Canada offers diverse investment opportunities for American Firms. “A land of vast distances and rich in natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. The nation has developed in a parallel manner with the US economically and technologically. Canada faces challenges of meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care, education, social services, and economic competitiveness. They also aim to develop its diverse energy resources while maintaining its commitment to the environment.” (2). Before companies make an investment on Canadian soil there are a few key factors necessary for reviewing which involve locale, political, economical, social, and technological analysis.
Locale
The geographic size of Canada is 3.9 million square miles making Canada the second largest country in the world, after Russia. Canada, slightly larger than the United States, hosts a land area of 9,093,507 sq. km and a water area of 891,163 sq. km. Canada’s major cities and highly populated areas are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax. As part of the North American continent, Canada consists of ten provinces and three territories. Its only border is with the United States and is known as the longest border in the world. Canada’s geographical range stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Much of Canada is still wilderness. The Rocky Mountains cover a major part of western Canada (British Columbia, the Yukon Territory, and the western part of Alberta) which consists of Canada’s highest point, Mount Logan. The western central part of Canada is mostly prairie consisting of the natural resources grain, and timber. The Alberta province in the western region hosts significant amounts of oil and natural gas. Consequently, the U.S. happens to be one of the main consumers of Canadian oil. The country is also rich in minerals such as zinc, silver, nickel and uranium. The Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta) harvest more than 20% of the world’s wheat. The east central parts of Canada are the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Both are known for manufacturing goods which have a wide variety of products. Ontario is known for its wine production and beautiful farm lands, rich in orchards, located in the southern part of Ontario. The Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland are all on the east coast which rely heavily on Atlantic Ocean fishing for their way of life. The Maritime Provinces also rely on the natural resource timber. The lowest point of Canada is located on the east coast off of the Atlantic Ocean.
Canada holds vast reserves of water. Its rivers discharge nearly 9% of the world's renewable water supply, it contains a quarter of the world's wetlands, and it has the third largest amount of glaciers. Canada hosts more than two million lakes due to extensive glaciations. Niagara Falls, Canada’s best known tourist attraction is the largest falls in the world by volume of water. The falls drain from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario and form the international border between Ontario and the U.S. (New York). The falls are 17 miles north-northwest of Buffalo, NY and 75 miles south-southeast of Toronto, Ontario.
As most Americans may believe, the climate in Canada is not as cold all year around Canada’s winter temperatures fall below freezing point throughout most of Canada. But the south-western coast has a relatively mild climate. Along the Arctic Circle, mean temperatures are below freezing for seven months a year. During the summer months the southern provinces often experience high levels of humidity and temperatures that can surpass 30 degrees Celsius regularly. Western and south-eastern Canada experience high rainfall, but the Prairies are dry with 250 mm to 500 mm of rain every year.”
Canadian natural hazards involve “continuous permafrost in the north which is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country’s rain and snow east of the mountains.” Canadian Volcanoes are in the vast majority of Western Canada which remain inactive.
Politics
Politically Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The country has a multi-party system in which many of its legislative practices derive from the unwritten conventions of and precedents set by Great Britain's Westminster Parliament. The two dominant political parties in Canada have historically been the Conservative Party of Canada and the Liberal Party of Canada. The country also hosts two smaller interest parties, the Quebec nationalist Bloc Québécois (Left-wing, Quebec Nationalists, social democratic) and the Green Party of Canada (Centrists, Green politics.
The Canadian political system was first drafted in 1864 at the Quebec Conference, and became law when the constitution act was passed in 1867. This gave the formal executive authority to the Queen of Great Britain, Queen Victoria, making Canada a sovereign democracy. Canada is structured from English common law for all matters within federal jurisdiction and in all provinces and territories except Quebec, which is based on the civil law, based on the Custom of Paris in pre-revolutionary France as set out in the Civil Code of Quebec.
Currently, Canada is an independent Federal state with the Queen still the head of state. Her powers are extremely limited however, as the Parliament passes the laws which the Queen gives the "Royal Assent" as the final step. The Governor General of Canada is the Queens representative in Canada and carries out all the Royal obligations when the Queen is not in Canada. The Governor is always a Canadian chosen by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. The length of office is normally five years for the Governor General. The Houses of Parliament are located in the capital city of Ottawa. The three main sections of the Canadian Parliament consist of: the monarch, the Senate, and the House of Commons.
Currently, the Senate, which is frequently described as providing "regional" representation, has 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister to serve until age 75. It was created with equal representation from each of Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime region and the Western Provinces.
In the House of Commons members of Parliament are elected by the general public during a Federal election every five years. The House currently has 308 members representing the country’s divided constituencies. Mandates cannot exceed five years; an election must occur by the end of this time. The size of the House and apportionment of seats to each province is revised after every census, conducted every five years, and is based on population changes and approximately on representation-by-population.
Political Parties The current ruling party, the Conservative party, was reformed in December 2003 through the uniting of the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party. In the political spectrum the party sits center-right. The core principles of this movement are a strong national defense, open federalism, national unity, free enterprise, and individual achievement. The new Conservative Party of Canada elected Stephen Harper as its first leader on March 20th, 2004. Then on January 23rd, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet were sworn in as the new Government of Canada. The Liberal Party is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the political spectrum the party sits center-left. The Liberal Party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century, more than any other party in a developed country. This party supports the concerns of the middle class by supporting funding for education and tax credits for environmental responsibility. On May 25, 2011, the Liberal Party caucus chose Bob Rae as their interim leader.