Canada

Geography, Culture, and Sociodemographics

Although it is the world's second-largest country in terms of land area, Canada has a relatively small population (about 34.3 million) relative to its geographic size. Consequently, it ranked 229th in the world in terms of population density in 2010. Canada is a highly urbanized country, however; by 2006, 80 percent of Canadians lived in urban areas.

Canada's northern location provides the country with cold winters. As Canada shares a 5,525-mile-long southern border with the United States, the two countries are often compared. Canada has a much smaller population than the United States and has a stronger social welfare tradition. The Canadian population also has somewhat lower levels of involvement in religious organizations. The ethnic mixes in the two countries are somewhat different; for instance, greater numbers of the U.S. population have African or Hispanic ancestry.

In terms of ethnic groups in Canada, the geographic area of what was to become Canada was originally inhabited by indigenous peoples. Later, initial waves of immigrants came primarily from Great Britain and Ireland as well as France. The two main official languages are English and French. Subsequent waves of immigrants came from the rest of Europe and later from many other parts of the world (most notably Asia). Today, Canada has one of the highest per capita immigration rates in the world. Indigenous peoples comprise only about 5 percent of the population (depending upon the definition) and are much less likely to reside in urban areas compared to the rest of the population. Relative to other Western countries, there are moderate levels of gender equality in Canada and moderate levels of income inequality.

Historically, compared to many other Western industrialized countries, Canada has been relatively more dependent on natural resources (forestry, mining, oil, and gas) and agriculture (grains, livestock) than on manufacturing. Because of the various factors of large geographical area, cold climate, many sparsely populated regions, and an economy based on natural resources and agriculture, the federal government has played a central role in developing and regulating various aspects of the infrastructure of Canada, such as transportation, communication, and the social welfare system.

All of these characteristics have influenced the development of social networks in Canada and have motivated research questions for social network scholars. For instance, transportation and communication technologies play an important role in mediating network interactions. Some classic studies of Canada have focused on life in remote parts of Canada, such as mining towns, mill towns, and railroad towns. Recent Canadian studies have focused on the networks of urban dwellers, on social networks and tolerance toward ethnic minorities, and gender and networks.

While social network research in Canada could potentially give more emphasis to the unique characteristics of Canada, the most influential social network studies have taken a more general approach, and many findings are similar to those that might be expected in the United States and western Europe—regions similar to Canada in terms of geography, politics, economy, and demographic mix. Social network researchers in Canada have studied issues such as the nature of personal communities, the relationship between social networks and social support, the relationship between social capital and cultural capital, the social network structure of corporations in Canada and in the world system, the role of social networks in social movements, social network methodology, social networks and social psychology, and social networks and the Internet (among others). One indicator that social network research has become mainstream in Canada is that several cycles of the General Social Survey in Canada, which is undertaken by the federal government agency Statistics Canada, have focused on social networks.

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