Country regions
Canada is 9,984,670 square km in size and divided into ten provinces and three territories. The three territories are the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut.
The flag
The Canadian flag has three vertical stripes, two red and one white stripe in the middle, which is twice as wide as the red stripes. In the centre of the flag is a red maple leaf with 9 points.
National symbols and holidays
The national animal of Canada is the beaver and the national tree is the maple. Lacrosse is the national summer sport of Canada and ice hockey is the national winter sport.
The national holiday is Independence Day, called Canada Day, celebrated 1 July.
Government and Economy
Canada has a constitutional monarchy. It has a monarch (king or queen), currently, the monarch is Queen Elizabeth II (the Queen of the United Kingdom). She is officially the Queen of Canada as well. She appoints a Governor-General to represent her in the country but the Governor-General is chosen by the prime minister of Canada.
Canada does not use the same currency as the UK. It has its own currency called the Canadian dollar (CAD).
The country has lots of natural resources such as natural gas, iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, diamonds, petroleum and silver.
Because of its many rivers, it is one of the world’s largest producers of hydroelectric power (electricity created from water).
The country produces a lot of wood and 40% of the country is covered with forests.
Over a million Canadians have jobs in forest products like lumber, plywood and paper production.
The fishing industry is also very important and the country exports more than 75% of its fish to other countries every year. Next time you eat fish, find out if it comes from Canada!
Other big industries in Canada are transportation equipment including motor vehicles and parts, chemicals, fertilizers, aircraft, telecommunications equipment, petroleum and aluminium.
