ABSTRACT
In the past twenty years international economic exchange has become increasingly complex. Barriers to international trade have fallen, creating a more competitive environment that presents new challenges for industrialised countries. Canada's distinctive geographic and economic characteristics add to these challenges. Canada, including ten provinces and two territories, is the largest country in the world after Russia and has one of the world's lowest population densities. In 1994, Canada's population of 29,251,000 inhabitants covered an area of 9,976,100 square kilometres, equivalent to a density of 2.9 inhabitants/square kilometres. In Quebec, a population of 7,300,000 inhabitants represents one eighth of France's population, while its area of 1,522,000 square kilometres is three times larger than that of France.
