A | B |
Commonwealth of Nations | a group of countries that were once a part of the British Empire. All the member countries recognize Britain's monarch as the head of the commonwealth |
Parliament | lawmaking body in both Britain and Canada; like our congress |
Two Houses of Parliament | Senate and House of Commons |
Members of Senate | appointed by the prime minister |
Prime Minister | leader of Canada's government (like our president); head of the leading political party (party that wins the most seats) in the House of Commons |
Members of the House of Commons | elected by the people for his or her own electoral district |
ministers | 20-30 department heads in the prime ministers cabinet; chosen by the prime minister from the House of Commons |
Prime Minister and Cabinet | in charge of carrying out the laws passed by Parliament |
governor general | post appointed by Britain's monarch; he/she takes part in ceremonies, but has no real power |
federal system | type of government in which states or provinces share authority with the national government |
developed economy | economy in which people use advanced technology and have a high standard of living |
gross domestic product (GDP) | total value of goods and services produced within a country each year |
Canadan's most important industry | service industries, such as trade, finance, government, tourism, and recreation; also manufacturing industries, producing paper products, foods and other goods |
protectionism | trade policy in Canada that is followed to protect Canadian businesses, it restricts products that come into Canada from other countries |
tariffs | taxes on goods |
Canada's leading import and export partner | United States |
Provinces of Canada | Atlalntic Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island), Quebec, Ontario, Prairie Provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba), British Columbia |
Climate | biggest factor in determining where the population lives; the southern part of the country has short, warm summers, but long cold winters; the northern parts are bitterly cold for a large part of the year |