Canada is the second-largest country in the world by total area (after Russia), but only ranks around 36th in terms of its population. Almost all the population is concentrated along the country’s southern border with the USA and almost half the population resides in the six largest cities.
The country is bilingual, with English and French as its official languages, reflecting its colonial history. The majority of French speakers reside in Québec, where French culture is predominant. Canada’s indigenous populations, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, add to the cultural mosaic and there are also significant populations of people born in the UK, China, India, Italy and the USA.
Canada became a country in its own right in 1867 and the UK ceased to have any legislative influence over Canada in 1982, although the British monarch remains its head of state. Today Canada operates a federal system of parliamentary government which shares many similarities with the British system.
Canada has an advanced mixed economy. It is rich in natural resources, including timber, potash, gold, platinum,titanium, nickel, uranium, and crude petroleum (in the form of oil sands). Agriculture (notably the growing of wheat and other edible grains) is important in the southern rural areas but further north local economies tend to be sustained by mining or timber felling and processing. Its abundant lakes and rivers have enabled Canada to become the world’s second-largest producer of hydroelectricity, much of which is exported to the USA. The USA is, of course, Canada’s top trading partner with almost half a trillion dollars worth of goods and services exported annually in each direction (Canada has a trade surplus with the USA of around US$50 billion a year).
The main centre for face-to-face market research in English Canada is Toronto, followed by Vancouver. The main centre for research in French is Montréal.
