Canada The Great White North

Canada Canada, also known as the “Great White North” is the second largest country in the world with a rich history located North America. Canada was originally inhabited by the Aboriginal people who crossed the Bering land bridge. The Aboriginals called this land “Kanata,” meaning “village.” These people would later be known as “Indians," named by the first explorers who mistakenly thought they were in the East Indies. In 1535, French explorer Jacques Cartier captured two Aboriginals who led them to what would be present day Québec. For lack of another name, Cartier used the word “Canada.” The French continued to explore the vast land. The French would soon start colonization of Canada and forged new alliance with various Native

In 1791, area was split into the colonies known as Upper Canada and Lower Canada. During the 1830’s Canadians demanded democracy and a more fluid form of governance. Some locals called for a more American styled republic type of government. Rebellions began when the ruling British demanded that Canadians use English as the primary language. The British did not understand that Canadians wished to hold on to their French roots. Most of the French Canadian rebels were either killed or exiled by 1838. This led to more reform for the region. Canada purchased Rupert’s Land from the British owned Hudson’s Bay Company, which had dominated trade in the area exactly two hundred years earlier. Rupert 's Land covered all the area drained by rivers flowing into Hudson Bay which was nearly 40 per cent of what in now Canada. Rupert’s Land was purchased for 300,000 pounds sterling from the British.

The Province of Canada was then reformed in 1841, when the two colonies were united. On July 1, 1867 a confederation was formed when all the provinces of the region fell under the name Canada. The Fathers of this confederation was Sir John Alexander Macdonald, who would become Canada’s first Prime Minister. Today, July 1, 1867 is celebrated by Canadians as “Canada Day.” Canada has been in involved in all the major conflicts throughout world

Germany had invaded Poland sparking the start of World War 2. Canadians Soldiers deployed all over the globe in the fight against the Nazis aggression. They fought in many famous battles such as the Battle for Britain and the Battle of Normandy. Over 45,000 Canadians died in combat with an additional 55,000 wounded in action. Canada’s military in the 21st century has participated in the Iraq and Afghanistan. Canada helped support US-led war effort in Iraq but never actually declared war on Iraq. Canada did however have a “boots on the ground” approach in Afghanistan against the fight against the Taliban. Many changes took place in between these conflicts. Canadian values changed over time, as well cultural demographics. Canada welcomed over 37,000 Soviets refugees fleeing Communist tyranny in the 1950’s. Over 50,000 refugees also fled Communism in Vietnam during 1970’s. By the 1960s one-third of Canadians were neither French nor British. Following 2 centuries of immigration there was a new emphasis of Canada’s multiculturalism. Today Canada’s has a wide variety of ethnic diversity. With just 32% claiming to be Canadian while the rest of the demographic breaks down as 19.8% English, 15.5% French, 14.4% Scottish, 13.8% Irish, German 9.8%, Italian 4.5%, Chinese 4.5%, North American Indian