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\chapter{Introduction}
\section{History and culture of Canada}
% [nao]
\subsection{Foundation} \label{foundation}
Canada is one of the largest countries on the planet, in fact, it is the fourth
largest country by land area with approximately 9 million square kilometers
\cite{statscan:statarea}. Located in the northern hemisphere of the American
continent, was first discovered by Europeans in 1497 with the expedition of
John Cabot. The name ``Canada'' seems to have appeared first in the 16th century
when Jacques Cartier, during his 3 voyages to the new world, heard a groups of
natives speaking the Iroquoian language referring to a village as
``Kanata''\cite{history}. During the following centuries both French and British
colonies were established which led to numerous conflicts the two between
empires and the natives. The government of Canada was created with the
proclamation of the Constitution Act in 1867, but the present the nationals
were established only in 1999 because after since its first foundation the
dominion had expanded multiple times.
\subsection{The Flag of Canada}
\begin{figure}[h]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}[h]{.3\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=6cm]{res/images/flag_of_canada.pdf}
\caption{Current flag of Canada}
\end{subfigure}
\qquad\qquad
\begin{subfigure}[h]{.3\textwidth}
\includegraphics[width=6cm]{res/images/canadian_red_ensign.pdf}
\caption{Canadian Red Ensign}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{Canadian Flags}
\end{figure}
The current flag of Canada was created in 1964, when the government had an
all-party parliamentary committee that prepare multiple designs. Before then
Canada didn't have its own official flag but instead used either the English
Union Jack or the Canadian Red Ensign, a red flag with a smaller Union Jack on
the top left and an ensign on the right side.
The simplest design was chosen by the parliament and the current flag was
adopted the 15 December 1964, just in time for the centennial celebration of
the confederation 3 years later.
\subsection{Canadian Natives} \nocite{firstnations}
Before the arrival of the Europeans the northern American continent was
populated by various groups of indigenous peoples which today are referred as
First Nations (Premières Nations in French) or sometime incorrectly a
`Indians'.Within what today are Canadian borders there were 6 major tribes and
each one of them lived in a particular area of the continent.
\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{.4\textwidth}
\centering
\includegraphics[height=6cm]{res/photos/first_nations.jpg}
\caption{A group of First Nations People from the area known as Qu'Appelle
Lakes}
\end{wrapfigure}
Each tribe had developed a particular culture based on the environment in which
they lived, for example on the west coast the Pacific Coast First Nation gave
thank to the sea because they lived mostly off fishing whereas the Iroquian
First Nation on the south organized many ceremonies during spring as they
gathered most of their food from agriculture. But there were some things that
all populations had in common, with the most important being their deep cult of
respect for resources offered by nature; everything from hunting to farming had
a ritual to honor the harmony between them, the world and the Creator. Another
cultural aspect that common among all First Nations was a complex social
organization system built around hunting developed over thousands of years.
Every tribe lived and hunted in a well defined territory in order to not
interfere with other clans and communal hunts took place on every summer. These
routines were especially practiced by northern populations that lived in
semi-desert cold environments, a few examples are the Mackenzie and Yukon River
Basins First Nations that lived where today is Alaska.
\subsection{Colonization}
The colonization of the `new world' began shortly after its discovery,
Europeans started to build settlements in the new continent to explore the new
land and get its resources. The beginning of the economic growth of Canada
started with the birth of the `New France'. In the early 17th century King Henry
IV of France ordered to a group of colonists to build the first French
settlement on the continent, so the village of `Port Royal' was created.
Shortly after in 1608 a new settlement called Quebec Fortress was also built.
With these new colonies the French dominion had planned to colonize the
continent, but the harsh environment prevented any expansion.
\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{.5\textwidth}
\centering
\fbox{\includegraphics[width=8.5cm]{res/images/canada_settlements.png}}
\caption{Map of European settlements in 1702. Territories under the French
dominion are in blue while territories under the British Empire are in red.}
\end{wrapfigure} \nocite{canadasettlements}
As a result, they
started to trade with locals, many goods were traded with First Nations in
exchange for fur and food to protect the settlers from the cold winters.
Later on the trade grew on a bigger scale and many resources were exported to
France, which helped the development of the existing and new settlements.
At the same time British colonies were also built. Because of the strong power
of the British Colonial Empire British settlements grew faster than the other
French colonies which caused a shift in power. As the 18th century began
Great Britain was the leading power in the trading market. As a consequence of
this in many treaties that came next France lost most of its territories while
the British expanded theirs. \\
In the 1800s timber became the most important product for exportation. Timber
exportation had already started in the preceding years but it was only in
smaller quantities. But with the war of Napoleon (1799 - 1815) timber became
essential for the french army to build ships and to expand the railways across
France. The blooming of this industry endured until the conclusion of the
Canadian Commonwealth\footnote{The Commonwealth of Nations is made up of 53
countries, including Canada, that were for the most part once part of the
British Empire. They worked together on international policies to cooperate in
furthering economic development.} in 1987. At the time logging depended on
waterways for transportation, for that reason the main timber base were in Saint
Lawrence and Ottawa.
\subsection{Industrialization}
In 1867 with the establishment of the North American Act the first Canadian
confederation was born. The newly founded Canadian Confederation moved the
original economy to a radically different institutional environment. Previously
under the control of the United Kingdom the development of the economy was
focused to export cities near the Atlantic Ocean such as Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick. But after the federal formation the center of the development was
moved into Quebec and Ontario in the mainland. In the following 50 years the
Canadian economy shifted more toward agriculture and livestock production and
the industry evolved to a strong economy thanks to the introduction of a new
railway system. In the 20th century Canada enjoyed a great era of prosperity and
industrial development during the post-war period. The economical alliance with
the United Stated contributed the most to the development of a modernized
Canada.
\subsection{Modern Canada}
Today Canada has become a powerful country with a stable social and economic
system and it is a great contributor to various international projects.
The Canadian society today is known to be open and flexible to other cultures,
because of this the Canadian population is composed of many ethnic groups.
In Canada the official languages are English and French since the original
colonial powers that brought them there were France and the United Kingdom.
As official currency Canada uses the Canadian Dollar (CAD), As 2016 one Canadian
Dollar equals
\href{http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=CAD&To=CHF}{
0.76 Swiss Francs}. Canada's GDP (as Q2 2015) is more than twice ours
(Switzerland's)\cite{swisseconomy} with a market price at 1'996'804 millions of
Canadian dollars \cite{statscan:ecoimpexps} which roughly equals to 1.54
millions of millions of Swiss francs.
\section{Natural resources}
Canada's huge land area makes it one of richest countries from a natural
resources standpoint. Indeed Canada has the third largest reserve of crude oil
in the world and it is the second production of Uranium
\cite{nrcan:energyfactsbook}. But Canada is also a leader in renewable energy
production with a 18.9\% of total energy supply coming just from renewables
\cite{nrcan:renewables}. Even if most of the energy produced can be considered
eco-friendly Canada still relies heavily on non-renewable energy source as we
will see in the next paragraphs.
\subsection{Crude Oil}
Oil has become has been increasingly become a valuable resource, since the
discovery of oil sands extraction technology. The desire for oil
independence from the USA and many other NATO states has given a lot of funds
for the development of this technology.
But for the environment this is not a good, according to a study conducted in
2014 \cite{statscan:ghgemissions}, GHGs (Greenhouse Gases) emissions caused by
oil extraction industries have increased by 63.5 millions of tonnes in the last
20 years.
\subsection{Natural Gas}
Natural gas is the biggest energy source in Canada, mostly produced in Alta is
also a major cause of Nitrogen and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) pollution.
Even though its extractions and refinement technologies are getting better, the
level of pollution has not gone down since 2010. In 2014 56.6 mega tonnes of GHGs
were released on the atmosphere. Combined with the oil extraction this economic
sector accounts for 26\% of total nation emissions \cite{statscan:ghgemissions}.
\subsection{Coal}
Despite it makes up half of the world's energy source (mostly in China) and
there's an abundance of it, coal represents a minor element in the national
energy production, and almost half of the final product gets exported to Japan,
China and South Korea. Currently scientists are discouraging its usage because
of its high level of pollution and CO\textsubscript{2} emissions. Nonetheless
the research in the field of coal refinement, to produce what is called ``Clean
Coal'', is still being supported by the government in order to use the enormous
quantity lying beneath the Canadian surface.
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