Portal:Canada

Thursday, September 24, 2026

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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Marker commemorating the Arnold Trail to Quebec, the "Great Carrying Place" on the Kennebec River in Caratunk, Maine

In September 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 1,100 Continental Army troops on an expedition from Cambridge in the Province of Massachusetts Bay to the gates of Quebec City. The expedition was part of a two-pronged invasion of the British Province of Quebec, and passed through the wilderness of what is now Maine. The other expedition invaded Quebec from Lake Champlain, led by Richard Montgomery. (Full article...)

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Current events

September 19, 2026 – 2026 Indonesia wildfires, Indonesia–Malaysia relations: Indonesia accepts Malaysian assistance to combat wildfires in Kalimantan, including a Bombardier CL-415MP aircraft, three helicopters, and 52 personnel, as the fires cause transboundary haze affecting Southeast Asia. (AFP via France 24)
September 16, 2026 – Canada–European Union relations: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen invites Canada to become the first associate member of the European Union amidst the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States. (CNBC)
September 8, 2026 – Canada–United States relations: 2025–2026 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico; Canada's retaliatory tariffs of 15% to 50% on CA$27.6 billion (US$19.9 billion) of U.S. goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances, agricultural equipment, paper products, and electronics, take effect in response to U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports. (AFP via France 24); In response, the United States announces a ban on the imports of Canadian alcoholic drinks, motorcycles, and dairy products beginning September 29. (Reuters)
September 2, 2026 –: The Dutch central bank reallocates 86 tonnes of gold reserves from Ottawa, Canada, and New York City, United States, to London, United Kingdom, increasing the share held there to 32.1%, citing "increasing geopolitical unrest". (AFP via France 24) (Seoul Economic Daily)

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A panorama of Edmonton Skyline

Credit: Awmcphee (Alex)

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Parliament Hill, 2009

Parliament Hill (French: Colline du Parlement) is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose architectural elements were chosen to evoke the history of parliamentary democracy. Parliament Hill attracts approximately three million visitors each year. The Parliamentary Protective Service is responsible for law enforcement on Parliament Hill and in the parliamentary precinct, while the National Capital Commission is responsible for maintaining the nine-hectare (22-acre) area of the grounds. (Full article...)

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Canadian food and cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices of Canada, with regional variances around the country. First Nations and Inuit have practiced their culinary traditions in what is now Canada for at least 15,000 years. The advent of European explorers and settlers, first on the east coast and then throughout the wider territories of New France, British North America and Canada, saw the melding of foreign recipes, cooking techniques, and ingredients with indigenous flora and fauna. Modern Canadian cuisine has maintained this dedication to local ingredients and terroir, as exemplified in the naming of specific ingredients based on their locale, such as Malpeque oysters or Alberta beef. Accordingly, Canadian cuisine privileges the quality of ingredients and regionality, and may be broadly defined as a national tradition of "creole" culinary practices, based on the complex multicultural and geographically diverse nature of both historical and contemporary Canadian society. (Full article...)

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Polar bear at Cape Churchill (Wapusk National Park, Manitoba)
Credit: Ansgar Walk

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Jennings in 2002

Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings CM (July 29, 1938 – August 7, 2005) was a Canadian and American television journalist. He was best known for serving as the sole anchor of ABC World News Tonight from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. Despite dropping out of high school, Jennings transformed himself into one of American television's most prominent journalists. (Full article...)

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... that Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was born in Canada's capital, but outside the country's legal jurisdiction?
... that the Manhattan Project feed materials program used uranium ore from a mine in Canada near the Arctic Circle?
... that the entire inventory of historic string instruments in Canada's Musical Instrument Bank are loaned to musicians in a competition held every three years?
... that a Canadian skier was the only competitor for Venezuela at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
... that one critic called Louis Alexander MacKay the "most angry and clever satirist" in Canada?
... that the Saskatchewan Conservation House, built in 1977 to withstand Canadian winter temperatures, did not use a furnace?
... that Canadian football player Paul Shorten played university football after his pro career?

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The Lionel Conacher Award is an annual award given to Canada's male athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press (CP) first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top athlete, of either gender, in 1932. Separate polls for the best male and female athletes were conducted beginning the following year. The CP formalized the poll into an award in 1978, presenting their winner a plaque. It was named after Lionel Conacher, a multi-sport champion whom the news organization had named its top athlete of the half-century in 1950. The award is separate from the Northern Star Award, in which a select panel of sports writers vote for their top overall athlete. (Full article...)

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