Central Canada (, sometimes the Central Provinces) is a Canadian region consisting of Ontario and Quebec, the largest and most populous provinces of the country. Geographically, they are not at the centre of Canada but instead overlap with Eastern Canada toward the east. Because of their large populations, Ontario and Quebec have traditionally held a significant amount of political power in Canada, leading to some amount of resentment from other regions of the country. Before Confederation, the term "Canada" specifically referred to Central Canada. Today, the term "Central Canada" is less often used than the names of the individual provinces.

History

Before Confederation, the region known as Canada was what is now called Central Canada. Southern Ontario was once called Upper Canada and later Canada West and southern Quebec was called Lower Canada and later Canada East. Both were part of the United Province of Canada in 1841.Constitutional Act of 1791, Act of Union 1840, British North America Acts (1867)

Geography

Ontario, Canada's fourth largest subdivision (after Nunavut, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories), had, at the 2021 Canadian census, a land area of (10.15 percent of Canada and the fifth largest after Nunavut, Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia) and as of 2017, there was (21.55 percent of Canada and the second largest after Quebec) of freshwater, for a total area of (11.13 percent of Canada).

Quebec, Canada's second largest subdivision and largest province, had, at the 2021 Canadian census, a land area of (14.78 percent of Canada and the second largest after Nunavut), and as of 2017, there was (22.34 percent and the largest in Canada) of freshwater, for a total area of (15.42 percent of Canada).

Together the two provinces have a land area of (24.93 percent), (43.89 percent) fresh water for a total area of (26.55 percent).

Although the region is called Central Canada the actual centre of Canada can be defined in multiple ways. The longitudinal centre of Canada is located just east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Highway 1 East, part of the Trans-Canada Highway. The latitudinal centre is at 62 degrees, 24 minutes north, meaning the geographic centre of Canada is located just south of Yathkyed Lake, Nunavut.

Physical geography Ontario

Quebec

Population Ontario and Quebec are the two most populous provinces in Canada, accounting for 61.43 percent of Canada's population. As of the 2021 census conducted by Statistics Canada, there were 22,725,775 people in the two provinces, and represented an increase of 5.1 per cent over the 2016 census figure of 21,612,855 people. The land area was giving a population density of .

The median age of Ontario was 41.6, identical to Canada as a whole, and Quebec's population was slightly older at 43.2.

Population of visible minority, Indigenous, and others (2021 Canadian census)OntarioQuebecCentral CanadaCanada Population group Population  % ofprovincePopulation % ofprovincePopulation % ofCentral Canada% ofCanadaPopulation %  Non-visible minority or Indigenous 8,807,805 62.8% 6,762,735 81.4% 15,570,541 61.4% 42.9% 25,364,140 69.8% Visible minority group South Asian 1,515,295 10.8% 127,990 1.5% 1,643,285 7.4% 4.5% 2,571,400 7.1% Chinese 820,245 5.8% 115,240 1.4% 935,485 4.2% 2.6% 1,715,770 4.7% Black 768,740 5.5% 422,405 5.1% 1,191,145 5.3% 3.3% 1,574,870 4.3% Filipino 363,650 2.6% 44,885 0.5% 408,535 1.8% 1.1% 957,355 2.6% Arab 284,215 2.0% 280,075 3.4% 564,290 2.5% 1.6% 694,015 1.9% Latin American 249,190 1.8% 172,925 2.1% 422,115 1.9% 1.2% 580,235 1.6% Southeast Asian 167,845 1.2% 70,455 0.8% 238,300 1.1% 0.7% 390,340 1.1% West Asian 212,185 1.5% 43,985 0.5% 256,170 1.1% 0.7% 360,495 1.0% Korean 99,425 0.7% 10,360 0.1% 109,785 0.5% 0.3% 218,140 0.6% Japanese 31,420 0.2% 5,305 0.1% 36,725 0.2% 0.1% 98,890 0.3% Visible minority, n.i.e. 124,120 0.9% 12,150 0.1% 136,270 0.6% 0.4% 331,805 0.9% Multiple visible minority 181,025 1.3% 34,960 0.4% 215,985 1.0% 0.6% 172,885 0.5%Total visible minority population 4,817,360 34.3% 1,340,735 16.1% 6,158,095 27.6% 17.0% 9,639,205 26.5% Indigenous peoples First Nations (North American Indian) 251,030 1.8% 116,550 1.4% 367,580 1.6% 1.0% 1,048,405 2.9% Métis 134,615 1.0% 61,010 0.7% 195,625 0.9% 0.5% 624,220 1.7% Inuk (Inuit) 4,310 0.0% 15,800 0.2% 20,110 0.1% 0.1% 70,540 0.2% Multiple Indigenous responses 7,115 0.1% 3,135 0.1% 10,250 0.0% 0.0% 28,855 0.1% Indigenous responses n.i.e. 9,515 0.1% 8,515 0.0% 18,030 0.1% 0.0% 35,225 0.1% Total Indigenous population 406,585 2.9% 205,010 2.5% 611,595 2.7% 1.7% 1,807,250 5.0% Total population 14,031,750 100.00% 8,308,480 100.00% 22,340,230 100.00% 61.5% 36328480 100.00%

They are represented in the House of Commons of Canada by 200 Members of Parliament (Ontario: 122, Quebec: 78) out of a total of 343. The southern portions of the two provinces — particularly the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor — are the most urbanized and industrialized areas of Canada, containing the country's two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal, the national capital, Ottawa, and the National Capital Region.

As of the 2021 census Statistics Canada lists 24 Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) in Central Canada. They include Ottawa - Gatineau as well as Ottawa - Gatineau (Ontario part) and Ottawa - Gatineau (Quebec part). All CMAs in Quebec are located in the southern part of the province. In Ontario, except Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury and Thunder Bay, which are in Northern Ontario, all CMAs are in Southern Ontario. The CMAs are listed here by population count:

Census Metropolitan AreasNameProvincePopulationLand areaDensityLocationReferencesToronto Ontario 6,202,225 Montreal Quebec 4,291,732 Ottawa - Gatineau Ontario 1,488,307 Ottawa - Gatineau (Ontario part) Ontario 1,135,014 Quebec City Quebec 839,311 Hamilton Ontario 785,184 Kitchener - Cambridge – Waterloo Ontario 575,847 London Ontario 543,551 St. Catharines - Niagara Ontario 433,604 Windsor Ontario 422,630 Oshawa Ontario 415,311 Ottawa – Gatineau (Quebec part) Quebec 353,293 Sherbrooke Quebec 227,398 Barrie Ontario 212,856 Kingston Ontario 172,546 Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury Ontario 170,605 Guelph Ontario 165,588 Saguenay Quebec 161,567 Trois-Rivières Quebec 161,489 Brantford Ontario 144,162 Peterborough Ontario 128,624 Thunder Bay Ontario 123,258 Belleville - Quinte West Ontario 111,184 Drummondville Quebec 101,610

See also

Central United States Great Lakes region

References

Sources

External links