| |
|
|
|
 ●
CANADA,
CAR RENTALS ●
Auto rentals in Canada. Large selection of car
rentals at Enterprise |
|
Major Canadian Citys Hotel Listings
and accommodations |
|
Abbotsford,
BC |
Barrie, ON |
Burnaby, BC |
Burlington, ON |
|
Calgary, AB |
Cambridge,
ON |
Chatham, ON |
Coquitlam, BC |
|
Delta, BC |
Edmonton, AB |
Guelph,
ON |
Halfax, NS |
|
Hamilton, ON |
Harrison Springs |
Kamloops, BC |
Kelowna, BC |
|
Kitchener,
ON |
Kingston, ON |
Levis, PQ |
London, ON |
|
Longueuil, PQ |
Markham,
ON |
Mississauga, |
Montreal, PQ |
|
Niagara Falls |
Oakville, ON |
Oshawa,
ON |
Ottawa,
ON |
|
Quebec, PQ |
Regina, SK |
Richmond, BC |
Sault
Ste. Marie |
|
Sherbrooke, |
St. Catharines, |
St. John's, NF |
Sudbury, ON |
|
Surrey, BC |
Thunder Bay, |
Toronto, ON |
Trois-Rivieres, |
|
Vancouver BC |
Victoria,
BC |
Waterloo, ON |
Welland, ON |
|
Whistler,
BC |
Whitby, ON |
Windsor, ON |
Winnipeg, MB |
 |
|
|
Special Value SuperSaver® Rates |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Canada
Calgary
Edmonton
Halfax
London
Montreal
North Bay
Niagara Falls
Ottawa
Quebec
Regina
Sherbrooke
Surrey
Toronto
Vancouver
Victoria
Winnipeg
|
|
|
Canada
|
Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area,
extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean with
claims extending to the North Pole. The
northern-most country on the mainland of North
America, Canada has land borders only with the
United States.
Governed as a parliamentary democracy and
constitutional monarchy, Canada is a federation
of ten provinces with three territories.
Initially constituted in 1867, the country's
constitution was patriated in 1982 from the
United Kingdom.
Canada's head of state is its monarch, currently
Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented in Canada
by the Governor General, presently Michaëlle
Jean. The head of government is the Prime
Minister, currently Paul Martin; his minority
government recently lost a vote of
non-confidence in the Canadian House of Commons,
and the Governor General agreed to his request
that Parliament be dissolved and a federal
election be called for January 23, 2006.
Canada's official languages are English and
French. As of December 2005, its official
population estimate is approximately 32.4
million [1].
Overview
The capital city is Ottawa, Ontario, the seat of
Canada's Parliament. The Governor General, the
Prime Minister, the Leader of the Loyal
Opposition, and the Speaker of the House of
Commons have official residences in the National
Capital Region.
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario.Originally a
union of British colonies with significant
French influence and entitled as a "dominion",
Canada is a founding member of the United
Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and La
Francophonie. Canada defines itself as a
bilingual and multicultural nation:
English is the official (and majority) language
in most provinces of Canada.
French is the official language of Quebec, an
official language of New Brunswick, and is
spoken in various areas throughout the country.
Several Aboriginal languages have official
status in the Northwest Territories; Inuktitut
is the majority language in Nunavut and has
official status there.
Canada is a technologically advanced and
industrialized nation. It is a net exporter of
energy because of its large fossil fuel
deposits, nuclear energy generation, and
hydroelectric power capacity. Its diversified
economy relies heavily on an abundance of
natural resources and trade, particularly with
the United States, with which it has had a long
and complex relationship.
Canada is almost unimaginably vast. It stretches
from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the
latitude of Rome to beyond the Magnetic North
Pole. Its archetypal landscapes are the Rocky
Mountain lakes and peaks, the endless forests
and the prairie wheatfields, but Canada holds
landscapes that defy expectations: rainforest
and desert lie close together in the southwest
corner of the country, while in the east a short
drive can take you from fjords to lush orchards.
What's more, great tracts of Canada are
completely unspoiled - ninety percent of the
country's 28.5 million population lives within
100 miles of the US border.
Like its neighbour to the south, Canada is a
spectrum of cultures, a hotchpotch of immigrant
groups who supplanted the continent's many
native peoples. There's a crucial difference,
though. Whereas citizens of the United States
are encouraged to perceive themselves as
Americans above all else, Canada's concertedly
multicultural approach has done more to
acknowledge the origins of its people, creating
an ethnic mosaic as opposed to America's
"melting-pot". Alongside the French and British
majorities live a host of communities who
maintain the traditions of their homelands -
Chinese, Ukrainians, Portuguese, Indians, Dutch,
Polish, Greek and Spanish, to name just the most
numerous. For the visitor, the mix that results
from the country's exemplary tolerance is an
exhilarating experience, offering such widely
differing environments as Vancouver's huge
Chinatown and the austere religious enclaves of
Manitoba. Canadians themselves, however, are
often troubled by the lack of a clear
self-image, tending to emphasize the ways in
which they are different from the US as a means
of self-description. The question "What is a
Canadian?" has acquired a new immediacy with the
interminable and acrimonious debate over Québec
and its possible secession, but ultimately there
can be no simple characterization of a people
whose country is not so much a single nation as
a committee on a continental scale. Pierre
Berton, one of Canada's finest writers, wisely
ducked the issue; Canadians, he quipped, are
"people who know how to make love in a canoe".
The typical Canadian might be an elusive
concept, but you'll find there's a distinctive
feel to the country. Some towns might seem a
touch too well-regulated and unspontaneous, but
against this there's the overwhelming sense of
Canadian pride in their history and pleasure in
the beauty of their land. Canada embraces its
own clichés with an energy that's irresistible,
promoting everything from the Calgary Stampede
to maple-syrup festivals and lumberjacking
contests with an extraordinary zeal and
openness. As John Buchan, writer and
Governor-General of Canada, said, "You have to
know a man awfully well in Canada to know his
surname."
|
|
Background:
|
A
land of vast distances and rich natural resources,
Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867
while retaining ties to the British crown.
Economically and technologically the nation has
developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to
the south across an unfortified border. Its
paramount political problem continues to be the
relationship of the province of Quebec, with its
French-speaking residents and unique culture, to the
remainder of the country. |
|
Population:
|
32,507,874 (July 2004 est.) |
|
Languages:
|
English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official),
other 17.5% |
|
Currency:
|
Canadian dollar (CAD)
|
|
Currency code:
|
CAD
|
|
Exchange rates:
|
Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.4 (2003), 1.57
(2002), 1.55 (2001), 1.49 (2000), 1.49 (1999) |
|
|
|
|
|
