Download Chapter 3 Canada*s People

 In
this chapter, you will investigate geographic
influences on patterns of settlement and
growth. Canada is a land of regions, many of
which are defined to a significant extent by
their landforms. You will analyze how
regionalism has had, and continues to have, a
profound effect on Canadians’ sense of identity.
 Population
Distribution:
 Describes where people have chosen to
live in a particular country.
 Some
geographers refer to
Canada's population
distribution as an archipelago
effect because an archipelago
is a group of islands and it
compares Canada’s
population to small separated
groups (islands) spread out
not in water but rather in seas
of forest, rock, prairie and
mountains.
 Population
Density: The average number of
people occupying an area.

Most Canadians live in Southern Ontario and Quebec.
There are large population pockets in the Prarires
(Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg) as well as the
Southwest of B.C. (Vancouver). There are also a couple
in Atlantic Canada (mainly Halifax).
 Population
density can be misleading
because it does not take into account
population distribution. In other words,
some places like Toronto may be very
crowded but there are many forests and
barrens that have no people.
 Two
main categories help determine the
location of population. They are:
 Site Factors – features of the physical
landscape, such as good soil, plentiful fish,
abundant trees, etc…

Situation Factors – Economics,
transportation, politics.
 Long-term
contact between First Nations
and Europeans almost always lead to the
relocation of the First nations because the
First Nations had settled the best lands
and the Europeans wanted to those lands.

1.
2.
3.
Physical landscape
(geography) determines
settlement patterns. For
example:
The Great Lakes-St.
Lawrence Lowlands were
settled for farming
because of its fertile land
and favorable climate
Atlantic Canada
developed fishing and
shipbuilding because it is
on the ocean.
In western Canada the
rugged coast and
mountains promoted
fishing and lumbering as
major industries.
 More
people live in
cities rather than
towns because:
 Cities have more
services (i.e. stores,
hospitals, schools,
museums). Larger
cities have more
specialized
services. There are
also many more
jobs in cities.
 The
difference
between rural and
urban areas are
urban areas are
larger centres. They
have populations of
more than 1000 or a
population density of
400 or more per km2.
 The
Industrial
Revolution was the
transition from an
economy based on
agriculture to one
based on
manufacturing. The
development of
railways, coal, and
steel assisted this
change.

Rural areas around the
country, and province,
have began
disappearing because
of urbanization. Once
people started moving
to urban centres rural
areas began losing
more services. Many
have become “ghost
towns”.






Problems with
megacities:
Poverty
Poor water and air
quality
Traffic
Inadequate service
(electricity, water &
sewage, garbage
disposal)
Inadequate housing,
roads and bridges,
etc…
 Four
categories they
use to divide regions
are:
 Location
 Physical and cultural
characteristics
 Political Perspective
 Hierarchy
 Canada’s
Five
Political Regions
are:
1. Atlantic Canada
2. Central Canada
3. The Prairies
4. British Columbia
5. The North

o
o
o
o
The provinces of the
Atlantic Region are:
Newfoundland and
Labrador
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
New Brunswick
 These
provinces form
one region because
they are all located
on the Atlantic
Ocean, similar jobs,
similar climate,
similar traditions and
music, etc…
 The
difference in core and periphery is
the core is the nucleus of a region,
containing its most developed area,
greatest wealth, and highest population
density. The periphery are all the areas
outside the core.
Many
Canadians identify themselves
at different times with their country,
their region, their province or their
community because of historical and
cultural differences of such a large
country.
 Three
examples where Canadians
identify with their region are:
1. New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario
are known for lumberjacking because
of their timber trade.
2. East and west coasters are depicted as
fisherman because of their reliance on
the sea.
3. The Prairies are known as cowboys
because of their reliance on cattle.