CN - Canada's Provinces and Territories (Lesson)

Canada's Provinces and Territories

Introduction 

Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world and is located just north of the United States of America. The United States and Canada make up most of North America and share a common border that is the longest border between two countries in the world. Canada is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north; the Pacific Ocean to the west; and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Greenland lies to the northeast of Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon are found south of Newfoundland, and Alaska borders Canada's Yukon Territory in the northwest.

 

Canada's Provinces and Territories

 

Canada is made up of ten provinces and three territories. The ten provinces include British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The three territories include Nunavut, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The main difference between a province and a territory is political. Provinces receive power and jurisdiction, or the ability to make decisions, from the Constitution Act of 1867. Territories receive power directly from the Canadian federal government. Each province is sovereign and has its own governing body similar to a state within the United States of America. In contrast, territories are not sovereign and territorial decisions are directly made by the federal government.

 

Geographical Features of Canada

Canada covers approximately 3.9 million square miles of land. The physical features of Canada vary greatly and include the Appalachian Mountains, boreal forests, Great Lakes, Canadian Shield, Canadian Interior Plains, Western Cordillera, Volcanoes, and Canadian Arctic region.

Quebec's Independence Movement

Learn more about Quebec by viewing the information below.

 

Review

Study the map of the provinces and territories on the Explore page. When you feel like you know which is which, go to the additional module resources page (at the beginning of this course) and take the Canadian Provinces and Territories Quiz. See how well you do!

 

 

 

 

Because of Quebec’s very French traditional culture, Quebec’s citizens have debated the idea of independence from the nation of Canada. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the possibility of Quebec’s formation of its own nation.

Now that you have investigated Canada’s territories and provinces as well as the physical features and natural resources of the large nation to our north, it is time to continue our exploration of Canada!

 

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