The Canada
The first inhabitants of Canada were native Indian peoples, primarily the Inuit (Eskimo). The Norse explorer Leif Eriksson probably reached the shores of Canada (Labrador or Nova Scotia) in 1000, but the history of the white man in the country actually began in 1497, when John Cabot, an Italian in the service of Henry VII of England, reached .Newfoundland or Nova Scotia. Canada was taken for France in 1534 by Jacques Cartier.
About Government
Canada is a federation of ten provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) and three territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon, and as of April 1, 1999, Nunavut). Formally considered a constitutional monarchy, Canada is governed by its own House of Commons. While the governor-general is officially the representative of Queen Elizabeth II, in reality the governor-general acts only upon the advice of the Canadian prime minister.
Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)
Governor-General: Adrienne Clarkson (1999)
Prime Minister: Paul Martin (2003)
Area: 3,855,081 sq mi (9,984,670 sq km)
Population (2005 est.): 32,805,041 (growth rate: 0.9%); birth rate: 10.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.8/1000; life expectancy: 80.1; density per sq mi: 9
Languages: English 59.3%, French 23.2% (both official); other 17.5%
