Canada

At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a secular nationalist movement.[98] The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970[99] and the sovereignist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, organizing an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through the Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990.[100] This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and the invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada in the West.[101][102] A second referendum followed in 1995, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of 50.6 to 49.4 percent.[103] In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional and the Clarity Act was passed by parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation.[100]

In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history;[104] the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students;[105] and the Oka Crisis of 1990,[106] the first of a number of violent confrontations between the government and Indigenous groups.[107] Canada also joined the Gulf War in 1990 as part of a U.S.-led coalition force and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the 1990s, including the UNPROFOR mission in the former Yugoslavia.[108]

Canada sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001, but declined to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.[109] In 2011, Canadian forces participated in the NATO-led intervention into the Libyan Civil War,[110] and also became involved in battling the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq in the mid-2010s.[111]

Canada occupies much of the continent of North America, sharing land borders with the contiguous United States to the south, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the northwest. Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean.[112] Greenland is to the northeast and to the southeast Canada shares a maritime boundary with the Republic of France's overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the last vestige of New France.[113] By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. By land area alone, however, Canada ranks fourth, the difference being due to it having the world's largest proportion of fresh water lakes.[114] Of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories, only two are landlocked (Alberta and Saskatchewan) while the other eleven all directly border one of three oceans.

Canada is home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert, on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island – latitude 82.5°N – which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole.[115] Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost.[116] Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of 243,042 kilometres (151,019 mi);[117] additionally, its border with the United States is the world's longest land border, stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi).[118] Three of Canada's arctic islands, Baffin Island, Victoria Island and Ellesmere Island, are among the ten largest in the world.[119]

Since the end of the last glacial period, Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield.[120] 42 percent of the land acreage of Canada is covered by forests, approximately 8 percent of the world's forested land, made up mostly of spruce, poplar and pine.[121] Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 greater than 100 km2 (39 sq mi)—which is more than any other country, containing much of the world's fresh water.[122][123]
There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and the Coast Mountains.[124]

Canada is geologically active, having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes, notably Mount Meager massif, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Cayley massif, and the Mount Edziza volcanic complex.[125] The volcanic eruption of the Tseax Cone in 1775 was among Canada's worst natural disasters, killing an estimated 2,000 Nisga'a people and destroying their village in the Nass River valley of northern British Columbia.[126] The eruption produced a 22.5-kilometre (14.0 mi) lava flow, and, according to Nisga'a legend, blocked the flow of the Nass River.[127]

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F), but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills.[128] In noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 °C (104 °F).[129]

Canada is described as a "full democracy",[130] with a tradition of liberalism,[131] and an egalitarian,[132] moderate political ideology.[133] An emphasis on social justice has been a distinguishing element of Canada's political culture.[134] Peace, order, and good government, alongside an implied bill of rights are founding principles of the Canadian government.[135][136]

At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two relatively centrist parties practicing "brokerage politics",[b][139][140][141] the centre-left Liberal Party of Canada and the centre-right Conservative Party of Canada (or its predecessors).[142] The historically predominant Liberal Party position themselves at the centre of the Canadian political spectrum,[143] with the Conservative Party positioned on the right and the New Democratic Party occupying the left.[144][145] Far-right and far-left politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society.[146][147] Five parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament in the 2019 election—the Liberal Party, who currently form the government; the Conservative Party, who are the official opposition; the New Democratic Party; the Bloc Québécois; and the Green Party of Canada.[148]

Canada has a parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy—the monarchy of Canada being the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.[149][150][151] The reigning monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who is also monarch of 15 other Commonwealth countries and each of Canada's 10 provinces. The person who is the Canadian monarch is the same as the British monarch, although the two institutions are separate.[152] The Queen appoints a representative, the governor general (at present Julie Payette), to carry out most of her federal royal duties in Canada.[153][154]

The direct participation of the monarch and the governor general in areas of governance is limited.[151][155][156] In practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons of Canada and chosen and headed by the prime minister (at present Justin Trudeau),[157] the head of government. The governor general or monarch may, though, in certain crisis situations exercise their power without ministerial advice.[155] To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the individual who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Commons.[158] The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is thus one of the most powerful institutions in government, initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by the Crown, besides the aforementioned, the governor general, lieutenant governors, senators, federal court judges, and heads of Crown corporations and government agencies.[155] The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.[159]

Each of the 338 members of parliament in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district or riding. General elections must be called by the governor general, either on the advice of the prime minister or if the government loses a confidence vote in the House.[160][161] Constitutionally, an election may be held no more than five years after the preceding election, although the Canada Elections Act limits this to four years with a fixed election date in October. The 105 members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75.[162]

Canada's federal structure divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the ten provinces. Provincial legislatures are unicameral and operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the House of Commons.[156] Canada's three territories also have legislatures, but these are not sovereign and have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces.[163] The territorial legislatures also differ structurally from their provincial counterparts.[164]

The Bank of Canada is the central bank of the country. In addition, the minister of finance and minister of industry utilize the Statistics Canada agency for financial planning and economic policy development.[165] The Bank of Canada is the sole authority authorized to issue currency in the form of Canadian bank notes.[166] The bank does not issue Canadian coins; they are issued by the Royal Canadian Mint.[167]