Portal:Canada

Canadian forces moving toward Falaise on 14 August 1944

Operation Tractable was the final attack conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by a British tank brigade, during the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The operation was to capture the tactically important French town of Falaise and then the smaller towns of Trun and Chambois. This operation was undertaken by the First Canadian Army with the 1st Polish Armoured Division (Generał brygady Stanisław Maczek) and a British armoured brigade against Army Group B of the Westheer in what became the largest encirclement on the Western Front during the Second World War. Despite a slow start and limited gains north of Falaise, novel tactics by the 1st Polish Armoured Division during the drive for Chambois enabled the Falaise Gap to be partially closed by 19 August 1944, trapping about 150,000 German soldiers in the Falaise Pocket. (Full article...)

Charles Stewart, PC (August 26, 1868 – December 6, 1946) was a Canadian politician who served as the third premier of Alberta from 1917 until 1921. Born in Strabane, Ontario, in then Wentworth County (now part of Hamilton), Stewart was a farmer who moved west to Alberta after his farm was destroyed by a storm. There he became active in politics and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1909 election. He served as Minister of Public Works and Minister of Municipal Affairs—the first person to hold the latter position in Alberta—in the government of Arthur Sifton. When Sifton left provincial politics in 1917 to join the federal cabinet, Stewart was named his replacement. (Full article...)

Bottled maple syrup

Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the sap, which is processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. (Full article...)

The prime minister of Canada (French: premier ministre du Canada) is the head of government of Canada. Not outlined in any constitutional document, the office exists only per long-established convention. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a member of Parliament (MP) and leads the largest party or a coalition of parties. The prime minister is appointed by the monarch's representative, the governor general, and, as first minister, selects other ministers to form the Cabinet and chairs it. Constitutionally, executive authority is vested in the monarch (who is the head of state), but, in practice, the powers of the monarch and governor general are nearly always exercised on the advice of the Cabinet, which is collectively responsible to the House of Commons. Canadian prime ministers are appointed to the Privy Council and styled as the Right Honourable (French: Le très honorable), a privilege maintained for life. (Full article...)

June 19, 2024 – Canada–Iran relations

Canada adds Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to its list of terrorist entities. (Bloomberg)

June 12, 2024 –

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society announces that a Canadian-led team has located the wreckage of Quest, the polar exploration ship of the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition off the coast of Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. (Reuters)

May 31, 2024 –

Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton dies in prison after being attacked by another inmate earlier this month. (AP)

May 21, 2024 –

Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is reported to be on life support after being physically attacked in a prison in Port-Cartier, Quebec. (Vancouver Sun)

May 18, 2024 –

Three people are killed and five others are injured in a boat collision on Bobs Lake in Ontario, Canada. (CBC News)

May 17, 2024 –

A child in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, dies of measles, the province's first such death since 1989. (CBC News)

• ... that before the House of Commons of Canada considers a taxation or spending bill, a royal recommendation has to be given by the governor general?
• ... that Oakwood Cemetery contains the graves of Confederate soldiers and officers, English, Canadian, and French World War II pilots, and Hank Williams?
• ... that Chickaboom!, by country musician Tami Neilson, was nominated for both Canadian and New Zealand music awards?
• ... that Canadian doctor James Maskalyk's book Six Months in Sudan was based on his blog?
• ... that the Temagami River in Ontario, Canada, is an outstanding water route with twenty sets of whitewater rapids rated CI to CIII?
• ... that Banner in the Sky inspired a Canadian dentist to climb the Matterhorn?
• ... that Michelle O'Bonsawin is the first Indigenous person appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada?

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada. It was established by the Parliament of Canada through the Supreme and Exchequer Court Act of 1875. Since 1949, the Court has been the final court of appeal in the Canadian justice system. Originally composed of six justices (the Chief Justice of Canada and five puisne justices), the Court was expanded to seven justices by the creation of an additional puisne justice position in 1927, and then to nine justices by the creation of two more puisne justice positions in 1949. (Full article...)