The principal nationalities represented are English, Irish, Scotch, French, German and Indian, though there are also some few Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Welsh, Italians, Jews, half-breeds, etc.
Though English is the general language of Canada, the French language is by statute an official language in the Dominion parliament and in Quebec, but not now in any other province. Members of the Quebec and Manitoba parliaments may also address the House in either English or French.
Religion and Education.—There is no state religion in Canada, and absolute toleration is there an accomplished fact. Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, the Church of England, Baptists, Lutherans, and Congregationalists are all represented.
Canada has long been in the enjoyment of free education, and the control of the system is in the hands of the provinces, except where the Act of Confederation secures the permanence of the denominational schools which existed at the time of confederation. Teachers are trained at provincial normal schools.
In Ontario and Quebec there are separate schools for Protestants and Roman Catholics.
The principal universities of Canada with the dates of their foundation are as follows:
PRINCIPAL UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES OF CANADA
| Organized | Colleges | Location | Control | President or Chairman of Faculty | In- struc- tors | Stu- dents | Volumes in Library |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1881 | Alma College | St. Thomas, Ont. | Methodist | Robt. I. Warner, D.D. | 21 | 200 | 2,500 |
| 1838 | Arcadia University | Wolfville, N.S. | Baptist | Geo. Barton Cutten, D.D. | 24 | 250 | 2,500 |
| 1818 | Dalhousie | Halifax, N.S. | Non-Sect. | A. Stanley MacKenzie, B.A. | 86 | 417 | 28,000 |
| 1894 | Havergal Ladies’ College | Toronto, Ont. | ... | N. W. Hoyles, Kc. | 65 | 350 | 1,000 |
| 1789 | Kings University | Windsor, Ont. | Prot.Epis. | Rev. T.W. Powell. D.D. | 13 | 91 | ... |
| 1844 | Knox Theo. College | Toronto, Ont. | Presbyt’n. | Rev. Alfred Gandier, D.D. | 9 | 140 | 22,000 |
| 1907 | Macdonald College | A. de Bellevue, Q. | Non-Sect. | F.C. Harrison, D.Sc. | 50 | 407 | 9,000 |
| 1906 | McGill Univ. Col. | Vancouver, B.C. | Non-Sect. | Geo. E. Robinson (Act.) | 24 | 340 | 1,600 |
| 1821 | McGill University | Montreal, Can. | Indepen. | Wm. Peterson, M.A. | 280 | 2,104 | 140,000 |
| 1887 | McMaster University | Toronto, Ont. | Baptist | A.L. McCrimman, M.A. | 30 | 300 | 20,000 |
| 1873 | Montreal Diocesan Theo. | Montreal, Can. | Prot.Epis. | E.I. Rexford, M.A. | 5 | 30 | 7,000 |
| 1863 | Mt. Allison University | Sackville, N.B. | Methodist | Byron C. Borden, D.D. | 21 | 250 | 12,000 |
| 1874 | Ontario Ladies’ College | Whitby, Ont. | Methodist | Rev. J.J. Hare, M.A. | 22 | 185 | 7,000 |
| 1867 | Presbyterian College | Montreal, Can. | Presbyt’n. | John Scringer, D.D. | 21 | 80 | 20,000 |
| 1855 | Provincial Nor. College | Truro, N.S. | State | David Soloam, LL.D. | 20 | 425 | 4,000 |
| 1847 | Queen’s University | Kingston, Ont. | Non-Sect. | Very Rev. D.M. Gordon | 125 | 1,610 | 67,000 |
| 1888 | Ridley College | St. Cath’n’s. Ont. | Anglican | Rev. J.O. Miller, M.A. | 15 | 160 | 2,500 |
| 1899 | St. Andrew’s College | Toronto, Ont. | ... | Rev. D.B. Macdonald, M.A. | 18 | 250 | ... |
| 1851 | Trinity College | Toronto, Ont. | Prot.Epis. | Rev. T.C.S. Macklem | 24 | 180 | 15,000 |
| 1845 | Univ. of Bishop’s Col. | Lennoxville, Que. | Prot.Epis. | Rev. R.A. Parrock | 9 | 60 | 11,500 |
| 1912 | Univ. of Calgary | Calgary, Alb. | Non-Sect. | F.H. Dougall (Act.) | 11 | 268 | ... |
| 1852 | Universite Laval U. | Quebec | Non-Sect. | Mgr. Amedee Gosselin, M.A. | 70 | 474 | 100,000 |
| 1877 | Univ. of Manitoba | Winnipeg, Man. | State | James A. MacLean, Ph.D. | 43 | 881 | 12,790 |
| 1800 | Univ. of New Brunswick | Fredericton, N.B. | State | Cecil C. Jones (Chan.) | 18 | 165 | 10,000 |
| 1907 | Univ. of Saskatchewan | Saskatoon, Sask. | State | Walter C. Murray, M.A. | 41 | 381 | ... |
| 1855 | U. of St. Fran. Xav. Col. | Antigonish, N.S. | Catholic | H.P. MacPherson, D.D. | 19 | 225 | 22,000 |
| 1841 | Victoria Col. and Univ. | Toronto, Ont. | Methodist | Rev. R.P. Bowles, M.A. | 28 | 610 | 25,080 |
| 1873 | Wesleyan Theo. Col. | Montreal, Can. | Methodist | Rev. J. Smyth, B.A. | 4 | 100 | 5,000 |
| 1877 | Wycliffe College | Toronto, Ont. | Prot.Epis. | Thos. R. O’Meara, LL.D. | 8 | 118 | ... |
Government.—Canada is a self-governing dominion created by an Act of the British Parliament in March, 1867, known as the British North America Act. The Act provides that the Constitution of the Dominion shall be similar in principal to that of the United Kingdom; that the executive authority shall be vested in the Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland, and carried on in his name by a Governor-General and Privy Council; and that the legislative power shall be exercised by a Parliament of two Houses, called the “Senate” and the “House of Commons.”