Culture

Among the foundations of Canada's cultural identity are the traditions of its native peoples. Arguably the country's most distinctive art is that of the Inuit of the north, particularly their stone and bone sculptures and carvings. Native Indian artists also excel at printmaking, basketry and carving.

In the past Canadians have struggled with their cultural identity, the cultural infusion from their southern neighbour being particularly overwhelming. During the past three decades this sense of unease has produced a torrent of great writers, including Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Robertson Davies, Michael Ondaatje, Mordecai Richler and Réjean Ducharme, as well as a swag of world-renowned musicians, such as Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, kd lang, the Cowboy Junkies and Diana Krall.

English and French are the country's two official languages, though the province of New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual area in the country. You will, however, notice both languages on maps, tourist brochures and product labels. The French spoken in Canada is not, for the most part, the language of France. In Quebec, where the majority of the population are of French descent, the local tongue is known as Quebecois. Most Quebeckers, however, will understand formal French.

The differences between Quebec and English Canada don't just apply to language. The French influence of Quebec can be seen in architecture, music, food and religion. With little in common culturally, it is not difficult to understand how relations between French Quebec and English Canada have often been problematic at best.

In terms of formal religion, the population is overwhelmingly Catholic, with a multicultural mix of Protestant, Jewish, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist and Native Indian spiritual communities also. In reality, attendance at church is an ever-diminishing occurrence across all faiths.

Gastronomy in English Canada was long based on the British 'bland is beautiful' tradition, but while there are no distinctive national dishes or unique culinary delights, good food is certainly plentiful. In most cities it is not difficult to find decent Greek, Italian, East Indian or Chinese restaurants. In Quebec, however, there are some extremely idiosyncratic dishes worth sampling: French pea soup, tourtières (meat pies) and poutine (French fries covered with gravy and cheese curds). In the Atlantic provinces the Acadian French make rapie pie (paté à la rapure) - a type of meat pie (meat, chicken or clam) topped with grated paste-like potato from which all of the starch has been removed. Quebec is also notable as the world's largest producer of maple syrup, produced from the boiled sap of sugar-maple trees. Canada produces some very good cheeses, cheddars in particular. On both coasts, seafood is plentiful, delicious and affordable.

There are a range of laws and regulations governing the sale of alcohol in Canada: as a general rule it must be bought at government stores (except in Alberta, where there are private retailers, and in Quebec, where beer and wine can be bought at local convenience stores called dipanneurs), which in some cases are closed at night and on Sunday (except in Ontario) and always during holidays.

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