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The Canadarm was a remote-controlled mechanical arm, also known as the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS). During its 30-year career with NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, the robotic arm deployed, captured and repaired satellites, positioned astronauts, maintained equipment, and moved cargo.

The northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) is a toothed whale found in the northern regions of the Atlantic Ocean. In Canadian waters, there are two populations: one off the coast of Nova Scotia, known as the Scotian shelf population, and the other off the coast of Labrador, known as the Baffin-Labrador population. The Scotian shelf population is endangered while the Baffin-Labrador population is considered “special concern” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The northern bottlenose whale is the largest beaked whale in the North Atlantic. (See also Endangered Animals in Canada.)

The grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale found in the North Pacific Ocean. It is known for its very long migrations and seafloor feeding. Due to its habit of staying near the shore and curiosity around small ships, it is a favourite among whale watchers. Researchers generally group grey whales into three populations: the Western Pacific population, the Northern Pacific migratory population, and the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG). While all three populations migrate through waters on Canada’s west coast, the most well-known residents in Canadian waters are from the PCFG. Many of these individuals live off the coast of British Columbia year-round.

The Meech Lake Accord was a failed attempt to add Quebec’s consent to the Constitution. It would have made provincial powers stronger. It also would have declared Quebec a “distinct society.” Support for the Accord fell apart in 1990. Many Québécois saw this as a rejection of Quebec. Support for separatism soared there. It eventually led to the 1995 Quebec Referendum.

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

The Cree language (also called Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi) is spoken in many parts of Canada, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to Labrador in the east. Cree is also spoken in northern Montana in the United States. Often written in syllabics (i.e., symbols representing a combination of consonant and vowel, or just a consonant or vowel), Cree is one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in Canada. In the 2016 census, 96,575 people reported speaking Cree.

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.)

The monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a species of butterfly best known for its migratory habits. Sometimes called the wanderer butterfly, its annual migration is unlike that of any other insect found in North America. During Canadian summers, the monarch butterfly is normally found in every province except Newfoundland and Labrador, and is abundant wherever its host plant milkweed grows. Due to a decline in milkweed among other factors, the monarch butterfly is an endangered species. Still, its large size, orange-and-black colouration, and slow, sailing flight make it a familiar sight across most of Canada.

The Art Ross Trophy is awarded annually to the player who leads the National Hockey League in scoring points during the regular season. If there is a tie at the end of the season, the trophy is awarded to the player with the most goals. The trophy was donated in 1948 by Arthur Howey Ross, general manager of the Boston Bruins. Several players have won the award multiple times, including Wayne Gretzky (10 times), Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux (6 times), Phil Esposito and Jaromir Jagr (5), Stan Mikita (4), and Bobby Hull and Guy Lafleur (3).

The Tahltan (pronounced tall-tan) bear dog was one of five dog breeds recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club as uniquely Canadian (see also Dogs in Canada). Although the name of the breed suggests it was only kept by the Tahltan Nation of Northwestern British Columbia, the dog was common among other First Nations in the region, too. These included the Tlingit, Tagish, Kaska and Sekani. The Tahltan people referred to it as “our dog,” which gave the breed its name. Indigenous peoples used the Tahltan bear dog in sustenance hunting— primarily for bear— an activity in which it excelled. The breed went extinct in the in the 1970s or 80s.

Sweat lodges are heated, dome-shaped structures used by Indigenous peoples during certain purification rites and as a way to promote healthy living.

The Fowler’s toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) is a medium-sized, earthen-coloured toad that is native to Eastern North America. In Canada, Fowler’s toads are only found in a few small areas along the north shore of Lake Erie. This species lives in places with sandy or gravelly soils into which individuals can burrow; Fowler’s toads spend much of their time underground. Due to small and declining populations, the Fowler’s toad is endangered in Canada.

The province of Nova Scotia has a majority Progressive Conservative government, formed on 17 August 2021. The premier of the province is Tim Houston and the lieutenant-governor is Arthur J. LeBlanc. Among Nova Scotia’s contributions to Canadian politics was the movement for responsible government, initiated by Joseph Howe, a political reformer, in 1836. In 1848, politicians in Nova Scotia formed the first responsible government in British North America.

Under Canada’s federal system, the powers of government are shared between the federal government, provincial governments and territorial governments. The territories — Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon — are governed by their respective governments. They receive their legislative authority (the ability to create laws) from the federal government. Ottawa has given territorial governments authority over public education, health and social services; as well as the administration of justice and municipal government. More and more of these powers have been handed down from the federal government in a process called devolution. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada is the federal ministry responsible for the territories.

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional football team in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Formed in 1873 as part of the Argonaut Rowing Club, the team has won 18 Grey Cup championships, the most of any team in the history of Canadian football. In total, the Argonauts have appeared in 24 Grey Cup games, losing only six. (The Grey Cup has also been won by two other Toronto teams — the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers — for a combined 25 championships for the city.)

Music industries. While it is common speak in the singular of the music industry, especially in reference to popular music, music is in fact central to a number of different industries, each of which derives revenues from music in distinct ways.

Seagram Company Limited, commonly known as Seagram or Seagram’s, was the world’s largest producer and distributor of distilled spirits. Its head offices were in Montréal. While Seagram traced its roots back to a distillery founded in 1857, it was incorporated as a public company in 1928 under the name Distillers Corporation-Seagrams Ltd., a holding company that acquired the capital stocks of Distillers Corporation Ltd. and Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Ltd. It gained notoriety during American prohibition (1920–33), during which time Seagram legally exported spirits directly and circuitously to the United States. The company was majority owned and operated by the Bronfman family; Samuel Bronfman established the company in 1928 and his eldest son, Edgar, took over after his death in 1971. Edgar in turn handed control to his son Edgar Jr. in 1994. The company expanded and diversified a few times, branching from the liquor business to the oil and gas industry in the 1950s and 1960s, the petrochemicals industry in the 1980s, with industry giant DuPont, and the entertainment and communications business in the 1990s, with MCA Inc. and Universal. In 2000, the company was sold to French conglomerate Vivendi, who retained Seagram’s entertainment and communications wing but sold its distilling interests to Pernod Ricard and Diageo.

African-American folk and pop music with a vocal and instrumental tradition; also a song form. Though by origin and nature a folk music, the blues enjoyed wider popularity with the advent of commercial recording.