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Monday, November 18, 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. With a population of just over 41 million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. 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 appointed by the governor general, representing the monarch of Canada, the ceremonial 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 human rights. 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.

Plaque at École Polytechnique commemorating victims of the massacre

The École Polytechnique massacre (French: tuerie de l'École polytechnique), also known as the Montreal massacre, was an antifeminist mass shooting that occurred on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec. Fourteen women were murdered; another ten women and four men were injured. (Full article...)

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John George Diefenbaker PC CH QC FRSC FRSA (/ˈdiːfənbeɪkər/ DEE-fən-bay-kər; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was a Canadian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Canada, from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. (Full article...)

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Tuktoyaktuk in 2010 taken from ice road to Inuvik

Credit: Dlogic

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Totem poles (Haida: gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually made from large trees, mostly western red cedar, by First Nations and Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast including northern Northwest Coast Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian communities in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-chah-nulth communities in southern British Columbia, and the Coast Salish communities in Washington and British Columbia. (Full article...)

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The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous law systems developed by the various Indigenous Nations. (Full article...)

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Teslin River at Johnson's Crossing, Yukon
Credit: Merops

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November 15, 2024 –: The Canadian Union of Postal Workers go on strike after failing to renegotiate their contract with Canada Post. (AP)
October 25, 2024 –: A man fatally shoots two of his family members before killing himself in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. (CTV News Barrie); Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government announces that Ontario is planning to ban international students from medical schools in the province beginning in 2026. (Pelham Today)
October 24, 2024 –: Four people are killed and one other is seriously injured when a Tesla car crashes into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar at high speed after losing control causing a fire in Toronto, Canada. (CTV News Toronto)
October 15, 2024 –: The Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network is designated as a terrorist group by the Canadian government and is sanctioned by the U.S. government, due to the group's alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. (CTV News)
October 10, 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine: The World Bank approves a new financial intermediary fund consisting of grants from the United States, Japan, Canada, and other countries coupled with interest from frozen Russian assets to give to Ukraine as part of a $50 billion loan. (Reuters)

Past Canadian events

... that as of 2019, inclusion in the International Register of Electors no longer requires residency in Canada in the preceding five years?
... that Robert Home was sent by the British Army to Canada in 1864 to report on the defence of the frontier against the eventuality of an American invasion?
... that the Otoskwin–Attawapiskat River Provincial Park, protecting the Otoskwin and Attawapiskat Rivers in Ontario, Canada, has archaeological and historical sites dating from 3000 BC to the 1800s?
... that Edwin Atwater and his brother were the first people to import glass into Canada?
... that the Saskatchewan Conservation House, built in 1977 to withstand Canadian winter temperatures, did not use a furnace?
... that journalist Jacques Poitras spent a month repeatedly crossing the "Imaginary Line" separating New Brunswick and Maine in order to publish a book about it?
... that both Christian Albright and De'Montre Tuggle were born on the same day, named second-team all-Mid-American Conference in 2020, signed with the Chicago Bears in 2022, and debuted in the CFL in 2023?

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The Tip O'Neill Award is given annually to a Canadian baseball player who is "judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball." The award was created by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and first presented in 1984. It is named after James "Tip" O'Neill, one of the earliest Canadian stars in Major League Baseball (MLB). (Full article...)

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