Unit 15 Outline & Vocab

I. Intro to Canada
A. Population of 34 million, 90% of which live near Canada-USA border
B. Canada is 2nd in total area behind Russia
C. Similar to America in many ways including the way they speak
D. Official languages are English and French
E. Canadian identity can be hard to define and is changing; like many other western countries Canada is multicultural
F. Canada traces much of its institutions and identity to Great Britain
G. Become a political entity in 1867 and achieved independence in 1931
H. Longest undefended border in the world
II. The North—the Yukon and the Northwest Territories
A. Canada stretches to the arctic circle and to the north pole; this area is scarcely populated and is called “the land of the midnight sun”
B. Economy is based on oil and gas deposits
III. The West
A. Western-most province is British Columbia (BC) which is known for its mountainous landscape
B. Hydroelectric power is prominent here and logging is a huge industry
IV. The Prairies
A. This region is the breadbasket of Canada and is mostly flat prairie land
B. Wheat is grown here and many livestock are raised
V. Central Canada
A. This is the part of Canada that was first settled and includes Ontario and Quebec
B. The biggest cities in Canada (Toronto and Montreal) are in this region as well as Canada’s capital Ottawa
C. More than half of the population live in these two provinces
VI. Atlantic Region
A. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland constitute the Atlantic Region
B. Fishing is a significant part of the economy in these areas as is tourism as the scenery is spectacular
VII. Geography, History, Name
A. Geography determined the kinds of immigrants to the various parts of Canada (Irish to the Atlantic region, Scandinavian and Ukranian to the prairies, French in the South Central, and Chinese in BC)
B. Vikings arrived but did not stay about 1000 AD
C. French colonized Nova Scotia and Quebec in the early 1600s
D. The British started to venture into Canada in the 1670s
E. 1700s experienced a mix of British and French
F. Book gives several possible origins of the name Canada; sources I found all said Canada comes from Iroquois word meanings “village”

Vocab
Yukon
Northwest Territories
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Quebec
New Foundland
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Arctic Circle
North Pole
Land of the midnight sun
Tundra
Breadbasket
Toronto
Montreal
Inuit
Vikings
Igloo
Trapper
Beaver pelt