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Canada is located in North America and stretches all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific, being made up of ten Provinces and three Territories. To the North is the Artic ocean; Davis Strait on the North East separates it from Greenland, to the East is the Atlantic Ocean; the South is bordered by the United States of America and the West by the Pacific Ocean and Alaska.

A country of outstanding natural beauty, Canada has a wide variety of landscapes; the mountains, the prairies, lakes and rivers with many national and provincial parks to protect the habitats. With a total land mass of 9,984,670 sq km (3,855,103 sq mi), Canada is the second largest country in the world. There are more lakes and inland waters in Canada than any other country, in fact 7.6% or 755,180 sq km (291,577 sq) is made up of fresh water.

Most images of Canada refer to the Mounties, bears, snow or the Rocky Mountains with the amazing turquoise lakes though there is truly more to this vast landscape. Tourism is a large part of the economy with the abundant natural resources quickly turning Canada into a rich and vibrant country that is a permanent listing at the top of the best places to live. With distinct seasons - the winters are cold with plentiful snow and then warm summers, the best way to survive is to make the most of natures offerings. Skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling are popular pastimes and great exercise and fun. In the summer, hiking, camping and exploring the great outdoors are fantastic ways to spend your free time. This is especially true when you are amongst the most breathtaking and fabulous scenery the world has to offer!

The monetary unit is the Canadian Dollar. It is made up of cents with 100 cents making 1 Canadian dollar. There are 1 cent coins usually called a penny, 5 cent coins usually called a nickel, 10 cent coins called a dime, 25 cent coins called a quarter, 1 dollar coins called a loonie and two dollar coins called a twoonie. The notes or bills are in 5 dollar, 10 dollar, 20 dollar, 50 dollar and 100 dollar denominations. The Canadian dollar traditionally trades at a lower value than its American counterpart but is now coming closer to parity.
All motor vehicles are driven on the right hand side of the road and are left hand drive. Each Province or Territory is responsible for its own driving laws and regulations so each has a different system.

Demographics

Canada has a population of 30,007,094 (2001 Census), compared with 28,846,761 (1996 Census) which shows a 4% increase. Most of the population lives in the cities and most of these are located in the South of the country; about three quarters of the population live within about 300 kms of the U.S border. The most populated Provinces are Ontario and Quebec with Toronto (in Ontario) being the most populated city.

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_political_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 http://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.

The author immigrated to Canada in 2003 and has constructed a free information website
http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com about Canadian Immigration based on his family’s experiences.

Tags: canada, Canadian information, Travel Canadacanada, Canadian information, Travel Canada

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As you may know, the Canadian Skilled Worker immigration program was developed to encourage individuals with skills that would be useful to the country to move there. By requiring you to meet certain qualifications, the program serves two purposes.

First, the government is ensuring that they their social programs do not become overwhelmed by immigrants who lack the necessary skills to be successful.

Second, the government does not want to encourage you to move away from your country only to end up with limited job possibilities in Canada. To fulfill both of these purposes, skilled workers must meet the standards set by the Pass-Mark system.

With the Pass-Mark system, you earn points based on a number of factors, including education and work experience. Originally, the Pass-Mark system had higher standards. Potential immigrants had to achieve a score of at least 75.

Today, that score is only 67. Before you start completing any paperwork, you need to begin determining whether or not you will be able to achieve that score.

One of the factors assessed by the Canadian government is education.

Under the Canadian system, education is an important qualification for a skilled worker. However, you do not have to hold a master’s degree or higher to earn points towards qualification under this section.

Apprenticeships, trade/vocational degrees, bachelor’s degrees, even high school diplomas will earn you points. The maximum number of points available for this category is 25. That means a strong educational background will give you an excellent start towards achieving that passing score.

It is important that you understand how to gather, organize and present your academic documents to the Canadian Government.

If you are interested in starting your application process TODAY, I strongly recommend downloading Step-by-Step Immigration to Canada. The manual explains step-by-step how to send a successful application file to the Canadian visa office in a few days! For more information, go to: http://www.StepByStepImmigrationCanada.com/inside2.html

Alex Berez is a specialist in Canadian Immigration and founder of http://www.StepByStepImmigrationCanada.com.

Tags: canada, canada immigration, canadian immigration, canadian visa, immigration canada, travelcanada, canada immigration, canadian immigration, canadian visa, immigration canada, travel

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As much as I love the city (Toronto, that is), every once in a while I gotta get away and a few weeks ago I came up with the idea of a little winter weekend getaway with my sister-in-law Yolande and my nephew Jazz. So I started surfing around the Internet to see where we could go, and since I didn’t want to spend several hours driving, I settled on a destination just about an hour outside of Toronto: I came up with the city of Barrie whose surrounding areas include several ski resorts.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and at plus 8 degrees Celsius certainly not a typical Canadian winter day. After checking in at our overnight retreat, the Nicholyn Farms Bed and Breakfast just 15 minutes outside of Barrie, we drove downtown to explore this growing city of 125,000 which is located right on the shores of Lake Simcoe on Kempenfelt Bay.

Although our plans to go ice-skating fell through, Lake Simcoe was frozen solid enough so we could take a walk around Kempenfelt Bay, and like many others on this gorgeous day we were able to walk and play on the frozen lake. I started off with a brief walk through town to capture some of the essence of this country town that has become a popular bedroom community for commuters to Toronto. The completion of the railroad connecting Barrie to the City of York (now Toronto) in 1865 and the construction of Highway 400 in the 1950s were critical events that promoted this city’s growth. With its proximity to both Toronto and Ontario’s Lakelands and 4-season resorts, Barrie is ideally positioned for a quick winter getaway.

[SAFETY WARNING: Please ensure that you obey all weather warnings when venturing out on frozen lakes. This year the winter has been particularly mild and every year several people fall through the ice and drown. Please make sure that the ice is safe before you venture out on the lake!]

In close proximity to Barrie are 2 winter resorts, Horseshoe Valley Resort and Snow Valley, and not much further away are Blue Mountain / Collingwood (Ontario’s largest ski resort) and Mount St. Louis Moonstone. The forests and lakes around Barrie offer plenty of opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing and snow-mobiling. Its proximity to Georgian Bay, one of Ontario’s favourite getaway areas, makes Barrie a popular travel destination close to Toronto. Lake Simcoe itself is a major hub for ice-fishing.

Barrie’s downtown is anchored around Dunlop Street which holds a variety of independently owned shops and retail outlets. Many of the buildings along Dunlop Street date back to Victorian times and the city has made an effort to preserve and highlight its architectural heritage.

Barrie’s waterfront is dominated by an impressive outdoor sculpture: the Spirit Catcher, which was designed by sculptor Ron Baird for the 1986 EXPO in Vancouver. The sculpture was donated to the Barrie Gallery Project in 1987 and represents the Aboriginal People of Canada and the Aboriginal myth of the Thunderbird. When the Spirit Catcher was erected, it was blessed in a special ceremony by the Rama Native Drum Group of the Mnijikaning First Nation.

In the spirit of human understanding , we had our own inter-cultural experience. After I returned from my little photographic tour through downtown Barrie, I reconnected with my sister-in-law and my nephew next to the Spirit Catcher on the waterfront. Yolande and Jazz had met a young German exchange student by the name of Martin who is currently completing a degree in Environmental Technology in Germany and managed to arrange an international coop assignment in a small town north of Barrie.

We had a fabulous conversation and Martin mentioned how tough it was to realize his dream of completing an international coop program in Canada. But he succeeded and is spending 9 weeks here in Ontario. He said he loves the country and is taken in by the Canadian mentality. Of course, he also plans to explore Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Niagara Falls and New York City during his short 9-week stint here in Canada. Martin told us that at his young age he had already travelled to 19 different countries, and no matter where he goes he loves to link up with people from different places.

And apart from just having a conversation, Martin, full of youthful energy and mischief, was definitely up for a snowball fight and some horsing around, something that my 8-year old nephew greatly enjoyed. It was fabulous to see the two of them chasing each other on the frozen lake, heaving snow at each other and laughing their heads off. On one hand there was blond and blue-eyed Martin from Germany and on the other there was my brown-skinned nephew of Trinidadian heritage. Two total strangers, from totally different backgrounds and cultures, connecting through fun and outdoor activities. It doesn’t get any better than that….

After Martin had left, we continued our walk on Lake Simcoe and enjoyed our time in the warm sunshine like all the other people on the frozen lake until the sun slipped down beneath the horizon.

We took in the activities and watched float planes land and take off, we watched the dog walkers, the ATV riders, even mountain bikers on the lake, and glanced at the ice-fishing huts in the distance on the other side of the bay. One young boy was playing catch with his father, and with real Canuck determination, was dressed in shorts. He figured +8 degrees Celsius was enough to break out the summer garb. That’s the true Canadian spirit!

Useful links for travel to Barrie:
Tourism Barrie
Simcoe County Tourism
Ontario’s Official Travel Website

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

“Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons”.
The story with photos is published at Travel Stories and Photos (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/hello_barrie_1.htm)

Tags: barrie, canada, lake simcoe, ontario, toronto, travel, travel websitebarrie, canada, lake simcoe, ontario, toronto, travel, travel website

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