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about Canada.
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 Canada
is a federation consisting of ten provinces that, with three
territories, make up the world's second largest country in total area.
The major difference between a Canadian
province and a territory is that a province receives its power and authority
directly from the Crown, via the Constitution Act, 1867, whereas territories
derive their mandates from the federal government.
The current provinces and territories are:
These are the official two-letter
abbreviations for the provinces and territories in Canada.
Alberta - AB
British Columbia - BC
Manitoba - MB
New Brunswick - NB
Newfoundland and Labrador - NL
Northwest Territories - NT
Nova Scotia - NS
Nunavut - NU
Ontario - ON
Prince Edward Island - PE
Quebec - QC
Saskatchewan - SK
Yukon - YT
Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia are the original provinces,
formed when British North American colonies federated on July 1, 1867 into
the Dominion of Canada and by stages began accruing the indicia of
sovereignty from the United Kingdom. Over the following six years, Manitoba,
British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island were added as provinces.
The Hudson's Bay Company maintained control of large swaths of western
Canada until 1870, when it turned over the land to the Government of Canada,
forming part of Northwest Territories. On September 1, 1905, a portion of
the Northwest Territories south of the 60° parallel became the provinces of
Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario and
Manitoba were expanded northward: Manitoba's to the 60° parallel, Ontario's
to Hudson Bay and Quebec's to encompass the District of Ungava.
In 1869, Newfoundland decided in an election to remain a British territory,
over concerns that central Canada would dominate taxation and economic
policy. In 1907, Newfoundland and Labrador acquired dominion status.
However, in 1933, the government of Newfoundland fell and during World War
II, Canada took charge of Newfoundland's defense. Following World War II,
Newfoundland's status was in question. In a narrow majority, the citizens of
Newfoundland and Labrador voted for confederation in a 1948 referendum. On
March 31, 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador became Canada's tenth and final
province.
There are currently three territories in Canada. Unlike the provinces, the
territories of Canada have no inherent jurisdiction and only have those
powers delegated to them by the federal government. They include all of
mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay, as well
as essentially all islands north of the Canadian mainland (from those in
James Bay to the Canadian Arctic islands). The following table lists the
territories in order of precedence (territories take precedence after
provinces regardless of the date of their creation).
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