Population density: 3/km2 (9/mi2)
Main languages spoken: English, French, Chinese, Italian, German, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Inuktitut, Cree Relations between French-speaking Québécois and the English-speaking majority in Canada have been the dominant ethnic issue of the past 40 years. Support for separatist parties increased mainly because of the failure of Canada's other provinces to deal with Québec's demand to be recognized as a "distinct society," with powers to preserve its culture and language from further Anglicization. Québec's still controversial 1977 language law made French the province's official language. Two-thirds of Canada's population live in the 5% of its land area taken up by the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence lowlands. However, Canada's ethnic mix has changed significantly since the 1970s, due to a move from a restrictive immigration policy to one which welcomes those with money or skills. Significant numbers of Asians have moved to Canada. The government promotes a policy which encourages each group to maintain its own culture, creating a "mosaic" or a "community of communities." The largest element of the indigenous population is the one millon people of native Amerindian descent, known in Canada as First Nations. There are also 300,000 Métis (French-Amerindians) and an Inuit population of some 56,000 in the north. In 1992 the Inuit successfully settled their long-standing land claim, and in 1999 the Nunavut area, with only 27,000 mainly Inuit inhabitants, gained the status of a territory, the first part of Canada to be governed by indigenous Canadians in modern history. A Supreme Court land rights ruling in 1997, establishing the principle of "aboriginal title," opened the way for the return of ancestral lands claimed by native Amerindian nations, and in 1998 the federal government formally apologized for their past mistreatment. Canada has a long tradition of state welfare more akin to Scandinavia than the US. Unemployment provision and health care, supported by high taxes, are still generous, despite recent cutbacks. The government has sought to end inequalities. Measures include the "pay-equity" laws, which aim to specify pay rates for jobs done by men or women requiring a similar level of skill. Women are well represented at most levels of business and government. THE URBAN/RURAL POPULATION SPLIT
 RELIGIOUS PERSUASION
 ETHNIC MAKEUP
 POPULATION AGE BREAKDOWN
 From "The Financial Times World Desk Reference" © Dorling Kindersley 2004 | 
