Canada

Regions
Canada is located in the northern part of North America. The country has the largest coastline in the world, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean in the west, the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Artic Ocean in the north. It is not an island though because it shares borders with the US in south and Alaska in the northwest.
Large parts of Canada consist of forests and lakes. The winters can be quite sharp with degrees several below zero and some parts of the land have snow all year around. Near the east and west coasts the climate is mild and windy, but with pleasant summer temperatures.
The capital of Canada is Ottawa, but the largest city is Toronto. Ottawa has developed to be a political and technological center of Canada.

Canadian Culture
For tens of thousands of years, Canada was inhabited by several different Aboriginal people. It was first later that colonies from Europe started settling at the Atlantic Coast. The name Canada itself derives from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word meaning “village” or “settlement”. The French originally settled New France during the early parts of the 17th century. Themes and symbols of pioneers, trappers, and traders played an important part in the early development of French Canadian culture. The British conquest of New France during the mid-18th century brought 70,000 French under British rule creating a need for compromise and accommodation.

The Canadian Forces and overall civilian participation in the First World War and Second World War helped to foster Canadian nationalism. As a result of the First and Second World Wars, the Government of Canada became more assertive and less deferential to British authority. In Canada, both English and French are used. In Quebec, French is the main language.

Canada has also evolved to be religiously and linguistically diverse, encompassing a wide range of dialects, beliefs and customs. The 2011 Canadian census reported a population count of 33,121,175 individuals of whom 67.3% identify as being Christians; of these, Catholics make up the largest group, accounting for 38.7 percent of the population. The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada (accounting for 6.1% of Canadians), followed by Anglicans (5.0%), and Baptists (1.9%). About 23.9% of Canadians declare no religious affiliation, including agnostics, atheists, humanists, and other groups.

The National Flag of Canada also known as the Maple Leaf and it showcases one of the things that Canada is most famous for; their maple trees. Canada produces 71% of the world’s pure maple syrup, 91% of which is produced in Quebec. It actually takes about 40 litres of sap to produce one litre of maple syrup.

Canadian Literature
Because of its size and breadth, Canadian literature is often divided into sub-categories. The most common are to categorize it by region or province. Another way is to categorize it by the author. For instance, the literature of Canadian women, Acadians, Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and Irish Canadians have been anthologized as bodies of work. A third is to divide it by literary period, such as “Canadian postmoderns” or “Canadian Poets Between the Wars.”

Traits common to works of Canadian literature include.

Failure as a theme: Failure and futility feature heavily as themes in many notable works; for instance, Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley or Kamouraska by Anne Hebert.

Humour: Serious subject matter is often laced with humour. See also: Canadian humour.

Mild anti-Americanism: There is a marked sentiment of anti-American often in the form of gentle satire. While it is sometimes perceived as malicious, it often presents a friendly rivalry between the two nations

Multiculturalism: Since World War Two, multiculturalism has been an important theme. Writers using this theme includeMordecai Richler (author of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz), Margaret Laurence (author of The Stone Angel), Rohinton Mistry, Michael Ondaatje (author of The English Patient) and Chinese Canadian writer Wayson Choy.

Nature (and a “human vs. nature” tension): Reference to nature is common in Canada’s literature. Nature is sometimes portrayed as an enemy, and sometimes like a divine force.

Satire and irony: Satire is probably one of the main elements of Canadian literature.

Self-deprecation: Another common theme in Canadian literature.

Politics and government

Canada has a parliamentary government system and they are both a democracy and a monarchy. The head of the government is the Prime Minister, which is currently Stephen Harper. He belongs to the conservative party. Their queen is Queen Elisabeth II, and she is also the Queen of the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

There are three levels of government in Canada, the federal government, provincial government and municipal government.

The House of Common is where the laws are made. Each election the habitants of Canada elect representatives there and the leader of the political party with the most votes and representatives becomes Prime Minister.

Canadian Issues

What are the biggest Canadian issues? Here are some of the replies given when National Post asked Canadians this question:

What’s the biggest issue Canada faces? Big government.

Malcolm Bell, Lions Bay, B.C.

The biggest issue Canada faces is the maintenance of peace and security. Canada needs an anti-war government.

Adrian Fu, Vancouver.

Blaming CO2 for global warming and/or climate change is certainly one of the biggest issues facing Canada and indeed the world. Billions of tax dollars are being wasted solving a non-problem. Ontario has nearly bankrupted itself with green energy. The media seems to think that the science is settled when there is far more evidence that the sun controls climate. CO2 is a natural plant food and according to photosynthesis, more CO2 would grow more food. So let the debate begin.

Norman J. Thomas, Beaconsfield, Que.

The sooner native land claims are solved, the better economic prospects for everyone (individual land title, tax equalization, etc.) A justice system overhaul for better expediting and maybe drastic sentencing terms. A strong and modern Army equals prestige and teeth for Canadian diplomacy, better defence, sovereignty and domestic rescue and search operations.

Vittorio Dal Cengio, Surrey, B.C.

It seems that there are several important points taken up by the people asked above. An answer a saw frequently was that the government was a big issue. Many Canadians wanted to change their government and higher power. Written by Inger-Marie and William.

Link to National Post:
http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/todays-letters-what-is-the-biggest-issue-facing-canada