Music

The Music of Canada has reflected the multi-cultural influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the French, and the British have all made contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The country has produced its

own composers, musiciansand ensem bles since the mid-1600s. From the 17th century onward, Canada has developed a music infrastructure that includes church halls; chamber

halls; conservatories; academies; perf orming arts centers; record companys; radio stations, and television music-video channels. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between the two countries. Canadian rock has had a considerable impact on the development of modern popular music and the development of the

Video games

Canada has one of the largest video-game industries in terms of employment numbers, right behind the USA and Japan, with 16,000 employees, 348 companies, and a direct annual economic impact of nearly $2 billion. Canada has grown from a minor player in the video- games industry to a major industry player. In part, this prominence is made possible by a large pool of university-educated talent and a high quality of life, but favourable government policies towards digital

media companies also play a role in making Canada an attractive location for game development studios.

Sport

Sports in Canada consists of a variety of games. Although there are many contests that Canadians value, the most common are Ice hockey, Lacrosse, Canadian football, basketball, soccer, curling, baseball and ringette. All but curling and soccer are considered domestic sports as they were either invented by Canadians or trace their roots to Canada.

Ice hockey, referred to as simply "hockey", is Canada's most prevalent winter sport, its most popular spectator sport, and its most successful sport in international competition. It is Canada's official national winter sport. Lacrosse, a sport withindigenous origins, is Canada's oldest

and official summer sport. Canadian football is Canada's second most popular spectator sport, and the Canadian Football League's annual championship, the Grey Cup, is the country's largest annual sports event.

While other sports have a larger spectator base, association football, known in Canada as soccer in both English and French, has the most registered players of any team sport in Canada, and is the most played sport with all demographics, including ethnic origin, ages and genders. Professional teams exist in many cities in Canada and international soccer competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro and the UEFA Champions League attract some of the biggest audiences in Canada. Other popular team sports include curling, street hockey, cricket, rugby and softball. Popular individual sports include auto racing, boxing, karate, kickboxing, hunting, fishing, cycling, golf, Ultimate frisbee, hiking, horse racing, ice skating, skiing, snowboarding, swimming,As a countrytriathlon,with generallywater sports,cool climate,and severCanadal formshasofenjoyedwrestlinggreater. success at the Winter Olympics than at the Summer Olympics, although significant regional variations in climate

allow for a wide variety of both team and individual sports. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.