Question

Why is physical diversity important to Canada?

Answer 1

Canada, like America, has several different geographic areas. 90% of the country's population is located within, say, 100 or so miles of the US-Canadian border. 

In the west, there is the northwest coast ranges, which includes a portion of the chain referred to as the Rockies in America. There is a unique basin and range structure here, where it goes from mount to valley, back to mountain. That is, on the coast there is beach, then a coast range, a valley area, and then a higher, bigger mountain range further inland (after the valley area). This is why central California is often called "the valley." At least that is where the name came from. 

Then, moving east, there is the Great Plains region, which is great for agriculture and farming, etc. Very flat, or rather rolling, topography. 

Moving east, you eventually come to the Great Lakes region, which is a very unique area in the world. This area was born out of major glacial erosion during the previous phase of the current ice age, called the Wisconsin Glaciation. There is a variety of unique traits here, look them up. 

Then you go to further, eastern areas that are sort of similar to the New England geographic region in America. 

To the northeast of the great lakes, in a sort of loose horseshoe shape, there is the Canadian shield, which is very rocky, spotted with countless little ponds and lakes, and infertile land. 

Then there is the northlands, which is comprised of VERY harsh weather, including tundra. 

These are all packed into one country, a massive one in land area. 



The people are very diverse because, for the most part, each province is sort of different, with its own sort of specialty economically. The people are also often different between the different provinces, although not all. The most notable distinction here is the difference between French-speaking Quebec (in itself a very odd, unique area) and the rest of English-speaking Canada. The region is so different it almost gained independence from Canada in the 1980s. 
As for the rest of Canada, there is a lot of immigration in the country as a whole, providing for a very rich and diverse ethnic, cultural, and lingual heritage. Many people choose to come to Canada before trying to work their way into America, saving up the money to do so, and others often end up staying in the country, satisfied, due to the fact that it is practically the same as America (with the exception of Quebec).