Canada

Federal Parliamentary Democracy (Parliament Of Canada) Under A Constitutional MonarchyPop41.5MGDP (PPP)$2.3TCI81Beta CP−1.9↓Beta

Some figures reconciled across multiple sources via Civica's methodology (v0.2 BETA). Methodology →

Canada

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Overview

Background: A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867, while retaining ties to the British crown. Canada gained legislative independence from Britain in 1931 and formalized its constitutional independence from the UK when it passed the Canada Act in 1982. Economically and technologically, the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across the world's longest international border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness, as well as responding to the particular concerns of predominantly francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.

Geography

Area

Land: 9,093,507 sq km
Water: 891,163 sq km
Total: 9,984,670 sq km

Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west, lowlands in southeast

Land Use

Other: 51.4% (2023 est.)
Forest: 42% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: 6.5% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land: arable land: 4.3% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops: permanent crops: 0% (2023 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture: permanent pasture: 2.1% (2023 est.)

Location: Northern North America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, North Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Arctic Ocean on the north, north of the conterminous US
Coastline: 202,080 km

Elevation

Lowest point: Atlantic/Pacific/Arctic Oceans 0 m
Highest point: Mount Logan 5,959 m
Mean elevation: 487 m

Irrigated land: 9,045 sq km (2015)
Major aquifers: Northern Great Plains Aquifer
Map references: North America

Land Boundaries

Total: 8,892 km
Border countries: US 8,891 km (includes 2,475 km with Alaska); Denmark (Greenland) 1.3 km

Maritime Claims

Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Natural hazards: continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains

volcanism: the vast majority of volcanoes in Western Canada's Coast Mountains remain dormant
Geography note: note 1: second-largest country in the world (after Russia) and largest in the Americas; strategic location between Russia and US via north polar route; approximately 90% of the population is concentrated within 160 km (100 mi) of the US border

note 2: Canada has more fresh water than any other country, and almost 9% of Canadian territory is water; Canada has at least 2 million and possibly over 3 million lakes, more than all other countries combined
Natural resources: bauxite, iron ore, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, uranium, rare earth elements, molybdenum, potash, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, petroleum, natural gas, hydropower
Area comparative: slightly larger than the US
Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 95 00 W
Population distribution: vast majority of the population lives in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km (186 mi) of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia

Major Lakes (Area Sq Km)

Fresh water lake(s): Huron* - 35,972 sq km; Great Bear Lake - 31,328 sq km; Superior* - 28,754 sq km; Great Slave Lake - 28,568 sq km; Lake Winnipeg - 24,387 sq km; Erie* - 12,776 sq km; Ontario* - 9,790 sq km; Lake Athabasca - 7,935 sq km; Reindeer Lake - 6,650 sq km; Nettilling Lake - 5,542 sq km
note - Great Lakes* area shown as Canadian waters

Major Watersheds (Area Sq Km)

Note: note: watersheds shared with the US shown with *
Arctic ocean drainage: Mackenzie (1,706,388 sq km)
Pacific ocean drainage: Yukon* (847,620 sq km, Canada only 823,800 sq km), Columbia* (657,501 sq km, Canada only 103,000 sq km)
Atlantic ocean drainage: Mississippi* (Gulf of America) (3,202,185 sq km, Canada only 32,000 sq km), Nelson (Hudson Bay) (1,093,141 sq km), Saint Lawrence* (1,049,636 sq km, Canada only 839,200 sq km)

Major rivers (BY length in km): Mackenzie - 4,241 km; Yukon river source (shared with the US [m]) - 3,185 km; Saint Lawrence river mouth (shared with US) - 3,058 km; Nelson - 2,570 km; Columbia river source (shared with the US [m]) - 1,953 km; Churchill - 1,600 km; Fraser - 1,368 km; Ottawa - 1,271 km; Athabasca - 1,231 km; North Saskatchewan - 1,220 km; Liard - 1,115 km

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

People & Society

Languages

Languages: English (official) 87.1%, French (official) 29.1%, Chinese languages 4.2%, Spanish 3.2%, Punjabi 2.6%, Arabic 2.4%, Tagalog 2.3%, Italian 1.5% (2022 est.)
Major language sample(s): The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)

The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)

Religions: Christian 53.3%, Muslim 4.9%, Hindu 2.3%, Sikh 2.1%, Buddhist 1%, Jewish 0.9%, Traditional (North American Indigenous) 0.2%, other religions and traditional spirituality 0.6%, none 34.6% (2021 est.)

Sex Ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0 14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15 64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

Birth rate: 9.12 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate: 7.75 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

Median Age

Male: 41.4 years
Total: 42.8 years (2025 est.)
Female: 43.8 years

Population

Male: 19,515,416
Total: 39,187,155 (2025 est.)
Female: 19,671,739

Nationality

Noun: Canadian(s)
Adjective: Canadian

Tobacco Use

Male: 12.3% (2025 est.)
Total: 10.1% (2025 est.)
Female: 8% (2025 est.)

Urbanization

Urban population: 81.9% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.95% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Age Structure

0 14 years: 15.5% (male 3,098,478/female 2,929,148)
15 64 years: 63.4% (male 12,382,422/female 12,227,512)
65 years and over: 21% (2024 est.) (male 3,753,829/female 4,403,424)

Ethnic groups: Canadian 15.6%, English 14.7%, Scottish 12.1%, French 11%, Irish 12.1%, German 8.1%, Chinese 4.7%, Italian 4.3%, First Nations 1.7%, Indian 3.7%, Ukrainian 3.5%, Metis 1.5% (2021 est.)

Dependency Ratios

Total dependency ratio: 57.7 (2025 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 23.8 (2025 est.)
Potential support ratio: 2.9 (2025 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 33.9 (2025 est.)

Physician density: 2.82 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

Health Expenditure

Health expenditure (as % of GDP): 11.2% of GDP (2022)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget): 19.5% of national budget (2022 est.)

Net migration rate: 5.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density: 2.6 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.43 children born/woman (2025 est.)

Drinking Water Source

Improved: rural: rural: 99.1% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total: total: 99.2% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: urban: urban: 99.3% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural: rural: 0.9% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total: total: 0.8% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban: urban: 0.7% of population (2022 est.)

Education Expenditure

Education expenditure (% GDP): 4.9% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget): 10.7% national budget (2022 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

Male: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Total: 3.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
Female: 4 deaths/1,000 live births

Population growth rate: 0.73% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate: 0.7 (2025 est.)
Population distribution: vast majority of the population lives in a discontinuous band within approximately 300 km (186 mi) of the southern border with the United States; the most populated province is Ontario, followed by Quebec and British Columbia

Life Expectancy at Birth

Male: 81.9 years
Female: 86.6 years
Total population: 84.2 years (2024 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 12 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Sanitation Facility Access

Improved: rural: rural: 98.8% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total: total: 98.6% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: urban: urban: 98.6% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural: rural: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total: total: 1.4% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban: urban: 1.4% of population (2022 est.)

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita

Beer: 3.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine: 2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Total: 8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits: 2.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols: 0.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Major urban areas population: 6.372 million Toronto, 4.308 million Montreal, 2.657 million Vancouver, 1.640 million Calgary, 1.544 million Edmonton, 1.437 million OTTAWA (capital) (2023)
Obesity adult prevalence rate: 29.4% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth: 29.4 years (2019 est.)
Currently married women (ages 15 49): 51.6% (2021 est.)

School Life Expectancy (Primary to Tertiary Education)

Male: 15 years (2022 est.)
Total: 16 years (2022 est.)
Female: 17 years (2022 est.)

Government

Civica · structure

How power is organised

ExecutiveLegislative

Flag: description: two vertical bands of red on each side, with a white square between them; a large 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square

meaning: the maple leaf is a national symbol

Capital

Name: Ottawa
Etymology: the city lies on the south bank of the Ottawa River, from which it derives its name; the river name comes from the Algonquin word adawe, meaning "to trade"
Time zone note: Canada has six time zones
Time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins second Sunday in March; ends first Sunday in November
Geographic coordinates: 45 25 N, 75 42 W

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Citizenship

Citizenship BY birth: yes
Citizenship BY descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: minimum of 3 of last 5 years resident in Canada

Constitution

History: consists of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions dating from 1763; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982
Amendment process: proposed by either house of Parliament or by the provincial legislative assemblies; there are 5 methods for passage though most require approval by both houses of Parliament, approval of at least two thirds of the provincial legislative assemblies and assent and formalization as a proclamation by the governor general in council; the most restrictive method is reserved for amendments affecting fundamental sections of the constitution, such as the office of the monarch or the governor general, and the constitutional amendment procedures, which require unanimous approval by both houses and by all the provincial assemblies, and assent of the governor general in council

Country Name

Etymology: the name is probably derived from the Huron or Iroquois word kanata, meaning village or camp
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Canada

Independence: 1 July 1867 (union of British North American colonies); 11 December 1931 (recognized by UK per Statute of Westminster)
Legal system: common law system except in Quebec, where civil law based on the French civil code prevails
Government type: federal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution

Judicial Branch

Note: note: in 1999, the Nunavut Court -- a circuit court with the power of a provincial superior court, as well as a territorial court -- was established to serve isolated settlements
Highest court(s): Supreme Court of Canada (consists of the chief justice and 8 judges)
Subordinate courts: federal level: Federal Court of Appeal; Federal Court; Tax Court; federal administrative tribunals; Courts Martial; provincial/territorial level: provincial superior, appeals, first instance, and specialized courts
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges appointed by the prime minister in council; all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 75

Executive Branch

Note: note: the governor general position is largely ceremonial
Cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among members of his/her own party sitting in Parliament
Chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Mary SIMON (since 26 July 2021)
Head of government: Prime Minister Mark CARNEY (since 14 March 2025)
Election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a 5-year term; after legislative elections, the governor general usually designates the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Commons as prime minister

National holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)
National color(s): red, white

National Heritage

Total world heritage sites: 22 (10 cultural, 11 natural, 1 mixed) (2021)
Selected world heritage site locales: L'Anse aux Meadows (c); Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (n); Dinosaur Provincial Park (n); Historic District of Old Quebec (c); Old Town Lunenburg (c); Wood Buffalo National Park (n); Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (c); Gros Morne National Park (n); Pimachiowin Aki (m)

Political parties: Bloc Québécois
Conservative Party of Canada or CPC
Green Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
New Democratic Party

Legislative Branch

Legislature name: Parliament of Canada - Parlement du Canada
Legislative structure: bicameral

National Anthem(s)

Title: "God Save the King"
History: royal anthem, as a Commonwealth country
Lyrics/music: unknown

National symbol(s): maple leaf, beaver
National coat of arms: The current design of the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada was adopted in 1921 and references the four nations that helped found Canada. England is represented with royal lions, a union flag, and a rose, and Scotland with a royal lion, a unicorn, and a thistle. Ireland’s symbols include a harp and a shamrock, and France’s symbols are a royal fleur-de-lis and a royal flag. The maple leaves are the Canadian national symbol. A red circle displays the motto Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam (Desiring a Better Country), and a blue ribbon displays A Mari usque ad Mare (From Sea to Sea).
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec, Saskatchewan, Yukon*

Legislative Branch Lower Chamber

Chamber name: House of Commons
Term in office: 4 years
Number of seats: 343 (all directly elected)
Electoral system: plurality/majority
Scope of elections: full renewal
Most recent election date: 4/28/2025
Expected date of next election: October 2029
Percentage of women in chamber: 30.3%
Parties elected and seats per party: Liberal Party (169); Conservative Party (144); Bloc Québécois (BQ) (22); Other (30)

Legislative Branch Upper Chamber

Chamber name: Senate
Number of seats: 105 (all appointed)
Percentage of women in chamber: 54.8%

Diplomatic Representation in the US

Fax: [1] (202) 682-7738
Chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001
Telephone: [1] (844) 880-6519
Trade office(s): Houston, Palo Alto (CA), San Diego; note - there are trade offices in the Consulates General
Chief of mission: Ambassador Kirsten HILLMAN (since 17 July 2020)
Consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
Email address and website: ccs.scc@international.gc.ca

https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/us-eu/washington.aspx?lang=eng

Diplomatic Representation from the US

Fax: [1] (613) 241-7845
Embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8
Telephone: [1] (613) 688-5335
Consulate(s): Winnipeg
Mailing address: 5480 Ottawa Place, Washington DC  20521-5480
Chief of mission: Ambassador Pete HOEKSTRA (since 29 April 2025)
Consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver
Email address and website: OttawaNIV@state.gov

https://ca.usembassy.gov/

International organisations: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, USMCA, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Legislature

CANADA · LOWER HOUSE

House of Commons

343 seats · hover a seat for the party

Total seats

343

Majority line

173

Largest party

Liberal Party

Parties

All political parties5 parties · 343 seats · click to dim in hemicycle

Upper house

CANADA · UPPER HOUSE

Senate

105 seats · hover a seat for the party

Total seats

105

Majority line

Largest party

Independent Senators Group

Parties

All political parties5 parties · 105 seats · click to dim in hemicycle

Next election

Last: 2025

Leaders

Current

CI
Charles III
- Head of StateSince 2022
MC
Mark Carney
- Head of GovernmentSince 2025

Bills

C-13 - An Act to implement the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

This bill would allow the United Kingdom to join the major trans-Pacific trade agreement that Canada already participates in.

Parliament of CanadaLast action 2026-05-06Sponsor: Hon. Maninder Sidhu