:: Introduction

How was Canada named?

Canada came from the word "Kanata", which means "village" in Huron-Iroquois language.

In 1535, when French explorer Jacques Cartier, one of the first discoverers of Canada, came to the area and asked for directions to a village close to the area which is today's Québec City, he was introduced the word "Kanata" by the native people. Cartier thus decided to call the entire region north of the St. Lawrence gulf and river "Canada".

Gradually, Canada expanded. The name "Canada" was officially adopted in 1791, under the Constitutional Act that divided Québec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. In 1841, they were reunited to form the Province of Canada. In 1867, the country Canada was found.

Confederation

On July 1 1867, the provinces Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia joined together to form the country Canada. This is known as the Confederation. As time passed by, there were other provinces and territories added to the Confederation.

Currently, there are 10 provinces and three territories in Canada. The national capital of Canada is Ottawa in Ontario.

Multiculturalism

Cultural diversity is always a valuable asset to Canada.

Canada has adopted a multicultural policy for over three decades, and was the first country in the world to establish a federal department of multiculturalism.

Canada is a country built by immigrants, and thus welcomes people from different parts of the world to join the country. Immigrants started coming to Canada in the 16th century. Today, if tracing back their ancestry, the majority of the Canadians are originated from places outside Canada. The only people originated from Canada are the Aboriginal people who lived in Canada thousands of years before the first immigrants arrived.

You may find a lot of British and French elements in Canada, as the foundation of Canada was closely related to these two countries. However, we also have 40% of Canadians who claim that they were from countries other than Britain and France. Canada highly values cultural diversity, and has made a lot of effort in fostering respects, understanding and harmony between different culture, religion, race and ethnicity. Every Canadian is encouraged to preserve his or her own cultural heritage and learn to appreciate the others'.

With so many different cultural and ethnic groups living together harmoniously, the sense of equality and mutual respect are very important. In Canada, individual's right is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which is part of the Constitution. The government also encourages each Canadian to participate in volunteer work to serve his or her own community and help those in need. Today, the official languages of Canada are English and French. Both languages have equal status in the parliament. The Aboriginal people have their own official languages in their own territories, and are highly independent and self-governing.

Challenges

Canada is a large and complex country and would not be without problems. In the twenty first century, Canada will face several problems internally. The most intimidating one is issue with the Québec separatist. The Québec separatist is a politically influential group in Québec who believes that Québec should breakaway from Canada and become an independent nation.

Throughout these years, the separatist has been prompting the idea of Québec splitting up from the rest of Canada. In 1995, a referendum was called for in Québec, by the separatist, to let the Québecois decide on whether Québec should continue to stay with Canada. The pro-Canada group merely edged out the separatist by a few percentages. Many are worried that the urge of Québec to separate from Canada would ultimately lead to the disintegration of the entire country.

The conflicts between the English-speaking (Anglophone) and the French-speaking (Francophone) Canadians posed another threat to our country. With the idea of separation prevailing in Québec, the relationship between the Anglophone and Francophone deteriorates.

Another challenge the Canadian government is facing is the conflict between the Aboriginal people and the non-Aboriginal people, which has existed since Europeans first arrived. The Aboriginal people and the non-Aboriginal people were governed under different governmental systems. The Aboriginal people are highly self-governing in their own territories, and can enjoy some exemptions from the Federal Law. For centuries, Aboriginal people have struggled with non-Aboriginals over such issues as land, rights, and the environment.

With the vast amount of immigrants flowing into Canada every year, helping the recent immigrants to adapt to Canadian society is important. Narrowing the gap in values and expectations between the newcomers and the old-timers in Canada is another challenging task to face.