1.
Provinces and territories of Canada
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Canadas geography is divided into administrative divisions known as provinces and territories that are responsible for delivery of sub-national governance. Over its history, Canadas international borders have changed several times, the ten provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. Several of the provinces were former British colonies, Quebec was originally a French colony, the three territories are Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon, which govern the rest of the area of the former British North America. Together, the provinces and territories make up the worlds second-largest country by area, the powers flowing from the Constitution Act are divided between the federal government and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively. In modern Canadian constitutional theory, the provinces are considered to be co-sovereign divisions, the territories are not sovereign, but simply part of the federal realm, and have a commissioner who represents the federal government. Notes, There are three territories in Canada, unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government. They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay, the following table lists the territories in order of precedence. Prior to Confederation, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada, over the following years, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island were added as provinces. The Hudsons Bay Company controlled large swathes of western Canada referred to as Ruperts Land and the North-Western Territory until 1870, subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. The remaining Arctic islands were transferred by Britain to Canada in 1880,1898 saw the Yukon Territory, later renamed simply as Yukon, carved from the parts of the Northwest Territories surrounding the Klondike gold fields. On September 1,1905, a portion of the Northwest Territories south of the 60th parallel north became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba were expanded northward, Manitobas to the 60° parallel, Ontarios to Hudson Bay, in 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status. In the middle of the Great Depression in Canada with Newfoundland facing a period of economic crisis. In 2001, it was officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1903, the Alaska Panhandle Dispute fixed British Columbias northwestern boundary. This was one of two provinces in Canadian history to have its size reduced. In 1999, Nunavut was created from the portion of the Northwest Territories. Yukon lies in the portion of The North, while Nunavut is in the east. All three territories combined are the most sparsely populated region in Canada, covering 3,921,739 km2 in land area and they are often referred to as a single region, The North, for organisational and economic purposes
2.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
3.
Annexation
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Annexation is the political transition of land from the control of one entity to another. It is also the incorporation of unclaimed land into a states sovereignty, in international law it is the forcible transition of one states territory by another state or the legal process by which a city acquires land. Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral and it can also imply a certain measure of coercion, expansionism or unilateralism on the part of the stronger of the merging entities. Because of this, more positive euphemisms like political union/unification or reunification are sometimes seen in discourse, during World War II, the use of annexation deprived whole populations of the safeguards provided by international laws governing military occupations. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 amplified the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 with respect to the question of the protection of civilians, the team cemented in a brass plaque on Halls Ledge and hoisted the Union Flag to stake the UKs claim. One example of a claimed annexation after World War II is the Kingdom of Norways southward expansion of the dependent territory Queen Maud Land. On most maps there had been an area between Queen Maud Lands borders of 1939 and the South Pole until June 12,2015 when Norway formally claimed to have annexed that area. The Antarctic Treaty, however, states, The treaty does not recognize, dispute, nor establish territorial sovereignty claims, within countries that are subdivided noncontiguously, annexation can also take place whereby a lower-tier subdivision can annex territory under the jurisdiction of a higher-tier subdivision. An example of this is in the United States, where incorporated cities, municipalities can also annex or be annexed by other municipalities, though this is less common in the United States. Laws governing the ability and the extent cities can expand in this fashion are defined by the individual states constitutions, annexation of neighbouring communities occurs in Canada. Irredentism List of national border changes since World War I Texas annexation Adam Roberts, transformative military occupation, applying the laws of war and human rights,100 The American Journal of International Law
4.
House of Commons of Canada
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The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons chamber is located in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Members of Parliament. There were 308 members in the last Parliament, but that number has risen to 338 following the election on Monday October 19,2015, Members are elected by simple plurality in each of the countrys electoral districts, which are colloquially known as ridings. MPs may hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for constitutionally limited terms of up to five years after an election, historically however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention. In any case, an Act of Parliament now limits each term to four years, seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province and territory. However, some ridings are more populous than others, and the Canadian constitution contains some provisions regarding provincial representation. As a result, there is some interprovincial and regional malapportionment relative to population, the lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate very rarely rejects bills passed by the Commons, moreover, the Government of Canada is responsible solely to the House of Commons. The Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support, or confidence, the term derives from the Anglo-Norman word communes, referring to the geographic and collective communities of their parliamentary representatives and not the third estate, the commonality. This distinction is clear in the official French name of the body. Canada and the United Kingdom remain the only countries to use the name House of Commons for a house of parliament. The new Parliament of Canada consisted of the Queen, the Senate, the Parliament of Canada was based on the Westminster model. Unlike the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the powers of the Parliament of Canada were limited in that other powers were assigned exclusively to the provincial legislatures, the Parliament of Canada also remained subordinate to the British Parliament, the supreme legislative authority for the entire British Empire. Greater autonomy was granted by the Statute of Westminster 1931, after which new Acts of the British Parliament did not apply to Canada and these exceptions were removed by the Canada Act 1982. From 1867, the Commons met in the chamber until that was destroyed by fire in 1916. It relocated to the amphitheatre of the Victoria Memorial Museum—what is today the Canadian Museum of Nature, since then, the Commons has sat in its current chamber. The House of Commons comprises 338 members, each of whom represents a electoral district. The constitution specifies a minimum of 295 electoral districts
5.
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
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The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is one of two components of the Legislature of Ontario, the other being the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. The Legislative Assembly is the second largest Canadian provincial deliberative assembly by number of members after the National Assembly of Quebec, the Assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queens Park in the provincial capital of Toronto. The premier is Ontarios head of government, while the Lieutenant Governor, as representative of the Queen, the largest party not forming the government is known as the Official Opposition, its leader being recognized as Leader of the Opposition by the Speaker. The Ontario Legislature is sometimes referred to as the Ontario Provincial Parliament, Members of the assembly refer to themselves as Members of the Provincial Parliament as opposed to Members of the Legislative Assembly as in many other provinces. Ontario is the province to do so, in accordance with a resolution passed in the Assembly on April 7,1938. However, the Legislative Assembly Act refers only to members of the Assembly, the current assembly was elected on June 12,2014 as part of the 41st Parliament of Ontario. The first session of the 41st Parliament opened on July 2,2014, on Friday May 2,2014, the 40th Parliament of Ontario was dissolved by Lieutenant Governor David C. Onley on the advice of Premier Kathleen Wynne after the NDP, the election was held on June 12,2014, as a result of which Kathleen Wynnes Liberal Party formed a majority government. Queens Park is a metonym for the Legislative Assembly, in accordance with the traditions of the Westminster System, most laws originate with the cabinet, and are passed by the legislature after stages of debate and decision-making. Ordinary Members of the Legislature may introduce privately, play an role in scrutinizing bills in debate and committee. Members are expected to be loyal to both their parliamentary party and to the interests of their constituents, in the Ontario legislature this confrontation provides much of the material for Oral Questions and Members Statements. Legislative scrutiny of the executive is also at the heart of much of the carried out by the Legislatures Standing Committees. Finally, it is the task of the legislature to provide the personnel of the executive, as already noted, under responsible government, ministers of the Crown are expected to be Members of the Assembly. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the first and the legislature in Canada to have a Coat of Arms separate from the provincial coat of arms. Green and gold are the colours in the shield of arms of the province. The Mace is the symbol of the authority of the Speaker. Shown on the left is the current Mace, on the right is the original Mace from the time of the first parliament in 1792. The crossed Maces are joined by the shield of arms of Ontario, the crown on the wreath represents national and provincial loyalties, its rim is studded with the provincial gemstone, the amethyst
6.
Rideau River
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The Rideau River is an Eastern Ontario river which flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. The Rideau Canal, which travel from Ottawa to the city of Kingston. The river diverges from the Canal at Hogs Back Falls in Ottawa and this practice has been going on for more than 100 years. The regulatory authority charged with protecting the Rideau River and its tributaries is the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, ISBN 0-8020-2573-0 – via Google Books. Rideau Valley Conservation Authority Biodiversity of the Rideau River
7.
Ottawa River
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The Ottawa River, is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it defines the border between two provinces. It is a tributary of the St. Lawrence River. The river rises from its source in Lake Capimitchigama, in the Laurentian Mountains of central Quebec, from there its route has been used to define the interprovincial border with Ontario. From Lake Timiskaming, the river flows southeast to Ottawa and Gatineau, the Ottawa River drains into the Lake of Two Mountains and the St. Lawrence River at Montreal. The river is 1,271 kilometres long, it drains an area of 146,300 square kilometres,65 percent in Quebec and the rest in Ontario, with a mean discharge of 1,950 cubic metres per second. The average annual mean waterflow measured at Carillon dam, near the Lake of Two Mountains, is 1,939 cubic metres per second, with average annual extremes of 749 to 5,351 cubic metres per second. Record historic levels since 1964 are a low of 529 cubic metres per second in 2005, the river flows through large areas of deciduous and coniferous forest formed over thousands of years as trees recolonized the Ottawa Valley after the ice age. Generally, the coniferous forests occur on old sand plains left by retreating glaciers, the deciduous forests, dominated by maple, beech, oak and ash occur in more mesic areas with better soil. The vast areas of pine were exploited by early loggers, later generations of logging removed hemlock for use in tanning leather, leaving a permanent deficit of hemlock in most forests. Associated with the logging and early settlement were vast wild fires which not only removed the forests, consequently, nearly all the forests show varying degrees of human disturbance. Tracts of older forest are uncommon, and hence they are considered of importance for conservation. The Ottawa River has large areas of wetlands, the Westmeath sand dune/wetland complex is significant for its relatively pristine sand dunes, few of which remain along the Ottawa River, and the many associated rare plants. Shirleys Bay has a biologically diverse shoreline alvar, as well as one of the largest silver maple swamps along the river, like all wetlands, these depend upon the seasonal fluctuations in the water level. High water levels help create and maintain silver maple swamps, while low water periods allow many rare plants to grow on the emerged sand. There are five principal vegetation types. One is swamp, mostly silver maple, there are four herbaceous vegetation types, named for the dominant plant species in them, Scirpus, Eleocharis, Sparganium and Typha. Which type occurs in a location depends upon factors such as substrate type, water depth, ice-scour
8.
Governor General of Canada
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The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The commission is for a period of time—known as serving at Her Majestys pleasure—though five years is the normal convention. Beginning in 1959, it has also been traditional to rotate between anglophone and francophone incumbents, once in office, the governor general maintains direct contact with the Queen, wherever she may be at the time. The office began in the 16th and 17th centuries with the Crown-appointed governors of the French colony of Canada followed by the British governors of Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries, subsequently, the office is, along with the Crown, the oldest continuous institution in Canada. Throughout this process of gradually increasing Canadian independence, the role of governor general took on additional responsibilities, finally, in 1947, King George VI issued letters patent allowing the viceroy to carry out almost all of the monarchs powers on his or her behalf. The current governor general is David Johnston, who has served since 1 October 2010, johnstons wife—who is thus the viceregal consort—is Sharon Johnston. The Government of Canada spells the title governor general without a hyphen, the Canadian media still often use the governor-general spelling. As governor is the noun in the title, it is pluralized, thus, governors general, moreover, both terms are capitalized when used in the formal title preceding an incumbents name. The position of general is mandated by both the Constitution Act,1867, and the letters patent issued in 1947 by King George VI. As such, on the recommendation of his or her Canadian prime minister and that individual is, from then until being sworn-in, referred to as the governor general-designate. Besides the administration of the oaths of office, there is no set formula for the swearing-in of a governor general-designate, the governor general will then give a speech, outlining whichever cause or causes he or she will champion during his or her time as viceroy. The incumbent will generally serve for at least five years, though this is only a convention. The prime minister may recommend to the Queen that the viceroy remain in her service for a longer period of time. A governor general may also resign, and two have died in office, the sovereign has unrestricted freedom of choice. We leave that to Her Majesty in all confidence, however, between 1867 and 1931, governors general were appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British Cabinet. Thereafter, in accordance with the Statute of Westminster 1931, the appointment was made by the sovereign with the direction of his or her Canadian ministers only. Until 1952, all governors general were also members of the Peerage or sons of peers. These viceroys spent a limited time in Canada, but their travel schedules were so extensive that they could learn more about Canada in five years than many Canadians in a lifetime
9.
Rideau Hall
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Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and his or her representative, the Governor General of Canada, and has been described as Canadas house. It stands in Canadas capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the building consisting of approximately 175 rooms across 9,500 m2. Rideau Hall and the grounds were designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1977. The house is open to the public for guided tours throughout the year, following the completion of the canal, McKay built mills at Rideau Falls, making him the founder of New Edinburgh, the original settlement of Ottawa. Locals referred to the structure as McKays Castle, the next year, Frederick Preston Rubidge oversaw the refinishing of the original villa and designed additions to accommodate the new functions. It was enlarged to three or four times the size, mostly by way of a new 49 room wing, and, once complete, the first Governor General of Canada. These additions were opposed by George Brown, who claimed that the governor generals residence is a little house. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald agreed, complaining that more had been spent on patching up Rideau Hall than could have used to construct a new royal palace. Nonetheless, the gatehouse was enhanced by Rubidge and the property purchased outright in 1868 for the sum of $82,000. Probably the largest event held in the ballroom was a dress ball hosted by the Dufferins that took place on the evening of 23 February 1876. Still, despite the popularity of the events took place in the building. In 1893, Lady Stanley, wife of Governor General the Lord Stanley of Preston, had no furniture except chairs & tables. The room which has always been the wife of the G. G. s sitting room is very empty, there are no lamps in the house at all. No cushions, no table cloths, in none of the small things that make a room pretty & comfortable. Echoing these earlier comments, the Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair said upon her departure from Ottawa that Rideau Hall was a shabby old Government House put away amongst its clump of bushes. Various improvements were undertaken over the decades, seeing the first gas chandeliers, the Princess was not long in Rideau Hall before Fenians posed themselves as a threat to her life and she was ushered back to the UK for both rest and protection. When she returned in 1880, with the Queen greatly concerned for her daughters safety, the King, while there, became the first monarch of Canada to personally receive the credentials of an ambassador, that being Daniel Calhoun Roper as the representative of the United States. However, it was decided that the Royal Family leaving the United Kingdom at a time of war would be a blow to morale
10.
Prime Minister of Canada
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Canadian prime ministers are styled as The Right Honourable, a privilege maintained for life. The office and its functions are instead governed by constitutional conventions, the prime minister, along with the other ministers in cabinet, is appointed by the governor general on behalf of the monarch. There are no age or citizenship restrictions on the position of prime minister itself, while there is no legal requirement for the prime minister to be a member of parliament, for practical and political reasons the prime minister is expected to win a seat very promptly. However, in rare circumstances individuals who are not sitting members of the House of Commons have been appointed to the position of prime minister, two former prime ministers—Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell—served in the 1890s while members of the Senate. Both, in their roles as Government Leader in the Senate, succeeded prime ministers who had died in office—John A. Macdonald in 1891 and that convention has since evolved toward the appointment of an interim leader from the commons in such a scenario. Prime ministers who are not Members of Parliament upon their appointment have since been expected to seek election to the commons as soon as possible. For example, William Lyon Mackenzie King, after losing his seat in the 1925 federal election, Turner was the last serving prime minister to not hold a commons seat. The Canadian prime minister serves at Her Majestys pleasure, meaning the post does not have a fixed term, once appointed and sworn in by the governor general, the prime minister remains in office until he or she resigns, is dismissed, or dies. Following parliamentary dissolution, the prime minister must run in the general election if he or she wishes to maintain a seat in the House of Commons. Should the prime ministers party subsequently win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, if, however, an opposition party wins a majority of seats, the prime minister may resign or be dismissed by the governor general. This option was last entertained in 1925, however, the function of the prime minister has evolved with increasing power. Caucuses may choose to follow rules, though the decision would be made by recorded vote. Either the sovereign or his or her viceroy may therefore oppose the prime ministers will in extreme, for transportation, the prime minister is granted an armoured car and shared use of two official aircraft—a CC-150 Polaris for international flights and a Challenger 601 for domestic trips. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also furnish constant personal security for the prime minister, all of the aforementioned is supplied by the Queen-in-Council through budgets approved by parliament, as is the prime ministers annual salary of CAD$170,400. Should a serving or former prime minister die, he or she is accorded a state funeral, John Thompson also died outside Canada, at Windsor Castle, where Queen Victoria permitted his lying-in-state before his body was returned to Canada for a state funeral in Halifax. In earlier years, it was traditional for the monarch to bestow a knighthood on newly appointed Canadian prime ministers. Accordingly, several carried the prefix Sir before their name, of the first eight premiers of Canada, the Canadian Heraldic Authority has granted former prime ministers an augmentation of honour on the personal coat of arms of those who pursued them. To date, former prime ministers Joe Clark, Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, the written form of address for the prime minister should use his or her full parliamentary title, The Right Honourable, Prime Minister of Canada
New Edinburgh
