Fall Asleep While Learning About Canada

In this episode of the I Can't Sleep Podcast, fall asleep while learning about Canada. I thought for sure I'd learn a lot of fun facts about Canada by reading this article. However, Wikipedia has a wonderful way of providing non-exciting material to read about most things. Good luck with this one. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster.

Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled,

Canada.

Canada is a country in North America.

Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean,

Making it the world's second largest country by total area,

With the world's longest coastline.

Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border.

The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions.

It is a sparsely inhabited country of 40 million people,

The vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas.

Canada's capital is Ottawa,

And its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto,

Montreal,

And Vancouver.

Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years.

Beginning in the 16th century,

British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast.

As a consequence of various armed conflicts,

France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763.

In 1867,

With the union of three British North American colonies through confederation,

Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces.

This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom,

Highlighted by the Statute of Westminster in 1931,

And culminating in the Canada Act 1982,

Which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition.

The country's head of government is the Prime Minister,

Who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons,

And is called upon by the Governor General,

Representing the monarch of Canada,

The ceremonial head of state.

The country is a commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual,

English and French,

In the federal jurisdiction.

It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency,

Quality of life,

Economic competitiveness,

Innovation,

Education,

And gender equality.

It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations,

The product of large-scale immigration.

Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history,

Economy,

And culture.

A developed country,

Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally,

And its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world,

Relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks.

Recognized as a middle power,

Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries.

Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums.

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 word tanata,

Meaning village or settlement.

In 1535,

Indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Statacona.

Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village,

But to the entire area subject to Dunacona,

The chief at Statacona.

By 1545,

European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along the St.

Lawrence River as Canada.

From the 16th to the early 18th century,

Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St.

Lawrence River.

In 1791,

The area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

These two colonies were collectively named the Canadas until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841.

Upon confederation in 1867,

Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference,

And the word Dominion was conferred as the country's title.

By the 1950s,

The term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom,

Which considered Canada a realm of the Commonwealth.

The Canada Act 1982,

Which brought the Constitution of Canada fully under Canadian control,

Referred only to Canada.

Later that year,

The name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day.

The term Dominion was used to distinguish the federal government from the provinces,

Though after the Second World War,

The term federal had replaced Dominion.

The first inhabitants of North America are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering Land Bridge and arrived at least 14,

000 years ago.

The Paleo-Indian archaeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada.

The characteristics of 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.

Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada include the First Nations,

Inuit,

And Métis,

The last being of mixed descent who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations people married European settlers and subsequently developed their own identity.

The Indigenous population at the time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,

000 and 2 million,

With a figure of 500,

000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

As a consequence of European colonization,

The Indigenous population declined by 40 to 80 percent,

And several First Nations,

Such as the Beothuk,

Disappeared.

The decline is attributed to several causes,

Including the transfer of European diseases such as influenza,

Measles,

And smallpox,

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.

Although not without conflict,

European Canadians' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful.

First Nations and Métis peoples played a critical part of the development of European colonies in Canada,

Particularly for their role in assisting European courier Dubois and voyagers in their explorations of the continent during the North American fur trade.

These early European interactions with First Nations would change from friendship and peace treaties to the dispossession of Indigenous lands through treaties.

From the late 18th century,

European Canadians forced Indigenous peoples to assimilate into a Western Canadian society.

These attempts reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,

With forced integration through state-funded boarding schools,

Healthcare segregation,

And displacement.

A period of redress began with the formation of the Truce and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by the Government of Canada in 2008.

This included recognition of past cultural genocide,

Settlement agreements,

And betterment of racial discrimination issues,

Such as addressing the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

It is believed that the first documented European to explore the east coast of Canada was Norse explorer Leif Erikson.

At approximately 1000 AD,

The Norse built a small,

Short-lived encampment that was occupied sporadically for perhaps 20 years at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland.

No further European exploration occurred until 1497,

When seafarer John Cabot explored and claimed Canada's Atlantic coast in the name of Henry VII of England.

In 1534,

French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of St.

Lawrence,

Where on July 24th he planted a 10-meter cross bearing the words Long Live the King of France and took possession of the territory New France in the name of King Francis I.

The early 16th century saw European mariners with navigational techniques pioneered by the Basque and Portuguese established several whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast.

In general,

Early settlements during the Age of Discovery appear to have been short-lived due to a combination of the harsh climate,

Problems with navigating trade routes,

And competing outputs in Scandinavia.

In 1583,

Sir Humphrey Gilbert,

By the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I,

Founded St.

John's,

Newfoundland,

As the first North American English seasonal camp.

In 1600,

The French established their first seasonal trading post at Tradeau Sac along the St.

Lawrence.

French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent year-round European settlements at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608.

Among the colonists of New France,

Canadians extensively settled the St.

Lawrence River Valley,

And Acadians settled the present-day Maritimes,

While fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes,

Hudson Bay,

And the Mississippi Watershed to Louisiana.

The Beaver Wars broke out in the mid-17th century over control of the North American fur trade.

The English established additional settlements in Newfoundland in 1610,

Along with settlements in the thirteen colonies to the south.

A series of four wars 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.

Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht,

And Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years' War.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established First Nation Treaty rights,

Created the Province of Quebec out of New France,

And annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia.

St.

John's Island,

Now Prince Edward Island,

Became a separate colony in 1769.

To avert conflict in Quebec,

The British Parliament passed the Quebec Act 1774,

Expanding Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.

More importantly,

The Quebec Act afforded Quebec special autonomy and rights of self-administration at a time when the thirteen colonies were increasingly agitating against British rule.

It re-established the French language,

Catholic faith,

And French civil law 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.

After the successful American War of Independence,

The 1783 Treaty of Paris 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 and east of the Mississippi River to the new country.

The American War of Independence also caused a large out-migration of loyalists,

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 was in turn split from Nova Scotia as part of the reorganization of loyalist settlements in the Maritimes,

Which led to the incorporation of St.

John,

New Brunswick as Canada's first city.

To accommodate the influx of English-speaking loyalists in central Canada,

The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province of Canada into French-speaking Lower Canada,

Later Quebec,

And English-speaking Upper Canada,

Later Ontario,

Granting each its own elected legislative assembly.

The Canadas were the main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom.

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,

As well as Gaelic-speaking Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances.

Infectious diseases killed between 25 and 33 percent of Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891.

The desire for responsible government resulted in the abortive rebellions of 1837.

The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture.

The Act of Union 1840 merged the Canadas into a united province of Canada,

And responsible government was established for all provinces of British North America east of Lake Superior by 1855.

The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and the United States in 1846 ended the Oregon Boundary Dispute,

Extending the border westward along the 49th parallel.

This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island,

1849,

And in British Columbia,

1858.

The Anglo-Russian Treaty of Saint Petersburg,

1825,

Established the border along the Pacific coast.

But even after the U.

S.

-Alaska Purchase of 1867,

Disputes continued about the exact demarcation of the Alaska-Yukon and Alaska-BC border.

Following three constitutional conferences,

The British North America Act 1867 officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1,

1867,

Initially with four provinces—Ontario,

Quebec,

Nova Scotia,

And New Brunswick.

Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the Northwest Territory to form the Northwest Territories,

Where the Métis' grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion and the creation of the province of Manitoba in July 1870.

British Columbia and Vancouver Island,

Which had been united in 1866,

Joined the Confederation in 1871 on the promise of a transcontinental railway,

Extending to Victoria and the province within ten years while Prince Edward Island joined in 1873.

In 1898,

During the Klondike Gold Rush in the Northwest Territories,

Parliament created the Yukon Territory.

Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905.

Between 1871 and 1896,

Almost one-quarter of the Canadian population emigrated south to the U.

S.

To open the West and encourage European immigration,

The Government of Canada sponsored the construction of three transcontinental railways,

Including the Canadian Pacific Railway,

Passed the Dominion Lands Act to regulate settlement,

And established the Northwest Mounted Police to assert authority over the territory.

This period of westward expansion and nation-building resulted in the displacement of many Indigenous peoples of the Canadian prairies to Indian reserves,

Clearing the way for ethnic European block settlements.

This caused the collapse of the Plains Bison in western Canada and the introduction of European cattle farms and wheat fields dominating the land.

The Indigenous peoples saw widespread famine and disease due to the loss of the bison and their traditional hunting lands.

The federal government did provide emergency relief on condition of the Indigenous peoples moving to the reserves.

During this time,

Canada introduced the Indian Act,

Extending its control over the First Nations to education,

Government,

And legal rights.

Because Britain still maintained control of Canada's foreign affairs under the British North America Act 1867,

Its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into the First World War.

Volunteers sent to the Western Front later became part of the Canadian Corps,

Which played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other major engagements of the war.

Out of approximately 625,

000 Canadians who served in the First World War,

Some 60,

000 were killed and another 172,

000 were wounded.

The conscription crisis of 1917 erupted when the Unionist cabinet's proposal to augment the military's dwindling number of active members with conscription was met with vehement objections from French-speaking Quebecers.

The Military Service Act brought in compulsion 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,

Independently of Britain,

And the Statute of Westminster in 1931 affirmed Canada's independence.

The Great Depression and Canada during the early 1930s saw an economic downturn,

Leading to hardship across the country.

In response to the downturn,

The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation,

CCF,

In Saskatchewan introduced many elements of a welfare state as pioneered by Tommy Douglas in the 1940s and 1950s.

On the advice of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King,

War with Germany was declared effective September 10,

1939,

By King George VI,

Seven days after the United Kingdom.

The delay underscored Canada's independence.

The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939.

In all,

Over a million Canadians served in the armed forces during the Second World War,

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,

The Allied invasions of Italy,

The Normandy Landings,

The Battle of Normandy,

And the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944.

Canada provided asylum for the Dutch monarchy while that country was occupied and is credited by the Netherlands for major contributions to its liberation from Nazi Germany.

The Canadian economy boomed during the war,

As its industry manufactured military material for Canada,

Britain,

China,

And the Soviet Union.

Despite another conscription crisis in Quebec in 1944,

Canada finished the war with a large army and strong economy.

The financial crisis of the Great Depression led the Dominion of Newfoundland to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a crown colony ruled by a British governor.

After two referendums,

Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a province.

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,

The Canada Pension Plan,

And Canada Student Loans,

Though provincial governments,

Particularly Quebec and Alberta,

Opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions.

Finally,

Another series of constitutional conferences resulted in the Canada Act 1982.

The patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom,

Concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,

Canada had established complete sovereignty as an independent country under its own monarchy.

In 1999,

Nunavut became Canada's third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government.

At the same time,

Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s,

Giving birth to a secular nationalist movement.

The Radical Front de Libération du Québec,

FLQ,

Ignited the October Crisis with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970,

And the sovereigntist party Québécois was elected in 1976,

Organizing an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty association in 1980.

Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through the Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990.

This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and the invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada in the West.

A second referendum followed in 1995,

In which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of 50.

6% to 49.

4%.

In 1997,

The Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional,

And the Clarity Act was passed by Parliament,

Outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from confederation.

By total area,

Including its waters,

Canada is the second-largest country in the world after Russia.

By land area alone,

Canada ranks fourth,

Due to having the world's largest area of fresh water lakes.

Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east,

Along the Arctic Ocean in the north,

And to the Pacific Ocean in the west,

The country encompasses 9,

984,

670 square kilometers of territory.

Canada also has vast maritime terrain,

With the world's longest coastline of 243,

042 kilometers.

In addition to sharing the world's largest land border with the United States,

Spanning 8,

891 kilometers,

Canada shares a land border with Greenland and hence the Kingdom of Denmark to the northeast,

On Hans Island and a maritime boundary with France's overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to the southeast.

Canada is also home to the world's northernmost settlement,

Canadian Forces Station Alert,

On the northern tip of Ellesmere Island,

Latitude 82.

5 degrees north,

Which lies 817 kilometers from the North Pole.

Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions,

The Canadian Shield,

The Interior Plains,

The Great Lakes-St.

Lawrence lowlands,

The Appalachian region,

The Western Cordillera,

Hudson Bay lowlands,

And the Arctic Archipelago.

Boreal forests prevail throughout the country,

Ice is prominent in northern Arctic regions and through the Rocky Mountains,

And the relatively flat Canadian prairies in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture.

The Great Lakes feed the St.

Lawrence River in the southeast and where the lowlands host much of Canada's economic output.

Canada has over 2 million lakes,

563 of which are larger than 100 square kilometers,

Containing much of the world's freshwater.

There are also freshwater glaciers in the Canadian Rockies,

The Coast Mountains,

And the Arctic Cordillera.

Canada is geologically active,

Having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes,

Notably Mount Meagher Massif,

Mount Garibaldi,

Mount Cayley,

And the Mount Adziza volcanic complex.

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region.

Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country,

Particularly in the interior and prairie provinces,

Which experience a continental climate where daily average temperatures are near negative 15 degrees Celsius,

But can drop below negative 40 degrees Celsius with severe wind chills.

In non-coastal regions,

Snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year,

While in parts of the north snow can persist year-round.

Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate with a mild and rainy winter.

On the east and west coasts,

Average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s degrees Celsius,

While between the coasts the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius,

With temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

Much of northern Canada is covered by ice and permafrost.

The future of the permafrost is uncertain because the Arctic has been warming at three times the global average as a result of climate change in Canada.

Canada's annual average temperature over land has risen by 1.

7 degrees Celsius,

With changes ranging from 1.

1 to 2.

3 degrees Celsius in various regions since 1948.

The rate of warming has been higher across the north and in the prairies.

In the southern regions of Canada,

Air pollution from both Canada and the United States caused by metal smelting,

Burning coal to power utilities,

And vehicle emissions has resulted in acid rain,

Which has severely impacted waterways,

Forest growth,

And agricultural productivity.

Canada is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters globally,

With emissions increased by 16.

5% between 1990 and 2022.

Canada is divided into 15 terrestrial and 5 marine ecozones.

These ecozones encompass over 80,

000 classified species of Canadian wildlife,

With an equal number yet to be formally recognized or discovered.

Although Canada has a low percentage of endemic species compared to other countries due to human activities,

Invasive species,

And environmental issues in the country,

There are currently more than 800 species at risk of being lost.

About 65% of Canada's resident species are considered secure.

Over half of Canada's landscape is intact and relatively free of human development.

The boreal forest of Canada is considered to be the largest intact forest on earth,

With approximately 3 million square kilometers undisturbed by roads,

Cities,

Or industry.

Since the end of the last glacial period,

Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions,

With 42% of its land area covered by forests,

Approximately 8% of the world's forested land.

Approximately 12.

1% of the nation's landmass and freshwater are conservation areas,

Including 11.

4% designated as protected areas.

Approximately 13.

8% of its territorial waters are conserved,

Including 8.

9% designated as protected areas.

Canada's first national park,

Banff National Park,

Established in 1885,

Spans 6,

641 square kilometers of mountainous terrain,

With many glaciers and ice fields,

Dense coniferous forest,

And alpine landscapes.

Canada's oldest provincial park,

Algonquin Provincial Park,

Established in 1893,

Covers an area of 7,

653.

45 square kilometers.

It is dominated by the old-growth forest with over 2,

400 lakes and 1,

200 kilometers of streams and rivers.

Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area is the world's largest freshwater protected area,

Spanning roughly 10,

000 square kilometers of lakebed,

Its overlaying freshwater and associated shoreline on 60 square kilometers of islands and mainland.

Canada's largest national wildlife region is the Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area,

Which spans 11,

570.

65 square kilometers and protects critical breeding and nesting habitat for over 40% of British Columbia's seabirds.

Reviews

That was actually interesting! Although I didn’t make it to the end. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤣🤣🤣

Thank you!!! 😻😻

Oh Canada! 🇨🇦 I loved this one! Thank you, Ben 🙏🏻😊❤️