INTRODUCTION

By agreeing to form the Dominion of Canada, the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick created the nation of Canada on July 1, 1867, even though it remained tied to England. Over time the Confederation expanded so that it now is made up of ten provinces, each with its own legislature, and three northern territories administered by the federal government. In terms of landmass, Canada is the second largest country in the world but it has a population of only about thirty million. The francophone population comprises about 24 percent of the population but is concentrated in Quebec, which was the original French colonial settlement. In the balance of the country, United Kingdom ancestries predominate, although there has been much immigration from elsewhere. Indigenous peoples live in some concentration in the three northern territories. A member of the G8 and the OECD, Canada has the seventh largest economy in the developed world. While importing 25 percent of its GNP, Canada exports about 33 percent (whereas the United States exports only about 8 percent of its gross national product and the OECD average is about 23 percent). The United States accounts for about 75 percent of the exports from Canada. From 1985 to 2002, trade between the two countries has more than doubled.