Canada

Ottawa serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Canada, positioned in North America. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Ottawa was chosen as capital in 1857 by Queen Victoria as a deliberate compromise between English Ontario and French Quebec — a city that wears its bilingualism through a practical daily code-switching and stages the world's largest outdoor skating rink on the Rideau Canal each winter.

With a population of approximately 38.2M, Canada is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are English, French, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Canada is reached via the dialling code +1. Canada's multiculturalism policy, officially adopted in 1971 under Pierre Trudeau, was the world's first national multiculturalism framework — a philosophical foundation that produced cities like Toronto and Vancouver where over half the residents were born abroad and 200 languages are spoken in the school systems.

Canada spans 9,984,670 km², in the North America subregion of Americas. Geographically centred around 60.0°N, 95.0°W, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Americas convention.

The official currency is the Canadian dollar ($), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Canada's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC-08:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.

The emblematic dish of Canada is Poutine. Poutine — fries with cheese curds and gravy — emerged from rural Quebec in the late 1950s and became a national symbol precisely because it resists sophistication: no restaurant improvement has ever equalled the version consumed at 2am from a roadside casse-croûte, preferably in a snowstorm.

Ice Hockey holds a special place in the heart of Canada's national identity. Ice hockey is Canada's defining cultural export, with the NHL forming in 1917 from Canadian roots and the game remaining the national sport in everything except official designation — the Maple Leafs' 1967 Stanley Cup win being the last Canadian team to win the trophy, a half-century drought that has become its own form of national mythology.

The highest point in Canada is Mount Logan, rising to 5,959 metres above sea level. The Canadian Shield — a 5-million-square-kilometre expanse of ancient Precambrian rock — underlies most of Canada's interior and contains over two million lakes, including the Great Lakes which hold 21% of the world's surface fresh water and whose formation by glaciers during the last ice age reshaped the entire North American continent.