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Monday, June 10, 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. It is a sparsely inhabited country of 40 million people, the vast majority residing south of the 55th parallel in urban areas. 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 "called upon" 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 gender equality. 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.

A developed country, Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Recognized as a middle power, Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries. Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums. (Full article...)

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Colonel Benjamin Church, the "Father of American ranging"

The Raid on Grand Pré was the major action of a raiding expedition conducted by the New England militia Colonel Benjamin Church against French Acadia in June 1704, during Queen Anne's War. The expedition was allegedly in retaliation for a French and Indian raid against the Massachusetts frontier community of Deerfield earlier that year. (Full article...)

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Brian David Hill (born 29 December 1982) is a S13 Canadian para-swimmer who has competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 Summer Paralympics and the 2007 Parapan American Games. He had won five gold medals, three silver medals and 3 bronze medals in his international career. Hill started swimming as a child and competitive swimming at the age of nine. He has won the British Columbia Blind Sports Award and Athlete of the Year Award. (Full article...)

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Tuktoyaktuk in 2010 taken from ice road to Inuvik

Credit: Dlogic

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The coat of arms of Canada (French: Armoiries du Canada), also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (French: armoiries royales du Canada) or, formally, as the Arms of His Majesty The King in Right of Canada (French: Armoiries de Sa Majesté Le Roi du Canada), is the arms of dominion of the Canadian monarch and, thus, also the official coat of arms of Canada. In use since 1921, it is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version. (Full article...)

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a person in a military uniform wearing a United Nations blue helmet — Canadian peacekeeper in 1976 wearing the distinctive flag of Canada and UN blue helmet

Canada has served in over 50 peacekeeping missions, including every United Nations (UN) peacekeeping effort from its inception until 1989. More than 125,000 Canadians have served in international peacekeeping operations, with approximately 130 Canadians having died during these operations. Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its peacekeeping efforts. (Full article...)

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Dickson Falls, Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
Credit: Danielle Langlois.

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Current events

May 31, 2024 –: Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton dies in prison after being attacked by another inmate earlier this month. (AP)
May 21, 2024 –: Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is reported to be on life support after being physically attacked in a prison in Port-Cartier, Quebec. (Vancouver Sun)
May 18, 2024 –: Three people are killed and five others are injured in a boat collision on Bobs Lake in Ontario, Canada. (CBC News)
May 17, 2024 –: A child in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, dies of measles, the province's first such death since 1989. (CBC News); The RCMP identifies the killer of four people in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1976 and 1977 as American serial rapist Gary Allen Srery, who died in prison in 2011. (CFCN-TV)
May 16, 2024 – Israel–Hamas war: Global Affairs Canada announces sanctions on four "extremist" Israeli settlers in the West Bank for engaging in violence against Palestinian civilians and their property. (CBC News)

Past Canadian events

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... that Tory MP John Solomon Cartwright refused a request by the governor-general of the Province of Canada to join the government, because he would not sit in Cabinet with radical Francis Hincks?
... that according to Modern Times, a San Francisco–based bookstore collective, if there was only one book that you read in 1975 it had to be Canadian author and activist Helen Potrebenko's Taxi!?
... that the Canadian House of Commons held a take-note debate on the discovery of the graves of more than 200 Indigenous children near Kamloops Indian Residential School in 2021?
... that Theo Benedet is the first offensive lineman to be named the best Canadian university football lineman two years in a row?
... that despite not owning a road bike the year before, Nickolas Zukowsky placed third in the 2016 Canadian National Junior Road Race Championships?
... that in 2020 when Persian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi performed in Written on Skin in Cologne, his "Luciferian charm" and "iridescent voice" were noted?
... that Winter Renouf, a British member of the Indian Civil Service, thought that farmers in the Punjab should grow Canadian wheat varieties?

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The Prince of Wales Trophy, also known as the Wales Trophy, is a team award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL). Named for Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), it has been awarded for different accomplishments throughout its history. (Full article...)

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