If you think Canada is the US’s drab next-door neighbor, think twice. Open your door and look inside Canada. You will see it is full of surprises.

Geography
Canada, according to the Vancouver English Center, is the world’s second largest country, covering most of the northern part of North America. With an area larger than the United States, it has a varied geography, from mountains in the east to plains in the west. Due to its immense size, Canada has developed a much appreciated transportation system to help get from one place to the next, mainly thru a network of trains and buses. Canada, like Europe, is not divided into states but into provinces. In addition, with only three people per square kilometer, Canada has the fourth lowest population density in the world. The capital of Canada is Ottawa, a city with a population of about 1 million.

Government
The Canadian government is a constitutional monarchy with a federal system. The Queen of Canada is Queen Elizabeth II of England (thus explaining her image on the Canadian dollar) and she and only she is Head of State. A Prime Minister, however, is the appointed leader of the political party and serves for a five-year term.

Culture
Canada is a country of its own. With its distinct character, Canadian culture is a mixture of French, British and American culture. Canada officially recognizes English and French as its official languages, thus shaping a bilingual country. This is one of the aspects that make Canada so unique; to even become a Canadian citizen you must be able to speak either French or English. Being that Canadians come from different racial and religious backgrounds. A typical Canadian is sometimes that hard to define. However, there are certain characteristics that do set Canadians apart from any other country. Canadians are known for their polite and sometimes formal nature; greetings and salutations are reserved and respectful. Canadians can be quite casual at home, but still preserve some formality around others. Smoking is an unpopular habit in Canada and is increasingly not permitted in buildings and establishments.

Business & Economy
Canada has become a great place for capitalists and entrepreneurs. Why? Well, according to the 2003 World Competitiveness Yearbook Canada was ranked, “first for overall business environment and third globally for overall competitiveness”. Canada offers a great deal to the business world that many have yet to discover. According to a Canadian website, the following section highlights some of the unique business advantages of Canada

• Intelligent and educated workforce
• Leading economy
• Strong fiscal policy
• NAFTA advantage
• Cost competitiveness
• Sophisticated infrastructure
• Quality of life

All of the above-mentioned advantages have proven to be true. With a population of 30 million and a GDP of $1,142.62 billion in 2002, Canada is one of the world’s largest economies. Canada’s economy was ranked the 9^th largest in the world, and is a member of the G7 group of leading industrial countries. Canada also enjoys a desirable standard of living, (Vancouver Canada is tied with Zurich Switzerland for the highest quality of life of any city in the world.) a sophisticated infrastructure, a highly educated and skilled work force as well as a well-earned reputation as a successful trading nation. Many are surprised to know that Canada is the worlds 8^th largest trader. Canada’s leading industries include the following:

• automobile manufacturing
• pulp and paper
• iron and steel work
• machinery and equipment manufacturing
• mining
• extraction of fossil fuels
• forestry and agriculture

Canada is also a leading exporter of automobile vehicles and parts, machinery and equipment, high-technology products, oil, natural gas, metals, and forest and farm products.

Language Industry
Canada is one of the very few countries with an established language industry. In fact, the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario, which was founded in 1920, is one of the industry’s oldest organizations in the world. Canada has many established language and translation associations, as well as a large network of university translation programs. The Canadian language service market is estimated to be in the order of CAD$550 million per year. This is a huge market compared to most countries and, because of this high demand, since 2003, funding the language industry has become an important part of the federal language policy. Consequently, while most language industry organizations are chiefly a private matter, in Canada it has become a public affair, enjoying a budget from the federal government. In 2003, the Action Plan for Official Languages policy, acknowledged the existence of the language industry, defined it and allocated 20 million dollars (Canadian dollars) funding for its support. Another 5 million dollars were allocated to create a language technological research center. This is a very important milestone in the eyes of most who work in the language industry. This is due to the fact that most countries still do not recognize Translation or Interpretation as a profession, or even something you would go to school for.

Therefore, as we have seen in this article Canada is a country far ahead of most.  Everyone should explore Canada and recognize not only what it has to offer now but also what it can potentially offer in the future.