INTRODUCTION TO CANADA

Currency:
The Canadian dollar is divided into 100 cents.

Population:
Canada represents approximately 0.5% of the global population.

Main Cities:
According to the 1996 census, the leading Canadian cities are Toronto (4.26 million), Montreal (3.33 million), Vancouver (1.83 million), Ottawa-Hull, the National Capital Region (1.01million) and Edmonton (0.86 million).

Living Standard:
Canada ranks higher than the United States in terms of life expectancy, and higher than Japan in terms of education. With one of the best telecommunications systems in the world, Canadians are increasingly hooking into the information highway. More than 65% of Canadians own their own homes. An even higher percentage of Canadians own durable goods such as automobiles, refigerators, washing machines, televisions, telephones and radios. Telephone service is virtually universal in Canada.

Geography:
Diversity is the keynote of Canada's geography, which includes fertile plains suitable for agriculture, vast mountain ranges, lakes and rivers. There are of course many climatic variations in this huge country, ranging from the permanently frozen icecaps north of the 70th parallel to the luxuriant vegetation of British Columbia's west coast.

Time Zones:
Canada has six time zones. The easternmost, in Newfoundland, is three hours and 30 minutes behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The other time zones are the Atlantic, the Eastern, the Central, the Rocky Mountain and, farthest west, the Pacific, which is eight hours behind GMT.

Political System:
Canada is a constitutional monarchy and a federal state with a democratic parliament. The Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa, consists of the House of Commons, whose members are elected, and the Senate, whose members are appointed. On average, members of Parliament are elected every four years.