This is a list of Canadian historical population by province and territory, drawn from the Canadian census of population data and pre-Confederation censuses of Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 1871, Canada has conducted regular national census counts. The data for 1851 to 1976 is drawn primarily from Historical Statistics of Canada, 2nd edition. [1] Data for 1981 through 2021 are from the respective year's respective census. Newfoundland and Labrador pre-Confederation data is from the 1945 Census of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. [2] Data for 1841 and some 1851 data drawn from the 1931 Canadian census. [3] With the exception of Nunavut prior to 1996, the population figures largely reflect modern provincial boundaries; prior to 1996, the population of modern Nunavut is reported with Northwest Territories. Although the census has worked to count First Nations populations since 1871, the it is likely Indigenous Canadians are undercounted by the census. [4] Shaded blocks indicate periods before the province or territory joined the Canadian Confederation. Instances where the reported figure came from a different year's population count (primarily pre-1861 and for Newfoundland) are noted. Total Canadian population row includes the population of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Estimates from The Canada Year Book (1867) based on various provincial census records. [5]
Name | 1700 | 1725 | 1750 | 1775 | 1800 | 1825 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lower Canada | 14,000 | 29,000 | 54,500 | 96,000 | 225,000 | 450,000 |
New Brunswick [lower-alpha 1] | 10,000 | 75,000 | ||||
Newfoundland | 500 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 16,000 | 10,000 | 45,759 |
Nova Scotia [lower-alpha 2] | 1,300 | 5,000 | 14,000 | 20,000 | 57,000 | 150,000 |
Prince Edward Island [lower-alpha 3] | 300 | 2,500 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 28,600 | |
Upper Canada | 8,000 | 50,000 | 158,027 | |||
Total | 15,800 | 39,300 | 81,000 | 150,000 | 382,000 | 907,386 |
Name | Confederated [lower-alpha 4] | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 [lower-alpha 5] | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alberta | 1905 | 6,272 | 14,720 | 25,277 [lower-alpha 6] | 73,022 | 374,295 | 588,454 | 731,605 | |||
British Columbia | 1871 | 62,100 | 55,000 | 51,524 | 36,247 | 49,459 | 98,173 | 178,657 | 392,480 | 524,582 | 694,263 |
Manitoba | 1870 | 4,704 [lower-alpha 7] | 5,391 [lower-alpha 8] | 6,766 | 25,228 | 62,260 | 152,506 | 255,211 | 461,394 | 610,118 | 700,139 |
New Brunswick | 1867 | 156,162 [lower-alpha 9] | 193,800 | 252,047 | 285,594 | 321,233 | 321,263 | 331,120 | 351,889 | 387,876 | 408,219 |
Newfoundland and Labrador [lower-alpha 10] | 1949 | 96,296 [lower-alpha 11] | 101,600 | 124,288 [lower-alpha 12] | 146,436 [lower-alpha 13] | 197,335 [lower-alpha 14] | 202,040 [lower-alpha 15] | 220,984 [lower-alpha 16] | 242,619 [lower-alpha 17] | 263,033 [lower-alpha 18] | 289,588 [lower-alpha 19] |
Northwest Territories | 1870 | 5,700 | 6,691 | 48,000 | 56,446 | 62,540 | 20,129 | 6,507 | 8,143 | 9,316 | |
Nova Scotia | 1867 | 202,575 [lower-alpha 20] | 276,854 | 330,857 | 387,800 | 440,572 | 450,396 | 459,574 | 492,338 | 523,837 | 512,846 |
Nunavut [lower-alpha 21] | 1999 | ||||||||||
Ontario | 1867 | 466,831 [lower-alpha 22] | 952,004 [lower-alpha 23] | 1,396,091 [lower-alpha 23] | 1,620,851 | 1,926,922 | 2,114,321 | 2,182,947 | 2,527,292 | 2,933,662 | 3,431,683 |
Prince Edward Island | 1873 | 47,042 | 62,678 [lower-alpha 24] | 80,857 | 94,021 | 108,891 | 109,078 | 103,259 | 93,728 | 88,615 | 88,038 |
Quebec | 1867 | 716,670 [lower-alpha 25] | 890,261 [lower-alpha 26] | 1,111,566 [lower-alpha 26] | 1,191,516 | 1,359,027 | 1,488,535 | 1,648,898 | 2,005,776 | 2,360,510 | 2,874,662 |
Saskatchewan | 1905 | 6,924 | 8,804 | 11,150 [lower-alpha 6] | 91,279 | 492,432 | 757,510 | 921,785 | |||
Yukon | 1898 | 27,219 | 8,512 | 4,157 | 4,230 | ||||||
Canada [lower-alpha 27] | 1,752,380 | 2,543,288 | 3,353,921 | 3,835,793 | 4,522,145 | 5,035,279 | 5,592,299 | 7,449,262 | 8,787,949 | 10,666,374 | |
Name | 1941 | 1951 | 1956 | 1961 | 1966 | 1971 | 1976 | 1981 | 1986 | 1991 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alberta | 796,169 | 939,501 | 1,123,116 | 1,331,944 | 1,463,203 | 1,627,874 | 1,838,037 | 2,213,650 | 2,365,825 | 2,545,553 |
British Columbia | 817,861 | 1,165,210 | 1,398,464 | 1,629,082 | 1,873,674 | 2,184,621 | 2,466,608 | 2,713,615 | 2,883,367 | 3,282,061 |
Manitoba | 729,744 | 776,541 | 850,040 | 921,686 | 963,066 | 988,247 | 1,021,506 | 1,013,705 | 1,063,016 | 1,091,942 |
New Brunswick | 457,401 | 515,697 | 554,616 | 597,936 | 616,788 | 634,557 | 677,250 | 689,375 | 709,442 | 723,900 |
Newfoundland and Labrador [lower-alpha 10] | 316,294 [lower-alpha 28] | 361,416 | 415,074 | 457,853 | 493,396 | 522,104 | 557,725 | 563,750 | 568,349 | 568,474 |
Northwest Territories | 12,028 | 16,004 | 19,313 | 22,998 | 28,738 | 34,807 | 42,609 | 45,540 | 52,238 | 57,649 |
Nova Scotia | 577,962 | 642,584 | 694,717 | 737,007 | 756,039 | 788,960 | 828,571 | 839,805 | 873,176 | 899,942 |
Nunavut [lower-alpha 21] | ||||||||||
Ontario | 3,787,655 | 4,597,542 | 5,404,933 | 6,236,092 | 6,960,870 | 7,703,106 | 8,264,465 | 8,534,265 | 9,101,694 | 10,084,885 |
Prince Edward Island | 95,047 | 98,429 | 99,285 | 104,629 | 108,535 | 111,641 | 118,229 | 121,225 | 126,646 | 129,765 |
Quebec | 3,331,882 | 4,055,681 | 4,628,378 | 5,259,211 | 5,780,845 | 6,027,764 | 6,234,445 | 6,369,065 | 6,532,461 | 6,895,963 |
Saskatchewan | 895,992 | 831,728 | 880,665 | 925,181 | 955,344 | 926,242 | 921,323 | 956,440 | 1,009,613 | 988,928 |
Yukon | 4,914 | 9,096 | 12,190 | 14,628 | 14,382 | 18,388 | 21,836 | 23,075 | 23,504 | 27,797 |
Canada | 11,828,474 [lower-alpha 27] | 14,009,429 | 16,080,791 | 18,238,247 | 20,014,880 | 21,568,311 | 22,992,604 | 24,083,510 | 25,309,331 | 27,296,859 |
Name | 1996 | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alberta | 2,696,826 | 2,974,807 | 3,290,350 | 3,645,257 | 4,067,175 | 4,262,635 |
British Columbia | 3,724,500 | 3,907,738 | 4,113,487 | 4,400,057 | 4,648,055 | 5,000,879 |
Manitoba | 1,113,898 | 1,119,583 | 1,148,401 | 1,208,268 | 1,278,365 | 1,342,153 |
New Brunswick | 738,133 | 729,498 | 729,997 | 751,171 | 747,101 | 775,610 |
Newfoundland and Labrador [lower-alpha 10] | 551,792 | 512,930 | 505,469 | 514,536 | 519,716 | 510,550 |
Northwest Territories | 39,672 | 37,360 | 41,464 | 41,462 | 41,786 | 41,070 |
Nova Scotia | 909,282 | 908,007 | 913,462 | 921,727 | 923,598 | 969,383 |
Nunavut | 24,730 | 26,745 | 29,474 | 31,906 | 35,944 | 36,858 |
Ontario | 10,753,573 | 11,410,046 | 12,160,282 | 12,851,821 | 13,448,494 | 14,223,942 |
Prince Edward Island | 134,557 | 135,294 | 135,851 | 140,204 | 142,907 | 154,331 |
Quebec | 7,138,795 | 7,237,479 | 7,546,131 | 7,903,001 | 8,164,361 | 8,501,833 |
Saskatchewan | 990,237 | 978,933 | 968,157 | 1,033,381 | 1,098,352 | 1,132,505 |
Yukon | 30,766 | 28,674 | 30,372 | 33,897 | 35,874 | 40,232 |
Canada | 28,846,761 | 30,007,094 | 31,612,897 | 33,476,688 | 35,151,728 | 36,991,981 |
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada —united to form a federation, becoming a fully independent country over the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times as it has added territories and provinces, making it the world's second-largest country by area.
Canada is divided into 10 provinces and three territories. The majority of Canada's population is concentrated in the areas close to the Canada–US border. Its four largest provinces by area are also its most populous; together they account for 86.5 percent of the country's population. The territories account for over a third of Canada's area but are home to only 0.32 percent of its population, which skews the national population density value.
Statistics Canada, formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in Ottawa.
British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, Virginia, and more substantially with the founding of the Thirteen Colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America.
Gambo is a town and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Located in the northeastern portion of the island of Newfoundland on Freshwater Bay, it is in Division No. 7.
Canada ranks 36th by population among countries of the world, comprising about 0.5% of the world's total, with more than 40 million Canadians as of 2024. Despite being the second-largest country by total area, the vast majority of the country is sparsely inhabited, with most of its population south of the 55th parallel north. Just over 60 percent of Canadians live in just two provinces: Ontario and Quebec. Though Canada's overall population density is low, many regions in the south, such as the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, have population densities higher than several European countries. Canada has six population centres with more than one million people: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.
A multitude of languages have always been spoken in Canada. Prior to Confederation, the territories that would become Canada were home to over 70 distinct languages across 12 or so language families. Today, a majority of those indigenous languages are still spoken; however, most are endangered and only about 0.6% of the Canadian population report an Indigenous language as their mother tongue. Since the establishment of the Canadian state, English and French have been the co-official languages and are, by far, the most-spoken languages in the country.
The District of Ungava was a regional administrative district of Canada's Northwest Territories from 1895 to 1920, although it effectively ceased operation in 1912. It covered the northern portion of what is today Quebec, the interior of Labrador, and the offshore islands to the west and north of Quebec, which are now part of Nunavut.
Canadian Senate divisions refers to two aspects of the Senate of Canada. First, it refers to the division of Canada into four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators each, as set out in section 22 of the Constitution Act, 1867. The four regions are the Western Provinces, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. These regions are intended to serve the Senate's purpose of providing regional representation in the Parliament of Canada, in contrast to the popular representation that the House of Commons is intended to provide. While not within any of the original four Senate divisions, Senate seats are also allocated to Newfoundland and Labrador and the three territories. The four divisions can be expanded when the need arises to have an extra two senators appointed to each regional division.
Boyd's Cove, also known as Boyd's Harbour, is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador that is near Lewisporte. There is an interpretive centre dedicated to the earlier indigenous Beothuk settlement at this location.
Statistics Canada conducts a national census of population and census of agriculture every five years and releases the data with a two-year lag.
The timeline of elections in Canada covers all the provincial, territorial and federal elections from when each province was joined Confederation through to the present day. The table below indicates which party won the election. Several provinces held elections before joining Canada, but only their post-Confederation elections are shown. These include:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Canada:
Lance Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
This is a bibliography of works on the Provinces and territories of Canada.