Canada
Click any province or territory to see its name, capital city, and population. Yellow dots mark capitals. Alaska, Greenland, and US border states are shown for geographic reference.
Canadian journalism information (updated March 2026 — frequently-changing information such as premiers and mayors may have changed)
How many provinces and territories?
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10 provinces and 3 territories.
How wide is Canada?
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Canada spans approximately 5,514 km east to west in a straight line — from Cape Spear, Newfoundland (the continent’s easternmost point) to the Yukon–Alaska border.
Coast-to-coast driving (Trans-Canada Highway): ~7,820 km from St. John’s, NL to Victoria, BC — roughly 70–80 hours of driving, or about 9–11 days at a comfortable pace.
By train: No single train runs coast to coast. VIA Rail’s The Canadian runs Toronto → Vancouver (~4,466 km, ~3 days / 72–85 hrs). A Halifax–Vancouver journey requires a connection in Toronto and takes approximately 5–6 days total.
US–Canada border: At ~8,891 km (5,525 miles), it is the world’s longest international land border. This includes ~2,475 km of Alaska–Canada border. The contiguous section alone is ~6,416 km, running almost entirely along the 49th parallel west of the Great Lakes.
Coast-to-coast driving (Trans-Canada Highway): ~7,820 km from St. John’s, NL to Victoria, BC — roughly 70–80 hours of driving, or about 9–11 days at a comfortable pace.
By train: No single train runs coast to coast. VIA Rail’s The Canadian runs Toronto → Vancouver (~4,466 km, ~3 days / 72–85 hrs). A Halifax–Vancouver journey requires a connection in Toronto and takes approximately 5–6 days total.
US–Canada border: At ~8,891 km (5,525 miles), it is the world’s longest international land border. This includes ~2,475 km of Alaska–Canada border. The contiguous section alone is ~6,416 km, running almost entirely along the 49th parallel west of the Great Lakes.
The Canadian railway — history and impact?
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Construction: The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was promised to British Columbia as the condition of its joining Confederation in 1871. Construction was formally contracted in 1881 under syndicate head George Stephen; the federal government provided $25 million in subsidies and 25 million acres of land grants.
Completion: The last spike was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia, on November 7, 1885 — just under four years of construction. The line ran ~4,600 km from Montréal to Port Moody (extended to Vancouver in 1887).
Labour: Approximately 15,000 Chinese labourers built the most dangerous mountain sections through BC, paid ~$1/day versus $1.50–$2.50 for white workers. Hundreds died from accidents, harsh conditions, and disease. They were later subjected to the Chinese Head Tax (1885) and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923).
Effects on Canada:
Completion: The last spike was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia, on November 7, 1885 — just under four years of construction. The line ran ~4,600 km from Montréal to Port Moody (extended to Vancouver in 1887).
Labour: Approximately 15,000 Chinese labourers built the most dangerous mountain sections through BC, paid ~$1/day versus $1.50–$2.50 for white workers. Hundreds died from accidents, harsh conditions, and disease. They were later subjected to the Chinese Head Tax (1885) and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1923).
Effects on Canada:
- Held the Confederation together — without it, BC would likely have drifted toward the US
- Opened the prairies to mass settlement; hundreds of thousands of European immigrants (Ukrainians, Germans, Poles, Scandinavians) settled Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in the following two decades
- Created Canada’s prairie wheat economy — Canada became one of the world’s largest grain exporters by the early 1900s
- Led to the rapid growth of Winnipeg, Calgary, and Regina
- Allowed Ottawa to move troops west in days during the Northwest Resistance of 1885 (Louis Riel), a decisive moment in asserting federal authority over the West
- Opened Pacific trade routes to Asia, establishing Vancouver as a major port
- Gave the CPR enormous political and economic power — the company owned hotels, steamships, and telegraph lines, shaping Canadian commerce for generations
First provinces in Canada?
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Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia joined Confederation (the “Dominion of Canada”) in 1867.
Manitoba & NWT
1870 — NWT as Rupert’s Land
B.C.
1871
Prince Edward Island
1873
Yukon
1898
Alberta & Saskatchewan
1905
Newfoundland & Labrador
1949 — close referendum (52%)
Nunavut
1999 — partitioned from NWT
AP Style abbreviation for “Canada”?
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AP Style spells it out in full: Canada. It is never abbreviated in running text.
Alberta
Alta.
British Columbia
B.C.
Manitoba
Man.
New Brunswick
N.B.
Newfoundland & Labrador
N.L.
Northwest Territories
N.W.T.
Nova Scotia
N.S.
Nunavut
Nunavut (no abbreviation)
Ontario
Ont.
Prince Edward Island
P.E.I.
Quebec
Que.
Saskatchewan
Sask.
Yukon
Y.T.
Example dateline in AP Style if you’re in Vancouver?
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VANCOUVER, Canada – March 15, 2026In AP Style, the dateline should include the country name Canada instead of the province.
This contrasts with US cities, for example:
OLYMPIA, Wash. – March 15, 2026
Capital city of Canada?
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Ottawa, Ontario. Population: ~1.1 million (city); ~1.5 million (National Capital Region, including Gatineau, QC across the Ottawa River).
Why Ottawa? Queen Victoria selected it in 1857 as a deliberate compromise — far enough from the US border (~100 km) to be defensible, and positioned on the Ontario–Quebec border to balance anglophone and francophone interests, avoiding the rival claims of Toronto and Montréal.
Proximity to major cities: Montréal (~200 km, ~2 hrs); Toronto (~450 km, ~4.5 hrs); Quebec City (~475 km, ~4.5 hrs). Roughly 10 million Canadians — about a quarter of the population — live within a half-day’s drive.
Political concentration: Over 130,000 federal public servants work in the National Capital Region, alongside Parliament, the Supreme Court, all federal ministries, foreign embassies, and the Governor General’s residence (Rideau Hall).
Military & security: Home to National Defence Headquarters, RCMP HQ, and CSIS HQ. CFB Petawawa (one of Canada’s largest army bases) is ~150 km away; CFB Trenton (major air hub) ~200 km.
Economy: The federal government drives roughly 40–50% of Ottawa’s local economy. The region is also Canada’s second-largest tech cluster after Toronto — Shopify is headquartered there — contributing approximately 4–5% of national GDP.
Why Ottawa? Queen Victoria selected it in 1857 as a deliberate compromise — far enough from the US border (~100 km) to be defensible, and positioned on the Ontario–Quebec border to balance anglophone and francophone interests, avoiding the rival claims of Toronto and Montréal.
Proximity to major cities: Montréal (~200 km, ~2 hrs); Toronto (~450 km, ~4.5 hrs); Quebec City (~475 km, ~4.5 hrs). Roughly 10 million Canadians — about a quarter of the population — live within a half-day’s drive.
Political concentration: Over 130,000 federal public servants work in the National Capital Region, alongside Parliament, the Supreme Court, all federal ministries, foreign embassies, and the Governor General’s residence (Rideau Hall).
Military & security: Home to National Defence Headquarters, RCMP HQ, and CSIS HQ. CFB Petawawa (one of Canada’s largest army bases) is ~150 km away; CFB Trenton (major air hub) ~200 km.
Economy: The federal government drives roughly 40–50% of Ottawa’s local economy. The region is also Canada’s second-largest tech cluster after Toronto — Shopify is headquartered there — contributing approximately 4–5% of national GDP.
Official languages of Canada?
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English and French. Quebec is officially francophone (84% of Quebec); New Brunswick (30%) is Canada’s only officially bilingual province. In other provinces, French is spoken by 1–5% of the people.
Languages of Canada?
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55% of Canadians have English as their mother tongue and 20% (8 million people) have French. About 5% have a Chinese language as their mother tongue (under 2 million people) and 4% a South Asian language.
95% of Canadians speak English or French regularly at home.
95% of Canadians speak English or French regularly at home.
Who is Canada’s head of state?
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King Charles III (since September 2022), represented federally by the Governor General and in each province by a Lieutenant Governor.
Who is Canada’s head of government?
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The Prime Minister, who leads the party (or coalition) holding the confidence of the House of Commons. Mark Carney assumed office March 14, 2025 for a four-year term.
Premier of each province & territory
Alberta
Danielle Smith
(UCP)
(UCP)
British Columbia
David Eby
(NDP)
(NDP)
Manitoba
Wab Kinew
(NDP)
(NDP)
New Brunswick
Susan Holt
(Liberal)
(Liberal)
Newfoundland & Labrador
Andrew Furey
(Liberal)
(Liberal)
Northwest Territories
R.J. Simpson
(consensus govt.)
(consensus govt.)
Nova Scotia
Tim Houston
(PC)
(PC)
Nunavut
P.J. Akeeagok
(consensus govt.)
(consensus govt.)
Ontario
Doug Ford
(PC)
(PC)
Prince Edward Island
Dennis King
(PC)
(PC)
Quebec
François Legault
(CAQ)
(CAQ)
Saskatchewan
Scott Moe
(Saskatchewan Party)
(Saskatchewan Party)
Yukon
Ranj Pillai
(Liberal)
(Liberal)
Largest city & mayor in each province & territory — population numbers represent city proper; metro areas are usually substantially larger
Alberta
Calgary (~1.4M)
Mayor: Jyoti Gondek
Mayor: Jyoti Gondek
British Columbia
Vancouver (~675K)
Mayor: Ken Sim
Mayor: Ken Sim
Manitoba
Winnipeg (~835K)
Mayor: Scott Gillingham
Mayor: Scott Gillingham
New Brunswick
Moncton (~90K)
Mayor: Dawn Arnold
Mayor: Dawn Arnold
Newfoundland & Labrador
St. John’s (~115K)
Mayor: John Buckley
Mayor: John Buckley
Northwest Territories
Yellowknife (~20K)
Mayor: Rebecca Alty
Mayor: Rebecca Alty
Nova Scotia
Halifax (~480K)
Mayor: Mike Savage
Mayor: Mike Savage
Nunavut
Iqaluit (~8K)
Mayor: Solomon Awa
Mayor: Solomon Awa
Ontario
Toronto (~2.9M)
Mayor: Olivia Chow
Mayor: Olivia Chow
Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown (~38K)
Mayor: Philip Brown
Mayor: Philip Brown
Quebec
Montréal (~2M)
Mayor: Valérie Plante
Mayor: Valérie Plante
Saskatchewan
Saskatoon (~270K)
Mayor: Charlie Clark
Mayor: Charlie Clark
Yukon
Whitehorse (~29K)
Mayor: Kirk Cameron
Mayor: Kirk Cameron
What does Canada’s Parliament consist of?
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The Crown, the Senate (105 appointed seats), and the House of Commons (338 elected seats).
What electoral system does Canada use federally?
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First-past-the-post (FPTP): each of the 338 ridings returns one MP; the candidate with the most votes wins regardless of whether they hold a majority.
What body regulates broadcasting in Canada?
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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), an independent federal regulator.
What are Canada’s major national newspapers?
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- The Globe and Mail (Toronto) — ~1 million subscribers
- National Post (Toronto) — ~350,000 subscribers
- Le Devoir (Montréal) — ~75,000 subscribers
- La Presse (Montréal) — ~350,000 digital subscribers
Largest newspapers in the other provinces and territories?
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- Ontario — Toronto Star (~750,000 subscribers, largest circulation in Canada); Ottawa Citizen (~100,000)
- Quebec — Montreal Gazette (~120,000); Le Journal de Montréal (~250,000)
- Alberta — Calgary Herald (~150,000); Edmonton Journal (~130,000)
- Manitoba — Winnipeg Free Press (~85,000)
- Saskatchewan — Regina Leader-Post (~40,000); Saskatoon StarPhoenix (~35,000)
- Nova Scotia — Chronicle Herald (~40,000)
- New Brunswick — Telegraph-Journal (~25,000)
- Newfoundland & Labrador — The Telegram (~25,000)
- Prince Edward Island — The Guardian (~15,000)
- Yukon — Yukon News (bi-weekly; ~6,000)
- Northwest Territories — News/North (weekly; ~5,000)
- Nunavut — Nunavut News/North (weekly; ~3,000)
Alternative and independent news in Canada?
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- Rebel News (Toronto/national) — Founded 2015 by Ezra Levant. Canada’s largest right-leaning independent outlet; funded entirely by reader donations and merchandise. Focuses on immigration, free speech, and government accountability. Reaches ~1 million YouTube subscribers and several hundred thousand daily online readers.
- True North News (national) — Conservative-leaning digital news and commentary outlet backed by the True North Centre for Public Policy. Covers politics, culture, and national security from a right-of-centre perspective.
- The Post Millennial (national) — Right-leaning digital news site with a younger readership; strong presence on social media.
- Western Standard (Alberta) — Relaunched in 2021 as a digital outlet serving Western Canadian conservative readers; print edition in Alberta.
- The Epoch Times (national) — Canadian edition of the international outlet; right-leaning, notable for high print distribution volumes in major cities.
- Canadaland (national) — Independent, left-leaning podcast network and journalism outlet founded by Jesse Brown. Known for media criticism and accountability reporting on Canadian newsrooms.
- The Tyee (British Columbia) — Reader-supported progressive online magazine based in Vancouver; focus on BC politics, environment, and social issues.
- The Narwhal (national) — Non-profit investigative outlet funded by readers; specialises in environmental and resource-industry reporting.
- Ricochet Media (national) — Non-profit, bilingual progressive outlet covering labour, Indigenous rights, and social justice.
- The Logic (national) — Subscriber-funded outlet covering Canadian technology, innovation, and business policy.
- Blacklock’s Reporter (Ottawa) — Subscription-only parliamentary news service covering federal politics and government documents in detail.
What is Canada’s national news wire service?
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The Canadian Press (CP / La Presse Canadienne), a not-for-profit cooperative owned by its member news organisations.
What are Canada’s major TV news programmes and broadcasters?
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- CBC / Radio-Canada (public broadcaster) — funded ~$1.4 billion annually by the federal government. Flagship English newscast The National averages ~650,000 viewers per episode; CBC News Network draws ~500,000 daily viewers. French arm Téléjournal (Radio-Canada) is the leading French-language TV newscast.
- CTV News (Bell Media) — CTV National News is Canada’s most-watched English evening newscast, averaging ~1.1 million viewers. CTV News Channel is its 24-hour cable service.
- Global News (Corus Entertainment) — Global National averages ~750,000 viewers. Global News also runs a streaming news service.
- CP24 (Bell Media) — Toronto-based 24-hour rolling news channel with a national digital reach.
- TVA Nouvelles (Québecor) — Leading French-language private TV news network, based in Montréal.
Biggest provincial TV news sources?
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- British Columbia — CTV News Vancouver and Global BC are the dominant private evening newscasts. CBC Vancouver’s BC Tonight serves the public-broadcaster audience. CHEK News (Victoria) is an independent local news station.
- Alberta — CTV News Edmonton and CTV News Calgary lead in viewership; Global Edmonton and Global Calgary are strong competitors. CBC Edmonton and CBC Calgary provide public-broadcaster coverage.
- Saskatchewan — CTV News Regina and CTV News Saskatoon are the primary private outlets; CBC Saskatchewan covers both cities.
- Manitoba — CTV News Winnipeg leads; Global Winnipeg and CBC Manitoba are the main alternatives.
- Ontario — CP24 (Bell/CTV) dominates Toronto rolling news; CTV News Toronto and Global Toronto lead in evening viewership. CBC Toronto and TVO (Ontario’s public educational broadcaster) provide additional depth.
- Quebec — TVA Nouvelles (Québecor) is the most-watched French-language private news channel; LCN (TVA’s 24-hour news channel) rivals Radio-Canada’s RDI for continuous French news. Radio-Canada Télévision leads public-broadcaster news.
- Atlantic provinces — CBC dominates across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, and Newfoundland, where it is often the only local TV newsroom. CTV Atlantic (Halifax) and CTV NL (St. John’s) provide private-network coverage in the larger markets.
- Territories (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut) — CBC North is the primary TV news provider, broadcasting in English and in Indigenous languages (Inuktitut, Cree, Dêné and others). No private TV newsrooms operate in the territories.
What is Canada’s approximate population?
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Approximately 41 million (2025 estimate).