Portal:Canada

Tuesday, August 11, 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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The Stanley Cup (French: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". The trophy was commissioned in 1892 as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the governor general of Canada, who donated it as an award to Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The entire Stanley family supported the sport, the sons and daughters all playing and promoting the game. The first Cup was awarded in 1893 to the Montreal Hockey Club, and winners from 1893 to 1914 were determined by challenge games and league play. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. In 1915, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the two main professional ice hockey organizations, reached an agreement in which their respective champions would face each other annually for the Stanley Cup. The PCHA's successor, the Western Hockey League, dissolved after the 1925–26 season, and no other leagues apart from the NHL were deemed worthy of challenging for the Cup, making it the de facto championship trophy of the NHL. It became the de jure NHL championship trophy in 1947. (Full article...)

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Current events

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)
August 8, 2026 – Wildfires in 2026: In Canada, British Columbia declares a state of emergency after 105 wildfires were reported across the province. (DW)
August 4, 2026 – 2026 Ebola epidemic: Health Canada announces it has given Moderna the green light for authorization to launch a clinical trial for a mRNA Ebola vaccine aimed at targeting the Bundibugyo strain of the ebola virus. (CBC)
August 4, 2026 –: The Bradley Creek fire in North Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada destroys 250 homes on the North Okanagan Indian reservation in a night with 150km/h winds.(Global News)
August 3, 2026 –: Major League Soccer, the top flight of men's soccer in the U.S. and Canada, announces that Larry Berg, currently a co-owner of Los Angeles FC (LAFC) in that league, will succeed Don Garber as league commissioner at the start of 2027. Berg will sell his interest in LAFC before assuming his new position. (AP) (The Guardian)
July 27, 2026 – Canada–United States relations: 2025–2026 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico

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Wintery sunrise (and sunset) at 3PM in January over March Lake, Yukon

Credit: grampymoose

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At Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge

The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the Arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to fresh water, the Canada goose is also common in brackish marshes, estuaries, and lagoons. (Full article...)

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The military history of Canada spans centuries of conflicts within the country, as well as international engagements involving the Canadian military. The Indigenous nations of Canada engaged in conflicts with one another for millennia. The arrival of European settlers in the 17th century led to new alliances and hostilities among Indigenous nations and colonial powers, leading to conflicts such as the Beaver Wars. (Full article...)

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The Peace Bridge in Calgary, Alberta
Credit: Ryan Quan

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Carr in 1930

Emily Carr (December 13, 1871 – March 2, 1945) was a Canadian artist who was inspired by the monumental art and villages of the First Nations and the landscapes of British Columbia. She also was a vivid writer and chronicler of life in her surroundings, praised for her "complete candour" and "strong prose". Klee Wyck, her first book, published in 1941, won the Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction and this book and others written by her or compiled from her writings later are still much in demand today. (Full article...)

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... that, for the Kʼëgit pole to be sold and taken to Paris, its buyer had to pay CA$100 and symbolically marry a dead woman?
... that Canadian microbiologist Patricia Taylor helped American diplomats hide in her house in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis?
... that Chuck Eisenmann went from professionally pitching in baseball to owning and training the dogs that starred on the Canadian television series The Littlest Hobo?
... that an Antiguan man who escaped from custody in Canada is suspected of stealing a yacht and sailing it directly into Hurricane Larry?
... that the Canada Centre Building has one of the first aquifer thermal energy storage systems?
... that Eagle-Dogtooth Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, contains part of the Experimental Lakes Area, a controlled area for conducting scientific experiments in lakes?
... that Helen Kendall was one of 446 Canadians to receive the Royal Red Cross for her service in World War I?

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The Parliament of Canada is the legislative body of the government of Canada. The Parliament is composed of the House of Commons (lower house), the Senate (upper house), and the sovereign, represented by the governor general. Most major legislation originates from the Commons, as it is the only body that is directly elected. A new parliament begins after an election of the House of Commons and can sit for up to five years. The number of seats in parliament has varied as new provinces joined the country and as population distribution between the provinces changed; there are currently 343 House MPs and 105 Senators (when there are no vacancies). (Full article...)