Canada

total:

44.72 cu km/yr (20%/69%/12%)

per capita:

1,386 cu m/yr (1996)

• continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development;
• cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains

• air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests;
• metal smelting, coal-burning utilities, and vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity;
• ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities

• second-largest country in world (after Russia);
• strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route;
• approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km of the US border

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

Canadian(s)

adjective:

Canadian

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Canada

name:

Ottawa

geographic coordinates:

45 25 N, 75 42 W

time difference:

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November

note: Canada is divided into six time zones

• made up of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions;
• the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982, which transferred formal control over the constitution from Britain to Canada, and added a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as procedures for constitutional amendments

head of state:

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Michaelle JEAN (since 27 September 2005)

head of government:

Prime Minister Stephen HARPER (since 6 February 2006)

cabinet:

Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament

elections:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general

• Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general);
• Federal Court of Canada;
• Federal Court of Appeal;
• Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice)

• Bloc Quebecois [Gilles DUCEPPE];
• Conservative Party of Canada [Stephen HARPER] (a merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party);
• Green Party [Elizabeth MAY];
• Liberal Party [Michael IGNATIEFF];
• New Democratic Party [Jack LAYTON]

other:

• agricultural sector;
• automobile industry;
• business groups;
• chemical industry;
• commercial banks;
• communications sector;
• energy industry;
• environmentalists;
• public administration groups;
• steel industry;
• trade unions

chief of mission:

Ambassador David H. WILKINS

embassy:

490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8

mailing address:

P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669-0430; P.O. Box 866, Station B, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5T1

telephone:

[1] (613) 688-5335

FAX:

[1] (613) 688-3082

consulate(s) general:

Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg

• two vertical bands of red (hoist and fly side, half width) with white square between them;
• an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square;
• the official colors of Canada are red and white

• 10.8%;
• note - this figure is the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO), a calculation that results in higher figures than found in many comparable economies;
• Canada does not have an official poverty line (2005)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

24.8% (2000)

• wheat, barley, oilseed, tobacco, fruits, vegetables;
• dairy products;
• forest products;
• fish

• motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment;
• chemicals, plastics, fertilizers;
• wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum

general assessment:

excellent service provided by modern technology

domestic:

domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations

international:

• country code - 1;
• submarine cables provide links to the US and Europe;
• satellite earth stations - 7 (5 Intelsat - 4 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean, and 2 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region) (2007)

total:

46,688 km

country comparison to the world: 5

standard gauge:

46,688 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

1,042,300 km

country comparison to the world: 6

paved:

415,600 km (includes 17,000 km of expressways)

unpaved:

626,700 km (2006)

• 17 years of age for male and female voluntary military service (with parental consent);
• 16 years of age for reserve and military college applicants;
• Canadian citizenship or permanent residence status required;
• maximum 34 years of age;
• service obligation 3-9 years (2008)

males age 16-49:

8,072,010

females age 16-49:

7,813,462 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

6,647,513

females age 16-49:

6,413,748 (2009 est.)

male:

223,238

female:

210,797 (2009 est.)

• managed maritime boundary disputes with the US at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Gulf of Maine including the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock;
• Canada, the US, and other countries dispute the status of the Northwest Passage;
• US works closely with Canada to intensify security measures for monitoring and controlling legal and illegal movement of people, transport, and commodities across the international border;
• sovereignty dispute with Denmark over Hans Island in the Kennedy Channel between Ellesmere Island and Greenland;
• commencing the collection of technical evidence for submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in support of claims for continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from its declared baselines in the Arctic, as stipulated in Article 76, paragraph 8, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

• illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic drug market and export to US;
• use of hydroponics technology permits growers to plant large quantities of high-quality marijuana indoors;
• increasing ecstasy production, some of which is destined for the US;
• vulnerable to narcotics money laundering because of its mature financial services sector