Proper noun

Singular Canada

Plural -

Canada

1. A country in North America; official name: Canada.
2. (historical) Lower Canada or Upper Canada, often "the Canadas". Also Canada East or Canada West.

Synonyms

• Canuckistan, Soviet Canuckistan
• Great White North
• neighbor to the north

Derived terms

• Atlantic Canada = Atlantic provinces
• blame Canada
• Canada balsam
• Canada buffalo berry
• Canada Day
• Canada Dry
• Canada dogwood = bunchberry
• Canada East = Lower Canada
• Canada Games
• Canada goose, Branta canadensis
• Canada jay = grey jay
• Canada lily, Lilium canadense
• Canada lynx, Felis canadensis

• Canada mayflower = wild lily of the valley, Maianthemum canadense
• Canada Pension Plan
• Canada plum, Prunus nigra and its fruit
• Canada poplar = Carolina poplar
• Canadarm
• Canada Savings Bond
• Canada thistle, Circium arvense
• Canada violet, Viola canadensis
• Canada West = Upper Canada
• Canada Yew = ground hemlock
• Canadian
• Canadiana
• Canadianism

• Canadianize
• Canadianist
• Canadien
• Canadienne
• Canajun
• Central Canada = Central provinces
• French Canada
• Lower Canada
• O Canada
• Upper Canada

Related terms

• Canuck
• Kanata

Canada / ˈ k æ n ə d ə / is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world, and over 80% of the Canadian population lives within 150 km of it. As a northern country, most of Canada is noted for cold winters, although summers can be quite warm and oranges and grapes are grown in some areas. It is also very urban, with over 80% of the population living in an urban or suburban area. Canada is known for its diverse natural beauty, wildlife, abundant natural resources, and its people's commitment to fairness and equality for all.

The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal people. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled along, the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. 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. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster of 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act of 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the British parliament.

A federation consisting of ten provinces and three territories, Canada is governed as a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual nation with both English and French as official languages at the federal level. One of the world's highly developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade—particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. It is a member of the G8, G-20, NATO, OECD, WTO, Commonwealth, Francophonie, OAS, APEC, and UN.