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| Canada has a long
tradition of welcoming immigrants. Home to two official languages, English
and French, Canada is also a multicultural society, with more than 17%
of the population reporting a mother tongue other than English or French.
During the 1990s, Canada received between 200,000 and 250,000 immigrants
per year. |
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| UN says Canada is the best country in the world! |
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| For the past four
years, the United Nations has rated Canada the top country in the world
for overall quality of life. Canadians enjoy a comfortable standard of
living, good health care, social security, a high level of education,
and a relatively safe and clean environment. The Charter of Rights
and Freedoms entrenched in the Canadian constitution guarantees such
fundamental rights as equality, mobility and legal rights, as well as
freedom of speech, assembly and association. |
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| A 1997 survey of
people in 20 countries found that the majority placed Canada in the top
ten list of countries where they would like to live. Most consider Canada
a generous, peaceful and compassionate nation, while they see Canadians
as honest, friendly and polite. |
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A few facts about Canada |
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Canada is a land
of great natural beauty, from the rugged shores of Newfoundland to the
mild climate and beautiful mountains of the west coast. The second largest
country in the world, it has six time zones. With its coasts, vast forests,
mountain ranges, lakes and expanses of prairies, Canada is rich in natural
resources. It contains 38 national parks, more than 1000 provincial parks,
and nearly 50 territorial parks. |
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Based on the 1996
census data:
- about 28% of the
population reported origins other than British Isles, French or Canadian
- recent immigrants
had higher levels of education than the Canadian-born population
- six out of ten
households owned their own home
- university or
other post-secondary graduates represented 40% of the population over
the age of 15
- the number of
seniors (age 65+) more than doubled in the last 25 years, to 12.2% of
the population
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