About two centuries ago, Canada was a colony of France, after which it was a colony of Great Britain for almost a hundred years. Canada gained independence as a self-governing possession of the British Empire in 1867. Indirectly, the state was subordinate to the British monarch, represented in Canada by the governor. In fact, the country was ruled by the local parliament and government.
At a time when Canadians were stubbornly fighting for independence, the economy of their country, one way or another, was dominated by a we althy southern neighbor - the United States of America. American entrepreneurs invested in the development of Canadian resources. As a result, Americans got a profit, and Canadians got jobs and wages.
Canada's population is multiethnic. It is based on two nationalities: French Canadians and Anglo Canadians.
Ten thousand French settlers who arrived in Canada in the 17th-18th centuries have now become seven million French Canadians. This group makes up 31% of the total population of the country.
Canada's population is mostly made up of Anglo-Canadians. Descendants of people fromGreat Britain make up about 58% of the total population of the country. Another 11% are indigenous people and immigrants from other countries.
The official languages of Canada are English and French.
Because the main posts in the country's economy are mainly distributed among Anglo-Canadians, ethnic conflicts flare up from time to time. French Canadians mostly live in the province of Quebec and regularly express the desire and intention to create an independent French-Canadian state.
The indigenous people of Canada include Indians (about 1 million people) and Eskimos (about 50 thousand people). The first indigenous people appeared on the territory of Canada more than 25 thousand years ago and came here from Asia.
Also, the population of Canada includes quite numerous groups of other ethnic groups: Germans (about 1 million), Dutch (about 500 thousand), Poles, Chinese, Jews, Russians, Ukrainians, Portuguese and others.
Today, a third of Canada's population is formed by the flow of emigrants. A large percentage of those who come to Canada for permanent residence are from the CIS countries and the countries of the British Commonwe alth. The natural increase of the country's population is 6.4%.
Canada's population density is 2.8 people per square kilometer. At the same time, the population in the country is distributed very unevenly. Most of the population of Canada (about 90%) is concentrated in the territory separated fromthe southern border of the state for a distance not exceeding 200 miles. Accordingly, the southern provinces of Quebec and Ontario account for two-thirds of the total population of Canada, and the density here is about 150 people per square meter.
The northern provinces of the country, which account for 70% of its territory, are extremely poorly populated: only 1.5% of the total population lives here. Mostly they are representatives of indigenous peoples. The islands of the Canadian archipelago are completely uninhabited.
