Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories; in turn, these may be grouped into regions. Western Canada consists of British Columbia and the three Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). Central Canada consists of Quebec and Ontario. Atlantic Canada consists of the three Maritime provinces (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia), along with Newfoundland and Labrador. Eastern Canada refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together. Three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) make up Northern Canada. Provinces have more autonomy than territories. Each has its own provincial or territorial symbols.

The provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social programs (such as health care, education, and welfare) and together collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world.


Territories and Pronvinces of Canada
Province Capital Population Land Area
(sq km)		 Median
Age(2006
Census)		 Seats in
House of
Common
Alberta Edmonton 3,455,062 642,317 36.0 28
British Columbia Victoria 4,352,798 925,186 40.8 36
Manitoba Winnipeg 1,182,921 553,556 38.1 14
New Brunswick Fredericton 748,878 71,450 41.5 10
Newfoundland and Labrador St. John¡¯s 506,548 373,872 41.7 7
Northwest Territories Yellowknife 41,795 1,183,085 31.2 1
Nova Scotia Halifax 932,966 53,338 41.8 11
Nunavut Iqaluit 31,216 1,936,113 23.1 1
Ontario Toronto 12,753,702 917,741 39.0 106
Prince Edward Island Charlottetown 138,800 5,660 40.8 4
Quebec Quebec City 7,687,068 1,365,128 41.0 75
Saskatchewan Regina 990,212 591,670 38.7 14
Yukon Whitehorse 30,883 474,391 38.4 1