The Geography of Canada

Podcast Transcript

Canada is a really big country—the second largest in the world, in fact.

Its size can hide the fact that it is a country with enormous geographical diversity.

It has a geography that is unlike any other country in terms of its landscape and population distribution. It isn’t all just a cold wasteland…..although much of it is.

Learn more about the geography of Canada and how it has shaped the country into what it is today on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Any discussion of the geography of Canada should start with its size.

Canada is well known as being the second largest country in the world behind Russia, and that is true….depending on the definition.

If you include all sovereign territory, including land and sea, Canada is the second largest country in the world.

However, if you only include land, then Canada is the fourth largest country behind China and the United States.

There are a few reasons why Canada has so much territory that is water. The first is the fact that Canada has, by far, more coastline than any other country. It has approximately 202,000 kilometers of coastline, which is about 2.5 times more than Norway, which is second, and almost four times more than Indonesia, which is third.

The other reason is the large number of inland bodies of water that are considered to be full Canadian territory. This includes tens of thousands of freshwater lakes, approximately half of four of the Great Lakes, and the enormous Hudson Bay.

There is also water between the islands in the Canadian archipelago in the far north, which are considered full Canadian territory by international law, even though the distances between them extend more than the 12 nautical miles that normally define territorial waters by treaty.

Canada also borders three different oceans: the Pacific in the west, the Arctic in the north, and the Atlantic in the east.

As a landmass, Canada can be divided into seven different geographic regions: the Appalachian Region, the Canadian Shield, the Interior Plains, the Western Cordillera, the Arctic Region, the St. Lawrence Lowlands, and the Hudson Bay Lowlands.

I’ll go through each of these briefly.

The Appalachian Region is located in eastern Canada. It includes parts of the provinces of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

The Appalachian Mountains are usually only thought of as a mountain chain in the eastern United States, but they actually run all the way north to the island of Newfoundland.

Characterized by ancient, eroded mountains, rolling hills, and rugged coastlines. This area is also often referred to as Atlantic Canada.

The Canadian Shield is far and away the largest of the seven regions. The Canadian Shield covers nearly half of Canada’s land area, stretching across Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and parts of Alberta, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

It is characterized by rugged terrain, rocky outcrops, and numerous lakes and rivers created by glacial activity during the last Ice Age. Composed primarily of Precambrian rock, the Shield is one of the oldest geological formations on Earth, rich in minerals such as nickel, gold, copper, and uranium. Its landscape is dominated by boreal forests in the south and tundra in the north, providing a unique ecosystem that supports diverse wildlife.

The Canadian Interior Plains, a vast region of flat to gently rolling terrain, stretch across the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, extending into parts of the Northwest Territories. This is the norther, Canadian part of the Great Plains which extends southward into the United States.

Formed by sedimentary deposits from ancient seas, the plains are rich in fossil fuels, including oil, natural gas, and coal, as well as fertile soils that support extensive agriculture, particularly wheat and canola farming. This region is characterized by wide-open spaces, grasslands, and prairie ecosystems in the south, transitioning into boreal forests and wetlands to the north.

The Western Cordillera is a stunning and geologically diverse region that stretches along the western edge of the country, encompassing British Columbia, the Yukon, and parts of Alberta. It is characterized by a series of mountain ranges, including the Rocky Mountains, Coast Mountains, and the Columbia Mountains, interspersed with deep valleys, plateaus, and fjords. This region was formed through tectonic activity, including the collision of the Pacific and North American plates, resulting in rugged peaks and frequent seismic activity.

The Western Cordillera features diverse ecosystems, from temperate rainforests along the Pacific coast to alpine tundra at higher elevations. It is rich in natural resources such as timber, minerals, and hydroelectric power, and its breathtaking landscapes, including Banff and Jasper National Parks, attract millions of visitors each year.

The Canadian Arctic Region encompasses the northernmost parts of Canada, including the territories of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon, along with the Arctic Archipelago, which contains thousands of islands like Baffin, Ellesmere, and Victoria. This region is dominated by tundra and permafrost, with a cold, harsh climate characterized by long, frigid winters and short, cool summers.

The Arctic is a fragile and unique ecosystem, home to iconic wildlife such as polar bears, caribou, Arctic foxes, muskox, and seals, as well as marine species like narwhals and belugas. It is sparsely populated, with much of the population being made up of Indigenous communities.

The St. Lawrence Lowlands is a small but densely populated and agriculturally rich region in southeastern Canada, spanning southern Quebec and Ontario along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes.

This is the smallest of Canada’s geographic regions but arguably the most important as over half of Canada’s population lives here, and it contains the major cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec City. It is also the most agriculturally productive part of Canada.

The last region is the Hudson Bay Lowlands. This is the second smallest region and consists of the area south and southwest of Hudson Bay. It is mostly in Northern Ontario, northeastern Manitoba, and a small part of Quebec.

It is characterized by wetlands and peat bog, making it one of the largest continuous wetlands in the world. The region has a cold climate and supports boreal forest in the south and tundra in the north, providing habitat for wildlife like caribou, polar bears, and migratory birds.

Personally, I’ve been able to visit all seven of these regions. I’ve been on two polar bear photography expeditions along Hudson Bay, I’ve driven up to the Arctic Circle in the Yukon, and I have been to every province at least three times.

One of the major differences between Canada and the United States to the south is the lack of inland waterways in the heart of the country.

Canada shares a significant waterway with the United States in the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway. However, reaching this from the west requires transportation by rail, not river.

The longest river in Canada is the Mackenzie River, which empties into the Arctic Ocean and is frozen for at least half the year. It also flows through the largely uninhabited Northwest Territories.

Many of the other long rivers in Canada, save for the Saint Lawrence, all have similar problems of flowing into the Arctic, flowing through sparsely inhabited areas, or being unnavigable.

Canada only has one deepwater port on the Arctic Ocean: Churchill, Manitoba on Hudson Bay. The railroad there has been neglected over the years, which led to the disuse of the port, but recent investments in the Hudson Bay Railway may have changed the fate of the port.

In August 2024, a notable milestone was achieved with the first shipment of critical minerals in decades, as 10,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate were transported to European markets.

Politically, Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories. The provinces are Labrador and Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

The territories are Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

The divisions, as is the the case with much of North American, are somewhat arbitrary and are marked by a lot of straight lines on a map and for the most part do not follow natural geographic boundaries.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Canadian geography is its population distribution.

The country that is most comparable to Canada would probably be Russia, which is also very large and very far north. However, Canada and Russia have totally different population distributions.

Most of the population of Russia is in the east. In Canada, it is in the south.

The fact that most of the population is in the south shouldn’t be that surprising. That is the warmest part of the country, the part that gets the least amount of snow, and the part that is generally has the most productive agriculture.

Over 80% of Canadians live within 160 kilometers (100 miles) of the U.S.-Canada border. It isn’t just the favorable climate, its access to transportation networks, and esaier economic integration with both the US and the rest of Canada.

The major exceptions to the 100 mile rule are Edmonton, Halifax, and all of Newfoundland.

However, it isn’t just that the population lives in the south which is understandable.

The other major fact is that that despite all of the space they have, Canada is an extremely urban country. Most Canadians live in urban areas, with over 70% residing in major cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa.

To this extent, Canada is similar to Australia, which is also large but very urban.

Canada has five cities with a population of over a million people: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, and Edmonton.

The US, despite having a population 8.5 times larger, has only nine cities with more than a million people.

What this means is that looking at the strict population density of Canada only tells part of the story. The extreme population density of the major cities and the Saint Lawrence Lowlands means that the rest of the country has a significantly lower population density than the statistics would indicate.

The southern and urban concentration of the Canadian population leads to some interesting things.

There is one major route that connects Canada from east to west: The Trans-Canada Highway. The Trans-Canada Highway isn’t technically a single road, as there are sections that run parallel to each other. However, it is still rather one-dimensional and a far cry from the road systems in other countries, which have to cover a two-dimensional area.

Another interesting fact is the distribution of Canada’s population. The 49th parallel is often given as the border between Canada and the United States. Yet, more than half of the population of Canada lives south of the 49th parallel.

As a large country, Canada has some extreme geographical points, which will give you an idea of its size.

The northernmost point of Canada is Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island in the Territory of Nunavut. It is located only 769 kilometers or 478 miles from the North Pole.

Also located on Ellesmere Island is Canadian Forces Station Alert, the northernmost continuously inhabited place in the world.

The southernmost point of Canada is Middle Island, which is located in Lake Erie.

The distance between these two points is 4,625.5 kilometers or 2,874 miles,

The westernmost point is Boundry Peak 187 in the Yukon on the border of Alaska, and the easternmost point is Cape Spear on the island of Newfoundland, just outside the capital of St. John’s.

The distance between the westernmost and easternmost point is 5,446.4 kilometers or 3,385 miles.

To put the width of Canada into perspective, Cape Spear is closer to Berlin than it is to Vancouver, and Vancouver is closer to Honolulu than St. John’s.

I want to close with what is perhaps the oddest geographical curiosity in all of Canada.

Located in the Southwest corner of the Nunavut Territory is a lake called Yathkyed Lake. The lake isn’t very big, and there really isn’t anything special about it, except that inside that lake is an island.

On that island is a lake. In that lake is an island, and that island has a lake.

No one has ever been here because it is so hard to reach, but satellite images seem to indicate that there might be a very tiny, unnamed island inside that lake.

That island would then be an island on a lake on an island on a lake on an island on a lake. It is the most recursive lake island system in the world.

There is a lot more to be said about the geography of Canada, as each province is the size of a country.

But Canada, like every other country, is a product of its location. This means that everything from the location of its population to having hockey teams and even expensive real estate can all be attributed to geography.