EXPLORING
CANADA
Viking Territory
•
Around 1000 AD, Leif Erikson
(son of Erik the Red) led an
expedition that landed on what is now
Newfoundland, built a settlement, and
later abandoned it.
• Five centuries later, and Italian navigator
named Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot),
exploring for the British landed in
Newfoundland and claimed the land for
the British.
Early Peoples
• Nomads came from Asia across the Beringia Land
Bridge.
• Some remained in the Arctic area and were the
ancestors of the Inuits (Eskimos).
• Others—ancestors of the North American
Indians—moved south and settled in what is now
British Columbia.
• After the ice melted,
they moved all over
Canada, settling
where they could
grow crops.
Colonization
• During the 16th and 17th centuries,
French explorers claimed much of
Canada.
• The British were also colonizing
North America along the Atlantic
Coast.
• To both countries, coastal fishing
and the inland fur trade were
important.
• They soon challenged each other’s
territorial claims.
• Britain defeated France in the
French and Indian War (1754-1763), forcing France
to surrender its territory, but French settlers
remained.
Steps Toward Unity
• By the end of the 18th century, Canada
had become a land of two distinct
cultures—Roman Catholic French and
Protestant English.
• Conflict erupted, and in 1791, the British
government split Canada into two
provinces (political units).
--Upper Canada (later Ontario) had and
English-speaking majority.
Hello! Nice to meet you. Do you speak English?
--Lower Canada (Quebec), located along
the St. Lawrence River, had a Frenchspeaking population. Bonjour! Enchanté! Parlez-vous français?
•The land to the northwest (called Rupert’s Land)
was owned
by a British fur-trading company.
The Dominion of Canada
• By the late 1830s, there
were serious political
and ethnic disputes in
both Upper and Lower
Canada.
• The British government
decided on major
reform.
• In 1867, it passed the
British North America Act creating the Dominion of Canada
– a loose confederation (political union) of Ontario (Upper),
Quebec (Lower), the 2 British colonies of Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick.
• Ottawa in Ontario became the capital.
•The Dominion
gained control of
Rupert’s Land in
1869.
•By 1871, Canada
stretched from the
Atlantic to the
Pacific, as
Manitoba, British
Columbia, and
Prince Edward
Island were added.
•Soon the Yukon
Territory, Alberta,
and Saskatchewan
followed.
•Only Newfoundland remained outside the union, not
joining until the mid-20th century.
Urban and Industrial Growth
• For much of the time after settlement,
Canadians lived in rural areas and engaged in
farming.
• As the population grew and resources were
developed, Canada became more urban and
industrial.
• Cities and towns built around farming soon
became manufacturing and service industry
centers.
• Nearly all this growth took place within 100
miles of the U.S. border (climate, land,
transportation).
• Canada developed into a major economic
power in the 20th century.
Government
Queen Elizabeth II
• Canada was recognized as an
independent nation by Great
Britain in 1931.
• Like Britain, Canada became a
parliamentary government
(legislative and executive
functions are combined in a
legislature called a parliament).
• Canada consists of a central
government and smaller provincial
and territorial governments.
• The symbolic head of state
remains the British monarch.
• Parliament consists of an appointed senate
and an elected House of Commons.
• The majority party’s leader in Parliament
becomes prime minister (head of govt.).
• Each of Canada’s
ten provinces has
its own legislature
and premier
(prime minister).
• The federal
government administers the territories.
Canada’s Primary Industries
• Farming
--Only 5% of land
suitable for
farming
--Only 3% of
workforce
employed in
farming
--Nevertheless,
produces large
amounts of
products for
domestic use
and export.
•Logging
--Biggest
export
trade is
in forest
products.
--No
other
country
exports
more
wood
pulp and
paper
products.
• Fishing
– Three ocean coastlines
(Arctic, Atlantic,
Pacific) give access to
ample fish supplies.
– Fish consumption per
capita is low, so much
of Canada’s catch is
exported.
– Exports more fish
than any other
country.
• Mining
–Major industry because of extensive mineral deposits.
Uranium, zinc, gold, and silver are just a few exports to
the world.
Manufacturing
• About 15% earn their living
from manufacturing.
• This accounts for 1/5 of
GDP.
• Automobiles, steel,
household appliances,
electronics, and high-tech
and mining equipment are
some products.
• Most manufacturing done
in the Canadian heartland,
stretching from Quebec
City, Quebec, to Windsor,
Ontario.
Service Industry Drives Economy
•Country’s
real economic
powerhouse.
•Employs
more than all
other
industries
combined.
•Spectacular
natural beauty
has made
the tourist
industry the fastest growing service industry – 3% of
all Canadians work in this field.
• The United States is Canada’s chief trading
partner.
• Partly because the two countries share the
longest open border in the world and the
same language (English).
A Bilingual Country
•Canada is officially a bilingual country.
•It has an English-speaking majority and a
French-speaking minority.
•Languages of Inuit still survive.
•Immigrant languages are also heard.
•The English were largely protestant.
•The French are Roman Catholics.
•Muslims, Jews, and others are also
represented.
Population
• 80% of all Canadians live on 10% of the land.
• Port cities of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver
and its rich farmlands make up the country’s
most densely populated areas.
• Most Canadians live along a 100-mile wide strip
of land just north of the U.S. border.
• Population is mostly urban.
• 75% of all French Canadians live in Quebec.
• Many native peoples live in the 2300 reserves,
public lands set aside by the government.
• Large number of Canadians of Asian ancestry
live on the west coast.
Atlantic Provinces
• Prince Edward Island
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Newfoundland
Harsh Lands/Small Populations
•Home to just 8% of
Canada’s population.
•Most live in coastal
cities.
•Small population
due largely to
provinces’ rugged
terrain and severe
weather.
•Forests cover 90%
of New Brunswick.
•Severe storms hit
Newfoundland and
Labrador.
•About 85% of land in Nova
Scotia cannot be farmed
because of rocky hills and
poor soil.
Economic activities:
• New Brunswick
– Dense forests provide
the province with its
largest industry logging.
– Gulf of St. Lawrence
and coastal waterways
Bay of Fundi, New Brunswick
supply plentiful stocks
of seafood for export.
– Also - mining of zinc, copper, lead, & silver.
•Novia Scotia
- Logging & fishing are mainstays
- Shipbuilding and trade through the port of Halifax
provide employment and revenue.
• Newfoundland
– Until the 20th century, fishing was the
principal industry.
– Today, it has healthy mining and logging
industries.
– Also, its hydroelectric power resources are
part of a system supplying power to
Quebec and parts of the northeastern US.
Core Provinces
•Quebec
•Ontario
Canada’s Heartland
• 3 out of 5 Canadians live there.
• Ontario largest in terms of population.
• Quebec largest in land
area.
• Most of the settlements
in these two provinces
are along the Great Lakes
and the St. Lawrence River.
• Each province is the
core of one of Canada’s
two major cultures
(Ontario -English-speaking
majority / Quebec - French-speaking
minority).
Quebec
•Ontario and Quebec power Canada’s
economy.
•Together, they account for:
–more than 35% of Canadian agricultural
production
–45% of its mineral production
–70% of its manufacturing
•Toronto is not only the country’s most
populous city but also its banking and
financial hub.
•Montreal is Canada’s second largest city
and the center of economic and political
activity in Quebec.
Prairie Provinces
• Manitoba
• Saskatchewan
• Alberta
Canada’s Breadbasket
Prairies - Saskatchewan countryside
•Part of the Great
Plains of North
America.
•Center of the
country’s
agricultural yield.
•Accounts for
50% of
agricultural
production.
•More than just fertile soil - about 60% of Canada’s
mineral output comes from this region.
•Nations’ largest know deposits of coal and oil.
•Produces 90% of Canada’s natural gas.
Very diverse population
•Manitoba has large numbers of ScotsIrish, Germans, Scandinavians,
Ukrainians, Poles. Town of St. Boniface
has largest French-Canadian population
outside Quebec.
•Saskatchewan includes immigrants from
South and East Asia and is home to the
metis (people of mixed French and native
heritage).
•Alberta most diverse - European, Indian,
Japanese, Lebanese,and Vietnamese.
Pacific Province &
Territories
• British Columbia
• Yukon Territory
• Northwest Territories
• Nunavut
British Columbia
•Nearly all of it lies with the Rocky Mountains.
•3/4 of the province is 3000 feet or more above
sea level.
•More than 1/2 is
densely forested.
•Nearly 1/3 is frozen
tundra, snowfields,
and glaciers.
•Economy is built on logging, mining, and
hydroelectric power production.
•Most of the population
is in the southwest.
•Vancouver is Canada’s
largest port and has a
prosperous shipping
trade.
The Territories
•3 territories make up 41% of the land mass.
•They are too sparsely populated to be provinces.
Yukon Territory is largely unspoiled wilderness
and has population of about
30,000.
• Northwest Territories
extends into the Arctic
and has population of
about 41,000.
Northwest Territories
Ice fishing
in
Nunavut
•Nunavut was carved out of the
NW Territories in 1999. It is
home to many of the Inuit. Land
is rugged and climate is severe,
but it has economic activities-mining, fishing, and some
logging.
Nunavut
Northwest Territories