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Religion
Religious practises : Catholics 45.7%
Protestants 36.5%
Atheists 12.7%
Orthodox 1.5%
Jews 1.2%
Others 2.7%.

Canada is a constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy and a federation. The country has strong democratic traditions where Prime Minister exercises a lot of political power.
Queen ELIZABETH II is the head of the state (since February 1952). She appoints a Governor-General for the country for a five-year term. Governor-General appoints the Prime Minister and his Cabinet (however Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet). Prime Minister is the head of the government and also holds the executive powers. The leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet remains in office as long as it retains majority support in the House of Commons.
The legislature in Canada is bicameral. The federal parliament consists of: Senate (upper house) with its members appointed by the Governor-General on advice of the Prime Minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age, and the House of Commons (lower house) with its members elected by direct popular vote to serve for up to five-year terms. The general elections are called by the Governor-General when the Prime Minister so advises. The Canadian citizens enjoy considerable political rights.
Judiciary is independent in Canada. The main source of the law is the country’s constitution which is made of various unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions and traditions. The legal system is based on English common law, except in Quebec where civil law system based on French law prevails. Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the country.
Canada accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but with reservations. English and French are the two judicial languages in the country. Canada is ruled by law. Foreign nationals in the country can enjoy equal treatment from the judiciary which includes even the commercial disputes. Canada is regarded as one of the least corrupt nations in the world.

Canada's four major political parties are: Conservative Party (CPC), Liberal Party (LPC), New Democratic Party (NDP), and the Bloc Québécois.

Governor- General: Michaelle JEAN (since September 2005)
Prime Minister: Stephen HARPER (since February 2006) – Conservative Party

House of Commons: Not later than January 2011

For more information about tourism in Canada , check out the following web site(s) :
Canadian Tourism Commission

Food

Traditional dishes
The Canadian food is very varied.
There is a big variety of fish and seafood based dishes.

Last modified on December 2006