Canada Country Guide

However, Canada also has its fair share of unsavoury history. Indigenous peoples (including the Inuit of the far north and members of Canada's First Nations) maintain that traditional lands were taken from them by force or subterfuge by previous governments. There have been some small measures to tackle their grievances: in 1993, a land claim settlement gave the Inuit control over a 350,000 sq km (135,135 sq miles) area of the Northwest Territories; in 1999, the federal government created the new territory of Nunavut from these and additional lands.

There is certainly room in Canada to accommodate these peoples: despite Canada's gigantic size, the country is sparsely populated. Most people congregate around urban centres; venturing into more remote rural areas, you may well have only the country's stunning scenery as your companion. Indeed, Canada is so beautifully diverse that it's easy to comprehend why so many people fought for possession of it.

During the 18th century, the Anglo-French war over Canada ended with the capitulation of New France to the English. The Americans made a number of efforts to seize control of Britain's Canadian territories after Britain's defeat in the American War of Independence, but failed. Canada now promotes itself as a country of peace, most notably in recent times in its opposition to the USA-led war against Iraq. Canada governs itself independently but still has the British monarch as its head of state, with relatively little dissent. These factors are typical of a country that somehow succeeds in unifying incredible range. After all, it spans six time zones and borders three oceans.