Portal:Canada

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Contributing

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 second-largest country by total area, with the longest coastline of any country. 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 its urban areas and large areas being sparsely populated. Its capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

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

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The Battle of Vimy Ridge (9–12 April 1917) was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of the German 6th Army. The battle began the Battle of Arras and was the first attack of the Nivelle Offensive. The objective was to draw German reserves away from the French forces, preparing for the French offensive along the Aisne and the Chemin des Dames ridge several days later. (Full article...)

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See also: historic events and sites

Current events

August 25, 2026 – Canada–United States relations: 2025–2026 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico; Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of U.S. annual imports in response to the 50% tariffs by U.S. president Donald Trump and his administration. (Reuters)
August 22, 2026 – Canada–United States relations: 2025–2026 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico; The United States imposes 50% tariffs on about US$20 billion of Canadian goods after trade talks fail to produce an agreement. Canadian prime minister Mark Carney says Canada will impose equivalent retaliatory tariffs. (AFP via Daily Tribune)
August 16, 2026 – 2026 IFAF Women's Flag Football World Championship, Canada at the 2028 Summer Olympics: In flag football, Canada's women's team defeats the defending champion United States to win its third IFAF Flag Football World Championship title. Additionally, the men's football team qualifies for the upcoming Summer Olympics. (Global News)
August 9, 2026 – 2026 Canadian wildfires: Police report that a woman was killed while evacuating the Summerland wildfire in British Columbia, Canada, which has burned more than 13,600 hectares (34,000 acres) and forced over 20,000 people to evacuate. (AFP via RFI)

Past Canadian events

Selected panorama -

Niagara Falls, view from Canada, with American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls on the left, Horseshoe Falls on the right

Panoramic view of Niagara Falls

Credit: MamaGeek

National symbol -

"O Canada" (French: "Ô Canada") is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French-language words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. (Full article...)

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Toronto, the financial centre of Canada

Canada has an advanced and diversified mixed economy. The nation relies upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. As of 2026, it is the eleventh-largest in the world in nominal terms. Its GDP per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms ranks third among G7 countries. Among OECD members, Canada has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 23.1% of GDP. The country's average household disposable income per capita is "well above" the OECD average. The Government of Canada formulates economic policy while the Bank of Canada functions as its central bank and implements monetary policy. (Full article...)

More Canadian vital articles

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Male Gadwall, Humber Bay Park, Toronto
Credit: Mdf

More information

Featured Canadian picture

Featured biography -

Innis in the 1920s

Harold Adams Innis (November 5, 1894 – November 8, 1952) was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory, and Canadian economic history. He helped develop the staples thesis, which holds that Canada's culture, political history, and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fish, lumber, wheat, mined metals, and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada from the 1930s to 1960s, and continues to be a fundamental part of the Canadian political economic tradition. Innis has been referred to as the "father of communications theory" and as the "father of Canadian economic history". (Full article...)

More featured Canadian biographies

See also: historically significant biographies

Did you know -

... that brothers Gerry and Gerald Collins are part of a family of 19 siblings?
... that Jackson Findlay is a fourth-generation Canadian Football League player?
... that jazz singer Judi Singh's mother and father were, respectively, among the earliest Black and Sikh settlers of Alberta, Canada?
... that Premier Maurice Duplessis, angry at the fact that the federal government of Canada was taking taxes at the expense of the provinces, once demanded that Ottawa "return our loot"?
... that a radio station in Alberta fell afoul of Canadian content guidelines because new songs by Anne Murray were not Canadian enough?
... that a journalists' poll rated Billy Fitzgerald the second-best Canadian lacrosse player of the first half of the 20th century?
... that Fredrick Wangabo Mwenengabo, a Congolese-Canadian anthropologist and human rights activist, survived being kidnapped and held for ransom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

More Did you know facts

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Canada's national parks are protected areas under the Canada National Parks Act, owned by the Government of Canada and administered for the benefit, education, and enjoyment of the people of Canada and its future generations. National parks are administered by Parks Canada, a Crown agency operating under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The goal of the national parks system is to set aside lands representing the country's 39 distinct natural regions described in the National Parks System Plan, primarily to protect the ecological integrity of the land, and secondarily to allow the public to explore, learn about and enjoy Canada's natural spaces. (Full article...)