Chapter 6
Canada's regions
The five regions, every province and territory with its capital, and the three main types of industry in the economy.
Test yourself on this chapterCanada’s size, oceans and regions
Canada is the second largest country on earth at 10 million square kilometres. Three oceans border it: the Pacific to the west, the Atlantic to the east and the Arctic to the north, with the Canada-United States boundary along the south. The country has ten provinces and three territories, each with its own capital city, and divides into five distinct regions: the Atlantic Provinces, Central Canada, the Prairie Provinces, the West Coast and the Northern Territories. Ottawa, on the Ottawa River, was chosen as the capital in 1857 by Queen Victoria and is Canada's fourth largest metropolitan area; the National Capital Region covers 4,700 square kilometres. Canada's population is about 34 million, the majority living in cities.
Testable facts
- Canada is the second largest country on earth, at 10 million square kilometres
- Oceans on three sides: Pacific to the west, Atlantic to the east, Arctic to the north
- Canada has ten provinces and three territories
- Each province and territory has its own capital city
- Canada includes five distinct regions: the Atlantic Provinces, Central Canada, the Prairie Provinces, the West Coast and the Northern Territories
- Ottawa, located on the Ottawa River, was chosen as the capital in 1857 by Queen Victoria
- Ottawa is Canada's fourth largest metropolitan area
- The National Capital Region covers 4,700 square kilometres surrounding Ottawa
- Canada has a population of about 34 million people
- The majority of Canadians live in cities
The Atlantic Provinces
The Atlantic Provinces are Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with capitals at St. John's, Charlottetown, Halifax and Fredericton. Their coasts and natural resources — fishing, farming, forestry and mining — made them important to Canada's development, and the Atlantic brings cool winters and cool humid summers. Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly point in North America, has its own time zone, and was the oldest colony of the British Empire. Prince Edward Island is the smallest province, known for beaches, red soil and potatoes, the birthplace of Confederation, joined to the mainland by the Confederation Bridge, and the setting of Anne of Green Gables. Nova Scotia is the most populous Atlantic province, with the world's highest tides in the Bay of Fundy and Canada's largest naval base at Halifax. New Brunswick, founded by the Loyalists, is the only officially bilingual province.
Testable facts
- The Atlantic Provinces are Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
- St. John's is the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island
- Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia
- Fredericton is the capital of New Brunswick
- North America's most easterly point is Newfoundland and Labrador, which keeps a time zone of its own
- Newfoundland was the oldest colony of the British Empire
- Smallest of the provinces is Prince Edward Island, known for red soil, beaches and potatoes
- Prince Edward Island is the birthplace of Confederation
- Prince Edward Island is connected to mainland Canada by the Confederation Bridge, one of the longest continuous multispan bridges in the world
- Anne of Green Gables was set in Prince Edward Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Nova Scotia is the most populous Atlantic Province
- The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia has the world's highest tides
- Halifax is home to Canada's largest naval base
- New Brunswick was founded by the United Empire Loyalists
- Saint John is New Brunswick's largest city, port and manufacturing centre
- About one-third of New Brunswick's population lives and works in French
Central Canada
Central Canada means Quebec and Ontario, whose capitals are Québec City and Toronto. Over half the country's population is concentrated in southern Ontario and southern Quebec, along the belt of cities and towns that follows the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence — the industrial and manufacturing heartland; together the two provinces make more than three-quarters of all Canadian manufactured goods, and both have cold winters and warm humid summers. Nearly eight million people live in Quebec, more than three-quarters of them French-speaking as a first language; it is Canada's main producer of pulp and paper and its largest producer of hydro-electricity, and Montreal ranks second among Canadian cities by size, and outside Paris no mainly French-speaking city in the world is larger. Ontario's more than 12 million people make up over a third of Canadians; Toronto is the largest city and main financial centre, and Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec.
Testable facts
- Central Canada is made up of Quebec and Ontario
- Québec City is the capital of Quebec
- Toronto is the capital of Ontario
- Over half of Canada's people live in the towns and cities along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence
- Ontario and Quebec together produce more than three-quarters of all Canadian manufactured goods
- Nearly eight million people live in Quebec
- More than three-quarters of Quebecers speak French as their first language
- Quebec is Canada's main producer of pulp and paper
- Quebec is Canada's largest producer of hydro-electricity
- Montreal ranks second among Canadian cities, and after Paris no mainly French-speaking city in the world is bigger
- Ontario's population passes 12 million — over a third of all Canadians
- Largest Canadian city, and its main financial centre, is Toronto
- Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside of Quebec
- The Niagara region is known for its vineyards, wines and fruit crops
- Five Great Lakes lie between Ontario and the United States: Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie and Ontario
- Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world
The Prairie Provinces
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are the Prairie Provinces, with capitals at Winnipeg, Regina and Edmonton. They hold rich energy resources and some of the world's most fertile farmland; the region is mostly dry, with cold winters and hot summers. Manitoba's economy rests on agriculture, mining and hydro-electric power; Winnipeg is its most populous city, its French Quarter of St. Boniface holds Western Canada's largest Francophone community at 45,000, and it has the largest Aboriginal population of any province at over 15%. Saskatchewan, once called the breadbasket of the world, has 40% of Canada's arable land and is the country's largest producer of grains and oilseeds, with the world's richest uranium and potash deposits; Regina hosts the RCMP training academy. Alberta is the most populous Prairie province, has five national parks including Banff, established in 1885, and is the largest producer of oil and gas.
Testable facts
- Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are the Prairie Provinces
- Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba
- Regina is the capital of Saskatchewan
- Edmonton is the capital of Alberta
- The Prairie Provinces are rich in energy resources and have some of the most fertile farmland in the world
- Manitoba's economy is based on agriculture, mining and hydro-electric power generation
- Winnipeg's French Quarter, St. Boniface, has Western Canada's largest Francophone community at 45,000
- Manitoba has the largest Aboriginal population of any province, at over 15%
- Saskatchewan was once known as the breadbasket of the world and the wheat province
- Two-fifths of Canada's arable land sits in Saskatchewan, the leading producer of grains and oilseeds
- Saskatchewan has the world's richest deposits of uranium and potash
- Regina is home to the training academy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Saskatoon is Saskatchewan's largest city and the headquarters of the mining industry
- Alberta is the most populous Prairie province
- Alberta has five national parks, including Banff National Park, established in 1885
- Alberta is the largest producer of oil and gas in Canada
- Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria
- Alberta's Badlands hold some of the richest prehistoric fossil and dinosaur deposits anywhere
The West Coast
British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province, on the Pacific coast, with a population of four million and its capital at Victoria — a tourist centre and headquarters of the navy's Pacific fleet. It is known for majestic mountains and as Canada's Pacific gateway. The Port of Vancouver is Canada's largest and busiest, handling billions of dollars of goods and serving as the gateway to the Asia-Pacific. About half of everything produced in the province is forestry products including lumber, newsprint and pulp and paper, making it Canada's most valuable forestry industry; mining and fishing matter too, along with the fruit orchards and wine industry of the Okanagan Valley. British Columbia has the most extensive park system in the country, with roughly 600 provincial parks, and warm Pacific airstreams give the coast a temperate climate. Sizeable Asian communities mean that after English, the languages heard most in its cities are Chinese and Punjabi.
Testable facts
- British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province, on the Pacific coast
- Victoria is the capital of British Columbia
- Victoria is a tourist centre and the headquarters of the navy's Pacific fleet
- British Columbia has a population of four million
- The Port of Vancouver is Canada's largest and busiest port
- The Port of Vancouver is Canada's gateway to the Asia-Pacific
- About one-half of all the goods produced in British Columbia are forestry products, including lumber, newsprint, and pulp and paper
- British Columbia has the most valuable forestry industry in Canada
- British Columbia is known for mining, fishing, and the fruit orchards and wine industry of the Okanagan Valley
- British Columbia has the most extensive park system in Canada, with approximately 600 provincial parks
- Warm airstreams from the Pacific Ocean give the British Columbia coast a temperate climate
- Chinese and Punjabi are the most spoken languages in British Columbia's cities after English
The Northern Territories
The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon hold a third of Canada's land mass but only 100,000 people, with capitals at Yellowknife, Iqaluit and Whitehorse. There are gold, lead, copper, diamond and zinc mines, and oil and gas deposits under development. The North is called the Land of the Midnight Sun because daylight can last up to 24 hours at the height of summer, while in winter the sun disappears and darkness lasts three months. Winters are long and cold and summers short and cool. Much of the North is tundra, a vast rocky Arctic plain with no trees and permanently frozen soil. Yukon saw thousands of miners arrive in the Gold Rush of the 1890s, holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada at -63°C, and contains Mount Logan, Canada's highest mountain. Nunavut, meaning our land in Inuktitut, was created in 1999 from the eastern Northwest Territories; its population is about 85% Inuit and its 19-member Legislative Assembly chooses a premier and ministers by consensus.
Testable facts
- A third of Canada's land mass lies in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, home to just 100,000 people
- Yellowknife is the capital of the Northwest Territories
- Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut
- Whitehorse is the capital of Yukon
- Land of the Midnight Sun is the North's nickname: midsummer daylight can run a full 24 hours
- In winter the sun disappears in the North and darkness sets in for three months
- Much of the North is made up of tundra, the vast rocky Arctic plain
- Because of the cold Arctic climate there are no trees on the tundra and the soil is permanently frozen
- Yukon drew thousands of miners in the Gold Rush of the 1890s
- Yukon holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada, at -63°C
- Mount Logan, located in the Yukon, is the highest mountain in Canada
- Nunavut means our land in Inuktitut
- Nunavut was established in 1999 from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories
- Iqaluit was formerly called Frobisher Bay, named after the English explorer Martin Frobisher
- Roughly 85% of Nunavut is Inuit; Inuktitut is official there and the first language of its schools
- Nunavut's 19-member Legislative Assembly chooses a premier and ministers by consensus
- Yellowknife is called the diamond capital of North America
- More than half the population of the Northwest Territories is Aboriginal
- At 4,200 kilometres the Mackenzie is North America's second-longest river system, after the Mississippi
- The Canadian Rangers are part of the Canadian Forces Reserves and play a key role in Canada's North
Canada’s economy
Canada has always traded, and commerce remains the engine of its growth; Canadians could not keep their standard of living without trading with other nations. Free trade with the United States was enacted in 1988, and Mexico joined in 1994 under the broader North American Free Trade Agreement, covering over 444 million people. Canada has one of the ten largest economies in the world and belongs to the G8 group of leading industrialised countries alongside the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Japan and Russia. Its economy has three main types of industry. Service industries provide jobs in transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications, retail, tourism and government, and employ more than 75% of working Canadians. Natural resources industries cover forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy. Manufacturing industries make goods including paper, high technology equipment, aerospace technology, automobiles, machinery, food and clothing. The United States is Canada's largest trading partner, taking over three-quarters of its exports, and the two share the world's longest undefended border.
Testable facts
- Trade has always driven Canada, and commerce remains the engine of its growth
- In 1988 Canada enacted free trade with the United States
- 1994 brought Mexico into the broader North American Free Trade Agreement
- Canada has one of the ten largest economies in the world
- Canada sits in the G8 alongside the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Russia
- Canada's economy includes three main types of industries: service industries, natural resources industries and manufacturing industries
- Service industries provide jobs in transportation, education, health care, construction, banking, communications, retail services, tourism and government
- More than 75% of working Canadians have jobs in service industries
- Natural resources industries include forestry, fishing, agriculture, mining and energy
- Manufactured products include paper, high technology equipment, aerospace technology, automobiles, machinery, food and clothing
- Canada's largest international trading partner is the United States
- Over three-quarters of Canadian exports are destined for the United States
- Canada and the United States have the biggest bilateral trading relationship in the world
- The Canada-United States border is traditionally known as the world's longest undefended border
- The Peace Arch at Blaine in the State of Washington symbolizes the close ties between Canada and the United States