There are two official languages - English and French - and Montreal in Quebec is the world's largest French-speaking city outside of France. All of the services offered by the Federal Government are in English and French. Almost every product you buy has English and French on the labels and most public services are available in both languages. Outside of Quebec the majority of people speak English; about 18 percent of Canadians are fluently bilingual.

The First Nations or Indian people were the original inhabitants of Canada and the name comes from their language and means "Village" or "Community". The Vikings, who arrived in the 11th century and didn't stay for long, were the first Europeans to land in Canada.

More Europeans arrived in the 16th century bringing with them manufactured goods which they traded for furs and native products - because of this they were made welcome by the indigenous people. The two main groups of European settlers were the French, who came first, and then the English. Despite France losing its part of the territory to Britain in a war in 1760, many of the French speaking people stayed. In 1867, three colonies of Britain merged in an event called Confederation; this created a partially independent state of four Provinces. Six more Provinces and three Territories have since been added and in 1931 full independence was achieved. Canada still belongs to the Commonwealth of Nations.

Canada is a Democratic Federation and has both a Federal and Provincial Governments. The responsibilities and powers are divided between the Federal and Provincial Governments which make for a complex political system (see http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/canadian_pol itical_system.html for more details).]

Education

Public education is the responsibility of each Provincial Government (please refer to our Provincial pages for more information) and is paid for through taxes. Public education is free and all children are required by law to attend school from the age of 6 years until they are 15 or 16, the majority of students continue until they are 18 and graduate high school with a high school diploma. The main languages of instruction are English and French.

Healthcare

Canada has a public health care system; essential medical treatment is available to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Although the health care systems are run by the Provincial ministries of health, the Federal Government sets the standards for health care across the country.

There are three Provinces that charge healthcare premiums (BC, Alberta & Ontario). In the other Provinces and Territories healthcare is paid for through taxes. In some Provinces there is a three month waiting period before you qualify for healthcare, (refer to htt p://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/healthcare.html for more information) so you should make sure that you have insurance to cover any medical expenses for this period.

In essence such an article can never describe such a vast and beautiful country in adequate detail so if you are planning a visit or move go to http:// www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/canada.html for detailed information.

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All political points of view are presented to keep you informed on immigration reform legislation before Congress.  The opinions expressed in the articles are the opinions of outside authors and do not necessarily reflect the values of EZ Kwik Pro.  Since all points of view are presented, you may feel that some of the articles in this index are inappropriate.  However, it is in the best interest of all of us that we stay informed, whether or not we agree with a particular opinion.