Canada

• vast majority of Canadians are positioned in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km of the southern border with the United States;
• the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia

• 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

volcanism:

the vast majority of volcanoes in Western Canada's Coast Mountains remain dormant

noun:

Canadian(s)

adjective:

Canadian

total:

42.6 years (2024 est.)

male:

41.4 years

female:

43.8 years

• vast majority of Canadians are positioned in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km of the southern border with the United States;
• the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

4.5 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

4 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

84.2 years (2024 est.)

male:

81.9 years

female:

86.6 years

total:

8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

3.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

2.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

13% (2020 est.)

male:

15.3% (2020 est.)

female:

10.7% (2020 est.)

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

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

urban population:

81.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.95% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

6.39 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

544.89 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

101.82 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

25,103,034 tons (2014 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

5,168,715 tons (2008 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

20.6% (2008 est.)

municipal:

4.87 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

27.51 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

3.86 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

5

global geoparks and regional networks:

• Perce;
• Stonehammer;
• Tumbler Ridge;
• Cliffs of Fundy;
• Discovery (2023)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Canada

etymology:

the country name likely derives from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word "kanata" meaning village or settlement

• federal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy;
• a Commonwealth realm;
• federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution

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

time zone note:

Canada has six time zones

etymology:

• the city lies on the south bank of the Ottawa River, from which it derives its name;
• the river name comes from the Algonquin word "adawe" meaning "to trade" and refers to the indigenous peoples who used the river as a trade highway

history:

• consists of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions dating from 1763;
• 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

amendments:

• proposed by either house of Parliament or by the provincial legislative assemblies;
• there are 5 methods for passage though most require approval by both houses of Parliament, approval of at least two thirds of the provincial legislative assemblies and assent and formalization as a proclamation by the governor general in council;
• the most restrictive method is reserved for amendments affecting fundamental sections of the constitution, such as the office of the monarch or the governor general, and the constitutional amendment procedures, which require unanimous approval by both houses and by all the provincial assemblies, and assent of the governor general in council;
• amended 11 times, last in 2011 (Fair Representation Act, 2011)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

minimum of 3 of last 5 years resident in Canada

chief of state:

King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Mary SIMON (since 6 July 2021)

head of government:

Prime Minister Justin Pierre James TRUDEAU (since 4 November 2015)

cabinet:

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

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a 5-year term;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Commons generally designated prime minister by the governor general

note: the governor general position is largely ceremonial

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Canada (consists of the chief justice and 8 judges);
• note - in 1949, Canada abolished all appeals beyond its Supreme Court, which prior to that time, were heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)

judge selection and term of office:

chief justice and judges appointed by the prime minister in council; all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 75

subordinate courts:

• federal level: Federal Court of Appeal;
• Federal Court;
• Tax Court;
• federal administrative tribunals;
• Courts Martial;
• provincial/territorial level: provincial superior, appeals, first instance, and specialized courts;
• note - in 1999, the Nunavut Court - a circuit court with the power of a provincial superior court, as well as a territorial court - was established to serve isolated settlements

• Bloc Quebecois
• Conservative Party of Canada or CPC
• Green Party
• Liberal Party
• New Democratic Party or NDP
• People's Party of Canada

• 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 maple leaf has long been a Canadian symbol

total World Heritage Sites:

22 (10 cultural, 11 natural, 1 mixed) (2021)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• L'Anse aux Meadows (c);
• Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (n);
• Dinosaur Provincial Park (n);
• Historic District of Old Quebec (c);
• Old Town Lunenburg (c);
• Wood Buffalo National Park (n);
• Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (c);
• Gros Morne National Park (n);
• Pimachiowin Aki (m)

• one of the world’s leading developed economies;
• globally integrated commercial and financial markets;
• largest US trading partner;
• key energy, forestry, manufacturing and service industries;
• inflation recovering following interest rate hikes;
• government priorities include climate policy, immigration and affordable housing

Fitch rating:

AA+ (2020)

Moody's rating:

Aaa (2002)

Standard & Poors rating: AAA (2002)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

1.8% (2020 est.)

industry:

22.5% (2020 est.)

services:

69.6% (2020 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

10.6% (2023 est.)

male:

11.4% (2023 est.)

female:

9.8% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

9.5% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

3.7% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.9% (2019 est.)

highest 10%:

24.4% (2019 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

19 (2023)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

13.7GW (2023 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

13.7% (2023 est.)

Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down:

6 (2023)

production:

43.024 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

17.138 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

29.114 million metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

6.444 million metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

6.582 billion metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

5.692 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

2.454 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

170.3 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

187.686 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

130.316 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

84.928 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

27.481 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

2.067 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the Canadian telecom market continues to show steady development as operators invest in network upgrades;
• much of the investment among telcos has been channeled into LTE infrastructure to capitalize on consumer demand for mobile data services, while there has also been further investment in 5G;
• investment programs have also been supported by regulatory efforts to ensure that operators have spectrum available to develop 5G services;
• an investment in fixed-line infrastructure, focused on FttP and, among cable broadband providers;
• government policy has encouraged the extension of broadband to rural and regional areas, with the result that services are almost universally available and the emphasis now is on improving service speeds to enable the entire population to benefit from the digital economy and society;
• cable broadband is the principal access platform, followed by DSL;
• the mobile rate remains comparatively low by international standards;
• Canadians have provided for LTE and LTE-A infrastructure;
• despite topographical challenges and the remoteness of many areas, the major players effectively offer 99% population coverage with LTE;
• operators now provide up to 70% population coverage with 5G (2024)

domestic:

Nearly 29 per 100 fixed-line and 91 per 100 mobile-cellular teledensity (2022)

international:

• country code - 1;
• landing points for the Nunavut Undersea Fiber Optic Network System, Greenland Connect, Persona, GTT Atlantic, and Express, KetchCan 1 Submarine Fiber Cable system, St Pierre and Miquelon Cable submarine cables providing 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) (2019)

• 2 public TV broadcasting networks, 1 in English and 1 in French, each with a large number of network affiliates;
• several private-commercial networks also with multiple network affiliates;
• overall, about 150 TV stations;
• multi-channel satellite and cable systems provide access to a wide range of stations including US stations;
• mix of public and commercial radio broadcasters with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the public radio broadcaster, operating 4 radio networks, Radio Canada International, and radio services to indigenous populations in the north;
• roughly 1,119 licensed radio stations (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

51 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 879

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

89.38 million (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

3,434,070,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

49,422 km (2021) note: 129 km electrified (2021)

standard gauge:

49,422 km (2021) 1.435-m gauge

total:

1,042,300 km

paved:

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

unpaved:

626,700 km (2011)

total ports:

284 (2024)

large:

4

medium:

14

small:

58

very small:

149

size unknown:

59

ports with oil terminals:

59

key ports:

Argentia, Canaport (St. John), Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, New Westminster, Pond Inlet, Prince Rupert, Quebec, Sept Iles, St. John, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Trois Rivieres, Vancouver, Victoria Harbor, Windsor