Canada: Provinces, Territories and History

The European exploration has never ended well for the native Australians, Americans, and the Canadians. Unlike America that was named after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, the naming of Canada has their root in the Iroquoian family (Cayuga, Cherokee, Huron, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora). Jacques Cartier, the French explorer, overheard two captured guides referring “Kanata” or the “village” while talking about the North American vast land. By the mid-1500s, “Canada” became a common lexicon in World Maps.

Canada is the second largest Country (9,984,670 square km) in the world behind Russia and slightly larger than the US, primarily contributed by the large water surface area. Canada has the world’s longest coastline (202,080 km); a factor that was responsible for attracting early European explorers and settlers. The rules for administering one of the World’s largest countries were initiated with the Constitution Act, 1867 (earlier termed as the British North America Act, 1867).

The Act divided Canada into four provinces, which later and as of today metamorphosed into 10 Provinces and 3 Territories. Provinces receive power from The Constitution Act of 1867 with constitutional amendment required for any change in authority or the division of power between the Federal government and provinces. Territories have limited power. Provinces are like independent kingdoms with the lieutenant governor heading the ‘Crown’.

Canada’s ten provinces are:

1. Alberta
2. British Columbia
3. Manitoba
4. New Brunswick
5. Newfoundland and Labrador
6. Nova Scotia
7. Ontario
8. Prince Edward Island
9. Quebec
10. Saskatchewan

The three territories include:

1. Northwest Territories
2. Nunavut
3. Yukon

The French-British Identity

Despite a progressive democratic government, Canada is still a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth the 2nd heading the Country, in addition to heading the UK, Australia and the New Zealand. For MBAs planning to settle down in Canada, the title, “Queen of Canada” should not mislead you into thinking that Canada is any less democratic. In fact, Queen, like Presidents in many parliamentary governments around the world, is merely representing the government in World Forums with little influence over the political decisions in the country.

Another duality in identity is the shared history of the French and British Canadians in Quebec. The French-led Quebec sovereignty movement gained momentum in the 1950 and 60s, and often came to the limelight in 2012, but if you look at how Canada was formed, the reasons for the tension become apparent. The French settlers fought with the Iroquois for a century before signing a peace treaty in 1701. The peace led to the first trading partnership between the native Aborigines and the French settlers, allowing the duo to widen fur trading through the Hudson Bay. With the expansion of the British Empire, King Charles the Second of England earned exclusive rights for all trading activities in favor of England’s Hudson’s Bay Company.

With the monopolistic agreement, English colonies along the Atlantic (now the US) became Richer than New France (French Colony in North America). The big blow, however, came in 1759 when the British defeated the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Quebec City witnessed the culmination of the 7-year battle that saw the defeat of the French and the eventual collapse of their empire in North America. The majority of the French-speaking natives were Catholic while Protestants led the British Empire. To control the majority, and to alleviate the pain of the defeat, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774 that allowed religious freedom as a fundamental value. With the Act, Catholics were allowed to take important offices. The duality of British Criminal and French Civil Law returned as part of the Act and continues to dominate Canada’s largest province.

The above post in an excerpt from the book: Why Canada: A Complete Career Guide for MBA Applicants