Canada is the second largest country in the world . It is the world's northernmost independent country , and occupies about half the territory of North America. It extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Pacific Ocean to the west and north to the Arctic Ocean , sharing border with the United States to the south and northwest. It is a decentralized federation of ten provinces and three territories , governed as a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. It was initially formed through the British Act of 1867 North America and called the Dominion of Canada.
The capital of Canada is Ottawa, seat of the national parlament and residence of the Governor General of Canada ( who exercises delegated by the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth II , head of state of Canada ) and premier minister Stephe Harper (head of government).
The territory occupied by aboriginal peoples such as the Inuit or first nations was discovered from the European point of view by the French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1534. Current nation has its origin in a French colony in the territory of what is today the city of Quebec . After a period of English colonization , the Canadian confederation was born of the union of three British colonies , which were made up of the territories of New France . These territories were conquered by the British in 1760. Today Canada is a federal state of ten provinces and three territories which gained independence from the United Kingdom in a peaceful process in the period from 1867 to 1982.
Originally a union of former French and British colonies , Canada is a monarchy and Commonwealth member of both the Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations and the Treaty Organisation (OTAN ) . Canada is officially a bilingual country with French language widespread in the eastern provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick, in Eastern Ontario and in particular along the western communities. The meaning of being a bilingual country in Canada refers to the services of the Federal Government . That is, the Federal Government has an obligation to provide services in both official languages of the country . Canadian citizens usually learn both languages while monolingualism in English and French is common. English is the language most widely used in most of the nation. The parliament has representatives of four major political parties.
Canada is an industrial nation and technologically advanced , largely self-sufficient in energy due to its relatively vast deposits of fossil fuels, nuclear power generation and hydropower. Its economy has traditionally been based on the abundance of natural resources and trade , particularly with the United States, a nation with which it has a long and extensive relationship. Despite currently having a broadly diversified economy , exploitation of natural resources is still an important factor for many regional economies.