Canada

A

2

Distribution of Population

Although Canada has a very low population density of 3.7 persons per sq km (9.6 persons per sq mi), this is a misleading statistic. Actually the population is highly concentrated, with about three-quarters of all Canadians living within about 300 km (about 200 mi) of the U.S. border. Canadians are further concentrated into about 25 metropolitan areas. Overall, according to the 2001 census, a total of 79.7 percent live in urban areas (communities of 1,000 people or more). The percentage of urban dwellers has remained relatively stable since 1971.

There is also a regional dimension to population distribution in Canada. In 2005 about 62 percent of Canadians were concentrated in Québec and Ontario. Nearly all of the rest lived in the other eight provinces: 17 percent in the Prairie provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan; about 7 percent in the Atlantic provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick; and about 13 percent in British Columbia. The Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut were sparsely inhabited, with only about 0.3 percent of the country’s total population.

During the last quarter of the 20th century the Canadian population shifted westward. British Columbia and Alberta were beneficiaries of this movement and enjoyed growth rates well above the Canadian average. However, Ontario continued to be the most populous and economically vibrant province.

A

3

Population Centers

The largest urban centers of Canada are found mostly in the southern parts of Ontario and Québec. They are ranked according to the population of their Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). A CMA is a geographic area that contains the main labor market of an urban zone—that is, the area from which at least 25 percent of the residents commute to work at jobs in the core built-up area. As of 2005 the largest CMAs in Canada were as follows. Toronto, Ontario (5,304,100), is the country’s leading financial and manufacturing center and one of the most ethnically varied cities in the world; its local government provides services in some 70 languages. Montréal, Québec (3,635,700), a major manufacturing and commercial center, is the world’s largest French-speaking city outside France. Vancouver, British Columbia (2,208,300), is a scenic, rapidly growing commercial, transportation, and forest-products manufacturing center.

---

---

Ottawa, Ontario, the hub of the Ottawa-Hull metropolitan area (1,148,800), is the national capital and an emerging center of high-technology research. Calgary, Alberta (1,060,300), is the headquarters of Canada’s petroleum industry and an important farm trade center. Edmonton, Alberta (1,016,000), a petroleum and farming center, is the capital of Alberta and site of the West Edmonton Mall, one of the world’s largest indoor malls.

Québec City (717,600), founded in 1608, is the capital of Québec province, with a well-preserved center that has been listed as a World Heritage Site. Hamilton, Ontario (714,900), is the principal center of Canadian steel production. Winnipeg, Manitoba (706,900), is a major wheat market and railroad hub. London, Ontario (464,300), is an industrial and commercial city. Kitchener, Ontario (458,600), is a manufacturing center that forms the hub of Canada’s so-called technology triangle, an economic region comprising the cities of Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener, and Waterloo. St. Catharines, Ontario, in the St. Catharines-Niagara metropolitan area (396,900), is a center of agricultural and industrial production. Halifax, Nova Scotia (380,800), is a seaport and the economic center of the Atlantic region.

B

Languages

Canada is officially bilingual, and all services provided by the federal government are available in English and French. The selection of Ottawa as the national capital, located on the Ontario-Québec border, reflects the long-standing political and cultural importance of the two founding nations. The 2001 census reported that just 1.5 percent of Canadians lack the ability to speak at least one of the official languages; 18 percent of Canadians are fluently bilingual. The majority, 59 percent, reported English as their mother tongue in 2001, while 23 percent reported French and 18 percent declared a nonofficial language. Some of the most prevalent nonofficial languages in Canada are Chinese, Italian, German, Punjabi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.

Historically, the indigenous peoples of Canada spoke dozens of different languages. More than 50 are still recognized today. Almost all fall into groups of related languages traceable from a common ancestral tongue. The largest such group is the Algonquian; Cree, an Algonquian language, is the most significant indigenous language in Canada today. Other large groups are Dene (also called Athapaskan), Iroquoian, Siouan, Salishan, Wakashan, Tsimshian, and Inuit-Aleut (Eskimaleut). There are also three indigenous languages of British Columbia—Kootenay, Haida, and Tlingit—that are not clearly related to any other known tongue. See also Native American Languages.

C

Ethnic Groups

C

1

Ethnic Composition

The ethnic composition of the Canadian people is diverse. Historically, the Canadian population has been dominated by those of British and French origins. At the time of the 1996 census these two groups made up about 35 and 25 percent of the country’s population, respectively. Ethnic data collection processes were changed for the 2001 census, however, allowing respondents to list multiple ethnicities, including “Canadian.” Under this method the most popular ethnic background checked was Canadian (39.4 percent of respondents), followed by English (20.2 percent), French (15.75 percent), Scottish (14.3 percent), Irish (12.9 percent), and German (9.25 percent). Among those respondents that checked only one ethnicity, the leading categories were Canadian (37 percent), English (8 percent), French (6 percent), Chinese (5 percent), German and Italian (4 percent each), and Irish and Scottish (3 percent each).

The majority of French-speaking Canadians live in Québec, where they make up about 70 percent of the population, although only 29.6 percent of the province’s residents identified themselves as ethnically French Canadian in the 2001 census. Significant numbers of this ethnic group also live in Ontario and New Brunswick. The remaining French Canadians are thinly scattered through the rest of Canada, but there are a few concentrations, such as the Saint Boniface district of Winnipeg.

While French Canadians form a cultural group based on their language, history, and religion, British Canadians do not. The four nationalities of the British Isles—English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish—all had different histories, belonged to various religions, and developed different cultural traditions and beliefs. While an economic elite of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, mostly of English and Scottish background, has dominated the business and industry of every province, even Québec, they are a minority of British Canadians.

The ethnic population trends and settlement patterns have been heavily influenced by Canadian immigration policy. The policy during the early 20th century, a time of vigorous western settlement, focused on Europeans. As a result, the proportion of European Canadians in the Prairie provinces is especially high. More recently, Asian immigration has coincided with the growth of the largest metropolitan centers—Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver—and thus Chinese Canadians and Indo-Canadians are most visible there. See also Ethnic Groups in Canada.

C

2

French Canadians

Four-fifths of French Canadians live in Québec province. Many, if not most, of them regard Québec as the center of their society and culture, and their effort to preserve it has led to a movement of French Canadian nationalism that has taken several forms. Surrounded by an English-speaking society and living in an economy dominated by an English-speaking elite, the Québécois (French-speaking residents of Québec) made a concerted effort beginning in 1960 to increase their control of Québec affairs. A nationalist provincial government revamped the educational system, provided aid to small businesses, and took control of some industries, all with the objective of increasing Québécois’ control of the economy.

Many Québécois nationalists have gone further: Some support a separatist movement that seeks independence for the province; others advocate a more moderate alternative, keeping Québec in Canada but giving it more powers than the other provinces. The English-speaking minority in Québec is opposed to its separation from Canada. The other provinces also oppose it and are also generally against the more moderate alternative.

Both the Parti Québécois, the party elected in 1993 to govern Québec, and the Bloc Québécois, the party elected the same year to represent the province in Canada’s Parliament, are officially dedicated to separation. This situation has intensified the historical mistrust between French-speaking and English-speaking Canadians, a legacy from the time when English speakers in Canada focused solely on their own interests (see Canada: Laurier). Emphasis on French Canadian culture and aspirations has also damaged the Québécois’ relations with other minorities in the province. Among these are indigenous peoples, who have lately begun to pursue their own rights and political powers.

	More from Encarta
	•  7 tips for funding an online degree •  How to succeed in the fashion industry without being a top designer •  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain