A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, it's neighbor to the south across an unfortified border.

In 1535 explorer Jacques Cartier heard the word "kanata". It was used to refer to the site of present day Quebec City. "Kanata" was a Huron-Iroquois word for "village" or "settlement".

The first time "Canada" was used as an official name was in 1791 describing the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada. In 1867, at the time of Confederation, the new country became known as Canada.

Canada is the second-largest country in world (after Russia) with ten Provinces, three Territories, and 33,100,000 people.

The July 1st holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day and on October 27, 1982, July 1st officially became known as "Canada Day".