Introduction

The Canada of today is the result of many great debates over how to govern a country, especially one as diverse as Canada. Many active citizens who challenged the status quo and demanded a model to reflect our realities are listed among Canada's greatest heroes. This is indeed a great tradition, and learning about the people and events that have shaped and created our current system of government is one of the best ways to learn about what it means to be an informed and responsible citizen.

Canadians and Their Government is a resource guide containing ready-to-use material for various types of learning environments. The information provided within the guide gives a comprehensive and concise explanation of how Canada has developed, and continues to develop, as a strong democratic country. The goal of this guide is to equip Canadians with activities to become familiar with, think critically about and engage themselves in Canada's democratic system of government. The tools provided will help them to become a new generation of active and informed citizens, by exploring the stories of those who have gone before them and discovering their history and heritage.

These activities use creative tasks, role-playing, research and discussion-oriented tasks to illustrate how government works, encourage responsible citizenship and challenge youth to understand the many different perspectives that make up Canada.

Note: Click on underlined terms found throughout this Web site to find their definition on the glossary page, which is also located under Additional Resources.