Lecture one A Birds-eye view of Canad 1.1 Brief Introduction of Canada Canada, sometimes called the Maple leaf land with the maple leaf as the symbol of the country, is the second largest country in the world in terms of size (9,970,610 sq km). It is a member of The group of Eight of leading economic powers, ranking along the united States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy Germany, Japan and russia. Canada plays an active role in interna tional affairs, often taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions as well as development programs. Its scenery of mountains, oceans, forests, lakes and prairies is spectacular. In annual quality-of-life surveys conducted by the united Nations each year, Canada has been rated for six times as having the best standard of living in the world due to its health care educatio environment, social welfare, social services, and so on. It is sometimes viv idly described as the paradise for the senior, the amusement park for the young, but the battle field for those who work. In contrast to its large physical size, strong economic potential and internationally recognized prestige, Canadas population is considerably small Its current population is about 31.6 million, almost the same as that of As an independent political entity, Canada is rather young, only 137 years old. IT was first given such a political status in 1867, when it was granted the title of the dominion of Canada by the british North American Act ratified by the British parliament Although Canada has been a member of the british Commonwealth, it has been inevitably influenced by American values and policies. Fo or example freedom of speech and freedom of information are much more valued in contemporary Canada than they are in britain. These values owe much to the American protection of such rights. However, Canada has never stopped trying to create something of its own and keep it for Canadian identity. For example the united States was founded on the idea of individualism with americans aspiring to"life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", while canadians chose to found a nation based on"peace, order and good government", indica ting that for Canadians the well-being and liberty of individuals must be sacrificed for the greater good of the community. Additionally, American society is described as a melting pot,, whereas Canadians tend to describe their society as"mosaic 1.2 Geography2 Lecture One A Bird’s-eye View of Canada 1.1 Brief Introduction of Canada Canada, sometimes called the Maple Leaf Land with the maple leaf as the symbol of the country, is the second largest country in the world in terms of size (9,970,610 sq km). It is a member of The Group of Eight of leading economic powers, ranking along the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Japan and Russia. Canada plays an active role in international affairs, often taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions as well as development programs. Its scenery of mountains, oceans, forests, lakes and prairies is spectacular. In annual quality-of-life surveys conducted by the United Nations each year, Canada has been rated for six times as having the best standard of living in the world due to its health care, education, clean environment, social welfare, social services, and so on. It is sometimes vividly described as the paradise for the senior, the amusement park for the young, but the battle field for those who work. In contrast to its large physical size, strong economic potential and internationally recognized prestige, Canada’s population is considerably small. Its current population is about 31.6 million, almost the same as that of Chongqing. As an independent political entity, Canada is rather young, only 137 years old. IT was first given such a political status in 1867, when it was granted the title of the Dominion of Canada by the British North American Act ratified by the British parliament. Although Canada has been a member of the British Commonwealth, it has been inevitably influenced by American values and policies. For example, freedom of speech and freedom of information are much more valued in contemporary Canada than they are in Britain. These values owe much to the American protection of such rights. However, Canada has never stopped trying to create something of its own and keep it for Canadian identity. For example, the United States was founded on the idea of individualism, with Americans aspiring to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, while Canadians chose to found a nation based on “peace, order and good government”, indicating that for Canadians the well-being and liberty of individuals must be sacrificed for the greater good of the community. Additionally, American society is described as a “melting pot”, whereas Canadians tend to describe their society as “mosaic”. 1.2 Geography