Portal:Canada

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Introduction

Flag of Canada

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's second-largest country by total area, with the world's longest coastline. Its border with the United States is the longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of over 41 million, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world by nominal GDP, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada promotes its domestically shared values through participation in multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Featured article - (show another)

Hand-colored lithograph of the Suspension Bridge as seen from the American side; the bridge's architecture, the distant Niagara Falls, and the Maid of the Mist below the bridge are visible.

The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge stood from 1855 to 1897 across the Niagara River and was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned 825 feet (251 m) and stood 2.5 miles (4.0 km) downstream of Niagara Falls, where it connected Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York. Trains used the upper of its two decks, while pedestrians and carriages used the lower. The bridge was the idea of Canadian politicians, and it was built by an American company and a Canadian company. It was most commonly called the Suspension Bridge, although other names included Niagara Railway Suspension Bridge, Niagara Suspension Bridge, and its official American name of the International Suspension Bridge. (Full article...)

Current events

June 23, 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine: NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announces that European countries and Canada will send Ukraine a combined aid package of €35 billion (US$40.3 billion). (RBC)
June 20, 2025 –: Four people are missing after a Kawasaki medical helicopter on a rescue operation crashes north of Baie-Johan-Beetz near Natashquan on the Côte-Nord in Quebec, Canada. The pilot is found and taken to hospital. (CBC)
June 19, 2025 –: A rockslide at Bow Glacier Falls near Banff, Alberta, Canada, kills at least two people. Three other hikers sustained injuries. (CFCN-DT)
June 15, 2025 –: The 51st G7 summit begins in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada. (France24)
June 10, 2025 – War crimes in the Gaza war, Gaza humanitarian crisis: The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway impose sanctions on Israeli far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, including asset freezes and travel bans, due to their conduct during the Gaza war. (Reuters)
May 27, 2025 – 2025 royal tour of Canada: King Charles III, in his capacity as King of Canada, visits Canada along with Queen Camilla on Prime Minister Mark Carney's advice. He also read the Speech from the Throne, the first reigning monarch to do so since 1977. (NPR)

Past Canadian events

Selected panorama - (show another)

Panoramic view of Mont-Tremblant, Quebec

Credit: Acarpentier (Alain Carpentier)

Featured Canadian panorama

More Canadian panoramas

National symbol - (show another)

Adult in breeding plumage in Minocqua, Wisconsin

The common loon or great northern diver (Gavia immer) is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or blackish-grey upperparts, and pure white underparts except some black on the undertail coverts and vent. Non-breeding adults are brownish with a dark neck and head marked with dark grey-brown. Their upperparts are dark brownish-grey with an unclear pattern of squares on the shoulders, and the underparts, lower face, chin, and throat are whitish. The sexes look alike, though males are significantly heavier than females. During the breeding season, loons live on lakes and other waterways in Canada, the northern United States (including Alaska), and southern parts of Greenland and Iceland. Small numbers breed on Svalbard and sporadically elsewhere in Arctic Eurasia. Common loons winter on both coasts of the US as far south as Mexico, and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. (Full article...)

More symbols of Canada

Selected vital article - (show another)

Healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems of publicly funded health care, informally called Medicare. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984, and is universal. The 2002 Royal Commission, known as the Romanow Report, revealed that Canadians consider universal access to publicly funded health services as a "fundamental value that ensures national health care insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country". (Full article...)

Selected picture - (show another)

Blue Jay – Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
Credit: Mdf

More information

Featured Canadian picture

More Canadian pictures

Featured biography - (show another)

Kellie Loder at one of two free coffeehouses in Newfoundland in December 2012

Kellie Loder (born 1988) is an independent singer-songwriter from Newfoundland who plays drums, guitar and piano. They have released three albums: The Way in 2009, Imperfections & Directions in 2010 and Benefit of the Doubt in 2018. With a voice that St. John's-based newspaper The Telegram has described as "powerful yet serene and soulful", they received critical recognition from Canada, including a nomination at the Juno Awards. (Full article...)

More featured Canadian biographies

Did you know - (show another)

... that John Neilson, a Scottish immigrant to Lower Canada, became a major publisher and bookseller, and was reportedly "the largest consumer of paper" in the country?
... that Canadian football player Nicholas Dheilly tied his team's single-game sack record in his debut?
... that Mount Churchill, a volcano in Alaska, distributed ash as far as Europe and may have driven migration from Canada to southwestern North America?
... that Nathan Frink fled the United States with enslaved children to settle in Canada, where he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and caught in a smuggling conspiracy?
... that Joe Wirkkunen coached the Finland men's national ice hockey team after receiving a recommendation from Canada?
... that the inaugural Canadian Premier League match led to the suspension of both team captains?
... that research conducted in 2020 found that squirrels are "nearly ubiquitous" on college campuses in the United States and Canada?

More Did you know facts

Featured list - (show another)

The Prince of Wales Trophy, also known as the Wales Trophy, is a team award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL). Named for Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), it has been awarded for different accomplishments throughout its history. (Full article...)