Living in Canada today

Canada is a good example of the way peoples of different ways of life and different languages can live side-by-side under one government. The Canadian government is more British in style than American, except that it is a federal government.

Parliament is divided into two parts, the Senate and the House of Commons. Voters in each province (Canada is divided into 10 provinces and 2 territories) choose candidates from different political parties. The party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons chooses the Prime Minister, who heads Canada’s government. Senators are not elected, they are appointed by the Prime Minister.

Canada now belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations (nations which once belonged to the British Empire). Queen Elizabeth II is still the Queen of Canada. But ties with Great Britain are not so strong as they were.

Canada is unique in the Americas because it gained its Independence without fight. They celebrate it on July the 1^st with fireworks and picnics. But most of Canadians do not mind that there are still some ties to the British Queen. Many like to continue old customs and still give honor to the Queen of England.

More than half of all people in Canada live in Southern Quebec and Ontario. Quebec is Canada’s oldest province and it’s largest. This province was settled by the French, and the people still follow French customs. The heart of French Quebec is its capital, Quebec city. In many ways the lower part of the city, with its narrow streets, old churches, and little houses built close together in long rows, resembles the cities of France.

Quebec is the largest province in size. Ontario is the largest in population. Some call it nation’s heartland, as it is Canada’s demographic and economic center and is a major force in national politics. It is Canada’s most industrialized province, producing half of the nation’s manufactured goods.

Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is the political and administrative center of the nation. Most national cultural institutions, including museums, archives, the National Gallery, and the National Art Center are in the city