Basic information about Canada

1. Humanities and Geography

Canada is located in the northern part of North America. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west, Alaska to the northwest, the continental United States to the south, and the Arctic Ocean to the Arctic Circle to the north. The coastline is approximately more than 240,000 kilometers long. The temperature is slightly lower in the east, the climate in the south is moderate, the climate in the west is mild and humid, and the north has a frigid tundra climate. The highest temperature in the central and western regions reaches over 40°C, and the lowest temperature in the north reaches as low as -60°C. With an area of ??9,984,670 square kilometers, it ranks second in the world, including 9,093,507 square kilometers of land area and 891,163 square kilometers of freshwater coverage (according to Statistics Canada).

The entire territory of Canada can be roughly divided into 6 parts in terms of topography:

1) The southeastern mountainous area, located southeast of the St. Lawrence River, is the Appalachian region of the eastern United States. The extension of the mountains to the northeast consists mostly of low mountains and hills with an altitude of 500 to 600 meters.

2) The St. Lawrence Valley area, including the areas along the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, has an altitude generally below 500 meters.

3) The Canadian Highlands region belongs to the Canadian Shield in terms of geological structure. The eastern part is the convex part of the shield, forming the Labrador Plateau, with an average altitude of 500 to 600 meters, and the highest point is 1,676 meters; the central part is the depressed part of the Canadian Shield, forming the Hudson Bay and the Hudson Bay coastal plain; The southwest of the shield is a high plain with clusters of lakes; in the south there are the famous Great Lakes at the junction with the United States.

4) The West Central Great Plains is located west of the line from Big Bear Lake to Lake Winnipeg and up to the foothills of the Cordillera Mountains. It is a foothill plateau that is connected to the foothill plateau in the United States. It is customarily called The Great Plains, also known as the prairie due to the abundant pasture, gradually becomes lower from west to east, generally with an altitude of 500 to 1,000 meters. The Manitoba lowlands on the west side of Lake Winnipeg are relatively flat, with an altitude of less than 300 meters.

5) The Western Cordillera Mountains include three parts: the Rocky Mountains on the east side, the Cascade Mountains and Coast Mountains on the west side, and the plateau between the two mountains. It is the highest area in Canada, with many The mountain peaks are over 4,000 meters above sea level, with the highest peak reaching an altitude of 6,046 meters.

6) The Arctic Islands area has many hills and low mountains.

Figure 1-1 Administrative division map of Canada

Except for the northern polar region, which has a frigid tundra climate, most of Canada has a continental temperate coniferous forest climate. There are obvious climate differences in various regions: the western coastal area is affected by the Alaska War Current, and the climate is mild and humid, with an average annual precipitation of 2,400 to 2,700 mm; the central region has a large temperature difference between winter and summer, with an average annual precipitation of only 250 to 500 mm; the eastern region is affected by the Labrador River. Affected by the Lado Cold Current, the temperature is lower than in the west, and the average annual precipitation is 1,000 to 1,400 mm; the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence regions bordering the United States in the south have a moderate climate. In winter, there is snow in most areas of the country, and the snow is 1 to 1.5 meters thick in the eastern region.

The population of Canada in January 2004 was 31.7528 million. Among them, British residents account for 42%, French residents account for 26.7%, other European residents account for 13%, indigenous residents (Indians, Miti and Inuit) account for about 3%, and the rest are from Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Etc. There are currently about 1.09 million Chinese people. English and French are both official languages. 43.2% of the residents believe in Catholicism, and 31.8% believe in Protestant Christianity.

Canada is administratively divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories (Figure 1-1). The capital, Ottawa, is located in Ontario, with a population of 304,000. The capital region (including Ottawa, Ontario, Hull, Quebec, and surrounding towns) has a population of 1.132 million (2003) and an area of ??4,662 square kilometers. The annual average maximum temperature is 15~26℃ (July), and the minimum temperature is -16~-6℃ (January).

2. Politics

The earliest residents of Canada were Indians and Inuit. Since the 16th century, France, Britain and the Netherlands have immigrated to Canada. There has been a long-term colonial struggle between these countries. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ended at the end of the Anglo-French War, and Canada became a British colony. Canada's movement for independence forced Britain to pass the British North America Act in 1867, establishing the Dominion of Canada subordinate to Britain. Canada gained diplomatic independence in 1926. In 1931, Canada further defined the relationship between the Dominion and the United Kingdom as "equal status and no longer subordinate to each other" and became a member of the "Commonwealth". Its parliament also obtained equal legislative power with the British Parliament. , but still has no power to amend the constitution. In 1982, the Queen of England signed the Canadian Constitution Act, giving the Canadian Parliament full power to formulate and amend the constitution.

Canada and China established diplomatic relations on October 13, 1970. After the establishment of diplomatic relations, China-Canada bilateral relations have developed smoothly, and the leaders of the two countries have maintained regular exchanges of visits. The Governor General of Canada, the Prime Minister and the Speakers of the Senate and House of Representatives have all visited China. The Chinese President, Prime Minister, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have visited Canada successively.

Canada still does not have a complete constitution. It is mainly composed of constitutional bills passed in different historical periods, including the "British North America Act" passed by the British Parliament in 1867.

The Constitution stipulates that Canada implements a federal parliamentary system, respects the British King as the head of state of Canada, and the Governor-General is the Queen's representative in Canada. English and French are both official languages. The purposes of the Constitution are: peace, order and good governance.

3. Economic Overview

Canada is one of the seven largest industrial countries in the West. Manufacturing and high-tech industries are relatively developed, and resource industry, primary manufacturing and agriculture are also the main pillars of the national economy. Canada was founded on trade and relies heavily on foreign investment and foreign trade. Its economy is deeply influenced by the United States. In 2003, affected by factors such as mad cow disease, SARS, and the depreciation of the U.S. dollar, Canada's economic growth rate for the year was only 1.7%. Inflation and interest rates remained low, and fiscal revenue and expenditures have been in surplus for seven consecutive years. High debt and high unemployment are still the main factors restricting Canada's economic development.

In 2003, Canada's GDP was CAD 1,214.6 billion, and its per capita GDP was CAD 38,400. The GDP growth rate was 1.7%, the inflation rate was 2.8%, and the unemployment rate was 7.6%.

The Canadian currency is the Canadian dollar. The average exchange rate in 2003 was: 1 US dollar = 1.4 Canadian dollars.

The Canadian economy relies heavily on foreign trade, with merchandise exports accounting for 41% of GDP. In 2003, the foreign merchandise trade volume was CAD 742.569 billion, of which exports were CAD 401.19 billion and imports were CAD 341.38 billion.

In 2002, Canada's total overseas assets were CAD 983.322 billion, of which direct investment was CAD 431.819 billion. In 2003, Canada invested in 901 newly established enterprises in China, with an agreement amount of US$1.61 billion and actual investment of US$564 million. By the end of 2003, there were a total of 6,941 Canadian investment companies in China, with an agreement amount of US$11.987 billion and actual investment of US$3.922 billion.

In 2002, the total foreign assets in Canada were 1,167.329 billion Canadian dollars, of which direct investment was 349.388 billion Canadian dollars.

Canada has developed transportation, and water, land and air transportation are all very convenient. In 2002, the total length of railways in the country was 49,427 kilometers, and the freight volume in 2003 was 234 million tons. The total length of expressways and ordinary roads nationwide is 1.4 million kilometers. The Trans-Canada Highway is 7,725 kilometers long and was opened to traffic in 1971. It runs from Victoria on the east coast of the Pacific to St. John's, Newfoundland on the west coast of the Atlantic. It is the longest national highway in the world. In 2003, the total number of registered vehicles nationwide was 24.6654 million. The St. Lawrence Canal, a deep-water channel with a total length of 3,769 kilometers, is the longest canal in the world. Ships can navigate from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes system. There are 25 large deep-water ports and 650 small ports in Canada. There are approximately 4,500 commercial aircraft in the country, with 886 approved airports and 68 major airports, including international airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal. The total length of pipelines transporting oil, natural gas and water is 196,000 kilometers, making it the second longest pipeline system in the world.

IV. Overview of natural resources

Canada has a vast land and rich natural resources. The world-famous natural resources include mineral resources, forest resources, water resources, fish resources, etc., which are today's It is one of the hot spots where many countries and regions in the world are competing to invest.

1. Mineral resources

Canada’s mineral resources occupy an important position in the world, and the reserves of many minerals rank among the top in the world. There are abundant reserves of mineral resources such as petroleum, coal, uranium, nonferrous metals, potassium salts, asbestos, gypsum, and sulfur, among which petroleum, indium, niobium, uranium, cadmium, selenium, tungsten, nickel, potassium salts, asbestos, gypsum, sulfur, and nickel Mineral reserves such as lead, platinum group metals, molybdenum and tantalum rank among the top five in the world. Diamond, zinc, gold, silver, titanium, coal, copper and iron ore also occupy an important position in the world. Alberta is rich in oil and gas resources, and British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan are rich in coal resources. Uranium mines in Ontario and Saskatchewan, polymetallic mines in the Sudbury Basin in Ontario, diamond mines in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the Labrador iron ore region in northeastern Quebec, The Lake Alade hematite-ilmenite mine in eastern Quebec is a world-famous mineral deposit.

2. Forest resources

Canada is extremely rich in forest resources. The forest and woodland area reaches 453 million hectares, accounting for about 45.5% of the country’s area and covering almost half of the land area. Among them, timber-producing forests account for 60% of the entire forest area. Judging from the distribution of forest resources, the province with the largest forest area is Quebec, followed by Ontario.

3. Aquatic resources

Canada is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It has inland rivers and lakes dotted all over and is rich in aquatic resources. Canada has a developed fishery, rich in cod, herring, flounder, salmon, capelin, scallops, crabs and lobsters. Canadian fisheries are roughly divided into three areas: the first is the Atlantic area, which is the largest fishing area in Canada, and the world-famous Newfoundland coastal fisheries are located in this area; the second is the Pacific fishing area, which is smaller than the Atlantic in terms of fishing quantity and value creation. fishing areas; the third is inland fishing areas, mainly distributed in the Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg.

The Canadian government announced the 200-nautical-mile fishery management zone in 1977. According to bilateral agreements, certain countries can fish within their jurisdiction, but the fishing quantity must be the remainder after first meeting Canada's needs. In recent years, in order to protect the ecological balance and aquatic resources, the Canadian government has also implemented a quota system for its own fisheries, and fishing outside the quota is strictly prohibited. Because Canada has a series of legal measures for the protection, development and management of aquatic resources, its fisheries have been enduring. Canadian aquatic products not only provide sufficient supply for Canada's domestic market to meet consumer demand, but are also exported to international markets in large quantities. The United States is Canada's largest market for various aquatic products, accounting for 70% of Canadian aquatic product exports, followed by Japan, the European Union, Central and South American countries.

4. Agricultural land resources

Canada’s agricultural land resources are relatively small, at 7487.9 hectares, accounting for only 7.5% of the country’s land area. This is because it is located at high latitudes and a large part of the area is within the Arctic Circle. The climate is too cold to be cultivated. Agricultural land is mainly concentrated in southern Canada and the border with the United States. There are 45.744 million hectares of cultivated land, and the per capita cultivated land is about 1.5 hectares. From this point of view, it has a lot of cultivated land resources. In addition, Canada has 29 million hectares of permanent grazing land. Canada has fewer people and more land, and a high degree of mechanization. The per capita annual grain output of the agricultural labor force reaches 80 tons. Only 1/2 of the agricultural products are consumed domestically, and the rest is exported. Canada is the world's second-largest wheat exporter after the United States.