Country Profile

Country name: Canada
Capital: Ottawa
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.023 trillion (2004 est.)
Government Type: confederation with parliamentary democracy

Land Area

· total: 9,984,670 sq km
· land: 9,093,507 sq km
· water: 891,163 sq km

Climate: varies from temperate in south to sub-arctic and arctic in north

Population: 32,805,041 (July 2005 estimate)

Religion

· Roman Catholic 42.6%
· Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%)
· other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)

Languages Spoken

· English (official) 59.3%
· French (official) 23.2%
· other 17.5%

An overview of Canada

A land of vast distances and rich natural resources, Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an unfortified border. Canada's paramount political problem is meeting public demands for quality improvements in health care and education services after a decade of budget cuts. The issue of reconciling Quebec's francophone heritage with the majority Anglophone Canadian population has moved to the back burner in recent years; support for separatism abated after the Quebec government's referendum on independence failed to pass in October of 1995.

The People

Canadians share a family tree that represents peoples from around the world. Diversity, the fabric of Canadian society, shapes Canada’s political and cultural landscape.

Jobs in Canada

Does Canada need foreign skills?

Absolutely. In fact, foreign skills are vital to Canada's economic development. As Canada's graying workforce creeps towards retirement age, the country could face worker shortages in the next decade, especially in health care, education and construction, Statistics Canada warned. Faced with looming worker shortages, Statistics Canada said Canada will have to rely heavily on Canadian immigration to fill in the gaps. "If current immigration rates continue, it is possible that immigration could account for virtually all labor force growth by 2011," Statistics Canada said.

Jobs Available

Over the past few years Canada has experienced dynamic growth and activity in industries such as Information Technology (IT), Engineering, Financial and Film Production.

In Canada, skilled professionals in particular industries have become more difficult to find due to the global technology boom of the 90s. Corporations are faced with the challenge of seeking out their team beyond the ocean borders. Thus, every year, over 90,000 foreign workers enter Canada working temporarily to help Canadian employers address skill shortages in Canada.

Sample employment positions and their salaries:

Sources:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html