Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories of Canada

There are three territories in Canada. Unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government.{{cite web | url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/N-27/index.html | title=Northwest Territories Act | year=1986 | publisher=Department of Justice Canada | access-date=March 25, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515072706/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/N-27/index.html | archive-date=May 15, 2013 | url-status=live}}{{cite web | url=http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/Y-2.01/FullText.html | title=Yukon Act | year=2002 | publisher=Department of Justice Canada |access-date=March 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528193436/http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/Y%2D2.01/FullText.html |archive-date=May 28, 2013 | url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/N-28.6/index.html|title=Nunavut Act|year=1993|author=Department of Justice Canada |access-date=January 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105214204/http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/N-28.6/index.html|archive-date=January 5, 2011|url-status=live}} They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay and all islands north of the Canadian mainland (from those in James Bay to the Queen Elizabeth Islands). They cover 40% of Canada's land but represent only 0.3% of the population.{{efn|Source says 3% of population but simple calculations indicate 0.3%{{cite web | last=Affairs | first=Intergovernmental | title=Provinces and territories | website=Canada.ca | date=2017-08-21 | url=https://www.canada.ca/en/intergovernmental-affairs/services/provinces-territories.html | access-date=2024-12-27}}}}

Another territory, the District of Keewatin, existed from October 7, 1876, until September 1, 1905, when it rejoined the Northwest Territories and became the Keewatin Region. It occupied the area that is now the Kenora District of Ontario, northern Manitoba, and mainland Nunavut.{{cite web | title=Historical Boundaries of Canada | website=The Canadian Encyclopedia | date=2015-03-04 | url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/territorial-evolution | access-date=2024-12-27}} The government of Keewatin was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The territory did not have any representation in federal parliament.

{{main|Population of Canada by province and territory}}

File:2016 Canada Pop Pie.svg

The vast majority of Canada's population is concentrated in areas close to the Canada–US border. Its four largest provinces by area (Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta) are also (with Quebec and Ontario switched in order) its most populous; together they account for 86% of the country's population. The territories (the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon) account for over a third of Canada's area but are only home to 0.3% of its population, which skews the national population density value.[http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-516-x/pdf/5500092-eng.pdf Series A2-14. Population of Canada] by province, census dates, 1851 to 1976

Canada's population grew by 5.0% between the 2006 and 2011 censuses. Except for New Brunswick, all territories and provinces increased in population during this time. In terms of percent change, the fastest-growing province or territory was Nunavut with an increase of 12.7% between 2011 and 2016, followed by Alberta with 11.6% growth, while New Brunswick's population decreased by 0.5%.{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E|title=2016 Census profiles|date=2016|website=Statistics Canada}}

Generally, Canadian provinces have steadily grown in population along with Canada. However, some provinces such as Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have experienced long periods of stagnation or population decline. Ontario and Quebec have always been the two biggest provinces in Canada, with together over 60% of the population at any given time. The population of the West relative to Canada as a whole has steadily grown over time, while that of Atlantic Canada has declined.

{{main| Territorial evolution of Canada}}

{{See also|Former colonies and territories in Canada}}

File:Canada provinces evolution 2.gif

File:Stained glass, Oh Canada Royal Military College of Canada Club Montreal 1965.jpg we stand on guard for thee"; stained glass, Yeo Hall, Royal Military College of Canada; featuring arms of the Canadian provinces and territories as of 1965.]]

Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were the original provinces, formed when several British North American colonies federated on July 1, 1867, into the Dominion of Canada and by stages began accruing the indicia of sovereignty from the United Kingdom.{{cite book|first=Janet|last=Ajzenstat|title=Canada's Founding Debates|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73gRch5cXZ4C&pg=PA3|year=2003|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8607-5|page=3|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424073840/https://books.google.com/books?id=73gRch5cXZ4C&pg=PA3|archive-date=April 24, 2016|url-status=live}} Prior to this, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada. Over the following years, Manitoba (1870), British Columbia (1871), and Prince Edward Island (1873) were added as provinces.

The British Crown had claimed two large areas north-west of the Canadian colony, known as Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory, and assigned them to the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1870, the company relinquished its claims for £300,000 (CND$1.5 million), assigning the vast territory to the government of Canada.{{cite book|first1=James Stuart|last1=Olson|first2=Robert|last2=Shadle|title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire: A-J|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-X-XYB_ZkIC&pg=PA538|year=1996|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-29366-5|page=538|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506081515/https://books.google.com/books?id=L-X-XYB_ZkIC&pg=PA538|archive-date=May 6, 2016|url-status=live}} Subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories. The North-West Territories encompassed all of current northern and western Canada, except for the British holdings in the Arctic islands and the Colony of British Columbia. NWT included the northern two-thirds of Ontario and Quebec. After the province of Manitoba was established in 1870, in a small area in the south of today's province, almost all of present-day Manitoba was still contained in the NWT. (Manitoba expanded to its present size in 1912.)

The British claims to the Arctic islands were transferred to Canada in 1880, adding to the size of the North-West Territories. In 1898 the Yukon Territory, later renamed "Yukon" in 2003, was carved from the area surrounding the Klondike gold fields. On September 1, 1905, a portion of the North-West Territories south of the 60th parallel north became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba were expanded northward: Manitoba's to the 60° parallel, Ontario's to Hudson Bay and Quebec's to encompass the District of Ungava.{{cite web |url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1912/1 |title=Territorial evolution| author= Atlas of Canada |access-date=January 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070202135304/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1912/1 |archive-date=February 2, 2007}}

In 1869, the people of Newfoundland voted to remain a British colony over fears that taxes would increase with Confederation, and that the economic policy of the Canadian government would favour mainland industries.{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/debate.html |title=Confederation Rejected: Newfoundland and the Canadian Confederation, 1864–1869: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage |publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage |year=2000 |access-date=July 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922063836/http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/debate.html |archive-date=September 22, 2013 |url-status=live}} In 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status.{{cite book|first=Sandra|last=Clarke|title=Newfoundland and Labrador English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=moDVp5TTpgcC&pg=PA7|year=2010|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-2617-5|page=7|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512031858/https://books.google.com/books?id=moDVp5TTpgcC&pg=PA7|archive-date=May 12, 2016|url-status=live}} In the middle of the Great Depression in Canada, Newfoundland underwent a prolonged economic crisis, and the legislature turned over political control to the Newfoundland Commission of Government in 1933.{{cite book|first1=John W.|last1=Friesen|first2=Trevor W.|last2=Harrison|title=Canadian Society in the Twenty-first Century: An Historical Sociological Approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVGDUAP3LjAC&pg=PA115|year=2010|publisher=Canadian Scholars' Press|isbn=978-1-55130-371-0|page=115|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429195319/https://books.google.com/books?id=EVGDUAP3LjAC&pg=PA115|archive-date=April 29, 2016|url-status=live}} Following Canada's participation in the Second World War, in a 1948 referendum, a narrow majority of Newfoundland citizens voted to join the Confederation, and on March 31, 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province.{{cite book|first=Raymond Benjamin|last=Blake|title=Canadians at Last: Canada Integrates Newfoundland As a Province|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-bv8AVgdK1UC&pg=PA4|year=1994|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-6978-8|page=4|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623221933/https://books.google.com/books?id=-bv8AVgdK1UC&pg=PA4|archive-date=June 23, 2016|url-status=live}} The province was officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001.{{cite book|first=Fred M.|last=Shelley|title=Nation Shapes: The Story behind the World's Borders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qlXatHRJtMC&pg=PA175|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-106-2|page=175|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428164804/https://books.google.com/books?id=5qlXatHRJtMC&pg=PA175|archive-date=April 28, 2016|url-status=live}}

Bermuda, the last British North American colony,{{cite magazine |author= |title=Civil List of the Province of Lower-Canada 1828: Governor |url= |magazine=The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar For The Year 1828 |location=Quebec |publisher=Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street |date=1812 |access-date=}}{{cite magazine |author= |title=STAFF of the ARMY in the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including the Island of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda |url= |magazine=The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar For The Year 1828 |location=Quebec |publisher=Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street |date=1812 |access-date=}}{{cite book |author= |date=1890 |title=Meteorological Observations at the Foreign and Colonial Stations of the Royal Engineers and the Army Medical Department 1852—1886. |location=London |publisher=Meteorological Council. HMSO |page= |isbn=}}{{cite book |last=Young |first=Douglas MacMurray |author-link= |date=1961 |title=The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century |url= |location=London |publisher=Published for the Royal Commonwealth Society by Longmans |page=55 |isbn=}} which had been somewhat subordinated to Nova Scotia, was one of two Imperial fortress colonies in British North America{{snd}} the other being Nova Scotia, and more particularly the city of Halifax.{{cite book |last=Keith |first=Arthur Berriedale |author-link= |date=1909 |title=Responsible Government in The Dominions |location=London |publisher=Stevens and Sons Ltd |page=5 |isbn= |quote=}}{{cite book |first=Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edward Sinclair |last=May|author-link= |date=1903 |title=Principles and Problems of Imperial Defence |url= |location=London |publisher=Swan Sonnenschein & Co. |page=145 |isbn= |quote=}} Halifax and Bermuda were the sites of the Royal Navy's North America Station (or, depending on the time period and the extent of the Western Hemisphere it included, the River St. Lawrence and Coast of America and North America and West Indies Station, the North America and Newfoundland Station, the North America and West Indies Station, and finally the America and West Indies Station) main bases, dockyards, and Admiralty Houses. The squadron of the station was based at Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax, during the summers and Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda, in the winters until the 1820s, when Bermuda (which was better located to control the Atlantic Seaboard of the United States, impossible to attack over land, and almost impregnable against attack over water) became the main base year round.{{cite book |last=Stranack, Royal Navy |first=Lieutenant-Commander B. Ian D |date=1977 |title=The Andrew and The Onions: The Story of The Royal Navy in Bermuda, 1795–1975 |url= |location=Bermuda |publisher=Island Press Ltd |page= |isbn=9780921560036}}{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/983/multiple=1&unique_number=1147 |title=World Heritage List: Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda |author= |date= |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=July 28, 2021}}{{cite book |last=Ingham-Hind |first=Jennifer M. |title=Defence, Not Defiance: A History Of The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps |year=1992 |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Island Press |isbn=0969651716}}{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Edward C. |author-link=Edward C. Harris |title=Bermuda Forts 1612–1957 |year=1997 |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press |isbn=9780921560111}} A large British Army garrison in Bermuda, which fell under the commander-in-chief in Nova Scotia, existed to defend the colony as a naval base (and to prevent it becoming as useful a base to the navy of an adversary), as well as to support amphibious operations throughout the region (such as the Chesapeake campaign during the American War of 1812).{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Edward Cecil |date=January 21, 2012 |title=Bermuda's role in the Sack of Washington |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/archive/lifestyle/article/20120121/bermudas-role-in-the-sack-of-washington/ |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=August 8, 2021}}{{cite magazine |last=Grove |first=Tim |date=January 22, 2021 |title=Fighting The Power |url=https://chesapeakebaymagazine.com/fighting-the-power/ |magazine=Chesapeake Bay Magazine |location=Annapolis |publisher=Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC |access-date=August 8, 2021}} Bermuda was consequently the most important British naval and military base in the Americas.{{cite book |last=Willock USMC |first=Lieutenant-Colonel Roger |title=Bulwark Of Empire: Bermuda's Fortified Naval Base 1860–1920 |year=1988 |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press |isbn=9780921560005}}{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Donald Craigie |date=1965 |title=The Dominion Partnership in Imperial Defense, 1870-1914 |location=Baltimore, Maryland, US |publisher=Johns Hopkins Press |page=14 |isbn= |quote=}} Canadian confederation resulted in the Canadian Militia becoming responsible for the defence of the Maritimes, the abolition of the British Army's commander-in-chief there, and the reduction of British military forces in the Maritimes to a small garrison for the protection of the Halifax dockyard, which would be withdrawn when that dockyard was handed over to the Dominion government in 1905 for use by the new Canadian naval service. Britain retained control of Bermuda as an imperial fortress, with the governor and commander-in-chief of Bermuda (a military officer previously ranking between lieutenant-colonel and major-general) becoming a lieutenant-general termed a general officer commanding and the Bermuda garrison becoming a command in its own right.{{cite book |last=MacFarlane |first=Thomas |author-link= |date=1891 |title=Within the Empire; An Essay on Imperial Federation |location=Ottawa |publisher=James Hope & Co. |page=29 |isbn= |quote=}}{{cite magazine |last=Kennedy, R.N. |first=Captain W. R. |date=July 1, 1885 |title=An Unknown Colony: Sport, Travel and Adventure in Newfoundland and the West Indies |url= |magazine=Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine |publisher=William Blackwood & Sons |access-date= |page=111 |quote=}}{{cite magazine |last=VERAX |first=(anonymous) |date=May 1, 1889 |title=The Defense of Canada. (From Colburn's United Service Magazine) |url= |magazine=The United Service: A Quarterly Review of Military and Naval Affairs |location= |publisher=LR Hamersly & Co. |access-date= |page=552 |quote=}}{{cite book |last1=Dawson |first1=George M. |last2=Sutherland |first2=Alexander |date=1898 |title=MacMillan's Geographical Series: Elementary Geography of the British Colonies |location=London |publisher=MacMillan and Co.|page=184 |isbn= |quote=}} Bermuda was consequently left out of the confederation of Canada, though it retained naval links with Halifax and the state church (or established church), the Church of England, continued to place Bermuda under the bishop of Newfoundland until 1919 (Bermuda also remained linked to the Maritimes under the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches).{{cite web |url=http://www.anglican.bm/index.php/worship/our-churches.html |title=Our Churches: Pembroke Parish |author= |date= |website=Anglican Church of Bermuda |access-date=August 28, 2021 |quote=}}{{cite web |url=https://anglicanenl.net/home/our-history |title=Our History |author= |date= |website=Anglican East NL |publisher=Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador |access-date=August 17, 2021 |quote=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/anglicanism.php |title=The Church of England |last=Piper |first=Liza |date=2000 |website=Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador |publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site |access-date=August 17, 2021 |quote=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.romancatholicbermuda.bm/about-us |title=A History Of Our Church |author= |date= |website=Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda |publisher=The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda |access-date=August 28, 2021 |quote=The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda was established in 12th June 1967. Bermuda was served by the Diocesan clergy of Halifax until 1953, after which pastoral responsibility transferred to the Congregation of the Resurrection.}}

In 1903, resolution of the Alaska Panhandle Dispute fixed British Columbia's northwestern boundary.{{cite book|first=James|last=Laxer|title=The Border: Canada, the US and Dispatches From the 49th Parallel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjVlI8V0i9AC&pg=PT215|year=2010|publisher=Doubleday Canada|isbn=978-0-385-67290-0|page=215|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430173323/https://books.google.com/books?id=MjVlI8V0i9AC&pg=PT215|archive-date=April 30, 2016|url-status=live}} This was one of only two provinces in Canadian history to have its size reduced. The second reduction, in 1927, occurred when a boundary dispute between Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland saw Labrador enlarged at Quebec's expense; this land returned to Canada, as part of the province of Newfoundland, in 1949.{{cite book|first=A. Oye|last=Cukwurah|title=The Settlement of Boundary Disputes in International Law|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xHm7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA186|year=1967|publisher=Manchester University Press|page=186|id=GGKEY:EXSJZ7S92QE|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519125410/https://books.google.com/books?id=xHm7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA186|archive-date=May 19, 2016|url-status=live}} In 1999, Nunavut was created from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories. Yukon lies in the western portion of Northern Canada, while Nunavut is in the east.{{cite book|first=Mark|last=Nuttall|title=Encyclopedia of the Arctic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LcucDSk4w3YC&pg=PA301|year=2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-57958-436-8|page=301|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506200637/https://books.google.com/books?id=LcucDSk4w3YC&pg=PA301|archive-date=May 6, 2016|url-status=live}}

All three territories combined are the most sparsely populated region in Canada, covering {{convert|{{#expr:1346106+482443+2093190}}|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} in land area. They are often referred to as a single region, the North, for organizational and economic purposes.{{cite book|author=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|title=Oecd Territorial Reviews: Canada|url=https://archive.org/details/oecdterritorialr0000orga|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=OECD Publishing|isbn=978-92-64-19832-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/oecdterritorialr0000orga/page/16 16]|access-date=November 22, 2015}} For much of the Northwest Territories' early history it was divided into several districts for ease of administration.{{cite book|first1=Carl|last1=Waldman|first2=Molly|last2=Braun|title=Atlas of the North American Indian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2HKD9PgC6wC&pg=PA234|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2671-5|page=234|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516202620/https://books.google.com/books?id=P2HKD9PgC6wC&pg=PA234|archive-date=May 16, 2016|url-status=live}} The District of Keewatin was created as a separate territory from 1876 to 1905, after which, as the Keewatin Region, it became an administrative district of the Northwest Territories.{{cite book|last1=McIlwraith|first1=Thomas Forsyth|first2=Edward K.|last2=Muller|title=North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8NS0OTXRlTMC&pg=PA359|year=2001|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-0019-8|page=359|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506120037/https://books.google.com/books?id=8NS0OTXRlTMC&pg=PA359|archive-date=May 6, 2016|url-status=live}} In 1999, it was dissolved when it became part of Nunavut.

{{Main|Canadian federalism}}

{{See also|Monarchy in the Canadian provinces|Office-holders of Canada|Legislative assemblies of Canadian provinces and territories}}

Theoretically, provinces have a great deal of power relative to the federal government, with jurisdiction over many public goods such as health care, education, welfare, and intra-provincial transportation.{{cite book|first=Gregory S.|last=Mahler|title=New Dimensions of Canadian Federalism: Canada in a Comparative Perspective|url=https://archive.org/details/newdimensionsofc0000mahl|url-access=registration|year=1987|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|isbn=978-0-8386-3289-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/newdimensionsofc0000mahl/page/86 86]|access-date=November 22, 2015}} They receive "transfer payments" from the federal government to pay for these, as well as exacting their own taxes.{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Peach|title=Constructing Tomorrows Federalism: New Perspectives on Canadian Governance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K8VkyxvK1VAC&pg=PA52|year=2007|publisher=Univ. of Manitoba Press|isbn=978-0-88755-315-8|page=52|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510100747/https://books.google.com/books?id=K8VkyxvK1VAC&pg=PA52|archive-date=May 10, 2016|url-status=live}} In practice, however, the federal government can use these transfer payments to influence these provincial areas. For instance, in order to receive healthcare funding under Medicare, provinces must agree to meet certain federal mandates, such as universal access to required medical treatment.

Provincial and territorial legislatures have no second chamber like the Canadian Senate. Originally, most provinces had such bodies, known as legislative councils, with members titled councillors. These upper houses were abolished one by one, Quebec's being the last in 1968.{{cite book|first=Jocelyn|last=Maclure|title=Quebec Identity: The Challenge of Pluralism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rDq-VVN4XtcC&pg=PA162|year=2003|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-7111-2|page=162|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501132404/https://books.google.com/books?id=rDq-VVN4XtcC&pg=PA162|archive-date=May 1, 2016|url-status=live}} In most provinces, the single house of the legislature is known as the Legislative Assembly; the exceptions are Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, where the chamber is called the House of Assembly, and Quebec where it is called the National Assembly.{{cite book|first=Nathan|last=Tidridge|title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy: An Introduction to Our Form of Government|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvGsvHsAtDgC&pg=PA281|year=2011|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-0084-0|page=281|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514004708/https://books.google.com/books?id=JvGsvHsAtDgC&pg=PA281|archive-date=May 14, 2016|url-status=live}} Ontario has a legislative assembly but its members are called members of the Provincial Parliament or MPPs.{{cite book|first=Laura Elizabeth|last=Pinto|title=Curriculum Reform in Ontario: 'Common-Sense' Policy Processes and Democratic Possibilities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DYswZZ5gPIC&pg=PT325|year=2012|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-6158-5|page=325|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529132945/https://books.google.com/books?id=4DYswZZ5gPIC&pg=PT325|archive-date=May 29, 2016|url-status=live}} The legislative assemblies use a procedure similar to that of the House of Commons of Canada. The head of government of each province, called the premier, is generally the head of the party with the most seats.{{cite book|first=Gordon|last=Barnhart|title=Saskatchewan Premiers of the Twentieth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lOX4Cal-54EC&pg=PR7|year=2004|publisher=University of Regina Press|isbn=978-0-88977-164-2|page=7|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527102212/https://books.google.com/books?id=lOX4Cal-54EC&pg=PR7|archive-date=May 27, 2016|url-status=live}} This is also the case in Yukon, but the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no political parties at the territorial level.{{cite book|first=Barry Scott|last=Zellen|title=On Thin Ice: The Inuit, the State, and the Challenge of Arctic Sovereignty|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Syskcmi-5XMC&pg=PA54|year=2009|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-3280-7|page=54|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430214327/https://books.google.com/books?id=Syskcmi-5XMC&pg=PA54|archive-date=April 30, 2016|url-status=live}} The King's representative in each province is the lieutenant governor.{{cite book|first=Nathan|last=Tidridge|title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KAvtMxqSDncC&pg=PA94|year=2011|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-55488-980-8|page=94|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617041001/https://books.google.com/books?id=KAvtMxqSDncC&pg=PA94|archive-date=June 17, 2016|url-status=live}} In each of the territories there is an analogous commissioner, but they represent the federal government rather than the monarch.{{cite book|first1=Corinna|last1=Pike|first2=Christopher|last2=McCreery|title=Canadian Symbols of Authority: Maces, Chains, and Rods of Office|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8x_k6AR1_IUC&pg=PT183|year=2011|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-0016-1|page=183|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529022104/https://books.google.com/books?id=8x_k6AR1_IUC&pg=PT183|archive-date=May 29, 2016|url-status=live}}

File:2011 Alberta Legislature Building 03.jpg|Alberta Legislature Building

File:British Columbia Parliament Buildings - panoramio.jpg|British Columbia Parliament Buildings

File:Parliamentwinnipeg manitoba.jpg|Manitoba Legislative Building

File:New Brunswick Legislature.png|New Brunswick Legislative Building

File:Confederation Building (front), St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.jpg|Newfoundland and Labrador Confederation Building

File:Province House (Nova Scotia).jpg|Nova Scotia Province House

File:Ontario Legislative Building, Toronto, South view 20170417 1.jpg|Ontario Legislative Building

File:282 - Birthplace of Canada Charlottetown PEI.JPG|Prince Edward Island Province House

File:Quebec City (14765614666).jpg|Quebec Parliament Building

File:Saskatchewan legislative building.jpg|Saskatchewan Legislative Building

File:Northwest Territories Legislative Building.jpg|Northwest Territories Legislative Building

File:Leg Building Iqaluit 2000-08-27.jpg|Nunavut Legislative Building

File:Yukon Legislature main entrance.jpg|Yukon Legislative Building

{{Canada image map}}

Most provinces have rough provincial counterparts to major federal parties. However, these provincial parties are not usually formally linked to the federal parties that share the same name.{{cite book|first=William |last=Cross|title=Political Parties|year=2011|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-4111-5|pages=17–20}} For example, no provincial Conservative or Progressive Conservative Party shares an organizational link to the federal Conservative Party of Canada, and neither do provincial Green Parties to the Green Party of Canada.

Provincial New Democratic Parties, on the other hand, are fully integrated with the federal New Democratic Party—meaning that provincial parties effectively operate as sections, with common membership, of the federal party.

The Liberal Party of Canada shares such an organizational integration with Atlantic Canada provincial Liberals in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Other provincial Liberal parties are unaffiliated with their federal counterpart.

Some provinces have provincial political parties with no clear federal equivalent, such as the Alberta Party and Saskatchewan Party.

The provincial political climate of Quebec is different: the main split is between sovereignty, represented by the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire, and federalism, represented primarily by the Quebec Liberal Party.{{cite book|first=Alain-Gustave|last=Gagnon|title=The Canadian Social Union Without Quebec: 8 Critical Analyses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=97a8-s131u0C&pg=PA209|year=2000|publisher=IRPP|isbn=978-0-88645-184-4|pages=209–210|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505184122/https://books.google.com/books?id=97a8-s131u0C&pg=PA209|archive-date=May 5, 2016|url-status=live}} The {{lang|fr|Coalition Avenir Québec|italic=no}}, meanwhile, takes an abstentionist position on the question and does not support or oppose sovereignty.

Currently, the one minority provincial/territorial government is held by the Liberals in Yukon. They are in government with a formal confidence and supply agreement from the Yukon New Democratic Party.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial, near Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, and the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, near Beaumont-Hamel, both in France, are ceremonially considered Canadian territory.{{cite book|first=John|last=Wilson|title=Failed Hope: The Story of the Lost Peace|url=https://archive.org/details/failedhopestoryo0000wils|url-access=registration|year=2012|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-0345-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/failedhopestoryo0000wils/page/38 38]|access-date=November 22, 2015}} In 1922, the French government donated the land used for the Vimy Memorial "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada the free use of the land exempt from all taxes".{{cite web

| title = Design and Construction of the Vimy Ridge Memorial

| publisher = Veteran Affairs Canada

| date = August 8, 1998

| url = http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=Memorials/ww1mem/Vimy/vmemory#one

| access-date = July 20, 2007

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090409062438/http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=Memorials%2Fww1mem%2FVimy%2Fvmemory#one

| archive-date = April 9, 2009

| url-status = dead

}} The site of the Somme battlefield near Beaumont-Hamel site was purchased in 1921 by the people of the Dominion of Newfoundland. These sites do not, however, enjoy extraterritorial status and are thus subject to French law.

{{main|List of proposed provinces and territories of Canada}}

Since Confederation in 1867, there have been several proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories. The Constitution of Canada requires an amendment for the creation of a new provinceAn amendment to the Constitution of Canada in relation to the following matters may be made only in accordance with subsection 38(1)...notwithstanding any other law or practice, the establishment of new provinces. but the creation of a new territory requires only an act of Parliament, a legislatively simpler process.{{cite book|first=Norman L.|last=Nicholson|title=The boundaries of the Canadian Confederation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ek7cloNk3E8C&pg=PA174|year=1979|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7705-1742-7|pages=174–175|access-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624010940/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ek7cloNk3E8C&pg=PA174|archive-date=June 24, 2016|url-status=live}}

In late 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin surprised some observers by expressing his personal support for all three territories gaining provincial status "eventually". He cited their importance to the country as a whole and the ongoing need to assert sovereignty in the Arctic, particularly as global warming could make that region more open to exploitation leading to more complex international waters disputes.{{cite news |date=November 23, 2004 |title=Northern territories 'eventually' to be given provincial status |publisher=CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/northern-territories-eventually-to-be-given-provincial-status-1.484399 |url-status=live |access-date=January 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070225050248/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/11/22/provinces041122.html |archive-date=February 25, 2007}}

{{portal|border=no|Canada|Ontario}}

• List of Canadian provincial and territorial name etymologies
• Canadian adjectival and demonymic forms of place names
• Language policies of Canada's provinces and territories
• List of areas disputed by Canada and the United States
• List of regions of Canada
• List of governments in Canada by annual expenditures
• Commonwealth Local Government Forum
• Provincial and territorial museums of Canada
• List of Canada-related topics by provinces and territories
• List of Canadian provinces and territories by gross domestic product
• List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
• List of Canadian provinces by unemployment rate
• List of Canadian provinces and territories by Human Development Index
• Population of Canada by province and territory
• List of Canadian flags

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist

|refs =

{{cite web |url = http://www.canada.gc.ca/othergov-autregouv/prov-eng.html |title=Provinces and Territories |publisher=Government of Canada |year=2013 |access-date=August 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100209021646/http://www.canada.gc.ca/othergov-autregouv/prov-eng.html |archive-date=February 9, 2010}}

{{cite book |first=Barry M. |last=Gough |title=Historical Dictionary of Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4xK6CasigkC&pg=PA141 |year=2010 |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University |isbn=978-0-8108-7504-3 |pages=141–142 |access-date=November 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529074918/https://books.google.com/books?id=z4xK6CasigkC&pg=PA141 |archive-date=May 29, 2016 |url-status=live}}

{{cite book |first1=Michael M. |last1=Atkinson |first2=Gregory P. |last2=Marchildon |first3=Peter W. B. |last3=Phillips |first4=Daniel |last4=Béland |first5=Kenneth A. |last5=Rasmussen |first6=Kathleen |last6=McNutt |title=Governance and Public Policy in Canada: A View from the Provinces |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rkdktaOtprEC&pg=PA19 |year=2013 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-0493-3 |page=19 |access-date=November 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506014545/https://books.google.com/books?id=rkdktaOtprEC&pg=PA19 |archive-date=May 6, 2016 |url-status=live}}

}}

{{main|Bibliography of Canadian provinces and territories}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|first1=Keith |last1=Brownsey |first2=Michael |last2=Howlett|title=The Provincial State in Canada: Politics in the Provinces and Territories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j3Ky0-JAAbYC&pg=PP1|year=2001|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-55111-368-5}}
• {{cite book|first1=Christopher |last1=Moore |author1-link=Christopher Moore (Canadian historian) |first2=Bill |last2=Slavin |first3=Janet |last3=Lunn|title=The Big Book of Canada: Exploring the Provinces and Territories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Dmi_sb_ufgC&pg=PA1|year=2002|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc|isbn=978-0-88776-457-8}}
• {{cite book |first1=A. Paul |last1=Pross |first2=Catherine A. |last2=Pross |title=Government Publishing in the Canadian Provinces: a Prescriptive Study |location=Toronto, Ont. |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1972 |isbn=0-8020-1827-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/governmentpublis0000pros}}
• {{cite book|first=Stephen |last=Tomblin|title=Ottawa and the Outer Provinces: The Challenge of Regional Integration in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUnFSlFnGZUC&pg=PR1|year=1995|publisher=James Lorimer & Company|isbn=978-1-55028-476-8}}

{{refend}}

{{sister project links|c=category:Provinces and territories of Canada|voy=Canada|n=Portal:Canada|s=Portal:Canada|d=Q2879|v=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|q=no|b=no}}

• [https://archive.today/20130806101230/http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/common/provterr.shtml Provincial and territorial government web sites] – Service Canada (archived August 6, 2013)
• [https://www.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/provinceterritory/Provincialterritoriallegislatures.aspx Provincial and territorial legislature web sites] – Parliament of Canada
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20140227162009/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/index.asp?lang=eng&page=provterr&sub=difference&doc=difference-eng.htm Difference between provinces and territories] – Intergovernmental Affairs (archived February 27, 2014)
• [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/reference/province-eng Provincial and territorial statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425233852/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/reference/province-eng |date=April 25, 2016 }} – Statistics Canada
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20171122105414/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/pt/ Provincial and territorial immigration information] – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (archived November 22, 2017)
• [http://etatscanadiens-canadiangovernments.enap.ca/en/nav.aspx?sortcode=2.0.0 Canadian governments compared] – University of Public Administration

{{Provinces and territories of Canada}}

{{Politics of Canadian provinces}}

{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of North American countries}}

{{Authority control}}

Canada 1

Provinces, Canada