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Hey guys! I'm Drake, a rapper from Canada. I love my home country and in this book, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about this great country.

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This is the Flag of Canada. Its displayed all around the country and features a maple leaf in the center.

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Maple syrup is a huge part of Canadian culture and Canada is responsible for 71% of the world's maple syrup production.

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Canada is famous for ice hockey and has some of the toughest competitors in the north. Our Olympic Men's ice hockey team has won 9 gold medals at the Olympics!

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Canada has some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Niagara Falls is visited frequently and lies on our border with the U.S. in Ontario.

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Canada is a former colony of both France and Great Britain. Canada gained independence from Great Britain on July 1, 1867, this was formally recognized on December 11, 1931. Queen Elizabeth ll is the chief of state due to Canada being a Commonwealth realm, but Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister of Canada. Both French and English are spoken in Canada, but French is spoken more often in Quebec, an eastern province. Canada shares a long border with the U.S. and it is largely unprotected. The capital of Canada is Ottawa, but the largest city is Toronto. Canada is also the second-largest country in the world after Russia.

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My hometown of Toronto (shown above) is around 250 miles (or 400 kilometers) from the capital of Ottawa.

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Canada is located at approximately 56.13040 N, 106.34680 W. Canada is situated above the United States and borders it to the south. The Arctic Ocean is above Canada, and the Pacific Ocean is to the west. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east of Canada as well.

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Canada is a multicultural country, full of many people of different backgrounds. This includes people of different races, religions, ethnicities, and more. However, Canada became this diverse through immigration, or movement into a country. Some push factors that influence immigration into Canada from other countries are war, famine, and an unstable government. Some push factors from within Canada that encourage emigration may include different political views and family in other countries. Some pull factors that encourage immigration to Canada are religious freedom, technology, family, job opportunities, and a better education. Canada is a large country, but its people unite together as one.

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Canada is home to many types of people that come together to form one country.

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The demographic transition model is a way of looking at the demographics of a country and seeing the level of development within it. There are five stages of this model with varying levels of statistics to explain patterns of development. Canada is a stage 4 country on the model, meaning that it has a low natural increase rate as a result of declining birth rates. Canada is a developed country with a high number of educated people. It also has a very good healthcare system and a strong economy. These factors help classify Canada as a developed country, with further proof from the DTM.

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This is a population pyramid of Canada. This shows the breakdown of the population through cohorts and by men and women.

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Canada has both popular culture and folk culture, but what are they? Popular culture is the large culture among everybody in society while folk culture is typically much smaller and limited to a more homogeneous group of people. Canadian pop culture is influenced by America, Britain, and France, but mainly by America. Canadians mainly watch American television and movies, rarely tapping into Canadian cinema and television. Several Canadian actors have gained success in American Hollywood, like Rachel McAdams, Elliot Page, and Ryan Gosling. Canadian music is very prevalent, with several famous artists, including me, originating from this large country. Canadian folk culture is more limited to the First Nations, or the indigenous peoples of Canada. The Canadian Government commemorates and recognizes these cultures to help bring attention to and preserve them. Many popular sports in Canada are based on native sports, like lacrosse. Indigenous art is very important and popular, such as totem carvings from the Northwest Indigenous Peoples and other types of art from other cultures, including bone and stone sculpting, carving, and basket making.

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This totem was carved by members of the First Nations, the indigenous peoples of Canada.

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In Canada, English and French are our official languages, or the languages spoken in government. Both of these languages are part of the Indo-European language family. English is spoken primarily in most of Canada, except in Quebec, where French is primarily spoken. Around 58.1% of the population are native English speakers while 21.4% are native French speakers.

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In Canada, Christianity is the predominant religion as it was brought over during European colonization. Around 55% of Canadians identify as Christian while 29% identify as religiously unaffiliated. This is an increasing trend in developing countries, but Canada remains more religious than other countries. Muslims are a small minority in Canada with around 2% of the population. Some religions, like Sikhism, have been in Canada for decades. Sikhs first came to Canada as soldiers after Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

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Many ethnicities in Canada originate from Europe as a result of colonization. Some of these ethnicities include English, French, and Italian. However, the First Nations make up a small percentage of ethnicities in Canada that were the original inhabitants prior to European arrival.

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Canada is known as a fragmented state, where a state has separate parts from one another as opposed to being contiguous. In its history, Canada has had many inner border changes, but fewer external changes. In 1818, the 49th parallel was established as the border between British Canada and the United States. In 1867, the British colonies of North America (Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick) came together to form a confederation. After this union, the province of Canada was split into two provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Over time, more provinces were formed, as well as the Northwest, Yukon, and Nunavut territories. Nunavut was the latest change to Canadian borders after it was created from the Northwest Territories in 1999.

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This map shows Canada before the addition of Nunavut from the Northwest Territories. If Canada has one thing, it’s land!

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Canada’s government is known as a federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy. This means that Canada has a parliament to make decisions for the state and a prime minister to act as the leader of the government. However, Canada is apart of the Commonwealth and is also known as a Commonwealth realm. This means the Queen Elizabeth is the head of state in Canada, despite Canada being independent from the UK.

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The Seven Years War was a historic conflict in Canadian history and led to the start of multiculturalism seen in the country today. The war began as a result of the rivalry between Britain and France. The French had early victories, but were defeated by the British in the end. As a result, the French ceded the colony of New France to the British. This was because the North American colonies were expensive to maintain and were relatively unimportant compared to the sugar colonies. With this event, the British began to instill their culture into New France,  creating a colony with French and British roots. This can still be seen in Canada with the prevalence of both French and English in the government and in society. As of right now, Canada is not involved in any conflicts.

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Canada has a lot of land area, so it makes sense that there are many climates within the country. Canada has long winters with cold temperatures and short summers with warm temperatures. The climate is mostly affected by a lack of mountains to shield polar air masses, cold currents from the coast, and high latitudes. Upper Canada primarily sees the two seasons of summer and winter due to its subarctic climate. Southern Canada can face all four seasons due to its humid continental climate. The Canadian climate is so diverse because of the large area it takes up, spreading multiple climate zones, as well as being surrounded by three oceans.

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Canada is famous for maple syrup, but there’s more foods beneath the surface. Poutine is a French Canadian dish with French fries, gravy, and cheese curds, all melding together for a delicious bite. Split pea soup, a Canadian tradition, came from French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s voyages where he and his crew would make soup from cured meat, dried peas, and vegetables. However, maple syrup may be Canada’s most popular item. Maple syrup first originated in northeastern North America and was used as a source of energy and nutrition by the First Nations. When European colonization began, the indigenous peoples showed the colonists how to produce maple syrup, causing the colonists to find ways to innovate production and trade it for a profit. The maple syrup industry is extremely important in Canada as it creates jobs and gives indigenous people the opportunity to earn an income from their own business. Quebec is the world’s largest maple syrup producer and accounts for most of Canada’s maple syrup production.

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Canadian crops mainly depend on the region. The northern, colder climate won’t be able to sustain the same amount as the southern, warmer climate. In Ontario, crops like soybeans, tobacco, corn, fruit, and potatoes are grown. In other provinces, like Alberta, fewer crops like sugar beets are grown with the help of irrigation. Only 7% of Canada’s land is usable for farming.

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Farms in Canada are dependent on the climate of the province they’re in. Some provinces may be able to grow crops that others can’t. Ontario and Quebec can grow more crops than Manitoba and Alberta because of their climate.

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Canada may not have any megacities, or cities with over 10 million people, but Toronto is a world city known for being a cultural, financial, and business hub. Toronto has a population of 6.25 million people and is the largest city in Canada. As a business hub, Toronto is home to the headquarters of Brookfield Asset Management, a multinational corporation that focuses on real estate, renewable power, and infrastructure. Brookfield has offices in several other world cities, such as New York City, Shanghai, and London. In the sports world, Toronto has teams in sports ranging from ice hockey to baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays have won two consecutive World Series in the MLB while the Toronto Raptors have won a conference title and NBA championship since their introduction to the NBA in 1995.

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The Toronto Blue Jays won the MLB World Series in both 1992 and 1993 against the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively. The Blue Jays are the only Canadian team in the MLB.

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Toronto is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and is finding ways to become a more sustainable city as a whole. Challenges seen in Toronto encourage urban planning to lead to more inclusive growth. Some methods used to reduce carbon emissions are clean thermal heating and cooling, energy efficient building designs, and solar based electricity. Reducing carbon emissions can result in a more sustainable city for the future and create a blueprint for sustainable urban planning. Another goal in Toronto is reducing transportation costs through increased walkability and transit options. Creating a better transit system and walkable infrastructure can result in less car usage and a reduction in carbon emissions.

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Canada is a core country in the world because of how developed it has become. Canada has a developed economy that doesn’t rely on a single commodity like periphery or semi periphery countries. Only 2% of Canadians work in the primary (or agricultural) sector, making it the least popular sector of work. 76% of Canadians work in the secondary (manufacturing) and tertiary (service) sectors, making them the most popular sectors in the economy. Commercial banking is the most popular industry in Canada, followed by oil, gasoline, and petroleum. Commercial banking made a revenue of $240.1 billion in 2022, but gasoline and petroleum accounted for a large portion of the Canadian economy.

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Carbon emissions are on the rise globally, so it’s important to identify the causes. The oil and gas industry in Canada accounts for a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions with its carbon intensive oilsands. The mining industry is extremely large in Canada, but issues like acid rock drainage can contaminate water with heavy metals. Dams are a common source of hydropower in Canada and are used often. However, floods can cause people to forcibly relocate and cause decomposing crops to release carbon dioxide and methane. Fish farms, often used to catch salmon, in British Columbia cause diseases like sea lice and anemia to spread out to wild populations. Indigenous peoples who catch salmon must face a lower supply due to diseases wiping out fish and lowering populations.

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Indigenous peoples have protested fish farming in British Columbia because it breeds diseases that can harm wild salmon.

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As Canada is a developed country, it’s not a surprise that their statistics reflect that. The HDI, or human development index, is a score that sees the life expectancy, education, and per capital income of a country and determines how developed it is. The higher the score is, the more developed a country is. Canada has an HDI score of 0.929, ranking it at 16th in the world. The gender inequality index, or GII, takes the level of empowerment, reproductive health, and labor participation of a country to see the level of inequality there. The higher the score, the worse the inequality. Canada has a GII score of 0.08 and is one of the lower scores in the world. In Canada, the gender pay gap continues to affect women. For every dollar a man makes, women make 90 cents, and sometimes lower due to race.

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Canada has a beautiful natural landscape, stretching from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. Canada is home to a lot of land compared to a small population, giving people opportunities to try different activities when visiting different parts of the country. Some places, like Quebec, still feel very European compared to the rest of the country, creating a different atmosphere and experience. Canada also hosts events every year in different cities that attract people from all over the world, like the Celebration of Light and Toronto International Film Festival. Another attraction is the affordability of Canada. Many Americans see it as affordable because the Canadian dollar is worth slightly less than the American dollar. Overall, Canada is a diverse country home to a diverse people of different countries and cultures.

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The Celebration of Light in Vancouver is the largest fireworks competition in the world, lighting up the sky in beautiful colors for all to see.

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Like other places in the world, Canada is facing the effects of climate change and global warming. Glaciers in the Canadian Rockies have been melting at faster rates due to the warmer temperatures in Canada. This causes a loss of freshwater in the Prairies of Canada and higher flow rates in glacier-fed rivers and streams, like the North Saskatchewan River. Purple algae, likely caused by forest fires, have also been increasing melt rates in glaciers due to them absorbing solar energy with their dark color. With higher melting rates, contaminants have been increasing as well after being released from the ice and snow.

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