# Canada and France compared

Canada and France side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 9 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/can-vs-fra
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Canada: 1867 — The Dominion of Canada is formed
- France: 10 August 843 — The Treaty of Verdun gives Charles the Bald West Francia

## Economy

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $2.24 T | 2024 | $3.16 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $54,340 | 2024 | $46,103 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 1.6% | 2024 | 1.2% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.4% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 65.1% | 2024 | 68.1% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 41 m | 2024 | 69 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 82.1 yrs | 2024 | 83.0 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 82.7% | 2024 | 78.8% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.3 | 2024 | 1.6 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 83.2 | 2024 | 77.0 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 76.1 | 2024 | 61.8 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 85.5 | 2024 | 74.7 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 76.3 | 2024 | 72.9 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 82.1 | 2024 | 73.8 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 80.9 | 2024 | 72.5 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 11.3% | 2024 | 11.5% | 2024 |
| Physicians | 2.82 | 2023 | 3.28 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 5.4 | 2024 | 4.3 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 92.0% | 2024 | 95.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 96.9% | 2024 | 99.7% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education spending | 4.8% | 2022 | 5.3% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 95.0% | 2023 | 103.4% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 104.3% | 2023 | 103.8% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 76.3% | 2023 | 71.5% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 1.8% | 2024 | 2.2% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 5,624 | 2022 | 5,369 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 94.4% | 2024 | 88.7% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 94 | 2024 | 117 | 2023 |
| High-tech exports | 16.8% | 2024 | 23.1% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 8,788,700 km² | 2023 | 538,950 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 39.5% | 2023 | 32.5% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 6.5% | 2023 | 52.5% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 14.0 | 2024 | 4.0 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 23.8% | 2021 | 16.2% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 4.9% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 2.8% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 1.2% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | 500 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Iron ore | 69 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Gold (mined) | 200 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Lithium (mined) | 5,600 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Cobalt (mined) | 3,500 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Nickel (mined) | 140 kt | 2025 | — | — |

## Military

| Metric | Canada | Observed | France | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 1.3% | 2024 | 2.1% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $29 B | 2024 | $65 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 72,000 | 2020 | 304,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/CAN.md and https://terralore.co/country/FRA.md.

## Entangled histories (9 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1534: **Jacques Cartier explores the St. Lawrence** — Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence and claimed the region for France, opening the way for later French interest in the fur trade and settlement. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Canada; Samuel de Champlain)
- 1608: **Champlain founds Quebec** — Samuel de Champlain established Quebec as a fortified trading post on the St. Lawrence, founding the colony of New France and anchoring the French fur trade in alliance with Indigenous nations. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Samuel de Champlain; Samuel de Champlain, Virtual Museum of New France)
- 1642: **Founding of Montreal** — French missionaries and settlers founded Ville-Marie, the future Montreal, as a mission and trading settlement that became a hub of the fur trade and a gateway to the interior. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Canada)
- 13 September 1759: **Battle of the Plains of Abraham** — British forces defeated the French outside Quebec City in the decisive Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the turning point of the Seven Years' War in North America that led to the fall of New France. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Canada; Quebec Act, 1774)
- 1763: **Treaty of Paris cedes New France to Britain** — The Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War, with France ceding its North American mainland territories to Britain and bringing the French Catholic population of Canada under British rule. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: British North America Act; Quebec Act, 1774)
- 1774: **Quebec Act** — The Quebec Act restored French civil law, guaranteed freedom of Catholic worship, and enlarged Quebec's boundaries, securing the loyalty of French Canadians while inflaming the Thirteen Colonies. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Quebec Act, 1774; Quebec Act 1774)
- 1791: **Constitutional Act divides the Canadas** — The Constitutional Act split Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada, creating separate English- and French-majority colonies each with an elected assembly. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Canada)
- 1885: **North-West Resistance and the execution of Riel** — Métis and First Nations grievances on the prairies erupted in the North-West Resistance; its defeat and the hanging of Louis Riel deepened the divide between French and English Canada. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Canada)
- 1917: **Conscription Crisis** — The imposition of compulsory military service deeply divided English and French Canada, becoming one of the most divisive episodes in Canadian political history. (from the Canada chronicle; sources: Canada)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/CAN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/FRA/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Canada and France compared", terralore.co/compare/can-vs-fra, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.