Atlantic Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with The Maritimes.
Atlantic Canada
Provinces de l'Atlantique  (French)
Atlantic Canada (red) within the rest of Canada
Atlantic Canada (red) within the rest of Canada
Composition
  •  New Brunswick
  •  Newfoundland and Labrador
  •  Nova Scotia
  •  Prince Edward Island
Largest metroHalifax
Area
 • Total500,531 km2 (193,256 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total2,333,322
 • Estimate 
(Q1 2021)
2,441,784
 • Density4.7/km2 (12/sq mi)

Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces, a term developed for the convenience of the federal government after Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three provinces of The Maritimes – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island – and the easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The population of the four Atlantic provinces in 2016 was about 2,300,000[1] on half a million km2. The provinces combined had an approximate GDP of $121.888 billion[2] in 2011.

History[]

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

The first premier of Newfoundland, Joey Smallwood, coined the term "Atlantic Canada" when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. 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. The three Maritime provinces 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).

Geography[]

Although Quebec has a physical Atlantic coast on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it is generally not considered an Atlantic Province, instead being classified as part of Central Canada along with Ontario. Atlantic and Central Canada together are also known as Eastern Canada.

Flag of New Brunswick
Flag of Prince Edward Island
Flag of Nova Scotia
Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador

2016 census figures for "Metropolitan Areas" (broadest definition, includes entire municipalities and all commuter municipalities) and "Population Centres" (limited to actual continuously-built-up area) in Atlantic Canada. The list includes communities above 15,000, by Metropolitan Area population, or 10,000 by Population Centre population.

Community Province Population (Metropolitan)[3] Population (Pop. Centre)[4]
Halifax Nova Scotia 403,390 316,701
St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador 205,955 178,427
Moncton New Brunswick 144,810 108,620
Saint John New Brunswick 126,202 58,341 – Saint John
24,445 – Quispamsis-Rothesay
Fredericton New Brunswick 101,760 59,405
Cape Breton Nova Scotia 98,722 29,904 – Sydney
17,556 – Glace Bay
12,823 – Sydney Mines
Charlottetown Prince Edward Island 69,325 44,739
Truro Nova Scotia 45,753 22,954
New Glasgow Nova Scotia 34,487 18,665
Corner Brook Newfoundland and Labrador 31,917 19,547
Bathurst New Brunswick 31,110 15,557
Miramichi New Brunswick 27,523 11,329 – Chatham-Douglastown
Kentville Nova Scotia 26,222 12,088
Edmundston New Brunswick 23,524 12,086
Summerside Prince Edward Island 16,587 13,814
Grand Falls-Windsor Newfoundland and Labrador 14,171 12,046
Gander Newfoundland and Labrador 13,234 10,220

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada. 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  2. ^ "Gross domestic product, expenditure-based, by province and territory". Stats Canada. Nov 9, 2016. Retrieved Feb 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Population counts, for census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, population centres and rural areas, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 8 February 2017.

Further reading[]

External links[]

Coordinates: 47°N 62°W / 47°N 62°W / 47; -62

Retrieved from ""