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44 2 Celebrating the Challenges: Tracking the Inclusive Reform in Canada Canada, the third largest country in the world, sprawls across more than 9 million square kilometers between the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans. The nation is a federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories: British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba comprise Western Canada; Central Canada consists of Ontario and Quebec; the Atlantic provinces are New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island; and Northern Canada is made up of 3 territories—Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut. In 2009, the total population of Canada was 33.6 million. The enormous geographical spaces give rise to significant regionalization and great diversity. Ontario is the most populous province with 13 million inhabitants followed by Quebec with 7.8 million persons . The two smallest provinces are Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The average population density is only 3.5 people per square kilometer, but the population is spread unevenly. More than 80% of Canadians lives in urban areas; 45% of the population lives in six metropolitan areas (Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, 2007). Most new immigrants to Canada settle in Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal. THE SOCIA L FA BRIC Canada is a settler nation. With the exception of the Native people, all Canadians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. The nation has traditionally depended on a large and sustained flow of immigration, and the dominant role of immigration in demographic growth remains potent today. Two-thirds of population growth comes from immigration (Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, 2007). Until the 1970s, the Canadian population was of chiefly European ancestry. During the 1970s and 80s, enormous demographic changes transformed Canada into a multicultural and multiethnic nation with citizens representing more than 200 different ethnic origins, large groups of identifiable racial minorities, the presence of multiple languages, and unique traditions and cultures. According to the 2006 census, 19.8% of the population—more than 6 million people—were foreign born. This accounts for an increase of 13.6% between 2001 and 2006, four times higher than the growth rate for the Canadian-born population in the same period. More than 5 million people identified themselves as members of a visible minority group, accounting for 16.2% of the overall Margret A. Winzer International Practices.indb 44 International Practices.indb 44 10/14/11 5:45 PM 10/14/11 5:45 PM Celebrating the Challenges 45 population (Statistics Canada and the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, 2007). Roughly one out of every five people in Canada, or between 19 and 23% of the nation’s population, could be a member of a visible minority when Canada celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2017 (Statistics Canada, 2005). About 4% of the population identify as one of three Aboriginal groups—North American Indians, Metis, or Inuit. Almost half of the Aboriginal population consists of children and youth aged 24 and under, as compared with 31% of the non-Aboriginal population. About half of Aboriginal people live on reserves. In the year 2008 to 2009, 119,000 elementary and secondary students lived on reserves throughout Canada. The education of Native students on reserves is a treaty right and the obligation of the federal government (Phillips, 2010). Canadians spoke more than 200 languages in 2006. About 58% of the population speaks English as their first language; 22% speak French; and 20% speak another language. Besides languages that have long been associated with immigration— German, Italian, Dutch, Ukrainian, and Polish—an increase in speakers of Chinese languages, Punjabi, Arabic, Urdu, Tagalog, and Tamil (Lessard, n.d.) has occurred. GENER A L SCHOOL SYSTEM Canada’s education system is decentralized, complex, and multilevel. There is no federal department of education and no integrated national system of education. Section 93 of the constitutional framework as originally set out in 1867 provided that “[I]n and for each province, the legislature may exclusively make Laws in relation to Education.” The reenacted Constitution Act of Canada of 1982 confers responsibility for all matters relating to education to each province. In the 13 jurisdictions, departments or ministries of education are responsible for the organization, delivery, and assessment of education at the elementary and secondary levels. Postsecondary systems have various degrees of autonomy from provincial and territorial government control. The exception is the education of Native children living on reserves for whom the federal government is constitutionally responsible in terms of general...

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