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146-483: Westrock was formed in May 2015 after the merger of MeadWestvaco and Rock Tenn. MeadWestvaco stockholders received 0.78 shares of the combined company. Rock-Tenn stockholders chose either one share of the combined company or a specific cash amount for each of their shares. In October 2015, WestRock purchased SP Fiber Holdings, Inc. The company manufactures recycled container board as well as kraft and bag paper. In January 2016,

292-451: A high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world by nominal GDP , relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks . Recognized as a middle power , Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries . Canada

438-467: A parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy —the monarchy of Canada being the foundation of the executive, legislative , and judicial branches. The reigning monarch is also monarch of 14 other sovereign Commonwealth countries and Canada's 10 provinces . The monarch appoints a representative, the governor general , on the advice of the prime minister , to carry out most of their ceremonial royal duties. The monarchy

584-616: A "combined packaging group [with] adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $ 5.5bn." In September 2023, it was announced WestRock had completed the sale of its subsidiary , RTS Packaging to the Hartsville, South Carolina -headquartered packaging company, Sonoco for $ 330 million. In September 2023, it was announced WestRock and the Dublin, Ireland -headquartered corrugated packaging company, Smurfit Kappa had agreed to merge, to create Smurfit Westrock , one of

730-662: A 10-metre (33 ft) cross bearing the words, "long live the King of France", and took possession of the territory New France in the name of King Francis I . The early 16th century saw European mariners with navigational techniques pioneered by the Basque and Portuguese establish seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast. In general, early settlements during the Age of Discovery appear to have been short-lived due to

876-642: A combination of the harsh climate, problems with navigating trade routes and competing outputs in Scandinavia. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert , by the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I , founded St John's, Newfoundland , as the first North American English seasonal camp . In 1600, the French established their first seasonal trading post at Tadoussac along the Saint Lawrence. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established

1022-567: A constitutional amending formula and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . The Charter guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be overridden by any government; a notwithstanding clause allows Parliament and the provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter for a period of five years. Canada's judiciary interprets laws and has the power to strike down acts of Parliament that violate

1168-506: A distinguishing element of Canada's political culture. Peace, order, and good government , alongside an Implied Bill of Rights , are founding principles of Canadian federalism . At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two relatively centrist parties practising "brokerage politics": the centre-left leaning Liberal Party of Canada and the centre-right leaning Conservative Party of Canada (or its predecessors ). The historically predominant Liberals position themselves at

1314-431: 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 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). Much of Northern Canada is covered by ice and permafrost . The future of

1460-688: A unit recruited from French prisoners-of-war, which was under Lt. Col. Napier's command, and another brigade formed under Lieutenant-Colonel Williams of the Royal Marines. The force took part in the Battle of Craney Island on 22 June 1813. The most famous action carried out during the war by forces from Bermuda was the Chesapeake Campaign of 1813 and later 1814, including the Battle of Bladensburg northeast outside Washington, D.C. with

1606-457: Is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of just over 41   million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto , Montreal , and Vancouver . Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what

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1752-554: Is divided into 15 terrestrial and five marine ecozones . These ecozones encompass over 80,000 classified species of Canadian wildlife , with an equal number yet to be formally recognized or discovered. Although Canada has a low percentage of endemic species compared to other countries , due to human activities, invasive species , and environmental issues in the country , there are currently more than 800 species at risk of being lost . About 65 percent of Canada's resident species are considered "Secure". Over half of Canada's landscape

1898-1026: Is intact and relatively free of human development. The boreal forest of Canada is considered to be the largest intact forest on Earth, with approximately 3,000,000 km (1,200,000 sq mi) undisturbed by roads, cities or industry. Since the end of the last glacial period , Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions . Approximately 12.1 percent of the nation's landmass and freshwater are conservation areas , including 11.4 percent designated as protected areas . Approximately 13.8 percent of its territorial waters are conserved, including 8.9 percent designated as protected areas. Canada's first National Park , Banff National Park established in 1885 spans 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi). Canada's oldest provincial park, Algonquin Provincial Park , established in 1893, covers an area of 7,653.45 square kilometres (2,955.01 sq mi). Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area

2044-559: Is now Canada for thousands of years. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts , France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. 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 resulting in

2190-457: Is part of multiple international organizations and forums . While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Canada , the name is now accepted as coming from the 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

2336-687: Is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is officially a provincial responsibility, conducted by provincial and municipal police forces. In most rural and some urban areas, policing responsibilities are contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police . Canadian Aboriginal law provides certain constitutionally recognized rights to land and traditional practices for Indigenous groups in Canada. Various treaties and case laws were established to mediate relations between Europeans and many Indigenous peoples. The role of Aboriginal law and

2482-584: Is the second-largest country . By land area alone, Canada ranks fourth , due to having the world's largest area of fresh water lakes . Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, along the Arctic Ocean to the north, and to the Pacific Ocean in the west, the country encompasses 9,984,670 km (3,855,100 sq mi) of territory. Canada also has vast maritime terrain, with

2628-521: Is the source of sovereignty and authority in Canada. However, while the governor general or monarch may exercise their power without ministerial advice in rare crisis situations , the use of the executive powers (or royal prerogative ) is otherwise 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,

2774-562: Is the world's largest freshwater protected area, spanning roughly 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi). Canada's largest national wildlife region is the Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area which spans 11,570.65 square kilometres (4,467.45 sq mi). Canada is described as a " full democracy ", with a tradition of liberalism , and an egalitarian , moderate political ideology. An emphasis on social justice has been

2920-666: The Canada Elections Act limits this to four years with a "fixed" election date in October; general elections still must be called by the governor general and can be triggered by either the advice of the prime minister or a lost confidence vote in the House. The 105 members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75. Canadian federalism divides government responsibilities between

3066-705: The Dominion Lands Act to regulate settlement and established the North-West Mounted Police to assert authority over the territory. This period of westward expansion and nation building resulted in the displacement of many Indigenous peoples of the Canadian Prairies to " Indian reserves ", clearing the way for ethnic European block settlements . This caused the collapse of the Plains Bison in western Canada and

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3212-614: The American Revolutionary War / American War of Independence (1775-1783), the control of the adjacent and surrounding Atlantic Ocean by the British Royal Navy meant there was no likelihood of the colony joining the rebellion. Although the rebels were supplied with ships and gunpowder by the Bermudians, Bermudian privateers soon turned aggressively on rebel shipping. After the acknowledgement by

3358-822: The Archdiocese of Halifax, Nova Scotia , until 1953, when it was separated to become the Apostolic Prefecture of Bermuda Islands . The congregation of the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in Bermuda (St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, erected in 1885 in Hamilton Parish ) had previously been part of the British Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada. The Kingdom of Great Britain acquired most of Acadia or Acadie, Nouvelle-France , in connection with

3504-723: The Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Canada provided asylum for the Dutch monarchy while that country was occupied and is credited by the Netherlands for major contributions to its liberation from Nazi Germany . The Canadian economy boomed during the war as its industries manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China , and the Soviet Union . Despite another Conscription Crisis in Quebec in 1944, Canada finished

3650-692: The Bermuda Garrison had been placed under the military Commander-in-Chief America in New York during the American War of Independence. A small regular infantry garrison had existed from 1701 to 1768, alongside the militia, and part of the Royal Garrison Battalion had been stationed there in 1778 but that battalion was disbanded in Bermuda in 1784. The regular military garrison was re-established at Bermuda in 1794 by part of

3796-587: The Bishop of Newfoundland until 1919). Over its duration, British North America comprised the British Empire's colonial territories in North America from 1783 to 1907, not including the Caribbean. These territories include those forming modern-day Canada and Bermuda, having also ceded what became all or large parts of six Midwestern U.S. states ( Ohio , Indiana , Illinois , Michigan , Wisconsin , and

3942-455: The Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda until 1919, when Newfoundland and Bermuda each received its own bishop. In 1949, the island of Newfoundland , and its associated mainland territory of Labrador , joined Canada as the tenth province . Canada became semi-independent beginning in 1867, and fully sovereign on foreign affairs beginning with the Statute of Westminster 1931 . Canada gained

4088-612: The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada began on January 27, 2020, with widespread social and economic disruption. In 2021, the possible graves of hundreds of Indigenous people were discovered near the former sites of Canadian Indian residential schools . Administered by various Christian churches and funded by the Canadian government from 1828 to 1997, these boarding schools attempted to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture . By total area (including its waters), Canada

4234-649: The Canada Act 1982 , the patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Canada had established complete sovereignty as an independent country under its own monarchy . 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

4380-674: The Canadian Militia . With the consequent abolition of the British Army's Nova Scotia Command, and the office of its Commander-in-Chief for British North America , the still-growing Bermuda Garrison was elevated to a separate Bermuda Command . ] The Colony of Newfoundland , like Bermuda, was not included in the confederation that unified the other British North American colonies to form the Dominion of Canada in 1867. In 1870, Rupert's Land , which consisted of territories of

4526-826: The Canadian Shield , the interior plains , the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands , the Appalachian region , the Western Cordillera , Hudson Bay Lowlands , and the Arctic Archipelago . Boreal forests prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in northern Arctic regions and through the Rocky Mountains , and the relatively flat Canadian Prairies in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture. The Great Lakes feed

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4672-846: The Commission of Government . Bermuda was increasingly perceived by the British Government as in, or at least grouped for convenience with, the British West Indies. The last official administrative link to the Maritimes was through the established church. In 1879 the Synod of the Church of England in Bermuda was formed and a Diocese of Bermuda became separate from the Diocese of Newfoundland, but continued to be grouped under

4818-962: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts , and later separated to form the State of Maine in 1820, in the United States . Britain acquired much of the remainder of Canada (New France) and the eastern half of Louisiana , including West Florida, from the Kingdom of France , and East Florida from the Kingdom of Spain , by the earlier 1763 Treaty of Paris (1763) , which ended the Seven Years' War (in Europe ) / French and Indian War (in North America ). Spain had not taken possession of any of Spanish Louisiana , which had been ceded to it under

4964-783: The Dominion of Newfoundland , leaving Bermuda as the sole remaining colony in British North America. British North America ceased to exist as an administrative region of the British Empire, with all remaining British colonies in the Western Hemisphere, from Bermuda to the Falkland Islands grouped in the "West Indian Division" of the "Crown Colonies Department" of the Colonial Office. In 1934, Newfoundland returned to British administration under

5110-469: The East Coast of the United States of America , with later areas of settlement on the continent considered separate colonies under their own local administrations and all collectively designated as America (less often as North America ). The Kingdom of England (including the adjacent Principality of Wales ) and the Kingdom of Scotland remained separate nations until their 1707 unification to form

5256-976: The Hudson's Bay Company ), was administered until 1783 by the Board of Trade , from 1783 through 1801 by the Home Office and by the Home Secretary , then from 1801 to 1854 by the War Office (which became the War and Colonial Office ) and Secretary of State for War and Colonies (as the Secretary of State for War was renamed). From 1824, the British Empire was divided by the War and Colonial Office into four administrative departments, including NORTH AMERICA ,

5402-535: The Hudson's Bay Company , was annexed to Canada as the North-West Territories (NWT) and the new province of Manitoba . British Columbia , the British colony on the west coast north of the 49th parallel , including all of Vancouver Island , joined as Canada's sixth province in 1871, and Prince Edward Island joined as the seventh in 1873. The boundary of British Columbia with Washington Territory

5548-436: The Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801). Scotland's attempts to establish its own colonies in North America and Central America before 1707 had been short-lived, but England brought substantial trans-Atlantic possessions into the new union when English America became British America . In 1775, on the eve of the American Revolution and parallel. American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). British America included territories in

5694-404: The Kingdom of Spain 's long-asserted claim of sovereignty over the entire continent as part of its world-wide Spanish Empire . Spain's similar claim to all of South America had been refuted when the Pope Alexander VI had divided the twin continents of the Americas between Spain and the Kingdom of Portugal in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas . Spain's area of settlement was limited to only

5840-407: The Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990. This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and the 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 50.6 to 49.4 percent. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional, and the Clarity Act

5986-416: The Mississippi River . At the same time that Spain gained along the Gulf of Mexico coastline of West Florida (western panhandle of Florida) and regained again East Florida (of the Florida peninsula), forming Spanish Florida until its 1813 / 1819 cession to the adjacent United States. Nova Scotia was split into modern-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in 1784. The part of Quebec retained after 1783

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6132-413: The Oka Crisis of 1990, the first of a number of violent confrontations between provincial governments and Indigenous groups. Canada joined the Gulf War in 1990 and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the 1990s, including operations in the Balkans during and after the Yugoslav Wars , and in Somalia , resulting in an incident that has been described as " the darkest era in the history of

6278-446: The Parliament of Canada and the commissioners represent the King in his federal Council , rather than the monarch directly. The powers flowing from the Constitution Act, 1867 , are divided between the federal government and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively and any changes to that arrangement require a constitutional amendment , while changes to the roles and powers of the territories may be performed unilaterally by

6424-466: The Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including the Island of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda were under the Command of His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sir James Kempt GCB, GCH . The established Church of England in Bermuda (since 1978, titled the Anglican Church of Bermuda ) and Newfoundland was attached to the See of Nova Scotia from 1825 to 1839 and from 1787 to 1839, respectively. From 1839,

6570-434: The Queen Anne's War of 1702–1713, and subsequent lands later, after the Seven Years' War / French and Indian War (1753/1756-1763). These territories would become the future provinces of Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , and Prince Edward Island , as well as parts of Quebec in the modern Dominion of Canada and additional territories that would eventually form part of the old Massachusetts Bay Colony , later after 1776 as

6716-425: The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a secular nationalist movement. The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970, and the sovereigntist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, organizing an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through

6862-428: The Senate and House of Commons of Canada , with the support of nine of the ten provinces of Canada . Following the 1776 declaration of independence of the colonies that were to form the United States (which was to be recognised by the British Government in 1783), the areas that remained under British sovereignty were administered by the Home Office , which had been formed on 27 March 1782, and which also controlled

7008-448: The South Atlantic Ocean archipelago of the Falkland Islands , which had been colonised in 1833, had been added to the remit of the North American Department of the Colonial Office. North American Department of the Colonial Office, 1867 Following the 1867 confederation of most of the British North American colonies to form the Dominion of Canada, Bermuda and Newfoundland remained as the only British colonies in North America (although

7154-584: The St. Lawrence River (in the southeast) where the lowlands host much of Canada's economic output. Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 of which are larger than 100 km (39 sq mi)—containing much of the world's fresh water . There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies , the Coast Mountains , and the Arctic Cordillera . Canada is geologically active , having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes . Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of

7300-440: The Virginia Company and, with The Bahamas , considered with North America prior to 1783), was grouped with the Maritime provinces from 1783, but after the formation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867 and the achievement of dominion status by the colony of Newfoundland in 1907, Bermuda was thereafter administered generally with the colonies in the British West Indies (although the Church of England continued to place Bermuda under

7446-414: The WEST INDIES , MEDITERRANEAN AND AFRICA , and EASTERN COLONIES , of which North America included: North America Until 1846, the postal system had a deputy based in British North America, with administration from London. The Colonial Office and War Office, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Secretary of State for War, were separated in 1854. The War Office, from then, until

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7592-520: The War and Colonial Office ), with the Secretary of State for War thus becoming the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies until 1854, when the War and Colonial Office was split into the War Office (under the Secretary of State for War ) and the Colonial Office (under the Secretary of State for the Colonies ). Prior to the signing of the 1846 Oregon Treaty , the North American continental colonies were as follows: The North Atlantic oceanic archipelago of Bermuda , not strictly part of

7738-400: The Westminster tradition . The country's head of government is the prime minister , who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general , representing the monarch of Canada , the ceremonial head of state . The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in

7884-400: The displacement of Indigenous populations , and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This increased sovereignty was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster, 1931 , and culminating in the Canada Act 1982 , which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in

8030-441: The head of government . To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the individual who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a majority of members in the House. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is one of the most powerful institutions in government, initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by

8176-522: The 1609 wreck there of its flagship, the Sea Venture ). Two areas of settlement in North America had been laid out in 1606, with the name Virginia coming to connote the southern area, between Latitude 34° and Latitude 41° North, administered by the Virginia Company of London. The short form of that company's name was the London Company , but it came to be known popularly as the Virginia Company . The northern area of settlement, which extended to 45° North (an area that would come to be known as New England ),

8322-412: The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established First Nation treaty rights, created 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 ,

8468-622: The 1867 confederation of the Dominion of Canada , split the military administration of the British colonial and foreign stations into nine districts: North America And North Atlantic ; West Indies ; Mediterranean ; West Coast Of Africa And South Atlantic ; South Africa ; Egypt And The Sudan ; INDIAN OCEAN ; Australia ; and China . North America And North Atlantic included the following stations (or garrisons): North America and North Atlantic The Colonial Office, by 1862, oversaw eight Colonies in British North America, including: North American Colonies, 1862 By 1867, administration of

8614-423: The Americas at all, was also included as its nearest neighbour (after the United States) is Nova Scotia. Besides the local colonial governments in each colony, British North America was administered directly via London. Other than the territory administered by the Honourable East India Company and protectorates , the British Empire, including British North America (but not including the territory administered by

8760-402: The Atlantic Seaboard of the United States, specifically in the region of the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding coasts of Maryland and Virginia . The force was to be composed of the infantry battalion then on garrison duty in Bermuda, the 102nd Regiment of Foot (with its Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles James Napier as Second-in-Command) forming one brigade with Royal Marines and

8906-479: The Atlantic coast of North America. The British Empire's colonial territories in North America were greatly expanded in connection with the Treaty of Paris (1763) , which formally concluded the Seven Years' War , referred to by the English colonies in North America as the French and Indian War , and by the French colonies as la Guerre de la Conquête . With the ultimate acquisition of most of New France ( Nouvelle-France ), British territory in North America

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9052-443: The Atlantic coast of the United States in any war that should transpire. The Royal Navy , British Army , Royal Marines , and Colonial Marines forces based in Bermuda carried out actions of this sort during the subsequent American / Canadian War of 1812 (1812-1815), the North American phase of the larger Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), elsewhere in Europe and the world, versus Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), of France . When

9198-488: The BNA Act, three of the provinces of British North America ( New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , and the Province of Canada (which would become the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec )) joined to form " One Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom , " on July 1, 1867, the date of Canadian Confederation . The Atlantic island of Bermuda (originally administered by

9344-449: The British Army's 47th Regiment of Foot and the Board of Ordnance also stationed an invalid company of the Royal Artillery there soon after. The Bermuda garrison was to be part of the Nova Scotia Command until 1869 (in 1815, Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost was Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over the Provinces of Upper-Canada, Lower-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New-Brunswick, and their several Dependencies, Vice-Admiral of

9490-473: The British Government of the independence of the former thirteen rebellious continental colonies in the negotiated Treaty of Paris of 1783, finally recognizing the independence of the new United States of America which it originally declared on July 4, 1776. Bermuda was grouped regionally by the British Government with The Maritimes and Newfoundland and Labrador provinces of modern eastern Canada , and, more widely, with British North America. Following

9636-405: The British Parliament passed the Quebec Act 1774, expanding Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley . More importantly, the Quebec Act afforded Quebec special autonomy and rights of self-administration at a time when the Thirteen Colonies were increasingly agitating against British rule. It re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law there, staving off

9782-466: The Canadian military ". Canada sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001 , resulting in the largest amount of Canadian deaths for any single military mission since the Korean War in the early 1950s. In 2011, Canadian forces participated in the NATO-led intervention into the Libyan Civil War and also became involved in battling the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq in the mid-2010s. The country celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2017, three years before

9928-423: The Crown 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 the Official Opposition and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check. The Parliament of Canada passes all federal statute laws. It comprises

10074-468: The Dominion of Canada was created by the British North America Act, 1867 . The confederation process brought together the provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The former Province of Canada was split back into its two parts, with Canada East (Lower Canada) being renamed Quebec , and Canada West (Upper Canada) renamed Ontario . Following confederation in 1867, the British Army withdrew from Canada in 1871, handing military defence over to

10220-457: The Falkland Islands also continued to be administered by the North American Department of the Colonial Office). Although the British Government was no longer responsible for Canada, its relationship with Canada and subsequent dominions would continue to be overseen by the Secretary of State for the Colonies (who headed the Colonial Office) until the creation of the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs (a position initially held in common with

10366-439: The First Nations to education, government and legal rights. Because Britain still maintained control of Canada's foreign affairs under the British North America Act, 1867, its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into the First World War . Volunteers sent to the Western Front later became part of the Canadian Corps , which played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other major engagements of

10512-672: The Islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda were under the Command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke . Below Sherbrooke, the Bermuda Garrison was under the immediate control of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bermuda , Major General George Horsford). ), and was expanded greatly during the 19th century, both to defend the colony as a naval base and to launch amphibious operations against

10658-762: The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath was Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over the Provinces of Lower-Canada, Upper-Canada, Nova-Scotia, and New-Brunswick, and their several dependencies, Vice-Admiral of the same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty's Forces in the said Provinces, and their several dependencies, and in the Islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, and Bermuda, &c. &c c. &c. Beneath Dalhousie,

10804-652: 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 been united in 1866) joined the confederation in 1871 on the promise of a transcontinental railway extending to Victoria in the province within 10 years, while Prince Edward Island joined in 1873. In 1898, during the Klondike Gold Rush in

10950-540: The Norse built a small short-lived encampment that was occupied sporadically for perhaps 20 years at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland . No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when seafarer John Cabot explored and claimed Canada's Atlantic coast in the name of Henry VII of England . In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence where, on July 24, he planted

11096-786: The Northwest Territories, Parliament created the Yukon Territory. Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905. Between 1871 and 1896, almost one quarter of the Canadian population emigrated south to the US. To open the West and encourage European immigration, the Government of Canada sponsored the construction of three transcontinental railways (including the Canadian Pacific Railway ), passed

11242-589: The Parliament of Canada. British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland , then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, Virginia , and more substantially with the founding of the Thirteen Colonies along

11388-482: The Rights of British America . The term British North America was initially used following the subsequent 1783 Treaty of Paris , which concluded the American Revolutionary War and confirmed the independence of Great Britain 's Thirteen Colonies that formed the United States of America . The terms British America and British North America continued to be used for Britain's remaining territories in North America, but

11534-889: The Royal Navy's blockade of the Atlantic seaboard of the United States was orchestrated from Bermuda (In the New England region, where support for the United States Government's war against Britain was low and from which Britain continued to purchase and receive grain to feed its army engaged in the Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal , was at first excluded from this blockade). In 1813, Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir Thomas Sydney Beckwith arrived in Bermuda to command an expeditionary force tasked with raiding

11680-593: The Saint Lawrence River. Following the British conquest of New France , this area was known as the British Province of Quebec from 1763 to 1791. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada . These two colonies were collectively named the Canadas until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867 , Canada

11826-709: The United Kingdom. The delay underscored Canada's independence. The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939. In all, over a million Canadians served in the armed forces during the Second World War . Canadian troops played important roles in many key battles of the war, including the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid , the Allied invasion of Italy , the Normandy landings , the Battle of Normandy , and

11972-705: 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) . The Anglo-Russian Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1825) established the border along the Pacific coast, but, even after the US Alaska Purchase of 1867, disputes continued about

12118-662: The Western Hemisphere northeast of New Spain , apart from the islands and claims of the British West Indies in the larger West Indies islands chain in the Caribbean Sea , near the Gulf of Mexico . These were: The Somers Isles, or Bermuda , had been occupied by the Virginia Company since its flagship, the Sea Venture , was wrecked there in 1609, and the archipelago was officially added to

12264-473: The abortive 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 and responsible government was established for all provinces of British North America east of Lake Superior by 1855. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and

12410-806: The centre of the political scale. Five parties had representatives elected to the Parliament in the 2021 election —the Liberals, who formed a minority government; the Conservatives, who became the Official Opposition ; the New Democratic Party (occupying the left ); the Bloc Québécois ; and the Green Party . Far-right and far-left politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society. Canada has

12556-425: The company acquired Cenveo Packaging for $ 105 million which manufactures folded cartons and litho-laminated display packaging like MiraFoil, coil foil, and low migration ink systems. The sale included facilities located in the United States, Canada , and Dominican Republic . In March 2017 WestRock purchased Star Pizza Box, the largest US manufacturer and distributor of pizza boxes. In April 2017, WestRock completed

12702-472: The company acquired Plymouth Packaging, Inc. Later that month, WestRock announced that it would acquire rival pulp and paper company Kapstone . The deal closed in November of 2018. The company ranked 194th on the 2018 Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue. In September 2023, the company was reported to be in advanced merger talks with Smurfit Kappa to combine operations and form

12848-546: The company's territory in 1612, then managed by a spin-off, the Somers Isles Company , until 1684, but maintained close links with Virginia and Carolina Colony (which had subsequently been settled from Bermuda under William Sayle in 1670). The British Government originally grouped Bermuda with North America (the archipelago is approximately 1,035.26 km (643 mi) east-southeast of Cape Hatteras , North Carolina (with Cape Point on Hatteras Island being

12994-555: The constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court, final arbiter, and has been led since 2017 by Richard Wagner , the Chief Justice of Canada . The governor general appoints the court's nine members on the advice of the prime minister and minister of justice . The federal Cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts in the provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Common law prevails everywhere except Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law

13140-516: The continent during the North American fur trade . These early European interactions with First Nations would change from friendship and peace treaties to the dispossession of Indigenous lands through treaties . From the late 18th century, European Canadians forced Indigenous peoples to assimilate into a western Canadian society. Settler colonialism reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A period of redress began with

13286-576: The country and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act, 1867 (known as the British North America Act, 1867 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 Britain, as well as adding

13432-421: 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 −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills . In non-coastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has

13578-591: The earlier secret Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1762, from France of French Louisiana until seven years later in 1769. By the terms of the later Treaty of Paris (1783) , the United States acquired the southern and western portions of the former Royal French colony in the interior of the North American continent of New France / (later Quebec ), south of the Great Lakes to the Ohio River and west to

13724-597: The early 1930s saw an economic downturn, leading to hardship across the country. In response to the downturn, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Saskatchewan introduced many elements of a welfare state (as pioneered by Tommy Douglas ) in the 1940s and 1950s. On the advice of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King , war with Germany was declared effective September 10, 1939, by King George VI , seven days after

13870-588: The edge of the Rocky Mountains . Then 28 years later, in the subsequent 1846 treaty, Britain and the United States split the jointly-administered Oregon Country lands of the Pacific Northwest region between the Americans and the British, extending the 49th parallel line further west to the Puget Sound . The United States was assigned lands south of the 49th parallel, but Britain retained all of

14016-633: The emergence of a new Canadian identity , marked by the adoption of the maple leaf flag in 1965, the implementation of official bilingualism (English and French) in 1969, and the institution of official multiculturalism in 1971. Socially democratic programs were also instituted, 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

14162-693: The exact demarcation of the Alaska–Yukon and Alaska–BC border. Following three constitutional conferences, the British North America Act, 1867 officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, initially 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

14308-416: The federal government and the 10 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, have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces, and differ structurally from their provincial counterparts. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of

14454-488: The federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration . Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history , economy , and culture . A developed country , Canada has

14600-487: The first permanent year-round European settlements at Port Royal (in 1605) and Quebec City (in 1608). Among the 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 in

14746-499: The formation of a reconciliation commission by the Government of Canada in 2008. This included acknowledgment of cultural genocide , settlement agreements , and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women . It is believed that the first documented European to explore the east coast of Canada was Norse explorer Leif Erikson . In approximately 1000 AD,

14892-541: The fur trade, conflicts with the colonial authorities and settlers, and the loss of Indigenous lands to settlers and the subsequent collapse of several nations' self-sufficiency. Although not without conflict, European Canadians ' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada , particularly for their role in assisting European coureurs des bois and voyageurs in their explorations of

15038-609: The growth of an independence movement in contrast to the Thirteen Colonies. The Proclamation and the Quebec Act in turn angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies, further fuelling anti-British sentiment in the years prior to the American Revolution . After the successful American War of Independence, the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the newly formed United States and set

15184-521: The introduction of European cattle farms and wheat fields dominating the land. The Indigenous peoples saw widespread famine and disease due to the loss of the bison and their traditional hunting lands. The federal government did provide emergency relief, on condition of the Indigenous peoples moving to the reserves. During this time, Canada introduced the Indian Act extending its control over

15330-467: The island of Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador, as well as Bermuda, became parts of the Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda , with the shared Bishop ( Aubrey George Spencer being the first) alternating his residence between the two colonies. A separate Bermuda Synod was incorporated in 1879, but continued to share its Bishop with Newfoundland until 1919, when the separate position of Bishop of Bermuda

15476-740: The main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom . Peace came in 1815; no boundaries were changed. Immigration resumed at a higher level, with over 960,000 arrivals from Britain between 1815 and 1850. New arrivals included refugees escaping the Great Irish Famine as well as Gaelic -speaking Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances . Infectious diseases killed between 25 and 33 percent of Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891. The desire for responsible government resulted in

15622-436: The mid-17th century over control of the North American fur trade. The English established additional settlements in Newfoundland in 1610 along with settlements in the Thirteen Colonies to the south. A series of four wars erupted in colonial North America between 1689 and 1763; the later wars of the period constituted the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War . Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with

15768-533: The military until this was transferred to the War Office in 1794. The Home Office referred to the remaining North American continental colonies and the archipelago of Bermuda (located 640 miles (1,030 km) off North Carolina ) as British North America and their administration was increasingly linked. In 1801, administration of the colonies was moved from the Home Office to the War Office (which became

15914-689: The monarch, the House of Commons, and the Senate . While Canada inherited the British concept of parliamentary supremacy , this was later, with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982, all but completely superseded by the American notion of the supremacy of the law . Each of the 338 members of Parliament in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district or riding. The Constitution Act, 1982 , requires that no more than five years pass between elections, although

16060-634: The name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day . The first inhabitants of North America are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago. The Paleo-Indian archeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Indigenous societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks. Some of these cultures had collapsed by

16206-477: The nearest landfall); 1,236 km (768 mi) south of Cape Sable Island , Nova Scotia; 1,759 km (1,093 mi) northeast of Cuba , and 1,538 km (956 mi) due north of the British Virgin Islands . Although Bermudians , with close ties of blood and trade to the southern continental American colonies (especially Virginia and South Carolina), tended towards the rebels early in

16352-614: The new River St. Lawrence and Coast of America and North America and West Indies Station , set up the first Admiralty House, Bermuda at Rose Hill, St. George's. In 1813, the area of command became the North America Station again, with the West Indies falling under the Jamaica Station , and in 1816 it was renamed the North America and Lakes of Canada Station . The headquarters was initially in Bermuda during

16498-531: The northeastern part of Minnesota ), which were formed out of the Northwest Territory , large parts of Maine , which had originally been within the French territory of Acadia , and very briefly, East Florida , West Florida , and the Bahamas . When the Kingdom of England began its efforts to cross the Atlantic Ocean and settle in eastern North America in the late 16th century , it ignored

16644-627: The off-shore of the West Coast of Vancouver Island (including a small portion of the southern tip of Vancouver Island south of the 49th parallel). After threats and squabbles over rich timber lands, the boundary between Maine and Nova Scotia was clarified by the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, negotiated by Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton . The Canadas were united into the Province of Canada in 1841. On 1 July 1867,

16790-411: The passage of the British North America Act by the British Parliament in London , with the then establishment of the modern Dominion of Canada . After the War of 1812 (1812-1815), the Treaty of 1818 established the east/west 49th parallel, north of latitude as the United States–British North America international border, extending from Rupert's Land (north of the Great Lakes) further west to

16936-404: The permafrost is uncertain because the Arctic has been warming at three times the global average as a result of climate change in Canada . Canada's annual average temperature over land has risen by 1.7 °C (3.1 °F), with changes ranging from 1.1 to 2.3 °C (2.0 to 4.1 °F) in various regions, since 1948. The rate of warming has been higher across the North and in the Prairies. In

17082-488: The provinces collect more revenue than the federal government, equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their sovereignty from the Crown and power and authority from the Constitution Act, 1867 , whereas territorial governments have powers delegated to them by

17228-400: The right to establish and accept foreign embassies, with the first one being in Washington, D.C. The last vestiges of Canada's constitutional dependency upon Britain were eliminated when Canadians from various provinces agreed on an internal procedure for amending the Canadian Constitution. This agreement was implemented when the British Parliament passed the Canada Act 1982 at the request of

17374-736: The rights they support were reaffirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 . These rights may include provision of services, such as healthcare through the Indian Health Transfer Policy , and exemption from taxation. Canada is a federation composed of 10 federated states , called provinces, and three federal territories . These may be grouped into four main regions : Western Canada , Central Canada , Atlantic Canada , and Northern Canada ( Eastern Canada refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together). Provinces and territories have responsibility for social programs such as healthcare , education , and social programs , as well as administration of justice (but not criminal law). Although

17520-439: The sale of its dispensing systems operations for $ 1.025 billion to Silgan Holdings . In June 2017, the company acquired Multi Packaging Solutions International (MPS) for an enterprise value of $ 2.28 billion. MPS has 59 locations across North America, Europe, and Asia and will enhance Westrock's print, graphics, and design capabilities for more penetration in spirits, confectionery, beauty and cosmetics packaging. In January 2018,

17666-425: The same, Lieutenant-General and Commander of all His Majesty's Forces in the said Provinces of Lower Canada and Upper-Canada, Nova-Scotia and New-Brunswick, and their several Dependencies, and in the islands of Newfoundland, Prince Edward, Cape Breton and the Bermudas, &c. &c. &c. Beneath Prevost, the staff of the British Army in the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including

17812-440: The separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century of the English Reformation period, Roman Catholic worship was outlawed in England (subsequently Britain ) and its colonies, including Bermuda, until the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 , and operated thereafter under restrictions until the [[20th century]]. Once Roman Catholic worship was allowed and reestablished, Bermuda formed part of

17958-585: The southeast. Canada is also home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert , on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island —latitude 82.5°N—which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole. In latitude, Canada's most northerly point of land is Cape Columbia in Nunavut at 83°6′41″N, with its southern extreme at Middle Island in Lake Erie at 41°40′53″N. In longitude, Canada's land extends from Cape Spear , Newfoundland, at 52°37'W, to Mount St. Elias , Yukon Territory, at 141°W. Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions:

18104-422: The southern regions of Canada, air pollution from both Canada and the United States—caused by metal smelting, burning coal to power utilities, and vehicle emissions—has resulted in acid rain , which has severely impacted waterways, forest growth, and agricultural productivity. Canada is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters globally , with emissions increased by 16.5 percent between 1990 and 2022. Canada

18250-434: The subsequent Burning of Washington in August 1814, retribution for the "wanton destruction of private property along the north shores of Lake Erie" by American forces under Col. John Campbell in May 1814, the most notable being the Raid on Port Dover to draw United States forces away from the Canadian border. In 1828, His Excellency George, Earl of Dalhousie , (Baron Dalhousie, of Dalhousie Castle,) Knight Grand Cross of

18396-411: The term British North America came to be used more consistently in connection with the provinces that would eventually form the Dominion of Canada , following the Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839), called the Durham Report. The Dominion of Canada was formed under the British North America (BNA) Act, 1867 , also referred to as the Constitution Act, 1867. Following royal assent of

18542-438: The terms of peace, ceding British North American territories south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River to the new country. The American war of independence also caused a large out-migration of Loyalists , the settlers who had fought against American independence. Many moved to Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada, where their arrival changed the demographic distribution of the existing territories. New Brunswick

18688-446: The time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archeological investigations. Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada include the First Nations , Inuit , and Métis , the last being of mixed descent who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations people married European settlers and subsequently developed their own identity. The Indigenous population at

18834-446: The time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples . As a consequence of European colonization, the Indigenous population declined by forty to eighty percent. The decline is attributed to several causes, including the transfer of European diseases , to which they had no natural immunity, conflicts over

18980-433: The very southern and southwestern parts and coastal edges of the continent of North America, however, and it had little ability to enforce its sovereignty. Disregarding, as did Spain, the sovereignty of the indigenous nations, England claimed the entire North America continent at this point (though its western, northern, and southern boundaries were ill-defined, vague, and not yet clear), which it named Virginia in honour of

19126-410: The village of Stadacona . Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the Saint Lawrence River as Canada . From the 16th to the early 18th century, Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along

19272-400: The virgin queen, Elizabeth I (1533-1603, reigned 1558-1603). England's first successful settlement in North America was Jamestown , established by the Virginia Company of London in 1607, with the second being the Atlantic Ocean archipelago of Bermuda (or the Somers Isles ), added to the territory of the same company in 1612 (the company having been in occupation of the archipelago since

19418-423: The war with a large army and strong economy. The financial crisis of the Great Depression led the Dominion of Newfoundland to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a Crown colony ruled by a British governor. After two referendums , Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a province. Canada's post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to

19564-428: The war. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when the Unionist Cabinet's proposal to augment the military's dwindling number of active members with conscription was met with vehement objections from 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 in Canada during

19710-418: The winter and Halifax during the summer (both of which were designated as Imperial fortresses , along with Gibraltar and Malta ), but Bermuda, became the year-round headquarters of the Station in 1821, when the area of command became the North America and West Indies Station . The Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax , was finally transferred to the Government of the Dominion of Canada in 1907. Before 1784,

19856-449: The world's largest paper and packaging producers. Canada Canada is a country in North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean , making it the world's second-largest country by total area , with the world's longest coastline . Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country

20002-410: The world's longest coastline of 243,042 kilometres (151,019 mi). In addition to sharing the world's largest land border with the United States —spanning 8,891 km (5,525 mi) —Canada shares a land border with Greenland (and hence the Kingdom of Denmark ) to the northeast, on Hans Island , and a maritime boundary with France 's overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon to

20148-436: The world-wide war, the Royal Navy spent a dozen years of peace-time charting the barrier reef around Bermuda to discover the channel that enabled access to the northern lagoon, the Great Sound , and Hamilton Harbour . Once this had been located, a base was established (initially at St. George's before the construction of the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda ) in 1794, when Vice-Admiral Sir George Murray , Commander-in-Chief of

20294-427: Was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference and the word dominion was conferred as the country's title. By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "realm of the Commonwealth". The Canada Act 1982 , which brought the Constitution of Canada fully under Canadian control, referred only to Canada . Later that year,

20440-496: Was created (in 1949, on Newfoundland becoming a province of Canada, the Diocese of Newfoundland became part of the Anglican Church of Canada ; the Church of England in Bermuda, which was re-titled the Anglican Church of Bermuda in 1978, is today one of six extra-provincial Anglican churches within the Church of England overseen by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Canterbury , England ). Other denominations also at one time included Bermuda with Nova Scotia or Canada. Following

20586-507: Was in turn split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes, which led to the incorporation of Saint John, New Brunswick , as Canada's first city. To accommodate the influx of English-speaking Loyalists in Central Canada, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province of Canada into French-speaking Lower Canada (later Quebec ) and English-speaking Upper Canada (later Ontario ), granting each its own elected legislative assembly. The Canadas were

20732-416: Was more than doubled in size, and the exclusion of France also dramatically altered the political landscape of the continent. The term British America was used to refer to the British Empire's colonial territories in North America prior to the United States Declaration of Independence , most famously in the 1774 address of Thomas Jefferson to the First Continental Congress entitled: A Summary View of

20878-430: 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

21024-496: Was settled by arbitration in 1872, and with Alaska by arbitration in 1903. The Arctic Archipelago was ceded by Britain to Canada in 1880 and added to the North-West Territories. Later on, large sections of the NWT were split off as new territories (the Yukon Territory in 1898 and Nunavut in 1999), or provinces ( Alberta and Saskatchewan , both in 1905), or were added to existing provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, in stages ending in 1912). In 1907, Newfoundland became

21170-418: Was split into the primarily French-speaking Province of Lower Canada (future Quebec ) and the primarily English-speaking Province of Upper Canada (future Ontario ) in 1791. Later the two provinces north of the Great Lakes of the British Empire were combined in 1841 as the Province of Canada (also known as the United Provinces of Canada or the United Canada). This lasted a quarter-century until 1867 and

21316-410: Was to be administered and settled by the Virginia Company of Plymouth (or Plymouth Company), which established the Popham Colony in what is now Maine in 1606, but this was quickly abandoned and Plymouth Company's territory was absorbed into the London Company's. Over the course of the 17th century , Virginia would come to refer only to the polity that is today the Commonwealth of Virginia on

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