Fun Facts About Australia

Міністерство освіти і науки України Ніжинський державний університет імені Миколи Гоголя М.В. Нагач CANADA Навчальний посібник Ніжин 2017 CONTENTS UNIT I. INTRODUCTION 3 Fact summary Interesting facts about Canada Realia Canadian symbols and national icons The Maple Leaf The beaver The Canadian coat of arms The Canadian flag The Mounties Canadian bearskin hats (“Busbies”) Poutine Canadian character and culture Top ten Canadian contributions to the American way of life Canadian cuisine UNIT II. GEOGRAPHY AND SIGHTS 25 Natural features Places of natural beauty in Canada Fascinating places of Canada National parks Canadian cities Sights UNIT III. STATE SYSTEM AND POLITICAL DIVISION 60 Advantages and disadvantages of federalism Canadian provinces and territories Newfoundland Language State and provincial public holidays Christmas traditions in Canada Best festivals in Canada UNIT IV. ECONOMY 84 Canadian economy: General Facts What are the top industries in Canada? Maple syrup UNIT V. HISTORY 91 Some basic landmarks in the history of Canada Pre-colonial Canada European colonization 2 The Klondike gold rush History glitters in the Yukon Building the national railroad Canada in the 20th century – a timeline UNIT V. POPULATION 104 Population of Canada: Factfile The First Canadians Totem poles American Indians‟ masks Our land (Nunavut) French Canadians Ukrainians in Canada Ukrainian Canadian Institutions Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Center Ukrainian Museum of Canada UNIT VI. FAMOUS CANADIANS 127 The Greatest Canadian Contributing to the world culture UNIT VII. CHALLENGES FOR CANADIANS 135 Two nations or one? The Canadian identity Native land claims Ecological issues Depletion of the fish stocks 3 UNIT I INTRODUCTION Canada, historically the Dominion of Canada, is the northernmost country in North America. The country stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. Canada also reaches the Arctic Ocean in the north where its territorial claim extends to the North Pole. At 9.98 million square kilometers in total, Canada is the world‟s second largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the world‟s longest land border shared by the same two countries (5,525 miles, including 1,538 miles between Canada and Alaska). Besides Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of about 243,000 kilometres. Fact Summary Official Name: Canada Capital: Ottawa Major Cities: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Quebec National Emblems: Maple leaf and beaver Anthem: O Canada Political structure: Independent constitutional monarchy (Head of State: Elizabeth II) The name of Canada comes from an Iroquois word meaning “village”. There have been many theories about the origin of the name “Canada”, but there can be little doubt that the word is Indian in origin. When Jacque Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River to an Indian village, he heard the village called “kanata” and took that to be the name of the country. In some Huron dialects, “kanata” means a settlement or a village. In the Mohawk language, a similar word means simply “a place”. 4 In Cartier‟s map of the St. Lawrence River, he put the name “Canada” on the area that is now Quebec City. After the English conquest of the French colony of Arcadia in 1713, the name “Canada” started to be applied to the whole St. Lawrence colony. In 1867, the name “Canada” was applied to the four provinces that joined the Confederation. Eventually, the name “Canada” spread from a small community on the St. Lawrence to embrace half a continent, from sea to sea and from the 49th parallel to the North Pole. Interesting Facts About Canada Read the information. What facts do you find the most surprising? Which of them are illustrated by the pictures below? 1. Canada became a country on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act was passed by the British Parliament. 2. The Canadian motto “A Mari Usque ad Mare” means “From Sea to Sea”. 3. The capital city, Ottawa, was originally named Bytown after Colonel John By, who headquartered there while building the Rideau Canal to connect the Ottawa River with Lake Ontario. 4. The world‟s strongest current is found in the Nakwakto Rapids at Slingsby Channel, British Columbia. The current has been measured at speeds up to 18.4 miles per hour. 5. The country has about one-fourth of all the fresh water available in the world. 6. Over 60% of the world‟s lakes are located in Canada. Many of the lakes have been created by the glaciers shaping. 7. Manitou Lake on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron is the world‟s largest lake within a lake (41.1 square miles). 8. Despite being a really big country, it has the fourth lowest population density in the world, with only 3 people living per square kilometer! Almost half of the population of Canada were born in other countries. 9. It is the world‟s largest country that borders only one country, which is the USA. 10. The longest national highway in the world is the Trans-Canada Highway which is over 7604 kilometers in length. It travels from St. John in Newfoundland and Labrador to Victoria in British Columbia. 11. Over 80% of the total population of Canada reside in cities. 12. Canada is one of the world‟s wealthiest countries. It has a very high per capita income. 13. The average life expectancy at birth for a Canadian is 81.16 years, the eighth highest in the world. The United States ranks 46th, at 78.14 years. 14. The total unemployment rate in Canada is around 6%. It has been the lowest in the past 30 years. 15. Canada is known to have the sixth highest human development index in the world, according to the United Nations Human Development Index 2011. 16. The belief that the North Pole is owned by Canada is false. No country owns the North Pole. 5 17. Canada features in the list of top five world‟s producers of gold, copper, zinc, nickel, aluminum, and natural gas. 18. It produces so much energy, that it provides it to the US too! 19. It is also the largest producer of a refreshingly sweet dessert wine called Icewine. 20. The Moosehead Brewery in Saint John, New Brunswick, turns out 1,642 bottles of beer per minute. 21. A funny fact about Canada‟s city of Montreal, sometimes called The City of Churches, is that it has more churches than houses. 22. Canada is also home to the world‟s smallest jail, located in Ontario. It is only 270 square feet. 23. It also has the highest tertiary education (syn. higher education) enrollment in the world, which includes locals as well as international students. 24. Toronto is the largest city of Canada, with a population of more than 5 million people. Toronto dwellers hold more university degrees than any other big city in the world. 25. The Ice Hotel in Quebec, known as Hotel de Glace is created every year using 400 tons of ice and 12,000 tons of snow. It melts away every summer and is recreated every winter. 26. Winter temperatures in Canada fall below freezing point, with snow covering some parts of the country for nearly 8 months! North America‟s lowest recorded temperature was -63 C at Snag, Yukon Territory, on February 3, 1947. 27. Half of the country is covered with forests, which should not be surprising, considering one-tenth of the world‟s forests are here. It is also home to the polar and grizzly bears. 28. Canada has just one desert in British Columbia, towards the southernmost corner of the Okanagan Valley in Osoyoos. The desert is only 15 miles long, with over 100 rare plants, and over 300 rare animals. It is also the only desert in the world that has a long boardwalk, for people to walk on! 29. The first person to make paper from wood fibers was a Canadian, Charles Fenerty, a poet from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He started experimenting in 1839 and produced paper from wood pulp in 1841. 30. Many inventions including basketball, the baseball glove, the electric light bulb, the electric wheelchair, the electronic organ, insulin, the cardiac pacemaker, the foghorn, the first snowmobile and the electric cooking range were invented in this remarkable country. Also, the first practical electron microscope was constructed at the University of Toronto. 31. Canada has two national sports – Lacrosse as the country‟s national summer sport, and Ice Hockey as the national winter sport. The modern game of ice hockey was developed in Canada based on games that have been played since the 10th century. The rules were first published in the Montreal Gazette in 1877. 32. Canada holds the record for the most gold medals ever won at the Winter Olympics, since taking 14 Golds at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. 33. A black bear cub from Canada named Winnipeg (or “Winnie”, for short) was one of the most popular attractions at the London Zoo after it was donated to the zoo in 6 1915. Winnie became a favourite of Christopher Robin Milne and inspired the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne, about Winnie-the-Pooh. 34. The West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, was once the world‟s largest shopping mall. It now ranks fifth, but it still contains the world‟s largest indoor amusement park. Realia – the names of the phenomena (objects of material culture, facts of history, state institutions names of national and folklore heroes etc.), which are present only in the life of a definite community.

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