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| General
Information |
Area:
9,958,319 sq km (3,844,928 sq miles).
Population: 30,301,185 (1998).
Population Density: 3.0 per sq km.
Capital: Ottawa. Population: 1,000,000 (1997, including Hull).
Geography: Canada is bounded to the west by the Pacific Ocean
and Alaska, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the northeast
by Greenland, and to the south by the 'Lower 48' of the USA. The
polar ice-cap lies to the north. The landscape is diverse, ranging
from the Arctic tundra of the north to the great prairies of the
central area. Westward are the Rocky Mountains, and in the southeast
are the Great Lakes, the St Lawrence River and Niagara Falls.
The country is divided into ten provinces and three territories.
A more detailed description of each province can be found under
the separate provincial entries.
Government: Constitutional Monarchy. Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth
II, represented by Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson since 1999.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Jean Chrétien since
1993.
Language: Bilingual: French and English. The use of the two languages
reflects the mixed colonial history - Canada has been under both
British and French rule.
Religion: 46.2% Roman Catholic, 17.5% United Church of Canada,
11.8% Anglican, 24.5% other Christian denominations and other
religions.
Time: Canada spans six time zones. Information on which applies
where may be found in the regional entries following this
general introduction. The time zones are:
Pacific Standard Time: GMT - 8.
Mountain Standard Time: GMT - 7.
Central Standard Time: GMT - 6.
Eastern Standard Time: GMT - 5.
Atlantic Standard Time: GMT - 4.
Newfoundland Standard Time: GMT - 3.5.
Note: From the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October,
one hour is added for Daylight Saving Time (except in
Saskatchewan).
Electricity: 110 volts AC, 60Hz. American-style (flat) 2-pin plugs
are standard.
Communications:
Telephone: Most public telephones operate on 25-cent coins. There
is a reduced rate Mon-Fri 1800-0900, and Sat 1200 to Mon 0900.
For long-distance calls, telephone cards are available. Credit
card telephones are to be found in larger centres. Full IDD is
available. Country code: 1.
Mobile telephone: Digital PCS (1900MHz) services area available
in and around major centres, while older analog and digital cellular
networks are available in less populated areas. A 'dual mode'
handset is required outside the digital service areas.
Network operators include Bell Mobility (website: www.bellmobility.ca),
Telus Mobility (website: www.telusmobility.com) and Rogers AT&T
(website: www.rogers.com). GSM network operators include Microcell,
operating under the Fido brand name (website: www.canadagsm.com)
and Rogers AT&T. Handsets can be hired from Rent Express (tel:
(416) 622 7368 or (888) 290 1616; website: www.rentexpress.com),
although it may be cheaper to buy a pay-as-you-go phone.
Fax: Services are available in commercial bureaux and most hotels
all day at locally agreed rates.
Internet/E-mail: Major ISPs include Sympatico (website: www.sympatico.ca)
and Inter.net (website: www.ca.inter.net/). There are cybercafés
all over the country. Internet terminals are usually available
at airports and in photocopy shops.
Telegram: These are handled by Canadian National Telecommunications
or Canadian Pacific, and any telegrams must be telephoned or handed
in to the nearest Canadian Pacific or Canadian National office
(address in local phone book). Services available include Telepost,
providing first-class door-to-door delivery, and Intelpost, which
offers satellite communications for
documents/photographs to London, Washington DC, New York, Berne
and Amsterdam. In Newfoundland & Labrador, telegrams are sent
through Terra Nova Tel.
Postal: All mail from Canada to outside North America is by air.
Stamps are available in hotels, some pharmacies and local stores,
or in vending machines outside post offices and shopping centres.
Intelpost is offered at main postal offices for satellite transmission
of documents and photographs. Post office hours: generally Mon-Fri
0930-1700 and Sat 0900-1200, but times vary according to province
and location; city offices will have longer hours.
Press: There is one national daily newspaper, The National Post,
and Toronto's The Globe & Mail also has national distribution.
Daily newspapers published in the larger population centres have
a wide local and regional circulation. French-language dailies
are published in seven cities, including Montréal, Québec
and Ottawa. In Alberta, the main English-language newspapers are
the Calgary Herald, The Edmonton Journal, The Calgary Sun and
The Edmonton Sun; in British Columbia, the Vancouver Sun; in Manitoba,
the Winnipeg Free Press and The Winnipeg Sun; in New Brunswick,
the Daily Gleaner and The Times Transcript; in Newfoundland &
Labrador, the Telegram and The Western Star; in Nova Scotia, The
Chronicle-Herald and The Daily News; in Ontario, The Globe &
Mail (the main national newspaper), The National Post, The Toronto
Star, The Toronto Sun, The Ottawa Citizen and the Ottawa Sun;
in Québec, The Gazette (daily); in Prince Edward Island,
the Guardian and the Patriot; in Saskatchewan, the Leader Post,
Star-Phoenix, Times-Herald and the Daily Herald; and in Yukon,
The Whitehorse Star. |
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| Travel |
AIR:
Canada's principal national airline is Air Canada (AC).
Approximate flight times:
From London to Calgary is 8 hours 45 minutes, to Halifax is 7
hours 5 minutes, to Montréal is 6 hours 30 minutes, to
Toronto is 7 hours 15 minutes and to Vancouver is 9 hours 20 minutes.
From Los Angeles to Montréal is 7 hours 20 minutes, to
Toronto is 5 hours 15 minutes and to Vancouver is 2 hours 50 minutes.
From New York to Montréal is 1 hour 15 minutes, to Toronto
is 1 hour 20 minutes and to Vancouver is 5 hours 20 minutes.
From Singapore to Montréal is 23 hours 45 minutes, to Toronto
is 21 hours 35 minutes and to Vancouver is 26 hours. From Sydney
to Montréal is 23 hours, to Toronto is 20 hours 30 minutes
and to Vancouver is 18 hours 20 minutes.
International airports: Canada has 13 international airports.
All have full banking and catering facilities, duty-free shops
and car hire. Airport-to-city bus and taxi services and, in some
cases, rail links, are available.
Calgary (YYC) (website: www.calgaryairport.com) is 20km (12.5
miles) from the city (travel time - 45 minutes).
Edmonton (YEG) (website: www.edmontonairports.com) is 28km (17
miles) from the city (travel time - 30 minutes).
Gander (YQX) (website: www.ganderairport.com) is 3km (2 miles)
from the city (travel time - 10 minutes).
Halifax (YHZ) (website: www.hiaa.ca) is 35km (21 miles) from the
city (travel time - 30 minutes).
Hamilton (YHM) (website: www.yhm.com/) is 10km (6 miles) from
the city (travel time - 20 minutes).
Montréal (YUL) (Dorval) (website: www.admtl.com/) is 25km
(15 miles) from the city (travel time - 25 minutes).
Ottawa (YOW) (Macdonald-Cartier) (website: www.ottawa-airport.ca/)
is 15km (8 miles) from the city (travel time - 20-45 minutes).
St John's (YYT) is 8km (5 miles) from the city (travel time -
10-15 minutes).
Saskatoon (YXE) is 7km (4.5 miles) from the city (travel time
- 15 minutes).
Toronto (YYZ) (Lester B Pearson) (website: www.gtaa.com) is 27km
(17 miles) from the city (travel time - 30 minutes).
Vancouver (YVR) (website: www.yvr.ca/) is 15km (9 miles) from
the city (travel time - 20-45 minutes).
Winnipeg (YWG) (website: www.waa.ca) is 10km (6 miles) from the
city (travel time - 20 minutes).
Departure tax: Vancouver has an airport improvement fee which
is C$15 for international departures and approximately C$10 for
departures to other North American destinations, including Hawaii
and Mexico.
Montréal (Dorval) has a departure tax of C$10 for international
departures and C$7.50 for departures to other North American destinations.
Transit passengers and children under two years of age not occupying
a seat are exempt.
SEA: The principal Canadian ports on the Atlantic Ocean (east
coast) are Halifax (Nova Scotia), St John (New Brunswick) and
St Johns (Newfoundland). Montréal and Québec have
ports on the St Lawrence Seaway, which links the Atlantic Ocean
with the Great Lakes and the industrial heartland of Canada and
the USA. Toronto's port is on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario.
The port of Vancouver is on the west coast. All are served by
international shipping lines, but Montréal is the only
port for passenger liners from Europe.
RAIL: The Canadian rail system connects to the USA at several
points. Major routes are: New York-Montréal, New York-Buffalo-Niagara
Falls-Toronto, Chicago-Sarnia-London-Toronto, Cleveland-Buffalo-Niagara
Falls-Toronto and Detroit-Windsor-Toronto. VIA Rail Canada, the
country's main rail operator, issues a discount pass for rail
travel within Canada and the USA: the North American Rail Pass
(available to anyone) is valid for 30 days and allows unlimited
travel on VIA trains in Canada and practically any Amtrak train
in the USA, with direct access to over 900 Canadian and US cities
and towns. For details of ticket prices and reservations, contact
VIA Rail in Canada (tel: (888) 842 7245; website: www.viarail.ca).
ROAD: The only road access to Canada is through the southern border
with the USA or from the west through Alaska. Apart from private
auto, the most popular way of travelling by road is by bus. The
biggest coach company in the world is the Greyhound Bus Company
(see Coach section in Travel - Internal) and this is one of the
most common routes to Canada from the United States. There are
many crossing points from the United States to Canada, but some
of the most common are: New York to Montréal/Ottawa; Detroit
to Toronto/Hamilton; Minneapolis to Winnipeg; Seattle to Vancouver/Edmonton/Calgary. |
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| Entry |
| |
Passport |
Visa |
Return
Ticket Required |
| Australian |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| British |
Yes |
No/3 |
Yes |
| Canadian |
1 |
- |
- |
| Japanese |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Other
EU |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| USA |
2 |
No |
No |
|
Restricted
entry and transit: The Government of Canada refuses admission
to holders of passports, identity or travel documents issued by
Somalia, Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei, Venda or the All Palestine
government.
Note: (a) Visitors to Canada must satisfy an examining officer
at the Port of Entry that they are genuine visitors and have sufficient
funds to maintain themselves during their stay in Canada and to
return to their country of origin, as well as evidence of confirmed
onward reservations out of Canada. Persons under 18 years of age
who are unaccompanied by an adult should bring with them a letter
from a parent or guardian giving them permission to travel to
Canada.
PASSPORTS: Passport valid for at least 1 day beyond the intended
departure date from Canada required by all except the
following:
(a) 1. Canadian citizens holding a Canadian Certificate of Identity,
Canadian birth certificate or a certificate of Canadian citizenship;
(b) permanent residents of Canada with proof of status, ie Permanent
Resident Card, Record of Landing, Returning Resident
Permit (IMM 1288) or a Refugee Travel Document issued by the Government
of Canada to refugees who have been resettled in Canada;
(c) Convention Refugees and Members of Designated Classes who
have been accepted for resettlement in Canada and are in possession
of valid and subsisting Canadian Immigrant Visas (IMM 1000) where
the immigrant category is coded CR or DC;
(d) 2. citizens of the USA holding proof of citizenship (eg US
birth certificate or US naturalisation papers);
(e) persons entering from St Pierre & Miquelon or the USA
who are legal permanent residents of the USA and hold a US alien
registration card (Green Card);
(f) citizens of France who are residents of and entering from
St Pierre & Miquelon;
(g) nationals who are residents of and entering from Greenland.
Note: Identity/travel documents issued to non-national residents
of the country of issue, refugees or stateless persons are recognized
for travel to Canada.
VISAS: Required by all except the following:
(a) 3. nationals of countries referred to in the chart above (except
holders of passports endorsed 'British Subjects' and 'British
Protected Persons', who do require a visa);
(b) nationals of Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados,
Botswana, Brunei, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominica, Grenada, Hong
Kong (SAR), Hungary, Iceland, Israel (blue passports), Kiribati,
Korea (Rep.of) Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco,
Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts
& Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa,
San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands,
Swaziland, Switzerland, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vatican City and Zimbabwe;
(c) those visiting Canada who, during that visit, also visit the
USA or St Pierre & Miquelon (a French Overseas Territory)
and return directly to Canada as visitors within the period authorised
on their initial entry (or any extension thereto).
Types of visa and cost: Visitor: Can$75 (single-entry); Can$150
(multiple-entry). Family: Can$400 (parents and minor children).
Transit: necessary for all nationals who require a Visitor visa.
Although Transit visas are not required by British citizens, they
may be required by foreign nationals with British passports; check
with the Embassy or High Commission for details. Employment and
Student visas are also available. For further information contact
the High Comission.
Validity: Up to 6 months depending on circumstances of individual
applicant. The determination regarding length of stay in Canada
can only be decided by the examining officer at the port of entry.
If no actual departure date is indicated within the visitor's
passport, then the visitor will be required to depart within 3
months from the date of entry. Visitors must effect their departure
from Canada on or before the date authorised by the examining
officer on arrival. If an extension of stay is desired, an application
must be made in writing to the nearest Canada Immigration Centre
well before the expiry of the visitor visa.
Note: A single-entry visa is still valid if used to visit the
USA.
Additional Visa Information:
http://www.cic.gc.ca |
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