Section A Exploring the World Text AA Brief Introduction to Canada Political System A federation comprising ten provinces and three territories,Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy,with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages both at the federal level and in the province of New Brunswick. Technologically advanced and industrialized,Canada maintains a diversified economy that is heavily reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade-particularly with the United States,with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs(such as health care,education,and welfare)and together collect more revenue than the federal government,an almost unique structure among federations in the world.Using its spending powers,the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas,such as the Canada Health Act,the provinces can opt out of these,but rarely do so in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. 大连理工大学出版社 大连理工大学出版社 Section A Exploring the World Text A A Brief Introduction to Canada Political System A federation comprising ten provinces and three territories, Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages both at the federal level and in the province of New Brunswick. Technologically advanced and industrialized, Canada maintains a diversified economy that is heavily reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade — particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship. The provinces are responsible for most of Canada’s social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the Canada Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these, but rarely do so in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces