Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy, and fundamentally politically stable, at both the national and provincial levels. The rule of law is entrenched, institutions are robust, and political competition is conducted according to established norms and procedures. Most Canadians approve of the federal and provincial responses to COVID-19, which supports domestic political stability. In particular, high levels of support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the ruling federal minority Liberal government – even in western provinces – reduce the likelihood of political instability over the next few months.

The center-left Liberal Party has led a minority government since October 2019, when the last federal legislative election took place, with around 160 members of parliament (46%). The center-right Conservative Party, with around 120 members of parliament (36%), is the official opposition party. The next federal legislative election is due by October 2024. Nonetheless, Trudeau may seek an early election to capitalise on approval of the government’s handling of COVID-19, in a bid to recapture a parliamentary majority.

Although the Liberals suffered losses in every region of the country in the last federal elections, the biggest loss was at the hands of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec, a left-wing nationalist separatist party that has long called for total independence from the rest of Canada. However, in a large-scale opinion poll held in late 2016, 82% of Quebec respondents to a survey conducted by the CBC agreed with the statement: “Ultimately, Quebec should stay in Canada.” Thus, the Bloc party appears to be hinting at more autonomy, rather than secession. 

Canada’s external relations are broadly stable and positive, although its critical relationship with the US has come under strain due to trade and other policy disputes. Integrity risks are low, and enforcement of anti-corruption and transparency laws is strengthening.

A government probe into corruption and organized crime influence in Quebec’s construction industry from 2011-14 highlighted significant provincial and municipal variations in integrity risk. In addition, since early 2019, the federal government has been embroiled in a scandal involving alleged favorable treatment of politically-significant businesses. In addition, while domestic business is relatively clean, Canadian companies have been implicated in corrupt transactions abroad, especially in the mining, engineering, and transportation sectors. Canada in September 2018 enacted legislation to institute a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme for fraud, bribery, and other corporate criminal offenses.

Canada is considered a Full Democracy in the 2019 Human Development Index, developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), where the country ranks 8 out of 167 countries scored.

The country ranks 13 at the 2019 Human Development Index developed by the United Nations Development Programme.

The business environment remains generally transparent, predictable, honest, and equitable, with an independent judiciary, though the World Bank in 2020 continued to fault Canada for relatively ponderous judicial processes. The operational environment is business-friendly and attracts significant investment, though it is heavily regulated and environmental restrictions in energy and mining remain. Regulatory hurdles will likely worsen due to needed NDP support for the minority Liberal government.

Canada’s economy is service-based (around two-thirds of GDP), with household consumption accounting for 60% of GDP (a key macroeconomic concern in Canada, worsened by the economic downturn and rising unemployment, is excessive household debt – much fuelled by house prices.) The most significant sectors are real estate (around 13% of GDP), manufacturing (10%), oil, gas, and mining (9%), financial services (7%), healthcare (7%), and construction (7%).

The labor market is relatively flexible and somewhat reliant on immigration, with relatively high rates of unionization in some sectors. This substantial union activity, along with protests by indigenous groups can disrupt operations.

There has been growing controversy over the expansion of pipelines that traverse or terminate in environmentally sensitive areas. Though support for such projects remains strong in the Prairies, opposition derives from the rest of the country, such as in British Columbia, as seen in the February 2020 nationwide Wet’suwet’en First Nation protests. The federal-provincial nature of the government entails comparatively high levels of bureaucratic complexity.

The availability and quality of infrastructure are generally sufficient, although while primary and secondary roads are generally in good condition, winter snows can make driving difficult, particularly for individuals not used to such conditions. Roads, including major highways, may be closed in the event of snowstorms or avalanches, and cars equipped with snow tires if traveling in the country in the winter months. Public transportation and taxis are safe nationwide. However, snowstorms regularly result in flight delays and cancelations, as well as other transportation disruptions.

Overall, Canada ranks 23 out of 190 countries scored at the 2020 Doing Business Index by the World Bank and 11 out of 198 at the 2020 Corruption Perception Index by the Transparency International Organization.

Canada faces modest internal and external security threats – including Islamist extremist terrorism, sporadic social unrest, and pockets of violent crime – that do not pose a significant threat to routine business operations. 

Despite the problems posed by drug and human trafficking and the activities of organized crime gangs, Canada remains a low-risk country with respect to crime risk. According to Statistics Canada (2019), in 2018 police-reported crime (measured by both the crime rate and a crime severity index) fell by 17% in the past decade; property crime has decreased by 19% over the same period. The provinces and territories with the largest crime were Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northern Territories.

There are risks of attacks on commercial and police assets by environmental activists, indigenous land-rights advocates, anarchist groups, and far-right actors. Most disobedience is likely to be peaceful, although some destruction of private and government property can occur at larger-scale protests. Environmentalists are increasingly concerned by the development of oil-sands projects, and numerous legal challenges have been mounted and protests initiated. The likelihood of such unrest is mounting due to an increased public environmental awareness, as seen in the February 2020 First Nations/environmental nationwide protests. They are fostered by high-profile stunts carried out by the international environmentalist protest group Extinction Rebellion, now active in most of Canada’s major urban centers. However, although occasionally disruptive, social unrest – especially violent social unrest – is uncommon.

Although maritime sovereignty and resource disputes exist with numerous countries, armed conflict and shoot-down risks are very low. Despite increased militarisation of the arctic, a region in which Canada has a leading interest, the likelihood of war on or near Canadian soil is low. As part of a commitment to a more assertive foreign policy, in 2017, Canada announced CAD62 billion (USD44 billion) in new defense spending to modernize its military. However, in the October 2019 election, national security issues were largely absent in the national debate.

Although limited, terrorism risks derive from both right-wing and homegrown jihadist actors. In particular, Canada faces a persistent but low threat of Islamist extremist terrorism, currently driven by relatively unsophisticated domestic actors. Jihadist activity is rare, although lone actors inspired by Islamic militant groups conducted attacks at Parliament in 2014 and Toronto in 2020. Similar attacks have occurred by right-wing lone actors, such as gun attacks on police officers in New Brunswick in 2014 and on mosque-goers in Québec in 2017, followed by an unprecedented vehicle ramming attack in Toronto in April 2018. However, there is no history of organized right-wing terrorism in Canada, though right-wing extremist groups are increasingly active and some have links to the US. These incidents indicate that the threat from such groups could be increasing, amid increasing right-wing online networking and mobilization. On the other hand, left-wing extremist and ethno-nationalist terrorist networks in Quebec have been largely dismantled since the 1970s and no longer pose a significant threat. Another activity involves low-level incidents conducted by environmental and anti-globalization activists, the risk of which will increase slightly due to resistance to energy projects and action by members of the 2020 Global Peace Index movement.

Overall, Canada ranks 6 out of 163 within the 2020 Global Peace Index by the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Canada is currently among the most cyber-attacked countries in the world according to Kaspersky cyber threat map.

Organizations operating in critical sectors in Canada face a high threat from sophisticated, foreign-based cyber operations and from cybercriminal activity. Highly capable advanced persistent threat (APT) units linked to a range of states have primarily targeted Canadian government organizations as well as the country’s financial, IT and telecoms, education and aerospace and defense sectors.

Most attacks have comprised sophisticated espionage operations, likely aimed at gathering strategic intelligence relating to Canada’s bilateral and multilateral security, as well as its diplomatic footprint – including at NATO, the UN, the G20, and the G7. Operations targeting private companies have aimed at exfiltrating intellectual property (IP), such as research and development data or other commercially sensitive information.

The most common forms of cybercrime affecting organizations and users include financial fraud, the theft and misuse of personal data and user credentials, and ransomware infections.

Several sophisticated malware groups such as Evil Corp, Trickbot, and Mealybug have conducted financial fraud, extortion, and theft against organizations in Canada, for example by leveraging the Emotet botnet. These groups have primarily focused on the financial sector, including banks, insurance companies, or other companies that form part of the sector’s supply chains, but also on Canada’s IT and telecoms, government, manufacturing, healthcare, and technology sectors.

Canadian organizations are increasingly affected by targeted and costly ransomware attacks.

No vaccinations are required to enter the country.

Cancer and other major chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases; neurological disorders and diabetes continue to be the leading causes of death amongst all Canadians.

Canada ranks 5 out of 195 within the Weather Canada websiteIndex, a project of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (JHU), developed with The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Canada's climate varies by region. In the south, summers are hot and dry, and winters cold but often sunny between snowstorms. Milder temperatures return in March-April. During the months of May, June, and September days are hot but nights are cool. Colder weather returns in November. In the west, along the Pacific coast, the climate is mild and wet; winters are very rainy and temperatures are pleasant in the summer. The east experiences hot summers and cold winters. In the Rocky Mountains, conditions are cool, dry, and sunny in the summer months.

Due to the fact that Canada is vulnerable to an array of natural risks, travelers should take certain precautions depending on the season in which they plan to visit.

From the end of autumn until the arrival of spring, major snowstorms and below-freezing temperatures can cause disruptions to transportation and daily life throughout the country. However, local governments and populations are well equipped and experienced in dealing with winter weather. Local forecasts are available on the Weather Canada website. 

From May until September, tornadoes can strike central regions, particularly in southern Ontario (25 per year on average), Alberta (ten), southeastern Quebec (six), and Saskatchewan (14), with a peak of storms in June and July. Further information is available on the Canadian government's Environment and Climate Change website. 

Tropical storms and their remnants can hit the northeast of the country (e.g. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland). The North Atlantic hurricane season extends from June 1 to November 30. See the US National Hurricane Center website for information regarding tropical storms. 

Canada experiences annual summer wildfires that can disrupt travel, communication, and electricity infrastructure. A major forest fire broke out in Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces in May-June 2016, forcing the evacuation of Fort McMurray, Alberta, and leading to the suspension of flights at the city's airport (YMM) for several days. The fire destroyed more than 2000 buildings in Fort McMurray and in total affected 590,000 hectares (1,500,000 acres) of land.

The province of British Colombia and the Yukon Territory (west) are situated in an active seismic zone. There is also the risk of a tsunami hitting coastal British Colombia in the event of an offshore earthquake.