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Tuesday, June 4, 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 40 million people, the vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel 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 "called upon" 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 gender equality. 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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The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (Russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, romanized: Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (French: Série du siècle), was an eight-game ice hockey series between the Soviet Union and Canada, held in September 1972. It was the first competition between the Soviet national team and a Canadian team represented by professional players of the National Hockey League (NHL), known as Team Canada. It was the first international ice hockey competition for Canada after they had withdrawn from such competitions in a dispute with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The series was organized with the intention to create a true best-against-best competition in the sport of ice hockey. The Soviets had become the dominant team in international competitions, in which the Canadian professionals were ineligible to play. Canada had had a long history of dominance of the sport prior to the Soviets' rise. (Full article...)

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McLeod in 2018

Erin Katrina McLeod (born February 26, 1983) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Stjarnan of the Icelandic Besta deild kvenna. (Full article...)

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Panoramic view of Calgary

Credit: Calgarypano

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A mari usque ad mare (Latin: [aː ˈmariː ˈuːskᶣɛ ad ˈmarɛ]; French: D'un océan à l'autre, French pronunciation: [dœ̃nɔseˈã aˈloʊ̯tʁ]; English: From sea to sea) is the Canadian national motto. The phrase comes from the Latin Vulgate translation of Psalm 72:8 in the Bible: (Full article...)

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The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms. (Full article...)

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Quebec Bridge at night.
Credit: Martin St-Amant

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Current events

May 31, 2024 –: Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton dies in prison after being attacked by another inmate earlier this month. (AP)
May 21, 2024 –: Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is reported to be on life support after being physically attacked in a prison in Port-Cartier, Quebec. (Vancouver Sun)
May 18, 2024 –: Three people are killed and five others are injured in a boat collision on Bobs Lake in Ontario, Canada. (CBC News)
May 17, 2024 –: A child in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, dies of measles, the province's first such death since 1989. (CBC News); The RCMP identifies the killer of four people in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1976 and 1977 as American serial rapist Gary Allen Srery, who died in prison in 2011. (CFCN-TV)
May 16, 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Global Affairs Canada announces sanctions on four "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank for engaging in violence against Palestinian civilians and their property. (CBC News)

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... that Dan Finnerty was cast in Single All the Way so that he could cross the Canada–U.S. border and join his wife, Kathy Najimy, on the set of the film?
... that Robert Home was sent by the British Army to Canada in 1864 to report on the defence of the frontier against the eventuality of an American invasion?
... that Canadian artist Tom Forrestall spent six months painting his own car?
... that the Temagami River in Ontario, Canada, is an outstanding water route with twenty sets of whitewater rapids rated CI to CIII?
... that up to 129,000 Canadian federal workers went on strike?
... that a journalists' poll rated Billy Fitzgerald the second-best Canadian lacrosse player of the first half of the 20th century?
... that the Canadian House of Commons held a take-note debate on the discovery of the graves of more than 200 Indigenous children near Kamloops Indian Residential School in 2021?

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Like most major cities, Montreal needs easy highway access from its suburbs and surrounding areas. However, because Montreal was built on an island surrounded by three rivers, it can be entered by land only on a bridge or through a tunnel. Although the city was founded in 1642, it was not until 1847 that the first fixed link to the outside was established when a wooden bridge was built across Rivière des Prairies to Île Jésus, on the site of what is now Ahuntsic Bridge. Another bridge was built immediately afterward, a few kilometers west, which became Lachapelle Bridge, and another in 1849, Pont des Saints-Anges, to the east. The latter bridge collapsed in the 1880s and was never rebuilt. (Full article...)

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