Regional division in Canada
...upport human life. Another difference with the regions is their differences in urbanization. According to table 4.45 of population density of 2004, about 80 per cent of Canada’s population are living in urban centres of 10000 people or more. Another trend that can be observed from the table is that the rates of urbanization of the regions are not equal. The highest level of urban dwellers is in the industrial heartland of Canada where technological growth and the special administrative role that the capital cities provide are located. Another reason is because it is where the amenities are readily available. By 2001, Ontario and British Columbia had the highest per cent of urban population of 84.7. This is because that in addition to Toronto, Ontario has several other large Census Metropolitan Areas (Ottawa and Hamilton (table 4.56)). Atlantic Canada had the lowest percentage of urban population of 53.9 percent. This is mainly due to its location. With urbanization in place the emergence of CMAs across Canada was the outcome7. A Census Metropolitan Area is an area of at least 100000 people. According to Table 4.5, in 2001 Toronto was the largest CMA with a population of about 4.7 million. This is mainly due to Toronto’s close proximity to the United States and home of most of Canada’s corporate headquarters. According to graph 3 of Crude Birth Rate, Crude Death Rate, and population movement in Canada, 1995 and 20018, Canada has been experiencing a decrease in Birth rates from 12.8 to 10.7. Reasons for this may be that parents are c5hoosing to have smaller families and the increase in the number of women in the labour force. Besides the decreasing birth rate, Canada’s death rate is also decreasing. Reasons for this may be that public health measures such as water purification, improved nutrition, me9dical advances, and the development of public health care system across the country. What this table is also showing is that while the natural increase (Birth rate minus Death rate) of Canada slowed, most of the growth in the population of Canada is now related to immigration rather than natural increase. It shows that immigration has been the main force behind Canada’s population growth rate. Also, according to the graph, the Birth rate is slowly approaching the death rate and may soon be lower then the death rate. In that case, Canada’s population growth may be entirely dependent on it’s immigration numbers. Graph 29, Regional population of Canada by percentage, 1901-2001, illustrates again how Canada’s population is unevenly distributed across the country’s regions. According to the graph, Canada’s population remain increasingly concentrated in central Canada (Ontario & Quebec) over the years, with British Columbia and Western Canada slowly increasing. This was the opposite for Atlantic Canada and the Territorial North. Therefore, this graph can serve to illustrate that the hinterland (Western Canada and British Columbia) has increased its share of the National population, but while Atlantic Canada and the Territorial north had a decrease in its share; this incre...