Central Canada
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use Canadian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox settlement
Central Canada (Template:Langx, sometimes the Central Provinces) is a Canadian region consisting of Ontario and Quebec, the largest and most populous provinces of the country.<ref name=location>Template:Cite web</ref> Geographically, they are not at the centre of Canada but instead overlap with Eastern Canada toward the east. Because of their large populations, Ontario and Quebec have traditionally held a significant amount of political power in Canada, leading to some amount of resentment from other regions of the country. Before Confederation, the term "Canada" specifically referred to Central Canada. Today, the term "Central Canada" is less often used than the names of the individual provinces.
History
Template:See Before Confederation, the region known as Canada was what is now called Central Canada. Southern Ontario was once called Upper Canada and later Canada West and southern Quebec was called Lower Canada and later Canada East. Both were part of the United Province of Canada in 1841.<ref>Constitutional Act of 1791, Act of Union 1840, British North America Acts (1867)</ref>
Geography
Ontario, Canada's fourth largest subdivision (after Nunavut, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories), had, at the 2021 Canadian census, a land area of Template:Cvt<ref name=canpop>Template:Cite web</ref> (10.15 percent of Canada and the fifth largest after Nunavut, Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia) and as of 2017, there was Template:Cvt<ref name=FWON>Template:Cite web</ref> (21.55 percent of Canada and the second largest after Quebec) of freshwater, for a total area of Template:Cvt (11.13 percent of Canada).
Quebec, Canada's second largest subdivision and largest province, had, at the 2021 Canadian census, a land area of Template:Cvt<ref name=canpop/> (14.78 percent of Canada and the second largest after Nunavut), and as of 2017, there was Template:Cvt<ref name=FWQC>Template:Cite web</ref> (22.34 percent and the largest in Canada) of freshwater, for a total area of Template:Cvt (15.42 percent of Canada).
Together the two provinces have a land area of Template:Cvt (24.93 percent), Template:Cvt (43.89 percent) fresh water for a total area of Template:Cvt (26.55 percent).<ref name=canpop/><ref name=FWON/><ref name=FWQC/>
Although the region is called Central Canada the actual centre of Canada can be defined in multiple ways. The longitudinal centre of Canada is located just east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Highway 1 East, part of the Trans-Canada Highway.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The latitudinal centre is at 62 degrees, 24 minutes north, meaning the geographic centre of Canada is located just south of Yathkyed Lake, Nunavut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Physical geography
Ontario
Quebec
Population
Ontario and Quebec are the two most populous provinces in Canada, accounting for 61.43 percent of Canada's population.<ref name=canpop/> As of the 2021 census conducted by Statistics Canada, there were 22,725,775 people in the two provinces, and represented an increase of 5.1 per cent over the 2016 census figure of 21,612,855 people.<ref name=canpop/> The land area was Template:Cvt giving a population density of Template:Pop density.<ref name=canpop/>
The median age of Ontario was 41.6, identical to Canada as a whole, and Quebec's population was slightly older at 43.2.<ref name=compop>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Population of visible minority, Indigenous, and others (2021 Canadian census<ref name=compop/>) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Quebec | Central Canada | Canada | |||||||
| Population group | Population |
% of province |
Population |
% of province |
Population |
% of Central Canada |
% of Canada |
Population |
% | |
| Non-visible minority or Indigenous | 8,807,805 | 62.8% | 6,762,735 | 81.4% | 15,570,541 | 61.4% | 42.9% | 25,364,140 | 69.8% | |
| Visible minority group | South Asian | 1,515,295 | 10.8% | 127,990 | 1.5% | 1,643,285 | 7.4% | 4.5% | 2,571,400 | 7.1% |
| Chinese | 820,245 | 5.8% | 115,240 | 1.4% | 935,485 | 4.2% | 2.6% | 1,715,770 | 4.7% | |
| Black | 768,740 | 5.5% | 422,405 | 5.1% | 1,191,145 | 5.3% | 3.3% | 1,574,870 | 4.3% | |
| Filipino | 363,650 | 2.6% | 44,885 | 0.5% | 408,535 | 1.8% | 1.1% | 957,355 | 2.6% | |
| Arab | 284,215 | 2.0% | 280,075 | 3.4% | 564,290 | 2.5% | 1.6% | 694,015 | 1.9% | |
| Latin American | 249,190 | 1.8% | 172,925 | 2.1% | 422,115 | 1.9% | 1.2% | 580,235 | 1.6% | |
| Southeast Asian | 167,845 | 1.2% | 70,455 | 0.8% | 238,300 | 1.1% | 0.7% | 390,340 | 1.1% | |
| West Asian | 212,185 | 1.5% | 43,985 | 0.5% | 256,170 | 1.1% | 0.7% | 360,495 | 1.0% | |
| Korean | 99,425 | 0.7% | 10,360 | 0.1% | 109,785 | 0.5% | 0.3% | 218,140 | 0.6% | |
| Japanese | 31,420 | 0.2% | 5,305 | 0.1% | 36,725 | 0.2% | 0.1% | 98,890 | 0.3% | |
| Visible minority, n.i.e. | 124,120 | 0.9% | 12,150 | 0.1% | 136,270 | 0.6% | 0.4% | 331,805 | 0.9% | |
| Multiple visible minority | 181,025 | 1.3% | 34,960 | 0.4% | 215,985 | 1.0% | 0.6% | 172,885 | 0.5% | |
| Total visible minority population | 4,817,360 | 34.3% | 1,340,735 | 16.1% | 6,158,095 | 27.6% | 17.0% | 9,639,205 | 26.5% | |
| Indigenous peoples | ||||||||||
| First Nations (North American Indian) | 251,030 | 1.8% | 116,550 | 1.4% | 367,580 | 1.6% | 1.0% | 1,048,405 | 2.9% | |
| Métis | 134,615 | 1.0% | 61,010 | 0.7% | 195,625 | 0.9% | 0.5% | 624,220 | 1.7% | |
| Inuk (Inuit) | 4,310 | 0.0% | 15,800 | 0.2% | 20,110 | 0.1% | 0.1% | 70,540 | 0.2% | |
| Multiple Indigenous responses | 7,115 | 0.1% | 3,135 | 0.1% | 10,250 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 28,855 | 0.1% | |
| Indigenous responses n.i.e. | 9,515 | 0.1% | 8,515 | 0.0% | 18,030 | 0.1% | 0.0% | 35,225 | 0.1% | |
| Total Indigenous population | 406,585 | 2.9% | 205,010 | 2.5% | 611,595 | 2.7% | 1.7% | 1,807,250 | 5.0% | |
| Total population | 14,031,750 | 100.00% | 8,308,480 | 100.00% | 22,340,230 | 100.00% | 61.5% | 36328480 | 100.00% | |
They are represented in the House of Commons of Canada by 200 Members of Parliament (Ontario: 122, Quebec: 78) out of a total of 343.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The southern portions of the two provinces — particularly the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor — are the most urbanized and industrialized areas of Canada, containing the country's two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal, the national capital, Ottawa, and the National Capital Region.
As of the 2021 census Statistics Canada lists 24 Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) in Central Canada. They include Ottawa - Gatineau as well as Ottawa - Gatineau (Ontario part) and Ottawa - Gatineau (Quebec part).<ref name=CMAON>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=CMAQC>Template:Cite web</ref> All CMAs in Quebec are located in the southern part of the province. In Ontario, except Greater Sudbury / Grand Sudbury and Thunder Bay, which are in Northern Ontario, all CMAs are in Southern Ontario. The CMAs are listed here by population count: