Canada,
the second largest country in the world, is situated
in the northern half of North America. Canada is both
multicultural and multilingual. It has two official
languages- English and French. It is made up of 10
provinces and three territories. Canada is known for
its very cold winter climate. It can even reach as
low as -50 degrees Celsius. Some Northern parts are
so freezing they are impossible to live in.
Three of the largest cities…
MONTREAL
One
of the most significant things about Montreal is their
languages. Being in Quebec, its official languages
are English AND French. Most people are bilingual.
Montreal is known for its night-life and many festivals.
One of the most popular is the Jazz Festival which
happens during the summer, when there are artists
from around the world giving concerts. Another interesting
thing is the “Underground City”. Because its so cold
there is underground shopping/restaurants (over 1,600
shops, restaurants, offices, and businesses, as well
as metro stations, transportation terminals, and tunnels
extending all over downtown) you can practically make
your way across the city without even stepping outside.
In 1976 the Summer Olymips were held in Montreal and
the Olympic Stadium is still used for training.
TORONTO
Toronto
is the provincial capital of Ontario and one of the
biggest economic centers of Canada. One of the most
popular tourist attractions is the CN Tower which
boasts 533.33 meters in height. It is the tallest
free standing structure in the world. Residents of
Toronto are called Torontonians or in French they
are called Torontois. Toronto is part of the “Golden
Horseshoe”, which is a densely populated area that
contains one quarter of the Canadian population. Toronto
is one of the world’s most multicultural cities. The
Roger’s Center, formerly know as the SkyDome, was
the world’s first sporting arena to have a retractable
roof. Two notable teams in Toronto play there, the
Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto Argonauts. Due to
the colder climate, Toronto is equipped with many
underground shopping areas.
VANCOUVER
Vancouver,
in British Columbia is a huge metropolitan city in
Canada. It’s known for it’s beauty and it has many
parks. Its National Park is the second largest in
North America. Its views are also amazing. On a clear
day you can see Mount Baker in Washington and Vancouver
Island. Vancouver’s climate is temperate. In the summer
it’s sunny and in the winter it’s rainy. This is one
of the reasons it was ranked one of the top cities
in the world to live in. Multiculturalism is also
a big factor. Vancouver has one of the largest Chinese
populations in Canada as well as the second largest
Chinatown in North America.
