Canada’s economic
Canada’s economic freedom score is 79.4, making its economy the 6th freest in the 2013 Index. Its overall score is 0.5 point lower than last year, reflecting declines in freedom from corruption and business freedom that are only partially offset by a notable improvement in the management of public spending. Canada continues to be the freest economy in the North America region.
The foundations of economic freedom in Canada remain strong and well-supported by solid protection of property rights and an independent judiciary that enforces anti-corruption measures effectively. While many large advanced economies have been struggling with the heavy burden of government and fiscal constraints that result from years of unrestrained public spending, Canada’s public finance management has been comparatively prudent, with efforts to downsize government made on a continuing basis.
Canada’s economy has been resilient, benefiting from a strong commitment to open-market policies that facilitate global trade and investment flows. Efficient regulations are applied evenly in most cases, encouraging dynamic entrepreneurial activity in the private sector. Steady reduction of the standard corporate tax rate has also contributed to global competitiveness.
BACKGROUND
Prime Minister Stephen Harper won a second term in the 2011 parliamentary elections, and his Conservative Party secured a solid majority. The opposition New Democratic Party also picked up seats, particularly in the province of Quebec. Canada’s federal democratic system provides substantial autonomy to its 13 provinces and territories. Tensions between Anglo and French Canadians have softened in recent years, but cultural protectionism in international and domestic trade is an ongoing threat. Canada is a party to the North American Free Trade Agreement and a major exporter of oil, minerals, automobiles, manufactured goods, and forest products. The proposed expansion of the TransCanada Keystone pipeline system to increase oil exports from Alberta to the United States has been delayed by the Obama Administration.
RULE OF LAWVIEW METHODOLOGY
Property Rights 90.0 Create a Graph using this measurement
Freedom From Corruption 87.0 Create a Graph using this measurement
Canada’s foundations of economic freedom are solid. Private property is well protected, with an independent and transparent judicial system firmly in place. Enforcement of contracts is very secure, and expropriation is highly unusual. Protection of intellectual property rights is consistent with world standards. Effective anti-corruption measures discourage bribery of public officials and uphold the government’s reputation for integrity.
LIMITED GOVERNMENTVIEW METHODOLOGY
Government Spending 44.8 Create a Graph using this measurement
Fiscal Freedom 79.8 Create a Graph using this measurement
The top federal income tax rate remains 29 percent, and the top corporate tax rate has been cut to 15 percent. Other taxes include a value-added tax (VAT) and a property tax. The overall tax burden amounts to 31 percent of total domestic income. Government spending is equivalent to 42.9 percent of total domestic output, with deficits recorded in recent years. Public debt has risen gradually to almost 90 percent of GDP.
REGULATORY EFFICIENCYVIEW METHODOLOGY
Business Freedom 91.7 Create a Graph using this measurement
Labor Freedom 82.3 Create a Graph using this measurement
Monetary Freedom 75.2 Create a Graph using this measurement
Canada’s highly competitive regulatory framework promotes business formation and operation. With no minimum capital standards, starting a company requires only one procedure. Flexible labor regulations enhance employment and productivity growth. Inflation has been modest, but the government controls virtually all prices for health care services through its mandatory “single-payer” nationalized program.
OPEN MARKETSVIEW METHODOLOGY
Trade Freedom 88.2 Create a Graph using this measurement
Investment Freedom 75.0 Create a Graph using this measurement
Financial Freedom 80.0 Create a Graph using this measurement
The trade regime is very competitive, with a low 0.9 percent average tariff and few non-tariff barriers. The country’s openness and flexibility strongly sustain the efficient and dynamic investment environment. The prudent banking sector remains stable, weathering the ongoing global financial turmoil with no need for bailouts or large injections of state funds. The “big six” domestic banks dominate the sector.
Canada Immigration
Canada Immigration Visa Solutions -Campbell Cohen Canada Immigration Law Firm
The Canadian federal and provincial governments are constantly updating their programs to ensure that Canadian immigration is successful, both for newcomers and for Canada. With many options to choose from, David Cohen and the Campbell Cohen Law Firm can help you determine what your best options are for Canada immigration.
Submit your FREE assessment Questionnaire to find out what your options may be for Canada Immigration. Your assessment results will be e-mailed to you in less than 24 hours.
Submit your FREE assessment Questionnaire to find out what your options may be for Canada Immigration. Your assessment results will be e-mailed to you in less than 24 hours.
Are you a business person or manager looking to immigrate to Canada ?
Workers or Students currently in Canada can become Permanemt Residents through the Canadian/Quebec Experience Class program.
Are you a worker currently in the United States on a temporary work visa?
Canada Immigration
Canada Immigration Visa Solutions -Campbell Cohen Canada Immigration Law Firm
The Canadian federal and provincial governments are constantly updating their programs to ensure that Canadian immigration is successful, both for newcomers and for Canada. With many options to choose from, David Cohen and the Campbell Cohen Law Firm can help you determine what your best options are for Canada immigration.
Submit your FREE assessment Questionnaire to find out what your options may be for Canada Immigration. Your assessment results will be e-mailed to you in less than 24 hours.
Submit your FREE assessment Questionnaire to find out what your options may be for Canada Immigration. Your assessment results will be e-mailed to you in less than 24 hours.
Are you a business person or manager looking to immigrate to Canada ?
Workers or Students currently in Canada can become Permanemt Residents through the Canadian/Quebec Experience Class program.
Are you a worker currently in the United States on a temporary work visa?
Canadian Facts
Canadian Facts
This section is from a folder entitled Canada. Within the folder there were sheets with "Facts Canada" printed down at the bottom. The folder is from Foreign Affairs and International Trade. If you think that there is anything wrong with this page or you have a fact that you think is worth while putting up here I would love to here from you.
Political Facts
- Canada became The Dominion of Canada on July 1st, 1867. We officially became a country in 1982.
- Canada is a constitutional monarchy and a federal state with a democratic parliament.
- The Parliament is in Ottawa and is comprised of the House of Commons (Lower House) and the Senate (The Upper House - whose members are appointed)
- Members of Parliament are elected approximately every 4 years. Elections may be called early or terms can be as long as 5 years. A vote of non-confidence in the government (where the government no longer has the support of 50 percent of the House) may also force an election. This occurred in 1979 when PM Joe Clark's government lost the support of the House and an election was called within a year of that government coming to power. Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister and hold their positions until they are 75.
- Right now there are currently 5 officially recognized parties in the House of Commons: The Liberals, Canadian Alliance, Bloc Quebecois, Progressive Conservatives and the New Democratic Party.
- Canada currently sits on the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent representative.
- Canada is a member of many international organizations including NATO, OSCE, OAS and APEC.
- Canada's land mass is 9 970610 km2 (The world's second largest country)
- Ottawa is the Capital of Canada (located in Ontario)
- Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. (For more info - see Regions page)
- There are more than 100 national parks and historic sites in Canada. (Many Provincial too)
- Mountain Ranges include: Torngats, Appalachians, Laurentians, Rocky, Costal, Mackenzie, Mt.St. Elias and the Pelly Mountairs.
- At 6050 m above sea level, Mount Logan in the Yukon is Canada's tallest peak.
- Great Bear lake is the largest lake in Canada with an area of 31 326 km2
- The longest river is the Mackenzie River flowing 4241 km through the NWT.
- Canada has six time zones. In NFLD the time zone is 3 hours and 30 minutes past Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) The other time zones are full hours behind GMT. The farthest west is the Pacific at 8 hours behind GMT.
- Canada's capital, Ottawa, has the coldest average temperature of any capital city in the world. (I was there in January, 2000 and can talk about this from experience... although it's more like ranting....)
- The National emblem is the maple leaf and has been associated with Canada since the 1700's.
- The flag of Canada has two red bars and a white center - within there being a maple leaf. It was adopted as the National Flag in 1965. (Before hand Canada used the Union Jack - the British Flag for its flag.)
- The National Anthem for Canada is "O Canada" - proclaimed on July 1st 1980 - a century after being sung for the first time. (Before hand Canadians sang God Save the Queen/King)
- The Canadian dollar is divided into 100 cents (like the American dollar)
- In Canada $1 and $2 are represented by coins. Nicknamed the "loonie" (because there is a loon on it) and the Twonie (I guess because it rhymes with loonie.)
- Principle Natural Resources are: natural gas, oil, gold, coal, copper, iron ore, nickel, potash, uranium, and zinc along with wood and water.
- The GDP for Canada in 1992 (recession year) was (in Canadian Dollars) $668.5 Billion.
- Leading Industries: automobile manufacturing, pulp and paper, iron, steel work, machinery and equipment manufacturing, mining, extraction of fossil fuels, forestry and agriculture.
- Leading exports are: automobile vehicles and parts, machinery and equipment, high technology products, oil, natural gas, metals and forest farm products.
- Imports are: machinery and industrial equipment, (communications and electronic equipment, vehicles and automobile parts, industrial materials (ie: metal ores, iron, steel, precious metals, chemicals, plastics, cotton, wool and other textiles) along with manufactured products and food.
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| Penny $0.01 CND | Nickel $0.05 CND | Dime $0.10 | Quarter $0.25 CND |
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Currency is not shown in proportion. Click on the pictures for a close-up of each coin.
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| 50 Cent Piece $0.50 CND | Dollar Coin (aka "loonie" $1.00 CND | Two Dollar Coin (aka "twoonie" $2.00 CND |
Drink
Drink
The drinking age in Canada varies from province to province. In Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec the age is 18, while in the rest of the provinces and territories it is 19. A peculiarity of many Canadian provinces is that liquor and beer can only be sold in licensed stores and this usually excludes supermarkets. In Ontario alcoholic beverages can only be sold in licensed restaurants and bars and "Liquor Control Board" (LCBO) stores that are run by the Province; although you can also buy wine in some supermarkets in a special area called the "Wine Rack". Supermarkets in other provinces generally have their own liquor store nearby. Québec has the least restrictions on the sale of alcohol, and one can usually find alcohol at convenience stores (depanneur), in addition to the government-owned Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ) stores. Alberta is the only province where alcohol sales are completely decentralized, so many supermarket chains will have separate liquor stores near the actual supermarket. Prices may seem high to Americans from certain states, bringing alcohol in to Canada (up to 1L of hard liquor, 1.5L of wine, or a 24 pack of beer), is advisable. American cigarettes are also quite popular to bring in as they are not sold in Canada.
Canadian adults enjoy beer and other alcoholic beverages quite often. Watching sports, especially hockey, is a popular time to consume these type of drinks.
Eat
Eat
Poutine, Quebec
English Canadians may be mystified if you ask where you can get Canadian food. Although you will find some regional specialties, especially at the Eastern and Western edges of the country, in English Canada there isn't much food known as "Canadian" except for maple syrup, nanaimo bars (chocolate-topped no-bake squares with custard or vanilla butter filling and crumb base), buttertarts (tarts made with butter, sugar and eggs), beaver tails (fried dough topped with icing sugar), fiddleheads (curled heads of young ferns), and a few other examples. They are an important, if somewhat humble, part of the Canadian culinary landscape. In other respects, English Canadian cuisine is very similar to that of the northern United States. Canadians may be unaware that they even have national dishes, especially in the more urbanized areas, such as Toronto, and if you ask for a beaver tail or fiddlehead, you may receive nothing but a strange look or a polite giggle. That being said, there is a rising trend among Canadian chefs and restaurateurs to offer locally-produced ingredients, and most major cities have bistros which specialize in local cuisine. This can even include game meat dishes such as caribou, venison, moose, grouse or wild turkey prepared in a variety of European styles.
French-Canadian cuisine is distinctive and includes such specialties as tourtière, a meat pie dish that dates back to the founding of Quebec in the 1600s, cipaille (meat and vegetable pie), cretons (mince of pork drippings), ragoût de pattes (pigs' feet stew), plorine (pork pie), oreilles de Christ (fried larding bacon), poutine, a dish consisting of French fries, cheese curds and gravy (its popularity has spread across the country and can be found from coast to coast), croquignoles (home-made doughnuts cooked in shortening), tarte à la farlouche (pie made of raisins, flour and molasses), tarte au sucre (sugar pie), and numerous cheeses and maple syrup products. Staples include baked beans, peas and ham. French-Canadian cuisine also incorporates elements of the cuisines of English-speaking North America, and, unsurprisingly, France.
One peculiar tradition that you may notice in nearly every small town is the Chinese-Canadian restaurant. A lot of the reason for this is the role Chinese immigration played historically in the early settlement of Canada, particularly in the building of the railroad. These establishments sell the usual fast food Chinese cuisine. In Toronto and Vancouver, two large centres of Chinese immigration, one can find authentic Chinese cuisine that rivals that of Hong Kong and Shanghai. In Toronto, visit the Chinatown area of Spadina-Dundas; if north of the city, consider a visit to the Markham area, which has recently seen an influx of newer Chinese immigrants.
Montreal is well known for its Central and Eastern European Jewish specialties, including local varieties of bagels and smoked meat. In the prairie provinces you can find great Ukrainian food, such as perogies, due to large amounts of Ukrainian immigrants.
If you are more adventurous, in the larger cities especially, you will find a great variety of ethnic tastes from all over Europe, Asia and elsewhere. You can find just about any taste and style of food in Canada, from a 20 oz T-Bone with all the trimmings to Japanese sushi (indeed, much of the salmon used in sushi in Japan comes from Canada). Consult local travel brochures upon arrival. They can be found at almost any hotel and are free at any provincial or municipal tourist information centre.
Americans will find many of their types of cuisine and brands with subtle differences, and many products unique to Canada, such as brands of chocolate bars and the availability of authentic maple syrup.
Beer
Beer
Canadian mass-market beers (e.g., Molson's, Labatt's) are generally a pale gold lager, with an alcohol content of 5% to 6%. This alcohol level may be higher than popular beers in the U.S. or Great Britain, so it pays to be careful if you're a visitor. Like most mass-market beers, they are not very distinctive (although Americans will notice that there are beers made by these companies that are not sold in the States), however, Canadian beer drinkers have been known to support local brewers. In recent years, there's been a major increase in the number and the quality of beers from micro-breweries. Although many of these beers are only available near where they are produced, it behooves you to ask at mid-scale to top-end bars for some of the local choices: they will be fresh, often non-pasteurized, and have a much wider range of styles and flavours than you would expect by looking at the mass-market product lines. Many major cities have one or more brew pubs, which brew and serve their own beers, often with a full kitchen backing the bar. These spots offer a great chance to sample different beers and to enjoy food selected to complement the beers.
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