Cities of Canada

Introduction

Tourism in Russia is developing rapidly. Russian people visit Europe and Asia. But very few people go to Canada because people know little about it. If tourists knew more about the beauty, riches and things to do Canada, more people would want to visit this country.

The aim of the work is to reveal the character of Canadian cities, attract attention of Russian people to this country.

To do this, we have set the following tasks:

to study information about the main cities of Canada and their attractions;

to make a presentation.

Canada is one of the most developed countries in the world. The United Nations indicated this country eight times during the last years as the best country to live in, based on a series of criteria, including life standard, security, social system etc.

When you arrive in Canada, you will have the possibilities to use a lot of governmental programs, created especially to help you during your adaptation period; furthermore, all the people will treat you as equal as all the other people.

Canada is a social country — there are only a few countries in the world that take care so well for their citizens and permanent residents.

Canadians are polite and with good will. They may not be high-educated, but they are always ready to help you and they are really kind-hearted. All the employees in all kind of institutions are extremely polite and cooperative.

If you have any more serious problem, the police will arrive in a few minutes and will make the necessary to resolve the problem.

1. General information about geography and population of Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. The ten provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The three territories are Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.

Alberta

Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the US state of Montana to the south. Alberta is the largest producer of conventional crude oil, synthetic crude, natural gas and gas products in the country. Alberta is one of the prime producers of plains buffalo for the consumer market. Sheep for wool and mutton are also raised.

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada’s provinces and is known for its natural beauty. British Columbia’s economy is largely resource-based. British Columbia has a resource dominated economy, centered on the forestry industry but also with increasing importance in mining.

Manitoba

Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province’s economy; other major industries are transportation, manufacturing, mining, forestry, energy, and tourism. Manitoba has two Class I railways.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada’s three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual (English-French). The rural primary economy is best known for forestry, mining, mixed farming, and fishing. Heavy metals, including lead and zinc, are mined in the north around Bathurst.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Service industries accounted for the largest share of gross domestic product, especially financial services, health care and public administration. Other significant industries are mining, oil production and manufacturing.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is the most populous province of the four in Atlantic Canada. Nova Scotia’s traditionally resource-based economy has become more diverse in recent decades. Mining, especially of gypsum and salt and to a lesser extent silica, peat and barite, is also a significant sector. In the central part of Nova Scotia, lumber and paper industries are responsible for much of the employment opportunities.

Ontario

Ontario is one of the provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada’s most populous province or territory and fourth largest in total area. Ontario’s rivers, including its share of the Niagara River, make it rich in hydroelectric energy. Important products include motor vehicles, iron, steel, food, electrical appliances, machinery, chemicals, and paper.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population. The provincial economy is dominated by the seasonal industries of agriculture, tourism, and the fishery. The province is limited in terms of heavy industry and manufacturing.

Quebec

Quebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level. Quebec has an advanced, market-based and open economy. Quebec is also a major player in several leading-edge industries including aerospace, information technologies and software and multimedia. Agra-food industry plays an important role in the economy of Quebec.

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada. Residents primarily live in the southern half of the province. Saskatchewan’s economy is associated with agriculture. Saskatchewan grows a large portion of Canada’s grain. Wheat is the most familiar crop and the one most often associated with the province but other grains like canola, flax, rye, oats, peas, lentils, canary seed, and barley are also produced.

Canada’s aboriginal population is growing at almost twice the national rate, and 3.8% of Canada’s population claimed aboriginal identity in 2006. Another 16.2% of the population belonged to a non-aboriginal visible minority. The largest visible minority groups in Canada are South Asian (4.0%), Chinese (3.9%) and Black (2.5%).Nearly 60% of new immigrants come from Asia (including the Middle East).The leading emigrating countries to Canada were China, Philippines and India.

Canada’s two official languages are Canadian English and Canadian French. English and French have equal status in federal courts, Parliament, and in all federal institutions. Approximately 98% of Canadians speak English or French: 57.8% speak English only, 22.1% speak French only, and 17.4% speak both.

Sports in Canada

There are many contests that Canada value, the most common are Ice hockey, Lacrosse, Canadian football, basketball, soccer, curling and baseball, with Ice hockey and Lacrosse being the official winter and summer sports, respectively.

Ice hockey, referred to as simply «hockey», is Canada’s most prevalent winter sport, its most popular spectator sport, and its most successful sport in international competition. It is Canada’s official national winter sport. Canadian football is Canada’s second most popular spectator sport.

Major multi-sport events in Canada include the 2010 Winter Olympics. At the summer games, the majority of Canada’s medals come from the sports of athletic, aquatics, rowing and canoeing.

At the winter games, Canada is usually one of the top nations in terms of medals won. Canada is traditionally strong in the sports of ice hockey, speed skating, figure skating and every Canadian men’s and women’s curling teams have won medals since the sport was added to the Olympic program.

2. Ontario

Ontario is one of the provinces of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada’s most populous province and fourth largest in total area. It is home to the nation’s most populous city, Toronto, and the nation’s capital, Ottawa.

Ontario is sometimes conceptually divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontario’s population and its arable land is located in the south. In contrast, the northern three-quarters of Ontario is sparsely populated.

Despite the absence of any mountainous terrain in the province, there are large areas of uplands, particularly within the Canadian Shield which traverses the province from northwest to southeast and also above the Niagara Escarpment which crosses the south. The highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 meters (2,274 ft) above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario.

The Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87% of the surface area of the province; conversely Southern Ontario contains 94% of the population.

Toronto.

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. Toronto is one of the world’s most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada. As Canada’s commercial capital and one of the top financial centers in the world the world’s seventh largest in terms of market value. The cost of living in Toronto was ranked highest in Canada in 2011.

Geography

Toronto covers an area of 630 square kilometers. The city is intersected by three rivers and numerous tributaries: the Humber River in the west end and the Don River east of downtown at opposite ends of the Toronto Harbour, and the Rouge River at the city’s eastern limits. The many creeks and rivers cutting from north toward the lake created large tracts of densely forested ravines, and provide ideal sites for parks and recreational trails. Deep ravines prove useful for draining the city’s vast storm sewer system during heavy rains, but some sections, particularly near the Don River are prone to sudden, heavy floods.

Climate

It has a humid continental climate with warm, humid summers and cold winters. The denser urban scope makes for warmer nights year around and is not as cold throughout the winter than surrounding areas however, it can be noticeably cooler on many spring and early summer afternoons under the influence of a lake breeze.

Toronto winters sometimes feature short cold snaps where maximum temperatures remain below ?10 °C, often made to feel colder by wind chill. Snowstorms, sometimes mixed with ice and rain can disrupt work and travel schedules, accumulating snow can fall any time from November until mid-April. Summer in Toronto is characterized by long stretches of humid weather. Usually in the range from 23 °C to 31, daytime temperatures occasionally surpass 35 °C accompanied by high humidity making it feel oppressive during these brief periods of hot weather. Spring and autumn are transitional seasons with generally mild or cool temperatures with alternating dry and wet periods.

Architecture of Toronto.

Toronto has traditionally been a peripheral city in the architectural world, embracing the styles and ideas developed in Europe and the United States with only limited local variation.

Toronto is home to a variety of museums of varied styles. The Hockey Hall of Fame is housed in a Beaux-Arts building designed by Frank Darling. Several of Canada’s most prominent museums are located in Toronto. The Royal Ontario Museum is Canada’s largest.

One of the most common institutions in Toronto are the large number of churches and other houses of worship. Some very early churches were in the Georgian style, Gothic Revival became the dominant. Roman Catholic churches were also most often Gothic, though Italianate and Baroque churches were also erected.

Culture

Toronto is a major scene for theatre and other performing arts, with more than fifty ballet and dance companies, six opera companies, two symphony orchestras and a host of theatres. Ontario Place features the world’s first permanent IMAX movie theatre, the Cinesphere, as well as the Molson Amphitheatre, an open-air venue for large-scale music concerts. Each summer, the Canadian Stage Company presents an outdoor Shakespeare production in Toronto’s High Park called «Dream in High Park» .

The Distillery District is a pedestrian village containing boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, artist studios and small breweries, including the well-known Mill Street Brewery.

The production of domestic and foreign film and television is a major local industry. The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most important annual events for the international film industry. Europe’s largest film studio, Pinewood Studios Group of London, operates Pinewood Toronto Studios in west-end Toronto.

Toronto’s Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival takes place from mid-July to early August of every summer, and is one of North America’s largest street festivals.

Pride Week in Toronto takes place in late June, and is one of the largest LGBT festivals in the world. One of the largest events in the city, it attracts more than one million people from around the world.

Main attractions

Canadian National Tower

Toronto’s most famous landmark is the CN Tower, a 553 meter tall steel and concrete transmission tower and observation deck, which is one of the tallest structures in the world.

Sports stadium

The Rogers Centre is the world’s first sporting arena to feature a fully retractable roof. It was built to replace the legendary Maple Leaf Gardens.

City Hall

Toronto’s City Hall is one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks. Directly in front of City Hall is Nathan Phillips Square, a public space that frequently houses concerts, art displays, a weekly farmers' market, and other public events. It is also the site of a reflecting pool that, during the winter, becomes a popular skating rink.

Yonge-Dundas Square

Yonge-Dundas Square is the city’s newest and flashiest public square, located across the street from the Toronto Eaton Centre, a large, popular shopping mall long enough to have Toronto Transit Commission subway stops at both the northern and southern ends of the mall.

The Toronto Islands

The Toronto Islands form part of the largest car-free urban community in North America. Accessible by ferry, «the Islands» include a public park and a children’s amusement park, Centreville. The city has several large forested urban parks, the best known being High Park to the west of downtown.

Toronto’s oldest cathedrals

The Roman Catholic St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Anglican St. James' Cathedral are both on Church Street.

The Distillery District

Distillery District is a collection of old and restored industrial buildings from the 19th century which now feature artworks and historical artifacts from Toronto’s early industrial past.

Casa Loma

Casa Loma, Spanish for «Hill House», is a castle overlooking downtown Toronto, it is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions.

Royal Ontario Museum

It is one of the largest museums in North America, welcoming over a million visitors every year.

St. Lawrence Market

It is one of two major markets in Toronto, the other being Kensington Market. It features two buildings, both on the west side of Front St. East and Jarvis St. Each building holds different purposes: St. Lawrence Market North, on the north side of Front St, which hosts weekly farmer’s markets and antique markets. St. Lawrence Market South, on the south side of Front St, which hosts restaurants, the St. Lawrence Market Gallery, and a variety of areas to shop for food, such as delis and bakeries, as well as meat shops.

Hockey Hall of Fame

Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and NHL trophy, including the Stanley Cup.

Art Gallery of Ontario

Its collection includes more than 80,000 works spanning the 1st century to the present-day. The gallery has 45,000 square metres (480,000 sq ft) of physical space, making it one of the largest galleries in North America.

Toronto Zoo

The Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada. Some animals are displayed indoors in tropical pavilions and outdoors in what would be their naturalistic environments, with viewing at many levels. The zoo is currently home to over 16,000 animals representing over 491 species.

Little Glenn

Little Glenn is a human-size bronze statue of a young working-class boy pulling a 6.7 m stone obelisk in a four-wheeled cart. On the obelisk are carved the words «To serve and protect», the motto of the police force of Toronto, Canada.

Lounge & Restaurant Panorama

Panorama Lounge & Restaurant is the highest outdoor patio Canada. It is on the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre.

Education

Toronto is home to a number of post-secondary academic institutions. The University of Toronto, established in 1827, is the oldest university in Ontario and a leading public research institution with two satellite campuses. It is a worldwide leader in several fields, including biomedical research.

The Toronto District School Board operates 558 public schools. Of these, 451 are elementary and 102 are secondary (high) schools.

Toronto Public Library is the largest public library system in Canada and the most widely used, consisting of 99 branches with more than 11 million items in its collection.

Health and medicine

Toronto is home to at least 20 public hospitals.

Toronto’s Discovery District is the centre of research in biomedicine. It is also home to the Medical and Related Sciences Centre.

Transportation

The Toronto Transit Commission is the third largest public transit system in North America. The backbone of its public transport network is the Toronto subway and RT, which includes three heavy-rail rapid transit lines and a mainly elevated light-metro rapid transit line. The TTC also operates an extensive network of buses and streetcars.

Ottawa.

Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It is the second largest city in the Province of Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country. It is also rated the second cleanest city in Canada, and third cleanest city in the world.

Geography

Ottawa is situated on the south bank of the Ottawa River, and contains the mouths of the Rideau River and Rideau Canal. Located on a major, yet mostly dormant fault line, Ottawa is occasionally struck by earthquakes. Around the main urban area is an extensive greenbelt, administered by the National Capital Commission for conservation and leisure, and comprising mostly forest, farmland and marshland.

Climate

Ottawa has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons.

Summers are warm and humid in Ottawa. Daytime temperatures of 30 °C or higher are commonplace. Snow and ice are dominant during the winter season. Days well above freezing and nights below ?30 °C both occur in the winter. Spring and fall are variable, prone to extremes in temperature and unpredictable swings in conditions.

Architecture of Ottawa

A city dominated by government bureaucrats, much of its architecture tends to be formalistic and functional. However, the city is also marked by Romantic and Picturesque styles of architecture such as the Parliament Building’s gothic revival architecture.

The general stereotype of Ottawa architecture is that it is staid and unambitious.

Culture

Modern thoroughfares are home to many boutiques, museums, theaters, galleries, landmarks and memorials, while dominated by eating establishments, cafes, bars and nightclubs. As Canada’s capital, Ottawa has played host to a number of significant cultural events in Canadian history, including the first visit of the reigning Canadian sovereign-King George VI, with his consort, Queen Elizabeth-to his parliament, on 19 May 1939.

Day was marked with a large celebration on 8 May 1945. In 2010, Ottawa’s Festival industry received the IFEA «World Festival and Event City Award» for the category of North American cities with a population between 500,000 and 1,000,000.

Main attractions

Canadian Children’s Museum

The CCM is among the most popular museums in the country, attracting about half a million visitors each year. It is also Canada’s largest exhibition centre designed specifically for children up to age 14 and their adult companions.

National Gallery of Canada

The Gallery has a large and varied collection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and photographs. The museum features Canadian, Native and Inuit art, American and European prints and drawings, moderns and contemporary art and photographs.

Dow’s Lake

It is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal. n May, the surrounding park, Commissioner’s Park, displays tulips planted by the National Capital Commission for the annual Canadian Tulip Festival. Over 50 varieties and approximately 300,000 tulips bloom each May along the Rideau Canal. During the winter, Dow’s Lake freezes and becomes part of the world’s longest skating rink and one of the primary sites of the Winterlude festival in February, with events such as the 'bed races' and 'waiter races' on the ice.

The Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada’s circulation coins and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and tokens.

STV Black Jack

Black Jack was the first ship in service with Bytown Brigantine, Inc., a charitable organization devoted to providing sail training adventure for youth. This 87-foot (27 m) brigantine is home to 15 youth between the ages of 12 and 15 during the summer months. Campers are swept up in the training and challenge it takes to sail a tall ship.

Music and Beyond

Music and Beyond is a new Canadian summer music festival, featuring classical music in its varying formations as well as as well as a spectrum of art forms and cultural disciplines. Music and Beyond is also a not-for-profit organization with charitable status. Music and Beyond attracts audiences from around the world, as it maintains a broad spectrum of high calibre performers.

Library and Archives Canada

Library and Archives Canada is a national memory institution. One of its important roles includes serving as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.

The Canadian Museum of Nature

The Canadian Museum of Nature is a natural history museum. Its collections include all aspects of the intersection of human society and nature, from gardening to gene-splicing.

The Canadian War Museum (CWM)

The Canadian War Museum (CWM) is Canada’s national museum of military history. There is an open storage area displaying large objects from the Museum’s collection, from naval guns to tanks, from motorcycles to jet aircraft. Much of the Museum’s public exhibition space is devoted to its Canadian Experience Galleries.

Watson’s Mill

Watson’s Mill is a historic gristmill in Manotick. The mill remained in operation until 1972 when it was sold to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority. They restored the mill to its 1860 condition and turned it into a museum and gift shop.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization

The Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada’s national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada. The Museum’s primary purpose is to collect, study, preserve and present material objects that illuminate the human history of Canada and the cultural diversity of its people.

Maman

Maman (1999) is a sculpture by the artist Louise Bourgeois. The sculpture, which resembles a spider, is amongst the world’s largest and most impressive, measuring over 30ft high and over 33ft wide, with a sac containing 26 marble eggs. Its abdomen and thorax are made up of ribbed bronze.

Education

Ottawa is known as one of the most educated cities in Canada, with over half the population having graduated from or university. The city has two main public universities Carleton University and University of Ottawa, and two main public colleges Algonquin College and La Cite collegiate. Ottawa has the highest per capita concentration of engineers, scientists, and residents with PhDs in Canada.

Transportation

Ottawa is served by a number of airlines as well as two main regional airports Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, and Ottawa/Carp Airport. The city is also served by inter-city passenger rail service at the Ottawa Train Station by Via Rail, and inter-city bus service operating out of the Ottawa Bus Central Station.

Sports

Sport in Ottawa has a history dating back to the 19th century. Ottawa is currently home to one professional sports team, the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. Several non-professional teams also play in Ottawa, including the Ottawa 67's junior hockey team. The city is home to an assortment of amateur organized team sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, curling, hurling and horse racing. Casual recreational activities, such as skating, cycling, hiking, sailing, golfing, skiing and fishing are also popular.

Hamilton.

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe.

Geography

Hamilton is located in Southern Ontario on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of Lake Ontario; most of the city, including the downtown section, is on the south shore.

Climate

Hamilton’s climate is humid-continental, characterized by changeable weather patterns. With a July average of exactly 22.0 °C. The airport’s open, rural location and higher altitude results in lower temperatures, generally windier conditions and higher snowfall amounts than lower, built-up areas of the city.

Culture

Hamilton has quite an active theatre scene, with the professional company Theatre Aquarius, plus long-time amateur companies, the Players' Guild of Hamilton and Hamilton Theatre Inc. Growth in the arts and culture sector has garnered high level media attention for Hamilton. The second Friday of every month there’s a James North Art Crawl where people experience many flavors of art and stroll the lively sidewalks and savory the tastes of nearby cafes and restaurants.

Main attractions

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is a Canadian aviation museum located at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport near Hamilton. The museum has 36 military jets, propeller-driven aircraft and helicopters on display.

HMCS Haida (G63)

HMCS Haida (G63) is a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1943;1963. Haida sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian warship. She is also the only surviving Tribal-class destroyer out of 27 vessels. She now serves as a museum ship on the waterfront of Hamilton.

Dundurn Castle

Dundurn Castle is a historic neoclassical mansion on York Boulevard in Hamilton. he seventy-two room castle featured the latest conveniences of gas lighting and running water. The park includes Hamilton Military Museum, which is housed in an outbuilding which was relocated when York Street was widened as York Boulevard in the 1970s. The Cockpit Theatre occasionally housed outdoor events and dramas.

Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG)

It is one of the major tourist attractions between Niagara Falls and Toronto, as well as a significant local and regional horticultural, education, conservation and scientific resource. The 980 hectares of nature sanctuary owned by Royal Botanical Gardens is considered the plant biodiversity hotspot for Canada, with a very high proportion of the wild plants of Canada in one area; is an Important Bird Area according to Bird Studies Canada; and is part of the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve.

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian junior football history. It includes a gift shop and the Hall recently opened a website.

African Lion Safari

African Lion Safari is a family-owned safari park situated in Hamilton. It includes more than 1,000 animals, representing over 100 species of mammals and birds from across the globe. Guests may tour seven game reserves traversed via tour buses or the visitors' own vehicles where animals roam freely in large contained areas. Accompanying the game reserves is a large walking section where hundreds of exotic birds and primates, as well as the park’s herd of Asian Elephants, are on display.

Cathedral of Christ the King

Cathedral of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic church in Hamilton. Christ the King Cathedral is the home of many activities for Roman Catholic schools within the diocese, such as Confirmation retreats and other religious activities for school — aged children and adults alike. The music department presents approximately 5 concerts per year of various choirs and orchestras.

Art Gallery of Hamilton

Art Gallery of Hamilton is located in the heart of downtown Hamilton on King Street West and is one of Canada’s oldest galleries with a collection of over 9,000 works of art. The AGH primary collection is based on Canadian historical, Canadian contemporary and European historical art. Each year, the Gallery organizes hosts and/or circulates approximately 25−30 exhibitions throughout the world.

The McMaster Museum of Art

The McMaster Museum of Art is a non-profit public art gallery at McMaster University in Hamilton. It offers a year-round program of changing exhibits (12−15) of historical, modern and contemporary art in its five galleries. It also presents complementary public events such as artist talks, lectures, workshops, school and family programs, and panel discussions.

Education

Hamilton is home to several post-secondary institutions that have created numerous direct and indirect jobs in education and research. Public education for students from kindergarten through high school is administered by three school boards.

Hamilton is home to two think tanks, the Centre for Cultural Renewal and Cardus, which deals with social architecture, culture, urban logy, economics and education and also publishes the LexView Policy Journal and Comment Magazine.

Sports

Hamilton was the host of Canada’s first major international athletic event, the first Commonwealth Games in 1930.

Hamilton has representation in two professional sports leagues, the Canadian Football League and the American Hockey League. Its major sports complexes include Ivor Wynne Stadium and Copps Coliseum.

In addition to team sports, Hamilton is also home to an auto race track.

3. Quebec

Quebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level. Quebec is Canada’s largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division.

Tourism plays an important role in the economy of Quebec. Tourism represents 2.5% of Quebec’s GDP and nearly 400,000 people are employed in the tourism sector. The province of Quebec has 22 tourist regions, each of which presents its geography, its history and culture.

The province of Quebec has over 400 museums including the Musйe des beaux-arts de Montrйal, which is the oldest museum in Canada and one of the most important art institutions.

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the fifteenth largest in North America. French is the city’s official language.

Montreal is consistently rated as one of the world’s most livable cities, was called «Canada's Cultural Capital». Today it continues as an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, culture, tourism, film and world affairs.

Geography

Montreal is located in the southwest of the province of Quebec. The city proper covers most of the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, a three-head hill called Mount Royal, topped at 232 m above sea level.

Climate

Montreal lies at the confluence of several climatic regions and enjoys four distinct seasons. Usually, the climate is classified as humid continental or hemiboreal. Montreal’s summers are warm, at times hot and humid, with average high temperatures of 26 °C (and low temperatures of 16 °C; temperatures frequently exceed 30 °C. September is one of the mildest months in the city, with highs of 20 °C and lows 9 °C; and frost usually does not arrive before the first week of October, when the flamboyant colors of fall settle. October varies dramatically: Indian summers can bring stretches of many days around 22 °C or even warmer, while some isolated snowflakes and some nights around ?3 °C or colder are common towards the end of the month. Winter in Montreal usually brings very cold, snowy, windy, and, at times, icy weather, with an average high temperature of ?6 °C and low of ?15 °C in January.

Architecture

Today there are also many historic buildings in Old Montreal still in their original form: Notre-Dame de Montrйal Basilica, Bonsecours Market, and the impressive 19th century headquarters of all major Canadian banks on St. James Street.

The Montreal Metro is filled with a profusion of public artwork by some of the biggest names in Quebec culture. The design and ornamentation of each station in the Metro system is unique.

Montreal’s Underground City is the set of interconnected complexes (both above and below ground) in and around Downtown Montreal.

Culture

The city is Canada’s centre for French language television productions, radio, theatre, film, multimedia and print publishing. Montreal’s many cultural communities have given it a distinct local culture.

The city has also produced much talent in the fields of visual arts, theatre, music, and dance. Another distinctive characteristic of Montreal culture life is to be found in the animation of its downtown, particularly during summer, prompted by cultural and social events, particularly festivals.

Main attractions

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a major museum in Montreal. It is Montreal’s largest museum and is amongst the most prominent in Canada.

The Musйe d’art contemporain de Montrйal

The Musйe d’art contemporain de Montrйal is a contemporary art museum in the Place des Arts complex, Montreal. The collection includes over 7,000 works of art by more than 1,500 artists, focusing on contemporary art from Quebec in particular and Canada in general, as well as important international artists. Its collections include contemporary paintings, sculptures, photographs, installation, video and works on paper.

Canadian Centre for Architecture

Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) is a museum of architecture and research centre in what was the Golden Square Mile in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Most of the rooms of the Shaughnessy mansion have been restored to their original 1874 state. The centre offers tours adapted to specific groups and educational programs for children.

The Festival International de Jazz de Montrйal

The Festival International de Jazz de Montrйal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world’s largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 artists from 30-odd countries, more than 650 concerts, and welcomes close to 2.5 million visitors (34% of whom are tourists) as well as 400 accredited journalists. A major part of the city’s downtown core is closed to traffic for ten days, as free outdoor shows are open to the public and held on many stages at the same time, from noon till midnight.

The Montreal Botanical Garden

The Montreal Botanical Garden is a large botanical garden in Montreal comprising 75 hectares (190 acres) of thematic gardens and greenhouses. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2008 as it is considered to be one of the most important botanical gardens in the world due to the extent of its collections and facilities.

Pointe-а-Calliиre Museum

Pointe-а-Calliиre Museum is the Montreal museum of archaeology and history located in Old Montreal. Set atop the city’s birthplace, the Museum shows collections of artefacts from the First Nations of the Montreal region that illustrate how various cultures coexisted and interacted

Place des Arts

Place des Arts is a major performing arts centre in Montreal. His wealth of theatres permits the staging of opera, symphony, ballet and other dance, chamber music, choral music, theatre, film presentation, and various other presentations and ceremonies.

The McCord Museum

The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history. This collection of 15,800 objects documents many aspects of the ways of life, arts, cultures and traditions of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada.

Sports

Sports in Montreal have played a major role of the city’s history. Montreal is best known for being home to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, which are currently the city’s only team in the Big Four sports leagues.

Other professional teams in Montreal include the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League and the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer.

Montreal has become one of the top boxing cities in the world, hosting the third most events in North America, only behind Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

Education

With access to six universities and twelve junior colleges in an 8 kilometer radius, Montreal, has the highest proportion of post-secondary students of all major cities in North America. This represents roughly 248,000 post-secondary students, one of the largest numbers in the world.

High school graduates who wish to go on to university must first complete two years of college (as an alternative, some students spend two years in American prep school)

Transportation

Like many major cities, Montreal has a problem with vehicular traffic congestion, especially from cities in the west.

Montreal has two international airports, one for passenger flights only, and the other for cargo. VIA Rail, which is headquartered in Montreal, provides rail service to other cities in Canada, particularly to Quebec City and Toronto.

Public local transport is served by a network of buses, subways, and commuter trains that extend across and off the island.

4. Alberta

Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the US state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single US state and is also one of only two provinces that are landlocked.

Alberta’s capital city, Edmonton, is located approximately in the geographic centre of the province. It is the most northerly major city in Canada, and serves as a gateway and hub for resource development in northern Canada.

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located in the grassland and parkland natural regions of Alberta.

As of 2011, the City of Calgary had a population of 1,096,833 and a metropolitan population of 1,214,839, making it the largest city in Alberta, and the third-largest municipality and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.

Economic activity in Calgary is mostly centered on the petroleum industry and agriculture. In 1988, Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games.

Geography

Calgary is located at the transition zone between the Canadian Rockies foothills and the Canadian Prairies. There are two major rivers that run through the city. The city is large in physical area, consisting of an inner city surrounded by communities of various density.

The city has undertaken numerous land annexation procedures over the years to keep up with growth.

Climate

Calgary experiences a dry humid continental climate with long, cold, dry, but highly variable winters and short, moderately warm summers. The climate is greatly influenced by the city’s elevation and proximity to the Rocky Mountains.

Calgary’s winters can be uncomfortably cold; but warm, dry Chinook winds routinely blow into the city from over the mountains during the winter months, giving Calgarians a break from the cold. As a consequence of Calgary’s high elevation and aridity, summer evenings can be very cool. The average summer minimum temperature drops to 8 °C.

Culture

Calgary has a number of multicultural areas. The district is home to many ethnic restaurants and stores. The nightlife and the availability of cultural venues in these areas has gradually begun to evolve as a result. The city is also home to a number of theatre companies.

Main attractions

The Calgary Public Library

The Calgary Public Library is a distributed library system featuring 18 branch locations including the Central Library. It is the second most used system in Canada and the sixth most used library system in North America.

Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium

Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium is a 110,000 m3 performing arts, culture and community facility located in Calgary. For many years it has hosted Broadway shows, stand-up comedians, theatre productions, bands, orchestras, dance festivals and awards ceremonies.

Glenbow Museum

Glenbow Museum in Calgary is one of Western Canada’s largest museums, with over 8,600 mІ of exhibition space in more than 20 galleries, showcasing a selection of the Glenbow’s collection of over a million objects. The Institute maintains the Glenbow Museum, open to the public, which houses not only its museum collections, but also a very extensive art collection, library, and archives.

The Chinese Cultural Centre

The Chinese Cultural Centre is a building in Calgary. Henry Fok Cultural Hall, a building modeled after the Hall of Prayers of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. 21 m high ceiling is decorated with 561 dragons and 40 phoenixes. It is supported by 4 columns with gold ornamentation representing each season. They were installed in traditional Chinese layered fashion.

Canada Olympic Park

Canada Olympic Park (COP) is located in Calgary. It is currently used both for high performance athletic training and for recreational purposes by the general public. In the winter, the park is also used for downhill skiing, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing.

Devonian Gardens

Devonian Gardens is a large indoor park and botanical garden located in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The park is currently closed for a major $ 23.5-million renovation and is expected to re-open in Summer 2012.

Confederation Park

Confederation Park is an urban park in northwest Calgary. The park has picnic tables, toboggan hills, cycle paths, tennis courts and baseball diamonds. The park is also a popular destination for couples having wedding pictures taken. There is cross country skiing both in the park and at the golf course during the winter.

Sports

The Canadian city of Calgary is home to a relatively deep-seated tradition of winter sports. Beyond winter sports, Calgary has a number of professional and amateur sports teams and is a major world pro rodeo centre.

Many Calgarians and millions of tourists enjoy activities such as biking, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, mountain boarding, camping, and fishing in these parks every year.

Calgary boasts a variety of sport leagues in the summer and winter seasons. Australian Football, Soccer, Field Hockey, Basketball, Netball, Lacrosse, Cricket, Futsal, and Volleyball are all available in various locations throughout Calgary.

Education

In the 2011;2012 school year, 100,632 K-12 students enrolled in 221 schools in the English language. There are also several public charter schools in the city. Calgary has a number of unique schools, including the country’s first high school exclusively designed for Olympic-calibre athletes, the National Sport School.

Transportation

The city of Calgary has a large transportation network that encompasses a variety of road, rail, air, public transit, and pedestrian infrastructure.

Calgary Transit also has a system of buses, with routes stretching over the whole city.

The Calgary International Airport is the only international airport in the Calgary Region and one of only two in the province.

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province. The province, with an area of 649,950 square kilometres, has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province’s economy; other major industries are transportation, manufacturing, mining, forestry, energy, and tourism.

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba’s population. Winnipeg has a diversified economy, with sectors in finance, manufacturing, food and beverage production, culture, retail and tourism.

Geography

Winnipeg lies at the bottom of the Red River Valley, a low-lying flood plain with an extremely flat topography. Winnipeg is on the eastern edge of the Canadian Prairies in Western Canada; it is known as the 'Gateway to the West'. Because of Winnipeg’s extremely flat topography and substantial snowfall, Winnipeg is subject to severe flooding.

Climate

Winnipeg experiences a humid continental climate with warm to hot summers and cold windy winters. According to Environment Canada, Winnipeg is the coldest city in the world with a population of over 600,000 based on the average night-time temperature during December, January and February, inclusive.

Normal July averages for Winnipeg’s airport weather station range from 18 °C to 21 °C.

Winters in Winnipeg are usually dry. Normal January averages in Winnipeg range from ?21.7 °C to ?13.9 °C.

Culture

Winnipeg’s three largest performing arts venues, the Centennial Concert Hall, Manitoba Theatre Centre and the Pantages Playhouse, are located downtown.

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra is the largest and oldest professional musical ensemble in Winnipeg. The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra runs a series of chamber orchestral concerts each year. Manitoba Opera is Manitoba’s only full-time professional opera company.

Main attractions

The Winnipeg Public Library

The Winnipeg Public Library is a public library service that is provided by the municipality of Winnipeg. Most branches provide programming for children, teens, and some to adults.

The Manitoba Museum

The Manitoba Museum, previously the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature is the largest museum in Winnipeg. The museum is the largest heritage centre in Manitoba and the world and focuses on human and natural heritage. It has planetarium shows and a Science Gallery hall. The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at the Manitoba Museum.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is a public art gallery that was founded in 1912. It is Western Canada’s oldest civic gallery and the 6th largest in the country. The WAG’s permanent collection includes almost 24,000 works, with a particular emphasis on Manitoba and Canadian art. Historical, contemporary, photographic, decorative art, and Inuit works are featured in a variety of exhibitions each year, with each of the ten gallery spaces changing approximately every three months.

The Western Canada Aviation Museum

The Western Canada Aviation Museum is a museum in Winnipeg. It is the second largest aviation museum in Canada. A fully enclosed flight deck to watch the landings and takeoffs at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is one of the other attractions.

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC) is Canada’s oldest English-language regional theatre. In 2010, the theatre was honoured to receive royal designation from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and officially became the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

The Winnipeg Railway Museum

The Winnipeg Railway Museum is a non-profit organization operated by volunteers from the Midwestern Rail Association. The museum is dedicated to the history and development of the railway in Western Canada.

Sports

Winnipeg has a long and storied sports history. It has been home to several professional hockey, football and baseball franchises. 183 major league professional hockey players were born in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg has a team in the Canadian Football League, the Blue Bombers, who have won 10 Grey Cups, the league’s championship trophy.

Winnipeg has a number of skateboard parkssome leftovers from the 1970s and many more recent additions to the skateboard scene.

Winnipeg is also home to many of the world’s best curling teams.

Education

Education is a responsibility of the provincial government in Canada.

There are seven school divisions in Winnipeg. Winnipeg is home to religious and secular private schools, which are not governed by school boards but must still adhere to regulations outlined by the province.

University of Manitoba is the largest university in Manitoba; it is the most comprehensive post-secondary educational institution.

Winnipeg also has two independent colleges.

5. British Columbia

canada tourism quebec economy

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada’s provinces and is known for its natural beauty. There are 14 designations of parks and protected areas in the province that reflects the different administration and creation of these areas in a modern context. There are 141 ecological Reserves, 35 provincial marine parks, 7 Provincial Heritage Sites, 6 National Historic Sites of Canada, 4 National Parks and 3 National Park Reserves.

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia. Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada, with 52% for whom English is not their first language.