While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Canada, the name is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement".

[33] This included acknowledgment of cultural genocide,[34] settlement agreements,[33] and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

[37] In approximately 1000 AD, the Norse built a small short-lived encampment that was occupied sporadically for perhaps 20 years at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland.

[40] The early 16th century saw European mariners with navigational techniques pioneered by the Basque and Portuguese establish seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast.

[41] In general, early settlements during the Age of Discovery appear to have been short-lived due to a combination of the harsh climate, problems with navigating trade routes and competing outputs in Scandinavia.

[42] In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, by the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I, founded St John's, Newfoundland, as the first North American English seasonal camp.

[49] The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established First Nation treaty rights, created the Province of Quebec out of New France, and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia.

[65] Following three constitutional conferences, the British North America Act, 1867 officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, initially with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

[72] This period of westward expansion and nation building resulted in the displacement of many Indigenous peoples of the Canadian Prairies to "Indian reserves",[73] clearing the way for ethnic European block settlements.

[87] The financial crisis of the Great Depression led the Dominion of Newfoundland to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a Crown colony ruled by a British governor.

[98] The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970,[99] and the sovereigntist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, organizing an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980.

[102] In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional, and the Clarity Act was passed by Parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation.

These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history;[103] the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students;[104] and the Oka Crisis of 1990,[105] the first of a number of violent confrontations between provincial governments and Indigenous groups.

[120] Canada is also home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert, on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island—latitude 82.5°N—which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole.

[123] Boreal forests prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in northern Arctic regions and through the Rocky Mountains, and the relatively flat Canadian Prairies in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture.

Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F), but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills.

To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the individual who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a majority of members in the House.

[204] Canada also maintains historic and traditional ties to the United Kingdom and to France,[205] along with both countries' former colonies through its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.

[236] Canada's economy ranks above most Western nations on the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom[237] and experiences a relatively low level of income disparity.

[252] Canada is additionally one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies region is one of the most important global producers of wheat, canola, and other grains.

[258] The country ranks seventh in the worldwide share of articles published in scientific journals, according to the Nature Index,[259] and is home to the headquarters of a number of global technology firms.

[266] Other major Canadian scientific contributions include the artificial cardiac pacemaker, mapping the visual cortex,[267] the development of the electron microscope,[268] plate tectonics, deep learning, multi-touch technology, and the identification of the first black hole, Cygnus X-1.

[289] Canada's official bilingualism policies give citizens the right to receive federal government services in either English or French with official-language minorities guaranteed their own schools in all provinces and territories.

[334] Universal access to publicly funded health services "is often considered by Canadians as a fundamental value that ensures national healthcare insurance for everyone wherever they live in the country".

[337] In common with many other developed countries, Canada is experiencing an increase in healthcare expenditures due to a demographic shift toward an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age.

[339] Eighty percent of Canadian adults self-report having at least one major risk factor for chronic disease: smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating or excessive alcohol use.

[346] Identified weaknesses were comparatively higher infant mortality rate, the prevalence of chronic conditions, long wait times, poor availability of after-hours care, and a lack of prescription drugs and dental coverage.

[373] Canada's approach to governance emphasizing multiculturalism, which is based on selective immigration, social integration, and suppression of far-right politics, has wide public support.

[391] Numerous Canadian authors have accumulated international literary awards,[392] including novelist, poet, and literary critic Margaret Atwood, who received two Booker Prizes;[393] Nobel laureate Alice Munro, who has been called the best living writer of short stories in English;[394] and Booker Prize recipient Michael Ondaatje, who wrote the novel The English Patient, which was adapted as a film of the same name that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

[420] As a result of its cultural importance, as well as government initiatives and regulations, the Canadian music industry is one of the largest in the world,[421] producing internationally renowned composers, musicians, and ensembles.