Claim: Canada used to be inhabited by various aboriginal peoples for thousands of years before the European colonies were established.

Canada -LRB- -LSB- ˈkænədə -RSB- -LSB- kanadɑ -RSB- -RRB- is a country in the northern part of North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean , covering 9.98 e6km2 , making it the world 's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area . Canada 's border with the United States is the world 's longest binational land border . The majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate , but southerly areas are warm in summer . Canada is sparsely populated , the majority of its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra and the Rocky Mountains . It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities , many near the southern border . One third of the population lives in the three largest cities : Toronto , Montreal and Vancouver . Its capital is Ottawa , and other major urban areas include Calgary , Edmonton , Quebec City , Winnipeg and Hamilton .   Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization . Beginning in the 16th century , British and French claims were made on the area , with the colony of Canada first being established by the French in 1535 during Jacques Cartier 's second voyage to New France . As a consequence of various conflicts , Great Britain gained and lost territories within British North America until it was left , in the late 18th century , with what mostly geographically comprises Canada today . Pursuant to the British North America Act , on July 1 , 1867 , the colonies of Canada , New Brunswick , and Nova Scotia joined to form the semi-autonomous federal Dominion of Canada . This began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada .   In 1931 , Canada achieved near total independence from the United Kingdom with the Statute of Westminster 1931 , but at the time , Canada decided to allow the British Parliament to temporarily retain the power to amend Canada 's constitution , on request from the Parliament of Canada . With the Constitution Act 1982 , Canada took over that authority -LRB- as the conclusion of Patriation -RRB- , removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom , giving the country full sovereignty .   Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy , with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state . The country is officially bilingual at the federal level . It is one of the world 's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations , the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries . Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world , relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks . Canada 's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture .   Canada is a developed country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index . It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency , civil liberties , quality of life , economic freedom , and education . Canada is a Commonwealth realm member of the Commonwealth of Nations , a member of the Francophonie , and part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations , the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the G8 , the Group of Ten , the G20 , the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum .