Canada (Differently)

Canada Timeline: Differently
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  A Mari Usque Ad Mare (Latin) "From Sea to Sea"
Anthem:  "O Canada"
Location of Canada in North America
Capital		Saskatoon
Largest city		Toronto
Official languages		English
Other languages		Vinlandic, French, Russian
Government		Federal constitutional Commonwealth monarchy
-	Monarch	Richard V
-	Governor-General	Julie Payette
-	Prime Minister	Michael Ignatieff
Establishment
-	Independence from the United Kingdom	1867
Area
-	Total	8,401,149 km2  3,243,702 sq mi
Population
-	Estimate	27,976,953
Currency		Canadian dollar

Canada is a country in North America. It borders Russia to the west, the United States to the south and Quebec to the east and easternmost territories. It also shares maritime borders with Johannia, located off its south-western coast. With a surface area 8.4 million square kilometers, it is the second largest-country in the Americas, behind only Brazil, and the fourth-largest nation in the world. With 28.8 million inhabitants, it is also the tenth-most populous nation in the Americas, raking 47th globally. Its nine provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Canada's capital is Saskatoon, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver. Canada is one of the Commonwealth realms and a member of the League of Nations.

As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, with most of its land area dominated by forest and tundra. Its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, and 70 percent residing within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from Arctic climate in the north to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition, with a monarch and a prime minister who serves as the chair of the Cabinet and head of government. The country is a realm within the Commonwealth of Nations. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture.

Prior to the conclusion of the Anglo-American War that made the former province of Quebec an independent republic in 1926, Canada was the second-largest country in the world after Russia and a bilingual nation with English and French as official languages.

History

Various indigenous peoples inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years before European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast.

As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. Around the same time in what would become western Canada, Russian settlers began crossing the Bering Strait and settling what would become the Russian Colony of Alaska. The formation of British Columbia in 1871 would see a lot of these Russian settlers absorbed into Canada.

In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act of 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.

After the end of the Anglo-American War in 1926, the Canadian province of Quebec became an independent republic and Canada would lose Southern Ontario and British Columbia to the United States, causing the parliament to relocate to Saskatoon which still serves as the country's capital. These two provinces would be returned to Canada in October 1, 1957. At that point, Canada had became independent, so the name of British Columbia was changed to MacDonald, after the first Prime Minister.

The end of the Anglo-American war would also bring down the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Liberal Party as a whole. In order to avoid total collapse of the Liberal Party, the Liberals would merge with the Progressive Party of Canada and Labour Party of Canada to form the Liberal-Progressive party.

Politics

See also: List of Prime Ministers of Canada

Richard V, King of Canada

The politics of Canada take place within a framework of a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic monarchy, in which the head of State is the monarch who appoints the Governor General as vice-regal representative. The current monarch, Richard V, reigns under the official title of King of Canada, having served in that position since he ascended the throne in 2014.

Executive power is exercised by the government while legislative power is vested in both the government and the two Chambers of Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Provinces

Map of the 12 Canadian Provinces and 2 territories.

Canada is made up of 12 provinces and 2 federal territories. Much like the United and Confederate states, the provinces of Canada enjoy a certain degree of limited autonomy and are able to elect their own premiers and their own parliaments which then set provincial law, though federal law remains the dominant law across Canada.

Canada has lost provinces in the past, such as when Quebec became independence in 1926 at the conclusion of the Anglo-American War. Canada came close to losing another province in 2000 when the predominantly Russian-speaking province of East Alaska held an independence referendum and narrowly voted to stay in Canada.

List of Provinces

Name	Entered Confederacy	Capital	Largest City	Population
Ontario	July 1, 1867	Thunder Bay	Sudbury	780,140
Nova Scotia	July 1, 1867	Halifax		979,115
New Brunswick	July 1, 1867	Fredericton	Moncton	781,315
Manitoba	July 15, 1870	Winnipeg		1,379,584
East Alaska	April 1, 1875	St. Basil	Birobiylovsk	3,429,192
Saskatchewan	September 1, 1905	Regina	Saskatoon	1,177,884
Alberta	September 1, 1905	Edmonton	Calgary	4,428,112
Vinland	March 13, 1908	Geiradalr	Krossavik	520,998
West Vinland	May 20, 1940	Krisuvik		127.402
Leif Erikson Island	May 20, 1940	Leif	Alptaver	159,713
South Ontario	October 1, 1957	Toronto		13,493,102
MacDonald	October 1, 1957	Vancouver		4,391,202

List of Territories

Name	Formation	Capital	Largest City	Population
Baranov	May 8, 1896	Buzuriysk		35,938
Nunavut	April 1, 1999	Iqaluit		12,393