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Thursday, August 18, 2022

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Introduction

Flag and Arms 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, covering over 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles), making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Its southern and western border with the United States, stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest binational land border. Canada's capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head of government is the prime minister—who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons—and is appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch, who serves as head of state. The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) at the federal level. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, education, gender equality and environmental sustainability. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. (Full article...)

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Watercolor drawing, by Charles M. Lefferts, depicting the 2nd Canadian Regiment, Continental Line, uniform

The 2nd Canadian Regiment (1776–1783), also known as Congress' Own or Hazen's Regiment, was authorized on January 20, 1776, as an Extra Continental regiment and raised in the province of Quebec for service with the American Continental Army under the command of Colonel Moses Hazen. All or part of the regiment saw action at Staten Island, Brandywine, Germantown and the Siege of Yorktown. Most of its non-combat time was spent in and around New York City as part of the forces monitoring the British forces occupying that city. The regiment was disbanded on November 15, 1783, at West Point, New York. (Full article...)

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Arthur Lewis Watkins Sifton, PC (UK), PC (Can), KC (October 26, 1858 – January 21, 1921), was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the second premier of Alberta from 1910 until 1917. He became a minister in the federal cabinet of Canada thereafter. Born in Canada West (now Ontario), he grew up there and in Winnipeg, where he became a lawyer. He subsequently practised law with his brother Clifford Sifton in Brandon, where he was also active in municipal politics. He moved west to Prince Albert in 1885 and to Calgary in 1889. There, he was elected to the 4th and 5th North-West Legislative Assemblies; he served as a minister in the government of premier Frederick Haultain. In 1903, the federal government, at the instigation of his brother (who was then one of its ministers), made Sifton the Chief Justice of the Northwest Territories. After Alberta was created out of a portion of the Northwest Territories in 1905, Sifton became the first Chief Justice of Alberta in 1907 and served until 1910. (Full article...)

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Panoramic view of Montreal

Credit: Diliff

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Men's field lacrosse game between
UNC and Duke

Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively modified by European colonists, reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form. (Full article...)

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Toronto, the financial centre of Canada

The economy of Canada is a highly developed mixed-market economy. It is the 8th-largest GDP by nominal and 15th-largest GDP by PPP in the world. As with other developed nations, the country's economy is dominated by the service industry which employs about three quarters of Canadians. Canada has the third-highest total estimated value of natural resources, valued at US$33.98 trillion in 2019. It has the world's third-largest proven oil reserves and is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil. It is also the fifth-largest exporter of natural gas. (Full article...)

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Dickson Falls, Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
Credit: Danielle Langlois.

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Current events

July 29, 2022 – 2022 monkeypox outbreak: 2022 monkeypox outbreak in Canada; The monkeypox vaccine will be made available to high-risk people in British Columbia, Canada. (Vancouver Sun)
July 29, 2022 – Visit by Pope Francis to Canada: Pope Francis visits Iqaluit in Nunavut to apologize for the past abuse and cultural suppression at Catholic residential schools in Canada. The visit is his final stop on his Canada trip. (CBC)
July 25, 2022 – Canada–Holy See relations: 2022 visit by Pope Francis to Canada; Thousands of Indigenous people gather in Maskwacis, Alberta, to hear an apology from Pope Francis for the past abuse and cultural suppression at Catholic residential schools across Canada. (AP)
July 25, 2022 – 2022 Langley shootings: Three people, including the shooter, are killed, and two others are seriously injured in a mass shooting in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. (CBC)

Past Canadian events

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... that Frank Sargent was the first person to be president of two national amateur sporting associations in Canada?
... that Hope Muir was hired as the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada without any in-person interviews?
... that John Hutchison, in his role as Mayor of Toronto, signed the city's bid to become the capital of the Province of Canada?
... that Robert Dean was one of the few Anglophone Quebecers to join the separatist Parti Québécois?
... that Micheline Legendre organized Canada's first puppetry festival in conjunction with the 1967 World Expo in Montreal?
... that Canada's National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called for the abolition of birth alerts?
... that in June 2019, Hamilton Tiger-Cats placekicker Gabriel Amavizca became the first non-Canadian or non-American player to score points in a Canadian Football League regular season match?

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The Grey Cup is the championship of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team. The trophy is named after Albert Grey, the Governor General of Canada from 1904 until 1911. He donated the trophy to the Canadian Rugby Union in 1909 to recognize the top amateur rugby football team in Canada. By this time Canadian football had become markedly different from the rugby football from which it developed. Although it was originally intended to be awarded only to amateur teams (like the Stanley Cup), over time, the Grey Cup became the property of the Canadian Football League as it evolved into a professional football league. Amateur teams ceased competing for the Cup by 1954; since 1965, the top amateur teams, playing in U Sports, have competed for the Vanier Cup. (Full article...)