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CANADA, federal state that occupies most of the mainland of North America and adjoining numerous islands. Total area 9 984 670 sq. km. In the west it is washed by the Pacific Ocean and borders with Alaska (US state), in the east it is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, in the north - by the Arctic Ocean, in the south it borders with the USA. Geographic coordinates: in the south - 41 ° 41 "N, in the east - 52 ° 40" W, in the west - 141 degrees W. The main mainland of Canada stretches for 5400 km. from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. The islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Anticosti, Prince Edward and others are located off the eastern coast and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the north stretch Baffin's Land, the Hudson Bay Islands and numerous islands of the Polar Archipelago, separated by narrow and shallow straits. The Pacific coast is heavily indented by narrow and long bays with steep slopes. Not far from the western coast lies the large elevated island of Vancouver, Queen Charlotte Islands, and others.

The origin of the word "Canada" is unclear. It is believed to be derived from the Indian "rope" - a collection of huts or a group of people. Obviously, this is how the Indians of modern Quebec called their lands, with whom the first French conquerors faced. During the period of French colonial rule in the 16th and 17th centuries. the name Canada was used along with the official one - New France. Since 1791, this was the name of the English colonies in the area of ​​the modern provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and from 1867 the name was transferred to the whole country between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

NATURE

Relief.

Much of Canada is a hilly plain bounded to the east and west by uplifts along the coast of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In the west of the country along the Pacific coast stretches the mountainous country of the Cordilleras (the width of the mountain belt is about 600 km.). The Canadian Cordillera begin with a number of mountain ranges on the border with Alaska (Ogilvy Range, Mackenzie, Pelly, Kassiar), reaching an altitude of 2,000-2,700 m. From the Lyard River basin, the Rocky Mountains go southerly, which are divided by river valleys into two meridionally located ridge; their western slopes are covered with coniferous forests, the eastern ones are bare and rocky; individual peaks exceed 4000 m in height. The western ridge is called in the northern part of Mount Caribou, further south it is divided into separate branches (Golden Mountains, Selkirk and Parcell). To the west of the Rocky Mountains lies the volcanic plateau of the Fraser and Columbia rivers. The Pacific Coast Mountains also consist of two meridionally running ridges, separated by a longitudinal valley, in the southern part flooded by the sea. The highest parts of the western belt of mountains in the south are the coastal islands of Vancouver, Queen Charlotte, and others, and in the north, on the border with Alaska, they end in wide massifs of St. Elijah and Logan mountains (5959 m, the highest point of Canada), covered with powerful glaciers descending to the sea.

Along the Atlantic coast, there are low mountain ranges that extend the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. These include the hills to the east of Quebec, the Notre Dame mountains on the right bank of the river. St. Lawrence, the Shikshok Massif in the north of the Gaspe Peninsula, the Kibkid Mountains extending latitudinal from the northeastern corner of the Bay of Fundy, and the New Brunswick Uplands carved by the St. John River Valley. The height of these mountains does not exceed 700 m. The surface of Newfoundland Island is elevated (up to 805 m).

North of the St. Lawrence and Upper Lake to the shores of the Arctic Ocean stretches a vast area of ​​the Canadian Shield - a low country, composed of hard crystalline rocks (granites, gneisses and shales). Its modern surface bears clear traces of geologically recent glaciation - curly rocks ("sheep's foreheads") worked by ice, numerous lakes, rapid rapids, and a thin soil layer. The Labrador Peninsula is characterized by bare stone hills and cliffs. Along the southern and western coasts of Hudson Bay, the height of the terrain does not exceed 200 m, to the east and closer to Lake Superior, the terrain rises, but not higher than 500 m, and only in the eastern part of Labrador do the Torngat Mountains rise. A strip of lowland also stretches along the northern coast of Canada, going far into the interior of the mainland along the course of the Mackenzie River.

To the west of the Canadian Shield to the meridional belt of the Rocky Mountains, there is a plain, wide in the south and narrowing towards the Mackenzie River basin. Towards the mountains, it rises a number of steps: on the first of them (height 200-400 m.) There are lakes Manitoba, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, the height of the second is 400-700 m. m.). Near the southern border of Canada lie the flat-topped Forested and Cypress mountains with a height of 1000-1100 m.

Water resources.

Most of the rivers in Canada belong to the basin of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, significantly fewer rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean. The most significant river is the navigable St. Lawrence with numerous tributaries (Ottawa, Saginay, Saint Maurice, Manicouagan, etc.). It connects the Great Lakes Basin with the Atlantic Ocean. The Saskatchewan River flows into Lake Winnipeg, from where the river flows out. Nelson, which flows into Hudson Bay. The Churchill River also flows there. The Athabasca and Peace Rivers merge into the Nevolnichya River, which is a tributary of the Great Slave Lake. From it flows the mighty Mackenzie River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean. Its basin extends deep into the Rocky Mountains. The Fraser River flows into the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Yukon and Columbia rivers, which partially pass through the territory of Canada.

Canada is one of the richest countries in the world with lakes. The Great Lakes (Upper, Huron, Erie, Ontario) are located on the border with the United States, connected by small rivers into a huge basin with an area of ​​more than 240 thousand square meters. km. Less significant lakes lie on the territory of the Canadian Shield (Big Bear, Big Slave, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis), etc. Among the powerful waterfalls is the famous Niagara on the border with the United States.

Climate.

Due to the large latitudinal extent and features of the relief, the climate of Canada is extremely diverse. A number of climatic regions can be distinguished from cold in the north to mild-temperate on the Pacific coast. The main feature of the climate is its continentality, abrupt transitions between extreme types of weather: hot summers and cold winters. The cold zone contains the Polar Archipelago, the large northern part of the Mackenzie River basin, and the northern half of the Labrador Peninsula. The annual temperatures of the cold zone are 5–10 °, the ground is covered with snow for most of the year and freezes to a great depth. Summers are short and cold, precipitation (more in solid form) is negligible. To the south, in the midstream Mackenzie region, the climate becomes somewhat less severe; precipitation approx. 400-500 mm. in year. In southern Canada, average winter and summer temperatures rise, but daily temperature ranges reach 20-25 degrees.

The climate of the Great Lakes region and the St. Lawrence is moderately warm, winters are characterized by an abundance of precipitation and frequent snow storms. The amount of precipitation increases towards the Atlantic Ocean. On the Atlantic coast, winters are milder, but summers are cool; fogs are frequent. The Pacific coast is characterized by mild, rainy winters and cool summers. The area near Vancouver is the only one where temperatures remain above 0 ° in January. The Pacific coast receives a lot of precipitation - 1500-2000 mm per year, and on Vancouver Island - St. 5000).

On the plateau between the Rocky Mountains in the east and the Beregovye Mountains in the west, the climate is sharply continental - severe winters are replaced by hot summers, the amount of precipitation is insignificant. The strip between Lake Winnipeg, Edmonton and the Rocky Mountains gets approx. 380 mm of precipitation per year. In the upper Yukon, winters have the lowest temperatures in all of North America (minus 60 °).

Soils.

On the territory of Canada, podzolic soils are most common, as a rule, infertile. They predominate in the tundra and the vast coniferous forest zone to the south. In areas where precipitation falls less, and they fall mainly in the summer, highly fertile chernozems are formed, which are unusually suitable for agriculture (the Winnipeg - Edmonton - Calgary triangle). Coniferous forests give way to vast prairies. Where there is less than 330–360 mm of precipitation per year, chestnut soils are formed, which are widely used in agriculture. High yields are obtained here in wet years and with the help of irrigation. To the south, grayish soils are common, typical of arid regions.

Vegetable world.

The polar islands are located in an area whose surface is covered with snow and glaciers that do not melt even in a short summer. Baffin Land and other islands off the northern coast of Canada are covered with tundra, which covers the entire northern mainland of Canada, penetrating far south along the western coast of Hudson Bay and the Labrador Peninsula. Heathers, sedges, birch and willow shrubs grow here. To the south of the tundra, between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, there is a wide strip of forests. Coniferous forests predominate; the main species are black spruce in the east and white spruce in the west (in the Mackenzie valley), pine, larch, thuja, etc. Less common deciduous forests consist of poplar, alder, birch and willow. The forests in the Great Lakes region are especially diverse (American elm, Weymouth pine, Canadian tsuga, oak, chestnut, beech). On the Pacific coast there are coniferous forests of Douglas, Sitka spruce, Alaskan and red cedar); Strawberry and Oregon oak are found near Vancouver. In the coastal Atlantic provinces - Acadian forests with balsamic fir, black and red spruce; also cedar, American larch, yellow birch, beech.

South of the forest belt west of Lake Winnipeg to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains lies the prairie steppe zone, mostly plowed up for wheat fields. Of the wild ones - wheatgrass, bonfire, buteloa, keleria and feather grass.

Animal world.

The tundra zone is home to the reindeer, polar hare, lemming, arctic fox and the original musk ox. To the south, the fauna is more diverse - forest caribou deer, wapiti red deer, elk, in mountainous areas - bighorn sheep and bighorn sheep. Rodents are quite numerous: the Canadian chikari squirrel, chipmunk, American flying squirrel, beaver, jerboa jumper, muskrat, needle-fur porcupine, meadow and American hare, pika. Among the feline predators for Canada are the Canadian lynx and the puma. There are wolves, foxes, a gray bear - a grizzly bear, a raccoon-raccoon. Weasels include sable, pecan, otter, wolverine, etc. There are many nesting migratory birds and game birds. The fauna of reptiles and amphibians is not rich. There are many fish in the freshwater waters.

POPULATION

The population of Canada, as of July 2004, was 35 million 507 thousand 874 people. Of these, 19% of residents are under 15 years of age, 69% are between the ages of 15 and 64, and 13% are 65 and older. The average age of the population is 38.2 years. Population growth in 2004 reached 0.92%. The birth rate was 10.91 per 1000 inhabitants, the death rate was 7.67 per 1000 inhabitants. Infant mortality is 4.82 per 1000 newborns. Life expectancy is estimated at 79.96 years.

In the past, immigration has been an important source of population growth in Canada. From 1901 to 1911, 1,759 thousand people arrived in Canada; in the period between the censuses of 1951 and 1961, Canada received 1 million 542 thousand 853 people. Subsequently, the level of immigration decreased and in 2003 was only 6 per 1000 inhabitants. The 1991 census showed the highest concentration of the Russian population in British Columbia, Ontario and Alberto. The Russian religious section of the Dukhobors settled in Saskatchewan.

Ethnically, Canada is a unique entity. Two main cultures and two languages ​​coexist - the result of the struggle between England and France, which took place in the early stages of colonization of that part of North America, which was later destined to become Canada. Currently, 28% of residents are British, 23% - French, 15% - of other European origin, the ancestors of the remaining 6% came from various Asian, African and Arab countries. 2% of the population are Indians and Inuit (Eskimos). 26% of residents are of mixed origin.

The official languages ​​of Canada are English and French. The first is native to 59% of the country's inhabitants, the second - to 23%. Other Canadians speak Italian, German, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and various Native American and Inuit languages. Illiteracy - less than 5%.

Religiously, approx. 46% of believers are adherents of the Roman Catholic Church, 36% are Protestants (Anglicans, United Church Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, etc.). Other religions include Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, etc.

Most of the population of Canada is concentrated in the strip along the border with the United States (2% of the territory, more than 50% of the population). More than 62% of Canadians live in the country's two largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec. 77% live in cities.

The largest city in the country is Toronto (4.7 million inhabitants), the former capital of the Upper Canada colony, now the province of Ontario, a leading commercial, financial and industrial center. The most important city in the east of the country, the French-speaking Montreal (3.4 million inhabitants), one of the main commercial, industrial and cultural centers, an inner port. The capital of the country Ottawa (1.1 million) forms a single agglomeration with the city of Hull located on the other side of the Ottawa River. Other significant cities forming agglomerations: the western seaport of Vancouver (more than 2 million), Calgary (more than 900 thousand), Edmonton (more than 900 thousand), Quebec (about 700 thousand), Winnipeg (about 700 thousand). ) and etc.

STATE STRUCTURE

Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy with a monarchical form of government. It was formed on July 1, 1867, under the British North America Act, as a federation of British colonies. The country received its statehood, but the British monarch remained the head of state, and Great Britain retained the exclusive right to amend the Constitution of Canada, the right to represent it in international relations, conclude treaties and agreements on its behalf, and resolve issues of war and peace. Canada did not have its own citizenship. Such a state structure received the name of the dominion. Under the Westminster Statute of 1931, Canada and other British dominions gained political sovereignty, foreign policy independence and were no longer subject to British laws. But only on April 17, 1982, Canada officially received a new constitution, according to which the Canadian authorities received the right to change the constitution.

Federal authorities. The head of state is the British monarch (since February 6, 1952 - Queen Elizabeth II). In the country he is represented by the Governor-General of Canada, who since 1947 has all the powers to exercise all functions on behalf of the sovereign. The Monarch appoints the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada for a period of 5 years. Since October 7, 1999, Adrienne Clarkson has been serving as Governor General.

The functions of the governor-general are largely formal in nature. In theory, he could refuse to approve legislation passed by the Canadian parliament, but in practice he never did. Government decisions are passed on to the Governor-General for approval in the form of “recommendations,” but he usually simply authorizes them. He can refuse to dissolve the lower house of parliament on the recommendation of the prime minister if the latter's party is defeated in the elections. The powers of the governor-general include the appointment of the prime minister, but in practice, the leader of the party or coalition that won the majority in the parliamentary elections is appointed to this post.

Legislation in Canada is exercised by a parliament of two chambers. The upper - the Senate - consists of persons appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister (no more than 105 senators). They can remain in office until the age of 75. Established a representation rate for each of the provinces of Canada. In practice, the Senate stands aside from the political struggle, does not oppose any proposals of the government, confines itself to checking and studying bills and introducing minor amendments to their text.

The lower House of Commons currently has 301 members. They are elected for a five-year term by direct universal suffrage by citizens over 18 years of age. The government can dissolve the Chamber ahead of schedule. Elections are held in single-member constituencies with a simple majority vote. The number of members of the House of Commons is determined on the basis of the population in each province or territory, however, the representation of certain provinces is not always strictly proportional to the number of their inhabitants. The number of deputies from a province cannot be less than the number of its senators and cannot decrease by more than 15% as a result of the new census. The number of votes required to elect one candidate (electoral quota) in each province is determined by the ratio between its population and the number of parliamentarians elected from that province. The number of voters in each constituency should not differ from the electoral quota by more than 25%. The peculiarities of the electoral system can lead to cases where the majority of seats in the House of Commons was won by a party that received fewer votes than its rival.

Parliament adopts laws and regulations, as well as the state budget. The main legislative initiative belongs to the government. The corresponding opportunities for the opposition are severely limited.

The executive power is exercised by the government - the cabinet of ministers, which makes the most important decisions collectively. The head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the governor-general. He becomes the leader of the party or coalition with the majority of seats in the House of Commons. The head of government can be removed at any time if he is defeated in the election of the leader of his own party or does not receive support when voting in the House of Commons. Since December 12, 2003, Paul Martin, leader of the Liberal Party, has been Prime Minister.

Federal ministers are chosen by the prime minister from among the deputies from his party or coalition. Formally, the appointment, removal and transfer of ministers is carried out by the Governor-General on the proposal of the Prime Minister. Cabinet decisions are usually taken by consensus and only rarely by majority vote. At the same time, all members of the cabinet are obliged to obey the adopted decision and support it, or resign.

Government departments are headed by deputy ministers. They are appointed at the request of the Prime Minister, but the appointment and promotion of all civil servants is carried out not on the basis of political affiliation, but on the basis of their business qualities, therefore, a change in government does not mean the resignation of deputy ministers. The appointment and transfer of civil servants is overseen by the Independent Civil Service Commission, composed of three members, who are appointed for a 10-year term. Control over the financial activities of ministries and departments is carried out by the Treasury, which includes a number of government ministers. It also represents the government in negotiations with civil servants' unions.

The solution of many issues of coordination and regulation, for example, in the field of transport, is entrusted to independent commissions. The functions of state bodies are also performed by state corporations, which operate independently, but are generally subordinate to parliament, and members of their boards are appointed by the government.

Provinces and local government. Canada is a federation of 10 provinces. It includes the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan, as well as three territories - Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon.

The provincial administrations are built on the same principle as the federal ones. Functions similar to the head of state are vested in governors appointed by the federal government. Provincial parliaments are unicameral. Provincial governments are formed by the parties or coalitions that win the majority in the provincial elections.

Established joint jurisdiction between the provinces and the federal government for pensions and dependent benefits (unemployment insurance remains under the jurisdiction of the federation). The federal government sets uniform standards and cost-sharing for services such as health care, pensions, social security, and federal highways.

Many important decisions are made at meetings of representatives of the federal and provincial governments. Taxation, pensions, health care, and constitutional issues are frequently discussed by heads of federal and provincial governments. Amendments to the constitution can be carried out jointly by the federal government and the seven provinces with at least 50% of the population. Provincial prime ministers are so powerful that they often prefer the post to the appointment of federal minister.

The work of local governments is carried out by the provincial governments in accordance with provincial laws. The cities have mayors and city councils, elected by direct elections. Large cities are divided into municipal districts with a certain degree of independence. Representatives of individual municipal districts are included in the central city councils, which are responsible for urban planning and the maintenance of the city police. Some smaller municipalities are run directly by a representative of the city government.

Provinces are governed by federal bodies and services, but have some elements of self-government. The federal government appoints commissioners who are responsible to it. Territories have territorial assemblies and executive bodies elected by them. The Nunavut Territory, formed in 1999 and inhabited primarily by indigenous Inuit people, enjoys expanded autonomy rights.

Political parties.

Canada has a multi-party system, but throughout its history, two parties - liberals and conservatives - have replaced each other in power, and the differences in programs between them are minimal.

Liberal Party of Canada(LP) took shape as a pan-Canadian one in 1873. Initially, it united the defenders of the "rights of the provinces", supporters of free trade and greater independence in relation to Great Britain; relied on the theoretical legacy of English Manchester liberalism, North American radicalism and the French Revolution of 1848. Liberals defended state ownership of communications and communications, but opposed the expansion of state intervention in economic activity. However, since the 1930s, the LP moved to more active social policies, including helping the unemployed, paying subsidies to farmers, etc. While continuing to defend free enterprise, the liberals allowed state economic regulation, the "canadianization" of the economy, and the introduction of government programs social security. The PL declares its adherence to the liberal principles of “individual freedom, responsibility and dignity of the human person within the framework of a just society and political freedom within the framework of genuine participation for all”, as well as the rule of law. Liberals proclaim equality of chances for all members of society, encouragement of cultural diversity and bilingualism. The LP was in power in 1873-1878, 1896-1911, 1921-1926, 1926-1930, 1935-1957, 1963-1979, 1980-1984 and since 1993. It is part of the Liberal International.

In the 2000 House of Commons elections, the party won 40.8% of the vote and won 172 seats. Pledged to prevent the dilution and "hidden privatization" of health insurance and to implement a "liberal, moderate and balanced plan" for the country's development in the spirit of the "golden mean between the payment of public debt, fair tax cuts and investments in health care, research and innovation, family and childhood development. and also in the preservation of the environment ”. The Liberal government declares its intention to "share the fruits of economic development" among all Canadians.

The leader is Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Conservative Party of Canada(PDA) founded in 1854. In the 19th century. advocated protectionist economic and trade policies to protect Canadian industry and the market from foreign competition. The Conservatives emphasized their commitment to a strong government and their affinity for the British crown. They traditionally advocated free enterprise, but since the 1930s they allowed for the possibility of more active government intervention in economic life (control over resources, protection of investors and consumers. In the spirit of the times, the CPC was renamed the Progressive Conservative Party (PCP) in 1942. However, recognizing economic and social functions of the state, the party sought to limit and minimize them.In the 1980s and 1990s, it pursued a neo-conservative political course, sought to reduce social spending, develop free trade and strengthen political cooperation with the United States

Conservatives were in power in Canada in 1867-1873, 1878-1896, 1911-1921, 1926, 1930-1935, 1957-1963, 1979 and 1984-1993. In 1987, the PCP split when right-wing conservatives from Alberta and British Columbia formed the Reform Party, which criticized the federal government's tax policy and the influx of Asian immigrants. Since the 1990s, the Reform Party, transformed in 2000 into the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance, has been the leading opposition force in the House of Commons. In 2004, the PKP and the alliance reunited to form the CCP. She advocates cuts in taxes (especially on firms and profits) and public debt, a deficit-free budget, "more efficient" government and "more responsible" social policies, and the strengthening of traditional families. political and moral values. The CCP believes that the economy should be based on free market competition, and the state should only encourage private initiative, invest in education and research, protect social norms and laws, and provide assistance only to those most in need. In the field of government, conservatives advocate the introduction of elections to the Senate and a system of proportional voting in elections to the House of Commons, for the use of the practice of popular referendums, etc.

In the 2000 House of Commons elections, the PCP received 12.2% of the vote and the Reform Conservative Alliance 25.5%. Both parties had 12 and 66 seats in parliament, respectively. The leader of the reunited CCP is Stephen Harper.

Quebec Party(KP) - created in 1968. Seeks the recognition of the Quebec nation and its right to self-determination, the implementation of the political separation of the French-speaking province of Quebec from Canada, while maintaining the economic "association" between the two states. In the socio-economic area, the party's program was close to social democracy, pushing for full employment, progressive tax reform, expansion of the public sector and control in the economy, and trade union rights at work (including participation in enterprise management). Later, these slogans were softened, but the general social-democratic orientation of the CP remained. In the spiritual sphere, Quebec separatists advocate the coexistence of cultures while encouraging the development of the French language as the only state language in Quebec. The Quebec Party was in power in the province from 1976-1985 and since 1994. It does not participate in federal elections. The leader of the party and the prime minister of the province of Quebec is Lucien Bouchard.

Quebec block(KB) - a social democratic party, formed in 1990 by Quebec separatists specifically to participate in federal elections. Does not participate in the provincial elections in Quebec; supports the Quebec Party. The bloc advocates the idea of ​​the self-determination of the Quebec nation and the political sovereignty of Quebec. KB accuses the federal authorities of infringing on the rights and interests of Quebec in the economic, financial, social, political, international and cultural fields. Speaking for the "sustainable development" of society and improving the quality of life, Quebec separatists argue about the "failures of neoliberalism" and the need for a "predominant role of the state" in the context of the "Quebec model" and "a dynamic relationship between the state, the market and civil society", without any the hegemony of one of these factors and while narrowing the gap between rich and poor. While Quebec remains a part of Canada, the KB puts forward demands for a reduction in federal taxes on persons with medium (rather than high) incomes, the development and expansion of the unemployment insurance system, an increase in federal transfers for people in need and categories of the population, as well as for health care, and reducing social spending, banning the use of strikebreakers at federal enterprises, ratifying international environmental treaties and ending the practice of restricting civil liberties under the pretext of fighting terrorism. In foreign policy, the Quebec separatists are calling for more aid to Third World countries, restricting foreign interventions by strict international law, and creating an American continental currency.

From 1993–1997 KB was the leading opposition party in the Canadian parliament. In the 2000 federal elections he received 10.7% of the vote and 38 seats in the House of Commons. The leader is Gilles Duseppe.

New Democratic Party(NDP) took shape in 1961 on the basis of the Federation of the Cooperative Commonwealth that existed since 1932 and part of the trade unions that are members of the Canadian Workers' Congress. The NDP is a Social Democratic Party, a member of the Socialist International. Advocates for the implementation of the program of "economic, political and social change" and the development of society "towards equality, social justice and democracy." The new democrats intend to build a "social democratic society" that combines "sustainable progress and social, economic and political equality." Production and distribution should be “oriented towards social and individual needs within the framework of the environment and a sustainable economy, and not driven by profit-making”. The NDP demands the control of production and distribution monopolies through economic and social planning. It promises to "expand the application of the principle of public ownership", to strengthen the dignity and freedom of the human person. Seeks for Canada to pursue a more independent and peaceful foreign policy and achieve greater social justice in the world.

The NDP has the strongest positions in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario, where it has been in power several times. In the 2000 federal elections she garnered 8.5% of the vote and has 13 seats in the House of Commons. Leader - Jack Leighton.

Green Party of Canada(ZPK) grew out of the environmental, human rights, women's, anti-war and other social movements. The first Green Party in Canada was founded in 1983 in British Columbia, and then the Greens expanded their activities throughout the country. The party stands for “sustainable development” in harmony with the environment, social justice, the development of “democracy from below”, non-violence, decentralization, equality between the sexes, and the preservation of biological and cultural diversity. In the economic field, the Greens stand for an economic system focused on local needs, “self-help” and human needs within the “natural boundaries of the Earth”. In the 2000 federal elections, the ZPK received 0.8% of the vote. Currently not represented in the House of Commons.

In addition to the main ones, in Canada there are many other parties of the most varied persuasion: Christian Heritage Party(right, founded in 1987), Natural Law Party, Trotskyist organizations ( Socialist left,Socialist alternative,International Working Committee,Socialist action,New socialist group.International Socialists,Party of Socialist Equality,Working resistance), Maoists ( Communist Party of Canada(Marxist-Leninist), Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec.(Marxist-Leninist Alliance) and etc.

The judicial system. The legal system in Canada is based on English common law and in Quebec on French law. The Supreme Court of Canada is the final and final instance in all civil and criminal appeals. It consists of a head judge and 8 judges, at least 3 of them must represent Quebec. Members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada. Appeals from federal departments and services and the supervision of provincial courts are the responsibility of the Federal Court. It shares jurisdiction with the provincial courts in criminal and judicial matters, deals with matters outside the jurisdiction of the provincial courts, matters of the law of the sea and claims against the federal government. It includes the Federal Court of Appeal, headed by the Chief Justice.

There are three types of courts in the provinces of Canada. Courts of the highest category include courts of first instance and courts of appeal; they hear the most important criminal and civil cases. The lower courts are the county and district courts. There are also special courts for inheritance, misdemeanors and claims, and municipal courts for violations of local government decisions. Criminal cases are tried by jury.

Armed Forces and Police. The Canadian Armed Forces consist of land, naval, air, communications, training formations. They are built on a professional basis, the number is more than 100 thousand people. The country's military expenditures in 2001/2002 amounted to approx. US $ 7.9 billion, corresponding to 1.1% of GDP. The Canadian Forces are stationed in Canada itself, as well as in Europe.

Only two provinces (Quebec and Ontario) currently have their own police force. In other parts of the country, police functions are performed by the Canadian Mounted Police, formed in 1873. There is a Canadian Security and Intelligence Service. In recent years, the participation of the armed forces in peacekeeping operations conducted under the auspices of the UN has increased.

International relationships. Canada has traditionally focused its foreign policy on Great Britain. Although it officially acquired foreign policy independence in 1931, the country remains a member of the Commonwealth. In the 20th century. strengthened relations between Canada and its southern neighbor - the United States. In 1920, Canada joined the League of Nations. In 1949 it joined NATO, and in 1957 went on to merge its air defense with the American one within the framework of the joint air defense command of the North American continent (NORAD).

Canada does not all follow in the wake of US foreign policy. It maintained relations with Cuba after 1961, did not support a number of US military actions, and rejected a joint program for the development of energy resources. Introduced stricter requirements for foreign investment, abolished government subsidies to publishers for American and other foreign print publications. Lead the international campaign to ban anti-personnel mines. In 2003 she refused to support the US-British military operation against Iraq.

Canada is a member of the UN and its specialized organizations, joined the Organization of American States. Has diplomatic relations with Russia (established in 1942 with the USSR). In 1992 Russia and Canada signed an Agreement of Consent and Cooperation and a number of agreements.

ECONOMY

General characteristics. Canada is a wealthy, technologically advanced industrial society with a market-oriented economy and a high standard of living. Significant growth in industrial production, mining and services in the post-World War II period transformed the Canadian economy from a predominantly rural to a predominantly industrial and urban one. The Free Trade Agreement with the United States (1989) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (1994) strengthened Canada's trade and economic integration with the United States, which in 2001-2002 had a negative impact on the Canadian economy. Real growth, which in 1993-2000 was approx. 3% per year, decreased in 2001 and slightly increased in 2002. Unemployment has increased, especially in industrial production and the exploitation of natural resources. However, in general, the Canadian economy is distinguished by a large margin of stability, thanks to a positive trade balance, the presence of rich resources (iron, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potassium, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, coal, natural gas, water energy ), skilled labor and capital.

There is significant regional differentiation in the Canadian economy. The country's industrial and financial centers are located in Southern Ontario and Quebec. Most cereals are produced in the steppe provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta; the latter produces almost all of Canada's oil and natural gas. British Columbia provides the bulk of the timber industry. Mineral resources are mined in the North and Northwest.

The volume of GDP in 2003 reached an estimated $ 958.7 billion, which amounted to $ 29,800 per capita per year. GDP structure in 2003: over 68.6% - services, 29.2% - industry, over 2.2% - agriculture. The inflation rate in 2003 was 2.8% per year.

Labor resources.

The active labor force in 2001 was estimated at 16.4 million people. Of these, 74% were employed in the service sector, 15% - in industrial production, 5% - in construction, 3% - in agriculture, 3% - in other industries. The unemployment rate in 2002 reached 7.6%.

Industry.

Various minerals are mined. Oil and natural gas production is concentrated primarily in Alberta, from where oil is transported for processing to Ontario, Quebec and the United States. In 2001, it produced 2,738 million barrels per day. Natural gas (in 2001 its production amounted to 186.8 million cubic meters) is supplied through gas pipelines to the east, west and south. Coal is mined in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Iron ore is mainly mined on the Labrador Peninsula. Nickel and copper (Manitoba and Ontario), polymetallic ores (Ontario, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick), uranium (Ontario, Saskatchewan), gold (Ontario, Quebec, Northwest Territories), asbestos (Quebec), potassium are mined (Saskatchewan).

The forest resources of Canada are actively used, which accounts for more than 10% of the total forest area of ​​the planet. The country is the world's leading producer of newsprint, cellulose, wood pulp and lumber. Fisheries, which play a large role in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (cod) and British Columbia (salmon), were curtailed in the 1990s due to declining fish stocks.

Electricity production in 2001 amounted to more than 566 billion kW / h in 2001. About 58% of electricity comes from hydroelectric power plants, 28% from thermal power plants, 13% from nuclear power plants. Energy consumption in 2001 reached 504 billion kW / h; in terms of its per capita consumption, Canada ranks first in the world.

About half of the manufacturing industry is located in Ontario, a quarter in Quebec, and other large enterprises are located in British Columbia and Alberta. In Canada, cars and parts for them, other equipment, food products, oil refining, woodworking, paper industries, etc. are produced. In 2002, industrial production grew by 2.2%.

Agriculture.

Although the role of agriculture in the economy declined after World War II, the country remains one of the world's leading producers and exporters of grain. In general, the arable land occupies approx. 5% of the territory of Canada, but it accounts for approx. 16% of world wheat production. It is grown primarily in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The production of vegetable oil, tobacco, fruits and vegetables is well developed. The main livestock area is Alberta.

Transport.

In 2002, the total length of railways was 49,422 km, motor roads - 1.4 million km. (including about 500 thousand with a hard surface), waterways - 3 thousand km., oil pipelines - 23 564 km. and gas pipelines - 74,980 km. Major ports: Be-Como, Vancouver, Windsor, Halifax, Hamilton, Quebec, Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, St. John (New Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Set-Ile, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Churchill and others. The merchant fleet has 122 vessels with a displacement of more than 1000 tons. The country has 1389 licensed airports (including 507 with hard surface) and 12 helicopter airports.

Telephone, radio and telecommunications.

In the late 1990s, Canada had 20.8 million telephone lines and more than 8.7 million mobile phones. There were nearly 600 radio stations (including 6 shortwave) and 80 television stations (not counting cable television systems). Canadians owned over 32 million radios and 21.5 million televisions. In 2002, there were over 16.8 million Internet users.

Banking and finance.

The state central Bank of Canada was founded in 1935. Among the private banks, the largest are the Royal Bank and the Bank of Montreal. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, etc.

Currency - The Canadian dollar is subdivided into 100 cents. In 2002, 1 US dollar was given 1.57 Canadian dollars.

The state budget. In fiscal 2000/2001, government revenues were estimated at US $ 178.6 billion and expenditures at US $ 161.4 billion. External debt in 2000 reached US $ 1.9 billion.

International trade.

In 2002, it was estimated that the volume of exports was $ 260.5 billion, and the volume of imports was $ 229 billion. The main export items are automobiles and spare parts, machine tools, aircraft, telecommunications equipment, chemical products, plastics, fertilizers, wood pulp and timber, oil, natural gas, electricity, aluminum, etc. In 2002, 88% of exports were directed to the USA, 2% - to Japan, over 1% - to Great Britain. Russia is also a partial partner of Canada.

Machinery and equipment, automobiles, oil, chemical products, electricity and consumer goods are imported. 63% of imports come from the United States, 5% from China, 4% from Japan.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Society.

Canada is a country with a very high standard of living. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians live in their own homes or apartments, although rising housing costs are forcing an increasing number of people to rent apartments. Most of the houses are equipped with basic amenities. In per capita terms, Canada is one of the first places in the world for the provision of the population with cars, telephones and televisions.

The country has an extensive social security system. Since the 1960s, a health development program has been underway with all provinces participating to varying degrees. Canadians have the option of sickness insurance and receive small child benefits. There is a system of mandatory contributions to pension funds, thanks to which residents of Canada receive pensions upon reaching the age of 65, retirement, disability, widows' benefits, and additional benefits for those who have no other sources of income other than pension (or those who who have insufficient income). Introduced unemployment insurance, funded by contributions from employees, employers and the state. Work injury compensation is paid by the provincial governments. Provincial and local forms of social security also exist.

The Canadian labor movement includes affiliates of common trade unions with the United States (40% of union members in Canada), Canadian trade unions and Quebec unions of French Canadians. The largest organizations are the Canadian Workers' Congress, the Confederation of National Trade Unions (Quebec), and others.

Education is administered by the provincial governments and, in the federal territories, by the central government, which also provides financial support to higher education and research. Provinces and municipalities subsidize the education system below the university level. Across Canada, there is compulsory and free schooling for children ages 6/7 to 15/16; many children also attend preschool institutions. In Quebec, schools are taught in French, in other provinces in English, but there is the possibility of education in English in Quebec and francophone in large communities of French Canadians in other provinces. In Canada, there are approx. 80 universities, some of them bilingual, as well as community colleges. The country's leading research organizations are the Research and Medical Research Councils, the Science Council, the Canadian Council, and others.

Public life is deeply imprinted by the presence of two main cultures and traditions - Anglo-Canadian and French-Canadian. This circumstance often causes friction. In Quebec, the authorities are taking steps to encourage the development of French-Canadian traditions and culture in an effort to prevent the assimilation of French Canadians. The Quebec government has taken measures to restrict the use of the English language and to expand the use of French. The federal government is committed to preserving the cultural mosaicism and coexistence of various ethnic groups.

The life of the majority of Canadians is typical of the modern developed industrial society. To protect the indigenous population (Indians and Inuit Eskimos), displaced during European colonization, reservations were formed where they were to be able to preserve elements of the traditional way of life. The Eskimos succeeded to a large extent in this until the end of the 20th century, when the extensive development of the northern regions began. The living conditions of the Indians on the reservations are significantly worse than those of most other Canadians. Infant mortality among Indians is twice, and among Eskimos - three times higher than among the white population. An increasing number of Indians leave reservations and move to large cities, where they often face difficulties and discrimination.

Christian holidays such as Christmas, Good Friday and Easter are widely celebrated. Scottish Canadians celebrate New Year and Halloween. Thanksgiving, Mother's Day and Father's Day are celebrated under American influence. Canadian holidays proper - Canada Day (July 1; anniversary of the establishment of the Confederation of Colonies), Victoria Day (May; in memory of the British Queen Victoria), Remembrance Day (November 11; in memory of Canadians who died in the war). There are provincial holidays such as the Day of John the Baptist in Quebec (June 24).

From sports games ice hockey, lacrosse (a national Canadian game dating back to the Indians), baseball, football, golf, curling are widespread, and skiing in mountainous areas.

There is almost no national press in the country. About 100 daily newspapers are published in English, the largest of which are Glob & Mail and Star (Toronto), Citizen (Ottawa), Sun (Vancouver), Free Press (Winnipeg), and others. The most influential of more than a dozen French-language newspapers are Montreal's La Presse and Le Devoire. Newspapers are also published in other languages ​​of the world. Major magazines: social and political weeklies "Macleans" and "Aktyualite", literary monthly "Satterdy Knight" and "Canadian Forum", publications on literature and art "Canadian Literary", "Books in Canada", "Tamarak Review", "Queens Quaterly, Zis Magazine, La Vie des Ar, Liberté. The largest radio and television companies are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Sm-BBC), C-T-Wee, Global and T-Wee-Ey.

Cultural institutions.

There are many museums. The capital, Ottawa, is home to the National Arts Center, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Museum of Man, the National Museum of Natural Science, the National Museum of Science and Technology, the National Library and the National Archives of Canada. In Toronto there is the Royal Ontario Museum, famous for its collection of art from Ancient China and Central Asia, in Montreal - the Chateau de Ramsay Museum of Canadian Antiquity, in Ontario - the "Upper Canadian Village", reproducing the life of Canadian pioneers. Vancouver has the City Museum, the Maritime Museum and the University Museum of Anthropology, which has a large collection of North American Indian art. Major art museums and galleries: Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal), galleries in Vancouver and Winnipeg, Beaverbrook Gallery (Fredericton), Art Gallery of Victoria. Of the libraries, the most famous are the libraries of the universities of Toronto, McGill, Laval, Royal in Kingston, British Columbia, the public library in Toronto, the archive of the Glenbow-Alberta Institute in Calgary.

Art and Literature.

The autochthonous inhabitants of Canada, who lived on its territory long before the arrival of the Europeans, created a developed culture, but it remained unwritten. The Eskimo tribes became famous for their carvings made of stone, deer antlers and walrus tusks, depicting animals and people. Songs, legends, narratives and ritual dramatic performances have come down to us from the Indian peoples - primarily those who lived in the Great Lakes region. Fishing Indians in British Columbia performed elaborate drama and woodcarving, making massive heraldic pillars with images of sacred animals (totems) over 15 meters high and highly artistic carved masks for religious ceremonies.

The Europeans who moved to Canada brought with them French, English, Irish folk songs and stories, handicrafts and crafts. Until the end of the 19th century. there were almost no professional writers, artists and musicians, and in literature and visual arts the style that was adopted at that time in France and Great Britain and was only weakly adapted to Canadian conditions dominated.

Literature 17-18 centuries represented by reports, descriptions, reports of pioneers of Canada: travelers, researchers, missionaries and governors. The French have a particularly rich historiography ( History and description of New France Charleroi, History of New France Lescarbaugh), the English have geographical descriptions and travel diaries (Samuel Hearn, David Thompson, Alexander Henry, etc.). In the 19th century. a national-political Quebec school of poets arose, a model for which was Victor Hugo (Octave Cremazy, Gustave Frechette), and after it - the Montreal School of Poetry (Charles Gilles, Emile Neligan, Albert Lozo). Among the few prose works of the French-Canadians of the 19th century. the novel by Antoine Gerain-Lejoy deserves a mention. Archibald Lampman, a singer of Canadian nature, is considered to be the founder of Anglo-Canadian lyrics. Along with Charles Roberts and Duncan Campbell Scott, he is referred to as the so-called. The "Poets of the Confederation" of the 1890s. The Anglo-Canadian novel already in the 19th century. gave three books that are considered classics: satirical Watchmaker Thomas Changler Haliburton, founder of Anglo-Canadian fiction, Golden dog William Kirby and a novel from the life of the first settlers - Through the thicket Sazanne Moody. Very few Canadian writers (before Stephen Leacock, who worked in the early 20th century) were distinguished by their originality of design and approach. The exception is James de Mille, whose A strange manuscript found in a brass cylinder(1888) is one of the few truly fantastic utopias created in Canada by Sarah Jeannette Duncan; her romance Imperialist(1904) notes restrained irony. However, it was only with the appearance of Stephen Leacock with his satirical sketches of life in Ontario before World War I that Canadian literature acquired its characteristic style - ironic, self-critical and at the same time somewhat defiant, as, for example, Sketches of a small town in sunny weather (1912).

A turning point in the development of Anglo-Canadian poetry was the 1930s, when it was dominated by E.J. Pratt, A.J.M. Smith, F.R. Scott, A.M. Klein and Dorothy Livesey. In the 1940s, a new school of English-language poets emerged - followers of Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, and there was a noticeable bias towards imitating American models (Irving Leighton, Louis Dudeck, Raymond Souster). Postwar English-speaking poets include P.C. Page, Earl Burney, Phyllis Webb, Leonard Cohen, Al Purdy, Margaret Atwood, Alden Naulan, and Gwendoline McEwyn. Francophone poetry in Quebec in the 1930s – 1940s is represented by the names of Saint-Denis Garneau, Anne Hebert and Rina Lanier. Since the late 1950s, a movement arose among young French Canadian writers associated with a protest against the hegemony of the Anglo-Canadians ("quiet revolution") and replaced the former religiously tinged conservatism of Quebec. Among its ranks were poets Gilles Hainaut, Roland Zhiguer, Jean-Guy Pilon, Fernand Houlette and Pierre Trottier. A group around the magazine Party Prix tried to create literature in the Montreal dialect.

In English-language fiction, the first attempts to convey the local flavor were made by writers from the steppe provinces. Friedrich Philip Grove, who began writing in Germany, came out with a series of novels about the life of farmers, their struggle with nature and their own passions ( Swamp settlers and etc.). International recognition was achieved by Morley Callahan, who created in the 1930s a number of parables disguised as stories from the life of Toronto (for example, the novel They will inherit the land published in 1935). In the 1950s, G. McLennan became the leading Canadian novelist, who published the novel in 1941 The barometer rises... The novel is dedicated to the relationship between Anglo-Canadians and French Canadians Two loneliness(1945). Sheila Watson's novel Double hook(1959) introduced a fantastic stream into literature, which has since become a constant element of Canadian fiction. Common satire: Mordecai Richler combines it with fantasy in a novel from the lives of Montreal Jews Apprenticeship of Daddy Kravets(1959). Some of the most interesting contemporary Canadian novelists include Margaret Lawrence, Robertson Davis, Marien Angel, Matt Cohen and Audrey Thomas, David Adams Richards, Timothy Findlay, Guy Vanderhage, Michael Ondaatji, Catherine Govier and Carol Shields. Known authors of short stories are Hugh Garner, Hugh Hood, Alice Munroe and David Helwig.

Until the 1930s, French-language prose was dominated by rural themes and a sentimental style. However, already Philip Panneton (novel Thirty arpan, 1938) and Gabriel Roy ( Accidental happiness, 1945) described the disintegration of the traditional agrarian society of Quebec and the migration of residents to cities. Many modern French Canadian novels tell about social problems, about Quebec separatism. Among the followers of G. Rua were such writers as Yves Thériot, Gerard Besset, Hubert Aken, Marie-Claire Vle, Rejean Ducharm, Roche Carier and Jacques Godboux. Of particular note is the Goncourt Prize-winning writer from Acadia, Antonina Maye.

The first painters of Canada were the village artists of Quebec, travelers, who in the 19th century. visited various parts of the country (Thomas Davis, Paul Klein), as well as artists who imitated European academic painting. In the 1890s, Ozaya Leduc became acquainted with the work of the French impressionists and, under their influence, created a series of magnificent mountain still lifes and landscapes. His contemporary James Wilson Morris met Matisse and other Parisian artists; Canadian cities and rivers were his favorite themes. In 1913-1917, the famous "Group of Seven" performed (Lauren Harris, A. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, James MacDonald, Francis Hans Johnson and Franklin Carmichael). They depicted Canadian landscapes in the style and technique of the Impressionists, Cezanne and Van Gogh, and traveled a lot around the country. Subsequently, such masters as Emily Carr, David Milne, as well as Alfred Pellan and Paul-Emile Borduis achieved fame. The last two, returning from Paris, opened an art school in Montreal (Jacques de Tonnancourt, Jean-Paul Riopelle). In the generation of the 1950s and 1960s, artists such as Jack Shadbolt, Harold Town, Tony Urquhart, Gordon Smith, Jack Bush, William Ronald, Ronald Blore, Michael Snow, Tony Only, Katsuo Nakamura, and realist illustrators Alex Colville should be noted and Jack Chambers. The Asia-Pacific ties of Western Canada are reflected in their work by Jack Wise, Roy Kiyoka, Lin Chenshi.

The best examples of architecture are the buildings of the Simon Fraser and Lethbridge Universities, built according to the designs of Arthur Erickson, the Canadian pavilions at the world exhibitions in Montreal (1967) and in Osaka (1970), the building of the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, buildings designed by the architect Douglas Cardinal, in in particular, the Canadian Museum of Civilization (1989).

All major cities in Canada have symphony orchestras, the most significant are the orchestras of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The Canadian Opera Company, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada (Toronto) and the Grand Canada Ballet (Montreal) have gained fame. Ontario hosts the Shakespeare Drama and Show Festival annually. Professional drama theaters operate in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver and other cities. In Quebec, local playwrights appeared thanks to the efforts of Gracien Jelin, who in the 1940s created the folk theater. Quebec's leading contemporary playwrights include Marcel Dubet, Michel Tremblay, Robert Gouric and Jacques Barbeau. In English-speaking Canada, there are a number of interesting playwrights: James Reeney, George Riga, John Coulter, Carol Bolt, Sharon Pollock, David Fennario, David Freeman, David French, Beaverly Simons, Michael Cook, Judith Thompson and Wendy Lill.

Canadian cinema is relatively new. In 1939, the National Film Council was formed, and in 1967 the government established the Canadian Cinematography Development Corporation (now known as Telefilm Canada) to help film producers make feature films. Soon after, such outstanding films based on Canadian subjects as Down the road Don Shebiba (1970) and My uncle Antoine Claude Juttre (1971). Canadian directors Denis Arkan ( The decline of the American empire) and Atom Egoyan ( Exotic), Norman Jewison and David Cronenberg.

HISTORY

Indigenous people of Canada.

The ancestors of the indigenous inhabitants of North America - Indians and Eskimos - are believed to have come from Asia 30-40 thousand years ago via a land bridge that existed on the site of the Bering Strait. The most ancient objects made by St. 25 thousand years ago, found in the western part of North America, in the United States and southern Canada. By the beginning of European colonization, more than 1 million Indians lived on the continent, incl. on the territory of the future Canada - from 220 to 350 thousand. Within Canada in the 16-17 centuries. there were several cultural and economic types of the indigenous population.

Sedentary tribes of Indians lived on the western coast of the Pacific Ocean - the Tlingits, Haida, Tsimshians, Nootka, Kwakiutl, coastal Selish and Inuki. They lived in large villages, built houses and totem poles out of wood, and built large sea canoes to fish. Bison hunters roamed the Canadian prairies - the Indian people of the Alconkin group, the Cree, the Assino-Slayer, and others. Forest hunters (the Athapaskan, Algonquin, forest Selish tribes) lived in the Canadian forests of the east and north. They hunted fur animals and maple sap, collected wild rice, made houses and canoes from wood. The Indians who settled in the Great Lakes region were engaged in agriculture. There were tribal associations: the Iroquois League (existed from the beginning of the 16th century and united the Hurons, Mohauk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Tobacco), the Huron Union (4 tribes), the Union of "neutrals", etc. The Lakes Indians lived in villages, in large long houses, cultivated maize, beans and pumpkin, hunted and traded.

The ancestors of the modern Eskimos settled in the north of the country, who came to America from Chukotka approx. 10 thousand years ago. By the 2nd millennium BC. they separated from the Aleuts and formed an independent ethnocultural community. By the time the Europeans appeared, the Eskimos numbered approx. 23 thousand people. They lived in small nomadic groups, hunted walruses, seals and whales with a harpoon and deer with bows and arrows.

The emergence of Europeans.

It is believed that already in the 5-6 centuries. the Irish made voyages to North America. In 985 the Norwegian Bjarni Herulfson reached the shores of northeastern America, and in 1001 Normans from Greenland, led by Leif Erickson, landed on the territory of modern Canada. These lands were named Helluland, Markland and Vinland. In the north of Newfoundland (Cape Meadows), the remains of a Norman settlement of the early 11th century were discovered. The sagas also report on subsequent expeditions of the Normans to North America, their winter quarters and settlements, as well as bloody clashes with local residents, whom the aliens called "Skreling". So, in 1008-1011, 250 Vikings lived in Vinland, led by Torfinn Karlsefni. It is believed that in the 15th century. the lands of present-day Newfoundland were visited by English sailors from Bristol. However, all these voyages were of an episodic nature, and permanent contacts between Canada and the outside world did not exist until the 16th century.

Columbus's discoveries stimulated new European expeditions across the ocean. In 1497 and 1498 the coast of Newfoundland and North America was reached by the navigator John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), who acted on a patent received from the English king Henry VII. It was followed by the expeditions of the Portuguese Gaspar Cortirial (1500, 1501) and Miguel Cortirial (1502), Bristol merchants (1503-1506) and others. The Florentine Giovanni Verazzano in 1524 explored the North American coast on behalf of France and gave it the name New Gaul. Attracted by the abundance of cod, British, French and Portuguese sailors organized fishing off the coast of Newfoundland; seasonal fishing settlements were established on the Atlantic coast. However, the development of Canada by Europeans has not yet begun.

In 1534, on the instructions of King Francis I of France, an expedition headed by Captain Jacques Cartier set out for North America. He was tasked with finding a way to China. Cartier explored Prince Edward Island and landed on the Gaspe Peninsula, where he established contact with the Huron Indians and erected a cross on the shore in honor of the French king. In 1535, during the second voyage, Cartier penetrated deep into the territory, which he called, according to the Indians, Canada. He explored the area between the Indian villages of Stadacon (present-day Quebec) and Oshlag (present-day Montreal), overwintered in the country, and in 1536 went back to France. In 1541-1542 Cartier again sailed to Canada, and in 1542-1543 Jean-Francois de la Roque (Roberval. However, the French did not succeed in gaining a foothold in the country this time, and the "gold" they brought home turned out to be iron pyrite.

New France.

The situation changed at the beginning of the 17th century, when the French king Henry IV tried to attract merchants from Rouen and Saint-Malo to the organization of settlements in the valley of the St. Lawrence River. The colonization of Canada was led by the traveler and geographer Samuel de Champlain. In 1603, an expedition with his participation visited the country and began an extensive exchange of European goods for furs. In 1605 Champlain founded the settlement of Port Royal (now Port Royal) on the coast of the Hall. Fundy, giving the area the name Acadia (now Nova Scotia). In 1608, he sailed up the St. Lawrence estuary and founded Fort Quebec, through which the fur trade was conducted. Then Champlain began a systematic study of the entire basin of the St. Lawrence River. The French managed to conclude an alliance with the Indian tribes of the Hurons and Algonquins, who supplied them with furs. But their relationship with the Iroquois since the first clash in 1608 has been hostile.

In 1612, the Prince of Condé was appointed Viceroy of New France, who appointed Champlain as his representative in Canada. Merchant companies (Canadian, Montmorency) and the Catholic Church joined the colonization of Canada. The French began to interfere in the election of Indian chiefs, pitting various tribes against each other and encouraging them to sell furs to French merchants. Gradually, trappers, etc. "Forest tramps" moved further and further into the interior of the continent. Through their efforts, the fur trade spread throughout the territory up to the source of the Mississippi. Merchant companies that received royal concessions were primarily interested in her, and not in the development of agricultural settlements. To strengthen French power, Cardinal Richelieu established the Company of New France in 1627, transferring the entire territory from Florida to the Arctic Circle and from Florida to the Great Lakes under its jurisdiction. The property could be divided into lords, large feudal estates were created. In 1642 the city of Montreal was founded, which controlled all the fur trade of the colony with the interior regions of the continent.

After the death of Champlain (1635), colonization took place mainly under the control of the members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). They tried to convert Indians to Christianity, founded missions, and secured a ban on Protestants from settling in Canada.

Not wanting to lag behind France, the British were also engaged in the development of Canada. Back in 1583, Newfoundland was declared an English colony (appointed governor in 1729). In 1610, English ships were already sailing Hudson Bay and James Bay. The British colony of Nova Scotia was founded in 1627, and the population of the British and Dutch holdings in North America significantly outnumbered the French colonists. In 1629-1632 the British captured New France, and in 1654 they tried to oust the French from Acadia. The British and Dutch supported the enemies of the French - the Iroquois.

European colonization caused significant damage to the Indian population of Canada. It suffered from the spread of alcoholic beverages and diseases imported from Europe, and died in large numbers in wars that became much more bloody due to the use of weapons supplied by Europeans. By 1867, the number of Indians in Canada had dropped by two-thirds.

Encouraged by the Dutch and the British, the Iroquois smashed the Catholic missions, staged a mass extermination of the Hurons in 1648, and continuously attacked Montreal for 12 years.

The feudal-merchant colonization of Canada turned out to be ineffective, and in 1663 its territory was declared a royal province under the control of the Supreme Council (with the participation of the governor, intendant, bishop, and a number of other officials). The European population of the colony began to grow faster. The Royal Quartermaster Jean Talon encouraged fertility, settlement and the development of crafts. In Canada, the French feudal system of land tenure was introduced, and the peasants (abitans) bore obligations in favor of the lords. Huge territories were granted to the Catholic Church, which also controlled education.

Buying furs proved to be much more profitable than farming under the seigneurial system, and many French people preferred the life of itinerant traders and adventurers, penetrating deeper and deeper into the continent. Already in 1673, Louis Jollier's merchant detachment reached the Mississippi and explored it, in 1682 the Chevalier de La Salle reached its mouth, and in 1699 the French founded a colony on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Now their colonial possessions stretched from north to south from the Hudson to the Gulf of Mexico.

In contrast to the French, England also began to consolidate its possessions. In 1670, the English Hudson's Bay Company was established, proclaiming its authority over all the surrounding territories. In the Hudson Valley, the British drove out the Dutch in 1664 and formed an alliance with the Iroquois. The Governor of Canada, Comte de Frontenac, managed to defeat the Iroquois in the 1670s and 1690s and organized attacks on English settlements and fortifications in New England and the Hudson Bay area. The fighting in North America went on with varying degrees of success; The Riswick Peace (1697) did not bring victory to either side.

But the general balance of power between England and France gradually leaned more and more towards the former. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713), the British captured Port Royal, and according to the Peace of Utrecht (1713) France was forced to cede the Hudson Bay area to England and Acadia, which became Nova Scotia. After that, the French began to strengthen the remaining possessions. They erected a powerful fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton, the Crown Point and Tykonderoga forts south of the St. Lawrence Valley and a chain of trading posts to the Saskatchewan River. But this no longer saved the French colonial empire in North America, which in its development lagged more and more behind the British. By the middle of the 18th century. in the British North American possessions lived approx. 2 million people, and the number of the French was only 80 thousand.

Subsequent wars led to the fall of French colonial rule. During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), the British captured Louisbourg, but returned it to France in 1748. In 1754, widespread hostilities began in North America between the British, on the one hand, and the French and their allied Indians, on the other. They coincided with the Seven Years' War in Europe (1756–1763). The French stubbornly resisted, but in the end, yielding to superior British forces, New France surrendered in 1760. Under the Paris Peace Treaty of 1763, France recognized Canada as British possession.

British Canada.

In 1763, approx. 80 thousand French and several hundred English, but in the following years the English-speaking population began to grow rapidly. The British demanded the introduction of the laws of the metropolis in Quebec and the granting of privileges to persons of non-Catholic faith. But the British government chose to make concessions to the elite of French-Canadian society, fearing that Canada would join the movement of the North American colonies for independence, which ultimately led to the emergence of the United States. In 1774, the British authorities introduced the Quebec Act, according to which the Catholic Church retained its rights and privileges, French civil law and the French language were preserved. Only the English criminal law was introduced.

The Quebec Act, which included lands west of the Allegheny Mountains in Canada, only increased the discontent of the inhabitants of 13 North American colonies, who in 1776 declared their independence from Great Britain. During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and after it, 40 thousand "loyalists" (opponents of secession) moved to Canada. This English population, as well as the French, supported the struggle of the mother country against the rebellious colonies and fought against the American troops that invaded Quebec in 1775. The Loyalists received the right in 1784 to form a separate colony of New Brunswick. Along with it, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island were also separated from Nova Scotia. Loyalists also settled in Nova Scotia and Quebec (in what is now Ontario). Dissatisfied with the preservation of the Catholic and feudal order, in 1791 they achieved the adoption of a new "Constitutional Act", which divided Canada into two parts - Lower Canada (with a predominance of the French population) east of the Ottawa River with the cities of Quebec and Montreal, and Upper Canada to the west from the Ottawa River, inhabited almost exclusively by the British. Both colonies received a constitutional structure with two legislative chambers: the lower one, which was elected on the basis of a high property qualification, and the upper one (the Senate), with members appointed by the governor. The executive power and the right to veto any decisions of the chambers belonged to the governor. A similar system was introduced in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Part of Labrador was annexed to Newfoundland in 1763, where self-government and a bicameral parliament with an administration responsible to it were also introduced in 1835.

In Lower Canada, French civil law and the privileges of the Catholic Church were preserved, but one-seventh of the public lands were transferred to the Anglican clergy, and the same amount to the executive branch. In Upper Canada, the administration of Governor John Graves Simcoe generously distributed large land holdings to the military, government officials and merchants.

The division of Canada did not ease the internal divisions in Great Britain's North American possessions. The French expressed dissatisfaction with the privileges of the British, the arbitrary distribution of land to officials, heavy tax oppression and the arbitrariness of the governors. The British demanded a better distribution of land and the secularization of church estates. Merchants and industrialists advocated the elimination of the seigneurial system. Dissatisfaction with the domination of the ruling elite of the colonies spread. In the elective assembly of Lower Canada, a radical party was formed that defended the rights and traditions of the French population, sought to expand parliament's control over taxes, the budget and political life.

During the Anglo-American War of 1812–1814, the majority of Canadian society continued to side with the mother country. American incursions were repelled. The Peace Treaty of Ghent (1814) confirmed the borders that existed before the war. According to the diplomatic conventions of 1817-1818, the border between the USA and Canada in the section from Lesnoye Lake to the Rocky Mountains was established along the 49th parallel.

In the 1820s and 1840s, the Canadian economy developed steadily. In 1815-1850, about 80 thousand immigrants from the British Isles arrived in the country, and the total population increased from 400 thousand to 1.8 million. Trade with Great Britain developed, large ships and shipping canals were built. Disputes over the distribution of customs duties, calls for the unification of Upper and Lower Canada contributed to the radicalization of public sentiment. Radical and liberal-minded immigrants, as well as farmers and small traders, opposed the ruling elites closely associated with the governors and the main oligarchic families of the colonies. In the English-speaking provinces, the Protestant masses (Presbyterians and Methodists) were unhappy with the privileges of the Anglican Church. In the Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland, reformists sought freedom of the press and expanded legislatures, and in Prince Edward Island, the transfer of absent landowners to tenant farmers. In Upper and Lower Canada, political groupings of radical republicans were formed. In Upper Canada, they were led by the Scottish immigrant William Lyon Mackenzie (elected mayor of Toronto in 1834), and in Lower Canada - by the speaker of the Provincial Assembly Louis Joseph Papineau, a supporter of the ideas of the French Revolution. The radicals sought the responsibility of the executive branch before the legislative branch and tended to support the United States. In 1837, Republican armed uprisings broke out in Lower and Upper Canada; unrest also engulfed Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The uprisings were suppressed, and their participants were repressed. 32 rebels were hanged and 154 exiled to penal colonies. The leaders of the uprising fled to the United States.

Unrest in Canada forced the British authorities to implement reforms. A mission was sent to the country led by Lord Durham, the appointed governor-general of the British possessions in North America. He took steps to ease tensions, in particular, dropped charges against most of the participants in the uprising. Durham's moderate policies led to his resignation, but in 1838 he presented a reform project - the Report on the State of Affairs in British North America. Durham advocated the assimilation of the French-Canadians and proposed for this purpose the unification of Upper and Lower Canada. The colony, like the rest of the provinces, was to receive full self-government while maintaining the powers of the metropolis in constitutional and foreign policy issues. The British government accepted the proposal to unify the colonies, but rejected the idea of ​​a ministry accountable to parliament.

In 1840, the Union Act was adopted, proclaiming the unification of Upper and Lower Canada into a single colony - Canada - with a united legislative assembly. Governor Lord Seidenham (1840–1841) appointed government advisers from among the assembly members enjoying majority support. In turn, Anglo-Canadian and French-Canadian supporters of responsible government formed the liberal Reform Party led by Robert Baldwin and Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine. She had a majority in the Canadian parliament. Governor Charles Bagot, meeting with opposition in the legislature, in 1842 invited Baldwin and Lafontaine to form a government with the participation of reformists. The next Governor, Matkulf, reestablished autocratic rule, which sparked numerous protests. In 1846, the Liberals who came to power in Great Britain appointed Lord Elgin as Governor General of Canada to complete the system of responsible government. In Nova Scotia, a responsible cabinet was created, headed by the Prime Minister - reformist leader Joseph Howe. In 1848, a responsible government headed by La Fontaine and Baldwin appeared in the colony of Canada. In 1849, a law was passed on amnesty to all participants in the 1837 uprising and compensation for damage to residents who suffered during its suppression. An attempt by local conservatives with ties to oligarchic families to block the reforms failed. Neither street riots, nor threats to join the United States, nor a petition to London, nor even the arson of the colonial parliament building helped. Since 1850, a law was enacted that ordered municipalities to introduce a special property tax to fund education, but it was implemented slowly. In 1854, despite opposition from large landowners and the church, the Provincial Parliament of Canada passed a law to destroy church parcels and seigneurial rights. The peasants received the right to buy out land taxes and rent.

The political situation in Canada remained precarious. New radical political parties emerged — the Clea Crites in British Canada, led by John Brown, and the French Red Party, led by Antoine Dorion. Brown denounced the "dominance of the French" and the Catholics. He demanded the abolition of the equal representation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canada in the provincial parliament. The leader of the Clea Crites insisted that the number of deputies be determined on the basis of the population, which was higher in the English part of the country. The French Canadians, fearing assimilation, began to lean towards the support of conservative political forces. In 1854 moderate Tories and some of the liberals united in the Conservative Party; its leaders were John A. Macdonald and Georges Etienne Cartier. The radicals of French-speaking Canada from the "Red Party" sought the introduction of a democratic electoral system and the division of the province into French and English parts. But their republican and anti-clerical ideas frightened the conservative majority of French-Canadians. As a result, Clea Crites won in western (English) Canada, but the Conservatives were able to succeed with support in the eastern part of the province. In 1854 the Macdonald-Cartier government came to power, but it was unstable. In 1854-1864, 10 government offices were replaced in Canada.

In 1846 Great Britain and the United States agreed to divide territories on the Pacific coast of North America. Previously, the Oregon area was considered to belong to both countries, but now the border was drawn along the 49th parallel, and Oregon went to the United States. After that, the British side began to actively develop the lands north of this line. Initially they were controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, but in 1849-1850 the crown colony of Vancouver was formed, and then (after gold was discovered in the Caribou mountains in 1856 and thousands of gold prospectors rushed there, mainly from California) - the colony of British Columbia ( 1859). In 1866, both territories were merged.

In the 1850s, Canada experienced a period of rapid economic development. Railroad and steamship construction grew, British and American entrepreneurs invested heavily in Canadian enterprises. In 1853, Canada switched from the British pound to the Canadian dollar, as it was more convenient for trade with the United States. In 1854, Canada and the United States entered into a reciprocity agreement, which provided for free trade in raw materials and agricultural products for both sides, opened Canadian waterways for American shipping on a par with English, and also provided the United States with access to fisheries in the coastal provinces. The economic crisis of 1857 and the resumption of Russian wheat exports after the Crimean War damaged the Canadian economy. To protect it from foreign competition, Treasury Secretary A.T. Golt pushed the UK to agree to establish protectionist duties in Canada on imported goods, including British imports.

When the North-South Civil War broke out in the United States (1861-1865), industrial development revived in Canada, British investment rose, and railroad construction grew rapidly. The railways, whose construction was subsidized by the government, not only contributed to the economic development of the regions, but also created a strong connection between the St. Lawrence Valley and the Maritime provinces. In the 1860s, the industrial revolution unfolded in the country.

Concerns were growing in Canadian society about the expansion of the United States. The Americans were especially interested in the sparsely populated lands from the eastern prairies to the Pacific Ocean, which were under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company. During the American Civil War, many radicals and Democrats in Canada sympathized with the North. In contrast, the British authorities in North America, conservative Canadian landowners and entrepreneurs supported the Confederate Southerners who raided US territory from Canadian territory. This prompted the Americans to break the Reciprocity Treaty in 1865, and US Secretary of State William Seward and the press openly demanded the annexation of Canada. In turn, the American side supported the Fenian Irish rebels, who in 1866 attempted an invasion of Canadian territory.

A sense of the long-term threat from the south has rallied the Canadian provinces. In addition, economic interests pushed them to converge. The disunity of the provinces, which had different tax systems and different customs tariffs, was an obstacle to economic development. The union was supported by major traders in Montreal and Toronto, as well as farmers in western Canada, who hoped to develop the western prairies. Most of Britain's ruling circles also leaned in favor of this idea, seeing a strong, united Canada as a reliable counterweight to the United States. On the contrary, the Maritime provinces and the French-speaking population were reticent or negative about these plans.

In 1864 in the province of Canada, a coalition government was formed from the conservatives of MacDonald and Cartier and part of the liberals - Brown's supporters. It was intended to find a way out of the political impasse and to bring about the unification of British North America. However, the coastal Atlantic provinces took the lead, convening a conference in Charlottetown on the unification of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The arriving representatives of Canada proposed expanding the planned union, and in October 1864, 33 delegates from Canada, the Atlantic provinces and Newfoundland gathered in Quebec to draft a constitution for a new federation "under the crown of Great Britain." Ultimately, 72 resolutions were approved, providing for the formation of a federal union of the provinces with the central and local governments. The Assembly of Canada approved the draft constitution, contrary to the voices of radical English-speaking and French-speaking liberals. In New Brunswick, the Quebec resolutions were rejected by parliament and the unification government resigned. However, the governor dismissed the meeting and called for new elections, which brought success to the cause of the union. The Assemblies for Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland also rejected the project. In Nova Scotia, a bitter struggle broke out between the conservative Prime Minister Charles Tapper (a supporter of the federation) and the opposition led by reformist leaders J. How. The government did not dare to put the resolution to a vote and promised to achieve special conditions for the province.

A conference of British and Canadian representatives in London approved the draft British North America Act. It was then passed by the British Parliament and entered into force on 1 July 1867. In accordance with it, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the two provinces into which the former province of Canada was divided (French-speaking Quebec and English-speaking Ontario) were united into a "federal dominion". The last term, meaning "possession," was borrowed from religious psalms and was supposed to emphasize that we were not talking about the creation of a new independent state. The central government, responsible to the federal parliament, had to deal with the construction of railways, was responsible for taxation, defense, trade, finance, law enforcement and other general issues outside the jurisdiction of the provinces. Provincial rights were limited to local affairs, such as local justice and "property and civil rights" legislation, education, and local taxes. In Quebec, French civil law remained in force, while criminal law was uniform throughout the country. Over time, judicial decisions and political agreements, taken on various occasions, have resulted in the empowerment of provincial governments and the restriction of federal power. The governor-general, appointed by the British monarch, exercised executive power on the basis of a ministerial recommendation, could grant pardons, refer some legislative issues to the government of the British Empire, and decide to dissolve parliament; however, in the following years, these rights were gradually diminished.

Canadian dominion before World War I.

The first federation government was formed by the Conservative leader MacDonald (1867-1873). Initially, some liberals were represented, but the cabinet soon became almost exclusively one-party. The Conservatives ruled with generous subsidies to provinces and private entrepreneurs. In turn, the radical liberals, the Quebec "Red Party" and reformists from the Maritime provinces gradually merged into the opposition Liberal Party (LP).

The situation in the dominion at first seemed precarious. J. Howe and other opponents of the union won elections in Nova Scotia, but MacDonald managed to neutralize this opposition when he included Howe in the government in 1869, promising to increase appropriations for Nova Scotia. In 1873, having received special loans, Prince Edward Island also joined the dominion. The Canadian government also began to annex the western lands. In 1869, the Hudson's Bay Company sold its rights to the Northwest Territories to Canada. After the uprising, raised in 1869-1870 by the mixed French-Anglo-Indian population of the Red River region, led by Louis Riel, who demanded independent entry into the federation, a new Canadian province of Manitoba was formed on this territory in 1870. It recognized equal rights for both languages, the ability to create Catholic and Protestant schools; residents received land. In 1871, British Columbia entered Canada, to which the MacDonald government promised military assistance in border protection, economic benefits, the payment of a provincial debt, and the construction of the Pacific Railroad.

Only Newfoundland remained outside Canada, which had a responsible government since 1855. It remained a separate British colony.

To attract immigrants, Canada passed a law in 1873 according to which every immigrant, after three years of cultivating the land, received a plot of 160 acres free of charge. However, before the beginning of the 20th century. Canada remained predominantly a country of intermediate migration: most of those who arrived were then sent further to the United States.

The Conservative government in 1872 recognized the workers' right to strike and organize trade unions. In 1873 the Canadian Workers' Union arose, which disintegrated again by 1876.

In an effort to normalize relations with the United States, MacDonald took part in the Anglo-American conference in Washington in 1871. However, he did not succeed in achieving the desired restoration of the Treaty of Reciprocity. Canada agreed to give American fishermen access to their fisheries for 10 years, and the United States removed import duties on Canadian fish. At the same time, the American side refused to take responsibility for the Fenian raids across the US-Canadian border. The opposition has sharply criticized the Washington "deal". In 1872, the Conservatives managed to win the general election, but the following year, the liberals accused the government of accepting a bribe of $ 350,000 from a group of Montreal entrepreneurs with close ties to American capital in exchange for granting it the right to build the Pacific Railway. A scandal erupted and the MacDonald government resigned.

The new government of Canada was headed by the liberal Alexander Mackenzie (1873-1878). It established the Supreme Court, created the mounted police, and somewhat democratized the electoral law. But the liberal cabinet had to fight the incipient economic depression, which continued with varying intensity until the end of the 19th century. The construction of the Pacific road was slow. The ruling LP was torn apart by disagreements over economic policy issues. The Prime Minister and Liberals of the Maritime Provinces advocated free trade and reduced government spending. In 1874 Mackenzie tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the United States on lowering customs tariffs. Edward Blake and other liberals defended the position of protectionism - the introduction of high duties on foreign (primarily American) goods. They formed the Canada Above All movement, advocating expanding the country's political independence while strengthening ties with the British Empire.

Relying on Quebec, the Conservatives tried to take revenge. In 1878, promising to pursue a protectionist course, speed up railway construction and encourage immigration, they won parliamentary elections. After forming a new government, Prime Minister MacDonald (1878-1891) raised duties on the import of manufactured goods, and in 1880 signed a contract with a large syndicate led by the Bank of Montreal and the Hudson's Bay Company to build the Pacific Railroad. As a result, the construction was completed by 1885.

In foreign policy, the Conservatives focused on Great Britain, but, at the same time, did not want to unconditionally obey British requirements and sought greater independence. So, in 1885 MacDonald refused to send a Canadian military expedition to Sudan. Economic ties with the United States developed. In 1883, imports from the United States for the first time exceeded the volume of imports from Great Britain, and by 1896 accounted for more than half of all Canadian imports.

The Conservative government was tolerant of union formation. In 1886, the Trade and Workers' Congress was created, closely associated with the trade unions of the United States. At the same time, it brutally suppressed the uprising of 1884-1885 white farmers, Indians and mestizos in Saskatchewan, led by L. Riel, who protested against the unfair distribution of land and demanded the status of a province with its own government. Riel was captured, charged with high treason, despite numerous protests, especially among French-Canadians, sentenced to death and hanged.

Riel's execution contributed to the weakening of the MacDonald government. In Quebec, the disaffected part of the conservatives united with the liberals and formed the National Party headed by Honore Mercier, which came to power in the province in 1886. Nova Scotia's liberal government pushed for tax cuts, threatening to secede from the federation, and in Ontario, ruling liberals pushed for alcohol licensing, natural resource development, and independent justice. In 1887, Mercier convened a conference of provincial representatives, which announced its intention to deprive the central government of the right to repeal provincial laws, and also demanded free duty-free trade with the United States and an increase in the provinces' share of national income. But the unity of the opposition did not last long. The Mercier government in Quebec paid heavy compensation to the Catholic Church for estates confiscated in 1773, which angered Ontario Protestants. In this province, as well as in Manitoba, a movement arose to ban the teaching of French in schools. The Manitoba authorities made a decision on this issue, but the federal government overturned it in 1895. In response, the leader of Canada's PL, Wilfrid Laurier, accused the Canadian cabinet of meddling in provincial affairs.

In 1891, the Conservatives were still able to win federal elections. After MacDonald's death, the cabinet was headed by John Abbott (1891–1892), John Thompson (1892–1894), Mackenzie Bowell (1894–1896), and Charles Tupper (1896). In the elections of 1896, the liberals went under the slogan of defending the rights of the provinces, and this brought them victory. The new prime minister of Canada was the liberal leader Wilfrid Laurier (1896-1911). He reached a compromise with the authorities of Manitoba: students could receive extracurricular instruction in matters of religion, and some subjects could be taught in French.

Laurier largely continued the policy of the conservative cabinets. He sought reconciliation with the church, abandoned radical free trade, and pursued a protectionist policy of prioritizing imports from Britain. However, economic dependence on the United States grew. It was expressed not only in huge American investments, but also in the growth of imports from the south. By 1913, imports from the United States accounted for two-thirds of all Canadian imports.

In 1896-1914 about 2.5 million people moved to Canada from England, continental Europe and the USA; the total population of the country increased due to this to almost 8 million people. This contributed to the rapid growth of industry and railway construction, as well as the intensive settlement of the western prairies. In 1905, two new provinces were formed - Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Real economic power in the West fell into the hands of entrepreneurs from Montreal, Toronto, and federal politicians. Farmers' organizations demanded a reduction in lending rates and tariffs, as well as regulation of prices for transportation and use of elevators. Attempts by the government to regulate grain storage prices at state grain elevators failed, and many farmers in the West joined the Grain Grovers cooperative to buy and sell grain.

Many immigrants found themselves in a difficult situation and lived in difficult conditions. The government gave them almost no help. Visitors often encountered manifestations of nationalism on the part of Anglo-Saxon Protestants, on the one hand, and French-Canadians, on the other (the latter were afraid of becoming a minority in their own country). All this contributed to the radicalization of public sentiment. The ideas of Christian socialism, Fabianism and syndicalism spread among the working people, and socialist parties arose. In 1900, a representative of the organized workers was first elected to the federal parliament. The growth of the labor movement prompted the authorities to make some reforms. In 1907, the federal government passed the Industrial Conflict Investigation Act, which prohibited strikes and pickets, as well as lockouts during labor dispute investigations. Some provinces have passed laws setting the minimum wages, and also experimentally introduced state property in some enterprises.

The growth of grain production in the west stimulated the development of the production of agricultural machinery and industrial goods in the central part of the country, the construction of grain elevators and railways. The construction of railway lines was heavily subsidized by the government, which increased the national debt, but the situation was softened by the "wheat boom". The discovery of gold in the Yukon was followed by the development of other minerals, the paper industry and hydropower.

In foreign policy, Laurier's government tried to pursue a course of compromises. It rejected the idea of ​​a British imperial alliance with a unified military force. During the Boer War, the Canadian cabinet allowed only the recruitment of volunteers to help Britain, which angered many Anglo-Canadians and French-Canadian nationalists who objected to participation in the British colonial wars. In 1909, in response to a British demand that Canada contribute to the creation of a united naval force for the British Empire, the Laurier government proposed building a small detachment of ships that could join the British fleet whenever Canada deemed it necessary. This was opposed by both the Conservatives, who defended allegiance to the Empire, and the French-Canadians, who objected to any military commitments of Canada. This issue was at the center of the 1911 election campaign. Laurier's position was complicated by the unexpected transition of the cabinet to the position of free trade. In 1911, the prime minister negotiated with the US administration on a mutual reduction in customs tariffs.

All this weakened the position of the LP and led to its defeat in the elections. The Conservatives returned to power, led by the new Prime Minister Robert Borden (1911-1920).

The Borden government continued the policy of its predecessors: it built railways, encouraged immigration and settlement in the west, and continued the civil service reform initiated by Laurier. The Conservatives have given up building their own Canadian navy, opting instead to hand over the money to Britain.

Canada 1914-1945.

As part of the British Empire, Canada took part in World War I on the side of Great Britain. In military formations, approx. 630 thousand Canadians; OK. 60 thousand were killed. Prime Minister Borden was empowered to establish an independent Canadian military command; Canada received representation in the Imperial War Council and at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Relations with Great Britain were built on a single foreign policy position with "constant consultation" between parts of the empire.

The Wartime Measures Act of 1914 gave the government the right to censor, carry out arrests and deportations, control the movement of people and goods, trade, production and distribution of goods and raw materials. Customs tariffs were increased. The government began in 1917 a program to nationalize the railways (with the exception of the Pacific). Prices, wages and labor relations were regulated. War loans were carried out. By 1921, the total amount of government debt had risen to $ 4.8 billion.

The military production involved 350 thousand Canadians. The war helped revive the country's economy, which experienced a depression in 1913. New jobs were created, and the export of agricultural products and raw materials rose sharply. American investments in the country and loans outstripped British ones.

In 1917, conservatives and liberals - supporters of the imposition of conscription - created a coalition government. Borden was still at its head.

After the war, state control over the economy was abolished, which caused the depression of 1921–1922. The railways remained in the hands of the state.

General protests against high tariffs and lending rates, against the rising cost of living, triggered a major social crisis. Farmers' organizations demanded the transfer of natural resources and utilities into public ownership, the introduction of taxes on the income of individuals and corporations, a sharp reduction in tariffs and an electoral reform. Trade unions, among which syndicalist sentiments intensified (a new radical trade union center, One Big Union, was formed in 1919), carried out mass strikes. They culminated in the general Winnipeg strike in May-June 1919, which was suppressed by the government. In 1920, four socialists were elected to the Parliament of Manitoba, and in 1921 a member of the Socialist Party became a member of the federal parliament.

After Borden's resignation, the Canadian government was headed by the conservative Arthur Meigen (1920-1921), a supporter of conscription and high protectionist tariffs. PL leader William Lyon Mackenzie King promised voters guarantees against unemployment, the introduction of old-age pensions and some other reforms; at the same time, he tried not to exacerbate relations with the business community. The elections brought victory to the Liberals, who, however, were unable to achieve an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons. In second place was the National Progressive Party, which united farmers and demanded lower tariffs and "reciprocity" in trade with the United States. In 1919 and early 1920s, the NPP was in power in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba. The Conservatives came in third. Mackenzie King formed a liberal government (1921-1926), which was supported from the outside by the progressists. However, their movement turned out to be heterogeneous and short-lived. A slight improvement in the economic situation that began in 1923, a narrowing of the gap between industrial and agricultural prices, an increase in world demand for grain, and liberal concessions on tariffs accelerated its disintegration.

The King government has made significant cuts in duties and tariffs, abolished income taxes, and slightly cut income and sales taxes. At the same time, assistance was provided to the coastal provinces in equipping ports and developing shipping, protectionist measures were introduced to protect the coal industry in Nova Scotia. At the same time, the government crushed a strike by Nova Scotia coal and steel workers who were protesting against lower wages.

Despite the economic stagnation that lasted until 1929 in the Primorsky province, on the whole the 1920s were a period of economic prosperity. Mass production of cars began, railways and highways were built, and grain exports grew. Farmers united and created their own organizations for the storage and sale of grain - wheat pools. In the province of Alberta in 1921-1935, the government of the United Farmers was in power.

In English-speaking Canada, there was a rise in Protestant fundamentalism, accompanied by demands for strict Sunday observance and a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages. However, provincial governments have failed to stop the massive liquor smuggling; as a result, by the mid-1920s, most provinces had repealed Prohibition, placing government control over the sale of alcoholic beverages instead.

In foreign policy, the Canadian government has sought more and more independence. In 1922 it rejected a call from Great Britain to take part in hostilities against Turkey. The Imperial Conference of 1923 supported King that the dominions should have the right to conduct an independent foreign policy.

In the 1925 elections, the Conservatives again became the strongest party in Canada, but the Liberals remained in power. In 1926, King asked the governor general to dissolve parliament and call new elections, but he instead entrusted the formation of the government to the Conservative leader Meigen. But his government could not resist, early elections were held. The Liberals, accusing the Governor-General of interfering in the internal affairs of Canada, won and King returned to power (1926-1930). Two workers' deputies also supported his government after King agreed to introduce an old-age pension system.

Dependent on the American economy, grain, fish and timber exports, Canada was hit hard by the global economic crisis that erupted in 1929. By 1933, unemployment had reached 23%. The wages fell to a scanty level.

The global economic crisis had a detrimental effect on the position of Newfoundland, which was not included in the Canadian Federation. In 1907, he received the rights of dominion, but the crisis of the early 1930s brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. In 1933, on the recommendation of the Royal Commission, the constitution was suspended, the status of dominion was abolished, and power in 1934 passed to the British governor.

Despite the plight in Canada, Mackenzie King refused to resort to large-scale measures to help unemployed people, insisting on the need for a balanced budget and "respect for the rights of the provinces." In 1930, the LP suffered a crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections. Conservatives came to power, led by Richard Bedford Bennett (1930-1935).

Bennett's government allocated money for organizing public works and providing assistance to provinces and municipalities, significantly increased tariffs (in 1932, an agreement was concluded to reduce customs tariffs for the countries of the British Commonwealth, but this did not have a noticeable effect on Canada's foreign trade). Several large state corporations were created (the Bank of Canada national bank, the CBC broadcasting company). In 1935, Prime Minister Bennett put forward a reform program called the "Canadian New Deal" (by analogy with Roosevelt's "New Deal"). At his insistence, parliament passed laws on loans to farmers, the creation of a natural resource marketing agency, social and unemployment insurance, minimum wages and restrictions on working hours. However, the liberal opposition opposed them, declaring them an unconstitutional abuse of power by the federal government.

On the foreign policy front, the Bennett government has completed the transition to political independence for Canada. The Westminster Statute of 1931 declared Canada and other dominions completely equal and independent in foreign and domestic policy. The crown was represented by the Governor-General.

Other radical parties emerged in Canada in the 1930s. In 1932, leaders of the socialist, workers 'and farmers' movements and trade union activists created a social democratic party - the Federation of the Cooperative Commonwealth (FCC). She called for the establishment of socialism in Canada. In Alberta, a new Social Credit Party came to power in 1935, promising farmers and herders to establish fair prices and credit proportional to the amount of goods produced or services rendered. Reformist slogans were made by the liberals who won in Ontario and opposed to King, led by Mitchell Hepburn and the National Union party led by Maurice Duplessis in Quebec.

Within the Conservative Party itself, not everyone agreed with Bennett's reforms. A split in the conservative camp led them to defeat in elections in 1935. The liberals returned to power, led by Mackenzie King (1935-1948). They passed Bennett's laws to the Supreme Court, which overturned most of them as violating provincial rights. The Liberal government created a special commission on the relationship between the federation and the provinces, which presented in 1940 a report recommending strengthening the role of the federal government in the country's economy, as well as making it responsible for social security on a national scale. Amendments to the British North America Act were passed and the federal government was empowered to create a national unemployment insurance system.

On the eve of World War II, King pursued an isolationist course, opposing participation in efforts to establish collective security within the League of Nations and the Commonwealth, but rejecting the demands of French-Canadian nationalists to declare neutrality in the event of a war in Europe. Only a week after Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, a special session of the Canadian parliament adopted a similar decision. At the same time, the government promised that universal military service would not be introduced. In October 1939, the National Union, which opposed participation in the war, was defeated in the elections in Quebec and ceded power in the province to the Liberals. In early 1940, King held early federal elections. The LP won a landslide victory.

The Government of Canada re-enacted the Wartime Measures Act, restricting political and civil rights. A number of left-wing organizations (including the anti-war syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World and the communists) were banned. The authorities established control over military production, the organization of the production of military products and the mobilization of material resources. More than 1 million people worked in the military industry. The collection of income tax, corporation tax and inheritance tax was transferred from the provinces to the federal center. State control over prices and wages was introduced. State corporations were also created. Canada's economy grew rapidly during World War II. Its dependence on the United States has increased. Military and political ties with the southern neighbor were also strengthened. In 1940, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada signed an agreement in Ogdensburg to jointly plan the defense of the North American continent.

With a population of 12 million, Canada mobilized 1 million people during the war. Canadian troops took part in hostilities in Europe and Asia, their losses amounted to 42 thousand people. The question of the introduction of universal military service was repeatedly raised. A plebiscite held in April 1942 revealed that the measure was supported by the Anglo-Canadian, but rejected by the French-Canadian population. In November 1944, the government began compulsory recruitment of soldiers.

During the war, the government carried out a number of social reforms. In 1941, state unemployment insurance was introduced, and in 1944 parliament passed the Family Benefit Act, which assigned payments to parents with dependent minor children. By 1945, the liberals had implemented social security measures such as hospital insurance, “fair” prices for agricultural products, housing, and economic planning.

However, the rise in inflation and the cost of living caused growing discontent among the population, which was reflected in strikes and the results of provincial elections. In Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, the influence of the FCC increased. In 1943 it became the main opposition party in Ontario, and won the following year in Saskatchewan. In 1944 the nationalist Duplessis returned to power in Quebec and remained at the head of the provincial government until 1959. However, in June 1945, the PL won the federal elections again.

Canada after World War II.

The period of post-war reconversion, associated with a decline in production and employment, was relatively short. The orientation of the Canadian economy to meet the US demand for raw materials and the inflow of American capital contributed to the accelerated development of the post-war economy of Canada until the end of the 1960s, interrupted by the recessions of 1948-1949, 1953-1954 and 1957-1961. In 1939-1967, the GNP grew from 6 billion to 62 billion dollars. In 1941-1968, the population of Canada grew from 11.5 million people to 20 million people or more, 2 million of this increase accounted for immigrants, most of who came from European countries and settled in cities. The mining industry, energy, transport developed rapidly, but some agricultural regions were in decline.

The wartime law was repealed after World War II, but negotiations and conferences of representatives of the federal and provincial governments made it impossible to return to the old distribution of powers. They ended in a compromise agreement that the federal government retained control and regulatory powers for 3 years, and concentrated tax revenues in exchange for subsidies to provinces and help them implement social programs. Provinces retained the authority to increase local taxes, manage resources, etc. The fixed principles of economic policy meant a transition to the Keynesian (Keynesian-theory of state regulation of the economy) model of the "welfare state."

The country's authorities focused on partnerships with entrepreneurs and trade unions. However, in the second half of the 1940s, the number of strikes increased, especially in Quebec, where they were actively suppressed by the provincial government of Duplessis.

The Canadian economy has become more and more integrated with the American one. The United States became a major source of foreign investment and a major trading partner, accounting for 70% of Canadian imports, 60% of exports, and over 75% of foreign investment in the late 1950s. More than half of manufacturing enterprises were owned or controlled by US corporations; even more significant was the share of the United States in the mining industry and the development of natural resources. In 1947, the plan of the Minister of Finance of Canada D. Abbott was adopted, which provided for the country's transition from the all-round development of the manufacturing industry and trade with all countries to the expansion of the extraction of raw materials required by the United States. The law on state monopoly on the exploration and production of uranium was abolished; in this area, as well as in oil production, American companies have established themselves. In 1950, Canada entered into an agreement on the principles of economic cooperation with the United States.

Confederation 1950. The Liberal government was headed until 1948 by Mackenzie King, and in 1948-1957 by Louis Saint Laurent. It continued an active social policy (in particular, it established pensions for the elderly). In 1949 Newfoundland became part of Canada as a province. Strengthening political and cultural independence, the country's authorities introduced the Canadian Citizenship Act in 1947. In 1949, parliament received the right to amend the constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada became the highest court of appeal. Vincent Massey (1952–1959), a Canadian, was first appointed to the post of Governor-General. To support the development of Canadian culture, science and education, the government established the Canadian Council. In foreign policy and military matters, Canada relied mainly on the Western Bloc. In 1949 she participated in the creation of NATO.

The Liberals won the parliamentary elections in 1953, but in subsequent years their authority began to decline. The wider public was unhappy with the growing economic dependence on the United States. Outrage was caused by the government's decision to grant the American company the right to build a gas pipeline from Alberta. Farmers were worried about chronic overproduction in agriculture and the lack of effective government assistance. Many provinces were ruled by the opposition - the Conservatives, the Social Credit Party and the FCC (the latter ran the state health insurance system in Saskatchewan). In 1957, the Conservatives (PCP) won the elections, calling to prevent the transformation of Canada into the "49th US state." They promised to develop the economy of the North, reduce economic disparities between provinces and improve the social security system. Party leader John Diefenbaker led a minority government that depended on the support of the right-wing Social Credit Party. Early elections in 1958 brought the Diefenbaker government (1957-1963) an absolute majority of votes and seats in the House of Commons. They also led to the severe defeat of the FCC.

However, he failed to fulfill his promises. Trying to achieve greater economic independence, the government was able to find new markets for Canadian wheat, mainly in the countries of the Soviet bloc. But the promise to shift 15% of Canada's foreign trade from the US to the UK turned out to be unrealistic. In foreign policy, on the whole, the same orientation was retained. In 1958, Canada entered into an agreement with the United States to establish the Joint Air Defense Command of the North American Continent (NORAD); part of the country's air force came under the American command. But the Canadian government, despite pressure from Washington, never joined SEATO or the Organization of American States (OAS) and refused to sever diplomatic and trade relations with Fidel Castro's Cuba. At the 1959 Commonwealth Conference, the Canadian prime minister condemned the apartheid policy in South Africa.

Other directions of the Conservative policy turned out to be not entirely successful either. For the large-scale development of the North, there were not enough funds and people. The government strengthened the Canadian presence in a number of companies, banks and radio broadcasting, stimulated the development of production finished products but failed to change the general trend. The increase in federal government spending on state entrepreneurship, social needs, etc. did not allow Diefenbaker to keep his promise to protect the rights of the provinces, and he continued the practice of "equalizing" federal subsidies and increasing the provinces' share of income tax revenues.

Economic difficulties, rising inflation and the devaluation of the Canadian dollar (1962), and increasing unemployment undermined the popularity of the PCP. The opposition grew stronger. In 1961, the Canadian trade unions (in 1956 merged into the Canadian Workers' Congress) and the FCC merged with the New Democratic Party (NDP) of the social democratic wing. In the 1962 elections, the Conservatives lost their absolute majority in parliament. The following year, the House of Commons issued a vote of no confidence to the Diefenbaker government. New elections were called. The Prime Minister staked on the slogan of Canada's renunciation of its own nuclear weapons, while the liberals, on the contrary, spoke in favor of nuclear weapons. Having won a relative majority of seats in parliament, the PL returned to power. The minority liberal government was headed by Lester Pearson (1963-1968). In 1964, nuclear weapons were stationed in Canada.

Pearson's cabinet, which also won the 1965 election, preferred not to make significant policy changes. Among the achievements of his government were the passage of the National Health Insurance Act and the introduction of the new Canadian flag. Faced with economic hardship in the late 1960s, it raised taxes on personal income but cut corporate taxes. The budget deficit has become chronic.

In the field of foreign economic relations, the focus on the United States has again increased, which now accounted for 80% of capital investments from abroad. In foreign policy, Canada has followed a course of "quiet diplomacy," striving to play the role of a mediator in international relations.

The government's activities were also constrained by the aggravation of the Quebec problem. In 1960, a new, reformist-minded leadership of the liberals came to power in the provinces, pushing back the National Union. The provincial government, headed by Jean Lesage, began the implementation of the so-called. "Silent Revolution" - programs of reforms in the field of economics, politics and education with the aim of modernizing the economy and supporting French Canadian culture. It expanded the state sector in the economy and the social functions of the state, embarked on the reform of education and the secularization of education.

In response to demands to grant Quebec more autonomy, the federal government agreed to exempt Quebec from compulsory participation in certain federal social security programs (such as the retirement plan). Instead, the province received funds that it could use itself. However, Quebec's "special status" irritated English-speaking Canadians. At the same time, a separatist movement was gaining strength in Quebec, which demanded complete independence. In 1963, several explosions were made in the English-speaking quarters of Montreal.

A commission created by the Pearson government to study the problems of bilingualism and the coexistence of two cultures recommended recognizing the equality of French and English as official languages ​​at the federal level, as well as in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario. But this could not satisfy the parties. In 1966, Lesage's party was defeated in elections in Quebec. The National Union returned to power in the province, and supporters of the continuation of reforms, nationalization in the economy and political independence of Quebec formed the "Sovereignty-Association Movement" headed by René Leveque.

In 1968, after Pearson's resignation, the Canadian government was headed by the new liberal leader Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who promised to resist chauvinist nationalism and preserve the federal state. In elections that same year, the PL won an absolute majority in the House of Commons for the first time in many years.

The Conservative Cabinet has focused on reducing the budget deficit and increasing the competitiveness of Canadian enterprises. He refused to interfere in the activities of private firms and carried out the privatization of many state-owned enterprises and corporations. The government has removed the regulation of transport, telecommunications and the financial sector. Social programs have been significantly curtailed. The growth of national income in 1984-1988 was about 3% per year. But in 1990-1993, the country experienced a decline in production again.

Mulroney sought to strengthen economic and political ties with the United States. His cabinet lifted a number of restrictions on foreign participation in Canadian corporations and the use of energy resources and, at the same time, helped to increase the volume of Canadian investments abroad. In 1988, he began negotiations for a free trade agreement with the United States. The opposition sharply criticized the plan, but in the 1988 parliamentary elections, the Conservatives were able to maintain a majority in parliament, and in 1989 the agreement was signed. In December 1992 Mulroney and the presidents of the United States and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In an attempt to find a compromise with Quebec, Mulroney negotiated with the provincial authorities to grant it the status of a "separate community" within Canada and special rights. However, the agreement was not ratified by all provinces on time (Newfoundland rejected it and Manitoba postponed the discussion). In 1992, the status of a "separate community" for Quebec was agreed at a conference of provincial and territorial heads of government and party leaders in Charlottetown and put to a referendum. However, 54% of the participants voted against. The agreement never came into force.

The imposition of a federal tax on all goods and services on January 1, 1991, sparked widespread discontent with the Mulroney government. He left the leadership of the PCP. The new party leader was Kim Campbell, Secretary of Defense in the Mulroney government. On June 25, 1993, she succeeded Mulroney as prime minister. But in the general election on October 25, 1993, the Conservatives were defeated, receiving only 2 seats in the House of Commons. Liberals, led by Jean Chrétien of Quebec, pledged to create jobs by expanding public works and to renegotiate free trade agreements with the United States and Mexico, won a landslide victory. The separatist Quebec bloc came second, followed by the Reform Party, formed by disgruntled conservatives in the province of Alberta. November 4, 1993 Jean Chretien took over as Prime Minister of the country (1993-2003).

Although the liberals sharply criticized Mulroney's economic policies, they continued to take a hard line in this area, citing the need to cut high public debt, cut budget deficits and pay interest on debts. They went to cut government spending, primarily on health care, education and social security. Since most of these costs were borne by the provincial governments, it was much easier for the country's leadership to reduce federal allocations for these needs, giving the provincial authorities the opportunity to cope with the emerging difficulties and grievances on the ground. The number of persons eligible for unemployment insurance has been reduced and the number of civil servants has been reduced. The policy of promoting the privatization of state-owned enterprises continued. The government went on to privatize Canadian National Railways (1995) and a number of local airports.

Canada at the end of the 20th century - the beginning of the 21st century.

Contrary to promises, the liberal government did not revise the NAFTA agreement, and it entered into force in 1994. However, in the second half of the 1990s, tensions arose in relations with the United States due to the development of Canadian-Cuban relations, the introduction of American sanctions against Canadian firms trading with Cuba, and controversy over fishing quotas off the coast of Alaska. The "Fish War" ended in 1999 with an agreement on fishing quotas.

In September 1994, the separatist Quebec Party won the parliamentary elections in Quebec again, and the new head of the provincial government, Jacques Parisot, promised to achieve secession from Canada. On October 30, 1995, a second secession referendum was organized, and this time 49.4% of the participants voted for independence. A small majority (including at the expense of national minorities) voted against. Parisot resigned and was replaced as head of government by the leader of the Quebec bloc, Lucien Bouchard. In an effort to take advantage of the results of the referendum, the Canadian parliament passed legislation to grant Quebec the right of a "separate community", but the gesture remained largely symbolic. In September 1997, the heads of government of 9 out of 10 provinces (all except Quebec) signed a call to preserve the unity of Canada (Calgary Declaration). By emphasizing the equality of all the provinces, they again recognized the “uniqueness” of Quebec, which should be reflected in the constitutional compromise. In August 1998, the Supreme Court, at the request of the federal government, rejected Quebec's right to unilaterally declare independence, putting forward a number of criteria for negotiating secession. In November 1998, in the provincial elections, the liberals outstripped the separatists in the number of votes cast, however, due to the peculiarities of the electoral system, the Quebec Party retained power in the province, and Bouchard remained as head of the government of Quebec. He rejected the draft of a new agreement between the center and the provinces to expand the powers of the latter in the fields of finance, social policy and education, considering the concessions of the federal government insufficient. In December 1999, Canadian Prime Minister Chretien announced his readiness to begin negotiations on the granting of independence to Quebec, provided that the majority of the province's population speaks for it in a referendum and the criteria formulated by the Supreme Court are met.

The Canadian authorities made some concessions to the indigenous population of the country. In 1993, Parliament approved the spin-off from the Northwest Territories of the new Canadian Territory, Nunavut, inhabited primarily by Inuit. The decision came into force in 1999. The territory received broad autonomy rights; was elected its own parliament and formed a government headed by Paul Okalik.

In 1996, an agreement was reached to grant the Nisgaa Indians in British Columbia rights to land on the border with Alaska and to self-government (in exchange for giving up 90% of their original land claims). The corresponding agreement was signed in August 1998 and approved by parliament in 2000. The agreement was seen as a basis for negotiations with 47 other tribes in the province. The Newfoundland Court of Appeals in October 1997 upheld a complaint by the Labrador Inuit to suspend the expansion of nickel mining in Voysey Bay. In December 1997, the Supreme Court in Ottawa examined the Delgamuuk Indians' complaint and, in principle, recognized the legality of the claims of the indigenous people on the lands that they inhabited before the arrival of the Europeans. In January 1998, the federal government issued an official apology to the indigenous people for incidents of injustice and ill-treatment; funds were allocated to a special fund for the payment of compensation. In September 1999, the Supreme Court upheld the fishing privileges of the Mikmak Indians.

As a progress in interethnic relations in Canada, the appointment of the country's Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, a Chinese by birth (1999), and the head of the British Columbia government - Indian Ujal Dosanjh (2000), is considered by the Governor-General of the country.

On June 2, 1997, early parliamentary elections were held in Canada. The main pre-election controversy boiled down to issues of ensuring the interests of the regions, the efficiency of the economy and the preservation of the country's unity. The Liberals, whose stronghold is Ontario, won 155 of the 301 seats in the lower house, while the main opposition party with 60 seats went this time to the Conservative Reform Party, which dominated British Columbia and Alberta. In Quebec, the Quebec bloc won (44 seats). The increase in votes was achieved by the NDP (21 seats) and the PKP (20 seats). The next elections in November 2000 were again victorious for the Liberals, who won 172 seats; the second place was taken by the Canadian Alliance, formed in 2000 as a result of the merger of the Reform Party and part of the PCP (66 seats). The rest of the parties (Quebec bloc, NDP and PCP) lost some of their mandates. Chrétien's government remained in power until 2003.

In December 2003, a change of leadership took place in Canada: Paul Martin became the new leader of the liberals and the prime minister. Significant changes are also noticeable in the opposition camp. As a result of the unification of the Canadian Alliance and the PCP, the Conservative Party was reunited in 2004. Stephen Harper was elected leader of the new party.

Federal elections were held on June 28, 2004. The Liberals won 36.7% of the vote, while the Conservative Party won 29.6% of the vote. Although the Liberals did not receive a parliamentary majority, they managed to form a minority government. Paul Martin became Prime Minister again.

In November 2005, the leader of the Conservative Party, Harper, and the head of the New Democratic Party, J. Leighton, announced a vote of no confidence in the government. This was due to the results of the Gomery Commission investigation into the Conservative Party funding scandal. Conclusions were made about the corruption of the party. Parliamentary elections were held on January 23, 2006. The Conservative Party of Canada took the largest number of seats, gaining 36.3% of the vote. The liberals got 30.2%. A minority government of the Conservative Party was formed. Harper became the new prime minister. More than 12 years of Liberal rule was interrupted.

Federal elections were held on October 14, 2008. The ruling Conservative Party won. S. Harper was re-elected Prime Minister.

On March 25, 2011, Harper's government resigned following a vote of no confidence. Parliamentary elections were held on May 1, 2011. The Conservative Party won a landslide victory and won 167 out of 308 seats in parliament. The main opposition party was the left-wing New Democratic Party, gaining 102 seats. The Liberal Party was defeated with only 34 seats.

Vadim Damier

... M., 1981
Tishkov V.A., Koshelev L.V. History of Canada... M., 1982
Danilov S.Yu. Canada's bipartisan system: development trends... M., 1982
Soroko-Tsyupa O.S. History of Canada... M., 1985
Contemporary domestic politics in Canada... M., 1986
Yu.G. Kuznetsov Is maple sap sweet? Modern Canada and its people... M., 1988
See S.W. The History of Canada(Conn), 2001
Gross W. Political Parties, Representation and Elektoral Democracy in Canada... New-York, 2001



Spotted tundras are widespread in the Arctic and are found in the alpine belt of some mountain uplifts. There is no doubt that they are not the same in nature and have different origins. Several hypotheses are known that explain in one way or another the genesis of bare spots in these tundras.

According to V.N.Sukachev, the formation of spots in the Arctic tundra is a consequence of the freezing of the soil in the presence of permanent (permafrost) permafrost. Excessively moistened loam before freezing is a semi-liquid mass - "quicksand". This semi-liquid layer expands upon freezing and breaks through the frozen surface crust in weak places (along cracks, etc.), pouring out like a small mud volcano. So, as a result of the outpouring of quicksand on the surface, compressed from below by constant and from above by seasonal permafrost, naked exposed spots devoid of vegetation are formed. Then, undergoing erosion, they expand and deepen.

L. N. Tyulina develops V. N. Sukachev's hypothesis in relation to the mountain tundra of the Southern Urals (Mount Iremel). In her opinion, spots in the mountain tundra appear as a result of the outpouring of a mud volcano on the surface, tearing the plant sod. Then the spots, undergoing erosion, increase in size. The erosion of the plant sod is also favored by the bulging out of the soil of stone blocks during freezing. LN Tyulina attaches great importance to permafrost in the formation of characteristic elements of the relief and microrelief on Mount Iremel, although she did not manage to get to the frozen horizon and no evidence was given in favor of its existence.

In the highlands of the extrapolar part of the Urals, no one has yet observed permafrost in mineral soils. Nevertheless, this fact does not bother some researchers, who assume its presence in the high-mountainous region of the Ural ridge. Not to mention the articles by L.N. Tyulina, the later published work of N.A. ... From the work of N.A. Preobrazhensky, it can be concluded that its author actually did not have any data on this issue and refers only to rare cases of the presence of small snow patches on some loaches of the Southern Urals, which in some years do not have time to completely melt over the summer. Even the findings of sporadic permafrost in the foothills of the Northern Urals do not yet prove its presence in the highlands of the Southern Urals.

According to BN Gorodkov, “dry spotty tundra arises under the influence of winter winds blowing snow from open places and blowing frozen vegetation into fine earth, which is also subject to snow corrosion. From frost and drying out, the soil surface cracks into polygonal detachments, the vegetation cover is preserved only along cracks and grooves between weakly convex, due to crumbling of the edges, bare spots. In spring and during rain, the spots are saturated with water, puddles sometimes stagnate on them, the loam swells and becomes semi-liquid, which is why the surface of the spots takes a horizontal position on weak slopes. " In addition to "dry", BN Gorodkov distinguish "wet" spotty tundra, in which spots appear as a result of the removal of fine earth to the surface by oozing subsoil streams. In this case, the loam often slips, tearing the turf and exposing the soil. The formation of bare spots, according to BN Gorodkov, may be a consequence of other reasons: erosion by rains and spring waters, soaking, damage by deer hooves.

LN Tyulina and BN Gorodkov proceed from the fact that spots in mountain tundra are formed as a result of destruction or rupture of the sod of the vegetation cover that binds the soil surface. In contrast, V.S.Govorukhin believes that spots appear before vegetation. In the upper reaches of the Khulga and Synya rivers, high in the mountains, he discovered areas of "anorganic spotted tundra" with characteristic stepped areas of fine earth, but completely devoid, in the opinion of this researcher, of any vegetation. Having traced in nature a number of links in the chain of gradual overgrowing of such areas, V.S.Govorukhin came to the conclusion that a stepped microrelief, characteristic of spotted tundra, is initially formed in the highlands. In winter, under the influence of severe frosts, the surface is divided into polygons. The viscous semi-liquid masses of the formed detachments gradually slide down the slopes. In this case, the heaviest particles slide lower, while the finer ones settle higher. Then vegetation appears on the margins of the bare spots and in the hollows between them. According to this researcher, the spotted tundras observed in the high mountains of the Urals characterize different stages of the advance of vegetation on the lifeless territories that were freed from the ice cover in the past. The term “anorganic tundra” proposed by V. S. Govorukhin cannot be considered a success. The concept of "tundra", along with special environmental conditions, includes a certain complex of plants, and a tundra without plants is as difficult to imagine as a forest without trees. Therefore, if such completely lifeless ("anorganic") territories in the high mountains of the Urals really existed, they could not be called tundra. However, even relatively recently (in the geological sense), the exposed rocky substrate seems lifeless only at first glance. In fact, it is inhabited by microorganisms, scale lichens, and often also by mosses, that is, it is not "anorganic".

VB Sochava, who studied the spotted tundras of the Anadyr region, believes that the formation of spots is the result of partial degradation of the peat layer in those areas where further peat growth has ceased. This causes uneven freezing of the active soil layer (in degraded areas the soil freezes earlier), the appearance of vertical stresses in the degrading peat layer, the protrusion of the mineral soil upward and the formation of bare spots. Subsequently, the process of peat formation begins again on bare spots.

Comparing the available literature data, it is easy to see that spotted tundras are very diverse in their structure and origin. The spotted tundras of the high-mountainous region of the Urals differ sharply from the Anadyr spotted tundras described by VB Sochava. But even within the limits of the Ural ridge, the mountainous spotted tundras are not the same, they fall into several types, which have different origins.

As for the spotted mountain tundras described by us, the formation of clay-gravelly spots in them is associated mainly with the rupture of plant sod by semi-liquid quicksand, which lies on a stony substrate. At the moment of freezing of the upper soil horizon, quicksand, experiencing pressure from both sides, breaks through the plant sod. The resulting bare areas are subsequently washed away by rain and melt waters. Then they expand and are connected by tubules, through which the excess of liquefied clay flows down. Further erosion of bare spots leads to the fact that small clay particles are gradually carried away by water into the depths, and the clay surface of the spot decreases more and more, and the outer edge of the sod is washed out in width. Thus, in the mountain tundra, rounded pits (cauldrons) with a rocky bottom are formed. The cracks under the stones serve as the initial ways of washing the fine earth from the surface of the spots into the depth of the placer. The washed-in fine-earth material is carried out by spring waters into streams flowing out from under the placers.

Thus, sunspot formation in the mountain tundra of the Urals is most correctly explained by the hypothesis of V.N.Sukachev, originally proposed for the flat arctic tundra, and then developed and supplemented in relation to the natural conditions of the mountain peaks of the Urals. Taking a number of the provisions of L.N. Tyulina, we do not consider it necessary to use the hypothetical factor of permafrost to explain the causes of spot formation in the mountain tundra of the Urals, especially in its southern part. The fine-earth soil layer on the Urals charr is underlain by boulders and gravel, therefore, when the surface layer of the soil freezes, it is quite possible that quicksand will pour out onto the surface.

The most distinctly late stages of spot formation (the emergence of cauldrons with a rocky bottom) are traced in the Southern Urals (especially on Mount Iremel). The process of spot formation in the mountain tundra went further here, which is probably due to the fact that the loaches of the Southern Urals were freed from glaciation earlier.

Spot formation in the mountain tundra of the Subpolar and Northern Urals is significantly enhanced as a result of excessive grazing by deer, which damage the plant sod with their hooves.

Consequently, spotted tundras do not represent an independent stage in the development of mountain tundra vegetation. The formation of bare spots occurs in moss-dwarf shrubs, moss-shrubs, and grass-moss tundra, i.e., in those types of tundra where the fine earth layer is more developed.

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This ecoregion covers the north of the mainland of North America. Of course, it has much in common with the Eurasian tundra: many species of fauna inhabiting the North American territories are either relatives of the Eurasian species, or are distributed in general on both continents. The problems facing the defenders of the tundra are also very similar: the development of oil and gas fields leads to catastrophic pollution of the unique natural world.

The Arctic tundra is an area of ​​low, flat and swampy coastal plains covered with lakes filled with melted ice.

LINK IN A TUNDRA CHAIN

The tundra of North America is part of the natural tundra zone of the Northern Hemisphere.

The American tundra zone occupies the northern part of the North American mainland and runs from northern Alaska along the coast of Good Zone to the north of Labrador and Newfoundland. In the east, where the influence of the Labrador Current affects, the tundra extends to 55-54 ° N. NS.

To the north of the distribution border of broad-leaved and coniferous trees, there are shrub tundras, where unpretentious plants such as creeping heather, dwarf and polar birch, willow, alder and low shrubs prevail.

Since the tundra of North America is located in areas where the waters of the Arctic Ocean go deep into the land, there is a very confusing picture of the wind regime, with frequent changes in direction and different strengths. Therefore, the geography of distribution of tundra plants is extremely complex. Since this area is in many ways similar to the forest-tundra and taiga, it is not surprising that, all of a sudden, for a traveler, low and bent in all directions vegetation in open places is suddenly replaced by tall trees in river valleys and at the foot of the mountains.

However, when moving northward, the predominance of real tundra with mosses, lichen, sedge and cotton grass becomes more and more noticeable, and tree tracts disappear completely.

The peculiarity of the North American tundra is the wide distribution of the arctic landscape - low, flat and swampy coastal plains. The vegetation here is sparse, with a short vegetative period and is represented mainly by mosses and lichens. It does not form an even cover and often sows cracks in the soil formed due to severe frosts. Where ice and earth are mixed, ice wedges and mounds of frost are formed, nicknamed pingo in Sulfur America.

The climate of the North American tundra is very harsh. The wind here is gaining extreme strength, it blows snow into the lowlands, where snow drifts are formed, which persist even in summer. It is because of the lack of snow on the plains that the soil freezes over and does not have time to warm up in a short summer. Over a large area, the climate of the Arctic tundra is more humid and damp than within the boundaries of the circumpolar tundra, which extends from American Alaska eastward to Canadian Quebec.

Separately, the tundra of the northwest of North America is distinguished - the Alaska Range and the St. Elijah Mountains. This ecoregion includes the mountains of the interior of Alaska, permanently covered with ice and snow. Those rare areas that remain ice-free are rocky, rocky and alpine tundra.

The occupations of the local population in the tundra of both North America and Eurasia are similar. These are reindeer husbandry (the arctic tundra becomes extensive reindeer pastures in the summer), hunting for sea animals (according to the quotas of the Ministry of Natural Resources) and fishing. Among the crafts - bone carving and sewing clothes and shoes from reindeer skins. There are no large cities in the tundra of North America.

The tundra zone occupies the northern coast of North America. The southern border of the tundra in the west runs at the Arctic Circle, and in the east it deepens into more southern latitudes, capturing the coast
Hudson Bay and the northern part of the Labrador Peninsula.

TUNDRA UNDER THE THREAT

The biggest threat to the North American tundra comes from oil and gas pipelines, hydrocarbon exploitation and global warming.

The fauna of the North American tundra is much richer in species composition than vegetation. Of large mammals, the prevailing caribou deer, brown bear, polar wolf, polar weasel, polar bear and musk ox (musk ox), small mammals - fox, arctic fox, lemming and ermine, birds - white goose, black goose, white and tundra partridge , Alaskan plantain (a bird of the bunting family) and the white owl, from marine mammals - seal, walrus, narwhal, beluga whale, bowhead whale. There are a lot of fish in the rivers: lake trout, whitefish, grayling.

However, only a very small part of the flora and fauna of the North American tundra is characteristic only of these places. It took the specialists a long time to find out. For example, at the dawn of the study of animals in North America, the caribou deer and the Eurasian reindeer were considered different kinds(today in America there are two subspecies of caribou - tundra and forest), and with them - the American and Eurasian moose. Later studies of the movement of species along the Bering Isthmus, which once connected North America and Eurasia, showed that all these species are related or even identical.

There are many examples of this. The gray-haired marmot is a typical inhabitant of the mountain American tundra - the brother of the mountain-tundra Siberian black-capped marmot. The long-tailed gopher, an inhabitant of the American tundra, also lives in Siberia. The musk ox could be called a "Native American" if you do not know that it disappeared from the tundra of Eurasia during the time of primitive people who mercilessly destroyed the animal population.

In general, most of the American tundra endemics are represented by relatively young species that have recently separated from their closest relatives of the same genus.

A completely unique phenomenon for the tundra of North America is the distribution of certain species of birds that arrive here only in the summer months: among such species arriving on the Labrador Peninsula, even several species of tropical hummingbirds, junco (a genus of passerine birds from the bunting family, characteristic only for North America ), bush bunting (only rarely found in the tundra of Chukotka), Canadian goose (the most widespread species of game here).

The farther north, the poorer the fauna and the more its life is connected with the sea: these are auks and gulls nesting on the rocks, and pinnipeds with polar bears. A rare visitor from the depths of the southern tundra is the Arctic fox and snow bunting.

The problems associated with the pollution of the tundra are largely similar for different parts of it due to the nature of the minerals being developed here, their storage and transportation. Despite the strictest control and multimillion-dollar fines for leaks from oil pipelines, environmental pollution continues, deer refuse to use special passages, and road trains rip off the upper protective layer of tundra soils with caterpillars, which takes almost a hundred years to restore.

FUN FACTS

■ The Mackenzie River was discovered and first crossed by the Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie in 1789. Its original name is Disappointment, which literally means “disappointment” in English. By assigning such a strange name to the river, Mackenzie expressed his own frustration at the fact that she had taken him not to the Pacific Ocean, but to the Arctic.

■ The term "pingo" as a typical North American designation for a mound of heaving first appeared in 1938. It was borrowed from the Eskimos by the Danish-Canadian botanist Alf Porslig.

■ The easiest way to get into the interior of the North American tundra is to take the highway along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which runs from Barlowdo to the Pacific port of Valdez and poses the greatest threat to the ecology of the North American tundra.

■ Tundra plant Labrador tea has red leaves to use chlorophyll and heat from the sun to keep warm. None of the tundra animals eat it.

■ The North American tundra receives less rainfall annually than the Mojave Desert.

ATTRACTION

■ Natural: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (Alaska, USA), Kobuk Valley National Park (Alaska, USA), Wapusk and Yukkusaiksalik National Parks (Hudson Bay Coast, Canada), Gross National Park Morne (Newfoundland Island, Canada), Thorngat Mountains National Park (Labrador Peninsula, Canada).

Atlas. The whole world is in your hands №255

In the vastness of the tundra

Tundra is a Russian word for the treeless plains of the Arctic and Subarctic. It is used in other languages ​​to designate any treeless area with a cold climate, whether in the polar regions or on the tops of mountains located in temperate or even tropical latitudes. The line separating the polar and high-mountain tundra from the areas where trees grow is called the forest border, and the areas lying south of the real tundra have another Russian name - taiga. The taiga is covered with forests, which are usually dominated by birch, spruce and alder. The most characteristic feature of the tundra is the absence of trees, so first of all we will define what a tree is: a perennial woody plant, at least two meters high, with one tree trunk (the bush is also a woody plant, but with several trunks). Although such a definition of a tree may seem very arbitrary, no one doubts the real existence of the forest border, for it is usually quite clearly traced. There are several reasons for the emergence of a forest border: strong winds, low temperatures, poor soils interfere with the growth and survival of trees - all these phenomena are found in the polar and high mountain regions.

The tundra can be characterized as an area where the average annual temperature is below zero or the average temperature of the warmest month does not exceed 10 ° C, and where, most importantly, the ground is frozen.

Permafrost and landforms

The alternating freezing and thawing of soils pushes stones and even large cobblestones to the surface of the earth in frost cracks. Every spring in such cracks there is a new "harvest" of stones from the depths of the earth.

If you look at the tundra from a flight altitude, you can see that its landscape is by no means monotonous. The vegetation cover, however, is low and often sparse, especially on the northern outskirts, but the vegetation differs sharply from place to place. This is especially noticeable in the summer, when clearly separated areas of green, brown, yellow, red colors are visible and when flowers bloom violently. The snow-free tundra strikes with strange landforms arising from the constantly frozen ground, called permafrost. It stretches 600 m inland in the Arctic and 1500 in Antarctica. Permafrost does not allow water to pass through and often contains entire layers or veins of underground ice, covered from above with only a thin layer of soil and vegetation. If you cut down vegetation and put a house in its place, the frozen ground can begin to melt, and the house, to the surprise of its inhabitants, collapses or skews.

Freezing and cracking of the soil above the permafrost causes the formation, primarily in humid regions of the tundra, of specific landforms - polygons, with ice wedges. Due to the freezing and drying of the soil, cracks form in it, they are filled with water, the water eventually freezes and turns into ice veins. From year to year, they grow and push up the earth sandwiched between them. If the edges of the polygon bulge, a polygon with a low-lying center appears, with a lake in the middle; in other cases, polygons with a bulging center are formed. Add river terraces, deeply cut river valleys, sand dunes, steep ridges where snow lingers, on which peculiar plant communities develop, add lakes and pools of melt water, pingo - and you have a typical arctic landscape. On the coastal plain near Cape Barrow, Alaska, melt water lakes are rectangular in shape and are oriented from northwest to southeast. The prevailing northeastern winds in this region blow perpendicular to their axis, and the leeward shores are more prone to waves and erosion than the windward ones. Yielding to the pressure of the wind, the lakes move slowly. Pingo - ice-filled hillocks found on the treeless tundra plains ( In our literature, the term "pingo" is of little use. For heaving mounds, names such as hydrolaccoliths, ground ice, "bulgunnyakhi" are more accepted. - Approx, ed.). They are usually covered with lush vegetation, especially on the warmer southern slopes. Pingos originate in shallow depressions, where the accumulating water freezes into ice, on which sediments are gradually deposited. The height of the pingo sometimes reaches 50 m and even more. It depends on the overall water balance and how well the pingo is protected from melting. There are round, oval, irregular pingos. As they form, on their slopes, some types of vegetation are replaced by others. Grasses appear first, then various shrubs up to the climax state of vegetation typical for this tundra. Since the pingo is taller than the surrounding tundra, they drain well. In this dry land, held together by the roots of bushes, digging animals, such as minks, make holes for themselves. Pingo hills of earth and ice, scattered across the vast expanses of the tundra, not only give its landscape a charming originality, but also include many types among living creatures.

Tundra vegetation

Blooming lupine (Lupinus arcticus) in the tundra. Lupins are a particularly unpretentious group of plants in the legume family. They put up with the acidic soils of the treeless arctic wastelands. The scientific name Lupinus, meaning "wolf," reflects the ancient mistaken belief that this plant deprives the soil of fertility

The Arctic tundra is often called a barren land, and these words are associated with the idea of ​​a harsh landscape devoid of vegetation by many people. In fact, the tundra is not at all devoid of it, although the number of species found here sharply decreases as we move from south to north. Of the three zones that are usually distinguished in the Arctic, the southern one is relatively warm, humid, with lush vegetation; medium - typical tundra, where deer and caribou are found; the northern zone is a very cold and dry polar desert with sparse vegetation. The southern and middle arctic tundra zones are rich in plants. On the slopes of the Alaska mountains, located in the middle zone, there are about 500 species of mosses and 450 species of ferns and flowering plants; in the tundra near Cape Barrow, the number of species is five times less. Even closer to the pole, in the polar deserts of the extreme north of Canada and North Greenland, the bushes almost completely disappear and lichens predominate, the species here are already ten times less. More severe living conditions lower the productivity of plants; therefore, they have proportionally more tissues participating in photosynthesis, for example, leaves, and, accordingly, fewer other parts - roots and trunks.

For most plants in the world, the optimum temperature for photosynthesis is 15 ° C and above, in the tundra, the thermal optimum of some plants drops to almost zero, while others, like tundra grass Dupontia, can carry out photosynthesis even at -4 ° С. But it is not the low temperature that prevents the production of plant matter, but the short growing season. Plants increase it through a strategic trick called "wintergreen": instead of shedding foliage in the fall, they keep it for a few more seasons. This is how pines and spruces behave, the evergreen needles of which are actively involved in photosynthesis for more than one year. Likewise, in the polar deserts of Northern Canada and Greenland, most plant species that are generally deciduous are preserved for the winter. Thus, the leaves that appear in the summer overwinter, and as soon as the temperature rises in the spring, and the amount of light increases, they are already ready for photosynthesis. Otherwise, every year before the start of photosynthesis, a lot of time and energy would be spent on the development of new foliage, the plant might not survive. Fortunately, there are almost no insects in the tundra that feed on leaves and thus could reduce the already small area of ​​tissue involved in photosynthesis. There are no trees in the tundra, but many other forms of shrub vegetation are present. These include deciduous shrubs such as arctic willow (Salix arctica), creeping along the ground and with its leaves coloring the whole landscape in the fall in bright yellow color. Evergreen berry bushes such as bearberry also grow in the tundra. (Arctostaphylos rubra) and pillow plants such as numerous saxifrage (Saxifraga). Many grasses and sedges, including cotton grass (Eriophorum). Best of all they adapted to the cold, and therefore mosses and lichens go farthest to the north. They often form a soft, damp, pliable carpet that is dangerous to step on. The drier the soil, the fewer these plants.

The treeless expanses of Antarctica

If the absence of trees is considered the main distinguishing feature of the tundra, then all the polar and high-mountainous regions of Antarctica, including dry "oases" off its shores, should be attributed to the tundra. But if the vegetation cover, that is, mosses and lichens, is associated with the concept of the tundra, then this concept is in no way applicable to the majority of ice-free areas of Antarctica. Like all other forms of life in Antarctica, both marine and terrestrial, many of the plant species found in Antarctica cannot be found anywhere else. The southern boundary of the flora, which many scientists call Antarctic, is the Antarctic convergence. The subtropical convergence lying further north lies at approximately the latitude of the southern border of the forest. To the south of this border, between the sub-Antarctic islands, which lie at about the latitude of the Antarctic convergence, and the western end of the Antarctic Peninsula, there are very few flowering plants, they are replaced by mosses. In terms of plant distribution, the rest of Antarctica is divided into a coastal part dominated by mosses, an Antarctic slope dominated by lichens and a glacial plateau, on which only red and green algae are found among snow and ice. In total, two species of flowering plants, about 75 mosses, nine genera of liverwort, from 350 to 400 species of lichens, 360 species of algae and 75 species of fungi have been identified in the accessible areas of land and in the lakes of Antarctica - significantly less than in the Arctic. Many areas have not yet been explored, but they are unlikely to significantly add to the list of Antarctic plant species. (An exception may be lichens living in rocks - a kind of too strong solar radiation can destroy their tissues. As for the winds, those that blow from the ice sheet of the mainland often reach great strength. Winds carry with them snow and ice particles The rocks of Antarctica are composed of different rocks, therefore the soil formed as a result of their weathering has a different composition. This is important for plant growth. Some lichens, for example, develop only on stones containing calcium. The color of stones also matters. and soils: darker ones heat up faster and stronger.

The soil layer of Antarctica, where it exists at all, is usually quite shallow. In some places, there are small pockets of sour humus deposits. On the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and on the nearest islands, there are ridges of mossy peat up to two meters high. They never thaw, of course. According to radiocarbon dating, the age of peat deposits reaches two thousand years. The fact is that in Antarctica, the processes of putrefaction and decomposition are extremely slow. Some soils are formed by bird excrement, these lands saturated with guano are very rich in nitrogen, which is an essential nutrient for plants. There are species of green algae and lichens that thrive near bird colonies.

Abiotic factors affecting the development of a plant include the presence of water, the orientation of landforms relative to the sun's rays, and snow cover. The most important thing is probably water, and here it is appropriate to recall that ice, which is available in abundance, does not replace water in any way - it cannot be used by a plant. The steepness of the slopes and their orientation determines how the water flows to the lower levels of the earth, how much sunlight the site receives. The snow cover gives the plants important benefits. On a slope facing the sun, the snow melts faster and provides water for native plants. Snow protects them from wind, cold, and excessive ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. In some algae and lichens, photosynthesis proceeds better under a layer of snow a third of a meter thick: light dimmed by it promotes photosynthesis, and too strong radiation suppresses it. Biotic factors are incredibly diverse. In principle, it should be assumed that if a plant exists in a given area, it means that it has adapted to its climatic conditions, in other words, has acquired a specific adaptation. Above, the still poorly studied "endolytic flora" has already been mentioned) Antarctic plants in few places form a cover that even remotely resembles a tundra "carpet". The climate of Antarctica hardly differs from the polar Arctic desert, but the latter nevertheless merges with the land in the south, while Antarctica is isolated from other lands. It is not known for certain how the plants got to Antarctica: were they left over from the warmer times, or were their seeds carried by birds, and if not birds, then winds and ocean currents. There is no doubt that all three processes played a role. The man also unwittingly made his contribution: he brought two species of Roa bluegrass, several molds and bacteria to Antarctica. Each plant needs to meet its special - sometimes very strict - requirements. The old ecological principle, which is called the law of minimum, says that of the many factors of a particular environment, most often the presence or absence of only one or two determines whether a plant can exist in this particular place. For some species, water is decisive, for others - limestone rocks, for others - soil acidity. Plants that are too demanding are called specialized (stenobiontic), the same ones that can adapt to many conditions, eurybiontic. This also applies to animals, but on plants that usually stay in one place, the law of minimum manifests itself more clearly. The distribution and composition of the Antarctic flora depend on four main factors: climate, soil, abiotic (physical) environment, and biotic (biological) environment. But the sea is of prime importance: the closer to it, the warmer the climate and the wetter the land, the more salt the surf brings, the more abundant nutrients that come from excrement and other waste products of seabirds and seals. In general, only on the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula climatic conditions favor the existence of a continuous vegetation cover. In this area, the highest average summer temperature for Antarctica is recorded - slightly above zero. In winter, the air temperature is usually below -40 ° C, but at ground level it can be much warmer. Humidity is also the highest here. In most of Antarctica, little snow falls, but how much is difficult to determine due to wind transport. Rains are rare, but near the coast the sky is often covered with clouds, which has a beneficial effect on some plants, for example, "winter greens" and an increase in the area of ​​tissues involved in photosynthesis. Another amazing adaptation of plants is their ability to change their forms. Take, for example, lichens, the most common plant in the polar regions. They are characterized by three main forms: crustal, in the form of a thin film, usually covering stones; leafy, with the outlines of leaves; and bushy (branching). Lichens are the only plants that can thrive on bare rocks, and some of them survive in Antarctica at temperatures as low as -75 ° C. They can tolerate temperatures well below zero, but they grow best at temperatures between 0 ° C and 20 ° C. They are drought-resistant, but at the same time, some species can develop, being saturated with moisture or even being under water. On the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is relatively rich in vegetation, rocks and ground are covered with blackish lichen. Usnea, resembling moss. Only this coast and nearby islands, where the ground is covered with moss and there are two only flowering plants of Antarctica - grass Deschampsia antarctica and herbaceous plant Colobantus crassirostris closely related to the North American and Eurasian stellate (Stellaria), only they barely deserve the name of the tundra, vaguely reminiscent of the arctic.

Invertebrates of Antarctica

We paid so much attention to plants because without them other life forms cannot exist. After all, plants produce organic matter, while animals and bacteria and fungal that are not capable of photosynthesis only consume or decompose it. Invertebrates are widespread almost everywhere - they are absent only in the tundra in the north of the polar desert and on the most open mountain peaks. Numerous insect species abound in much of the Arctic. Antarctica is very poor in insects, compared with the Arctic, the situation here is generally much simpler: due to the mountainous relief and the insignificant size of the ice-free coast, the animal world of Antarctica, like the vegetation, is scarce and concentrated in few areas.

Nevertheless, in some places small terrestrial organisms are found, and even in large quantities. Invertebrates that can exist in Antarctica first of all need water, in other words, their habitat, already on a microscopic scale, should not freeze at least part of the year. Temperatures above freezing are also necessary for the production of plant matter, which feeds the vast majority of invertebrates. Most of them develop in the ground, but for this, the soil moisture should, apparently, be at least two percent.

The microscopic animals that live in the soil include protozoa, roundworms and rotifers and tardigrades, which are also related to worms, but the main place belongs to insects, ticks and protozoa. There are over twenty species of ticks, of which Coccorhagidia is the only land-based predator in Antarctica. Fewer than ten species of springtails and one species of wingless snapper mosquito are found Belgica antarctica... With a body about 4 mm long, it is the largest land animal in Antarctica. Belgica breeds in coastal muddy lakes and shallow puddles. Ticks and springtails are usually found in the surface layer of the soil, in mosses, under rocks, between cobblestones, among small stones. Ticks are surprisingly frosty = and drought-resistant, neither they nor springtails have a reproductive period confined to a certain season: they reproduce when there are favorable conditions for this, and when the situation changes for the worse, they hibernate.

Near the shores, where there is most of the vegetation, various animals, ranging from the simplest to insects, can choose their habitat to their taste. Springtails ( Cryptopygus antarcticus), the largest organism here (about 2 mm). The average population density of springtails reaches 60,000 specimens per 1 m2, but the average weight of even this mass of insects is less than 1 g. Cryptopygus antarcticus feed on various algae, fungi, plant tissue debris and soil microbes in the amount of two percent of their body weight per day. At least half of the metabolism of larger soil animals is their share, which shows how great the importance of such small organisms can be in such simple ecosystems. And yet, in this respect, springtails are very far from the simplest and bacteria.

The dry valleys of Antarctica are so arid that insects cannot exist in them, but in the mountains far from the sea there are places where water collects due to the melting of ice. On rocky slopes, seemingly lifeless, rare lichens grow in cracks. Some of them belong to the same endolytic, that is, living in stones, forms, which were discussed above and which are now the subject of research by scientists. These mountain oases, the most remote terrestrial habitats on our planet, are located at 86 ° S. NS. and at an altitude of 3600 m, - probably preserved intact from pre-glacial times. It is possible that individual peaks where springtails were found Antarcticinella monoculata have never been covered in ice at all. A tick is also found here Nanorchestes antarcticus... Its frost resistance is amazing - it can withstand temperatures of 41 ° C without freezing!

Cold resistance

Small insects and mites are at the mercy of their microenvironment. They cannot leave it, for most of the year they are generally not able to lead a very active lifestyle and therefore are widespread only where the temperature rises above zero. Conditions favorable for their vital activity develop only during sixty - one hundred days a year, the rest of the time they sleep. Growth is relatively slow at low temperatures, and species with smaller bodies are more likely to mature in one season. Mite Nanorchestes four times less than that inhabits the extreme north of Antarctica, but the length of the latter is only 1 mm. Cold resistance is inherent equally in the inhabitants of the Arctic and Antarctica, but in the Arctic tundra there are many times more invertebrates. Arctic flowers are pollinated by bumblebees and flies, and several types of blood-sucking insects are common. Beetles and spiders predominate among consumers and predators. Some of them can withstand extremely cold temperatures. Among the species common in the Far North, there are those that cannot stand temperatures below -6 ° C in summer, although for the polar regions this is a rather high temperature, in autumn they can exist even at -60 ° C. This amazing ability is explained by the fact that a glycerol-like substance with antifreeze properties is produced in their blood, which fills the cells. For an insect to achieve maximum cold hardiness, cooling must be very slow, less than 1 ° C per minute.

Life cycles of animals in the arctic tundra

"Suicidal trips" to the sea of ​​Norwegian lemmings (Lemmus lemmus) entered the legend. Such movements of animals do occur from time to time, but ignorant people tend to give them fantastic explanations. Science has established that overpopulation can be the cause of mass migrations. Meeting water on their way, lemmings start swimming, risking drowning or becoming a prey to predators.

To understand the behavior of lemmings and their population dynamics, it is necessary to study the entire ecosystem, as lemmings are sensitive to overpopulation, lack of food and other environmental changes. These inhabitants of the tundra dig extensive burrows with several chambers with a diameter of 10 - 15 cm, and lay out the "maternity ward" with wool. It is likely that lemmings' digging activities loosen and aerate the tundra soil, which promotes the growth of grass and sedges. And since fresh shoots of grass and sedges serve as the main food of lemmings, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they themselves "cultivate their own field" and, thanks to this, can collect and store more food for the winter. If their favorite food is not enough, lemmings are content with the bark and twigs of willows and birches.

When lemmings appear in large numbers - up to 200 individuals per hectare - they dominate the herbivore and destroy most of the available grass mass. But every three to five years, the number of lemmings drops to one animal per hectare, and then their impact on the ecosystem becomes negligible. Lemmings graze, nibbling grass and sedges almost at ground level, and this does not interfere with the emergence of new shoots and leaves. But when the population density increases dramatically, lemmings do not spare those parts of the plants that sprout, and even uproot and eat the roots. As a result, not only the plant itself dies, but also the top layer of the soil is destroyed, which is weathered under the influence of solar heat and thawing of the frozen soil. No one knows for certain what the reason for this cyclicality is, but there is such a hypothesis. In the year of the largest number of lemmings in the spring, food is abundant and lemmings receive high-quality food. As a result, the population increases in summer, but accordingly the amount of food decreases, and the nutrients contained in it - calcium and phosphorus - are converted into organic matter, such as the lemmings themselves and their excrement, so that the quality of food also deteriorates. Where lemmings grazed, the permafrost melts at great depths, and by the end of summer there is a massive death of lemmings from starvation.

The next year, the lemming population reaches its lowest number, the herbaceous mass is poor, since decomposition has not yet been completed and organic matter has not completely returned to the soil. Only in the third - fifth year does the quality of the grasses improve, the soil again receives a protective layer in the form of dead and new plants. Here the population of lemmings again reaches a maximum and conditions are created for its reduction to a minimum.

Thus, the previous explanation of lemming migrations and changes in its numbers only by the psychological impact of overpopulation is only partially true. Now it seems to us that the lemming cycle can only be fully understood in connection with the entire ecosystem, in which soils, nutrients, vegetation and the lemmings themselves play an important role. But that is not all. Since many herbivores compete with lemmings for food, they are also linked by this chain. It also affects birds of prey - the white owl, the short-eared owl, the Upland Buzzard, the Pomarine Skua, the numbers and movements of which fluctuate depending on the lemming cycle. Sandpipers and Lapland plantains use the bones and teeth of the lemming as a source of calcium. Lemmings die - other animals win. Consequently, populations of some animals are thriving as a result of the declining numbers of lemmings.

Birds and mammals of the tundra

The northern tundra is inhabited by many birds and mammals. Most of them - songbirds, owls, buzzards, partridges, plovers, etc. - are newcomers from warmer regions, as mentioned above. Some songbirds are genuine Arctic natives, such as snow bunting (Plextrophenax nivalis), which looks for food on small grassy thawed patches, as soon as the snow melts from them. But the most characteristic inhabitants of the tundra are the raven (Corvus corax) and a white, or polar, owl (Nustea scandiaca). The raven is by nature an undemanding merry fellow. In northern settlements, he replaces urban pigeons, as he devours everything that catches his eye, even the contents of garbage pits. Impressive size, beak with a long mustache ( Feather bristles covering the nostrils. - Approx, transl.), the tail in a wedge distinguishes it from the crow, with which it is closely related. Crows, skilful aerial acrobats, know how to make barrels, dead loops and other aerobatics; they often dive on their comrades in full flight. They make a variety of sounds, croaking and melodious, which they exchange in flight or sitting somewhere on a bitch - the impression is that they are talking.

The white owl cannot be called cheerful, it behaves rather majestically. It flies quietly, like a butterfly, hunts for small rodents, mainly lemmings, breeds in the open tundra, laying five to seven white eggs in dry grassy pits. When lemmings become extinct, the snowy owl flies far south in search of food, and its appearance in temperate zones is a sure sign that the number of lemmings in the north has declined.

There are so many mammals in the tundra - from the shrew, which weighs only 4 g, and ending with the elk, whose weight is 600 kg! There are rodents (muskrats, lemmings, gophers, from whose skins the Eskimos sew their parks), foxes, wolves, hares, lynxes, wolverines, martens, otters, caribou, moose, and musk oxen. Of the rodents, lemmings are most often found on the wet plains of the Arctic, but their close relative, the vole, shares their habitat with them. (Microtus), in some places even outnumbering them. The total population of small rodents can be up to 500 individuals per hectare. As for the larger rodents such as the long-tailed ground squirrel (Citellus undulatus parryii), then its population density is 7 individuals per hectare. Caribou, or reindeer (Rangifer), in some areas it is rare - one animal per four hectares, and the average population density probably does not exceed 7 individuals per square kilometer. But maybe this modest figure is overestimated, since the caribou population changes dramatically depending on the season and periods of migration. Oddly enough, only one inhabitant of the tundra goes into a real hibernation - the long-tailed ground squirrel. Most tundra small mammals store food for the winter. The cold does not put them to sleep, and they remain active throughout the winter. All these small animals hide under the protection of a snowdrift in winter, but each chooses a place for wintering according to his taste: a swamp, a wet meadow, a vein of a polygonal formation, a dry ridge, a hill, or even rare snowless areas. Large mammals cannot naturally burrow into the snow. Bears make dens for themselves, other animals spend the whole winter outdoors. All of them are characterized by very large living spaces. The tundra is not overly productive; it is rich in resources only due to its vastness. Large herbivores like caribou and musk ox need to be able to travel long distances, otherwise they will quickly deplete their habitat. Often they are forced to set off by a strong wind: it knocks snow into a dense layer, from under which it is difficult for caribou and musk oxen to get plants that serve them as food. For these animals, solid frozen ground is an insurmountable obstacle. Elk is a different matter (Alces alces), which grazes near water or eats twigs sticking out of the snow. Elk is less committed to the tundra than caribou, it prefers areas where spruce grows, or sphagnum swamps. But caribou also often leave the tundra for the sake of the taiga, especially when in winter the snow hardens and even the available food is hidden under it.

Wolves and their prey

Wolf (Canis lupus)- a social animal, extremely intelligent. Wolves move in packs, hunt together, show kindness to their packmates. They speak a complex language and even know how to "smile". The tail, dropped between the legs, signifies obedience. Ears pressed to the head and bared teeth express a threat, a tail curled up - trust.

The lexicon of the wolf, transmitted by howl or posture, is much richer than that of any domestic dog. Wolves are intelligent predators, and their relationship to their prey is still being investigated. They never kill animals in vain and kill only as much as they can eat. Consequently, the wolf can cause significant damage to moose and deer only if their populations are insignificant. He is tied to a specific area - often more than 250 square miles - in which he makes his hunting forays. When moving from place to place, wolves howl talk, thus maintaining communication or letting them know that they have arrived at their goal. "A melancholy howl" means that the wolf has fought off the pack. Packs usually avoid each other, so herbivores are least threatened at the junction of the territories of two packs. The social behavior of the wolf is of the greatest interest: he is an excellent family man and in this respect he can serve as an example to follow.

Caribou (Rangifer tarandus)- a close relative of the domesticated deer (Rangifer rangifer), it is possible that, in essence, they belong to the same species. Both have a highly developed herd instinct, it happens that they move in herds of several thousand heads. Caribou run perfectly, developing speeds of up to 80 km per hour, but they cannot maintain such a speed for a long time, especially in summer, when they overheat when running. Huge legs help them move through the snow without falling through. Caribou tend to lie in water or snow, seeking escape from blood-sucking insects. Caribou feed mainly on lichens, "deer moss" owes its name to them. Elk is a huge ugly animal, leading a mostly solitary lifestyle. Males weigh more than 600 kg, their antlers reach two meters between the tops. They run slower than caribou, but their behavior is unpredictable, and their enormous size and strength make them formidable opponents.

Musk ox, or musk ox (Ovibos moschatus)- the strangest of the large herbivores. This is a shaggy animal with magnificent hair - it is even thinner and longer than a goat's. It consists mainly of downy hair, which in summer climbs in large tufts; they collect it and knit thin scarves and sweaters from it. Musk oxen also gather in herds, but smaller than reindeer - from three to one hundred heads. The main social unit consists of a female and two calves - a young of the year and a yearling. Sensing the approach of wolves, musk oxen most often stand in a circle, with their muzzles outward, and lower their heads low. The young are inside the ring. Adult animals try to raise wolves on their horns - both males and females are armed with them - and trample them underfoot. Nevertheless, wolves, of course, are formidable opponents, although sometimes they prefer, for obvious reasons, to be content with hares and mice.

Arctic deserts (polar desert, ice desert), a type of desert with extremely sparse sparse vegetation among the snows and glaciers of the Arctic and Antarctic belts of the Earth. Distributed in most of Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, as well as on other islands of the Arctic Ocean, on the northern coast of Eurasia and on islands near Antarctica.

The Arctic desert is home to small isolated areas with mainly crustaceans and lichens and herbaceous vegetation. They look like a kind of oases among polar snows and glaciers. In the conditions of the Arctic desert, there are some types of flowering plants: polar poppy, foxtail, buttercup, saxifrage, etc.

The Arctic Desert Zone occupies the northernmost edge of Asia and North America and the Arctic Basin Islands within the polar geographic zone. The climate of the zone is arctic, cold, with long severe winters and short cold summers. The seasons are conditional - winter is associated with the polar night, summer is associated with the polar day. Average temperatures in the winter months range from -10 to -35 °, and in northern Greenland to -50 °. In summer, they rise to 0 °, + 5 °. Little precipitation falls (200-300 mm per year). This zone is also called the kingdom of eternal snows and glaciers. In a short summer, only small areas of land with stony and swampy soils are freed from snow. They grow mosses and lichens, occasionally flower plants.

The ice zone (zone of arctic deserts) - the northernmost in our country - is located in the high latitudes of the Arctic. Its extreme south lies at about 71 ° N. NS. (Wrangel Island), and north - at 81 ° 45 "N. (Franz Josef Land Islands). The zone includes Franz Josef Land, the northern island of Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, Novosibirsk Islands, Wrangel Island, the northern outskirts Of the Taimyr Peninsula and the Arctic seas located between these land areas.

The high latitude determines the exceptional severity of the nature of the ice zone. Its landscape feature is ice and snow cover, which lies almost throughout the year. Positive average monthly air temperatures, close to zero, are observed only in the lowlands, and, moreover, no more than two to three months a year. In August, the warmest month, the average air temperature does not rise above 4–5 ° in the south of the zone. The annual amount of precipitation is 200-400 mm. The overwhelming majority of them fall in the form of snow, frost and frost. Snow cover even in the south of the zone is about nine months a year. Its thickness is relatively low - on average no more than 40-50 cm. Large clouds, frequent fogs and strong winds aggravate the unfavorable features of the ice zone climate.

The relief of most of the islands is difficult. Flat, low-lying plains, where the zonal landscape is best expressed, are characteristic of coastal areas. The interior regions of the islands are usually occupied by high mountains and mesas. The maximum absolute marks on Franz Josef Land reach 620-670 m, on the northern island of Novaya Zemlya and on Severnaya Zemlya they are close to 1000 m. The exception is the New Siberian Islands, which have a flat relief everywhere. Due to the low position of the snow boundary, significant areas on Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and the De Long Islands are occupied by glaciers. They cover 85.1% of Franz Josef Land, 47.6% of Severnaya Zemlya, 29.6% of Novaya Zemlya.

The total area of ​​glaciation on the islands of the Soviet Arctic is 55 865 km 2 - more than 3/4 of the area of ​​the entire modern glaciation of the territory of the USSR. The firn feeding zone in the southeast of Franz Josef Land begins at an altitude of 370-390 m; somewhat lower - from 300-320 to 370-390 m - lies the feeding zone of "superimposed" ice on Novaya Zemlya - above 650 - 680 m, on Severnaya Zemlya - at an altitude of 450 m. The average thickness of the ice sheet on Novaya Zemlya is 280-300 m, on Severnaya Zemlya - 200 m, on Franz Josef Land - 100 m. In places, continental ice descends to the coast and, breaking off, form icebergs. The entire land area, free from ice, is bound by permafrost. Its maximum thickness in the north of the Taimyr Peninsula is more than 500 m. There are fossil ices of veined and partly glacial (on Novaya Zemlya) origin.

The seas of the Arctic Ocean, washing islands and archipelagos, represent a special, but integral part of the landscape of the ice zone. For most of the year, they are completely covered with ice - a long-term Arctic pack, passing into the coastal fast ice in the south. At the junction of the pack and fast ice, in areas with a predominant ice removal, stationary openings are formed tens and even hundreds of kilometers wide. Distinguish between the Canadian and Atlantic Ocean ice massifs with a division zone in the area of ​​the Lomonosov ridge. Younger and less powerful ice The Canadian massif is characterized by an anticyclonic circulation system (clockwise), the ice of the Atlantic massif - an open cyclonic system (counterclockwise), in which they are partially carried out into the Atlantic Ocean with the help of the East Greenland Current. VN Kupetsky (1961) suggests distinguishing here the landscapes of drifting ice in the Central Arctic and the low-latitude Arctic, fast ice, ice on the continental slope, and stationary ice-floes. The last two types of landscapes are characterized by the presence of open water among the ice and a relatively rich organic life - an abundance of phytoplankton, birds, the presence of polar bears, seals, and walrus.

Low air temperatures promote vigorous development in the ice zone of frosty weathering, sharply slowing down the intensity of the processes of chemical and biological weathering. In this regard, the grounds and soils here consist of rather large fragments of rocks and are almost devoid of clay material. The frequent transition of air temperature through 0 ° in summer with the close occurrence of permafrost causes an active manifestation of solifluction and heaving of soils. These processes, combined with the formation of frost cracks, entail the formation of so-called polygonal soils, the surface of which is dissected by cracks or rolls of stones into regular polygons.

Water erosion processes in the zone are greatly weakened due to the shortness of the warm period. Nevertheless, here, too, under favorable conditions for these processes (steep slopes) and the presence of loose rocks, a dense ravine network can develop. Gully landscapes are described, for example, for the north of Novaya Zemlya, the Novosibirsk Islands, the Vize and Isachenko Islands, and the Taimyr Peninsula. The development of ravines on the New Siberian Islands is facilitated by thick layers of buried ice. Buried ice, opened by frost cracks or erosional erosion, begins to vigorously melt and the melt water intensifies the erosion process.

The thawing of permafrost and the horizons of buried, injection and polygonal-veined ice enclosed in it is accompanied by the formation of gaps, depressions and lakes. This is how a kind of thermokarst landscapes, characteristic of the southern regions of the zone, and especially for the New Siberian Islands, arise. In the rest of the greater part of the ice zone, thermokarst landscapes are rare, which is explained by the weak development of fossil ice here. Thermokarst depressions are common here only on ancient moraines, under which ice of retreating glaciers is buried. Thermokarst and erosional erosion of loose sediments are associated with the formation of cone-shaped earthen hillocks-baidzharakhs with a height of 2-3 to 10-12 m. Small-hilly baidzharakh landscapes are characteristic of the sea and lake coasts of Taimyr and the New Siberian Islands.

By the nature of the vegetation, the ice zone is an Arctic desert, characterized by torn vegetation cover with a total coverage of about 65%. On the inner plateaus, snowless in winter, mountain peaks and moraine slopes, the total cover does not exceed 1-3%. Mosses, lichens (mainly scale), algae and a few species of typical arctic flowering plants prevail - alpine foxtail (Alopecurus alpinus), arctic pike (Deschampsia arctica), buttercup (Ranunculus sulphureus), snow saxifrage (Saxaverraga nivalare ). The entire island flora of higher plants here numbers about 350 species.

Despite the poverty and monotony of the vegetation of the Arctic deserts, its character changes as it moves from north to south. In the north of Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, north of Taimyr, grass-moss arctic deserts are developed. To the south (south of Franz Josef Land, northern island of Novaya Zemlya, Novosibirsk Islands), they are replaced by depleted shrub-moss arctic deserts, in the vegetation cover of which shrubs, pressed to the ground, are occasionally found: polar willow (Salix polaris) and saxifraga (Saxifraga oppo-sitifotia) ... The south of the ice zone is characterized by shrub-moss arctic deserts with a relatively well-developed shrub layer of polar willow, arctic willow (S. arctica) and dryad (Dryas punctata).

Low temperatures in summer, sparse vegetation and widespread permafrost create unfavorable conditions for the development of the soil-forming process. The thickness of the seasonally thawed layer averages about 40 cm. Soils begin to thaw only at the end of June, and at the beginning of September they freeze again. Waterlogged at the time of thawing, in summer they dry out well and crack. In vast areas, instead of formed soils, placers of coarse detrital material are observed. On lowlands with fine-earth soils, arctic soils are formed, very thin, without signs of gleying. Arctic soils have a brown profile color, a slightly acidic, almost neutral reaction, an absorbing complex saturated with bases. Their characteristic feature is their iron content, caused by the accumulation of low-mobile iron-organic compounds in the upper horizons of the soil. Arctic soils are characterized by complexity associated with microrelief, soil and vegetation composition. According to IS Mikhailov, “the main specific feature of the Arctic soils is that they are like a“ complex ”of soils with a normally developed profile under plant sod and with a reduced profile under algal soil films.

The productivity of the vegetation cover of the Arctic deserts is negligible. The total stock of phytomass is less than 5 t / ha. Characterized by a sharp predominance of the living aboveground mass over the underground, which distinguishes the arctic deserts from the tundra and deserts of the temperate and subtropical zones, where the ratio of aboveground phytomass to underground is the opposite. Low productivity of vegetation is the most important reason for the poverty of the fauna of the ice zone.

The natural tundra zone is located in the northern hemisphere on the northern coast of Eurasia, North America and some islands of the subpolar geographic belt, occupying about 5% of the land. The climate of the zone is subarctic, characterized by the absence of climatic summer. Summer, which lasts only a few weeks, is cool, with average monthly temperatures not exceeding +10 - + 15 ° C. Precipitation occurs often, but their total amount is small - 200 - 300 mm per year, most of which falls on the summer period. Due to low temperatures, the amount of accumulated moisture exceeds evaporation, which leads to the formation of vast wetlands.

The winter is long and cold. During this period, the thermometer can drop to -50 ° C. Cold winds blow throughout the year: in summer from the Arctic Ocean, in summer from the mainland. Permafrost is a characteristic feature of the tundra. The poor flora and fauna are adapted to the harsh conditions of existence. The tundra gley soils of the zone contain a small amount of humus and are oversaturated with moisture.

The Arctic tundra is a vegetation-poor area located between the North Pole and the coniferous forests of the taiga. In winter, all the water here freezes, and the area turns into a snow-covered desert. Under the snow is a layer of frozen soil about 1.5 km thick, which warms up by 40-60 cm in summer. The polar night lasts for months. Strong winds are blowing, the ground is cracking from frost. In the tundra of Greenland, wind speeds can reach 100 km / h. Even in summer, the local landscape does not please the eye with its variety. Placers of rubble and bare loam are everywhere. Only here and there are spots and stripes of greenery visible. Therefore, these places are called spotted tundra.

Where the summer is longer, where the ground warms up deeper, and in winter there is more snow, the moss-lichen (typical) tundra stretches in a wide strip. The flora is richer and more diverse here. In summer, rivers and lakes sparkle in the sun, playing with the waters, surrounded by bright blooming vegetation. In the middle of summer, the Polar Day begins, which lasts for several months. Typical tundra is dominated by herbaceous plants, represented by sedge, marsh mytnik, cotton grass. In river valleys and on slopes sheltered from the wind, dwarf birch, alder, polar willow, and juniper grow. They are very low and do not rise above 30 - 50 cm. Low growth contributes to the maximum use of the heat of the upper layers of the soil in summer and better protection of the snow cover from wind and frost in winter. The thickness of the snow is measured by the height of the shrub in the tundra.

Most of the tundra is used as a summer pasture for deer. The yagel, which deer feed on, grows very slowly, only 3 - 5 mm per year, so the same pasture cannot be used for several years in a row. It takes 10-15 years to restore the lichen cover.

Difficult climatic conditions, constant struggle for survival are not the only problems of the modern tundra. The construction of oil pipelines that pollute the soil and water bodies, the use of heavy equipment that destroys the already poor vegetation cover leads to a reduction in pasture areas, the death of animals and puts this region on the brink of an ecological catastrophe.

Tundra zones, natural zones of continents, mainly of the Northern Hemisphere (in the Southern Hemisphere they are found in small areas on islands near Antarctica), in the Arctic and subarctic belts. In the Northern Hemisphere, the tundra zone is located between the arctic desert zones in the North, and the forest-tundra in the South. It stretches in a strip 300-500 km wide along the northern coasts of Eurasia and North America.

Distinctive features of the Tundra zone are treelessness, the predominance of a sparse moss-lichen cover, strong swampiness, widespread permafrost and a short growing season. The harsh climatic conditions of the Tundra zone determine the impoverishment of the organic world. The vegetation includes only 200-300 species of flowering plants, about 800 species of mosses and lichens.

Plants of the tundra.

1. Blueberries.

2. Lingonberry.

3. Black crow.

4. Cloudberry.

5. Loydia is late.

6. Skoroda onion.

7. The prince.

8. Vaginal fluff.

9. Mechelistnaya sedge

10. Dwarf birch.

Most of the tundra zone of the Northern Hemisphere is occupied by Subarctic Tundras (northern and southern), on its northern outskirts giving way to Arctic Tundras, where there are no thickets of bushes, along with mosses, lichens and grasses, arctoalpine shrubs play an important role.

In the East European part of Russia and in Western Siberia, the southern Tundras are characterized by large-birch Tundras, with a well-defined layer of dwarf birch with an admixture of willows. Towards the North, the layer of shrubs is thinning, they become more squat and a large role in the vegetation cover, along with mosses, dwarf shrubs and semi-creeping shrubs, sedge, there is an admixture of dryads. In Eastern Siberia, with the increasing continentality of the climate, large-birch tundras are replaced by small-birch tundras with another species of birch. In Chukotka and Alaska, tussock Tundras dominate with cotton grass and sedge, with the participation of hypnum and sphagnum mosses and an admixture of low-growing shrubs, which are decreasing towards the North. The subarctic Tundras of Canada and Greenland are dominated by Tundras dominated by ericoid shrubs. Tundras serve as pastures for deer, hunting grounds, and places for picking berries (cloudberries, blueberries, shiksha).