Atlantic Canada
Provinces de l'Atlantique (French)
Atlantic Canada (red) within the rest of Canada
Atlantic Canada (red) within the rest of Canada
Composition
Most populous municipalityHalifax
Area
 • Total488,000 km2 (188,000 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total2,409,874
 • Density4/km2 (10/sq mi)

Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (French: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.[1] As of 2021, the landmass of the four Atlantic provinces was approximately 488,000 km2 (188,000 sq mi), and had a population of over 2.4 million people. The provinces combined had an approximate GDP of $121.888 billion in 2011.[2] The term Atlantic Canada was popularized following the admission of Newfoundland as a Canadian province in 1949.

History

French map of New France and Atlantic Canada, published around 1799
Historical map showing parts of Atlantic Canada

The Atlantic Provinces are the historical territories of the Mi'kmaq, Naskapi, and Nunatsiavut peoples.[3][4][5][6] The people of Nunatsiavut are the Labrador inuit (Labradormiut), who are descended from the Thule people.[6] Acadia, a colony of New France, was established in areas of present day Atlantic Canada in 1604, under the leadership of Samuel de Champlain and Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons.[7] The French would form alliances with many indigenous groups within Atlantic Canada, including the Mi'kmaq of Acadia, who joined the Wabanaki Confederacy, important allies to New France.[8]

The first premier of Newfoundland, Joey Smallwood, coined the term "Atlantic Canada" when the Dominion of Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.[9] He believed that it would have been presumptuous for Newfoundland to assume that it could include itself within the existing term "Maritime provinces," used to describe the cultural similarities shared by New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, which entered Confederation during the 19th century (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were founding members of the Dominion of Canada in 1867, and Prince Edward Island joined in 1873).[10]

Geography

Although Quebec has a physical Atlantic coast on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it is generally not considered an Atlantic Province; instead, it is classified as part of Central Canada, along with Ontario.[1]

Atlantic and Central Canada together are also known as Eastern Canada. Atlantic Canada includes a section of the Appalachian Mountains known as the Appalachian Uplands.[11] In each Atlantic province, Upland regions have been divided into three highland areas. The mountain range results in coastal regions being fjorded. Some areas contain glaciofluvial deposits.[12][13]

The following tables use Statistics Canada's 2021 census data.

Municipal geography

Municipality Province Metropolitan (CMA/CA) land area (km2) Municipal land area (km2) Urban (population centre) land area (km2) References
Halifax Nova Scotia 7,276.22 5,475.57 238.29 [14] [15] [16]
St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador 931.56 446.02 178 [17] [18] [19]
Moncton New Brunswick 2,562.47 140.67 110.73 [20] [21] [22]
Saint John New Brunswick 3,505.66 315.59 70.05 [23] [24] [25]
Fredericton New Brunswick 6,014.66 133.93 89.60 [26] [27] [28]
Cape Breton Nova Scotia 2,457.21 2,419.70 30.91 [29] [30] [31]
Charlottetown Prince Edward Island 1,112.43 44.27 57.56 [32] [33] [34]
Truro Nova Scotia 2,732.53 37.52 31.52 [35] [36] [37]
New Glasgow Nova Scotia 2,066.47 9.96 29.82 [38] [39] [40]
Bathurst New Brunswick 2,100.05 91.62 27.92 [41] [42] [43]
Corner Brook Newfoundland and Labrador 1,122.58 147.88 21.60 [44] [45] [46]
Miramichi New Brunswick 7,564.06 178.98 27.78 [47] [48] [49]
Kentville Nova Scotia 607.05 17.08 27.98 [50] [51] [52]
Edmundston New Brunswick 1,582.36 106.84 19.06 [53] [54] [55]
Summerside Prince Edward Island 125.12 28.21 16.97 [56] [57] [58]
Grand Falls-Windsor Newfoundland and Labrador 54.84 54.84 12.34 [59] [60] [61]

Provincial geography

Province Land area (km2) References
New Brunswick 71,248.50 [62]
Newfoundland and Labrador 358,170.37 [63]
Nova Scotia 52,824.71 [64]
Prince Edward Island 5,681.18 [65]
Flag of New Brunswick
Flag of Prince Edward Island
Flag of Nova Scotia
Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador

Demographics

The following tables provide 2021 census figures for "Metropolitan Areas" (built from entire municipalities) and "Population Centres" (limited to actual continuously-built-up areas) in Atlantic Canada. The list includes communities above 15,000, by Metropolitan Area population, or 10,000 by Population Centre population.

Municipal populations

Municipality Province Type of Municipality Population of Metropolitan Area (CA/CMA) Population of Municipality Population of Urban Area References
Halifax Nova Scotia Municipality 465,703 439,819 348,634 [14] [15] [16]
St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador City 212,579 110,525 185,565 [17] [18] [19]
Moncton New Brunswick City 157,717 79,470 119,785 [20] [21] [22]
Saint John New Brunswick City 130,613 69,895 63,447 [23] [24] [25]
Fredericton New Brunswick City 108,610 63,116 64,614 [26] [27] [28]
Cape Breton Nova Scotia Municipality 98,318 93,694 30,960 [29] [30] [31]
Charlottetown Prince Edward Island City 78,858 38,809 52,390 [32] [33] [34]
Truro Nova Scotia Town 46,157 12,954 23,583 [35] [36] [37]
New Glasgow Nova Scotia Town 34,397 9,471 19,316 [38] [39] [40]
Bathurst New Brunswick City 31,387 12,157 15,985 [41] [42] [43]
Corner Brook Newfoundland and Labrador City 29,762 19,333 19,129 [44] [45] [46]
Miramichi New Brunswick City 27,593 17,692 11,594 [47] [48] [49]
Kentville Nova Scotia Town 26,929 6,630 14,905 [50] [51] [52]
Edmundston New Brunswick City 22,144 16,437 13,125 [53] [54] [55]
Summerside Prince Edward Island City 18,157 16,001 14,952 [56] [57] [58]
Grand Falls-Windsor Newfoundland and Labrador Town 13,853 13,853 11,986 [59] [60] [61]

Provincial populations

Province Population Population density (people per km2) Reference
New Brunswick 775,610 10 [62]
Newfoundland and Labrador 510,550 1 [63]
Nova Scotia 969,383 18 [64]
Prince Edward Island 154,331 27 [65]

Economy

Atlantic Canada's primary natural resource industries include fishing, hydroelectricity, forestry, and mining.[66] The Atlantic provinces contribute to around 75% of Canada's fish production, with many coastal communities primarily dependent on fisheries.[67] The access point for many of such fisheries being the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic continental shelf.[68]

Nova Scotia produces 75% of Canada's gypsum. Salt and iron is also mined in the Atlantic provinces.[69][66]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (2009-09-01). "Discover Canada - Canada's Regions". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  2. ↑ "Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory". Stats Canada. Nov 9, 2016. Retrieved Feb 7, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Welcome". Native-Land.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  4. ↑ "Mi'kmaq". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  5. ↑ "Innu (Montagnais-Naskapi)". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  6. 1 2 "Nunatsiavut". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  7. ↑ "History of Acadia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  8. ↑ "Wabanaki". 2011-07-19. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  9. ↑ "Provincial Government: The Smallwood Years, 1949-1972". www.heritage.nf.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  10. ↑ "Confederation | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  11. ↑ "Social Studies | Regions of Canada | Atlantic Region". gradefive.mrpolsky.com. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  12. ↑ Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada (2016-09-12). "Natural Resources Canada. The Atlas of Canada. Physiographic Regions of Canada". atlas.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  13. ↑ "Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
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  66. 1 2 "Natural Resources in the Atlantic Provinces". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  67. ↑ "Fisheries | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  68. ↑ "Natural Resources in the Atlantic Provinces". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  69. ↑ "Gypsum | The Canadian Encyclopedia". thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-11.

Further reading

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Atlantic Provinces.
Look up Atlantic Canada in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

47°N 62°W / 47°N 62°W / 47; -62

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