is also home to two of Alberta's four Unitarian Universalist congregations—the Unitarian Church of Edmonton and the Westwood Unitarian Congregation; the other two are located in Calgary and Lethbridge.

Politics

In 1892 Edmonton was incorporated as a town. The first mayor was Matthew McCauley, he quickly established the first school board in Edmonton and Board of Trade (later Chamber of Commerce) and a municipal police service. Due to mayor McCauley's good relationship with the federal Liberals this helped Edmonton to maintain political prominence over Strathcona, a town on the south banks of the North Saskatchewan River. Edmonton was incorporated as a city in 1904 and became the capital of Alberta in 1905.

Municipal representation

Edmonton is represented by a mayor and 12 councillors - one for each of the 12 wards. On July 22, 2009 City Council adopted an electoral system that divides Edmonton into 12 wards, instead of the previous two for each of six wards. This system came into effect with the most recent municipal election in October 2010.

Provincial representation

Edmonton is the capital of the province of Alberta and holds all main provincial areas of government such as the Provincial Legislature of Alberta. The Edmonton region is represented by 20 MLAs one for each provincial electoral district. Many of these boundaries have been changed, adjusted and renamed while the city has grown.

Economy

Edmonton is the major economic centre for northern and central Alberta and a major centre for the oil and gas industry. In its autumn 2007 Metropolitan Outlook, the Conference Board of Canada forecast that Edmonton's GDP for 2007 will be $44.1-billion (2007 dollars), a 3.6% increase over 2006. The Edmonton Economic Development Corporation estimated that as of January 2005, the total value of major projects under construction in northern Alberta was $81.5-billion, with $18.2-billion occurring within Greater Edmonton.

Edmonton traditionally has been a hub for Albertan petrochemical industries, earning it the nickname "Oil Capital of Canada" in the 1940s. Supply and service industries drive the energy extraction engine, while research develops new technologies and supports expanded value-added processing of Alberta's massive oil, gas, and oil sands reserves. These are reported to be the second-largest in the world, after Saudi Arabia.

Despite the apparent focus on oil and gas, Edmonton's economy is one of the most diverse in Canada. Major industrial sectors include a strong technology sector anchored by major employers such as IBM, Telus, Intuit Canada, Canadian Western Bank, BioWare, Matrikon, General Electric, and Stantec Inc. The associated biotech sector, with companies such as Afexa Life Sciences Inc. (formerly CV Technologies).

Much of the growth in technology sectors is due to Edmonton's reputation as one of Canada’s premier research and education centres. Research initiatives are anchored by educational institutions such as the University of Alberta as well as government initiatives underway at the Alberta Research Council and Edmonton Research Park. Recently, the National Institute for Nanotechnology was constructed on the University of Alberta campus.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Edmonton started to become a major financial centre, with both regional offices of Canada's major banks and locally based institutions opening. However, the turmoil of the late-1980s economy radically changed the situation. Locally based operations such as Principal Trust and Canadian Commercial Bank would fail, and some regional offices were moved to other cities. The 1990s saw a solidification of the economy, and Edmonton is now home to Canadian Western Bank, the only publicly traded Schedule I chartered bank headquarters west of Toronto. Other major financial centres include ATB Financial, Servus Credit Union (formerly Capital City Savings), TD Canada Trust and Manulife Financial.

Edmonton has been the birthplace of several companies that have grown to international stature, such as PCL Construction, Stantec Inc. and more recently, Capital Power Corporation. The local retail market has also seen the creation of many successful store concepts, such as The Brick, Katz Group, AutoCanada, Boston Pizza, Pizza 73, Liquor Stores GP (which includes Liquor Depot, Liquor Barn, OK Liquor, and Grapes & Grains), Planet Organic, Empire Design, Running Room, Booster Juice, Earl's, Fountain Tire and XS Cargo.

Edmonton's geographical location has made it an ideal spot for distribution and logistics. CN Rail's North American operational facility is located in the city, as well as a major intermodal facility that handles all incoming freight from the port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia.

Edmonton was judged to have the "best economic potential" of any North American city by the ''Financial Times'' publication, ''FDi magazine''. In a 2007 study, ''FDI'' placed Edmonton immediately ahead of Mississauga, Ontario; Charlotte, North Carolina; Tijuana, Mexico and Calgary among cities with populations between 500,000 and two million. Edmonton's economic potential, expanding infrastructure, human resources, cost effectiveness, and high standard of living place it in the No. 4 spot on FDi’s ''list of top-ten North American large cities.'' The survey also named Edmonton in the top-five large North American cities for business development and investment promotion. Edmonton is known for its exceptional environmental stewardship, strong life-science sector, and burgeoning high-tech industry economy.

Retail

Edmonton is home to several shopping malls, including Canada's first mall, Westmount Centre (still in operation but under redevelopment) and West Edmonton Mall, one of the world's largest malls and presently the largest in North America. Other malls include Bonnie Doon Shopping Centre, Edmonton City Centre (a combination of the former Edmonton Centre and Eaton Centre malls), Southgate Centre, Kingsway Mall, Northgate Centre, Abbotsfield Mall, Londonderry Mall, Capilano Mall, and Mill Woods Town Centre.

Edmonton also has many big box shopping centres and power centres. Some of the major ones include South Edmonton Common (North America's largest open air retail development), Skyview Power Centre, Terra Losa Centre, Oliver Park, Southpark Centre, The Meadows, Christy's Corner, and Westpoint. In 2008, construction started on the Windermere power centre.

In contrast to suburban centres, Edmonton has many urban retail locations. The largest of them all, Old Strathcona, includes many independent stores between 99 Street and 109th St on Whyte Avenue and area. In around the downtown of Edmonton, there are a small handful of shopping districts such as previously mentioned Edmonton City Centre mall, Jasper Avenue and 104 Street. Near Oliver, 124 Street is home to a significant amount of retail stores.

Edmonton is the Canadian testing-ground for many American retailers such as Bath & Body Works and Calvin Klein.

Culture

Many events are anchored in the downtown Arts District, centred around the recently renovated Churchill Square (named in honour of Sir Winston Churchill). On the south side of the river, the University district and Whyte Avenue contain theatres, concert halls, and various live music venues. Edmonton's current poet laureate is Mr. Roland Pemberton a.k.a. Mr. Cadence Weapon. The Francis Winspear Centre for Music was opened in 1997 after years of planning and fundraising. Described as one of the most acoustically perfect concert halls in Canada, it is home to the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and hosts a wide variety of shows every year. It seats 1,932 patrons and houses the $3-million Davis Concert Organ, the largest concert organ in Canada. An interesting aspect of the hall's design is its separation into acoustically separate areas that are insulated from each other through acoustical barriers built into the structure. Patrons and artists can see these in the form of double-door "sound locks." Across 102nd Avenue is the Citadel Theatre, named after The Salvation Army Citadel in which Joe Shoctor first started the Citadel Theatre Company in 1965. It is now one of the largest theatre complexes in Canada, with five halls, each specializing in different kinds of productions. For instance, the Maclab Theatre features a thrust stage surrounded by a U-shaped seating arrangement, while the Shoctor Theatre is a traditional stage setup.

On the University of Alberta grounds is the 2,534-seat Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, which recently went through a year of heavy renovations carried out as part of the province's centennial celebrations. Both it and its southern twin in Calgary were constructed in 1955 for the province's golden jubilee and have hosted many concerts, musicals, and ballets. The Edmonton Opera uses the Jubilee as its base of operations. On the front of the building is a quote from Suetonius' Life of Augustus: "He found a city built of brick—left it built of marble."

Old Strathcona is home to the Theatre District, which holds the Transalta Arts Barns (headquarters of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival), The Walterdale Playhouse, Catalyst Theatre, and the Varscona Theatre (base of operations for several theatre companies, including Teatro la Quindicina, Shadow Theatre, Rapid Fire Theatre, Die-Nasty, and Oh Susanna!). Edmonton was named cultural capital of Canada in 2007. Ukrainian Dnipro Ensemble of Edmonton, organized in 1953, preserves the Ukrainian musical culture within the parameters of the Canadian multicultural identity.

Edmonton is home to world famous Ukrainian Dance ensembles such as the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company and Shumka.

In 1917 the hadrosaur Edmontosaurus was named after the Edmonton Formation in Central Alberta, Edmontosaurus's name means "reptile from Edmonton".

Nightlife

There are several key areas of nightlife in the city of Edmonton. The most popular is the Whyte Avenue (82nd Avenue) strip, located between 109 Street and 99 Street; it has the highest number of heritage buildings in Edmonton. Once the heart of the town of Strathcona (annexed by Edmonton on February 1, 1912), it fell into disrepair during the middle of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1970s, a coordinated effort to revive the area through the establishment of a Business Revitalization Zone has produced an area rich with restored historical buildings and pleasant streetscapes. Its proximity to the University of Alberta has led to a high number of establishments ranging from restaurants and pubs to trendy clubs while hosting a wide variety of retail and specialty shops during the day. This area also contains two independent movie theatres: the Garneau and Princess theatres, as well as several live theatre, music, and comedy venues.

Downtown Edmonton has undergone a continual process of renewal and unprecedented growth since the mid-1990s. Many buildings were demolished during the oil boom, starting in the 1960s and continuing into the 1980s, to make way for office towers. As such, there have always been numerous pub-type establishments, as well as many hotel lounges and restaurants. The past decade has seen a strong resurgence in more mainstream venues. Edmonton also has a high demand for pub crawl tours in the city. Various clubs are also to be found along Edmonton's main street, Jasper Avenue. The Edmonton City Centre mall also houses an Empire Theatres movie theatre, featuring ten screens. The nonprofit ''Metro Cinema'' shows a variety of alternative or otherwise unreleased films every week.

West Edmonton Mall holds several after-hour establishments in addition to its many stores and attractions. Bourbon Street has numerous eating establishments; clubs and casinos can also be found within the complex. Scotiabank Theatre (formerly known as Silver City), at the west end of the mall, is a theatre that features twelve screens and an IMAX. The largest is the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM), which was formerly known as the Provincial Museum of Alberta until it was renamed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 2005 Alberta centennial visit. The RAM houses over 10 million objects in its collection and showcases the culture and practices of the diverse aboriginal tribes of the region. The main building, overlooking the river valley west of the city centre in the Glenora neighbourhood, was opened in 1967 and is now in the early stages of large-scale redevelopment.

The Telus World of Science is located in the Woodcroft neighbourhood northwest of the city centre. It opened in 1984 and has since been expanded several times. It contains five permanent galleries, one additional gallery for temporary exhibits, an IMAX theatre, a planetarium, an observatory, and an amateur radio station.

The Alberta Aviation Museum, located in a hangar at the City Centre Airport, was built for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Its collection includes both civilian and military aircraft, the largest of which are a Boeing 737 and two CF-101 Voodoos. It also has one of only 3 BOMARC missiles in Canada.

The Alberta Railway Museum is located in the rural northeast portion of the city. It contains a variety of locomotives and railroad cars from different periods, and includes a working steam locomotive. Since most of its exhibits are outdoors, it is only open between Victoria Day and Labour Day.

The Telephone Historical Centre is a telephone museum located in the historic Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in central Edmonton. In addition to a collection of artifacts tracing the history of the telephone, the museum has its own theatre featuring a brief film led by the robot Xeldon.

The Edmonton Valley Zoo is in the river valley to the southwest of the city centre.

The Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) is the city's largest single gallery. Formerly housed in an inconspicuous 1970s building downtown, the AGA collection had over 5,000 pieces of art. The former AGA building was demolished in July 2007 to make way for construction of a new facility designed by Randall Stout. It was estimated to cost over $88-million and the amount that Edmonton City Council donated towards its construction was met with some controversy. The AGA officially opened the weekend of January 30/31, 2010.

Independent galleries can be found throughout the city, especially along the 124 Street/Jasper Avenue corridor (known as the gallery walk).

Fort Edmonton Park, Canada's largest living history museum, is located in the river valley southwest of the city centre. Edmonton's heritage is displayed through historical buildings (many of which are originals moved to the park), costumed historical interpreters, and authentic artifacts. In total, it covers the region's history from approximately 1795 to 1929 (represented by Fort Edmonton), followed chronologically by 1885, 1905, and 1920 streets, and a recreation of a 1920s midway. A steam train, streetcars, automobiles and horse drawn vehicles may be seen in operation (and utilized by the public) around the park. It is open from Victoria Day until the end of September, with other themed events throughout the year.

The University of Alberta operates its own internal Museums and Collections service.

The John Walter Museum and Historical Area (c. 1875 to 1901) is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Festivals

Edmonton plays host to several large festivals each year, contributing to its local nickname, "The Festival City." Downtown Edmonton's Churchill Square host numerous festivals each summer. The Works Art & Design Festival, which takes place from late June to early July, showcases Canadian and international art and design from well-known award-winning artists as well as emerging and student artists. The Edmonton International Street Performer's Festival takes place in mid-July and showcases street performance artists from around the world.

Edmonton's main summer festival is Capital EX (formerly Klondike Days). Klondike Days (or K-Days) was originally an annual fair and exhibition that eventually adopted a gold rush theme. In early 2006, it was decided that the festival would be renamed "The Capital City Exhibition" ("Capital EX"). Activities include chuckwagon races, carnival rides and fairways, music, trade shows, and daily fireworks. Since 1960, the Sourdough Raft Races have also been a popular event. Later in November, Edmonton plays host to the Canadian Finals Rodeo and Farmfair; this is a significant event in Canada's rodeo circuit and second only to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in prestige.

The Edmonton International Fringe Festival, which takes place in mid-August, is the largest fringe theatre festival in North America and second only to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival worldwide. In August, Edmonton is also host to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, one of the most successful and popular folk music festivals in North America. Another major summer festival is the Edmonton Heritage Festival, which is an ethnocultural festival that takes place in Hawrelak Park on the Heritage Day long weekend. Many other festivals exist, such as the Free Will Shakespeare Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Whyte Avenue Art Walk, and the Edmonton International Film Festival.

Music

Edmonton is home to a thriving music scene. Along with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, notable past and present local musicians include Tommy Banks, Cadence Weapon, Captain Tractor, Five O'Clock Charlie, Kreesha Turner, Mad Bomber Society, The Mark Birtles Project, P.J. Perry, The Smalls, SNFU, Social Code, Stereos, Ten Second Epic, Tupelo Honey, Christian Hansen & The Autistics, Hot Panda, Shout Out Out Out Out, and numerous others.

Sports and recreation

Edmonton has multiple professional sports teams, including the Edmonton Grads, Edmonton Eskimos, Edmonton Oilers, Edmonton Capitals, and Edmonton Oil Kings. Edmonton's sports teams have substantial rivalries with Calgary's sports teams. The primary professional sports facilities are the Commonwealth Stadium, Telus Field, and Rexall Place.

Among the numerous minor-league teams in the city are the Edmonton Capitals, the city's 13th baseball franchise since 1884. Local rugby players compete in the Rugby Canada Super League with the Edmonton Gold. Also, the city hosts the Edmonton Rush National Lacrosse League team, which plays out of Rexall Place. Edmonton is also home to the Edmonton Energy, a minor-league basketball team which plays in the International Basketball League. All Edmonton Energy home games are played at the Universiade Pavilion. In addition to the minor-league teams, Edmonton also has very successful university-level sports teams, including the U of A Golden Bears, the U of A Pandas, the NAIT Ooks, and the Grant MacEwan Griffins. The city was host to the 2010 Canadian National Debating Championship.

Edmonton hosted the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1983 World University Games (Universiade), the 2001 World Championships in Athletics, the 2002 World Ringette Championships, and the 2005 World Master Games. In 2006, it played host to the Women's Rugby World Cup, and in the summer of 2007, Edmonton hosted the FIFA U-20 World Cup (the third-largest sporting event in the world) as well as the CN Canadian Women's Open.

Starting in 2005, Edmonton has also hosted an annual circuit on the Indy Racing League known as the Edmonton Indy (formerly the Grand Prix of Edmonton). In addition, Castrol Raceway brought sprint cars and a national IHRA event to their facility, next to Edmonton International Airport. The city also has a roller derby league, the Oil City Derbygirls.

{| style="background:none" |- |+Current professional sports teams |- style="background:gainsboro;" | style="width:130px;"| ''Club'' | style="width:130px;"| ''Type'' | style="width:240px;"| ''League'' | style="width:200px;"| ''Venue'' | style="width:50px; text-align:center;"| ''Established'' | style="width:20px; text-align:center;"| ''Championships'' |- | Edmonton Eskimos | Canadian football | Canadian Football League | Commonwealth Stadium | style="text-align:center;"| 1949 | style="text-align:center;"| 13 |- | Edmonton Oilers | Ice hockey | National Hockey League | Rexall Place | style="text-align:center;"| 1972 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 |- | Edmonton Capitals | Baseball | North American League | Telus Field | style="text-align:center;"| 2005 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |- | Edmonton Rush | Indoor lacrosse | National Lacrosse League | Rexall Place | style="text-align:center;"| 2005 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |- | Edmonton Energy | Basketball | International Basketball League | Universiade Pavilion | style="text-align:center;"| 2008 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |- | FC Edmonton | Soccer | North American Soccer League | Foote Field | style="text-align:center;"| 2010 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |}

{| style="background:none" |- |+Current amateur and junior clubs |- style="background:gainsboro;" | style="width:130px;"| ''Club'' | style="width:130px;"| ''Type'' | style="width:240px;"| ''League'' | style="width:200px;"| ''Venue'' | style="width:50px; text-align:center;"| ''Established'' | style="width:20px; text-align:center;"| ''Championships'' |- | Edmonton Huskies | Canadian football | Canadian Junior Football League | Clarke Stadium | style="text-align:center;"| 1947 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 |- | Edmonton Wildcats | Canadian football | Canadian Junior Football League | Clarke Stadium | style="text-align:center;"| 1948 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 |- | Edmonton Chimos | Ice hockey | Western Women's Hockey League | River Cree Resort Twin Arena / Jubilee Recreation Centre | style="text-align:center;"| 1973 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |- | Edmonton Gold | Rugby union | Rugby Canada Super League | Ellerslie Rugby Park | style="text-align:center;"| 1998 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |- | Edmonton WAM! | Ringette | National Ringette League | Callingwood Twin Arena | style="text-align:center;"| 2001 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 |- | Edmonton Stallions | Canadian football | Alberta Football League | Foote Field | style="text-align:center;"| 2001 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 |- | Edmonton Prospects | Baseball | Western Major Baseball League | John Fry Park | style="text-align:center;"| 2005 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |- | Edmonton Drillers | Indoor soccer | Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League | Servus Credit Union Place (St. Albert) | style="text-align:center;"| 2006 | style="text-align:center;"| 1 |- | Edmonton Oil Kings | Ice hockey | Western Hockey League | Rexall Place | style="text-align:center;"| 2007 | style="text-align:center;"| 0 |}

Education

K–12

Edmonton has three publicly funded school boards (districts) that provide kindergarten and grades 1–12. The vast majority of students attend schools in the two large English language boards: Edmonton Public Schools, and the separate Edmonton Catholic School District. Also, since 1994, the Francophone minority community has had their own school board based in Edmonton, the Greater North Central Francophone Education Region No. 2, which includes surrounding communities. Most recently, the city has seen a small number of public charter schools open, independent of any board. All three school boards and public charter schools are funded through provincial grants and property taxes.

Some private schools exist as well, including Edmonton Academy and Tempo School. The Edmonton Society for Christian Education and Millwoods Christian School (not part of the former) used to be private schools; however, both have become part of Edmonton Public Schools as alternative programs.

Both the Edmonton Public Schools and the Edmonton Catholic School District provide support and resources for those wishing to homeschool their children.

Post secondary

Edmonton has become one of Canada's major educational centres, with more than 60,000 full time postsecondary students spread over several institutions and campuses (total enrollment among the schools is as high as 170,000, which includes students enrolled in multiple institutions).

The University of Alberta (known colloquially as the U of A), whose main campus is situated on the south side of Edmonton's river valley, is a board-governed public institution with annual revenue of one billion dollars. About 36,000 students are served in more than 200 undergraduate programs and 170 graduate programs. The main campus consists of more than ninety buildings on 890,000 square metres (220 acres) of land, with buildings dating back to the university's establishment in 1908. It is also home to Canada's second-largest research library, which ranks first in volumes per student, with over 10 million (in 2005) and subscriptions to 13,000 full-text electronic journals and 500 electronic databases. Grant MacEwan University enrolls 40,791 students in programs offering career diplomas, university transfers, and bachelor's degrees;

Other universities within the borders of Edmonton include Athabasca University, Concordia University College of Alberta, The King's University College, Taylor University College and Seminary, and the Edmonton campus of the University of Lethbridge.

Other Edmonton post-secondary institutions include the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), with 48,500 students enrolled in 190 technical, vocational, and apprenticeship programs; and NorQuest College, with 11,300 students, specializing in short courses in skills and academic upgrading. Edmonton is also home to the Antarctic Institute of Canada.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Air

Edmonton is a major air transportation gateway to northern Alberta and northern Canada. The Edmonton International Airport (EIA) and Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA) are the two airports serving the city.

The EIA, being the larger of the two airports, provides passenger service to destinations in the United States, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The EIA is located within Leduc County, adjacent to the City of Leduc and the Nisku Industrial Business Park.

The ECCA is a general aviation facility (since air services consolidation in 1995) and the only airport located within the city limits. The ECCA is home to a variety of aviation companies with key markets in northern Alberta. Edmonton Airports is working to establish a major container shipping hub called Port Alberta.

Rail

Edmonton serves as a major transportation hub for Canadian National Railway, whose North American operations management centre is located at their Edmonton offices. It is also tied into the Canadian Pacific Railway network, which provides service from Calgary to the south and extends northeast of Edmonton to serve Alberta's Industrial Heartland.

Inter-city rail passenger rail service is operated by Via Rail from the Edmonton railway station to Jasper National Park, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia.

Public transit

The Edmonton Transit System is the city's main public transit agency, operating the Edmonton Light Rail Transit (LRT) line as well as a large fleet of buses. Approximately 34% of people in the Edmonton Capital Region (mostly from Edmonton proper) use ETS per day (354,440 out of 1,034,945 ). There are approximately 280,000 bus riders on average per day using Edmonton Transit System.

From the 1990s to early 2009, Edmonton was one of two cities in Canada still operating trolleybuses, along with Vancouver. On June 18, 2008, City Council decided to abandon the system and the last trolleybus ran on May 2, 2009.

Scheduled LRT service began on April 23, 1978, with five extensions of the single line completed since. The original Edmonton line is considered to be the first "modern" light rail line in North America (i.e., built from scratch, rather than being an upgrade of an old system). It introduced the use of German-designed rolling stock that subsequently became the standard light rail vehicle of the United States. The four-year South LRT extension was opened in full on April 24, 2010, which sees trains travelling to Century Park (located at 23 Avenue and 111 Street), making stops at South Campus and Southgate Centre along the way. Edmonton is also looking into plans to expand LRT to Mill Woods and the West side by 2016 using low floor technology, along with a line to NAIT in north-central Edmonton using the high floor style present in the current line by 2014.

Roads

A largely gridded system forms most of Edmonton's street and road network. The address system is mostly numbered, with streets running south to north and avenues running east to west. In built-up areas built since the 1950s, local streets and major roadways generally do not conform to the grid system. Major roadways include Yellowhead Trail (Alberta Highway 16) and Whitemud Drive, and the city is connected to other communities elsewhere in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan via the Yellowhead Highway to the west and east and the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (Alberta Highway 2) to the south.

Trail system

There is an extensive multi-use trail system for bicycles and pedestrians throughout the city; however, most of this is within the river valley parkland system.

Waste disposal

The Edmonton Composting Facility, the largest of its type in the world, is also the largest stainless steel building in North America. By 2013, the city anticipates that it will divert more than 90% of the city's household waste from the landfills. Among the innovative uses for the city's waste includes a Christmas tree recycling program. The trees are collected each January and put through a woodchipper; this material is used as an addition to the composting process. In addition, the wood chips absorb much of the odour produced by the compost by providing a biofilter element to trap odour causing gaseous results of the process.

Together, the Waste Management Centre and Wastewater Treatment plant are known as the Edmonton Waste Management Centre of Excellence. Research partners include the University of Alberta, the Alberta Research Council, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and Olds College.

Electricity and water distribution systems

Edmonton's first power company established itself in 1891 and installed streetlights along the city's main avenue, Jasper Avenue. The power company was bought by the Town of Edmonton in 1902 and remains under municipal ownership today as EPCOR. Also in charge of water treatment, in 2002 EPCOR installed the world's largest ultraviolet (UV) water treatment or ultraviolet disinfection system at its E.L. Smith Water Treatment Plant.

Health care

There are four main hospitals serving Edmonton: University of Alberta Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Misericordia Community Hospital, and Grey Nuns Community Hospital. Other area hospitals include Sturgeon Community Hospital in St. Albert, Leduc Community Hospital in Leduc, Westview Health Centre in Stony Plain, and Fort Saskatchewan Health Centre in Fort Saskatchewan. Dedicated psychiatric care is provided at the Alberta Hospital. The Northeast Community Health Centre offers a 24-hour emergency room with no inpatient ward services. The University of Alberta Hospital is the centre of a larger complex of hospitals and clinics located adjacent to the university campus which comprises the Stollery Children's Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, Cross Cancer Institute, Zeidler Gastrointestinal Health Centre, Ledcor Clinical Training Centre, and Edmonton Clinic, which is currently under construction. Several health research institutes, including the Heritage Medical Research Centre, Medical Sciences Building, Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, and Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation, are also located at this site. A similar set-up is also evident at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, which is connected to the Lois Hole Hospital for Women and Orthopaedic Surgery Centre. All hospitals are under the administration of Alberta Health Services, although Misericordia and Grey Nuns are run separately by the Covenant Health.

Military

Edmonton is home to 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG), the Regular Force army brigade group of Land Force Western Area of the Canadian Forces Land Force Command. Units in 1 CMBG include Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians); 1 Combat Engineer Regiment; two of the three regular force battalions of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry; and various headquarters, service, and support elements. Although not part of 1 CMBG, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and 1 Field Ambulance are located with the brigade group; all of these units are located at Lancaster Park, immediately north of the city. From 1943, as CFB Namao (now CFB Edmonton/Edmonton Garrison), it was a major air force base, and in 1996, the aviation units were transferred to CFB Cold Lake.

The Canadian Airborne Training Centre had been located in the city in the 1980s. The move of 1 CMBG and component units from Calgary occurred in 1996 in what was described as a cost-saving measure. The brigade had existed in Calgary since the 1950s, and Lord Strathcona's Horse had traditionally been a Calgary garrison unit dating back to before the First World War.

Edmonton also has a large army reserve element from 41 Canadian Brigade Group (41 CBG), including The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4th Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry); 41 Combat Engineer Regiment; HQ Battery, 20th Field Artillery Regiment; and B Squadron of The South Alberta Light Horse, one of Alberta's oldest army reserve units. Despite being far from Canada's coasts, Edmonton is also the home of HMCS ''Nonsuch'', a Naval Reserve division. There are numerous cadet corps of the different elements (Sea, Army and Air Force) within Edmonton as well.

Media

Edmonton has nine local broadcast television stations shown on basic cable TV or over-the-air, with Global Edmonton and Citytv Edmonton being the only stations in HD which can be viewed over-the-air or from BDUs. The cable television providers in Edmonton are Telus (for IPTV) and Shaw Cable. Previously, network programming from the United States was received on cable via affiliates from Spokane, Washington, but local viewers now have more choice, given the advances with cable or satellite television that are now being offered as digital or HD (high definition) service. Broadcasts from both eastern and western locations in the United States can be viewed.

Twenty-one FM and eight AM radio stations are based in Edmonton.

Edmonton has two large-circulation daily newspapers, the ''Edmonton Journal'' and the ''Edmonton Sun''. Other city-wide weekday publications include ''Metro'' and ''24 Hours''. ''See Magazine'' and ''Vue Weekly'' are both published on a weekly basis. The ''Edmonton Examiner'' is a city-wide community based paper also published weekly. There are also a number of smaller weekly and community newspapers.

Sister cities

Edmonton has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: Gatineau, Canada, since 1967 Harbin, China, since 1985 Nashville, United States, since 1990 Wonju, South Korea, 1998

See also

List of communities in Alberta

List of cities in Alberta

List of mayors of Edmonton

List of people from Edmonton

List of attractions and landmarks in Edmonton

List of tallest buildings in Edmonton

Notes

Further reading

External links

Edmonton Municipal Government site

Edmonton Travel Guide @ WikiTravel

Move2Edmonton.com

Category:Host cities of the Commonwealth Games Category:Populated places established in 1795 Category:Populated places established in 1904 Category:Hudson's Bay Company trading posts

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Native name	Canada
Common name	Canada
Alt flag	Vertical triband (red, white, red) with a red maple leaf in the centre of the white
Image coat	Coat of arms of Canada.svg
Alt coat	A shield divided into four rectangles over a triangle. The first rectangle contains three lions passant guardant in gold on a red background; the second, a red lion rampant on a gold background; the third, a gold harp on a blue background; the fourth, three gold fleurs-de-lis on a blue background. The triangle contains three red maple leaves on a white background. A gold helmet sits on top of the shield, upon which is a crowned lion holding a red maple leaf, with a larger crown over its head. On the right is a lion rampant flying the Union Flag. On the left is a unicorn flying a blue flag with three fleurs-de-lis. Both animals hold a red ribbon that goes around the shield, which says "desiderantes meliorem patriam". Below is a blue scroll inscribed "A mari usque ad mare" on a wreath of flowers.
National motto	(Latin)"From Sea to Sea"
National anthem	"O Canada"
Royal anthem	"God Save the Queen"
Alt map	Projection of North America with Canada in green
Map width	220px
Capital	Ottawa
Largest city	Toronto
Official languages	English and French
Regional languages	Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, Cree, , Gwich’in, Inuvialuktun, Slavey and
Demonym	Canadian
Government type	Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Leader title1	Monarch
Leader name1	Elizabeth II
Leader title2	Governor General
Leader name2	David Johnston
Leader title3	Prime Minister
Leader name3	Stephen Harper
Legislature	Parliament
Upper house	Senate
Lower house	House of Commons
Sovereignty type	Establishment
Established event1	British North America Acts
Established date1	July 1, 1867
Established event2	Statute of Westminster
Established date2	December 11, 1931
Established event3	Canada Act
Established date3	April 17, 1982
Area km2	9,984,670
Area sq mi	3,854,085
Area rank	2nd
Area magnitude	1 E12
Percent water	8.92 (891,163 km2/344,080 mi2)
Population estimate	}}

|population_estimate_year = 2011 |population_estimate_rank = 36th |population_census = 32,623,490 |population_census_year = 2006 |population_density_km2 = 3.41 |population_density_sq_mi = 8.3 |population_density_rank = 228th |GDP_PPP_year = 2010 |GDP_PPP = $1.330 trillion |GDP_PPP_rank = |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $39,057 |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = |GDP_nominal = $1.574 trillion |GDP_nominal_rank = |GDP_nominal_year = 2010 |GDP_nominal_per_capita = $46,215 |GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = |HDI_year = 2010 |HDI = 0.888 |HDI_rank = 8th |HDI_category = very high |Gini = 32.1 |Gini_category = medium |Gini_year = 2005 |currency = Canadian dollar ($) |currency_code = CAD |time_zone = |utc_offset = −3.5 to −8 |time_zone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = −2.5 to −7 |date_format = dd-mm-yyyy, mm-dd-yyyy, ''and'' yyyy-mm-dd (CE) |drives_on = Right |cctld = .ca |calling_code = +1 |footnotes = Canada portal }} Canada () is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world.

The land that is now Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.

Canada is a federal state that is governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. One of the world's highly developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the G7, G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, Commonwealth of Nations, Francophonie, OAS, APEC, and UN. With the eighth-highest Human Development Index globally, it has one of the highest standards of living in the world.

History

Etymology

The name ''Canada'' comes from a St. Lawrence Iroquoian word, ''kanata'', meaning "village" or "settlement". In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier later used the word ''Canada'' to refer not only to that particular village, but also the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this region as ''Canada''.

In the 17th and early 18th century, Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the Saint Lawrence River and the northern shores of the Great Lakes. The area was later split into two British colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada. They were re-unified as the Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, the name ''Canada'' was adopted as the legal name for the new country, and ''Dominion'' (a term from Psalm 72:8) was conferred as the country's title. As Canada asserted its political autonomy from the United Kingdom, the federal government increasingly used simply ''Canada'' on state documents and treaties, a change that was reflected in the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day in 1982.

Aboriginal peoples

Archaeological and genetic studies support a human presence in the northern Yukon from 26,500 years ago, and in southern Ontario from 9,500 years ago. Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the earliest archaeological sites of human (Paleo-Indians) habitation in Canada. Among the First Nations peoples, there are eight unique creation myths and their adaptations. The characteristics of Canadian Aboriginal societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks. Some of these cultures had faded by the time of the first permanent European arrivals (c. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and have been discovered through archaeological investigations.

The aboriginal population is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million in the late 15th century, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Health. Repeated outbreaks of European infectious diseases such as influenza, measles, and smallpox (to which they had no natural immunity), combined with other effects of European contact, resulted in a forty to eighty percent aboriginal population decrease post-contact. Aboriginal peoples in Canada include the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. The Métis are a mixed-blood people who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nation and Inuit married European settlers. The Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during the colonization period.

European colonization

European colonization began when Norsemen settled briefly at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland around 1000. No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when Italian seafarer John Cabot explored Canada's Atlantic coast for England. Basque and Portuguese mariners established seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast. In 1534 Jacques Cartier explored the Saint Lawrence River for France. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed St. John's, Newfoundland as the first North American English colony by royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent European settlements at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608. Among French colonists of New France, ''Canadiens'' extensively settled the Saint Lawrence River valley and Acadians settled the present-day Maritimes, while fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi watershed to Louisiana. The Beaver Wars broke out over control of the North American fur trade.

The English established additional colonies in Cupids and Ferryland, Newfoundland beginning in 1610 and soon after founded the Thirteen Colonies to the south. A series of four French and Indian Wars erupted between 1689 and 1763. Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713); the Treaty of Paris (1763) ceded Canada and most of New France to Britain after the Seven Years' War.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 carved the Province of Quebec out of New France and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia. St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island) became a separate colony in 1769. To avert conflict in Quebec, the British passed the Quebec Act of 1774, expanding Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. It re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law there. This angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies and helped to fuel the American Revolution.

The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. New Brunswick was split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes. To accommodate English-speaking Loyalists in Quebec, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province into French-speaking Lower Canada (later Quebec) and English-speaking Upper Canada (later Ontario), granting each its own elected legislative assembly.

The Canadas were the main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain. Following the war, large-scale immigration to Canada from Britain and Ireland began in 1815. From 1825 to 1846, 626,628 European immigrants landed at Canadian ports. Between one-quarter and one-third of all Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891 died of infectious diseases.

The desire for responsible government resulted in the aborted Rebellions of 1837. The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture. The Act of Union 1840 merged The Canadas into a united Province of Canada. Responsible government was established for all British North American provinces by 1849. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute, extending the border westward along the 49th parallel. This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858).

Confederation and expansion

Following several constitutional conferences, the Constitution Act, 1867 officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to form the Northwest Territories, where the Métis' grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion and the creation of the province of Manitoba in July 1870. British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which had united in 1866) and Prince Edward Island joined the Confederation in 1871 and 1873, respectively. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and his Conservative government established a National Policy of tariffs to protect nascent Canadian manufacturing industries.

To open the West, the government sponsored construction of three transcontinental railways (including the Canadian Pacific Railway), opened the prairies to settlement with the Dominion Lands Act, and established the North-West Mounted Police to assert its authority over this territory. In 1898, after the Klondike Gold Rush in the Northwest Territories, the Canadian government created the Yukon Territory. Under Liberal Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, continental European immigrants settled the prairies, and Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905.

Early 20th century

Because Britain still maintained control of Canada's foreign affairs under the Confederation Act, its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into World War I. Volunteers sent to the Western Front later became part of the Canadian Corps. The Corps played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other major battles of the war. Out of approximately 625,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 173,000 were wounded. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden brought in compulsory military service over the objection of French-speaking Quebecers. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain and, the Statute of Westminster 1931 affirmed Canada's independence.

The Great Depression brought economic hardship throughout Canada. In response, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Alberta and Saskatchewan enacted many measures of a welfare state (as pioneered by Tommy Douglas) into the 1940s and 1950s. Canada declared war on Germany independently during World War II under Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, three days after Britain. The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939.

Canadian troops played important roles in the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid, the Allied invasion of Italy, the Normandy landings, the Battle of Normandy, and the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Canada provided asylum and protection for the monarchy of the Netherlands while that country was occupied, and is credited by the country for leadership and major contributions to its liberation from Nazi Germany. The Canadian economy boomed as industry manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China, and the Soviet Union. Despite another Conscription Crisis in Quebec, Canada finished the war with a large army and strong economy.

Modern times

Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) joined Canada in 1949. Canada's post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to the emergence of a new Canadian identity, marked by the adoption of the current Maple Leaf Flag in 1965, the implementation of official bilingualism (English and French) in 1969, and official multiculturalism in 1971. There was also the founding of socially democratic programmes, such as Medicare, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada Student Loans, though provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions. Finally, another series of constitutional conferences resulted in the 1982 patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 1999, Nunavut became Canada's third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government.

At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a modern nationalist movement. The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis in 1970. The sovereignist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976 and organized an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through the Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990. This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada in the West. A second referendum followed in 1995, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of just 50.6 to 49.4 percent. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional, and the Clarity Act was passed by parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation.

In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history; the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students; and the Oka Crisis in 1990, the first of a number of violent confrontations between the government and Aboriginal groups. Canada also joined the Gulf War in 1990 as part of a US-led coalition force, and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the late 1990s. It sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001, but declined to send forces to Iraq when the US invaded in 2003.

Geography

Canada occupies a major northern portion of North America, sharing the land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean. By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. By land area, Canada ranks fourth.

The country lies between latitudes 41° and 84°N, and longitudes 52° and 141°W. Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141°W longitude, but this claim is not universally recognized. The northernmost settlement in Canada (and in the world) is Canadian Forces Station Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island—latitude 82.5°N—817 kilometres (450 nautical miles, 508 miles) from the North Pole. Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost. Canada also has the longest coastline in the world: .

Since the last glacial period Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield. Canada has more lakes than any other country, containing much of the world's fresh water. There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and the Coast Mountains. Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes, notably Mount Meager, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley, and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex. The volcanic eruption of Tseax Cone in 1775 caused a catastrophic disaster, killing 2,000 Nisga'a people and destroying their village in the Nass River valley of northern British Columbia; the eruption produced a lava flow, and according to legend of the Nisga'a people, it blocked the flow of the Nass River.

The population density, , is among the lowest in the world. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, situated in Southern Quebec and Southern Ontario along the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River.

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary according to the location. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F) but can drop below with severe wind chills. In noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground almost six months of the year (more in the north). Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from , with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding .

Government and politics

Canada has strong democratic traditions upheld through a parliamentary system within the construct of constitutional monarchy; the monarchy of Canada is the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II, who also serves as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth countries and each of Canada's ten provinces and resides predominantly in the United Kingdom. As such, the Queen's representative, the Governor General of Canada (presently David Lloyd Johnston), carries out most of the federal royal duties in Canada.

The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in areas of governance is limited; in practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons and chosen and headed by the Prime Minister of Canada (presently Stephen Harper), the head of government. To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the person who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is thus one of the most powerful institutions in government, initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by the Crown, besides the aforementioned, the governor general, lieutenant governors, senators, federal court judges, and heads of Crown corporations and government agencies. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition (presently Nycole Turmel) and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.

Each of the 308 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district or riding. General elections must be called by the governor general, on the advice of the prime minister, within four years of the previous election, or may be triggered by the government losing a confidence vote in the House. The 105 members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75. Five parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament in the 2011 elections: the Conservative Party of Canada (governing party), the New Democratic Party (the Official Opposition), the Liberal Party of Canada, the Bloc Québécois, and the Green Party of Canada. The list of historical parties with elected representation is substantial.

Canada's federal structure divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the ten provinces. Provincial legislatures are unicameral and operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the House of Commons. Canada's three territories also have legislatures, but these are not sovereign and have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces and with some structural differences.

Law

The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of the country, and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act, 1867 (known as the British North America Act prior to 1982) affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments; the Statute of Westminster 1931 granted full autonomy; and the Constitution Act, 1982, ended all legislative ties to the UK, added a constitutional amending formula, and added the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be overridden by any government—though a notwithstanding clause allows the federal parliament and provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter for a period of five years.

Although not without conflict, European Canadians' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. Combined with Canada's late economic development in many regions, this peaceful history has allowed Canadian Indigenous peoples to have a relatively strong influence on the national culture while preserving their own identity. The Crown and Aboriginal peoples began interactions during the European colonialization period. Numbered Treaties, the Indian Act, the Constitution Act of 1982, and case laws were established. A series of eleven treaties were signed between Aboriginals in Canada and the reigning Monarch of Canada from 1871 to 1921. These treaties are agreements with the Government of Canada administered by Canadian Aboriginal law and overseen by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The role of the treaties was reaffirmed by Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982, which "recognizes and affirms existing Aboriginal and treaty rights". These rights may include provision of services such as health care, and exemption from taxation. The legal and policy framework within which Canada and First Nations operate was further formalized in 2005, through the First Nations–Federal Crown Political Accord.

Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter and has been led by the Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, P.C. (the first female Chief Justice) since 2000. Its nine members are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are appointed after consultation with nongovernmental legal bodies. The federal cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts at the provincial and territorial levels.

Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is a provincial responsibility, but in rural areas of all provinces except Ontario and Quebec, policing is contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Foreign relations and military

Canada and the United States share the world's longest undefended border, co-operate on military campaigns and exercises, and are each other's largest trading partner. Canada nevertheless has an independent foreign policy, most notably maintaining full relations with Cuba and declining to officially participate in the Iraq War. Canada also maintains historic ties to the United Kingdom and France and to other former British and French colonies through Canada's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and the Francophonie. Canada is noted for having a positive relationship with the Netherlands, owing, in part, to its contribution to the Dutch liberation.

Canada currently employs a professional, volunteer military force of over 67,000 regular and approximately 43,000 reserve personnel including supplementary reserves. The unified Canadian Forces (CF) comprise the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Canadian Air Force.

Strong attachment to the British Empire and Commonwealth led to major participation in British military efforts in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. Since then, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to resolve global issues in collaboration with other nations. Canada was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and of NATO in 1949. During the Cold War, Canada was a major contributor to UN forces in the Korean War and founded the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in cooperation with the United States to defend against potential aerial attacks from the Soviet Union.

During the Suez Crisis of 1956, future Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson eased tensions by proposing the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, for which he was awarded the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize. As this was the first UN peacekeeping mission, Pearson is often credited as the inventor of the concept. Canada has since served in 50 peacekeeping missions, including every UN peacekeeping effort until 1989, and has since maintained forces in international missions in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere; Canada has sometimes faced controversy over its involvement in foreign countries, notably in the 1993 Somalia Affair.

Canada joined the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1990 and hosted the OAS General Assembly in Windsor, Ontario, in June 2000 and the third Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April 2001. Canada seeks to expand its ties to Pacific Rim economies through membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC).

In 2001, Canada had troops deployed to Afghanistan as part of the U.S. stabilization force and the UN-authorized, NATO-commanded International Security Assistance Force. Starting in July 2011, Canada began withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. The mission had cost 157 soldiers, one diplomat, two aid workers, and one journalist their lives, with an approximate cost of C$11.3 billion Canada and the U.S. continue to integrate state and provincial agencies to strengthen security along the Canada-United States border through the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

In February 2007, Canada, Italy, Britain, Norway, and Russia announced their funding commitments to launch a $1.5 billion project to help develop vaccines they said could save millions of lives in poor nations, and called on others to join them. In August 2007, Canada's territorial claims in the Arctic were challenged after a Russian underwater expedition to the North Pole; Canada has considered that area to be sovereign territory since 1925. In July 2010 the largest purchase in Canadian military history, totaling C$9 billion for the acquisition of 65 F-35 fighters was announced by the federal government.

Provinces and territories

Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories. In turn, these may be grouped into regions: Western Canada, Central Canada, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Canada (Eastern Canada refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together). Provinces have more autonomy than territories. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the Canada Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these, but rarely do so in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.

Economy

Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high per-capita income. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G8, and is one of the world's top ten trading nations. Canada is a mixed economy, ranking above the U.S. and most western European nations on the Heritage Foundation's index of economic freedom. The largest foreign importers of Canadian goods are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

In the past century, the growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to a more industrial and urban one. Like other First World nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians. Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of its primary sector, in which the logging and petroleum industries are two of the most important.

Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy. Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas, and Alberta has large oil and gas resources. The immense Athabasca oil sands give Canada the world's second-largest oil reserves, behind Saudi Arabia.

Canada is one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important producers of wheat, canola, and other grains. Canada is the largest producer of zinc and uranium, and is a global source of many other natural resources, such as gold, nickel, aluminum, and lead. Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustainable because of nearby mines or sources of timber. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.

Economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since World War II. The Automotive Products Trade Agreement of 1965 opened the borders to trade in the auto manufacturing industry. In the 1970s, concerns over energy self-sufficiency and foreign ownership in the manufacturing sectors prompted Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government to enact the National Energy Program (NEP) and the Foreign Investment Review Agency (FIRA).

In the 1980s, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives abolished the NEP and changed the name of FIRA to "Investment Canada" in order to encourage foreign investment. The Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries, while the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) expanded the free-trade zone to include Mexico in the 1990s. In the mid-1990s, the Liberal government under Jean Chrétien began to post annual budgetary surpluses and steadily paid down the national debt. The global financial crisis of 2008 caused a recession, which could increase the country's unemployment rate to 10 percent. In 2008, Canada's imported goods were worth over $442.9 billion, of which $280.8 billion was from the United States, $11.7 billion from Japan, and $11.3 billion from the United Kingdom. The country’s 2009 trade deficit totaled C$4.8 billion, compared with a C$46.9 billion surplus in 2008.

As of October 2009, Canada's national unemployment rate was 8.6 percent. Provincial unemployment rates vary from a low of 5.8 percent in Manitoba to a high of 17 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador. Between October 2008, and October 2010, the Canadian labour market lost 162,000 full-time jobs and a total of 224,000 permanent jobs. Canada's federal debt is estimated to be $566.7 billion for 2010–11, up from $463.7 billion in 2008–09. Canada’s net foreign debt rose by $41-billion to $194-billion in the first quarter of 2010.

Science and technology

Canada is an industrial nation with a highly developed science and technology sector. Nearly 1.88 percent of Canada's GDP is allocated to research & development (R&D). The country has ten Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine. Canada ranks twelfth in the world for Internet usage with 28.0 million users, 84.3 percent of the total population.

The Canadian Space Agency conducts space, planetary, and aviation research, and develops rockets and satellites. In 1984, Marc Garneau became Canada's first astronaut, serving as payload specialist of STS-41-G. Canada was ranked third among 20 top countries in space sciences. Canada is a participant in the International Space Station and one of the world's pioneers in space robotics with the Canadarm, Canadarm2 and Dextre. Since the 1960s, Canada Aerospace Industries have designed and built 10 satellites, including Radarsat-1, Radarsat-2 and MOST. Canada also produced one of the most successful sounding rockets, the Black Brant; over 1000 have been launched since they were initially produced in 1961. Universities across Canada are working on the first domestic landing spacecraft: the Northern Light, designed to search for life on Mars and investigate Martian electromagnetic radiation environment and atmospheric properties. If the Northern Light is successful, Canada will be the third country to land on another planet.

Demographics

The Canada 2006 Census counted a total population of 31,612,897, an increase of 5.4 percent since 2001. Population growth is from immigration and, to a lesser extent, natural growth. About four-fifths of Canada's population lives within of the United States border. The majority of Canadians (approximately 80%) live in urban areas concentrated in the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, the BC Lower Mainland, and the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor in Alberta. In common with many other developed countries, Canada is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2006, the average age of the population was 39.5 years.

According to the 2006 census, the largest self-reported ethnic origin is Canadian (32%), followed by English (21%), French (15.8%), Scottish (15.1%), Irish (13.9%), German (10.2%), Italian (4.6%), Chinese (4.3%), First Nations (4.0%), Ukrainian (3.9%), and Dutch (3.3%). There are 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands encompassing 1,172,790 people.

Canada's Aboriginal population is growing at almost twice the national rate, and 3.8 percent of Canada's population claimed aboriginal identity in 2006. Another 16.2 percent of the population belonged to a non-aboriginal visible minority. The largest visible minority groups in Canada are South Asian (4.0%), Chinese (3.9%) and Black (2.5%). Between 2001 and 2006, the visible minority population rose by 27.2 percent. In 1961, less than two percent of Canada's population (about 300,000 people) could be classified as belonging to a visible minority group and less than 1% as aboriginal. As of 2007, almost one in five Canadians (19.8%) were foreign-born. Nearly 60 percent of new immigrants come from Asia (including the Middle East). The leading emigrating countries to Canada were China, Philippines and India. By 2031, one in three Canadians could belong to a visible minority group.

Canada has one of the highest per-capita immigration rates in the world, driven by economic policy and family reunification, and is aiming for between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents in 2011, the same number of immigrants as in recent years. New immigrants settle mostly in major urban areas like Toronto and Vancouver. Canada also accepts large numbers of refugees. The country resettles over one in 10 of the world’s refugees.

According to the 2001 census, 77.1 percent of Canadians identify as being Christians; of this, Catholics make up the largest group (43.6% of Canadians). The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada (9.5% of Canadians), followed by the Anglicans (6.8%), Baptists (2.4%), Lutherans (2%), and other Christians (4.4%). About 16.5 percent of Canadians declare no religious affiliation, and the remaining 6.3 percent are affiliated with non-Christian religions, the largest of which is Islam (2.0%), followed by Judaism (1.1%).

Canadian provinces and territories are responsible for education. Each system is similar, while reflecting regional history, culture and geography. The mandatory school age ranges between 5–7 to 16–18 years, contributing to an adult literacy rate of 99 percent. In 2002, 43 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 possessed a post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34, the rate of post-secondary education reached 51 percent.

Language

Canada's two official languages are English and French. Official bilingualism is defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Official Languages Act, and ''Official Language Regulations''; it is applied by the Commissioner of Official Languages. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. Citizens have the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French, and official-language minorities are guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.

English and French are the first languages of 59.7 and 23.2 percent of the population respectively. Approximately 98 percent of Canadians speak English or French: 57.8% speak English only, 22.1% speak French only, and 17.4% speak both. English and French Official Language Communities, defined by First Official Language Spoken, constitute 73.0 and 23.6 percent of the population respectively.

The Charter of the French Language makes French the official language in Quebec. Although more than 85 percent of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, there are substantial Francophone populations in Ontario, Alberta, and southern Manitoba; Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec. New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province, has a French-speaking Acadian minority constituting 33 percent of the population. There are also clusters of Acadians in southwestern Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island, and through central and western Prince Edward Island.

Other provinces have no official languages as such, but French is used as a language of instruction, in courts, and for other government services in addition to English. Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec allow for both English and French to be spoken in the provincial legislatures, and laws are enacted in both languages. In Ontario, French has some legal status but is not fully co-official. There are 11 Aboriginal language groups, made up of more than 65 distinct dialects. Of these, only Cree, Inuktitut and Ojibway have a large enough population of fluent speakers to be considered viable to survive in the long term. Several aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories. Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut, and one of three official languages in the territory.

Over six million people in Canada list a non-official language as their mother tongue. Some of the most common non-official first languages include Chinese (mainly Cantonese; 1,012,065 first-language speakers), Italian (455,040), German (450,570), Punjabi (367,505) and Spanish (345,345). and the languages most spoken at home by 68.3 percent and 22.3 percent of the population respectively.

Culture

Canada has a diverse makeup of nationalities and cultures, and has constitutional protection for policies that promote multiculturalism. In Quebec, cultural identity is strong, and many French-speaking commentators speak of a culture of Quebec as distinguished from English Canadian culture; however, as a whole Canada is a cultural mosaic—a collection of several regional, aboriginal, and ethnic subcultures. Government policies such as publicly-funded health care, higher taxation to distribute wealth, outlawing capital punishment, strong efforts to eliminate poverty, an emphasis on multiculturalism, stricter gun control, and legalization of same-sex marriage are social indicators of how Canada's political and cultural evolution differs from that of the United States. Historically Canada has been influenced by British, French, and aboriginal cultures and traditions. Through their culture, language, art and music, aboriginals continue to influence the Canadian identity. Many Canadians value multiculturalism and see Canada as being inherently multicultural. American media and entertainment are popular, if not dominant, in English Canada; conversely, many Canadian cultural products and entertainers are successful in the United States and worldwide. Many cultural products are marketed toward a unified "North American" or global market. The creation and preservation of distinctly Canadian culture are supported by federal government programs, laws, and institutions such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of Canada, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Canadian visual art has been dominated by Tom Thomson — Canada's most famous painter — and by the Group of Seven. Thomson's brief career painting Canadian landscapes spanned just a decade up to his death in 1917 at age 39. The Group were painters with a nationalistic and idealistic focus, who first exhibited their distinctive works in May 1920. Though referred to as having seven members, five artists — Lawren Harris, A. Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, J. E. H. MacDonald, and Frederick Varley — were responsible for articulating the Group's ideas. They were joined briefly by Frank Johnston, and by commercial artist Franklin Carmichael. A. J. Casson became part of the Group in 1926. Associated with the Group was another prominent Canadian artist, Emily Carr, known for her landscapes and portrayals of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

The Canadian music industry has produced internationally renowned composers, musicians and ensembles. Canada's music broadcasting is regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences administers Canada's music industry awards, the Juno Awards, which commenced in 1970. The national anthem of Canada ''O Canada'' adopted in 1980, was originally commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Honourable Théodore Robitaille, for the 1880 St. Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony. Calixa Lavallée wrote the music, which was a setting of a patriotic poem composed by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. The text was originally only in French, before it was translated to English in 1906.

Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Hockey is a national pastime and the most popular spectator sport in the country. It is also the sport most played by Canadians, with 1.65 million participants in 2004. Seven of Canada's eight largest metropolitan areas—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg—have franchises in the National Hockey League (NHL), and there are more Canadian players in the NHL than from all other countries combined. Other popular spectator sports include curling and football; the latter is played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL). Golf, baseball, skiing, soccer, cricket, volleyball, and basketball are widely played at youth and amateur levels, but professional leagues and franchises are not widespread.

Canada has hosted several high-profile international sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada was the host nation for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.

Canada's national symbols are influenced by natural, historical, and Aboriginal sources. The use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol dates to the early 18th century. The maple leaf is depicted on Canada's current and previous flags, on the penny, and on the Arms of Canada. Other prominent symbols include the beaver, Canada Goose, Common Loon, the Crown, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and more recently, the totem pole and Inuksuk.

See also

References

Further reading

; History ISBN 0802050166, ISBN 0802028012 ; Geography and climate ; Government and law ; Foreign relations and military ; Economy ; Demography and statistics ; Culture

External links

Official website of the Government of Canada

Official website of the Governor General of Canada

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canada at UCB Libraries GovPubs

Canadian Studies: A Guide to the Sources

Canadiana: The National Bibliography of Canada

Category:Countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean Category:Countries bordering the Pacific Ocean Category:Countries bordering the Arctic Ocean Category:Constitutional monarchies Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Federal countries Category:Former British colonies Category:French-speaking countries Category:G8 nations Category:G20 nations Category:Liberal democracies Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Member states of La Francophonie Category:Member states of NATO Category:Northern American countries Category:States and territories established in 1867 Category:Member states of the United Nations

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