Provinces and Territories of Canada

Alberta

Alberta is the most populous and fastest growing of Canada's three prairie provinces. It is approximately the same size as the Texas or France and had a population of 3.7 million in 2009. It became a province on September 1, 1905, on the same day as Saskatchewan. It is economically important primarily because of its vast oil reserves.

Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state (the others being New Brunswick and Yukon). It is also one of only two Canadian provinces that are landlocked (the other being Saskatchewan).

The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province. Roughly 300 kilometres (190 mi) south of the capital is Calgary, Alberta's largest city and a major distribution and transportation hub as well as one of Canada's major commerce centres. Edmonton is the primary supply and service hub for Canada's oil sands and other northern resource industries. According to recent population estimates, these two metropolitan areas have now both exceeded 1 million people. Other municipalities in the province include Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Camrose, Lloydminster, Brooks, Wetaskiwin, Banff, Cold Lake, and Jasper.
British Columbia

British Columbia (French: la Colombie-Britannique, C.-B.) is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ("Splendour without Diminishment"). In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.

Half of all British Columbians live in the Metro Vancouver area, which includes Vancouver, Surrey, New Westminster, West Vancouver, North Vancouver (city), North Vancouver (district municipality), Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Langley (city), Langley (district municipality), Delta, Pitt Meadows, White Rock, Richmond, Port Moody, Anmore, Belcarra, Lions Bay and Bowen Island, with adjacent unincorporated areas represented in the regional district as the electoral area known as Greater Vancouver Electoral Area A. Seventeen Indian reserves are located in the metropolitan area but are outside the jurisdiction of the regional district and not represented in its government. Also in the metropolitan area but not represented in the regional district are the University Endowment Lands.

The second largest concentration of British Columbia population is located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, which is made up of the 13 municipalities of Greater Victoria, Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, View Royal, Highlands, Colwood, Langford, Central Saanich/Saanichton, North Saanich, Sidney, Metchosin, Sooke, which are part of the Capital Regional District. The metropolitan area also includes several Indian reserves (the governments of which are not part of the regional district). Almost half of the Vancouver Island population is located in Greater Victoria.
Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of 649,950 square kilometres (250,900 sq mi). It is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. It also has a saltwater coastline on Hudson Bay. Agriculture dominates the province's economy.

In 2006, Manitoba had a population of 1,213,815 (730,305 of which was in the Winnipeg Capital Region). Manitoba's capital and largest city, Winnipeg, is also Canada's eighth-largest Census Metropolitan Area, and has Canada's seventh-largest municipality. There is a significant Franco-Manitobain population in Winnipeg, but the largest ethnic group is English. There is also a growing aboriginal population.

Manitoba is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut and Northwest Territories to the north, and the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south. It also has a saltwater coastline on Hudson Bay at Churchill.
New Brunswick

New Brunswick (French: Nouveau-Brunswick) is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province (French and English) in the federation. The provincial capital is Fredericton. Statistics Canada estimates the provincial population in 2009 to be 748,329; a majority are English-speaking, but there is also a large Francophone minority (32%), chiefly of Acadian origin.

New Brunswick is bounded on the north by Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula and by Chaleur Bay. Along the east coast, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Northumberland Strait form the boundaries. In the southeast corner of the province, the narrow Isthmus of Chignecto connects New Brunswick to the Nova Scotia peninsula. The south of the province is bounded by the Bay of Fundy, which, with a rise of 16 m (52 ft), has some of the highest tides in the world. To the west, the province borders the U.S. state of Maine.
Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador (French: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, Irish: Talamh an Éisc agus Labradóir, Latin: Terra Nova) is a province of Canada on the country's Atlantic coast in northeastern North America. This easternmost Canadian province comprises two main parts: the island of Newfoundland off the country's eastern coast, and Labrador on the mainland to the northwest of the island.

A former colony and dominion of the United Kingdom, it became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on 31 March 1949, named simply as Newfoundland. Since 1964, the province's government has referred to itself as the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and on 6 December 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province's official name to Newfoundland and Labrador. In day-to-day conversation, however, Canadians generally still refer to the province itself as Newfoundland and to the region on the Canadian mainland as Labrador.

As of July 2009, the province's population is estimated to be 508,925. Approximately 94% of the province's population resides on the Island of Newfoundland (including its associated smaller islands). The Island of Newfoundland has its own dialects of the English, French, and of the Irish language. The English dialect in Labrador shares much with that of Newfoundland. Labrador also has its own dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut.

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical divisions, Labrador and island of Newfoundland. The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands.
Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia (Latin for New Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Alba Nuadh; French: Nouvelle-Écosse) is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of 55,284 square kilometres (21,300 sq mi). Its population of 939,531 as of 2008 makes it the fourth-least-populous province of the country, though second-most-densely populated.

Nova Scotia's economy is traditionally largely resource-based, but has diversified since the middle of the 20th century. Industries such as fishing, mining, forestry and agriculture remain very important and have been joined by tourism, technology, film, music, and finance.

The province includes several regions of the Mi'kmaq nation of Mi'gma'gi, which covered all of the Maritimes, as well as parts of Maine, Newfoundland and the Gaspé Peninsula. Nova Scotia was already home to the Mi'kmaq people when the first European colonists arrived. In 1604, French colonists established the first permanent European settlement north of Florida at Port Royal, founding what would become known as Acadia. The British Empire obtained control of the region between 1713 and 1760, and established a new capital at Halifax in 1749. In 1867 Nova Scotia was one of the founding provinces of the Canadian Confederation, along with New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada (which became the separate provinces of Quebec and Ontario). It was named after Scotland, and today people of Scottish descent are still the largest ethnic group in the province.
Ontario

Ontario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. (Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are larger but are not provinces.) Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S. states (from west to east): Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania (the latter two across Lake Erie) and New York to the south and east. Most of Ontario's 2,700 km (1,677 mi) long border with the United States runs along water, in the west the Lake of the Woods and eastward of there either on lakes or rivers within the Great Lakes drainage system: Superior, St. Marys River, Huron, St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair (sometimes referred to as the sixth Great Lake), Erie, Ontario and then runs along the St. Lawrence River from near Kingston to near Cornwall. For analytical and geographical purposes Ontario is often broken into two regions, Northern Ontario, and Southern Ontario. The great majority of population and arable land in Ontario is located in the South, which contrasts with its relatively small land area in comparison to the North.The easternmost settlement in Ontario is Curry Hill.

The capital of Ontario is Toronto, Canada's most populous city and metropolitan area. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is located in Ontario as well. The Ontario Government projected a population of 13,150,000 people residing in the province of Ontario as of July 2009.

The province takes its name from Lake Ontario, which is thought to be derived from Ontarí:io, a Huron (Wyandot) word meaning "great lake", or possibly skanadario which means "beautiful water" in Iroquoian. The province contains over 250,000 freshwater lakes.

Ontario is Canada's leading manufacturing province accounting for 52% of the total national manufacturing shipments in 2004. Ontario's largest trading partner is the American state of Michigan.
Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island (PEI or P.E.I.; French: Île-du-Prince-Édouard, Scottish Gaelic: Eilean a' Phrionnsa) is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population (excluding the territories). The island has a few other names: "Garden of the Gulf" referring to the pastoral scenery and lush agricultural lands throughout the province; and "Birthplace of Confederation", referring to the Charlottetown Conference in 1864.

According to the 2009 estimates, Prince Edward Island has 122,000 residents. It is located in a rectangle defined roughly by 46°–47°N, and 62°–64°30′W and at 5,683.91 km2 (2,194.57 sq mi) in size, it is the 104th largest island in the world, and Canada's 23rd largest island. The island was named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820), the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria.
Quebec

Quebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.

Quebec is Canada's largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division; only the territory of Nunavut is larger. It is bordered to the west by the province of Ontario, James Bay and Hudson Bay, to the north by Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, to the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. It is bordered on the south by the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. It also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

Quebec is the second most populous province, after Ontario. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, the Eastern Townships, and Gaspé regions. The Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples.

Nationalism plays a large role in the politics of Quebec, and the Official Opposition social democratic Parti Québécois advocates national sovereignty for the province and secession from Canada. It is supported by a wide range of voters, from large sections of organised labour to more moderate rural voters. Sovereignist governments have held referendums on independence in 1980 and 1995; the latter was defeated by a very narrow margin. In 2006, the Canadian House of Commons passed a symbolic motion recognizing the "Québécois as a nation within a united Canada."

While the province's substantial natural resources have long been the mainstay of its economy, sectors of the knowledge economy such as aerospace, information and communication technologies, biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry also play leading roles. These many industries have all contributed to helping Quebec become the second most economically influential province, second only to Ontario.
Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres (227,100 sq mi) and a population of 1,023,810 (according to 2009 estimates), mostly living in the southern half of the province. Of these, 233,923 live in the province's largest city, Saskatoon, while 194,971 live in the provincial capital, Regina. Other major cities, in order of size, are Prince Albert, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Swift Current and North Battleford. The province's name comes from the Saskatchewan River, whose name comes from its Cree designation: kisiskāciwani-sīpiy, meaning "swift flowing river".