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Canada is the second largest country on earth, covering an area of 10 million square kilometres (3.9 million square miles). Three oceans border Canada: the Pacific Ocean in the west, the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Altogether, Canada has over 200,000 kilometres (125,000 miles) of coastline. Canada shares two borders with the United States: a very long border in the south and another long frontier in the northwest.

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Canada has 10 provinces and three territories, each with its own capital city. These provinces and territories. The three largest cities in Canada are Toronto (Ontario), Montréal (Quebec) and Vancouver (British Columbia). The total population of these cities is over 10 million people (almost one-third of the Canadian population).

Language in canada

English and French are the two official languages of Canada. Today, there are approximately 18 million Anglophones – people who speak English as a first language – and 7 million Francophones – people who speak French as a first language. Most Francophones live in Quebec. However, one million Francophones live in Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba, with a smaller presence in other provinces.

The federal government must provide services throughout Canada in both English and French, by law; it is because of that, when immigrants come to Canada they know their children will speak at least 3 languages, English, French and their mother language.

ECONOMY IN CANADA

Canada’s free market economy includes three main types of industries.

Service industries provide thousands of different jobs in areas like transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications, retail services, tourism and government. More than 75 percent of working Canadians now have jobs in service industries.

Manufacturing industries make products to sell in Canada and around the world. Manufactured products include paper, high technology equipment, aerospace technology, automobiles, machinery, food, clothing and many other goods. Our largest international trading partner is the United States.

Natural resource industries include forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy. These industries have played an important part in the country’s history and development. Today, the economy of many areas of the country still depends on developing natural resources, and a large percentage of Canada’s exports are natural resource commodities like oil, gas and minerals.

GOVERNMENT IN CANADA

The Canada’s system of government is a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary democracy and a federal state.

Canada has three levels of government – federal, provincial or territorial, and municipal. Each level of government has different responsibilities and adifferent role to play in the country.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN CANADA

The federal government is based in Ottawa,capital of Canada. It is responsible for national and international matters, such as national defence, foreign affairs, Employment Insurance, currency, banking, federal taxes, postal services, shipping, railways, telephones and pipelines, Aboriginal lands and rights, and criminal law. In general, the federal government deals with laws that affect the whole country. The federal government is led by the Prime Minister who is the most senior or “first” minister in the government.

PROVINCIAL AND TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS IN CANADA

There are 10 provinces and three territories in Canada. Each province is led by a Premier and has its own elected legislature. It has the power to change its laws and manage its own public lands. Each of the territories is also led by a Premier and carries out many of the same functions as a province, but the federal government manages the public lands.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS IN CANADA

This is the level of government that governs a city, town or district (a municipality). Municipal governments are responsible for areas such as public transportation, fire protection, local police, local land use, libraries, parks, community water systems, roadways and parking. They receive authority for these areas from the provincial governments. Municipal governments are led by a mayor.

NEWCOMERS HELP TO SETTLE DOWN IN CANADA

Once you are a permanent resident of Canada it has many immigrant-serving organizations to help newcomers settle in Canada. These organizations are funded by governments and their services are free, their services may vary from:

  • Look for a job

  • Get a language assessment

  • Register for language classes

  • Find a place to live

  • Fill out forms and applications

  • Sign up your kids for school

  • Learn about community services

Find this and more information in: https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/services/index.asp

Activities can be many and for the whole family. You may start with a trip toNiagara Falls, take the sightseeing to a totally different level and contemplate the Northern lights in Yukon;  discover the architecture of Montreal or take a tour by train to some of the most spectacular and inaccessible land, admire the Rocky Mountains or enjoy any Film Festival or music in Toronto. Visit Canada and fall in love with the diversity this country has to offer.

Here are the websites for each province an territory to look more information about their services

Alberta www.alberta.ca

British Columbia. www.gov.bc.ca

Manitoba www.gov.mb.ca

New Brunswick www.gnb.ca

Newfoundland and Labrador www.gov.nl.ca

Northwest Territories. www.gov.nt.ca

Nova Scotia. www.gov.ns.ca

Nunavut www.gov.nu.ca

Ontario www.ontario.ca

Prince Edward Island www.gov.pe.ca

Quebec www.gouv.qc.ca

Saskatchewan www.gov.sk.ca

Yukon www.gov.yk.ca

Another service that the Government offers is Service Canada that provides access to a variety of federal government programs and services across Canada, you can find out more about their services in www.servicecanada.gc.ca

The importance of language skills

Good English or French language skills are very important to help you settle in Canada, that is why you may choose to focus on learning or improving either English or French. This will likely depend on which of the two languages most people speak in the area and province where you live.

We always suggest that even when you are already a permanent resident, a strong English or French language skills have to be improved for many reasons, such as:

  • Obtaining a job that matches your skills and experience;

  • Obtaining post-secondary education or training;

  • Accessing services;

  • Helping your children with school work;

  • Meeting and interacting with people; and

  • Passing the language requirement for citizenship.

If you want to find out if you need a Visa to Visit Canada click here and find out if you will need to apply for a Tourist Visa.

If you do not require a Tourist Visa to come into Canada you will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). U.S. Citizens and travelers with a Valid Canadian Visa are exempt and cannot apply for an eTA.

Feel free to Contact Us to assist you and Evaluate your Opportunities to Immigrate to Canada.