A federal state, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 and member of the British Commonwealth in 1926.
Its own Constitution was issued on 25 April 1982. There are ten provinces (each with its own legislative and executive bodies) and three territories. Since 1935 the country has been governed alternately by the Liberal Party (progressive) and the Reform Alliance Party (conservative).
To protect the indigenous minorities, on 1 April 1999, the autonomous territory of Nunavut was created (separated officially from the Northwest Territories), for the Inuit people to govern themselves. On 29 May 1993, a framework agreement was signed in response to the requests for independence made by the various indigenous communities of the Yukon. On 27 April 1999, a treaty was signed, assigning 2000 km² of land to the Nisga’a people, over which they have considerable autonomy. A similar treaty was signed on 26 August 2003 with the Tlicho, to whom an area of 39 000 km² was allocated.
The head of state is the British Sovereign, represented by a Governor General appointed on the recommendation of the Canadian Prime Minister. The government is accountable to Parliament, which is made up of two houses: the House of Commons (338 members, elected by direct suffrage, usually the house is dissolved after four years) and the Senate (105 members appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and in office up to the age of 75 years).

Defence.
Military service is voluntary.

Justice.
The legal system is based on British Common Law, with the exception of the Province of Québec, where the organization is influenced by the French legal system.
The Supreme Court of Canada is based in Ottawa. Each province has its own Supreme Court as well as lower-level courts and its own police force. There is also a federal police force (the RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police) which operates on a national level.

Population by age and gender (% - 2020)
	75+ 60-74 45-59 30-44 15-29 0-14
MALE	AGE	FEMALE

The population is centred in the southern part of the country, particularly in the Ontario and Québec areas close to the border with the US. The growth rate is positive, partly because of the contribution of immigrants (mainly from Asia).

Economic situation.
In 2021, the country came out of the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; the rise in oil prices, which play an important role in the economy of the central western provinces, also supports the economic growth. The government, led by J. Trudeau, loosened its tight control over the budget to allow for an expansion in public spending, particularly investments in infrastructure, and to boost the economy. Stimulus measures were taken to provide credit and support families, whose debt is very high.

Primary sector
Agriculture.
Thanks to the high level of mechanization, farming is very productive and promotes substantial exports. Cereals are grown on a very large scale, especially wheat and oats (in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba), barley (Alberta and Saskatchewan), and maize (Ontario and Québec). Potatoes are grown only in New Brunswick, on Prince Edward Island and in Ontario. In the other Atlantic provinces the predominant crops are flax (Canada is the world’s largest producer of linseed), soya (Ontario), rapeseed (Saskatchewan, Alberta), blueberries, sugar beet and tobacco.
Forests.

Forest covers about one third of the land. The most common tree species is spruce, followed by pine, cedar, birch and maple. Canada’s large cover of forest, exploited in a sustainable manner, has created a flourishing timber industry (solid wood and wood pulp).
Livestock and fishing.
Intensive livestock farming, particularly of cattle and pigs, is practised mainly in the provinces of Alberta, Québec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Rearing and, on a smaller scale, hunting animals for their pelts, particularly minks and silver foxes, are practiced.
Cod, salmon and sole fishing is very important (along the fragmented Pacific coast), as well as lobster, prawns, crab, halibut, pollack, cod and shellfish (on the Atlantic coast), whitefish, pike, perch, trout and sturgeon (in the lakes). Fish farming is also widespread (mussels, oysters, salmon and perch).

Secondary sector
Minerals.
Canada is extremely rich in mineral and energy resources. Oil extraction from oil shales (Alberta) put the country in first place worldwide for oil deposits in the early 21^st century. The largest coal deposits are at Castor, Drumheller, Pembina, Sheerness, Crowsnest, Mountain Park, Coalspur, Alix, Camrose and Lethbridge (Alberta); Cape Breton Island and areas of Cumberland, Sydney and Pictou (Nova Scotia); Crowsnest and Vancouver (British Columbia); Minto, Chipman and Coal Creek (New Brunswick); Bienfait and Estevan (Saskatchewan).
There are important oil reserves at Swan Hills, Bonnie Glen, Mitsue, Zama, Rainbow Lake, Utikuma Lake, Redwater, Leduc-Woodbend, Pembina, Kaybob, Sylvan Lake, Medicine River, Deer Mountain and Goose River (all in Alberta), at Boundary Lake and Peejay (in British Columbia), at Midale, Dodsland and Weyburn (in Saskatchewan) and at Hartney in (Manitoba). There are many oil pipelines, the most important of which are those from Alberta’s oil fields to the US, Edmonton-Vancouver, Edmonton-Montréal. In areas with oil reserves, natural gas is also extracted. The largest field is at Medicine Hat, in Alberta, known as “Natural Gas City”. Other places where natural gas is produced include Martin Hills, Edson, Olds, Hussar, Cessford, Provost, Viking-Kinsella and Kessler; in Saint John (New Brunswick) there is a regasification plant. Canada is also a large producer of uranium and radium: the most important mines are in Saskatchewan (Cigar Lake, Key Lake, McArthur River, McClean Lake, Rabbit Lake). Lithium reserves are also significant (Québec).
Canada has deposits of almost all minerals. Nickel is mined in the district of Sudbury (Totten, Copper Cliff North, Kirkwood, Coleman, Little Stobie, Frood Stobie, Garson, Levack, Murray and Clarabelle), at Lynn Lake, Thompson, Creighton, Birchtree, Soab (in Manitoba) and near Voisey’s Bay. Iron is mined at Algoma and Steep Rock (in Ontario), Burnt Creek, Lake Carol, Wabush, Mount Wright, Schefferville and Québec Cartier (in Labrador), Michipicoten (a small island on Lake Superior), Quinsam Lake (Vancouver Island) and at Wabana (on Belle Isle, Newfoundland). There are considerable deposits of gold (at Kirkland Lake, Porcupine, Bourlamaque and Yellowknife), silver (at Cobalt and Atlin), platinum (at Sudbury), palladium (Lac des Iles) and diamonds, which are found in the territory of Nunavut (at Ekati, Diavik, Jerico and Snap Lake).
Other minerals mined are cobalt, lead (Nelson and Atlin, in British Columbia), zinc (at Amos, Mattagami and Rouyn in Québec, at Flin Flon in Manitoba, at Nelson, Riondel, Kimberley, Salmo, Remac and Windermere in British Columbia, at Timmins in Ontario, at Buchans in Newfoundland and at Bathurst in New Brunswick), copper (Sherridon and Flin Flon in Manitoba, Noranda in Québec, Geco, North Coldstream, Willroy and Kam-Kotia in Ontario, at River Jordan, Benson Lake, Britannia Beach, Merritt, Greenwood and Highland Valley in British Columbia, and on the Gaspé Peninsula). Large deposits of zinc, copper and silver are also found at Timmins, in Ontario. Other minerals include molybdenum (in British Columbia), tin, tungsten (Yukon), antimony (Lake George), bismuth (Pressiac Township and Trail), selenium, titanium (Allard Lake and St. Urbain), niobium and tantalum (Lake Bernic) and mica. Canada is one of the world’s leading producers of sulfur (a by-product from the processing of pyrites and natural gas) and potassium chloride (at Regina, Pine Point and Esterhazy). Rock salt is extracted in Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan.
Energy.
Most of the energy produced comes from exploiting the country’s huge hydro-electric potential. The James Bay Project (Québec) and Churchill Falls (Québec) are two of the largest power plants. Mostly in Ontario, there are 19 active nuclear reactors, based on CANDU technology, which has been developed independently and sold abroad. Thermal power plants are located at Lennox (Ontario) and Wabamun (Alberta).
Industry.
The most important segments of industry are those associated with the exploitation of natural resources, but hi-tech sectors are also expanding, including IT and electronics (Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montréal), aerospace (Québec and Montréal), engineering with hi-tech materials, bio-technologies, healthcare products and telecommunications. In addition, Vancouver now claims to be the third-largest hub in North America for films and television (after Los Angeles and New York). The metal-working industry produces cast iron and iron alloys, with steelworks (at Hamilton), zinc foundries (at Trail, Valleyfield, Flin Flon and Timmins), copper foundries (at Noranda, Montréal-East, Copper Cliff, Coniston, Flin Flon, Falconbridge and Murdochville), tough copper plants (at Montréal and Copper Cliff), lead and casting lead plants (at Trail, Belledune Point, Calgary and Montréal), nickel plants (at Thompson, Port Colborne, Falconbridge, Fort Saskatchewan, Coniston, Copper Cliff and Sherritt Gordon), cadmium processing (at Flin Flon, Trail and Valleyfield), and cobalt processing (at Port Colborne, Thompson, Cobalt and Fort Saskatchewan). Canada is one of the world’s leading aluminium producers, with plants (at Arvida, Kitimat, Isle Maligne, Shawinigan and Beauharnois) which process imported bauxite. There are oil refineries at Lloydminster, Edmonton and Scotford (in Alberta); Burnaby, Price George (in British Columbia); St. John (in New Brunswick); Dartmouth (in Nova Scotia); Sarnia, Nanticoke, Oakville, Clarkson (in Ontario); Lévis, Montréal (Québec); Regina (in Saskatchewan); Come By Chance (Newfoundland).
Chemical companies tend to produce fertilizers (at Sarnia, Welland, Port Maitland, Fort Saskatchewan, Trail, Calgary, Redwater and Brandon), ammonia (at Trail), synthetic rubber, plastic materials and resins, helium (at Swift Current, in Saskatchewan) and chlorine. The industry associated with forest exploitation is very important. Production plants making cellulose, wood pulp and paper are concentrated in Québec, Ontario and British Columbia. Ottawa is one of the world’s largest trading centres for timber. Montréal, Toronto and Kitchener are important for the furniture industry. Canada is one of the world’s top producers of groundwood pulp and chemical pulp. Companies in the sector are moving towards developing activities with a high degree of added value (such as components for furniture, prefabricated houses).
The automotive industry is based in Ontario, with plants at Alliston, Brampton, Cambridge, Ingersoll, Oakville, Oshawa, Windsor and Woodstock. Montréal, Rivière-du-Loup, Winnipeg and Calgary are important railway construction centres. There are shipyards at Lauzon, Halifax, Sydney, Victoria, Vancouver and Montréal. The textile industry is based in Québec where the processing of cotton predominates, but also of silk and yarns in general (at factories in Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Drummondville, Trois-Rivières, Shawinigan Falls, Sherbrooke, Magog and Valleyfield). In Ontario there are many woollen mills, knitwear companies and carpet factories (in Toronto, Hamilton, Woodstock, London, Galt, Ingersoll, Briantford, Niagara Falls, Saint Catharines, Kingston and Peterborough). Artificial textile fibres are produced in Cornwall, Drummondville and Edmonton. Synthetic fibres are made in the valley of the St. Lawrence (at Drummondville, Ste.-Thérèse, Richmond and Cornwall) and in Ontario (at Millhaven, Galt, Brantford, Kingston, Cobourg and Welland).

Tertiary sector
Foreign trade.
Canada is a world leader in terms of international trade; the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union is active from 2017. It is the largest exporter of timber for the construction industry, wood pulp, paper, aluminium, uranium, oil, chemicals, machinery, vehicles and agricultural commodities. The main imports are vehicles and spare parts, industrial machinery, chemicals, food products, computers, oil and consumer durables. The USA, Canada’s main trading partner, absorbs approximately 75% of its total exports (especially hydrocarbons, uranium, electricity).

Main exports (M US$ - 2017) crude oil 54 055, cars 46 527, machinery 32 394, vehicles and parts thereof 15 930, timber 14 095, gold 13 224, electric and electronic appliances 12 973, plastics 12 595, petroleum products 12 300, iron and steel 11 608, natural gas 10 302, aluminium 9 823, aircraft and parts thereof 9 692, chemicals 9 334, oil seeds 7 865, paper and paperboard 7 227, metal ores 6 997

Finance and banking.
The Canadian banking system withstood the global financial crisis of 2008-09 better than other developed countries, thanks to the high level of capitalization and a cautious credit policy. The central bank is the Bank of Canada. The First National Bank has been entrusted with the task of funding investments in Amerindian and Inuit communities. The Toronto and Montréal stock exchange, which are part of the TMX Group.

Tourism. Tourism, especially in Canada’s great national parks, is supported by marketing activities and excellent facilities. Most of Canada’s tourists come from the USA.

Transport.
The transport system, which has been developed particularly between east and west, is well integrated with the American transport network. The railway network is based on two large trans-continental systems (the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway), plus a company specialised in passenger transport (VIA Rail Canada) and other minor companies. The trans-continental motorway (the Trans-Canada Highway), connecting Saint John’s (in Newfoundland) to Vancouver, with extensions to Alaska and the north, deserves special mention. The air transport system is based on a network of about 1400 airports.

Education and research.

Individual provinces are responsible for providing education. School is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15 or 18 (according to the province). Primary education lasts between six and eight years, followed by between four and six years of secondary studies. In Québec, students who speak French have the right to be taught in their own language. There are similar guarantees for other ethnic minorities (Amerindians and the Inuit).

Social security and health.
The Federal Government administers the retirement pension system and provides support for families and the unemployed. Healthcare is free for everyone and is the responsibility of the provinces and the territories.