Luckily QuebecOpec entered this topic to spread wisdom, enlighten people and save mankind from unknowingness once again. 
Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot
I have heard several Canadians indignantly deny that the fact that most Canadians live near the US border has anything to do with: a) easier access to the US, or b) better weather in the south.
Instead, they claim that the Canada settlement pattern is merely due to: c) "historical" and d) agricultural reasons. What's your take on that? Are all four parts of the same coin?
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The Canadian settlements follow one pattern: they follow the Saint Lawrence River line until the Great Lakes. When people say that
Canadians live in the south, because it is near the US, I gotta deny this because they
don't live along the US-American/Canadian border, instad they live at the Saint Lawrence - Great Lakes line, who simply happens to be near the US-Canadian border. The Saint Lawrence - Great Lakes line is a better indicator of population concentration.
The Saint Lawrence - Great Lakes line represents that Canada has been discovered & colonized by Europeans by ships; since NYC continues to be USAs largest city, North America's largest cities reflect that they are adjusted to Europe's liking.
In the other provinces that are further away from the Saint Lawrence - Great Lakes line, it is also noticeable that the big cities are further away from the border. For example Calgary and Edmonton are NOT at the Saint-Lawrence - Great Lakes line and they are significantly further away from the US-American border, which shows that it is not true that proximity to th US is a settlement factor, instead it is the geographic features of the Saint Lawrence - Great Lakes line. As for Vancouver: Vancouver is south because north of Vancouver there are mountains, so it must be there where it is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by deneb78
I am somewhat surprised Atlantic Canada isn't more populated than they are as that is the first place you would reach when coming from Europe by ship. There must have been other reasons why Southern Ontario grew as much as it did and not Nova Scotia or Newfoundland. Maybe lack of arable land in the beginning?
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It is important to note that Atlantic Canada is not the only area of Canada that can be reached from Europe by ship. Québec City and Montréal can be reached by ship, too and were among the first Canadian settlements.
"Royal New France: In 1604, the first European settlement north of Florida was established by French explorers Pierre de Monts and Samuel de Champlain, first on St. Croix Island (in present-day Maine), then at Port-Royal, in Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia). In 1608 Champlain built a fortress at what is now Québec City."
In fact, in year 1871, Atlantic Canada had 2 out of the 5 largest Canadian cities and Québec City and Montréal were #1 and #2, which means that Eastern Canada had 4 out of the 5 largest Canadian cities at that time.
1
Montreal, Quebec 107,225 Ranked #2 in 2016.
[2] 2
Quebec, Quebec 59,699 Ranked #11 in 2016.
[2] 3
Toronto, Ontario 56,092 Ranked #1 in 2016.
[2] 4
Halifax, Nova Scotia 29,582 Ranked #14 in 2016 as a regional municipality.
[2] 5
Saint John, New Brunswick 28,805 Saint John was incorporated in 1785 to become Canada’s first incorporated city.
[3] Ranked #83 in 2016.
[2]
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ties_by_census
I suggest to think of Montréal as getting the Best of Both world's: it's still relatively close to Europe and has direct ship access, while it is also in the interior of North America.
Montréal was Canada's largest port for over 100 years and is Canada's second-largest port after Vancouver nowadays. Because of Montréal's large port that was much closer to interior America, the ports of Atlantic Canada became less relevant. Also Montréal shifted population growth from East-Eastern Canada to West-Eastern Canada which also gave birth for greater population growth in Ontario.
"Transportation made Montreal. Situated at the head of the St. Lawrence River, it became Canada's major port and rail centre. Ships from overseas arrived bringing goods and immigrants. First the Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers in 1854 followed by Canadian Pacific Steamship Lines in 1903 operated trans Atlantic passenger liners to Britain. Shippers from the Great Lakes system, notably Canada Steamship Lines Inc. brought grain for export."
"Toronto's rise to prominence was initiated by the arrival of the train and telegraph. The railways connected Toronto to a wide hinterland. The Great Western Railway, from Montreal to Toronto to Windsor, was completed in 1854 and the Grand Trunk Railway, from Montreal to Toronto to Sarnia, in 1869. Along with the railways came the telegraph. Toronto was the first Canadian city to get service when it was introduced by the Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Co. in 1846."
"Factors for the growth of Toronto over Montreal included strong immigration, increasingly by Asians and people of African descent, the increasing size of the auto industry in Southern Ontario, due to the signing of the Auto Pact with the US in 1965, a calmer political environment (Quebec experienced two referenda on separation during these years, one in 1980 and the other in 1995), and lower personal income taxes than in Quebec."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histor...ties_in_Canada
Also it is extremely important to note that the completion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1959 allowed big ships to arrive on the Great Lakes. Before 1959 big ships could not arrive to Southern Ontario from Europe.
So, Toronto then kinda offered the new best of both worlds because of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
I suggest to think of Canada's development as analogous to the European Mediterrean: In the Ancient times, Europe's largest cities where all at the Mediterrean or within 150km of the Mediterrean.
Think of Rome, Athens, Barcelona, Malaga, and so many other cities there were huge back then but are small now. As the interior of Europe developed, population growth shifted towards the North. Today the largest European cities (Moscow, London, Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg) are not at the Mediterrean anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natnasci
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Um...what you write is a scientificially correct observation, but I'd like to remind that this sentence does ultimately
not state that they settled there
because of good agricultural land. "The largest cities in Eastern North America developed in areas with Ceanothus velutinus."
Yeah, Los Angeles got very populous in a area where there is
Ceanothus velutinus, but Ceanothus velutinusis ultimately not the reason why Los Angeles became populous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by deneb78
So my educated guess was correct then  |
Ummm.... the correct answer is that the train and the completion of the Saint Lawrence Seaway turned Southern Ontario into a major Canadian traffic hub and that Atlantic Canada's importance has been inferior to Québec's importance for about 300 years. The ports of Québec City and Montréal made the ports of Atlantic Canada less important.
For more questions, QO is always available
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