Hey everyone, it's Caroline. In previous lessons, you've learned a great deal about Canada:
its physical characteristics and climates, its people and population centers, its culture and
economic systems and government. You've also studied Canada's Atlantic Provinces as well as
those in the central part of the nation where most Canadians live. Today as we continue our
look at the United States' neighbor to the north, we're going to take you to wide-open prairies,
a place called Hollywood North, and some areas that few people have ever visited.
Before we go, you might want to do like this guy and grab your winter coat.
Let's begin today's journey with a look at Canada's Prairie Provinces.
Moving from east to west, the Prairie Provinces include Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
As you've probably already figured out, the region gets its name from the massive planes that
dominate the landscapes of each of the provinces, much like the American Great Plains to the south,
which makes sense because they are a geographic extension of the same feature.
The region has a lot to offer in the grasslands and plains, which are mostly in the southern part
of the provinces. The northernmost lands of the Canadian Prairies are less well-known and less
visited. They are marked by more varied topography such as the taiga, also called boreal forests;
which are composed mostly of coniferous trees such as pine and spruce and include temperatures
ranging from cool to frigid. Taiga are the largest biomes in the world and plentiful in Canada.
The southern portion of the Canadian Prairies is semi-arid flatlands dominated by agriculture
such as wheat and barley fields, and pastures for cattle to graze. The plains have their share of
lakes and rivers, along with a proliferation of sand dunes and badlands; but much of the land is
used for farming in some capacity. The land is also crossed in many places by railways,
built to haul products from those farms. Those have proven vital to the economic prosperity of
the region. So much so that the motto "grains and trains" is often applied to the region for
its mass production of wheat and other crops, and the cities and towns created from railway
stops to haul the grains. In the mid-20th century, the economy of the prairies took a different turn
as the oil boom introduced a bevy of good-paying jobs to the region. From the early 1950s through
the 70s, the explosion of oil production greatly increased the wealth of the prairie provinces
and diversified the economy. In 2014 however, the global market for oil declined, impacting the
economy negatively. Additionally, the discovery of oil sands in northern Alberta and the southern
Northwest Territories diminished the reliance on other forms of oil drilling and production in the
region. However, the prairie region remains strong economically based on its natural resources.
Cities in the region include Calgary, Alberta- the largest population center in the region, at just
over 1 million people as of 2020. Other major cities include Edmonton, Alberta and Winnipeg,
Manitoba, with Saskatoon, the largest city in Saskatchewan, with about two hundred thousand.
Thousands of tourists annually visit Calgary for its annual stampede, a cowboy-themed festival,
while Alberta's Banff National Park is one of Canada's most well-known sites for nature lovers.
British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the
west and divided from the Prairie Provinces by the Rocky Mountains. With about 600,000
residents in 2020, Vancouver is the largest city in BC., as the area is often called,
and the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. BC's economy is primarily built around forestry,
mining, and cinematography, more on that in a moment. Coniferous forests such as spruce, cedar,
and pine have long reigned supreme for the logging industry. Mining for various ore has varied in
importance over the decades but its contribution to the wealth of the province continues to recede.
Vancouver, with 80% of BC's population, is western Canada's center for finance, real estate,
and insurance management; stimulating the economy for the region. The area is also Canada's primary
west coast port with Asia as the destination for a great deal of the exports. That link has seemingly
contributed to a large influx of Asian immigrants to the province, with Vancouver's culture
diversifying as a result. The film industry, and its importance to BC and Canada as a whole,
continues to grow. In fact as of 2020, the Vancouver region is the third-largest feature film
production location in North America; behind only Los Angeles and New York City; earning Vancouver
the nickname "Hollywood North." Because of its location between the Pacific and the Rockies,
the climate between the coastline and the mountain ranges can vary dramatically within the BC
province. Along the coast, a visitor will usually find a mild rainy climate; while the climate
in some of the interior valleys is semi-arid with little rainfall. The increased altitude
of the interior part of the province causes the climate to be colder and with much more snow.
Speaking of snow, let's move now to Canada's Northern Territories.
Remember early on I mentioned that you might want to grab your winter coat? Well, now's the time to
put it on. Canada has three northern territories: Yukon, The Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
They're not quite provinces, rather they're sparsely populated areas that are officially
part of Canada but remain largely unsettled and uninhabitable for many. Less than 1% of Canada's
total population lives in three territories, which make up almost half of Canada's total land area.
Much of Canada's indigenous population live in the three territories, particularly Nunavut. More
than half of the population of the territories claims Inuit or first American status, and most
of those inhabitants live in small settlements near water; either the Arctic coastline or along
rivers such as the Mackenzie or Yukon. As a whole, the three territories are all vast,
cold, largely devoid of vegetation, and desolate. The climate varies from sub-arctic to tundra,
so from cold to frigid, but underneath that bleak and bleary tundra lies vast amounts of valuable
minerals and fossil fuel deposits. Gold, silver, copper, diamonds, uranium, petroleum, natural gas,
this region has all that and more. And in a region where once the people lived off of
the land fishing, whaling, and fur trading, the inhabitants now make a living from the earth in
a different way, by harvesting valuable minerals and fossil fuels. That is not all that's changed.
Many of those inhabitants as we said, descendants of the indigenous people of the Americas, must now
interact with their new neighbors, people of European ancestry. The cultural convergence
brings new ideas, new cultural characteristics, and new issues. Let's first look at Nunavut.
Separated from the Northwest Territories in 1999 to create its own territory,
Nunavut can be found to the north and northwest of Hudson Bay. Nunavut comprises a major portion
of northern Canada and the Arctic Archipelago. Nunavut has a population of about 36,000 people
as of the 2016 Canadian census. Yes, 36,000; and perhaps the most unique population base in Canada.
One fascinating fact about Nunavut is that, of those 36,000 individuals, almost 84% of them are
Inuit. The Inuit are culturally similar groups of Indigenous people who are direct descendants
of the first inhabitants of North America. In fact, Nunavut means "our land" in Inuktitut;
while the word Inuit itself means "the people." Whaling, fishing, and hunting make up part of
the economic base for Nunavut, and mining, and oil, and gas production are important industries.
In particular, the territories top sites for mining include a couple of gold deposits
and one iron ore mine. These prosper in part because of, not despite, the polar climate.
Yukon is the smallest and westernmost of the three northern territories;
and probably the best known. The westernmost territory, Yukon, is bordered by Alaska. And like
Alaska, the name itself brings to mind images of mountains, natural beauty, and wildlife,
and for many, gold. The river for which Yukon is named even flows on to America's largest state.
With just under 36,000 people as of the 2016 census, Yukon has the fewest inhabitants of
all of Canada's territories and provinces. About 75% of those residents are of European descent;
while about one-fourth claim to be Indigenous Americans. Many of the citizens are descendants
of gold prospectors who came to the area in the late 1800s to get rich
and ended up staying. Even today, Yukon's main industry is mining materials such as lead,
zinc, silver, copper, asbestos and yes, gold. Authors, such as Jack London, wrote about the
territory and its scenic wonders. Helping create the second most important industry in Yukon,
tourism. Visitors to Yukon are greeted with a tourism motto, "larger than life." To
many it must seem that way. Organized guides and outfitters offer activities such as ice climbing,
canoeing and kayaking, skiing and snowboarding, fishing, hiking, and even dog sledding.
Mount Logan in Yukon, is the tallest peak in Canada and the second tallest in North America.
Many come to the northern latitudes to catch a glimpse of the famed aurora borealis, or northern
lights. Much of Yukon has a subarctic climate with long cold winters and brief warm summers.
While the average winter temperature pales in comparison to arctic standards,
nowhere else in North America gets as teeth chattering as Yukon during extreme cold spells.
The temperature has dropped from 76 below zero degrees Fahrenheit,
three times in Yukon, including 81 below in 1947. Contrary to the cold, Yukon is located around the
'Ring of Fire- fault lines scattered around the pacific and noted for volcanic activity.
The Northwest Territory has the largest population of the three northern territories,
but even so, has only an estimated population of just more than 45,000. With a population nearing
20,000 as of 2020, Yellowknife is the only real city in the territory. Nearly half of the
people who call the Northwest Territories home are Native Americans. About 37% identifying themselves
as first nation, while another 11% percent claim Inuit heritage. As a note on both of these, Inuit
is the accepted term for what used to be Eskimo, a European derivation now considered inappropriate
as it may have derived from an Algonquin phrase meaning, "eaters of raw meat." Basically calling
the Inuit barbaric or uncultured. First peoples is a general term which replaces Indian, which was
the term used by Columbus to describe the peoples of North and South America. Several of those First
Americans today work in the Northwest Territories mines, which produce significant amounts of gold,
diamonds, petroleum, and natural gas. Uranium for the Manhattan Project came from mines here
and the economic future of this territory and the others likely lies within the ground.
Like their neighbor and ally south of the border, the United States,
Canada is a land of diverse physical characteristics, resources, and more than
anything else, people and culture. Today's trek through the Plains Provinces, British Columbia,
and the Northern Territories exemplified that diversity. With sites such as fields of grain
for miles, beautiful snow-capped mountains, frozen tundra as far as the eyes can see,
and even a stop at "Hollywood North." As we approach the end of our journey through Canada, we
hope you appreciate the diversity our neighbor to the north offers. Until next time, keep exploring!