By Sonit Kalia

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British government. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. Canada also faces questions about integrity in government following revelations regarding a corruption scandal in the federal government that has helped revive the fortunes of separatists in predominantly francophone Quebec.

The capital of Canada is Ottawa which is located in Ontario near Montreal. Canada's political structure is a constitutional monarchy with representation to the British Crown. This is more of a formality. Economically, Canada is the eighth largest economy in the world and it has 33 million inhabitants and has been the world second largest country.

Most Canadians live within a 160 kilometre distance to the US border. 81 percent of Canada’s trade has been with the United States and until now 70 percent of Canadians speak English and 15 percent French. The largest city in Canada is Toronto.

Canada has been having an economic boom over the past few years as a result of the cost of natural resources. Alberta in western Canada, is one of the richest areas in North America. It is sometimes referred to as Kuwait North. It has one of the richest oil reserves in the world. In British Columbia there is a forest industry and in the east, hydro electricity. As you see in the figures below the majority of trade is with the USA. For further information on Canada, contact the Minister of Trade in Ottawa.

More Economic Data (2016)
Canada / The United States / France
Population 35,000,000 / 320,000,000 / 66,000,000
GDP (Billions USD) $1.8 / $16.99 / $2.80
GDP per person (USD) $42,610 / $53,726 / €35,550
Population Growth% 1.0 / 1.0 / 1.5
Budget Balance% .70 -4.9 -4.1
Public Debt % GDP 77.0 / 62.43 / 69.1
Government Spending % GDP 19.02 / 18.72 / 24.28

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By Sonit Kalia
International correspondent for the Economist Intelligence Group.