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P:CA

Thursday, March 7, 2024

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Introduction

Flag and Arms of 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.

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 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. (Full article...)

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The pyrocumulus cloud produced by the explosion

On the morning of 6 December 1917 the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Mont-Blanc, laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond district of Halifax. At least 1,782 people were killed, largely in Halifax and Dartmouth, by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time. It released the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT (12 TJ). (Full article...)

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Gretzky in June 2019

Wayne Douglas Gretzky CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/ GRET-skee; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One", he has been called the greatest ice hockey player ever by many sportswriters, players, The Hockey News, and the NHL itself, based on extensive surveys of hockey writers, ex-players, general managers and coaches. Gretzky is the leading career goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in NHL history, and has more career assists than any other player has total points. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season, a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, Gretzky tallied over 100 points in 15 professional seasons, 13 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 61 NHL records: 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All-Star records. (Full article...)

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Panoramic view of Niagara Falls

Credit: MamaGeek

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Snow Dome, Mt. Forbes, the Lyells, and others from Mt. Kitchener at the edge of the Columbia Icefield

The Canadian Rockies (French: Rocheuses canadiennes) or Canadian Rocky Mountains, comprising both the Alberta Rockies and the British Columbian Rockies, is the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains. It is the easternmost part of the Canadian Cordillera, which is the northern segment of the North American Cordillera, the expansive system of interconnected mountain ranges between the Interior Plains and the Pacific Coast that runs northwest–southeast from central Alaska to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico. (Full article...)

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Government of Canada wordmark

The Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term Government of Canada refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown (together in the Cabinet) and the federal civil service (whom the Cabinet direct); it is alternatively known as His Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté) and is corporately branded as the Government of Canada. There are over 100 departments and agencies, as well as over 300,000 persons employed in the Government of Canada. These institutions carry out the programs and enforce the laws established by the Parliament of Canada. (Full article...)

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The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario.
Credit: Keith Pomakis

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Current events

February 28, 2024 –: The Canadian government releases its report into the high-profile firings of two scientists from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2021, stating that the pair worked closely and covertly with the Chinese government. (National Post)
February 14, 2024 – Russia–United States relations, Russia and weapons of mass destruction: The U.S. holds emergency talks with allies, including Canada and the United Kingdom, on the Russian nuclear threat. (CBC)
January 30, 2024 – Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal: One former and four current National Hockey League players who took part in the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships are charged with sexual assault in London, Ontario, Canada in connection with the 2018 investigation. (CBC)
January 27, 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: The United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany suspend humanitarian aid to UNRWA over allegations that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel. (BBC News) (CBS News)
January 24, 2024 – Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal: Five players who took part in the 2018 World Junior Championship have reportedly been told to surrender to the police in London, Ontario, Canada to face sexual assault charges. (TSN)
January 23, 2024 –: A small passenger plane carrying workers to Rio Tinto Alcan's Diavik Diamond Mine, in Canada's Northwest Territories, crashes in the town of Fort Smith, killing six people and wounding another. (CBS News)

Past Canadian events

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... that a year after becoming the first woman president of the Canadian Political Science Association, Caroline Andrew moderated the first Canadian leaders' debate on women's issues?
... that Canadian cyclist Bernie Willock, who missed out on competing at the Olympics due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, later owned furniture stores?
... that the parasitic fossil fungus Paleoserenomyces allenbyensis was named after a Canadian ghost town?
... that as a teenager in a B'nai B'rith camp in Canada, Holocaust survivor and future Canadian ambassador Fred Bild learned English from his camp counselor, future actor William Shatner?
... that the Saskatchewan Conservation House, built in 1977 to withstand Canadian winter temperatures, did not use a furnace?
... that the success of the children's poetry book Alligator Pie led to the author, Dennis Lee, being named "Canada's Father Goose"?
... that the now-destroyed statue of Alexander Wood was the first LGBT monument in Canada?

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The Prince of Wales Trophy, also known as the Wales Trophy, is a team award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL). Named for Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), it has been awarded for different accomplishments throughout its history. (Full article...)

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