CANADA - Quick Facts

The easternmost regions of what is now Canada were originally colonized by the French in the 17th century, but after the Seven Years War (1756-1763), the British dominated the Canadian territories. Canada became an independent parliamentary democracy in 1931. Since then, the reigning British monarch -- currently, Queen Elizabeth II -- has served as chief of state, but power rests with elected prime ministers.

Although there have been a number of conservative prime ministers since independence, for the most part, the Liberal Party dominates Canadian politics. Linguistic divisions between Francophones in Quebec and Anglophones throughout Canada have created political divisions, to the extent that referendums for the separation of Quebec from Canada -- spearheaded by the Bloc Québécois -- went before voters in 1985 and 1995. Both referendums were defeated, but in 1974, French became the province of Quebec's official language.

Canada's prime ministers do not serve fixed terms; typically, they call for elections for strategic reasons every three to five years. Suffrage begins at age 18 and is universal.

Progressive Conservative Party leader Brian Mulroney served as Canada's prime minister from 1984 to 1993, succeeded for four months by Kim Campbell, Canada's first female prime minister. But in the 1993 election, Jean Chrétien and the Liberal Party regained control of Parliament. Chrétien stepped down 10 years later and was replaced by Finance Minister Paul Martin. After the tight 2004 elections, the Liberal Party remained the largest party in Parliament but lost its absolute majority, largely due to a surge in support for the Bloc Québécois.

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