Understand

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Canada is a land of vast distances and rich natural beauty. Economically and technologically, it resembles its neighbour to the South, the United States, and shares with it the longest undefended border in the world. Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 by an act of British parliament, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Though a medium sized country by its population, Canada has earned respect on the international stage for its strong diplomatic skills. Internally, the country has displayed success in negotiating compromises amongst a culturally and linguistically varied population, a difficult task considering that language, culture, cuisine and even history vary significantly over the country. In contrast to the United States' image as a melting pot, Canada prefers to consider itself a mosaic of cultures and people. The information below will get you started, but be sure to check the specifics for given regions and cities. It has socialized medicine, too.

Time zones

The Canadian Sir Sandford Fleming first proposed time zones for the entire world in 1876, and Canada is covered coast to coast with multiple zones.

Yukon and most of British Columbia are within Pacific Standard Time

Northwest Territories, Alberta, parts of eastern British Columbia and part of western Nunavut are within Mountain Standard Time

Saskatchewan, unlike the rest of Canada, does not participate in Daylight Savings Time and remains on Central Standard Time year-round: in the winter, it is in the same time zone as Manitoba; in the summer, it is in the same time zone as Alberta

Manitoba and Ontario west of Thunder Bay, as well as central Nunavut are within Central Standard Time

Ontario from Thunder Bay east, most of Quebec and eastern Nunavut are within Eastern Standard Time

Most of Labrador, north-eastern Quebec and all of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are within Atlantic Standard Time

The island of Newfoundland has its own time zone, Newfoundland Standard Time; the south-eastern corner of Labrador is also within this time zone, which is only a half-hour different to Atlantic Standard Time

See also Time zones

Climate

Trying to distill the climate of Canada into an easy to understand statement is impossible, given the vast area that this country occupies. The southernmost point of mainland southern Ontario, Point Pelee, and the nearby islands in Lake Erie at a very similar latitude to northern California, and has a climate similar to the eastern US. Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is just south of the Arctic Circle and remains very cold for most of the year.

However, as most of the Canadian population resides within a couple of hours drive of the southern border shared with the United States, a visitor to these areas will probably not have to endure the weather that accompanies a trip to the northern territories. In fact, summers can be hot in parts of Canada. Summer temperatures over 38°C (100°F) are not unusual in extreme Southern Ontario and the southern Interior of British Columbia. Toronto's climate is only slightly cooler than many cities in the northeastern United States,...