Canada

CANADA
Canadais a federal parliamentary monarchy of America, located at the north end of North America. It extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west and north to the Arctic Ocean, sharing border with the United States of America to the south and west with its state of Alaska. It is the second largest country in the world after Russia, and also the northernmost.Occupies about half of North America.

The territory occupied by Canada was inhabited by various groups of Aboriginal people for millennia. From the late fifteenth century, the British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its North American colonies in 1763 after the Franco-Indian. In 1867, the union of three British North Americancolonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provincias.4 5 This led to start a collection of provinces and territories and a process of autonomy from the United Kingdom . This increasing autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and culminated in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982, which broke the vestiges of legal dependence inparliament británico.6

The federation consists of ten Canadian provinces and 3 territories, and is governed as a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. It is a bilingual nation with English and French as official languages ​​at the federal level.

Canada is an industrial nation and pioneered and advanced technologically, largely self-sufficientin energy thanks to its relatively large deposits of fossil fuels and nuclear power generation wide and hydropower. As one of the most developed countries, has a diversified economy, which makes it independent for their large deposits and abundant natural resources and trade, particularly with the United States. Currently a member of the OAS, G-8, G-20, NATO, OECD, WTO, APEC, the Commonwealth ofNations, la Francophonie and the Organization of the United Nations. It is considered one of the countries worldwide with better quality of life.2

Amerindian peoples

The first inhabitants of the territory that now comprises Canada were the "First Nations", 13 the esquimales14 and métis.15 The terms "Indian" and "eskimos" have fallen into desuso.16 archaeological and genetic studies prove humanpresence in northern Yukon 26,500 years ago, and in southern Ontario makes 9,500 years.17 18 19 Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are the oldest archaeological sites left by the first inhabitants canadienses.20 21 22 Among the traditions of the "first Nations" , are the eight unique stories that describe the creation of the world and its aboriginal peoples tribus.23 These are characterized byurban settlements that have lasted until the twenty-first century, for its monumental architecture and civil and social hierarchization compleja.24 some of these civilizations disappeared long before the arrival of Europeans (XV and XVI), and have been recently discovered by the archaeological excavations.
It is estimated that by the end of the fifteenth century the Aboriginal population was between200.00025 and two million habitantes.26 Multiple outbreaks of infectious diseases brought by Europeans such as influenza, measles and smallpox (to which they had no immunity biological), combined with other effects of European contact resulted in a decrease in the aboriginal population of between 85% and 95% .27 the mixed culture of the Métis originated in the mid seventeenth century, when someEuropean together with natives of the "first Nations" .28 on the other hand, during the first decades, the Eskimos had a more limited contact with the colonizers europeos.29

Geography and climate

Canada occupies most of northern North America, sharing its borders with the contiguous United States to the south and with state and territory of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the...