As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, and 70 percent of citizens residing within 62 miles of the southern border. Canada’s climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.<\/p>\n Various indigenous peoples have inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years before European colonization. Beginning in the 16th century, British<\/a> and French<\/a> expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts<\/a>, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America<\/a> in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies<\/a> through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories<\/a> and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931<\/a> and culminated in the Canada Act of 1982<\/a>, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.<\/p>\n Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition, with Elizabeth II as its queen and a prime minister who serves as the chair of the Cabinet and head of government. The country is a realm within the Commonwealth of Nations<\/a>, a member of the Francophonie<\/a> and officially bilingual at the federal level. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. It is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Canada’s long and complex relationship with the United States<\/a> has had a significant impact on its economy and culture.<\/p>\n A developed country, Canada has the sixteenth-highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the twelfth-highest ranking in the Human Development Index. Its advanced economy is the tenth-largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Canada is part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations<\/a>, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization<\/a>, the G7<\/a> (formerly G8<\/a>), the Group of Ten<\/a>, the G20<\/a>, the North American Free Trade Agreement<\/a> and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation<\/a> forum.<\/p>\n While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Canada, the name is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian<\/a> word kanata, meaning “village.” In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City<\/a> region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier<\/a> to the village of Stadacona<\/a>. Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona<\/a> (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the Saint Lawrence River<\/a> as Canada.<\/p>\n The first inhabitants of North America<\/a> are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia<\/a> by way of the Bering land bridge<\/a> and arrived at least 14,000 years ago. The Paleo-Indian archaeological sites at Old Crow Flats<\/a> and Bluefish Caves<\/a> are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Canadian indigenous societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks. Some of these cultures had collapsed by the time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archaeological investigations.<\/p>\n The indigenous population at the time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada’s Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples<\/a>. As a consequence of European colonization, the population of Canada’s indigenous peoples declined by forty to eighty percent, and several First Nations, such as the Beothuk<\/a>, disappeared. The decline is attributed to several causes, including the transfer of European diseases,<\/a> such as influenza<\/a>, measles<\/a>, and smallpox<\/a> to which they had no natural immunity, conflicts over the fur trade, conflicts with the colonial authorities and settlers, and the loss of indigenous lands to settlers and the subsequent collapse of several nations’ self-sufficiency.<\/p>\n Although not without conflict, European Canadians’ early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. First Nations and M\u00e9tis peoples played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, particularly for their role in assisting European coureur des bois<\/a> and voyageurs<\/a> in the exploration of the continent during the North American fur trade<\/a>. The Crown and indigenous peoples began interactions during the European colonization period<\/a>, though the Inuit<\/a>, in general, had more limited interaction with European settlers. However, from the late 18th century, European Canadians encouraged indigenous peoples to assimilate into their own culture. These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with forced integration<\/a> and relocation. A period of redress is underway, which started with the appointment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada<\/a> by the Government of Canada in 2008.<\/p>\n In about 1000 CE, the Norse<\/a> built a small encampment that only lasted a few years at L’Anse aux Meadows<\/a> on the northern tip of Newfoundland<\/a>. No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when Italian seafarer John Cabot<\/a> explored and claimed Canada’s Atlantic coast<\/a> in the name of King Henry VII of England<\/a>. Then Basque<\/a> and Portuguese<\/a> mariners established seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast in the early 16th century. In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence<\/a> where, on July 24, he planted a 33 foot cross bearing the words “Long Live the King of France” and took possession of the territory New France<\/a> in the name of King Francis I<\/a>. In general the settlements appear to have been seasonal and short-lived, possibly due to the similarity of outputs producible in Scandinavia<\/a> and northern Canada and the problems of navigating trade routes at that time.<\/p>\n In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, by the royal prerogative<\/a> of Queen Elizabeth I<\/a>, founded St. John’s, Newfoundland<\/a>, as the first North American English colony. French explorer Samuel de Champlain<\/a> arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent European settlements at Port Royal<\/a> (in 1605) and Quebec City (in 1608). Among the colonists of New France, Canadiens extensively settled the Saint Lawrence River valley and Acadians<\/a> settled the present-day Maritimes<\/a>, while fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay<\/a>, and the Mississippi watershed<\/a> to Louisiana<\/a>. The Beaver Wars<\/a> broke out in the mid-17th century over control of the North American fur trade.<\/p>\n The English established additional settlements in Newfoundland, beginning in 1610 and the Thirteen Colonies<\/a> to the south were founded soon after. A series of four wars<\/a> erupted in colonial North America between 1689 and 1763; the later wars of the period constituted the North American theater of the Seven Years’ War<\/a>. Mainland Nova Scotia<\/a> came under British rule with the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht<\/a>, and Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years’ War.<\/p>\n The Royal Proclamation of 1763<\/a> established First Nation treaty rights, created the Province of Quebec<\/a> out of New France, and annexed Cape Breton Island<\/a> to Nova Scotia. St. John’s Island (now Prince Edward Island<\/a>) became a separate colony in 1769. To avert conflict in Quebec, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774<\/a>, expanding Quebec’s territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley<\/a>. More importantly, the Quebec Act afforded Quebec special autonomy and rights of self-administration at a time the Thirteen Colonies were increasingly agitating against British rule. It re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law<\/a> there, staving off the growth of an independence movement in contrast to the Thirteen Colonies. The Proclamation and the Quebec Act in turn angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies, further fueling anti-British sentiment in the years prior to the American Revolution<\/a>.<\/p>\n After the successful American War of Independence, the 1783 Treaty of Paris<\/a> recognized the independence of the newly formed United States and set the terms of peace, ceding British North American territories south of the Great Lakes to the new country. The American war of independence also caused a large out-migration of Loyalists<\/a>, the settlers who had fought against American independence. Many moved to Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada, where their arrival changed the demographic distribution of the existing territories. New Brunswick<\/a> was in turn split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes which led to the incorporation of Saint John, New Brunswick<\/a> to become Canada’s first city. To accommodate the influx of English-speaking Loyalists in Central Canada, the Constitutional Act of 1791<\/a> divided the province of Canada into French-speaking Lower Canada<\/a> (later Quebec) and English-speaking Upper Canada<\/a> (later Ontario), granting each its own elected legislative assembly.<\/p>\n The Canadas<\/a> were the main front in the War of 1812<\/a> between the United States and the United Kingdom<\/a>. Peace came in 1815; no boundaries were changed. Immigration resumed at a higher level, with over 960,000 arrivals from Britain between 1815 and 1850. New arrivals included refugees escaping the Great Irish Famine<\/a> as well as Gaelic-speaking Scots<\/a> displaced by the Highland Clearances<\/a>. Infectious diseases killed between 25 and 33 percent of Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891.<\/p>\n The desire for responsible government resulted in the abortive Rebellions of 1837<\/a>. The Durham Report<\/a> subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture. The Act of Union<\/a> merged the Canadas into a united Province of Canada<\/a> and responsible government was established for all provinces of British North America by 1849. The signing of the Oregon Treaty<\/a> by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute<\/a>, extending the border westward along the 49th parallel. This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849)<\/a> and in British Columbia (1858)<\/a>. The Alaska Purchase of 1867<\/a> by the United States<\/a> established the border along the Pacific coast, although there would continue to be some disputes about the exact demarcation of the Alaska-Yukon and Alaska-BC border for years to come.<\/p>\n Following several constitutional conferences, the Constitution Act<\/a> officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, initially with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.<\/p>\n Canada assumed control of Rupert’s Land<\/a> and the North-Western Territory<\/a> to form the Northwest Territories<\/a>, where the M\u00e9tis<\/a>‘ grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion<\/a> and the creation of the province of Manitoba<\/a> in July 1870. British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which had been united in 1866<\/a>) joined the confederation in 1871, while Prince Edward Island joined in 1873. Between 1871 and 1896, almost one quarter of the Canadian population immigrated southwards, to the U.S.<\/p>\n To open the West<\/a> to European immigration, parliament also approved sponsoring the construction of three transcontinental railways (including the Canadian Pacific Railway<\/a>), opening the prairies to settlement with the Dominion Lands Act<\/a>, and establishing the North-West Mounted Police<\/a> to assert its authority over this territory. In 1898, during the Klondike Gold Rush<\/a> in the Northwest Territories<\/a>, parliament created the Yukon Territory<\/a>. Alberta<\/a> and Saskatchewan<\/a> became provinces in 1905.<\/p>\n Because Britain still maintained control of Canada’s foreign affairs under the Constitution Act, 1867, its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into World War I<\/a>. Volunteers sent to the Western Front<\/a> later became part of the Canadian Corps<\/a>, which played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge<\/a> and other major engagements of the war. Out of approximately 625,000 Canadians who served in World War I, some 60,000 were killed and another 172,000 were wounded. The Conscription Crisis of 1917<\/a> erupted when the Unionist<\/a> Cabinet’s proposal to augment the military’s dwindling number of active members with conscription<\/a> was met with vehement objections from French-speaking Quebecers. The Military Service Act brought in compulsory military service, though it, coupled with disputes over French language schools outside Quebec, deeply alienated Francophone Canadians and temporarily split the Liberal Party. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations<\/a> independently of Britain, and the 1931 Statute of Westminster<\/a> affirmed Canada’s independence.<\/p>\n The Great Depression in Canada<\/a> during the early 1930s saw an economic downturn, leading to hardship across the country. In response to the downturn, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation<\/a> (CCF) in Saskatchewan introduced many elements of a welfare state (as pioneered by Tommy Douglas<\/a>) in the 1940s and 1950s. On the advice of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King<\/a>, war with Germany<\/a> was declared<\/a> effective September 10, 1939, by King George VI<\/a>, seven days after the United Kingdom. The delay underscored Canada’s independence.<\/p>\n The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939. In all, over a million Canadians served in the armed forces during World War II<\/a> and approximately 42,000 were killed and another 55,000 were wounded. Canadian troops played important roles in many key battles of the war, including the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid<\/a>, the Allied invasion of Italy<\/a>, the Normandy landings<\/a>, the Battle of Normandy<\/a>, and the Battle of the Scheldt<\/a> in 1944. Canada provided asylum for the Dutch monarchy<\/a> while that country was occupied<\/a> and is credited by the Netherlands for major contributions to its liberation<\/a> from Nazi Germany<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Canadian economy boomed during the war as its industries manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China<\/a>, and the Soviet Union<\/a>. Despite another Conscription Crisis<\/a> in Quebec in 1944, Canada finished the war with a large army and strong economy.<\/p>\n The financial crisis of the Great Depression had led the Dominion of Newfoundland<\/a> to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a crown colony ruled by a British governor. After two bitter referendums<\/a>, Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a province.<\/p>\n Canada’s post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to the emergence of a new Canadian identity, marked by the adoption of the Maple Leaf Flag in 1965, the implementation of official bilingualism (English and French) in 1969, and the institution of official multiculturalism in 1971. Socially democratic programs were also instituted, such as Medicare<\/a>, the Canada Pension Plan<\/a>, and Canada Student Loans<\/a>, though provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions.<\/p>\n Finally, another series of constitutional conferences resulted in the Canada Act, the patriation of Canada’s constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms<\/a>. Canada had established complete sovereignty as an independent country, although the Queen retained her role as monarch of Canada. In 1999, Nunavut<\/a> became Canada’s third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government.<\/p>\n At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s<\/a>, giving birth to a secular nationalist movement. The radical Front de lib\u00e9ration du Qu\u00e9bec (FLQ)<\/a> ignited the October Crisis<\/a> with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970 and the sovereignist Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/a> was elected in 1976, organizing an unsuccessful referendum<\/a> on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through the Meech Lake Accord<\/a> failed in 1990. This led to the formation of the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/a> in Quebec and the invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada<\/a> in the West. A second referendum followed in 1995<\/a>, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of 50.6 to 49.4 percent. In 1997, the Supreme Court<\/a> ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional and the Clarity Act<\/a> was passed by parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation.<\/p>\n In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182<\/a> in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history; the \u00c9cole Polytechnique<\/a> massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students; and the Oka Crisis of 1990<\/a>, the first of a number of violent confrontations between the government and indigenous groups. Canada also joined the Gulf War in 1990<\/a> as part of a U.S.-led coalition force and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the 1990s, including the UNPROFOR<\/a> mission in the former Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n Canada sent troops to Afghanistan<\/a> in 2001, but declined to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq<\/a> in 2003. In 2011, Canadian forces participated in the NATO-led intervention into the Libyan Civil War<\/a>, and also became involved in battling the Islamic State<\/a> insurgency in Iraq in the mid-2010s.<\/p>\n Canada occupies much of the continent of North America, sharing land borders with the contiguous United States to the south, and the U.S. state of Alaska<\/a> to the northwest. Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west; to the north lies the Arctic Ocean. Greenland<\/a> is to the northeast and to the southeast Canada shares a maritime boundary with the Republic of France’s overseas collectivity<\/a> of Saint Pierre and Miquelon<\/a>, the last vestige of New France. By total area (including its waters), Canada is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia. By land area alone, however, Canada ranks fourth, the difference being due to it having the world’s largest proportion of fresh water lakes. Of Canada’s thirteen provinces and territories, only two are landlocked (Alberta and Saskatchewan) while the other eleven all directly border one of three oceans.<\/p>\n Canada is home to the world’s northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert<\/a>, on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island<\/a> which lies 508 miles from the North Pole. Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost<\/a>. Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of 151,019 miles; additionally, its border with the United States is the world’s longest land border, stretching (5,525 miles. Three of Canada’s arctic islands, Baffin Island<\/a>, Victoria Island<\/a> and Ellesmere Island, are among the ten largest in the world.<\/p>\n Since the end of the last glacial period, Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions<\/a>, including extensive boreal forest on the Canadian Shield<\/a>. 42 percent of the land acreage of Canada is covered by forests, approximately 8 percent of the world’s forested land, made up mostly of spruce<\/a>, poplar<\/a> and pine<\/a>. Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes\u2014563 greater than 39 square miles which is more than any other country, containing much of the world’s fresh water. There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies<\/a> and the Coast Mountain<\/a>s.<\/p>\n Canada is the world’s tenth-largest economy as of 2018, with a nominal GDP of approximately US$1.73 trillion. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Group of Eight (G8), and is one of the world’s top ten trading nations, with a highly globalized economy. Canada is a mixed economy, ranking above the U.S. and most western European nations on The Heritage Foundation’s<\/a> index of economic freedom, and experiencing a relatively low level of income disparity. The country’s average household disposable income per capita is “well above” the OECD average. Furthermore, the Toronto Stock Exchange<\/a> is the seventh-largest stock exchange in the world by market capitalization, listing over 1,500 companies with a combined market capitalization of over US$2 trillion as of 2015.<\/p>\n Since the early 20th century, the growth of Canada’s manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an urbanized, industrial one. Like many other developed countries, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three-quarters of the country’s workforce. However, Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of its primary sector, in which the forestry and petroleum industries are two of the most prominent components.<\/p>\n Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy. Atlantic Canada possesses vast offshore deposits of natural gas, and Alberta also hosts large oil and gas resources. The vastness of the Athabasca oil sands<\/a> and other assets results in Canada having a 13% share of global oil reserves, comprising the world’s third-largest share after Venezuela<\/a> and Saudi Arabia<\/a>. Canada is additionally one of the world’s largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important global producers of wheat, canola<\/a>, and other grains. Canada’s Department of Natural Resources<\/a> provides statistics regarding its major exports; the country is a leading exporter of zinc<\/a>, uranium<\/a>, gold<\/a>, nickel<\/a>, aluminum<\/a>, steel<\/a>, iron ore<\/a>, coking coal<\/a> and lead<\/a>. Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustainable because of nearby mines or sources of timber. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.<\/p>\n Transportation in Canada, the world’s second-largest country in total area, is dedicated to having an efficient, high-capacity multi modal transport spanning often vast distances between natural resource extraction sites, agricultural and urban areas. Canada’s transportation system includes more than 870,000 miles of roads, 10 major international airports, 300 smaller airports, 44,797 miles of functioning railway track, and more than 300 commercial ports and harbors that provide access to the Pacific<\/a>, Atlantic<\/a> and Arctic<\/a> oceans as well as the Great Lakes<\/a> and the St. Lawrence Seaway.<\/a><\/p>\n Transport Canada<\/a> oversees and regulates most aspects of transportation within federal jurisdiction, including inter-provincial transport. This primarily includes rail, air and maritime transportation. Transport Canada is under the direction of the federal government’s Minister of Transport<\/a>. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada<\/a> is responsible for maintaining transportation safety in Canada by investigating accidents and making safety recommendations.<\/p>\n There is a total of 647,700 miles of roads in Canada, of which 258,200 miles are paved, including 11,000 miles of expressways.<\/p>\n Air transportation made up 9% of the transport sector’s GDP generation in 2005.<\/p>\n Canada’s largest air carrier and its flag carrier is Air Canada<\/a>, which had 34 million customers in 2006 and, as of April 2010, operates 363 aircraft (including Air Canada Jazz<\/a>). CHC Helicopter<\/a>, the largest commercial helicopter operator in the world, is second with 142 aircraft and WestJet<\/a>, a low-cost carrier formed in 1996, is third with 100 aircraft. Canada’s airline industry saw significant change following the signing of the US-Canada open skies agreement in 1995, when the marketplace became less regulated and more competitive.<\/p>\n Below is a table of Canada’s ten biggest airports by passenger traffic in 2011.<\/p>\n Rank Passengers Canada has several major ports on both ocean and river.<\/p>\n In addition, ferries are a critical component of the transportation system, especially in the Maritime provinces of the east but also in British Columbia as well.<\/p>\n In 2007, Canada had a total of 44,870 miles of freight and passenger railway. While intercity passenger transportation by rail is now very limited, freight transport by rail remains common.<\/p>\n Nationwide passenger services are provided by the federal crown corporation Via Rail<\/a>. Three Canadian cities have commuter rail services: in the Montreal area by AMT, in the Toronto area by GO Transit, and in the Vancouver area by West Coast Express. Smaller railways such as Ontario Northland<\/a>, Rocky Mountaineer<\/a>, and Algoma Central<\/a> also run passenger trains to remote rural areas.<\/p>\n Most Canadian cities have public transport, if only a bus system. Three Canadian cities have rapid transit systems, four have light rail systems, and three have commuter rail systems.<\/p>\n Government organizations across Canada owned 17,852 buses of various types in 2016. Organizations in Ontario (38.8%) and Quebec (21.9%) accounted for just over three-fifths of the country’s total bus fleet. Urban municipalities owned more than 85% of all buses.<\/p>\n The flag of Canada (French: le drapeau du Canada), often referred to as the Canadian flag, or unofficially as the Maple Leaf and l’Unifoli\u00e9 (French for “the one-leafed”), is the national flag of Canada which consists of a red field with a white square at its center in the ratio of 1:2:1, in the middle of which is featured a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the center. It is the first flag approved by Parliament for use as the country’s national flag.<\/p>\n In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson<\/a> formed a committee to resolve the ongoing issue of the lack of an official Canadian flag, sparking a serious debate<\/a> about a flag change to replace the Union Flag<\/a>. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley<\/a>, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada<\/a>, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Canadian Red Ensign<\/a> was unofficially used since the 1890s and approved by a 1945 Order in Council<\/a> for use “wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag”. Also, the Royal Union Flag remains an official flag in Canada.<\/p>\n The maple leaf has been used as a Canadian emblem since the 18th century. It was first used as a national symbol in 1868 when it appeared on the coat of arms of both Ontario<\/a> and Quebec<\/a>.<\/p>\n By proclaiming the Royal Arms of Canada, King George V<\/a> in 1921 made red and white the official colors of Canada; the former came from Saint George’s Cross<\/a> and the latter from the French royal emblem since King Charles VII<\/a>. These colors became “entrenched” as the national colors of Canada<\/a> upon the proclamation of the Royal Standard of Canada<\/a> (the Canadian monarch’s personal flag) in 1962.<\/p>\n The number of points on the leaf has no special significance; the number and arrangement of the points were chosen after wind tunnel tests showed the current design to be the least blurry of the various designs when tested under high wind conditions.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Canada-on-the-Globe-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Etymology:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Jacques-Cartier.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nHistory:<\/h2>\n
Early History:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Native-Peoples-at-Time-of-European-Contact-300x272.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>European Colonization:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/LAnse-aux-Meadows-300x198.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Quebec-Act-of-1774-300x265.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Confederation and Expansion:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Canadian-Confederation-300x160.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Early 20th Century:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Canadian-Crew-on-a-Tank-in-Normandy-214x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Contemporary Era:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Union-of-Newfoundland-with-Canada-Finalized-300x235.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Map-of-Provinces-and-Territories-300x260.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Topographic-Map-of-Canada-300x260.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Canadian-Exports-2014-300x208.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
Roads:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Trans-Canada-Highway-300x148.jpg\" "\\"\\""){kind=spacer}
<\/a>Air:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Toronto-Pearson-Airport-300x119.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>
\n1 Toronto Pearson International Airport<\/a> 33,435,280
\n2 Vancouver International Airport<\/a> 17,032,742
\n3 Montr\u00e9al-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport<\/a> 13,668,829
\n4 Calgary International Airport<\/a> 12,770,988
\n5 Edmonton International Airport<\/a> 6,089,099
\n6 Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport<\/a> 4,473,894
\n7 Halifax Stanfield International Airport<\/a>\u00a0 3,508,153
\n8 Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport<\/a> 3,369,974
\n9 Victoria International Airport<\/a> 1,514,713
\n10 Kelowna International Airport<\/a> 1,391,725<\/p>\nWater:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Port-of-Vancouver-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Ferry-in-British-Columbia-300x170.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Railways:<\/h3>\n
Public Transit:<\/h3>\n
Flag of Canada:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2019\/11\/Flag-of-Canada-300x150.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>