Canada is one of the most popular countries among immigrants. The entire state is divided into provinces and territories. How many provinces are there in Canada? Which one is the largest? What features do Canadian provinces have?
Canada and its government
The state, which is located in North America and is the second largest in the world, is Canada. Its border with the United States is considered the longest common border. In addition to America, Canada's neighbors are overseas territories of France and Denmark. The Canadian motto is: “From Sea to Sea”, because it is surrounded by the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
Canadian government combines the features of the American and English government systems. At the head of the country is the monarch, who owns executive power in the state. Now it is the British Queen Elizabeth II, as the country is part of the British Commonwealth. The official authorized to represent the Queen in Canada is Governor General David Lloyd Johnston.
From America, Canada adopted the principles of federalism, but instead of the states here are provinces. The head of state, represented by the queen, is just a formality. In practice, important decisions for the country are made either by the prime minister — the head of government, or by individual ministers.
Provinces
Provinces and territories of Canada are distinguished by the fact that the provinces are endowed with great rights. Power in Canada is decentralized and operates on the principles of federation. The state is divided into ten provinces and 3 territories. What are the provinces of Canada? Their list is as follows:
- Quebec
- Ontario.
- British Columbia
- Alberta.
- Saskatchewan.
- Manitoba
- Newfoundland and Labrador.
- New Brunswick.
- Nova Scotia.
- Prince Edward Island
The powers of the provinces of Canada are vested in the Constitution Act, in force since 1867. They are mini-states. Each of them has its own lieutenant-governor and parliament, its own courts and so on. On the advice of the prime minister, the lieutenant governor appoints ministers. Deputies representing the legislative body are elected by a majority voting system.
The provincial government is responsible for health programs, social programs, observance of civil rights in the provinces, justice, and observance of rights to private property. It can also regulate taxes within its province.
Canadian territories
Territories in Canada are administrative units that receive rights from the federal Canadian government. They are allowed to have their own legislative assembly, but they obey the governor-general of the country and the commissioner of the House of Commons.
Territories:
- Nunavut.
- Northwest Territories.
- Yukon.
The functions of lieutenant governors in the Canadian territories are performed by commissioners. Although they rather represent not the queen, but the federal government of the country.
There is a political movement that seeks to change the situation of territories and transfer them to the status of provinces.
Languages in Canada
Canada is a country where indigenous languages coexist alongside immigrant languages. Such a neighborhood creates the conditions for the emergence of hybrid or mixed languages, as well as various dialects. Over the past 50 years, the Canadian government has increasingly supported the various unofficial languages of the Canadian population.
English and French, due to historical circumstances, are the most common. These are the official languages of the state. According to some reports, the number of English speakers in Canada is about 20 million people, French-speaking people - about 6 million people. Among the other languages of the country, the most popular are Cantonese , Punjabi, Spanish, Italian and Ukrainian.
About 2% of the population in the family circle speak two or more languages, the remaining 98 percent use only one language. Approximately 200,000 people in Canada know at least one of the 25 most widely spoken indigenous languages. The most common of them are Cree, Ojivba, Inuktitut, Inu, Dene.
French province of Canada
In colloquial speech and office work, English dominates almost all the provinces of Canada. The only province in which French uses almost 90% of the population is the province of Quebec. Canada is bilingual only at the highest government level. This is because the French settled Canadian territories later than the British. After the capture of New France by Britain, francophones were often persecuted by the English-speaking population and even deported.
Quebec is the largest province in Canada with the capital of the same name. Montreal is the largest city in the province. More than eight million inhabitants live here. The city is completely surrounded by two rivers - the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa - and is an island. In its historical center, many architectural monuments have been preserved, only churches here are more than three hundred.
Ontario
The second largest after Quebec is the province of Ontario. Canada, as you know, is a multicultural country, and Ontario confirms this with the diversity of ethnic groups. More than forty percent of the province's residents identify with several ethnic groups at the same time. The largest province is Ontario.
Canada borders on the United States, and the border with Ontario is the longest. Basically, it is natural, as it runs through a network of lakes and rivers. This is the only province that borders the Great Lakes. There are more than 500 thousand lakes in Ontario. In the province, on Lake Huron, there is also the largest freshwater island - Manitulin. Only on this island are located 108 lakes. One of the highlights is Niagara Falls, the most popular waterfall in the world. Its height is 53 meters. From the side of Canada, watching the waterfall is much more colorful and interesting than from the American side.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The first overseas province of Great Britain was the island of Newfoundland. Later, he, along with the Labrador Peninsula, became the provinces of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador. Currently, almost the entire population lives on the island. The province has a unique ethnic composition, as the descendants of Southern Ireland and Southwest England, representatives of the oldest group of settlers, live on the island. The population of the island, unlike the inhabitants of other Canadian provinces, was not influenced by immigrants, which helped to preserve the old English dialect and traditions.
These places attract tourists with their color and unusualness, therefore, folklore festivals are organized here periodically. In the province, lodges of secret societies and fraternities, common in the 19th-20th centuries, have been preserved. There are three national parks and several historic parks in Newfoundland and Labrador . In the latter there are places of the first Viking settlements and monuments of Indian culture.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is located among the provinces called the "coastal provinces of Canada." It is a peninsula surrounded by the waters of three oceans. The first colonists of this province were the French. Then these places were called Acadia, or "peaceful land." Nova Scotia was dubbed the land much later, when the British sailed again to master it, led by William Alexader. Now in the province there are more than 80 different ethnic groups.
In a relatively small area there are two national parks, one of which has the interesting and unpronounceable name Kedzhimkuji. The scenery of the province is incredibly beautiful. Together with the province of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia shares the Bay of Fundy. The bay is famous for its extraordinary tides. The tide level sometimes differs by 14 meters. The tide turns into low tide in about 6 hours, it happens every day, which attracts a huge number of tourists to the region.
British columbia
Vancouver is the largest city in the western province of Canada (British Columbia). As in Newfoundland and Labrador, most of the population are descendants of the first settlers. True, here immigrants make up a rather large number (about 5 million), so it is much more difficult for local residents to maintain their identity.
Most of the province is occupied by unspoilt wildlife. On its territory there are 14 protected natural sites and national parks. Many species of animals rare in North America are found here, for example, various species of bears, cougars, deer, coyotes, and marmots.
Conclusion
Canada is a multicultural country. Formally, the Queen of Canada is considered the British Queen, although she does not directly participate in government. The whole country is divided into provinces and territories that operate on the principle of federation and have sufficient independence.