The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement".

In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona. Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village, but the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this region as Canada.

Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories. In turn, these may be grouped into four main regions: Western Canada, Central Canada, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Canada ("Eastern Canada" refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together). Provinces have more autonomy than territories, having responsibility for social programs such as health care, education, and welfare. Together, the provinces collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the Canada Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these, but rarely do so in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.[

ECONOMY OF CANADA Canada has the eleventh-largest economy in the world (measured in US dollars at market exchange rates), is one of the world's wealthiest nations, and is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Group of Eight (G8). As with other developed nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three quarters of Canadians. Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of the primary sector, with the logging and oil industries being two of Canada's most important. Canada also has a sizable manufacturing sector, centred in Central Canada, with the automobile industry and aircraft industry especially important. With a long coastal line, Canada has the 8th largest commercial fishing and seafood industry in the world. Canada is one of the global leaders of the entertainment software industry. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The OECD provides data for example comparing labour productivity levels in the total economy of each member nation. In their 2011 report Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $CDN 1,720,748 million. Key industries The Canadian economy in 2012, composed of the industries below, had a relative weighting by value of GDP: 01.59 Agriculture forestry fishing and hunting 07.96 Mining quarrying and oil or gas extraction 02.46 Utilities 10.86 Manufacturing 05.41 Wholesale trade 05.41 Retail trade 04.20 Transportation and warehousing 03.31 Information and cultural industries 06.55 Finance and insurance 12.34 Real estate and rental and leasing 05.21 Professional scientific and technical services 00.76 Management of companies and enterprises

02.58 Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services 05.38 Educational services 07.03 Health care and social assistance 00.75 Arts entertainment and recreation 02.10 Accommodation and food services 02.04 Other services (except public administration) 06.90 Public administration

MAP OF CANADA . Canada occupies most of northern North America , sharing land borders with the contiguous United States to the south and with state and territory of Alaska to the northwest, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, north bordering the Arctic Ocean. By total area (including its waters ) , is the second largest in the world, after Russia . For its land area ranks fourth ( land area is the total area minus the area of lakes and rivers). The population density , 3.3 inhabitants per square kilometer, is among the lowest in the world. The most densely populated part of the country is the area of Quebec City and Windsor corridor (located in southern Quebec and Ontario ) to the shore of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River . The Niagara Falls are among the most plentiful water falls in the world, plus they provide hydropower. Canada has a long coastline to the east , north and west , and from the last glacial period has eight distinct forest regions , including a large area of the Canadian Shield taiga . The vastness and variety of geography , ecology , vegetation and relief of Canada , have led to a wide variety of climates throughout the country. Also due to its large size , Canada has more lakes than any other country , so it also contains much of the world's freshwater . There are also fresh-water glaciers which in the Rockies and the Coast Mountains . The average temperature in summer and winter vary by location . Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country, especially in the interior provinces and prairie , where you experience a continental climate , with average daily temperatures of -15 C , but can drop below -40 C .126 in landlocked regions , snow can cover the ground for almost six months (more in the north) . Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate with

a warm but rainy winter . In the east and west coasts , average temperatures generally do not exceed 20 C , while between the coasts , the average summer high temperature ranges between 25 and 30 C , with occasional heat waves inside exceeding 40 C.127 FLORA AND FAUNA Given its enormous size , the country has a varied topography and important climatic differences , providing a very diverse flora and fauna . Much of the Canadian territory is covered by forests of timber , highlighting pine, cedar and maple and there are also large areas dominated by grasslands. The fauna is very similar to that of northern Europe and Asia , so bears, wolves , coyotes , cougars can be found , among other carnivorous animals . In the Arctic wildlife is typical of the tundra and is home to many seals and polar bears , while flora mosses and lichens predominate. In some regions may see beavers, porcupines , moles and many rodents. Some areas of Canada are also home to antelope, deer and elk.