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Social Studies Grade 9 Unit Two: Geographic Influences on Identity: Place & People Chapter 3 Class Notes: Canada’s People - Canada is one of the world’s largest countries, but its population is small in comparison to its land mass 3.1 Canada’s Human Landscape (Page 43): - Population Distribution describes where people have chosen to live in a country o Geographers refer to Canada’s population distribution as an Archipelago Effect: an archipelago is a group of islands this refers to the fact that if you look at Canada’s population distribution on a map, it looks like islands or pockets of settlement within a sea of mountains, plains and forests o Most of Canada’s population is distributed along the Canada-U.S.A. border - Population Density is a measure of how closely together people live in a country or area within a country. o It is defined as the average number of people in an area o It is calculated by dividing the population of an area by the size of the area in square kilometres Ex : For a population of 16,000 people in an area of 2000 km2, the population density would be 16,000 people/2000 km2 = 8 people/km2 o The main pockets of population in Canada are in Southern Ontario, Quebec, and in more isolated cities throughout Canada such as Vancouver, Calgary, Halifax, etc. o Population Density can be misleading as a tool because it does not take into account population distribution, meaning that some areas may be highly populated while others are not. It can also be misleading when compared to the population density of another country unless you take into account the area/size of the countries you are comparing - Geographers divide factors that determine the location of human settlements into 2 categories : o Site Factors Features of the physical landscape Examples include : Fertile soil, plenty of trees, sheltered harbour, minerals or wildlife resources o Situation Factors Involve a site’s relationship to other places The Relationship can be economic, related to trade, transportation, or political (government centre) 1 Examples include : access to services such as banking, specialist doctors, educational facilties, presence of an airport or ferry, presence of a bridge In addition, there are 3 main purposes for locating settlements: o Transportation Could include a bridge, confluence (place where two rivers meet) or head of navigation (where a traveller must change to another mode of transportation) o Defence Could refer to an Island or sheltered Harbour which could also protect from harsh weather o Access to Resources Refers to locating a settlement close to resources such as minerals, trees, fish, or water power to make the extraction or use of these resources cheaper Settlement Patterns in Canada : o Contact between Aboriginal Peoples in Canada and European settlers alomost always led to the relocation of Aboriginal Peoples. This was because Eurpoeans were attracted by the same site and situation factors that had caused the Aboriginal Peoples to settle there o Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples are made up of three distinct groups : Inuit – The people of Arctic Canada (Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Labrador, Quebec) Metis – People of European and First Nations ancestry (Ontario, Northwest Territories, Praries) First Nations – Includes Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Innu, Passamaquoddy (Throughout Canada) Much of Quebec was settled using the seigneurial system of landholding This involved settling land which was divided into long, narow lots that would face rivers and give access to the water Much of Ontario was settled using the township system of landholding This involved settling land which was divided into square blocks of land which was used for farming - - 3.2 Growth and Decline of Settlements (Page 48): Growth : - Canada used to be primarily agricultural - The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowland region developed into an agricultural area becuase of its fertile soils - Atlantic Canada developed fishing, lumbering and shipbuilding industries because of it’s forest and sea resources 2 - The West Coast of Canada develped fishing and lumbering industries for similar reasons - Most of Canada’s big cities develped because of site and situation factors that included markets for farm-grown goods and efficient transportation systems Classifying Communities : - Communities can be classified based on the services they provide - Villages : provide limited services (one gas station, convenience store, elementrary school only) - Cities : provide high levels and more specialized service (university/college, hospital, banks, shopping centres) - Sometimes corridors (an area of urban development that extends from a city, often along a highway) from one city can meet a corridor from another city, creating a huge urban area. Ex : Windsor-Quebec City corridor Decline : - In 1881, 75% of Canadians lived in rural areas (25% in urban areas) - Rural: areas that are located outside towns and cities; are often agricultural - After Canada underwent an industrial revolution (change from agricultural to manufacturing economy), many people moved to urban areas - Urban : a town or city with a population of 1000 people or more OR a population density of 400 people/km2 - Rural to Urban Drift: the movement of people from areas of lower population density into towns and cities; this can occur within provinces and from region to region (ex : moving from a small community in NL to St. John’s) - By 1939, more than 50% of Canada’s population lived in urban areas. - Since 1939, the rate of urbanization (the process by which a rural area becomes urban) has increased due to a loss of industry such as fishing, mining or farming Megacities : - Urbanization is a worldwise trend, resulting in megacities - Megacities: o large, urban areas that face difficulties such as crowding, poor or deteriorating infrastructure, and environmental problems o Common issues include : poverty, poor water quality, poor air quality, trafic congestion, inadequate sewage and garbage collection, deteriorating roads, bridges and inadequate housing 3.3 Canada : A Regional Perspective - Geographers use four main categories when classifying regions : 1. Location Communities within a region share a geographic location, and sometimes a regional name (ex : Atlantic Canada) 2. Physical and Cultural Characteristics 3 Each region has unique physical (landscape) characteristics as well as cultural characteristics (ex : plains in the Prairie Region, immigration from Asian countries in British Columbia) 3. Political Perspective Some regions share political/cultural views or business relationships with other areas (sometimes in the U.S.A. or other countries) 4. Hierarchy Regions contain smaller regions within them (ex : NL as a distinct region within Atlantic Canada) - Canada’s Five Political Regions are: 1. Atlantic Canada 2. Central Canada 3. The Prairies 4. British Columbia 5. The North *See Figure 3.12, Text Page 54 for a summary of Canada’s five political regions based on their characteristics The Core & The Periphery : - Each region’s development is influenced by its relationships with other regions - Interaction among the regions is explained using the concepts of core and periphery 4 - - Core : the nucleus of a region; most developed area, greatest wealth, highest population density; site of manufacturing (ex : Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, St. John’s are all core cities) Periphery : the areas outside the core; provides raw materials to the core as well as market to sell the goods produced in the core 3.4 Regional Identities: - Physical and cultural differences in different areas throughout Canada have resulted in unique regional identities - this means that a person is identified as having certain characteristics or they identify themselves with certain objects, practices or activities because of where they live or where they come from - many regional identities are associated with local industries (ex: Newfoundlanders as fisherman, cowboys on the Prairies) - often regional identities may become part of a stereotype (an oversimplified view of the characteristics of the members of a certain place) - Sometimes, these stereotypes can be not only false, but negative (ex : Newfoundlanders are not intelligent) - festivals and tourism ads may foster or perpetuate stereotypes by playing on regional identities 5