The Provinces and Territories of Canada
British Columbia
“Splendor Sine Occasu” – “Splendor Without Diminishment” is the motto of British Columbia, the western most province of Canada. It is a place home to approximately 4.2 million citizens, with 35,000 immigrants arriving annually to settle in the comfort and beauty of this rich and fertile land.
Provincial Flower
The Pacific Dogwood, known in Latin as Cornus nauttallii, is a tree that grows six to eight meters in height and bares flowers during April and May. During the later months of autumn it bares small red berries and an exuberant display of foliage. It is the national floral emblem of British Columbia and has been since 1956.
Capital City
Indeed, the modern day beauty of British Columbia can be observed in its capital city, Victoria, which is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. It is a port city that receives more than 3.6 million visitors annually off cruise ships by air and by road, all of which contribute to the more than $1bn tourism industry. There is, however, still a lot to be said for Canada’s westernmost province which has an area, comprising of both land and freshwater, of 95,000,000 hectares located on the Pacific coast.
History
It is perhaps little wonder that the history of British Columbia is as vibrant as its nature and extends far back into the dark reaches of time. The province was first inhabited by three prominent groups, the Nookta, the Coast Salish and the Kwak’wala peoples. Their societies were complex, thriving on the abundant natural resources and marine life of the Pacific Ocean. Among themselves they fought for possession of hot springs until some 220 years ago when European settlers first landed and explored the region.
In 1778 Captain James Cook landed at Nookta Island, northwest of Vancouver Island, followed by the Spanish commander Don Juan Fransico de la Bodega y Quadra. Barely a decade later captain George Vancouver landed at Nookta island to regain control over the area under the Nookta convention. In 1793 both England and Spain enjoyed ownership of the region until 1795 when the Spanish left the area.
Just over 60 years later the mainland colony of British Columbia was established after the discovery of gold in the area. In 1866 Vancouver Island was joined with mainland Bristish Columbia and it’s capital, Victoria, was inaugurated on April 2nd, 1868. Subsequent discoveries of gold and the establishment of trade brought trade routes and railways, causing small communities to sprout up throughout the province. The First Nations people continued to thrive throughout this period until the Christian missionaries arrived, seeking to suppress their languages and traditions. This caused a natural friction which, to this day, is still ongoing.
Geography
British Columbia is Canada’s third largest province, four times the size of Britain, more than twice the size of Japan and has a natural geography boasting with fairy-tale mountains, valleys and rivers. To the north-east of the province one will find the famous Great Plains, an elaborate area of great plateau, whilst to the north-west and east a mountainous topology shelters a vast area of tableland as well as picturesque mountain ranges. Supplying British Columbia with both beauty and water are the vast amounts of lakes, streams and four major rivers: the Fraser, the Peace, the Skeena and the Columbia river.
British Columbia is indeed one of the few remaining gems on this earth actively seeking to preserve not only its heritage, but also its natural beauty, which is why this province is favoured throughout the year by visitors from across the globe.
Alberta
Alberta - home to the native population of First Nations peoples, but also to a vast number of different global nationalities including French, British, Ukranian and Romanian, who ventured out here during the 19th century to find a better home and instead encountered a paradise of freedom and beauty. It is also a province named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria.
Provincial Flower
Vibrant and perhaps symbolic of Alberta’s history and people is its provincial flower, Rosa acicularis (Lat.), also known as Prickly Wild Rose, the Prickly Rose, the Artic rose and the Bristly Rose. It is a deciduous shrub growing between 1 and 3 metres tall and is found throughout Alberta and western Canada. Its flowers are a delicate pink with red hips, pear-shaped.
Capital City
Alberta’s capital city, Edmonton, is located on the North Saskatchewan River which boasts with some of the most fertile farm land on the prairies. It has a population of more than 750,000 people and is the second largest city in Alberta and also the least dense, with a population density of only 9.4% compared to New York.
History
The real history of Alberta actually begins almost 10,000 years ago with the aforementioned First Nations peoples. Some historians cite them as the first people to have moved into the area shortly after the last ice age. Those indigenous to the province of Alberta include the Slavey, Kootenay, Chipewyan, Beaver, Cree, Blood, Sarcee, Blackfoot, Gros Ventre and Piegan peoples. These groups can be further divided into two major groups: those who sustained themselves by hunting buffalo on the plains, and those who kept to the forests and rivers, using boats made out of bark and sustaining themselves with locally found fauna that included moose, caribou and fish.
European history in this province with just over 660,000 sq. km of land area first began with a man named Anthony Henday, a fur trader. During his exploration of the area close to Alberta’s capital, Edmonton, Henday encountered the Blackfoot people and initiated a trade in fur whilst spending the winter with them and, subsequently, picking up the art of Buffalo hunting. Mr. Henday may very well be considered the father of modern-day Alberta as the fur trade became one of the most prominent trades in this part of Canada, affecting not only the lives of settlers back then, but also the lives of the First Nations peoples. Where once their lives were semi-nomadic, they too settled, became gatherers and started trading furs with European settlers and explorers in exchange for guns, metal and blankets. This led to an even bigger change within their culture, as they now started to hunt with guns.
The 1881 arrival of the railway in the region had a major impact on the population. In the time of a decade the non-native population of Alberta increased seventeen-fold. Subsequent population booms took place after a 1897 campaign by Canadian minister of interior Clifford Sifton to further encourage Europeans to move to the Canadian west. This campaign was, and still is, of significant importance in Alberta’s history as it saw the arrival of a large number of Germans, Ukrainians and Romanians, all who today contribute to Alberta’s wonderfully diverse population.
It was only on the 1st of September 1905 that Alberta was declared a province, yet at that time still not handed full control over its resources. Only in 1930 did Alberta receive said control, during the time of the great depression – a time that would see many farmers forced from their land due to economic turmoil, large-scale erosion and plagues. Only in 1947 did Alberta receive its long-awaited financial rewards and prosperity with the discovery of oil at Leduc.
Geography
Modern day Alberta is truly a phenomenon of diversity and beauty. Located between the 49th and the 60th parallels, Alberta has become one of the Jewels of Canada, not only through its “diamond in the rough” history but also because of its geographic splendor. With Mount Columbia towering at 3,747m in the Rocky mountains, its largest lakes Lake Claire and Lake Athabasca, the longest rivers being the Peace river and the Athabasca river, it becomes evident why Alberta was chosen as home by so many different nationalities all those years ago and while it still attracts people from all walks of life today.
Saskatchewan
Meaning “swift flowing river” in the language of the Cree people, “Saskatchewan” is one of Canada’s most beautiful and intriguing provinces.
Provincial Flower
Saskatchewan is represented by it’s provincial flower, the red wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum var. andinum), a flower currently on the endangered species list in a number of American states including New Mexico, Ohio and Arizona. Perhaps because of its beauty, perhaps due to its ability to survive extreme weather conditions, the red wood lily is found on the Saskatchewan flag and is a direct representation of the character of the province’s inhabitants.
Capital City
The capital city of Saskatchewan is Regina, a Roman Catholic cathedral city second only to Saskatoon in size and named after Queen Victoria (Regina Victoria). It acts as a cultural and commercial hub for the adjacent American states of North Dakota and Montana and can therefore boast with world class theatres, concerts and numerous bars and restaurants.
History
Saskatchewan shares a common history, if only marginally different, with its immediate neighbor, Alberta. The first European to have ever encountered the native inhabitants of Saskatchewan was Henry Kelsey of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1690. As with many of his trading counterparts, Kelsey sought to trade metal, guns and blankets for the sought-after fur the natives kept. It was, however, only in 1774 that Samuel Hearne arrived in the area to build a Hudson’s Bay trading post at Cumberland House for the purposes of trading with the natives. The fur trade was however short-lived as it began to decline in the 1850s.
In the years to follow the Plains Indians were placed on reservations and land became harder to find. Those most affected were the Métis (a mix between the natives and Europeans), who became dissatisfied at the scarcity of available land for their families and children. Under the leadership of Louis Riel, the Métis united to seek self-government. Requests for their own land were ignored and subsequently, in 1885, an uprising called the Northwest Rebellion ensued.
Saskatchewan officially became a province in 1905 and suffered much the same fate for the following decades as its neighbors. The Great Depression set in during the 1930s, causing many farmers to declare bankruptcy, resulting in a steep population decline. Only close to the end of the 2nd world war did Saskatchewan recover as oil and mining became its main industries.
Geography
Nowadays Saskatchewan is associated with rolling plains, although only a quarter of it can be considered ‘true prairie’ as a result of settlement. Rolling hills and valleys make up most of the geography as well as a vast amount of rivers and lakes – more than 100,000 in the north of Saskatchewan in the Canadian Shield. Its largest lakes include Lake Athabasca, Reindeer Lake, Wollaston Lake and Cree Lake.
Saskatchewan is also one of the only two provinces in Canada that have artificial borders. Its regions can mainly be divided into two: the Canadian Shield and the interior plains. Among its natural wonders located in the Canadian Shield are the Lake Athabasca Sand Dunes which are the largest north of 58°. These sand dunes in the North also have their southern counterparts in the form of the Great Sand Hills that cover more than 300 sq. km.
Manitoba
Beautiful Manitoba - a paradise within Paradise itself and also the 4th largest province in Canada. It is called the "Keystone Province" due to its location between East- and West Canada and has a population of 1,139,000 - most of whom are evidence of the earlier attraction of this area to settlers, farmers and explorers.
Provincial Flower
Its national flower is the Prairie Crocus (Anemone Patens), also known as the Pasque Flower, which blooms in Easter when the snow melts and is therefore a beautiful herald of the coming spring. Its petals are mauve, its centre bright yellow – it is a flower that astounds with its own capability of solar heating. As the sun shines on the petals, the light is reflected toward the bright yellow stamens and pistils which warms up, aiding the development of pollen as well as seeds.
And as beautiful as the Prairie Crocus and as bountiful as the province’s geography, Manitoba’s capital city, Winnipeg, is the 4th largest city in Canada and a historic boomtown, reminiscent of the early splendor of this province. It still boasts with an elegant abundance of old estates as well as a number of fine mansions.
History
As the last of the ice age glaciers retreated, the first ancestors of the modern First Nations peoples settled onto the furtive land of what we know today as the province of Manitoba. Evidence of their presence can be seen in pottery shards, arrow heads and other artefacts that were left behind. They consisted of a number of tribes that today include the Ojibwa, Sioux, Cree, Dene and Assiniboine peoples.
Yet they were not the only tribes to inhabit the Manitoba region as others followed with the commencement of trade in 1611 when Henry Hudson became the first European to sail into Hudson Bay. Still, the first European to reach central Manitoba only arrived a year later in the shape of Sir Thomas Button. Other explorers soon followed including Pierre Gaultier de Varennes and Sieur de la Vérendrye who explored the area to further French trading-interests which resulted in a large Franco-Manitobains population still present today.
Originally Manitoba was only an 18th of its current size and grew in size by acquiring land from the bordering Northwest Territories. In 1870 Manitoba was declared a province.
Geography
Located in Western Canada, Manitoba borders North Dakota (U.S.) and Minnesota (U.S.) to the south, Saskatchewan to the west, Ontario to the east and Nunavut to the north. Of Manitoba's total land area, forests take up almost 50% while the rest of the land is dedicated to towns, cities and farming. In fact, Manitoba's agricultural development is only found in the southern parts of the province with sunflower seeds, potatoes and dry beans making up the most prominent agricultural produce. In addition, cattle-farming takes up almost 35% of rural areas.
Yet perhaps more related to the extreme beauty of Manitoba is its vast expanse of lakes. Of the more than 110,000 lakes within the Manitoba province, Lake Winnipeg is its largest, and also the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world. Most of Manitoba's lakes and rivers that feed into the lakes constitute some of the few remaining unspoilt sources of water, adding further weight to the beauty of this province.
Ontario
Ontario, Canada’s largest province by number of inhabitants, took its name from Lake Ontario, a word thought to originate from the Huron language that means “great lake” or, alternatively, the Iroquoian word “skanadario”, meaning “beautiful water”. It is in fact a place of inspiration, of beauty and opportunity with many world-famous artists claiming it as their roots. Among them Neil Young, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette and Shania Twain form the tip of a modern celebrity iceberg.
Provincial Flower
Its provincial flower is the Trillium (Trillium Grandiflorum), a favourite food of the white-tailed deer and also a favourite gardening flower among enthusiasts. The flower itself is large, mostly white (though sometimes pink) and rests upon a whorl of three egg-shaped leaves. There is however an environmental concern associated with these flowers due to the period it takes from germination to flowering – seven years in the wild – and the difficulty associated with their artificial cultivation.
Capital City
The capital city of Ontario is Toronto, home to the Canadian capital Ottawa and also the Canadian financial capital. It is a cosmopolitan city with half of its inhabitants having been born outside the borders of Canada. It is also one of the safest cities in the world with a high standard of living, making it one of the world’s most liveable cities according to the Economist Intelligence Unit and The Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
History
As with most other provinces in Canada, the area of Ontario first played home to a number of First Nations tribes, which include the Ojibwa, Cree, Algonquin, Iroquois and Huron. European discovery of this area only started with French explorer, Étienne Brûlé. Shortly after, Henry Hudson landed at Hudson Bay, claiming the area for England but it was Samuel de Champlain who was the first to reach Lake Huron, with an ensuing settlement of missionary stations along the shores of the Great Lakes. Subsequent conflicts followed between the British and the French until the matter was resolved by the 1763 Treaty of Paris which awarded almost all of France's North American colonies to Britain.
In The War of 1812, American troops invaded Upper Canada, gaining control of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, but were soon beat by British regulars, First Nations warriors and Canadian Militias. Years later after many political events of note and a substantial immigration of Irish and British residence, an economic boom took place strengthening the position of Ontario as well as the Canadian government to establish the Ontario we know today.
Geography
The geography of Ontario supplies a vastness to suit almost all tastes with regard to personal choice of living space. To the northwest, on the Canadian Shield, are the mineral-rich lands studded with lakes and rivers. These areas tend to be sparsely populated due to the infertile soil. Even less populated are the Hudson Bay Lowlands to the north and the northeast. It therefore stands to reason that the most densely populated area of Ontario is the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Valley in the south. This are is sub-divided into four parts: South-western Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, Central Ontario and Eastern Ontario.
One of the most well-known geographic marvels of Ontario are perhaps the Niagara Falls which form part of the elaborate Niagara Escarpment.
Quebec
Quebec, the romantic French heart of the Canadian provinces with it’s motto “Je me souviens”, “I remember”. It is a province which derives its name from the Algonquin word “Kebe” which means “The place where the river narrows” and one that has been one of the most fought-over provinces of Canada. It is indeed the largest Canadian province, it’s population second only to that of Ontario.
Provincial Flower
Iris versicolor (Lat.), also known as the Harlequin Blueflag or the Larger Blue Flag is Quebec’s provincial flower, a sample of natures’ finest with its flower found in shades of light and deep blue, violet and purple. It grows between 10cm and 80cm high and flowers six petals and sepals.
Capital City
Although its largest city is Montreal, Quebec’s capital is the eponymous Quebec City. It boasts with a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the shape of fortified city walls surrounding Vieux-Québec that are the only ramparts to be found north of Mexico. Quebec City is most notably one of the first cities within northern America, being established in 1605.
And just in case you thought that the romance might fade as time passed on, Quebec City may well be the counterargument that it burns brighter with age. Consider the world-renowned seasonal festivals including the Summer Festival and Winter Carnival, as well as the historic Château Frontenac and the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec - all of which forms part of a history that proudly claims "I remember".
History
Of the First Nations peoples that inhabited the area of Quebec, the Inuit, Iroquoian and Algonquian were among the most prominent at the time of European arrival. The first French explorer to reach this region was Jacques Cartier who, in 1534, planted a cross at Gaspé or at Old Fort Bay. Subsequent French explorations continued with Samuel de Champlain in 1603 who travelled into the St. Lawrence River, claiming Quebec as part of the French colonial empire only upon his return to the area in 1608.
In the following century Britain and France engaged in the Seven Year War, the result of which was that France left most of its North-American possessions to Britain in the Treaty of Paris in 1763. By the subsequent British Royal Proclamation of 1763, Canada was renamed the Province of Quebec. Yet this would only last a decade as the British government feared that the French population would join the rebels of the Thirteen Colonies. The Quebec Act followed, recognising French law, language and religion and supplied the people of Quebec with their first Charter of Rights.
Geography
Quebec covers an area of more than 1.6 million sq. km and is Canada's largest province in terms of area and is divided into the Canadian Shield, the St. Lawrence Valley and the Appalachian Mountains. It borders with Ontario to the west, the U.S. and New-Brunswick to the south, Hudson Bay, Ungava Bay and Nunavut to the north and Labrador to the east.
The province plays host to one of the most important rivers in the world, the St. Lawrence River, with its vast number of effluents and tributaries forming part of the catchments basin of Quebec. The total amount of lakes is estimated to number more than 500,000 and rivers in their thousands. It is perhaps for this reason that Quebec has more than 3% of the world's entire freshwater reserves. Aside from water as a natural resource, Quebec also boasts with a number of mines that include gold, nickel, zinc, aluminium as well as copper.
New Brunswick
A natural marvel consisting of a mainland and several little islands strewn around, New Brunswick is one of Canada's four Atlantic provinces and also one of the three smallest. It is also one of the few Canadian provinces that are brimming with an abundance of exotic marine life including Pilot Whales, Humpback Whales, Minke Whales, Fin Whales, Dolphins, Tuna, Swordfish and Shark as well as the occasional Blue Whale.
Provincial Flower
New Brunswick's provincial flower, the Purple Violet (Viola cucullata - Lat.), also known as the Hooded Blue Violet and the Marsh Blue Violet, is found throughout eastern North America from Newfoundland to Ontario and south toward Georgia.
The Purple Violet is a perennial plant that grows up to 20cm tall with leaves forming a basal cluster. The petals of the flowers are predominantly violet, but have also been found to be white.
Capital City
Fredericton is New Brunswick’s capital city, an important cultural and artistic hub located within the province with a population of just over 50,000. It has three universities as well as a number of theatres, art galleries and other buildings of cultural significance.
History
According to a number of sources the First Nations people only inhabited the area of New Brunswick since 4,000 B.C. as opposed to a number of other Canadian provinces where they have been present almost 7,000 years earlier. These peoples included the Sáqwéjíjk who later called themselves the "Mikmaq" (meaning "my kind friends") as an indication of their unity.
In 1534 Jacques Cartier entered what is today known as New Brunswick. Following him in 1604 was Pierre Dugua and Samuel de Champlain. The area of New Brunswick was subsequently claimed as part of the French colony, Arcadia. However trouble soon started as the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 declared the neighbouring Nova Scotia under British possession, leaving the French with a remainder of Arcadia which they then sought to protect (as it was badly populated as well as defended). Yet the Seven Years' War saw New Brunswick falling to the British nonetheless.
The following years saw little change in the population of New Brunswick as its location counted against it. Only in the beginning of the 19th century did the previously ejected Acadians return from Nova Scotia. Subsequent immigration into New Brunswick includes immigrants from Britain and Scotland as well as Ireland.
On July 1st, 1867, New Brunswick became one of the original four provinces of Canada. The Acadians continued to live in relative isolation to the English-speaking settlements in the South until 1960 with the election of Premier Louis Robichaud who embarked on an Equal Opportunity Plan. French became and official language in 1969 under the Official Languages Act.
Geography
The province of New Brunswick is located south of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula and Chaleur Bay, and also west of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait. Although in some ways less prominent than other Canadian provinces, New Brunswick has an abundance of natural resources and wonders in its total area of over 72,900 sq. km. Prominent among these are the vast multitudes of bays and inlets along the coast as well as a surface area of which more than 80% is covered with forest. The Bay of Fundy boasts with the world's highest tides at 15m.
New Brunswick is the main producer of lead, copper, bismuth and zinc in Canada. Other natural resources include natural gas, oil, coal, antimony, silver and potash.
Nova Scotia
The serenity that surrounds beautiful Nova Scotia belies the fact that it has been the subject of many great disputes between the English and the French for most of its history. It is a province of serene beauty and peace, where its visitors can unwind with a relaxing bike ride along the ocean or whale watching through most of the summer months.
Provincial Flower
The Mayflower (Epigaea repens, Lat.), also known as the Trailing Arbutus, is Nova Scotia's provincial flower and is commonly found in areas from Newfoundland to Florida as well as Central Europe and Western Africa. It is a scented flower blossoming pink and then slowly fading to white.
Capital City
In terms of population Nova Scotia ranks 7th with 935,962 permanent residents and a population density of 17.49 residents per square kilometre. Most of the aforementioned inhabitants are found in its capital and largest city, The Halifax Regional Municipality, informally known as Halifax. It is a city composed of 5,577 sq. km that occupies about 10% of the entire Nova Scotia.
History
Nova Scotia's history is in part one of myth and speculation. It is said that the Paleo-Indians, of which the Mikmaq people are direct descendants, first inhabited this area of Canada. Additionally, some claims point to the Vikings as being the first non-natives to settle on Nova Scotia. Whether that is true or is something that can be owed to ledgend is hard to say, yet one thing of which historians are certain is that an Italian explorer by the name of John Cabot was the first to visit the area of present-day Cape Breton. It was only in 1604 that the first European settlement was established by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts. It was to be the capital of the French colony at Port Royal though wouldn't be a permanent base for the French as the English designated the land as a part of New England as per rule of the Plymouth Council for New England under King James I.
Settlement was encouraged by the English king but later failed with the return of the first settler colony back to England due to a lack of skilled immigrants. To remedy the situation King James created a new order of baronets of which the admission required the sending of six skilled workmen or artisans with enough provisions for two years.
During the following years Nova Scotia frequently changed hands between the French and the British, however it would finally fall to the British in 1713. In 1755 the Great Expulsion took place in which 12,000 Acadians (French) were forcibly removed from the land.
Only years later, after the defeat of the British in the American Revolutionary War, did Nova Scotia join the Canadian confederacy.
Geography
Nova Scotia is ranked 12th among the Canadian provinces in terms of land area with a total of 55,238 sq. km. and is Canada's southern most province. It has been calculated that the furthest point, even on the Nova Scotia Peninsula mainland, from the ocean is about 67km. Nova Scotia also consists of two smaller islands, Cape Breton Island and Sable island, the latter famous for its shipwrecks.
Newfoundland & Labrador
Whether your heart lies on land or within the deep mysterious depths of the ocean, the Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador has the ability to enchant and sway. These two islands attract visitors from all over for its marine life, in particular its whales, is internationally acclaimed with sightings of Humpbacks, Minke, Pilot, Fin, Sperm and Blue Whales among others.
Provincial Flower
Its provincial flower, the Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpirea, Lat.), also known as the Side-saddle flower is perhaps just as interesting as anything one might find down in the blue depths of the ocean. A carnivorous plant, the Purple Pitcher Plant feeds of any type of insect. Its feeding device comprises a system whereby the prey falls into the pitcher of the flower and drowns in the rainwater contained within the pitcher. Once dead, the prey gets shredded apart by invertebrates and bacteria, causing nutrients to mineralise and be absorbed by the plant.
Capital City
Aside from the fascinating fauna and flora of Newfoundland & Labrador, one can also take solace in the fact that St. John's, the provincial capital, is the fastest growing metropolitan area in Newfoundland & Labrador and 19th fastest in Canada. St. Johns also enjoys a reputation of being one of the oldest English-founded cities in North America and has a history reaching as far back as the 1500s when European fisherman made use of its harbour.
History
As with almost all other Canadian provinces, Newfoundland & Labrador saw humans arrive shortly after the glacial retreat. The initial settlers were the people of the Maritime Archaic Tradition; however they were gradually driven out by Paleo-eskimos of the Dorset culture. Subsequent settlers include the Innu and Inuit as well as the Beothuks. As opposed to any other part of Canada, and perhaps indeed North America, this region was visited by Europeans more than 1,000 years ago. They were Vikings and to this day their settlement, L'Anse aux Meadows, enjoys a place in history.
Though 500 years after the Vikings, explorers, fishermen and whale hunters began occupying the area and exploiting its natural resources. They consisted of numerous nations, including France, Portugal, England and Spain. It was however only in 1583 that Newfoundland & Labrador became a British territory under Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Colonisation was an easily accomplished task as St. John's, Cupids and Ferryland, to name a few, had already been established at that stage.
Yet as times move on things change- a change which includes governments. Over the years the government of Newfoundland & Labrador took on many forms, including a Dominion, but finally became a province (the 10th) of Canada on March 31st, 1949.
Geography
Newfoundland & Labrador make up roughly 4% of Canada's area with a total area of more than 405,000 sq. km. The aforementioned area includes the over 7,000 small islands within the province.
Labrador's western border is a drainage divide with Quebec for the Labrador Peninsula, which brings to effect that all areas draining into the Atlantic Ocean belongs to Labrador, the rest Quebec. It is also interesting to note that Labrador is the most eastern part of the Canadian Shield.
One of the main geological attractions of Newfoundland is the Gros Morne National Park. This park is said to showcase tectonics at work and it is believed that colliding tectonic plates influence the geology and shape of Newfoundland today.
On a final note, and perhaps as a point of interest to those with an affinity for solitude, Newfoundland & Labrador has a population density of 1.27 per sq. km.
Prince Edward Island
They are referred to as the "Islanders" and deem everyone not born there as "from away". Yet one would be hard-pressed to find a more welcoming warmth so close to the Arctic as on Prince Edward Island. It is officially the 104th biggest island in the world and supplies its inhabitants and more than 1,000,000 visitors a year with a natural serenity and a peace of mind. In fact, the tallest buildings rarely exceed 6 storeys and over 62% of all households have at least one dog.
Provincial Flower
The provincial flower of Prince Edward Island is the Pink Lady's Slipper or Cypripedium acaule (Lat.) his flower echoes the natural serenity of PEI with its hues of subdued green, yellow, maroon, pink and white. This beautiful flower has the ability to adapt in a variety of environments, some more harsh than other, including mountain tops, coastal plains and pine barrens. It is perhaps therefore an apt representation of Prince Edward Island as its people have grown accustomed to the same conditions that include warm to hot summers as well as freezing winters.
Capital City
Of course not all is sun, snow or beautiful flowers. Prince Edward Island’s capital city is Charlottetown and is in fact one of only two cities on an island with a population of just over 140,000. However there are numerous smaller towns and villages, which results in Charlottetown being left with a population of 32,000 individuals who all take up residence on the island's southern shore. Charlottetown is also affectionately called the "Birthplace of Confederation" as a result of the historic 1864 Charlottetown Conference.
History
The first recorded inhabitants of Prince Edward Island were the Mi'kmaq people, who named the island Abegweit which means "Land Cradled on the Waves". Like many of the other Canadian Provinces, Prince Edward Island was subject to disputes between the French and the English. As a French colony part of Acadia, the island was known as "Île Saint-Jean" with a population close to 1,000. Yet their residence on the island was to be short-lived as they were expelled in 1758 as Colonel Andrew Rollo captured the island under orders from General Jeffery Amherst.
Prince Edward Island hosted the Charlottetown Conference which led to the Articles of Confederation as well as the official establishment of Canada in 1867. At that stage Prince Edward Island declined becoming one of Canada's provinces citing unfavourable Union terms as its reason. The following years saw the colony considering becoming an independent dominion or joining the United States. It was however thanks to Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, a man opposed to American expansionism, who finally convinced the colony of Prince Edward Island to join Canada which it so did on July 1st, 1873.
Geography
Prince Edward Island lies within the Gulf of Saint Lawrence east of New Brunswick. The islands natural and relatively diverse natural beauty can be seen in its red-tinged white sand beaches, coves, rolling hills and woods. These natural elements of the Island are all protected by law; however some areas are still subject to negligent oversight.
Away from the cities, the smaller rural areas still depend on small-scale agriculture for their survival. However even these are being threatened by industrial modernisation as properties are consolidated.
Along the coast one would find a number of long beaches, bays, natural harbours, dunes and red sandstone cliffs which owe their colour to the oxidation of a high iron concentration.
Yukon
The Yukon is the smallest of Canada’s three territories and takes its name from the eponymous river, The Yukon, which is one of its main watersheds. Located on the western most part of Canada, this province supplies its visitors and inhabitants not only with a taste of an Arctic climate in the winter, but multicolored fields of flowers during the brief summer months. And perhaps one of the most alluring aspects of this territory is the appearance of the Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights, during the long winter nights.
Territorial Flower
Perhaps rather paradoxical with its climate is the name of its territorial flower, the Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium, Lat.) which is, in fact, an herb that derives its name from the fact that it tends to flourish on recently burnt fields. It is predominantly found in open fields throughout the northern hemisphere in damp to wet soil ranging from calcareous to slightly acidic. These herbs are described as a pioneer species (due to their tendencies to grow on burnt sites) and will grow with the provision of enough sunlight and space. Their seeds (up to 80,000 per plant) can remain fertile for years in the harshest conditions which perhaps explain their ability to grow on recently burnt sites.
The Fireweed can grow up to 2.5m in height, flowering magenta petals along reddish smooth stems. One aspect of the Fireweed is its vein structure, which is circular rather than terminating at the edges of the leaves. This makes the plant highly recognisable during any of the stages of its growth.
Capital City
The capital of the Yukon (since 1953) is Whitehorse, the largest city within the territories with a population of almost 23,000 people which make up just over 75% of the entire Yukon population.
History
Perhaps due to central and northern Yukon escaping glaciations or perhaps for some other mysterious reason, Yukon has some of the oldest human remains been found in this territory. Carbon dating estimates them to be around 25,000 to 40,000 years old. Yet we may never know as it seems that the inhabitants of the area fled to the south western United States due to a volcanic eruption in 800 AD. Subsequent habitation of the area resumed as is evidenced in records of trading between the Tlingits and the first Nations people.
A common factor with most of Canada's provinces is that the fur trade attracted the attentions of European settlers in the area. In this case it only took place in the middle of the 19th century. Later in the same century rumors of gold in the area had spread and thusly saw the arrival of miners. In a relatively short time the population had increased so much that an official police force was established prior to the Klondike Gold Rush. It was this very gold rush which led to the separation of the Yukon from the district of Northwest Territories to become a territory in its own capacity.
Geography
The Yukon is a territory with a population of only 0.065 people per sq. km and boasts perennial snow-capped mountains and a vast number of beautiful pristine lakes. The climate is at best sub-Arctic and tending toward Arctic during the long cold winter months although summer provides enough sunlight and warmth for multitudes of flowers to blossom and vegetables to grow.
As the territory of Yukon's highest point and also Canada's highest point, Mount Logan towers at 5,959ft above sea level and is located within the Kluane National Park and Reserve which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To the south of the territory the landscape becomes dotted with glacier-fed alpine lakes that drain into the Yukon river, some of which include the Atlin Lake, Marsh Lake and Lake Laberge.
The Yukon territory occupies an area of 482,443 sq. km of which 474,391 sq. km is land area and the remaining 8,052 sq. km, water. It has a population of just over 31,500, making it one of the least populated areas by population density in Canada.
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories- Imagine a region of vast tundra, forests and sloping mountains; a place run through with some of the cleanest rivers and clearest lakes anywhere in the world. Imagine a bouquet of all the colours of the rainbow painted onto fields of flowers that extend for miles and miles. And when you’ve done the imagining, look up at the skies to find the aurora borealis silently whispering in breath taking views against the earth’s atmosphere.
This is the country of the Northwest Territories, one of the least spoiled areas on this planet with a semblance of its beauty exhibited in its territorial flower, the Mountain Avens (Dryas integrifolia/octopetala). The flower is also known as the arctic dryad, alpine dryad and white Mountain Avens and is a species with a taste for barren rocky areas as well as alpine meadows. Its white circular to oval flowers average 2cm in width and grows on stalks between 2cm and 15cm.
Capital City
The capital of the Northwest Territories is Yellowknife, a name derived from the Yellowknives Dene First Nation who used copper to make their tools. It is a city located just 400km south of the Arctic Circle on the shores of the Great Slave Lake and has 11 official languages. Some of the more commonly spoken languages include Dene Suline, Dogrib, French, South and North Slavey and, of course, English.
Yellowknife, also known as Somba K'e in Dogrib ("where the money is"), became the capital of the Northwest Territories in 1967 after an intial settlement due to gold in the area. A subsequent transition of mining town to government services-oriented city took place as gold production declined but has started to reverse after the recent discovery of diamonds in the area.
History
The Northwest Territories initially comprised an immense area of land and water with its creation in June, 1870. Its size was however destined to shrink as a number of Canadian provinces acquired pieces of its land area. The provinces that benefited from this acquisition include Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. The boundaries of the Northwest Territories were however extended to include the North Pole in 1925, giving it an area larger than that of India; however this would be only temporary as more than half of its eastern territory would later in 1999 become became another individual territory called Nunavut.
Following the creation of Nunavut a question of name change of the Northwest Territories came to attention. Among the possibilities was the name of "Denendeh" which is a Dene word for "Our Land". Another possibility, initially only entered as a jest, was the name "Bob". For a time, however, it seemed as if "Bob" stood to be a serious contender for the new name. In the end the people of the Northwest Territories decided to stick with what they knew best, subsequently keeping their old name.
Geography
Consisting of more than 1.14 million sq. km, the Northwest Territories plays host to a vast number of geographical variations. Among its geographical features are the immense Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes as well as a number of canyons within the Nahanni National Park Reserve which has been added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Additional points of geographic interest include Mount Nirvana with its highest peak at 2,773m as well as a number of islands.
Nunavut
"Nunavut Sannginivut" means, in Inuktitut, "Our land, our strength" and is the motto of Nunavut, Canada's largest territory and also it’s newest since April 1st 1999. It is a territory with a population of almost 30,000 individuals whose languages include Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French.
Provincial Flower
Perhaps rather aptly chosen is this territory’s territorial flower, the Purple Saxifrage(Saxifraga oppositifolia, Lat.), an edible plant common to the high arctic areas and found all over Nunavut covering both rock and gravel in a flowering green mat. Its flowers grow on short stalks and can either have purple or lilac petals. It is predominantly a spring flower and may continue to flourish in certain areas into late summer. It is also the county flower of County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.
Capital City
The capital of Nunavut is Iqaluit and also has the largest community, consisting of a population of just over 6,000, therefore being able to claim the least populated capital city in all of Canada. It was however originally called Frobisher Bay, a name that bore evidence to the then established American airbase which was founded in 1942 and abandoned in 1963.
History
Although only recently formed, the territory of Nunavut boasts with human presence for the past 4,000 years, some of which may have been European as far back as 1000AD. This can perhaps be best supported with the fact that Baffin Island is often described as the Norse Helluland.
Official European contact however only came to being in 1575 when Martin Frobisher came upon Frobisher Bay (then known as Iqaluit, "many fish"), Baffin Island. The first encounter with the local Inuit was a bloody one with prisoners taken and lives lost on both sides. Subsequent European arrivals included Henry Hudson, William Baffin (after whom Baffin Island was named) as well as Robert Bylot, all of whom, like Frobisher, were in search of the rumoured Northwest Passage.
Modern history points to the relocation of the Inuit to Resolute and Grise Fiord as a part of the Government's attempt to assert its sovereignty in the High Arctic. Due to unfamiliarity with the territory and the harsh climate many of the Inuits perished. Those that survived were forced to stay. Only after a period of four decades did the Canadian government attempt to rectify the issue with a compensation payment.
A number of years later saw negotiations between the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada and the Canadian government regarding land claims on behalf of the Inuit people. The claims were subject to an electorate vote which resulted in the offering of a conditional agreement. Years later the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act and the Nunavut Act were passed in the Canadian Parliament with the process being finalised on April 1st, 1999.
Geography
The Nunavut Territory covers almost 2 million sq. km of land and more than 160,000 sq. km of water. Its area includes a part of the Arctic Archipelago. Included in its territories are a number of island that belonged to the Northwest Territories prior to the transition in 1999. These include the islands in James Bay, Hudsons Bay and Ungava Bay.
