CANADA
A country in North America. Area - 9.971 million km². Capital - Ottawa (1.3 million with suburbs), largest cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver. Administrative division - 10 provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan) and 3 territories - Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon. Population - 32.1 million (2005), mainly descendants of immigrants from Europe and the USA; Anglo-Canadians - about 60%, Franco-Canadians - about 23%, other ethnic groups - about 17%, indigenous population - Native Americans (798 thousand) and Eskimos (about 56 thousand). Official languages - English and French. Religion: the majority of the population practices Catholicism (45%), there are adherents of Anglicanism and other denominations. Currency - Canadian dollar = 100 cents.
Canada has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with the USSR in 1942). Between 1992 and 2005, treaties on cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, trade and commercial relations, cooperation in the Arctic and the North, and others were signed between the Russian Federation and Canada.
National holiday - July 1 - Canada Day (1867).
Canada is a federation consisting of provinces with broad rights and territories with a lesser degree of self-governance. It is part of the Commonwealth, headed by the United Kingdom. The nominal head of state is the Queen of the United Kingdom, represented by the Governor General (since September 2005 - M. Jean), who is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, usually for a term of 5 years. Legislative power is exercised by a parliament consisting of an elected (for a 5-year term) House of Commons (308 seats) and an appointed Senate (105 seats). Executive power is exercised by the government (single-party - Liberal Party) headed by the Prime Minister (since 2003 - Paul Martin). Legislative power in the provinces, headed by lieutenant governors, is exercised by legislative assemblies, and executive power is exercised by governments headed by premiers.
In April 1982, Canada adopted a constitutional law that empowered the Canadian Parliament to independently make constitutional amendments (previously they were formally subject to approval by the British Parliament) and supplemented it with a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Serious complications in the domestic political situation arose from the struggle over the status of Franco-Canadians in the federation and the status of the province of Quebec. In 1987, the subjects of the Canadian federation and the central government signed the Meech Lake constitutional agreement, which defined the conditions for Quebec's accession to the constitutional law and secured its status as a "distinct society."
However, opposition from certain provinces and a significant part of the Anglo-speaking population led to the failure of the ratification of this document in June 1990, which caused a deep constitutional crisis and exacerbated interethnic relations in the country. An attempt to harmonize them through broader reform of the existing model of Canadian federation was made in 1992. At a conference attended by the Prime Minister and the premiers of the provinces in Charlottetown, a constitutional agreement was reached that significantly expanded the powers of the provinces while maintaining a wide range of powers for the central government, including a leading role in foreign policy, defense, and regulation of macroeconomic processes. However, at the national referendum on October 26, 1992, the package of agreements reached was rejected not only by the population of Quebec but also by 5 other provinces.
The high level of nationalist sentiments in Quebec and the rise to power of the separatist Quebec Party in 1994 led to a referendum on Quebec's sovereignty on October 30, 1995. A narrow victory for federalist forces in the referendum (50.6% of voters voted against sovereignty, 49.4% for)
pushed the threat to the unity of the country aside but did not remove the constitutional issue from the agenda.
Political parties: The Liberal Party (LP) - the ruling party of Canada. The party leader is Paul Martin (who replaced Jean Chrétien in November 2003). Founded in 1873. Social base - the majority of the "middle class." The core of the LP's political program is the protection of the principle of free enterprise combined with an active regulatory role of the state, a course aimed at supporting domestic business while maintaining an effective system of social guarantees for low-income groups, strengthening and diversifying Canada's external relations.
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) - formed on December 8, 2003, by merging the Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. The party leader is Stephen Harper. The united party represents the interests of large business, prosperous farming, the center-right electorate, some moderate nationalist forces in Quebec, as well as the conservatively inclined "middle class," small and medium-sized businesses. Traditionally, the main programmatic guidelines of Canadian conservatives are reducing government intervention in the economy, lowering taxes on individuals and corporations, and decentralizing powers in favor of the provinces. In foreign affairs, it advocates closer military-political cooperation with the USA.
The Bloc Québécois (BQ) - created in 1991. The party leader is Gilles Duceppe. It unites various political groups and movements in Quebec that advocate for the province's separation from Canada and the proclamation of its independence.
It is the first federal political organization of Quebec separatists in the country's history. It operates in tandem with the provincial Quebec Party (which was in power in Quebec from 1994 to 2003).
The New Democratic Party (NDP) - established in 1961 on the basis of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and part of Canadian trade unions. It represents the "left" sector of the Canadian political spectrum. The party leader is Jack Layton. The NDP is a member of the Socialist International.
After the elections (June 28, 2004) in the House of Commons, the Liberal Party had 133 seats, the Conservative Party - 98, the Bloc Québécois - 54, the New Democratic Party - 18, independent deputies - 4, and one seat was vacant. On November 29, 2005, Parliament was dissolved, and the next elections will take place on January 23, 2006; in the Senate (November 2005): LP - 67, CPC - 24 seats.
Canadian trade unions unite about 4 million members. The largest trade union federation is the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), established in 1956 (a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions). Most of the unions in the CLC are branches of corresponding American unions.
The first Europeans reached Canada in 1497. The colonization of Canada, accompanied by the extermination of the indigenous population, began in the 17th century. In 1605, the French and in 1623, the English established their first settlements in Canada. As a result of the Seven Years' War (1756-63) between two coalitions of European states (which ended with Britain's victory over France), Canada passed to Britain. The final delineation of borders and the arrangement of British colonial possessions in North America was completed in 1791 with the adoption of a constitutional act. According to the British North America Act, adopted by the English Parliament in 1867, Canada (the first of the English colonies) gained dominion status. The formation of the Canadian federation was mainly completed in the late 19th - early 20th century with the establishment of the provinces of Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Alberta. In 1931, the British government recognized Canada's independence in internal and external politics.
Canada is a member of the UN (since 1945), NATO (since 1949), OECD (since 1960), OAS (since 1990), and OSCE (since 1975).
Canada is among the leading industrially developed countries in the West. In 2004, GDP amounted to 1.25 trillion Canadian dollars (1 Canadian dollar = 0.80 USD).
The country has a highly developed extractive and processing industry and is one of the largest producers of gas, oil, nickel, lead, zinc, aluminum, asbestos, and uranium in the world. In recent years, Canada has emerged as one of the largest producers of telecommunications equipment and aerospace products, primarily aircraft for regional transportation and business-class liners.
The highly productive agricultural sector, primarily consisting of grain farming (68 million tons of grain harvested in 2004) and livestock, places Canada among the leading global producers and exporters of agricultural products.
The Canadian economy is deeply integrated into the system of global economic relations. The share of exports in the country's GDP is about 40% - one of the highest figures among the G8 countries. In 2004, Canada's trade turnover amounted to 758 billion Canadian dollars, with exports of 404 billion dollars and imports of 354 billion dollars.
In the geographical structure of Canada's foreign trade in 2004, the leading positions were held by the USA (accounting for 85% of Canadian exports and 59.4% of imports), as well as Japan (2.1 and 3.8%), the UK (1.7 and 2.8%), and China (1.6 and 6.6%).
The Canadian market is very attractive for foreign investors. According to data for 2004, the volume of foreign direct investment in the country's economy reached 363.1 billion Canadian dollars. Canada's investments abroad in 2004 amounted to 432.4 billion Canadian dollars. In the foreign economic sphere, the priority remains the line for comprehensive trade liberalization and participation in international and regional integration associations.
Great attention is paid to increasing the competitiveness of Canadian products through the introduction of new technologies, promoting the training of technical personnel, increasing labor productivity, and modernizing production.
With the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the USA in 1989 and the signing of the trilateral (USA - Canada - Mexico) North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992, the process of integrating the Canadian economy with the American one has intensified, turning it into an integral part of the emerging unified North American economic space.
Canada's trade turnover with Russia in 2004 amounted to 1,397.5 million USD, including exports - 1,079.8 million USD, imports - 317.7 million USD. The main goods of Russian exports are oil and petroleum products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, chemical industry products, and food products. In imports from Canada, machinery and equipment, food products, chemical industry products, metals, and metal products prevail.
In 2004, Canada's GDP growth was 2.7%, the inflation rate (consumer price index) was 2.4%, and unemployment was 7.3%. The country's national debt is 501.5 billion Canadian dollars. A budget surplus was recorded at the level of 9.1 billion Canadian dollars.
Incomplete secondary education in Canada (mandatory and free) is provided for children aged 5-7 to 14-16 years. Schools are divided into public, funded by provincial and municipal governments (more than 15.2 thousand schools, about 5.2 million students), and private (up to 4% of all schools). Instruction is mainly conducted in English, in Quebec - in French. There are schools maintained by religious or ethnic groups and societies (German, Italian, Ukrainian, Jewish) where instruction is conducted in the languages of these groups.
Complete secondary education continues after primary school for 3-4 years (up to the age of 17-19).
Higher education is obtained by Canadians at universities located in all provinces. The largest and most famous are Queen's (Kingston), Toronto (Toronto), McGill and Montreal (Montreal), Laval (Quebec), and the University of British Columbia (Vancouver).
In Canada, there are about 100 daily newspapers and 1,000 weekly publications. About 300 newspapers and other periodicals are published in the languages of ethnic groups (German, Italian, Chinese, etc.). The total circulation is over 5 million copies.
The main national news agency is the Canadian Press.
The largest media conglomerates are: "Bell Globemedia" (television, press, Internet), "CanWest Global Communications" (English-language newspapers, websites, television), "Rogers Communications" (cable television, radio stations, television programs, periodicals, websites, Internet), "Quebecor" (French-language television channels, cable television, the "Sun" tabloid network, web portal). Major players in the media market also include holdings such as "Power Corporation" (French-language newspapers), "Torstar" (large daily and local newspapers, book publishing, multimedia products, television), "CHUM" (a network of radio stations, local television studios and channels), "Thomson Corporation" (periodicals), "Hollinger Canadian Newspapers" (periodicals).
The most widely circulated English-language newspapers are: "Toronto Star" (about 460 thousand copies), "Globe and Mail" (about 370 thousand), "National Post" (about 310 thousand), "Ottawa Citizen" (over 130 thousand). The most popular and influential weekly socio-political magazine is "Maclean's" (over 500 thousand). The main newspapers in French are: "La Presse" (about 180 thousand), "Le Soleil" (about 90 thousand), "Le Devoir" (about 30 thousand).
Canada has an extensive national network of radio and television, with about 120 television and about 580 radio stations.
The largest national broadcasting company is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).