Canada

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867, while retaining ties to the British crown. Canada gained legislative independence from Britain in 1931 and formalized its constitutional independence from the UK when it passed the Canada Act in 1982. Economically and technologically, the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across the world's longest international border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.

Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US

60 00 N, 95 00 W

North America

slightly larger than the US

202,080 km

varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

mostly plains with mountains in west, lowlands in southeast

bauxite, iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, uranium, rare earth elements, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower

9,045 sq km (2015)

Mackenzie - 4,241 km; Yukon river source (shared with the US [m]) - 3,185 km; Saint Lawrence river mouth (shared with US) - 3,058 km; Nelson - 2,570 km; Columbia river source (shared with the US [m]) - 1,953 km; Churchill - 1,600 km; Fraser - 1,368 km; Ottawa - 1,271 km; Athabasca - 1,231 km; North Saskatchewan - 1,220 km; Liard - 1,115 km

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Northern Great Plains Aquifer

vast majority of the population lives in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km (186 mi) of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia

continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains

volcanism: the vast majority of volcanoes in Western Canada's Coast Mountains remain dormant

note 1: second-largest country in the world (after Russia) and largest in the Americas; strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km (100 mi) of the US border

note 2: Canada has more fresh water than any other country, and almost 9% of Canadian territory is water; Canada has at least 2 million and possibly over 3 million lakes, more than all other countries combined

Canadian 15.6%, English 14.7%, Scottish 12.1%, French 11%, Irish 12.1%, German 8.1%, Chinese 4.7%, Italian 4.3%, First Nations 1.7%, Indian 3.7%, Ukrainian 3.5%, Metis 1.5% (2021 est.)

Christian 53.3%, Muslim 4.9%, Hindu 2.3%, Sikh 2.1%, Buddhist 1%, Jewish 0.9%, Traditional (North American Indigenous) 0.2%, other religions and traditional spirituality 0.6%, none 34.6% (2021 est.)

0.73% (2025 est.)

9.12 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

7.75 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

5.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

vast majority of the population lives in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km (186 mi) of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia

6.372 million Toronto, 4.308 million Montreal, 2.657 million Vancouver, 1.640 million Calgary, 1.544 million Edmonton, 1.437 million OTTAWA (capital) (2023)

29.4 years (2019 est.)

12 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.43 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.7 (2025 est.)

2.82 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

2.6 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

29.4% (2016)

51.6% (2021 est.)

air pollution and acid rain from vehicle emissions, coal-burning, and metal smelting severely affecting lakes and forests; seawater pollution from agriculture, industry, mining, and forestry 

varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north

6.7 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

2.902 trillion cubic meters (2022 est.)

federal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution

10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec, Saskatchewan, Yukon*

common law system except in Quebec, where civil law based on the French civil code prevails

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Bloc Québécois
Conservative Party of Canada or CPC
Green Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
New Democratic Party

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, USMCA, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK per Statute of Westminster)

Canada Day, 1 July (1867)

description: two vertical bands of red on each side, with a white square between them; a large 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square

meaning: the maple leaf is a national symbol

maple leaf, beaver

red, white

$2.241 trillion (2024 est.)

wheat, rapeseed, maize, milk, barley, soybeans, potatoes, peas, oats, pork (2023)

transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper products, fish products, petroleum, natural gas

0% (2024 est.)

22.868 million (2024 est.)

13.8% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

USA 71%, China 5%, UK 3%, Japan 2%, Mexico 2% (2023)

crude petroleum, cars, gold, natural gas, refined petroleum (2023)

USA 51%, China 11%, Mexico 6%, Germany 3%, Japan 3% (2023)

cars, trucks, vehicle parts/accessories, refined petroleum, crude petroleum (2023)

2 public TV broadcasting networks, 1 in English and 1 in French, each with a large number of network affiliates; several private commercial networks, also with multiple network affiliates; a total of about 150 TV stations, accessible via multi-channel satellite and cable systems; mix of public and commercial radio, with over 1,000 licensed stations; public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) provides 4 radio networks, Radio Canada International, and radio services to ethnic populations in the north (2016)

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1,459 (2025)

506 (2025)

Canadian Forces: Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force (2025)

approximately 75,000 active-duty military personnel (2025)

the CAF's inventory is a mix of domestically produced and imported weapons systems from Australia, Europe, Israel, the UK, and the US; in recent years, the leading supplier has been the US; Canada's defense industry develops, maintains, and produces a range of equipment, including aircraft, combat vehicles, naval vessels, and associated components; it also collaborates with the defense industries of allied countries such as the UK (2025)

17 years of age for men and women for voluntary military service (with parental consent); 16 years of age for Reserve and Military College applicants; Canadian citizenship or permanent residence status required; service obligation 3-9 years depending on the position (2025)

approximately 2,000 Latvia (NATO); the CAF also has air and naval assets supporting NATO missions (2025)

the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are responsible for external security; the CAF’s core missions include detecting, deterring, and defending against threats to or attacks on Canada; the military also provides assistance to civil authorities and law enforcement as needed for such missions as counterterrorism, search and rescue, and responding to natural disasters or other major emergencies; it regularly participates in bilateral and multinational training exercises with a variety of partners, including NATO (Canada is one of the original members) and the US; the CAF also contributes to international peacekeeping, stability, humanitarian, combat, and capacity building operations, principally through NATO, but also with the UN and other security partners

Canada is part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD; established 1958); NORAD is a Canada/US bi-national military command responsible for monitoring and defending North American airspace; traditionally, a CAF officer has served as the deputy commander of NORAD; Canada’s defense relationship with the US extends back to the Ogdensburg Declaration of 1940, when the two countries formally agreed on military cooperation, including the establishment of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD), which continues to be the highest-level bilateral defense forum between Canada and the US

British troops withdrew from Canada in 1871 as part of the US-UK Treaty of Washington; following the withdrawal, the first Canadian militia, known as the Royal Canadian Regiment, was organized in 1883 to protect Canadian territory and defend British interests abroad, which it did in the South African War (1899-1902), Canada’s first overseas conflict; militia units formed the backbone of the more than 425,000 Canadian soldiers that went to Europe during World War I in what was called the Canadian Expeditionary Force; the Royal Canadian Navy was created in 1910, while the Canadian Air Force was established in 1920 and became the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924; the Canadian Army was officially founded in 1942; a unified Canadian Armed Forces was created in 1968 (2025)

Canadian Space Agency (CSA; established 1989) (2025)

developing commercial space port sites in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland (2025)

has a national space strategy and a long history of developing space-related technologies; designs, builds, operates, and tracks communications, remote sensing (RS), multi-mission, and scientific/testing satellites; has an astronaut program; involved in the development and production of advanced communications systems, lunar rovers, planetary probes, robotics, sensors, and space telescopes; participates in international space programs, including the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope; Cooperating State of the ESA since 1979 and participates in a variety of ESA programs, such as the Copernicus Earth observation project; works with numerous foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of Argentina, Brazil, individual ESA and EU member states, Japan, India, and particularly the US; has an active commercial space sector (2025)

1959-1962 - launched first domestically built sounding rocket (Black Brant 1); first domestically designed and built satellite (Alouette) launched by US

1972-1973 - first domestic communications satellites (Anik A-1 and Anik A-2) launched by US, making Canada first country to employ satellites for domestic communications

1970s - began participating in US Space Shuttle (first Canadian in space on Shuttle in 1984) and US Mars probe/exploration programs

1995 - first Canadian-built, radar-capable remote sensing satellite (Radarsat-1) launched by US

2019 - began participating in US/NASA Lunar Gateway orbital station program; launched constellation of remote sensing satellites (RADARSAT Constellation Mission)

2020 - signed the US-led Artemis Accords for space exploration (active participant in planned Moon missions under the Artemis program)

Hizballah; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)