Chapter 6
Canada’s Regions
The five regions, the ten provinces and three territories, their capitals, and what each is known for.
The country and its oceans
- Canada is the second largest country on earth, at 10 million square kilometres.
- Three oceans line Canada’s frontiers: the Pacific Ocean in the west, the Atlantic Ocean in the east, and the Arctic Ocean to the north. Along the southern edge lies the Canada–United States boundary.
- Canada includes 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. The National Capital Region covers 4,700 square kilometres surrounding the city.
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Provinces, territories and capitals
- Canada has ten provinces and three territories. Each has its own capital city. You should know the capital of your own province or territory as well as that of Canada.
| Region | Province / Territory | Capital |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | Newfoundland and Labrador | St. John’s |
| Atlantic | Prince Edward Island | Charlottetown |
| Atlantic | Nova Scotia | Halifax |
| Atlantic | New Brunswick | Fredericton |
| Central Canada | Quebec | Québec City |
| Central Canada | Ontario | Toronto |
| Prairie | Manitoba | Winnipeg |
| Prairie | Saskatchewan | Regina |
| Prairie | Alberta | Edmonton |
| West Coast | British Columbia | Victoria |
| North | Nunavut | Iqaluit |
| North | Northwest Territories | Yellowknife |
| North | Yukon Territory | Whitehorse |
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The Atlantic provinces
- Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly point in North America and has its own time zone. It was the oldest colony of the British Empire.
- Prince Edward Island is the smallest province, known for its beaches, red soil and agriculture, especially potatoes. It is the birthplace of Confederation, and is connected to the mainland by the Confederation Bridge.
- Nova Scotia is the most populous Atlantic province and is known for the world’s highest tides in the Bay of Fundy. Its capital Halifax is Canada’s largest east coast port and home to Canada’s largest naval base.
- New Brunswick was founded by the United Empire Loyalists and is the only officially bilingual province; about one-third of the population lives and works in French.
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Central Canada
- More than half the people in Canada live in cities and towns near the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River in southern Quebec and Ontario — Central Canada, the industrial and manufacturing heartland.
- Together, Ontario and Quebec produce more than three-quarters of all Canadian manufactured goods.
- Nearly eight million people live in Quebec, and more than three-quarters of them speak French as their first language. Quebec is Canada’s largest producer of hydro-electricity and its main producer of pulp and paper.
- Montreal is Canada’s second largest city and the second largest mainly French-speaking city in the world after Paris.
- At more than 12 million, the people of Ontario make up more than one-third of Canadians. Toronto is the largest city in Canada and its main financial centre.
- There are five Great Lakes between Ontario and the United States: Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan (in the U.S.A.) and Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world.
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The Prairies, the West Coast and the North
- Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta are the Prairie Provinces, rich in energy resources and some of the most fertile farmland in the world.
- Manitoba has the largest Aboriginal population of any province, at over 15%. Winnipeg’s French Quarter, St. Boniface, has Western Canada’s largest Francophone community.
- Saskatchewan has 40% of the arable land in Canada and is the country’s largest producer of grains and oilseeds. Regina is home to the training academy of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- Alberta is the most populous Prairie province and the largest producer of oil and gas. It has five national parks, including Banff National Park, established in 1885.
- British Columbia is Canada’s westernmost province. The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s largest and busiest port and the gateway to the Asia-Pacific. About half of all goods produced in B.C. are forestry products.
- The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon contain one-third of Canada’s land mass. The North is often called the “Land of the Midnight Sun” because at the height of summer daylight can last up to 24 hours.
- Nunavut, meaning “our land” in Inuktitut, was established in 1999 from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories. Its population is about 85% Inuit, and Inuktitut is an official language there.
- Mount Logan, in the Yukon, is the highest mountain in Canada.
Sources for this section