| Canadian culture has historically been
influenced by British, French, and Aboriginal cultures and traditions. It
has also been influenced by American culture because of its proximity and
migration between the two countries. American media and entertainment are
popular, if not dominant, in English Canada; conversely, many Canadian
cultural products and entertainers are successful in the U.S. and
worldwide. Many cultural products are marketed toward a unified "North
American" or global market.
The creation and preservation of distinctly Canadian culture are supported
by federal government programs, laws and institutions such as the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of Canada (NFB),
and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Canada is a geographically vast and ethnically diverse country. Canadian
culture has also been greatly influenced by immigration from all over the
world. Many Canadians value multiculturalism and see Canadian culture as
being inherently multicultural. Multicultural heritage is the basis of
Section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
National symbols are influenced by natural, historical, and First Nations
sources. Particularly, the use of the maple leaf as a Canadian symbol
dates back to the early 18th century and is depicted on its current and
previous flags, the penny, and on the coat of arms. Other prominent
symbols include the beaver, Canada goose, common loon, the Crown, the RCMP,
and more recently the totem pole and inukchuk.
Canada's official national sports are ice hockey in the winter and
lacrosse in the summer. Ice hockey is a national pastime and the most
popular spectator sport in the country. It is the most popular sport
Canadians play, with 1.65 million active participants in 2004. Canada's
six largest metropolitan areas – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa,
Calgary, and Edmonton – have franchises in the National Hockey League
(NHL), and there are more Canadian players in the league than from all
other countries combined. After hockey, other popular spectator sports
include curling and football; the latter is played professionally in the
Canadian Football League (CFL). Golf, baseball, skiing, soccer,
volleyball, and basketball are widely played at youth and amateur levels,
but professional leagues and franchises are not as widespread.
Canada hosted several high-profile international sporting events,
including the 1976 Summer Olympics, the 1988 Winter Olympics, and the 2007
FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada will be the host country for the 2010 Winter
Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.
Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada |