Evolution of Canada
Evolution of CanadaCanada, independent nation in North America. A country rich in minerals
and agriculture, it was settled by the French and English and became an
independent Commonwealth country with a federal system of government, in
which the provinces enjoy a large measure of autonomy.
Land and Economy. The 2nd-largest country in the world (after the
USSR), Canada occupies the N half of the North American continent,
stretching E and W from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans, N from the 49th
parallel to the North Pole, including all the islands in the Arctic Ocean
from W of Greenland to Alaska. It is divided into 10 provinces, which are
(E-W): Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick,
Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Two
territories–Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory–are in the N and
NW. The outstanding geological feature is the Canadian Shield, a
1,850,000-sq-mi (4,791,500-sq-km) arc of Pre-Cambrian rock from Labrador
around Hudson Bay to the Arctic islands. The Shield, site of once great
mountain chains worn down and covered by the sea, contains valuable
minerals–gold, silver, platinum, copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, and
zinc–making Canada one of the most important mining countries in the
world. The Shield’s N portion is a treeless plain with permanently frozen
subsoil; in its S section are forests.
Extending from the Shield’s W border to the Canadian Rockies are
prairies more than 800mi (1,288km) wide that yield wheat, the dominant
crop, and are centers of livestock raising. W Canada is a land of mountains
with fishing, agriculture, and lumbering as important industries. With the
development of major oil and natural gas deposits since the 1950s in the W,
the now-dominant energy industry has resulted in dramatic economic growth
there, and made Canada a major oil-producing country. The E provinces
provide rich farm lands, forests, coal mines, and major fishing sources
along the long coastline. Source of a route into the interior for early
settlers, the St Lawrence-Great Lakes area is the most populous section of
Canada as well as its economic and political center. It contains over 60%
of the population. Abundant minerals have made Canada the world leader in
the production of silver, nickel, potash, and zinc; second in gypsum,
asbestos, uranium, and sulfur; third in gold, lead, and platinum; fourth in
magnesium and fifth in copper. Timber is also valuable, and Canada is a
world leader in newsprint production. The growth of manufacturing during
the 1950s and 1960s changed Canada from a rural society to an industrial
and urban country. Farming employs 7% of the working population.
Mechanization has made it possible to export 30%-40% of its total
agricultural production, accounting for 11% of total exports. Wheat is
particularly important. Of the total fishing catch, 75% is exported.
People. Canada’s indigenous Indians and Eskimos are descendants of the
Mongoloid tribes who took the NW route from Asia across the Bering Strait
15,000-20,000 years ago. The Arctic region contains about 12,000 Eskimos.
Today, 44% of the population is of British descent. About 30% is French,
descended from the colonists who came to Canada in the 17th and 18th
centuries, and now heavily concentrated in Quebec...
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