Canada

Canada (English and French: Canada) is a country in North America. The country lies between the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west and extends northward to the Arctic Ocean. The federal capital is Ottawa, and the most populous city is Toronto. The only land border is that with the United States to the south and northwest. Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area after Russia, but has an extremely low population density of four people per square kilometer, with just under 38 million inhabitants.

Settlement by First Nations began no later than 12,000 years ago, followed by the Inuit around 5000 years ago. Beginning in the late 15th century, Europeans landed on the east coast and began colonization around 1600. At first, the French and the English established themselves. During this time, the term "Canada" spread, originally the name for an Iroquois village. France ceded its colony of New France to Great Britain in 1763. In 1867, three British colonies formed the Canadian Confederation. The country gained legislative independence in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster, and further constitutional ties to the United Kingdom were severed in 1982.

The nominal head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is represented by the Governor General of Canada. Canada is a parliamentary democratic federal state based on the Westminster system and a parliamentary monarchy. The official languages are English and French. Québec's independence aspirations, the status of francophone Canadians, and the rights of indigenous peoples (in addition to First Nations and Inuit, the Métis) are important fault lines in the state and society. The topics of climate change and environmental protection, immigration policy and dependence on raw materials, as well as the relationship with the United States, of which there is an ambivalent image for cultural and historical reasons, characterize public debates.