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In Canada today the Indian, Inuit, and metis (mixed Indian and French ancestry) peoples are referred to as native peoples. When the first Europeans reached North America, there probably were not more than 200,000 Indians and Inuit in what is now Canada. The population of native peoples in the mid-1990s was more than double that number.

The Indian peoples are organized into tribal bands, each governed by a band council. Most bands control a tract of land called a reserve that was defined by treaties made in the past with Great Britain. In the 1960s, '70s, '80s, and '90s, some bands extended their landholdings or were paid for lands by taking the government of Canada to court.

The Vikings from Northern Europe arrived on the continent in about AD 1000, but they made no long-lasting settlement (see Vikings). It was not until the beginning of the 17th century that the French established permanent settlements in what are now the Maritime Provinces and Quebec. The British, who had established themselves in their New England colonies, moved into the interior of the continent through Hudson Bay. The fortunes of war brought almost the whole of the continent under the control of Great Britain in 1763. The American Revolution separated it again and brought about the first of many migrations of people to the nation that was to become Canada. Most of these people were of British origin.

Unemployment and other problems caused by industrialization in Great Britain, potato famines in Ireland, offers of free land, and simple adventuresome spirit brought thousands of new settlers pouring into British North America. By the time Canada became an independent nation in 1867, the Maritime Provinces, Quebec along the St. Lawrence River, and southern Ontario were well settled, with extensive farmland and burgeoning towns and cities linked by an expanding road and railway network. Population growth from this time until the beginning of the 20th century, however, averaged only 1 percent per year. The flow from Britain and the rest of Europe was offset to a large extent by a flow out to the United States, where the settlement of the West was in full swing. In the years before the beginning of World War I, a new flood of immigrants, many fleeing the unrest in Germany and Russia, came pouring into Canada and took up cheap land offered by the railroad companies on the prairies. Often the isolated communities that were formed were of people from the same country so that many European cultures were transplanted to the new land.

During a very rapid expansion of Canadian industry and a massive movement of people from rural to urban centers following World War II, there was another great influx of immigrants--particularly from Italy--to meet the demand for workers in the building trades. As a result, Italian is now the third most important first language spoken in Canada, next to English and French, the two official languages according to Canada's constitution.

Upheavals in Africa and Asia, and the changing of restrictive regulations concerning immigration to Canada from the Far East, have caused an inflow of people of Asian origin. These included Indian and Pakistani refugees from East Africa, Vietnamese "boat people," Chinese from Hong Kong, and many more.

In the early 1990s there were about 16 million people in the nation whose mother tongue was English and more than 6.5 million whose mother tongue was French. But the federal government and most provincial governments have recognized through legislation the multicultural nature of today's Canadian society. Individual ethnic communities are encouraged through various funding arrangements to keep alive their language and culture. In the early 1990s there were in Canada about 485,000 Italian-speaking citizens, 466,000 who spoke German, 221,000 speakers of Ukrainian, 283,000 Chinese-speaking people, and 194,000 who spoke either Inuktitut--the language of the Inuit--or another native Indian language. This cultural diversity is looked upon as a national asset. The Constitution Act prohibits discrimination against individual citizens on the basis of race, color, religion, or sex.

Education and Health

In 1867 the British North America Act gave responsibility for public education to the provinces--where there were provincial governments--and to the federal government in the territories. Although educational systems vary from province to province, all children between the ages of 6 and 16 must attend school or they must receive approved instruction at home or in another institution. The usual school divisions are elementary, secondary, and post secondary: a system of grades 1 to 12 or 13 in the first two divisions, years one to four in the undergraduate section of post secondary education.

The religious dichotomy has been preserved and recognized in the educational systems of some provinces. Tax support is given in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta to both public and separate--usually Roman Catholic--schools. In Quebec and Newfoundland the terms Protestant and Roman Catholic are used to distinguish the two types of elementary and secondary schools. In all other provinces schools are nonsectarian.

In some provinces schooling for children may begin at age 5 in a kindergarten or age 4 in a junior kindergarten. The needs of children with severe physical or mental disabilities are met in schools for the deaf, blind, or trainable retarded. Private schools in Canada are not supported with tax money. Total enrollment in elementary and secondary schools has been in steady decline since 1970 from 5.9 million to about 5.3 million in the 1990s.

Students in Canada may pursue post secondary education either in a community college, which offers technical, business, or occupational programs; or in a university, which offers studies leading to degrees in the arts and sciences. In 1960 there were 29 community colleges in Canada with 9,000 students. In the 1990s there were about 200 such institutions with students numbering about 350,000. In this same period the university system expanded from 44 to 69 degree-granting institutions, and the number of students from 114,000 to more than 400,000. Usually universities are organized into faculties of arts, or social sciences and humanities, and of sciences. Half of the universities also have a faculty of education.

There is a universal health care system for Canadians. It is funded by the federal government and administered by the provincial governments. Some provinces prohibit physicians from billing more than the federal government will pay. Others permit extra billing and pay for it out of tax revenues.

Cities

Even though agriculture, forestry, and mining account for much of the wealth of Canada, it is in fact an urban nation with almost 80 percent of its population living in cities, towns, and villages. Many people who are classified as rural residents do not work in agriculture but commute to an urban center to work. Toronto, Ont., with 3,893,046 people is the largest city in Canada, followed by Montreal, Que., its French- language rival, with 3,127,242 and Vancouver, B.C., with 1,602,502 inhabitants.

The major cities in Canada are distinctively, even fiercely, different from one another; yet the three largest share many similarities. Montreal, the largest French city outside France, is situated at the meeting point of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. It and Quebec city, founded at the same time in the 17th century, are the nation's oldest cities.

Montreal is a financial and manufacturing center and seaport. Outside the high-rise towers of the central business district, the influence of French architecture and culture are evident. The 19th-century buildings of Old Montreal provide a view of the city's vibrant past.

Although it lies some 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the Atlantic Ocean, Montreal, at the eastern end of the St. Lawrence Seaway, is the most important seaport in eastern Canada. Farther down the St. Lawrence, Sept-Iles handles more tonnage, but Montreal receives more than 4,000 ships annually, and the majority of Canada's European exports and imports pass through its harbor. Powerful icebreakers keep a channel clear so that the port is open to shipping all year. (See also Montreal.)

When the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened in 1959 under joint operation by the governments of Canada and the United States, it was hoped that the large cities bordering the Great Lakes would enjoy a substantial economic benefit. High user fees and the fact that much of the seaway is frozen shut during the winter months, however, have led to a continued heavy reliance on the rail and road transportation networks in both countries. Since 1971 Toronto in particular has had the volume of goods passing through its harbor decrease by 30 percent.

Unlike Montreal, there is no concentration of historic buildings in downtown Toronto. Huge office towers bear witness instead to the financial vigor of the city. Toronto is one of the few large North American cities with great numbers of people living in and around the central business district, in the area's many apartment buildings and houses. Soaring above the Toronto skyline is the world's tallest freestanding structure, the CN Tower, which is a reinforced concrete communications pylon. (See also Toronto.)

In British Columbia, Vancouver is the focus of the financial, commercial, agricultural, and industrial life of all of western Canada. Towered over by the Coast Mountains, Vancouver's harbor is Canada's largest, busiest, and most picturesque. West Vancouver is the most densely populated urban area and has the highest income per person of any municipality in Canada. (See also Vancouver.)

Other cities in Canada with a population of more than 500,000 include Ottawa, Ont., the nation's capital; Edmonton and Calgary, Alta.; Winnipeg, Man.; Hamilton, Ont.; and Quebec city, Que. With the restorations carried out in 17th- and 18th-century Basse Ville, Quebec city has retained an Old World character and is arguably the most charming metropolis in Canada.

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