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Saturday, November 2, 2024

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Introduction

Flag and Arms of Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. It is a sparsely inhabited country of just over 41 million people, with the majority residing in urban areas. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister, who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history, economy, and culture.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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Tumbler Ridge is a district municipality in the foothills of the B.C. Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. With a population of 2,399 (2021) living in a townsite, the municipality encompasses an area of 1,558 km² (602 sq mi) of mostly Crown land. The townsite is located near the confluence of the Murray River and Flatbed Creek and the intersection of Highway 52 and Highway 29 and includes the site of the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and Tumbler Ridge Airport. It is part of the Peace River South provincial electoral district and the Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies federal riding. (Full article...)

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John George Diefenbaker PC CH QC FRSC FRSA (/ˈdiːfənbeɪkər/ DEE-fən-bay-kər; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was a Canadian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Canada, from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. (Full article...)

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Panoramic view of Toronto

Credit: Sunshine87 (Johannes Akkach)

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Totem poles (Haida: gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large trees, mostly western red cedar, by First Nations and Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast including northern Northwest Coast Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth communities in southern British Columbia, and the Coast Salish communities in Washington and British Columbia. (Full article...)

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The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous law systems developed by the various Indigenous Nations. (Full article...)

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Canada Boat House at Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park, Alberta
Credit: Christianabend

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Current events

October 25, 2024 –: A man fatally shoots two of his family members before killing himself in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. (CTV News Barrie); Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government announces that Ontario is planning to ban international students from medical schools in the province beginning in 2026. (Pelham Today)
October 24, 2024 –: Four people are killed and one other is seriously injured when a Tesla car crashes into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar at high speed after losing control causing a fire in Toronto, Canada. (CTV News Toronto)
October 15, 2024 –: The Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is designated as a terrorist group by the Canadian government and is sanctioned by the U.S. government, due to the group's alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (CTV News)
October 10, 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine: The World Bank approves a new financial intermediary fund consisting of grants from the United States, Japan, Canada, and other countries coupled with interest from frozen Russian assets to give to Ukraine as part of a $50 billion loan. (Reuters)
October 4, 2024 –: At least two people are killed and three others are injured, including one critically, in a suspected arson at a 100-year-old three-story building in the Old Montreal neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (CBC News) (CFCF-TV)

Past Canadian events

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... that John Neilson, a Scottish immigrant to Lower Canada, became a major publisher and bookseller, and was reportedly "the largest consumer of paper" in the country?
... that when the Canadian baritone Iain MacNeal appeared as Odysseus in Dallapiccola's Ulisse at the Oper Frankfurt, a reviewer noted that he portrayed the "character's self-exegeses"?
... that celebrities who were interviewed in The Canadian Conspiracy were paid US$500?
... that Gurdev Singh Gill was the first Canadian physician of Indian descent?
... that Sheila Egoff, Canada's first professor of children's literature, returned to her library work immediately after retirement?
... that Paul Joseph Cini, a Canadian skyjacker, thought that he could evade justice by parachuting from the plane before landing?
... that Annalee Newitz chose to set their debut novel Autonomous in the Canadian prairies because it was "the kind of place that often gets forgotten"?

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The Tip O'Neill Award is given annually to a Canadian baseball player who is "judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball." The award was created by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and first presented in 1984. It is named after James "Tip" O'Neill, one of the earliest Canadian stars in Major League Baseball (MLB). (Full article...)

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