The 10 Canadian provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The 3 Canadian territories are Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.

Canada is split up into 13 different provinces, or ten provinces and three territories, technically. Each province has its own geographics and demographics.

“Canada is the homeland of equality, justice and tolerance.” — Kim Campbell

If you don’t know much about the provinces of Canada, this list will help you learn more. Yet before we delve into the provinces and territories, let’s take a look at the differences between territories and provinces themselves.

Differences Between Provinces And Territories

What’s the difference between a Canadian province and a territory? In essence, provinces are regions that receive their authority through Canada’s Constitution Act. The Constitution Act gives certain exclusive powers to provincial governments, while the federal government of Canada has the rest of the power.

The provinces get to make certain decisions regarding their responsibilities and governance by themselves. By contrast, the territories of Canada have their responsibilities and powers delegated to them directly by the federal government.

The ten provinces of Canada are:

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan

Canada’s three territories are:

• Northwest Territories
• Nunavut
• Yukon

Canada’s Provinces:

Alberta

Alberta is one of Canada’s western provinces and is the country’s fourth-most populated province. It has population of around 4,068,000. The province’s capital is Edmonton. Alberta has an extremely strong economy, driven primarily by oil, natural gas, forestry, and tourism. It has both large mountains and wide-open plains, and the region is mainly covered by boreal forest.

British Columbia

British Columbia is Canada’s westernmost province, and it is slightly larger than Alberta in terms of population, with a population of around 4.8 million people. It is located on North America’s West Coast, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The capital is Victoria, which is the 15th most populous metropolitan region in the country. BC’s economy was mainly dependent on resources, such as logging and mining. In recent years service industry jobs and construction jobs have taken over the region. The region has mild and rainy climates as well as subarctic climates. Most of the province is subarctic in nature.

“Canada is not a melting-pot. Canada is an association of peoples who have, and cherish, great differences but who work together because they can respect themselves and each other.” — Vincent Massey

Manitoba

Manitoba is Canada’s fifth most-populous province, and it has an estimated population of around 1.3 million people. The province’s capital is Winnipeg. Most of Manitoba is subarctic, though it has some warm and humid continental regions in the southern part of the province. Manitoba’s economy is mainly dependent on natural resources for its economy, relying on industries like mining, forestry, and agriculture, in addition to tourism. There are over 200 different languages spoken throughout Manitoba.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada’s eastern provinces, set on the Atlantic coast of North America. Its proximity to major cities in the US means that the province is major center of tourism, which factors heavily in its economy along with forestry, fisheries, and agriculture. Most of New Brunswick has a humid continental climate, though the northern regions of the climate are subarctic. The cost of living in New Brunswick is fairly low, and the approximately 752,000 people who live there have a fairly high standard of living.

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is Canada’s eastern-most province. The province has an estimated population of 528,000 people. Most of the province’s population lives on the island of Newfoundland, rather than the mainland region of Labrador. This is because Newfoundland has warm-summer humid continental climate, in contrast to the harsher subarctic climate of Labrador. The province has a very low crime rate and is known for being very friendly. Unfortunately, the province has also experienced an economic depression lately, following the collapse of fisheries. The province also relies on oil refining, mining, agriculture, and tourism. The island is home to many muskrats, ermine, red foxes and arctic hares.

Nova Scotia

Also located on the Atlantic Coast, Nova Scotia is the second-smallest of Canada’s provinces in terms of landmass. The province is densely populated, with approximately 925,000 people living in only 55,200 square kilometers of land. The majority of Nova Scotia’s climate is warm during the summer since the temperature is moderated by the ocean. Nova Scotia’s economy has traditionally lagged behind the rest of Canada in terms of growth. Nova Scotia relies on a defense and aerospace to support it, along with agriculture and fishing.

Ontario

Ontario is the populous province in all of Canada, with approximately 40% of the country’s population living there. It’s home to about 13.5 million people and the capital is Toronto. Ontario’s economy is strong and specializes in finance, manufacturing, education, the arts and sciences, and tourism. The lower half of the province is mainly continental, with warm summers. The northern half of the province can be rather cold, with subarctic regions experiencing cold northern air.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is sparsely populated, with only around 144,000 people living there. Its capital is Charlottetown, and the province is home to aerospace and bioscience industries. There are also several IT and video game development firms based there. The province sees low crime rates, low housing costs, and a fairly mild climate throughout most of the year.

Quebec

Quebec is the largest eastern province in Canada. It is bordered to the north by the Hudson Bay and Newfoundland and Labrador. The province’s capital is Quebec City, and the province has a population of around 8,165,000 people. Quebec’s climate is continental is the lower third of the province, subarctic in the middle third, and tundra in the upper third. Quebec’s economy is mainly dependent upon knowledge and R&D. Other major industries for the province are aerospace, IT, software development, and multimedia. The region has over one million lakes and rivers flowing through it.

“I love being Canadian. I think growing up in Canada gives you a world perspective that I certainly enjoy.” — Ryan Gosling

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is in the middle of Canada and is home to approximately 1,090,000 people. The province’s capital is Regina, and the province has a variety of climates in it. The northern half of the province is subarctic, but the lower half of the province is both cold semi-arid and warm semi-humid continental. Saskatchewan’s economy is diverse, based around forestry, agriculture, fishing, and hunting. Mining for potash and uranium are substantial sources of revenue for the province.

Canada’s Territories

Northwest Territories

Canada’s Northwest Territories are home to only 40,000 or so people. The province has wide open spaces distinguished by mountains and forests. The southern half of the region is almost entirely subarctic, with patches of Tundra in the northern half. The Northwest territories rely on the mining of products like natural gas, petroleum, gold, and diamonds to support their economy.

Nunavut

Nunavut is the newest territory in Canada. It was separated from the Northwest Territories in 1999. It has a population of 35,944 people. The region is almost entirely tundra, with subarctic parts in the south and polar ice patches in the North. Mining operations, along with hunting, fishing, and tourism support the province’s economy.

Yukon

The Yukon is the smallest and most western territory of Canada, bordering Alaska. The Yukon is home to approximately 34, 200 people. Most of the people live in the capital city of Whitehorse. Yukon’s climate is mainly subarctic, and the territory is full of mountains, rivers, and forests. Mining was how the territory supported itself in the past, but now manufacturing, clothing, hydroelectricity, fishing, and the government sector are the primary drivers of the Yukon’s economy.