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Central Canada facts for kids

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Central Canada
Canada ottawa parliament monument landscape-1051590.jpg
August 2012 Bay and King Bank Towers Toronto Looking Up (7695092848) (cropped).jpg
Assemblée nationale du Québec, l'Hôtel du Parlement (cropped).jpg
J38002 ArtVille 20120407-134630 PlaceDArmes.jpg
Clockwise from the top:
Parliament Hill, Ottawa; Parliament Building, Quebec City; Montreal's Place d'Armes; Corner of Bay & King, Toronto
Map of Central Canada, defined politically
Map of Central Canada, defined politically
Composition
Largest city Toronto
Largest metro Greater Toronto Area
Area
 • Total 2,265,154 km2 (874,581 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total 21,612,855
 • Density 9.5414506/km2 (24.712244/sq mi)

Central Canada (French: Centre du Canada, sometimes the Central provinces) is a region consisting of Canada's two largest and most populous provinces: Ontario and Quebec. Geographically, they are not at the centre of Canada but instead overlap with Eastern Canada toward the east. Because of their large populations, Ontario and Quebec have traditionally held a significant amount of political power in Canada, leading to some amount of resentment from other regions of the country. Before Confederation, the term "Canada" specifically referred to Central Canada. Today, the term "Central Canada" is less often used than the names of the individual provinces.

Geography

The longitudinal centre of Canada passes just east of Winnipeg, Manitoba; the geographic centre of Canada is located near Baker Lake, Nunavut.

Before Confederation, the region known as Canada was what is now called Central Canada. Southern Ontario was once called Upper Canada and later Canada West, and southern Quebec Lower Canada and later Canada East. Both were made part of the United Province of Canada in 1841.

Population

Combined, the two provinces have approximately 20 million inhabitants which represents 62% of Canada's population. They are represented in the House of Commons of Canada by 199 Members of Parliament (Ontario: 121, Quebec: 78) out of a total of 338. The southern portions of the two provinces — particularly the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor — are the most urbanized and industrialized areas of Canada, containing the country's two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal, and the national capital, Ottawa.

Census Metropolitan Areas, 2007 population estimates
  1. Toronto, ON: 5,606,320
  2. Montréal, QC: 3,814,300
  3. Ottawa, ON–Gatineau, QC: 1,158,300
  4. Québec, QC: 723,300
  5. Hamilton, ON: 716,200
  6. London, ON: 465,700
  7. Kitchener, ON: 463,600
  8. St. Catharines–Niagara, ON: 396,800
  9. Oshawa, ON: 344,400
  10. Windsor, ON: 332,100
  11. Sherbrooke, QC: 218,700
  12. Sudbury, ON: 162,000
  13. Kingston, ON: 155,000
  14. Saguenay, QC: 152,100
  15. Trois-Rivières, QC: 142,600
  16. Thunder Bay, ON: 125,400
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