Canada Travel Coast to Coast

Canada Travel Coast to Coast will allow you to see all types of terrain, the unique differences between the provinces and enjoy a fantastic vacation as there is so much to see. Canada is the second largest country in the world (9,984,670 km) including their freshwater areas. In dry land it ranks fourth. Canada has 10 provinces and three territories which vary in land mass and water. The following sections are a list of the provinces of Canada by in order of population size.

Ontario’s capital is Toronto and has a population of 13,134,455. They do a large amount of mining and agriculture, plus it is a financial center for Canada.

There are 250,000 lakes and numerous rivers, plus four of the great lakes touch the shores of Ontario, not to mention Niagara Falls. In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened which links the Atlantic Ocean to all the great lakes. Ontario is divided into three sections, one being the wetlands and small bushes; two is the forests, minerals, lakes and rivers; and the third is the St. Lawrence Lowlands which has good soil for farming.

Many of Canada’s largest libraries, plus science and art galleries are located in Toronto. As a visitor you might like to tour the Alexander Graham Bell Homestead in Brantford or the Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto.

Québec is the largest province in Canada with 1.5 million square kilometers of land and 7,744,530 people. French is spoken by approximately 86% of the people. Québec is about 3 times the size of France, yet the people live on approximately on less than 1% of the land, preferring city life. Quebec is one of the four founding provinces, but many people want to be independent of Canada, The current government is formed by Parti Québécois, which is a political party dedicated to "separation from Canada".

Québec is very self sufficient. They mine gold, copper, iron ore, silver, zinc, nickel and asbestos. Hydroelectric power is generated and imported to the US. They produce 1/3 of Canada’s pulp and paper products. They are known for their maple syrup. Livestock and farming is also prevalent. Plus, there are several types of manufacturing, such as the aerospace industry, aircraft, pharmaceuticals, and so forth.

As a tourist you might like to visit the BonaventureIsland Bird Sanctuary which has the largest colony of gannets in the world. There are also many ancient buildings with 17^th and 18^th century architecture and cobblestone streets

Nova Scotia, with a population of 935,962, is known as Canada’s Ocean Playground. Nova Scotia has an abundant fishing industry which attracted immigrants to this province. They greet visitors with this old Gaelic saying “a hundred thousand Welcomes”. Nova Scotia is one of the largest producers of gypsum in the world. They also have forestry, mining, and agriculture with fishing remaining their largest industry.

The Fortress of Louisbourg (Cape Breton Island) is a great place to visit as it is the largest reconstructed 18^th-century French fortified town in North America.

New Brunswick is the largest maritime province and Canada’s only official bilingual province with 35% of the people speaking French, with a total population of 751,527.  They are a leader in forest management.  Commercial fishing is also a big industry in this province.

One of the interesting things to see as a tourist if the Reversing Falls on the Saint John River as the water runs into the Bay of Fundy.  The tides of the bay force the water to reverse against the prevailing current at this location during high tide.  The rapids are created by a series of underwater ledges which roil the water in either directing

Manitoba is one of the three prairie provinces and its name means “where the spirit lives”. Manitoba is the home to a mixed culture of a million people with 653.000 living in Winnipeg (the coldest city in North America). The native people include Assiniboine and Saulteaux; Northern, Woodland, and Swampy Cree; Chipewyan; and Inuit. There is a large ethnic background, as well, including British, German, Ukrainian, French, Dutch and Polish. Fur traders attracted the first immigrants.

They have a wealth of minerals and mining is a major industry and they are the world’s greatest producer of nickel. A few other important industries are hydroelectric, manufacture of farm equipment, buses, clothing, furniture and farming, wheat mills, dairy and livestock. The Royal Mint where coins are made is located in Winnipeg. Northern Manitoba is the polar capital of the world, Wapusk National Park is a great place to see one if you want to get that close..

Winnipeg is a major cultural center where you can see the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. They also hold many festivals such as the Ukrainian and Icelandic Festival.

British Columbia the western most province is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains and has a population of 4,428,356. They have a temperate climate, plentiful salmon fishing, very popular ski hills in the mountains and vast orchards in the interior which make British Columbia a wonderful place to live or visit. Victoria, located on Vancouver Island, has long welcomed immigrants from around the world. In the 1850’s the Fraser Valley Gold Rush brought in new settlers. Chinese laborers arrived by the thousands to pan for gold and help build the railway. The Japanese came to work in agriculture and as fishermen. Then, British settlers came from the west coast.

British Columbia has evolved into a highly entrepreneurial society with 50% of the jobs being in small businesses. Vancouver has the largest port. Forestry is a big business, mining, fishing, cattle, dairy farms, orchards, and they are the second largest producers of hydro electricity and natural gas. It has the distinction of being the third largest film production center in North America. The mountains with their scenic views, the coast lines and mild weather attract visitors. Tourists enjoy skiing at Whistler Mountain and other resorts. Of course, the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games were held in Vancouver,

Prince Edward Island located on the Atlantic is the smallest province with 139,407 people. The island was named in honor of the father of Queen Victoria in 1799. They seem to have endless beaches with red colored sand. Agriculture is the largest industry and almost half the land is used for farming. The second largest industry is tourism, then fishing. Irish moss (a seaweed) is harvested by pulling a special rake along the rocks or sea floor then used to thicken tooth paste, ice cream and cheese.

Tourists come from around the world to visit Green Gables House. It is a museum about L. M. Montgomery’s book, Anne of Green Gables books.

Saskatchewan, with a population of 1,010,146, is located in the central prairie region, with ½ being forest, 1/3 is farmland. There are over 1000 lakes. There are several native Americans tribes that live in the area, as well as, Europeans (British, German, Austrians, Ukrainians, Scandinavians and French). They encouraged settlers to come in the beginning for free land to homestead. They grow over 50% of Canada’s wheat crop and many other grains. They raise livestock, are rich in forestry, minerals and a world leader in the production of uranium, and exporter of potash. Food processing is a major industry also. They are large producers of oil and natural gas as well.

There are several parks to visit, such as Grasslands National Park and Prince Albert National Park where white pelican nesting colonies are protected. Saskatchewan is renowned for their sunsets in the summer and it is the sunniest province.

Alberta is the third prairie province where the rocky mountains meet the prairie with a population of 3,512,368. Gas and oil are there principal industries. They also have an abundance of minerals and forests, agriculture, dairy and livestock farms. There are more than 29 universities and colleges and Alberta’s workforce consist of 40% of people with post-secondary degrees or certificates.

Visitors love the scenery of Banff and Jasper national parks which attack tourists by the thousands. Calgary stampede has bull riding, calf roping, and wagon racing. Dinosaur Provincial Park, located in the Alberta badlands, is a fascinating place to visit as a century of excavations have discovered the skeletons of over 150 dinosaurs that once roamed the landscape 75 million years ago.

Newfoundland & Labrador are the most easterly province; Newfoundland is an island and Labrador is the mainland. Many of the 508,270 people live in fishing villages along the coast. The main exports are fish, newsprint, iron ore and electricity. They have recently started large projects off the coast, such as Hibernia and Terra Nova offshore oil drilling. It is very cold here so the growing season is very short.

As a visitor you would want to visit the Terra  Nova National Park, Gros Morne National Park and Torngat Mountains in Labrador for the most spectacular view east of the Rockies.

In conclusion, I hope you have learned as much about the various provinces of Canada as I have. I had no idea that they had such wealth in minerals, oil, natural gas or hydro-electric power. I expected the ranches, farms and fishing industries.

The number of lakes and parks is astounding. i would love to have displayed pictures of all of them, but this hub is a little to lengthy as it is, but I hope the information provided will make an interesting read for all of you.

The copyright to this article is owned by Pamela Oglesby. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.