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Canada's Provinces
and Territories
Alberta
Named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of
Queen Victoria, Alberta was proclaimed a province on September 1,
1905. Located where the Rocky Mountains meet the prairie, Alberta's
principal industries include oil and gas, which became a major
revenue generator starting in the late 1940s, and agriculture,
thanks to the pioneering farmers who settled in the province in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries. Memories of that era remain and
are celebrated every summer when Calgarians don cowboy boots and
hats and attend rodeos and chuckwagon races during the city's
internationally renowned Stampede.
But though still proud of being a part of the Canadian Wild West,
many Albertans have left their farms and ranches for the city.
Eighty per cent of the province's population of over 2.7 million is
urban with more than half living in the provincial capital,
Edmonton, and in Calgary.
And Alberta entered the 21st century focused on its growing advanced
technology sector highlighted by the Alberta Research Council,
Canada's largest provincial research organization with about 400
employees.
The province, which is home to 29 universities and colleges, also
touts itself as having the most skilled and educated people in North
America in which more than 40 per cent of Alberta's workforce hold
post-secondary degrees or certificates.
Yet as Alberta looks ahead, it hasn't forgotten its roots that
extend well before human history. One of the province's most popular
attractions is Dinosaur Provincial Park, located in the Alberta
badlands, where a century of excavations have discovered the
skeletons of over 150 dinosaurs that once roamed the landscape 75
million years ago.
British Columbia
Canada's westernmost province with its capital city, Victoria,
located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia joined Confederation
in 1871.
Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the
temperate climate and plentiful salmon fishing areas around the
coast, hugely popular ski hills in the mountains and rich orchards
in the interior have made B.C. an attractive destination in which to
live and to visit. Even on frequent rainy days, British Columbia
lives up to its motto: splendour without diminishment.
Indeed, B.C. keeps growing, each year welcoming about 35,000
immigrants from around the world, particularly from the Asia-Pacific
region to which the province serves as Canada's gateway. The
country's third-largest province in terms of population, British
Columbia is home to more than four million people, nearly one-half
of them living in Vancouver.
B.C. has also evolved into a highly entrepreneurial society, with
small businesses employing 950,000 British Columbians, roughly
one-half of all jobs in the province. And while such traditional
industries as fishing and forestry remain important contributors to
the provincial economy, new sectors have emerged to generate
significant revenue, including tourism which brought more than 22
million visitors to the province last year. In 1999, tourism
generated $9.2 billion in economic activity in B.C.
With its breathtaking scenery and unique landscape, it's not
surprising that British Columbia has also become an attractive
location for the film and television industry. More than ready for
its "close-up," the province claims to be among the world's top
three film and TV production centres, after Los Angeles and New
York.
Manitoba
Larger than Japan and twice the size of the United Kingdom, Manitoba
- which means "where the spirit lives" in the languages of its
aboriginal population of over 100,000 - first attracted fur traders
to its northern reaches in the late 17th century. Later waves of
European immigrants began arriving in the south beginning in the
19th century.
A Canadian province since 1870, its terrain includes prairie
grassland, Canadian Shield lakes and forest and Arctic tundra
stretching its borders from the 49th to the 60th parallel, about the
equivalent of Paris to Oslo.
Its capital city, Winnipeg, where the majority of the province's
over 1.1 million residents live, is a major Canadian cultural
centre, with its internationally celebrated Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
The city is also one of Canada's historic multicultural hubs and a
major centre for the country's ethnic German and Ukrainian
communities. Within one Winnipeg neighbourhood, St. Boniface,
resides one of the country's largest concentrations of
French-speaking Canadians west of Ontario. North of Winnipeg, in the
town of Gimli, lives one of the biggest Icelandic communities
outside of Iceland. Every summer, Manitobans of Ukrainian and
Icelandic descent celebrate their heritage in colourful festivals.
Known for its cold dry winters and hot dry summers, Manitoba is
blessed with an abundance of fresh water, along with strong natural
resources in hydroelectricity and such base metals as nickel, copper
and zinc. The province also has a vibrant agricultural industry in
wheat, hogs, beef cattle, canola and dairy, though motor vehicles
and parts remain Manitoba's top-ranked export products.
New Brunswick
The largest of Canada's three Maritime provinces, New Brunswick is
also Canada's only official bilingual province, with nearly 35 per
cent of its residents French-speaking.
One of the original provinces to join Confederation in 1867, New
Brunswick's history dates back to the 17th century when French
explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived on its shores and French
farmers settled an area called Acadia. Nearly two centuries later,
New Brunswick became a refuge for British loyalists during the
American Revolution. So many landed in Saint John that by 1785 they
were able to incorporate it as Canada's first city.
Saint John remains New Brunswick's largest city with a population of
almost 75,000, roughly 1/10th the provincial population. New
Brunswick's other major cities are Moncton, which has a significant
francophone population, and Fredericton, the provincial capital.
New Brunswick is also home to four public universities. One of them,
the University of New Brunswick, with its main campus in Fredericton
and another in Saint John, is the oldest English-language university
in Canada. Meanwhile, the Université de Moncton is Canada's largest
French-speaking institution outside of Québec.
New Brunswick is also considered a leader in forest management and
about 85 per cent of its land base is productive forest. Pulp
production is valued at more than $1.5 billion and solid wood
products are worth about $500 million annually.
Commercial fishing is another major New Brunswick industry, with
more than 50 species of fish and shellfish harvested every year. And
the province is famous for its seed potatoes that are exported to
over 30 countries.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is Canada's most easterly province, as
well as its newest, having joined Confederation in 1949. The island
of Newfoundland and the larger Labrador portion on the eastern part
of the Canadian mainland comprises 405,720 square kilometres, more
than three times the total area of all three neighbouring Maritime
provinces. Cape Spear, the easternmost point of the province and
North America, is almost 3,000 km away from the nearest point in
Ireland, separated by the Atlantic Ocean, but Ireland is closer to
Cape Spear than is Winnipeg, 3,100 km to its west.
Newfoundland's geographic location as the closest North American
portal for Europeans has made it a natural landing point for the
past millennium. Viking explorers from Iceland and Greenland who
visited Labrador and Newfoundland in the 10th century became the
first Europeans to get a glimpse of North America. More than five
centuries later, Basque, French and Portuguese fishermen were well
acquainted with the rich supply of cod, halibut, mackerel and
herring found at the Grand Banks, in the southeastern corner of the
province.
Newfoundland's fishing industry remains an economic mainstay for the
province, now home to over 570,000 people. However, the recent
collapse of the cod fishery has led Newfoundland to pursue other
initiatives based on its considerable natural resources, several of
them large-scale development projects, such as the Hibernia and
Terra Nova offshore oil projects. Others include tapping into the
province's rich mineral deposits at Voiseys Bay and building its
capital city, St. John's, into a high-tech centre as part of a
campaign to solidify a technology-based economy for Newfoundland
modeled after the one in Ireland - that other island not so very far
away. Recently the film industry has discovered the province; an
example is The Shipping News released in 2001.
Northwest Territories
Now stretching north of Saskatchewan to British Columbia toward the
Arctic Ocean at its highest points, the Northwest Territories (NWT)
got its name in 1870 when the Hudson's Bay Company and Great Britain
transferred territory to Canada that lay northwest of the country's
central region. Ten years later, Britain gave Canada the arctic
islands, the year Manitoba was carved out of the NWT, followed by
Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905. In 1999, the eastern section was
portioned off to create Canada's newest territory, Nunavut.
Still, the Northwest Territories remain a mighty northern presence
in Canada, occupying over 1.1 million square kilometres. A
wilderness paradise consisting of a blend of tundra and mountainous
highlands, the NWT has an economy built on tourism, mining and
government, which runs differently than its provincial counterparts
to the south.
Though the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
functions in much the same way as provincial legislatures, its 19
members represent no political parties and choose from among
themselves one person to serve as Speaker and another as Premier.
The assembly then selects seven other members to form the Executive
Council, often called the Cabinet, which forms the government. A
Commissioner, appointed by the federal government, fulfills a role
similar to that of a provincial lieutenant-governor. But unlike the
South, characterized by densely populated urban areas, the Northwest
Territories only has one city, Yellowknife, the capital, and its
population is just over 42,000 - half of whom are aboriginals,
mainly from the Dene (Indian), Inuit and Métis communities.
Nova Scotia
Known as Canada's Ocean Playground, Nova Scotia has a centuries-old
relationship with the sea, which has produced an abundant fishery
that has attracted immigrants to this province - the most easterly
point on the North American mainland - since 1604, when the first
European settlements were established. In one of those settlements,
Annapolis Royal, North America's oldest social group, the Order of
Good Cheer, was born.
That spirit has carried forward for the past four centuries in the
tradition Nova Scotians have of greeting visitors with the Gaelic
saying "a hundred thousand welcomes."
And water remains an important part of life for the province's
nearly 950,000 residents. The sea, which virtually surrounds Nova
Scotia, continues to serve as the first North American stop for
vessels from around the world and contributes to Nova Scotia being
the leading fishing province in Canada.
Long before the provincial capital city, Halifax, became a
destination point for tens of thousands of immigrants in the early
20th and late 19th centuries, and prior to Nova Scotia joining
Confederation in 1867, the future province experienced a dynamic and
sometimes turbulent history. The British and French fought for
control over its territory in the 18th century. During the dispute,
the French-speaking Acadians conducted a prosperous trade with their
New England neighbours - an economic activity foreshadowing Nova
Scotia's current trade patterns.
In addition to its vibrant resource-based industries in fishing,
mining and forestry, the province of over 3,800 coastal islands is
the location for more than 2,000 manufacturers, many situated in the
almost 50 industrial parks across the province.
Nunavut
As Canada prepared to bid farewell to the 20th century, it welcomed
a new addition to Confederation when the eastern section of the
Northwest Territories was carved into the country's third territory,
Nunavut - created on April 1, 1999.
Compared to Canada's other territories and provinces, Nunavut has
the smallest population, with only about 28,000 residents, 85 per
cent of whom are Inuit and in whose language, Inuktitut, Nunavut
means "our land."
But what the new territory lacks in numbers of people it more than
makes up for in geographic size. Nunavut's 26 communities are spread
across nearly two million square kilometres, almost one-fifth of
Canada's total land mass.
Nunavut's capital, Iqaluit, located on the mouth of Frobisher Bay,
is also the territory's largest city and has the longest airport
runway in the Canadian Arctic, receiving regular flights from Ottawa
and Montréal.
In addition to its vast territory and cultural makeup that make it
unique, Nunavut also operates unlike any other Canadian
jurisdiction.
The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, adopted by Canada's Parliament in
1993, gave the territory's Inuit the right to self-government. They
chose to pursue their aspirations to self-determination through a
public government structure.
The territorial government headed by a Premier and a Cabinet and
Nunavut's elected Legislative Assembly incorporate Inuit values and
beliefs, and conducts business primarily in Inuktitut, though
Inuinnaqtun (Inuktitut in written form using Roman spelling),
English and French are also used.
Still in its infancy, Nunavut faces several challenges. Among them:
the high cost of transporting goods from the south to consumers
throughout the territory. But Nunavut's best hope for the future
might lie within its human resources. With some 60 per cent of the
territory's population under the age of 25, young Nunavut has the
youngest Canadians.
Ontario
The economic engine that powers the Canadian economy, Ontario is a
mighty province in so many ways. It contributes about 41 per cent of
Canada's gross domestic product - the total value of all good and
services produced in Canada - and accounts for nearly 60 per cent of
all manufactured exports leaving Canada.
Ontario, which joined Confederation in 1867, also has over half of
the country's highest quality agricultural land and the over 67,000
farms in the province generate almost one-quarter of all farm
revenue in Canada.
Ontario's capital city, Toronto, is home to both Canada's premier
stock exchange and its financial hub on Bay Street has become the
Canadian counterpart to New York City's Wall Street.
In terms of population, Ontario is Canada's largest province, home
to about one in three Canadians. Eighty per cent of Ontario's 10
million residents live in urban centres. Five million Ontarians
reside in the Greater Toronto Area and half of those live in the
city of Toronto proper, Canada's largest municipality where more
than 100 languages can be heard on the streets every day.
And though Ontario, which covers more than one million square
kilometres, places second in terms of land size behind its neighbour
Québec, it still covers a considerable chunk of territory. Ontario's
most northerly communities roughly share the same latitude as London
and Warsaw, while its southernmost point in Lake Erie, is about
parallel to Barcelona or Rome.
Ontario's statistical lead in geography is more impressive when the
province's 250,000 lakes (including much of the Great Lakes, shared
with the United States), and numerous rivers and streams are
considered. Together, they hold about one-third of the world's fresh
water.
Prince Edward Island
The seventh province to join Confederation in 1873, Prince Edward
Island (PEI) has a most fitting motto: parva sub ingenti (the small
under the protection of the great). Situated on the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and separated from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by the
Northumberland Strait, PEI's land area is just over 5,600 square
kilometres - representing 0.1 per cent of Canada's total mass.
With a population approaching 140,000 - more than 32,000 living in
the capital, Charlottetown - the province represents about 0.5 per
cent of the Canadian total. Still, PEI is the most densely populated
province or territory, with almost 25 people per square kilometre.
As such, the notion of community in Canada is nowhere better defined
than on the island, which has become one of Canada's most popular
tourist destinations.
Beyond its seemingly endless beaches with their world-famous red-coloured
sand, PEI's chief drawing card for visitors has for decades been a
fictional character. Anne of Green Gables, given life in 1908 in the
first novel by PEI's most famous writer, Lucy Maud Montgomery, has
become one of the island province's most valuable resources. Every
summer, tourists from around the world flock to PEI to retrace the
steps taken by Anne Shirley in the many stories Montgomery penned
about her.
The nearly 13-kilometre Confederation Bridge, joining PEI to New
Brunswick, opened in 1997 and is the world's longest bridge over
ice-covered waters. The bridge has increased the flow of visitors to
the island from Canada's mainland, formerly served by ferry or air
only.
Along with tourism, agriculture (particularly potatoes) is a major
contributor to the province's economy.
Québec
Occupying over 1.5 million square kilometres of land - more than 15
per cent of Canada's total territory - Québec is Canada's largest
province. About six million of Québec's total population of over
seven million are French-speaking, making the province, which joined
Confederation in 1867, the only predominantly francophone territory
on the continental mainland and home to one of the largest
French-speaking communities outside France.
It was the French who became the first Europeans to claim parts of
the territory in the name of their country, beginning with explorer
Jacques Cartier, who took possession of Gaspé when he arrived there
on July 14, 1534. Less than a century later, French colonists
settled in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an area that remains home to
nearly 80 per cent of Québecers today.
Despite living in a province that is three times the size of France,
almost half of Québecers inhabit less than one per cent of the
province's total land area. Most prefer city life, choosing to
reside in a major metropolitan area like Montréal, which has a
population of over 3.3 million, and the province's capital, Québec
City, with nearly 700,000 residents.
Although Québec was one of the four founding provinces, some of its
people seek independence from the rest of the country. In fact, the
province's current government is formed by the Parti Québécois, a
political party dedicated to "separation" from Canada.
Saskatchewan
Renowned for its prairie sunsets in the summer, Saskatchewan also
scores top marks as Canada's sunniest province, averaging between
2,000 to 2,500 hours of sunshine annually. The clear skies have
undoubtedly helped Saskatchewan become the country's breadbasket,
producing 54 per cent of the wheat grown in Canada.
But while agriculture generates almost $2 billion annually for the
Saskatchewan economy, the province has diversified its revenue
generators to the point that service-based sectors, in finance,
insurance and real estate, have surpassed farming receipts to the
tune of $3.3 billion.
Since it joined Confederation in 1905, Saskatchewan has kept pace
with societal change and has lived up to the spirit of its name,
derived from the Cree word, kisiskatchewan, which means swiftly
flowing river. Appropriately, Saskatchewan also happens to be the
name of the province's major river system - though like its
neighbour to the west, Alberta, the province has no coast on salt
water.
Over the past century, Saskatchewan society has evolved from its
predominantly rural roots to a mainly urban landscape. More than one
in three of the province's over one million residents living in two
cities: Saskatoon, with some 195,000 people, and the capital,
Regina, which has a population of over 180,000.
Saskatchewan is a province noted for its pioneers who broke the land
and established the country's first comprehensive public-health
insurance system. It continues to have a spirit of independence. For
example, Saskatchewan is the only province that does not advance its
clocks by one hour to mark "daylight saving" time (as do the other
provinces, from April to October).
Yukon
In 1898, two years after the start of the Klondike Gold Rush, which
brought a stampede of about 100,000 fortune seekers to within its
borders, the Yukon became Canada's second northern territory - and
would soon become a beehive of human activity.
The site of an Indian fishing camp in 1896, four years later Dawson
City emerged as Canada's largest urban centre west of Winnipeg, with
a population as high as 40,000 consisting of people coming and going
in search of gold.
Today, Dawson City, Yukon's second largest city, is home to nearly
2,000 people out of a total territorial population of just over
31,000 - most of it (almost 23,000) based in the capital,
Whitehorse.
Yet Yukoners haven't minded trading early 20th-century frenetic
activity for 21st-century tranquility where the territory's
"untouched wilderness" is a source of great pride for its people.
Kluane National Park, situated in the southwestern corner of the
Yukon and a United Nations World Heritage Site, contains Canada's
highest peak, Mount Logan. Surrounding the 6,050-metre-tall mountain
are several massive glaciers, including the world's largest
non-polar ice fields - an area "where the Ice Age isn't over yet,"
according to a Yukon government promotion.
Ironically, the Yukon was spared the deep freeze the last great Ice
Age had on the rest of Canada. Untouched by glaciers, the area was
part of a region that joined Asia and America known as Beringia from
which North America's first inhabitants - and ancestors to the
Yukon's First Nations people - are believed to have arrived at least
24,000 years ago.
Source: Destineducation.ca |
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