Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, is located
on the Ottawa River on the border between
Ontario and Quebec. It is Canada’s fourth
largest city.
Canada has 10 provinces and three territories,
each with its own capital city. These provinces
and territories are commonly grouped into five
regions (see Table 2.1 below).
The three largest cities in Canada are Toronto
(Ontario), Montréal (Quebec) and Vancouver
(British Columbia). The total population of
these cities is over 10 million people (almost
one-third of the Canadian population).
The population of Canada has a very uneven distribution. Due to factors related to historical
settlement, climate and the economy, the majority of people live in southern Ontario and Quebec,
southwest British Columbia and Alberta. Much of the north has a very low population density, mostly
due to the cold climate.
