Settlement Patterns of Canada
April 13, 2015
What to know
Objectives: Difference between
population distribution and
population density
Rural Settlement Patterns
ESRI Canada - GIS in Education
Influences of Settlement
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE RURAL SETTLEMENT
› What kind of resources are found?
› The kind of resources that attract people in the first place. Ie.
agriculture in southern Ontario develops a different settlement
pattern then the forestry resource in the Canadian Shield
› What were the transportation methods at the time?
› Before 1800 settlement was based on transportation by water.
Settled areas tend to be next to rivers and lakes. Areas settled
after 1800 were increasingly based on road and eventually rail.
› What role did government policy play in the settlement?
› Some areas had a lot of government input into the process of
settlement. They would control which land would be settled, size,
shape of farms, pattern of roads, location of towns, schools,
churches. A set of rules that control these things is called the
SURVEY SYSTEM
Rural Settlement
1 The long lot system of southern Quebec
2 The concession system of southern
Ontario
3 The section system of the Prairies
Most of Canada’s Rural
residents live in one of two
ecozones:
The Mixedwood Plain OR the
Prairie
1. The long lot of southern Quebec
INFLUENCES:
• Resource: agriculture
• Transportation: St. Lawrence River
• Government Policy: Each settler receives
a piece of land along the waterfront.
Taxes increase with increased waterfront.
• See Figure 19-3 on page 228.
Long thin farms built along the river, hence,
the term “long lot system ” or Seigniorial
System
1. The long lot of southern Quebec
2. Concession System of Southern Ontario
INFLUENCES:
• Resources: agriculture
• Transportation: started at the lake, but there were roads,
later railway (access to water less important, each settlement
needed access to a road.
• Government policy: survey system already in place
Concession System: started survey at a Great Lake, called
BASELINE,
Concession parrallel to lake, sideroad perpendicular
roads 2km apart, farms 40 to 80 ha in size.
Concession blocks  Townships  Counties
See Fig. 19-4 on page 229 and explanation of how to navigate
in these areas.
2. Concession System of Southern Ontario
3. Section system of the southern Prairies
INFLUENCES:
• Resources: agriculture
• Transportation: roads, later railway (access to water less
important)
• Government policy: surveyed before major settlement
occurred, used the section system. They did not want the U.S
to have the land! BUT the lots were too small. Families
needed large lots for a larger harvest.
• Started survey at the Canada/US border (49th latitude)
• Township (9.6 x 9.6 km OR 6 x 6 miles)  36 sections (1 mile x 1 mile) 
Quarter Sections (64 ha)
• See Fig. 19-5 on page 230 and explain the system in your
own words.
3. Section system of the southern Prairies
4. Other rural scattered settlements
INFLUENCES:
1 Resource - based settlement: ie. Atlantic and Pacific Maritime
ecozones = fishing OR Montane Cordillera = mining/energy
2 Service - based Settlement: ie. along transportation routes,
people work in hotels, gas stations or restaurants.
Compare and contrast the different Rural Settlement Patterns
we have discussed. See page 230.
Work on page 230: # 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
Winnipeg – A Transportation Centre
Sudbury - Nickel
The End!