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The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, commonly known as CIBC, is the fifth largest chartered bank in Canada. It was created through the 1961 merger of two Ontario-based banks, the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada — the largest merger of two chartered banks in Canada’s history. Today, CIBC operates its business in Canada and abroad through three divisions: retail and business banking, wealth management, and capital markets. CIBC is a public company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CM. In 2022, CIBC registered $21.83 billion in revenue and $6.24 billion in net income and held $943.60 billion in assets. The bank employs approximately 50,427 people, who serve 13 million clients around the world.

The Toronto-Dominion Bank, commonly known as TD, is the second largest chartered bank in Canada. The Toronto-Dominion Bank is the result of the past mergers of three financial companies: The Bank of Toronto, The Dominion Bank, and Canada Trust. The mergers began in 1955 when The Dominion Bank merged with The Bank of Toronto. This group then acquired Canada Trust in 2000, creating a new entity called TD Canada Trust. Toronto-Dominion Bank is a public company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TD. In 2022, TD registered $49.03 billion in revenue and $17.43 billion in net income and held $1.92 trillion in assets. The bank employs approximately 94,867 people, who serve more than 27 million customers.

The Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly referred to as “Scotiabank,” is Canada’s third largest chartered bank. Incorporated in 1832, the bank has established itself as Canada’s most international bank through extensive operations throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Central America and parts of Asia. It is also known as “Canada’s gold bank” because of its dominant position in bullion trading. The bank also operates three other business lines: personal banking, commercial banking, and wealth management. Scotiabank is a public company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BNS. In 2021, Scotiabank registered $31.42 billion in revenue and $10.17 billion in profit and held $1.35 trillion in assets. The bank employs 90,979 people, who serve more than 25 million customers around the world.

The Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817, making it Canada’s oldest incorporated bank. From its founding to the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1935, the Bank of Montreal served as Canada’s central bank. Today, the various components of the Bank of Montreal are collectively known as BMO Financial Group. BMO is Canada’s fourth largest bank by assets, and the eighth largest in North America. It offers services in three distinct areas — personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking. BMO is a public company that trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BMO. In 2022, BMO registered $33.71 billion in revenue and $13.54 billion in profit and held $1.14 trillion in assets. BMO employs more than 46,722 people who serve more than 8 million customers across Canada.

Before contact with Europeans, Indigenous peoples educated their youth through traditional means — demonstration, group socialization, participation in cultural and spiritual rituals, skill development and oral teachings. The introduction of European classroom-style education as part of a larger goal of assimilation disrupted traditional methods and resulted in cultural trauma and dislocation. Reformers of Indigenous education policies are attempting to reintegrate traditional teachings and provide more cultural and language-based support to enhance and improve the outcomes of Indigenous children in the education system.

Canada is a federal state. This means that the powers and duties of government are split between two levels. There is one national (central, or federal) government and many smaller regional (provincial) ones. The areas of jurisdiction for each level were first outlined at the Quebec Conference in 1864. (See Quebec Resolutions.) They are enshrined in the Constitution Act, 1867. They have been a source of debate and tension between the provinces and the federal government since Confederation. (See Federal-Provincial Relations.) Despite that, this part of the Constitution has remained largely unchanged since then.

Turtle Island is another name for North America. The origin of the name comes from the Algonquian-and-Iroquoian-speaking peoples. They are from the Northeastern part of North America. The stories are about a turtle that carries the world on its back. It is a symbol for life, the earth, and Indigenous identity. It also shows a deep appreciation for nature.

This article is a plain-language summary of Turtle Island. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Turtle Island.

Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.

After a razor-thin majority voted in the 1995 Quebec Referendum for Quebec to stay in Canada, the Liberal government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien responded with various initiatives to promote federalism in the province. A sponsorship program began in 1996. Public money was directed from the Department of Public Works and Government Services to private advertising agencies to promote Canada and the federal government at cultural, community and sports events in Quebec. The media began questioning the spending and handling of these contracts. Two auditor general reports and a public inquiry revealed that ad agency executives and Liberal Party officials had corruptly handled more than $300 million; $100 million of which was funnelled from the government to the Liberal Party. Five people were found guilty of fraud. Along with several other issues, the scandal helped lead to the government of Chrétien’s successor, Paul Martin, being reduced to a minority in 2004.

The Canadian War Museum, Canada's national museum of military history, was opened in 2005 on the south bank of the Ottawa River. The museum, originally begun in 1880 as an informal collection of military artifacts, was moved in 1967 to an archives building on Sussex Drive with most of the collection stored off-site. In 2001, the Federal Government announced the decision to fund the construction of a state-of-the art new building to be situated in the LeBreton Flats area of downtown Ottawa. Designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects in a joint venture with Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects, the Museum opened in May 2005. Appropriately, its opening coincided with the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and also the 125th anniversary of the museum itself.

South Asians trace their origins to South Asia, which encompasses India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Most South Asian Canadians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from these countries, but immigrants from South Asian communities established during British colonial times also include those from East and South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji and Mauritius. Others come from Britain, the US and Europe. In the 2016 census, 1, 963,330 Canadians reported South Asian origins (1,603,000 single and 360,330 multiple responses).

The Québec referendum of 1980, on the Parti Québécois government’s plans for sovereignty-association, was held in fulfilment of a promise that the party had made to do so, during the 1976 election campaign that brought it to power. In this referendum, the government asked the people of Québec to give it a mandate to “negotiate a new constitutional agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations.” When the votes were counted, nearly 60% of Quebecers had voted against this plan, and it was thereby rejected. If the “Yes” side had won, the results of the negotiations would have been submitted to a second referendum. The 1980 referendum was followed by constitutional negotiations that have left an indelible mark on the Canadian political scene.

The Numbered Treaties were a series of 11 treaties made between the Crown and First Nations from 1871 to 1921. The Numbered Treaties cover the area between the Lake of the Woods (northern Ontario, southern Manitoba) to the Rocky Mountains (northeastern British Columbia and interior Plains of Alberta) to the Beaufort Sea (north of Yukon and the Northwest Territories).

The treaties provided the Crown with land for industrial development and white settlement. In exchange for their traditional territory, government negotiators made various promises to First Nations, both orally and in the written texts of the treaties. These include special rights to treaty lands and the distribution of cash payments, hunting and fishing tools, farming supplies, and the like. These terms of agreement are controversial and contested. To this day, the Numbered Treaties have ongoing legal and socio-economic impacts on Indigenous communities. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

(This is a full-length entry about the Numbered Treaties. For a plain-language summary, please see Numbered Treaties (Plain-Language Summary.)

The Numbered Treaties are a series of 11 treaties. A treaty is an agreement between two or more nations. The Numbered Treaties were signed by the Canadian government and Indigenous people. All 11 treaties were signed between 1871 and 1921. The Numbered Treaties cover parts of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario. They also cover portions of Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

The treaties provided the Canadian government with land. The government wanted land for industrial development and white settlement. In exchange, the government promised Indigenous people special rights and benefits. These treaty terms are controversial and contested. The Numbered Treaties have ongoing legal, social, and economic impacts on Indigenous communities. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

(This is a plain-language summary of the Numbered Treaties. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Numbered Treaties.)

Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) is a Québec political party founded in 2011 by Charles Sirois and François Legault, former Parti Québécois (PQ) member of the National Assembly (MNA) and cabinet minister. A centre-right political party, the CAQ merged with the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) in 2012. The 1 October election results allowed the Coalition Avenir Québec to form a majority government. Following a decisive victory in the 2022 election, the CAQ formed a second majority government with 90 members of the National Assembly.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 20 November to 18 December 2022. The 22nd edition of the World Cup was the first to be held in an Arab nation: Qatar. It was Canada’s first men’s World Cup appearance since 1986. Canada qualified for the 2022 World Cup by finishing first among CONCACAF qualifiers. Canada set numerous team and individual records throughout the qualifying campaign, most notably a CONCACAF record for the longest undefeated streak (17 games) in a qualifying campaign. Alphonso Davies scored Canada’s historic first-ever goal at a FIFA World Cup. Canada was eliminated in the first round after losing 1–0 to Belgium, 4–1 to Croatia and 2–1 to Morocco.

The Degrassi franchise — consisting of five separate but interrelated TV series, several TV movies and a webseries of shorts — is Canada’s longest-running dramatic series. Following various Toronto youths and their realistic high school experiences, Degrassi has aired off and on for over 40 years, spanning more than 500 episodes. Praised by many as the most successful example of television franchising in Canadian history, Degrassi is licensed in over 140 countries. It has launched the careers of several Canadian talents, most notably Drake. The franchise has received four Primetime Emmy nominations, two International Emmy Awards, 25 Gemini Awards, 16 Canadian Screen Awards and a Peabody Award. It was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2023.