Social Studies 9 May 18 - 24

POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF CANADA: 1921, 1981 & 2010

     Canada, like most countries, does not have an even population distribution throughout the entire country.  Two significant trends are evident when examining Canada's population distribution.  The most noticeable trend is the high density of population in the southern areas of Canada, and the very low densities in the northern regions. The other noteworthy trend is that even within the southern regions of Canada, some areas are very heavily populated while other areas are relatively sparsely populated.

     The distribution of Canada's population has gradually shifted over the past several decades.  Using the data in Table 3 to answer the questions below.

 TABLE 3   POPULATION DISTRIBUTION OF CANADA, 1921 & 1981

QUESTIONS:

 1) What information is displayed in this graph?  What information do you learn from reading this graph?

2a) If you group Quebec and Ontario together as Central Canada, what percentage of Canada's population was found here in 2010?
  b) Was this percentage greater or less than the 1921 figure? Than the 1981 figure?   
  c) Examine Table 3, and try to explain what has happened to account for this change in Central Canada's proportion of the population.

 3) The Atlantic Provinces' and British Columbia's proportions of population have also changed significantly since 1921, how can you account for these changes?

4) What factors affect where people choose to settle?  Explain how these factors may account for the population distribution found in Canada?

5) What impact do you think this distribution would have on the citizens of Canada? Explain your answer.