View source for Population of Canada by province and territory

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{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
[[File:Canada provinces and territories by population.svg|thumb|Map of Canadian provinces and territories by population (2021). '''Legend:'''{{legend|#034e7b|>10 million}}{{legend|#046ea3|5 million to 10 million}}{{legend|#248fa8|1 million to 5 million}}{{legend|#6db1bc|500 thousand to 1 million}}{{legend|#94c2c4|100 thousand to 500 thousand}}{{legend|#bae3e5|<100 thousand}}|309x309px]]

Canada is divided into [[Provinces and territories of Canada|10 provinces and three territories]]. The majority of Canada's population is concentrated in the areas close to the [[Canada–United States border|Canada–US border]]. Its [[List of Canadian provinces and territories by area|four largest provinces]] by area ([[Ontario]], [[Quebec]], [[British Columbia]], and [[Alberta]]) are also its most populous; together they account for 86.5 percent of the country's population. The territories (the [[Northwest Territories]], [[Nunavut]], and [[Yukon]]) account for over a third of Canada's area but are home to only 0.32 percent of its population, which skews the national [[population density]] value.

Canada's population grew by 5.24 percent between the [[2016 Canadian census|2016]] and [[2021 Canadian census|2021 censuses]].<ref name="StatCan2021">{{cite web |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000101 |title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories |publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] |date=February 9, 2022 |access-date=February 9, 2022}}</ref> With the exceptions of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] and the Northwest Territories, all territories and provinces increased in population from 2016 to 2021. In terms of percent change, the fastest-growing province or territory was Yukon with an increase of 12.1 percent between 2016 and 2021, followed by [[Prince Edward Island]] with 7.99 percent growth.

Generally, provinces steadily grew in population along with Canada. However, some provinces such as Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador experienced long periods of stagnation or population decline. Ontario and Quebec were always the two most populous provinces in Canada, with over 60 percent of the population at any given time. The demographic importance of [[Western Canada|the West]] steadily grew over time, while the importance of [[Atlantic Canada]] steadily slipped. Canada's population has increased every year since [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]] in 1867: see [[List of population of Canada by years|List of population of Canada by year]].

== Population at last census ==
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{{table alignment}}{{sticky table start}}{{mw-datatable}} 
{| class="wikitable sortable col1center col2left sticky-table-col2 sticky-table-head mw-datatable" style=text-align:right;
|+ Provinces and territories. Population at last census. Density. Land area. Legislatures.<ref name="StatCan2021"/>
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | Name
! colspan="2" | [[2021 Canadian census|2021 census]]
! rowspan="2" | Growth<br>(2016–2021)
! rowspan="2" | Land area<br>{{nowrap|(km<sup>2</sup>)}}
! rowspan="2" | Density<br>per {{nowrap|(km<sup>2</sup>)}}
! colspan="2" | [[House of Commons of Canada|House]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=cir/red/allo&document=index&lang=e|title=House of Commons Seat Allocation by Province 2022–2032|year=2022|publisher=Elections Canada|access-date=April 19, 2025}}</ref>
! colspan="2" | [[Senate of Canada|Senate]]
|-
! {{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
! class="sticky-table-none" | %
! Seats
! %
! Seats
! %
|- 
| 1
| [[Ontario]]
| 14,223,942
| 38.45%
| 5.8%
| 1,076,395
| 15.2
| 122
| 35.6%
|24
|22.9%
|- 
| 2
| [[Quebec]]
| 8,501,833
| 22.98%
| 4.1%
| 1,542,057
| 6.5
| 78
| 22.7%
|24
|22.9%
|- 
| 3
| [[British Columbia]]
| 5,000,879
| 13.52%
| 7.6%
| 944,735
| 5.4
| 43
| 12.5%
|6
|5.7%
|- 
| 4
| [[Alberta]]
| 4,262,635
| 11.52%
| 4.8%
| 640,330.46
| 6.7
| 37
| 10.8%
|6
|5.7%
|- 
| 5
| [[Manitoba]]
| 1,342,153
| 3.63%
| 5.0%
| 552,370.99
| 2.3
| 14
| 4.1%
|6
|5.7%
|- 
| 6
| [[Saskatchewan]]
| 1,132,505
| 3.06%
| 3.1%
| 588,243.54
| 2.0
| 14
| 4.1%
|6
|5.7%
|- 
| 7
| [[Nova Scotia]]
| 969,383
| 2.62%
| 5.0%
| 52,942.27
| 18.4
| 11
| 3.2%
|10
|9.5%
|- 
| 8
| [[New Brunswick]]
| 775,610
| 2.09%
| 3.8%
| 71,388.81
| 10.9
| 10
| 2.9%
|10
|9.5%
|- 
| 9
| [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]
| 510,550
| 1.38%
| −1.8%
| 370,514.08
| 1.4
| 7
| 2.0%
|6
|5.7%
|- 
| 10
| [[Prince Edward Island]]
| 154,331
| 0.42%
| 8.0%
| 5,686.03
| 27.2
| 4
| 1.2%
|4
|3.8%
|- 
| 11 {{anchor|Northwest Territories}}
| [[Northwest Territories]]
| 41,070
| 0.11%
| −1.7%
| 1,143,793.86
| 0.04
| 1
| 0.3%
|1
|0.95%
|- 
| 12
| [[Yukon]]
| 40,232
| 0.11%
| 12.1%
| 474,712.68
| 0.08
| 1
| 0.3%
|1
|0.95%
|- 
| 13
| [[Nunavut]]
| 36,858
| 0.10%
| 2.5%
| 1,877,778.53
| 0.02
| 1
| 0.3%
|1
|0.95%
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold; background-color:yellow;"
| Total
| Canada 
| 36,991,981
| 100%
| 5.2%
| 8,965,588.85
| 4.2
| 343
| 100%
|105
|100%
|}
{{sticky table end}}

==Population growth rate==
[[File:Can Provinces by Population Growth Rate.svg|thumb|Map of [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian provinces and territories]] by population growth rate (2016–2021).{{legend|#f1ff69|< 4.0%}}{{legend|#dcc700| 4.0%–7.0%}}{{legend|#c29c00| 7.0%–10.0%}}{{legend|#a08100|> 10.0%}}{{legend|#ff8080ff|population decline}}|240x240px]]
Current provinces and territories population growth rate are based on the [[Statistics Canada]] 2021 Census of Population.<ref name="StatCan2021" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Rank
!Name
!2021 census
!2016 census
!Change
|-
|align=center|{{nts|1}}
|align="left"| [[Yukon]]
| {{change|invert=on|40232|35874}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|2}}
|align="left"| [[Prince Edward Island]]
| {{change|invert=on|154331|142907}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|3}}
|align="left"| [[British Columbia]]
| {{change|invert=on|5000879|4648055}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|4}}
|align="left"| [[Ontario]]
| {{change|invert=on|14223942|13448494}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|5}}
|align="left"| [[Manitoba]]
| {{change|invert=on|1342153|1278365}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|6}}
|align="left"| [[Nova Scotia]]
| {{change|invert=on|969383|923598}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|7}}
|align="left"| [[Alberta]]
| {{change|invert=on|4262635|4067175}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|8}}
|align="left"| [[Quebec]]
| {{change|invert=on|8501833|8164361}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|9}}
|align="left"| [[New Brunswick]]
| {{change|invert=on|775610|747101}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|10}}
|align="left"| [[Saskatchewan]]
| {{change|invert=on|1132505|1098352}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|11}}
|align="left"| [[Nunavut]]
| {{change|invert=on|36858|35944}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|12}}
|align="left"| [[Northwest Territories]]
| {{change|invert=on|41070|41786}}
|-
|align=center|{{nts|13}}
|align="left"| [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]
| {{change|invert=on|510550|519716}}
|-class="sortbottom"
|bgcolor="gold" | '''Total'''
|bgcolor="gold" align="left"| Canada
| {{change|invert=on|36991981|35151728|bgcolour=gold}}
|}

==Demographic evolution==

===Historical population===
{{See|List of Canadian provinces and territories by historical population}}

The population of Canada increased every year since [[Confederation of Canada|Confederation]] in 1867.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm|title=Estimated population of Canada, 1605 to present|year=2009|publisher=Statistics Canada|access-date=April 16, 2010}}</ref> The first national census of the country was taken in 1871, and it covered the four provinces which were part of Canada at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Info/history.cfm|title=History of the Census of Canada|year=2006|publisher=Statistics Canada|access-date=June 22, 2010}}</ref> It recorded a population of 1,620,851 in Ontario, 1,191,516 in Quebec, 387,800 in Nova Scotia and 285,594 in New Brunswick<ref name="PC">[http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-516-x/pdf/5500092-eng.pdf Series A2-14. Population of Canada] by province, census dates, 1851 to 1976</ref> The population of each of these provinces continued to grow every year uninterrupted. However, their growth was slow in the late 19th century because there were few economic opportunities. As a result, many Canadians opted to emigrate to the United States for work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/emigration|title=Emigration The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref> 

This phenomenon hit Quebec especially hard. Approximately 900,000 Quebec residents ([[French Canadian]] for the great majority) left for the United States between 1840 and 1930.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/readings/leaving.htm|title=French Canadian Emigration to the United States, 1840–1930|author=Bélanger, Damien-Claude|date=August 23, 2000|work=Québec History, Claude Bélanger, Marianopolis College|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070125200529/http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/readings/leaving.htm|archive-date=January 25, 2007|access-date=January 31, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/stats/goto-us.htm|title=Emigration to the United States from Canada and Quebec, 1840–1940|last=Bélanger|first=Claude|work=Quebec History|publisher=Marianopolis College|access-date=July 24, 2013}}</ref> However, Quebec's population losses to emigration during this period were largely offset by its natural population growth. Indeed, until the middle of the 20th century, Quebec had a birth rate considerably higher than most of its contemporary industrialized societies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/amnord/Quebec-3denatalite.htm#4.2_Un_Qu%C3%A9bec_de_deux_millions_dhabitants_|title=Québec: dénatalité et immigration|website=www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref> This period of high French-Canadian population growth is nicknamed {{lang|fr|[[La Revanche des berceaux]]}} (lit: 'the revenge of the cradle').<ref>''Colombo's Canadian References,'' Oxford University Press, 1976, p.444.</ref>

[[File:Last_best_west.jpg|alt=|thumb|Pamphlet advertising for immigration to [[Western Canada]], {{circa|1910}}]]

Population growth in the [[Northwest Territories]], and then the [[Western Canada|Western provinces]], picked up when the Canadian government passed the ''[[Dominion Lands Act]]'' in [[1872 in Canada|1872]] to encourage the settlement of the [[Canadian Prairies]], and to help prevent the area from being claimed by the United States.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lambrecht|first=Kirk N|title=The Administration of Dominion Lands, 1870–1930|year=1991}}</ref> The act gave a claimant {{convert|160|acre}} for free, the only cost to the farmer being a $10 administration fee. Any male farmer who was at least 21 years of age and agreed to cultivate at least {{convert|40|acre}} of the land and build a permanent dwelling on it (within three years) qualified.<ref name="DL">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dominion-lands-policy|title=Dominion Lands Act {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=December 27, 2018}}</ref> The population of the Canadian prairies grew rapidly in the last decade of the 19th century, and the population of Saskatchewan more than quintupled from 91,000 in 1901 to 492,000 in 1911.<ref>[http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62i.htm The history of Saskatchewan's population] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519055131/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62i.htm|date=May 19, 2006}} from [[Statistics Canada]]</ref> The vast majority of these people were immigrants from Europe.<ref name="DL" />

Early counts of Northwest Territories' population tend to exclude the Indigenous peoples living within it, such as the [[Dene people|Dene]] of [[Denendeh]] or [[Inuit]] of [[Inuit Nunangat]].<ref name="PC" /> The territory's population drops at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries are due to its reduction in size, as Yukon, then Saskatchewan and Alberta were carved out of its territory, and the same with Nunavut a century later. Yukon's population spike at the turn of the 20th century is due to the [[Klondike Gold Rush]], when an estimated 100,000 people tried to reach the Klondike goldfields between 1896 and 1899, of whom only around 30,000 to 40,000 eventually did.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Berton |first=Pierre |title=Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896–1899|date=2001|publisher=Anchor Canada|isbn=0-385-65844-3|edition=Rev.|location=Toronto|pages=396|oclc=46661521}}</ref>

Generally, provinces steadily grew in population along with Canada. However, some provinces experienced long periods of stagnation or population decline. After peaking in 1891, Prince Edward Island's population started to decline every year until 1941, after which the province started growing again. In Saskatchewan, after a rapid population explosion at the beginning of the century that propelled the province to being the 3rd largest in the country, its population declined during the [[Great Depression]], and its growth had been slow ever since. From 1931 to 2016, Saskatchewan's population increased by only 19.2 percent, well below the national average. Newfoundland and Labrador, on the other hand, experienced slow but continuous growth until the 1990s, when the [[Cod fishing in Newfoundland#20th century fishing methods and the fishery collapse|cod fisheries collapsed]], and their population started to fall.

After the collapse of the Canadian birth rate, most provinces now sustain their population with immigration from the [[developing world]]. The number of new immigrants increases every year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thelinkpaper.ca/?p=79703|title=Canada Expected To Take In More Than One Million New Immigrants Between 2020-2022 |work=Link Newspaper|date=March 21, 2020|language=en-US|access-date=March 30, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328200059/http://thelinkpaper.ca/?p=79703|archive-date=28 March 2020}}</ref>
<!----
{| class="wikitable"
|+
Historical population growth by province/territory<ref>{{Cite book|last=Belshaw|first=John Douglas|title=Canadian History: Pre-Confederation|publisher=BCCampus|year=2015|chapter=10.2 Demographics}}</ref><ref name="PC" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/index.cfm?Lang=E|title=2006 Community Profiles - 2006 Canada Census|date=2006|publisher=Statistics Canada}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E|title=2011 Census Profiles|date=2011|website=Statistics Canada}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E|title=2016 Census profiles|date=2016|website=Statistics Canada}}</ref><ref name="StatCan2021" />
! [[Ontario]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62g.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Ontario|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410172213/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62g.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[Quebec]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62f.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Quebec|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501112831/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62f.htm|archive-date=May 1, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[Nova Scotia]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62d.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Nova Scotia|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501115114/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62d.htm|archive-date=May 1, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[New Brunswick]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62e.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - New Brunswick|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501114323/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62e.htm|archive-date=May 1, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
|-
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{|
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|-
! [[Manitoba]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62h.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Manitoba|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513030243/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62h.htm|archive-date=May 13, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[British Columbia]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62k.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - British Columbia|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410170035/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62k.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[Prince Edward Island]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62c.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Prince Edward Island|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410172717/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62c.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[Saskatchewan]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62i.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Saskatchewan|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410171707/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62i.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
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{|
|}
|-
! [[Alberta]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62j.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Alberta|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410163034/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62j.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland & Labrador]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/cns_tools/id/52178|title=Census of Newfoundland and Labrador, 1935, vol. 1 : population by districts and settlements :: NL Books - Reference Sources, Directories, Etc.|website=collections.mun.ca|access-date=April 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62b.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Newfoundland and Labrador|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321032756/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62b.htm|archive-date=March 21, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[Northwest Territories]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62m.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Northwest Territories|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410160307/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62m.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! [[Yukon]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62l.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Yukon|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410172218/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62l.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
|-
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 | y = 55719, 73705, 96295, 101600, 124288, 146536, 161374, 197335, 202040, 220984, 242619, 263033, 289588, 361416, 415074, 457853, 493396, 522100, 557720, 567681, 568350, 568475, 551790, 512930, 505469, 514536, 519716, 510550
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|{{Graph:Chart
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{|
|}
|-
! [[Nunavut]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62n.htm|title=Population urban and rural, by province and territory - Nunavut|date=May 1, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410170040/http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo62n.htm|archive-date=April 10, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>
! colspan="3" rowspan="2" |
|-
|{{Graph:Chart
 | width = 150
 | height= 110
 | type = line
 | interpolate =
 | xType = date
 | xAxisAngle = -40
 | yAxisTitle = Population
 | yGrid = 
 | linewidth = 2
 | x = 1821, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021
 | y = , 24730, 26745, 29474, 31906, 35944, 36858
 | y2 = 1
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}}
|}
---->

===Demographic weight of provinces and territories===
[[File:2016 Canada Pop Pie.svg|frameless|right|upright=1.8|Breakdown of Canada's population from the 2016 census by province/territory]]

The demographic weight of each province in Canada has always constituted a sensitive issue. In 1840, the [[Durham Report]] recommended that [[Upper Canada]] (now Ontario) and [[Lower Canada]] (now Quebec) be united into one province. The newly created Legislative Assembly of the [[Province of Canada]] was required to have equal representation from [[Canada East]] (now Quebec) and [[Canada West]] (now Ontario),<ref>'' Union Act, 1840'', s. 12.</ref> even though the population of Canada East was considerably larger. In 1840, the population of Canada East was estimated at 670,000, while the population of Canada West was estimated to be 480,000.<ref>[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/province-of-canada-1841-67 "Province of Canada (1841–67)"], ''Canadian Encyclopedia''.</ref>  Lord Durham had not recommended this approach and had instead proposed that the representation should be based on the respective populations of the two regions.<ref>[[iarchive:lorddurhamsrepor02durhiala/page/324|''Lord Durham's Report'', pp. 323-324.]]</ref> The British government rejected that recommendation and instead implemented sectional equality, apparently to give the English-speaking population of the new province a dominant voice in the provincial government.

However, the 1851 census revealed that Canada West's population had surpassed Canada East's. This fact fuelled demands in Canada West for the end of sectional equality and the move toward allocating seats in the legislature on the basis of population, nicknamed "rep by pop". This was a hotly contested issue at the constitutional conferences leading up to confederation, and the colonies reached a compromise in which the seats in the federal lower house ([[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]) would be allocated by population, and the seats in the federal upper house ([[Senate of Canada|Senate]]) would be allocated on the basis of three defined regions{{snd}}Ontario, Quebec and [[the Maritimes]]{{snd}}that would each have 24 seats.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rep-by-pop|title=Rep by Pop {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>

Since Confederation, Ontario and Quebec have always been Canada's two most populous provinces. However, their combined demographic weight decreased from over 80 percent at Confederation to just over 60 percent in 2016. The [[Atlantic Canada|Atlantic provinces]] also lost importance within Canada, from around 20 percent at Confederation to under 7 percent today. The West's importance, however, has only increased, from insignificant levels in 1871 to over 30 percent of the country in 2016. In the first half of the 20th century, the most populous western province was Saskatchewan, but its population was later eclipsed by British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.<ref name="PC" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E|title=Census profiles, 2016 census|website=Statistics Canada|date=February 8, 2017}}</ref>[[File:Canada Historical Population Bump Chart no signature.svg]]

The issue of the demographic weight of each province came up during the negotiations for the [[Patriation|patriation of the Canadian Constitution]], and especially discussions around the [[Amending formula (Canada)|amending formula]] of the constitution. The final formula stipulates that minor changes to the constitution had to be approved by the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of 6 provinces representing at least 50 percent of the Canadian population. This essentially meant that either Ontario or Quebec had to agree to any constitutional amendments that affect all provinces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/patriation-of-the-constitution|title=Patriation of the Constitution {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>

Quebec had managed to maintain a stable demographic weight within Canada during the first half of the 20th century due to its high birth rate. However, their importance began to slip as their birth rate started to fall in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Le bilan démographique du Québec: Édition 2019|publisher=Institut de la statistique du Québec|year=2019|location=Quebec city|pages=36|chapter=Chapitre 2: Naissances et fécondité}}</ref> Quebec wanted to make it up through immigration, and for this purpose created its [[Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration|Ministry of Immigration]] in 1968, and negotiated for increased powers in this field with the federal government. However, new immigrants to Canada disproportionally go to Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, fuelling their rise in demographic weight.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/imm/Table.cfm?Lang=E&T=11&Geo=00|title=Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables|date=2016|website=Statistics Canada}}</ref> In response, a [[Canada–Québec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens|Canada–Québec Accord]] was concluded in 1991 which, among other things, guaranteed Quebec an immigration rate proportional to its demographic weight in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1133281/quebec-ministere-immigration-politique-archives|title=Il y a 50 ans, le Québec se dotait d'un ministère de l'Immigration|last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca|first=Zone Politique -|website=Radio-Canada.ca|date=November 2, 2018 |language=fr-ca|access-date=November 4, 2018}}</ref> This provision was not fulfilled, as in 2005, immigration to Quebec represented only 16.5 percent of all immigration to Canada.<ref name="QuebecPcnt">[http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/facts2005/permanent/18.html Annual Immigration by Province] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007161036/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/facts2005/permanent/18.html#|date=October 7, 2006}}, [[Citizenship and Immigration Canada]], URL accessed July 2, 2006</ref> 

Quebec also attempted to maintain its weight within the Canadian House of Commons during the constitutional negotiations of the early 1990s. Under the [[Charlottetown Accord]], in exchange for Quebec losing Senate seats under a [[Triple-E Senate]] (dropping from 24 to 6), Quebec was guaranteed never to be allotted less than 25 percent of the seats in the House of Commons. The accord was ultimately defeated in a public referendum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-charlottetown-accord|title=Charlottetown Accord {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>

<!----
{| style="float:right ; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"
|+Provinces
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#005d7c}} ''Alberta''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#f47f28}} ''British Columbia''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#000000}} ''Manitoba''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#8c0c04}} ''New Brunswick''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#ff99cc}} ''Newfoundland & Labrador''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#a3a3a3}} ''Northwest Territories''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#0047b6}} ''Nova Scotia''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#9370db}} ''Nunavut''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#c8102e}} ''Ontario''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#068774}} ''Prince Edward Island''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#1E90FF}} ''Quebec''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#076a21}} ''Saskatchewan''
|-
| style="padding: 0 5px;" | {{color box|#fcc917}} ''Yukon''
|}

====Historical demographic weight of provinces and territories====

{{Graph:Chart
 | width = 850
 | height= 450
 | type = line
 | interpolate = 
 | xType = date
 | xAxisAngle = -40
 | xAxisFormat = %Y
 | yAxisTitle = %Population
 | yGrid = yes
 | linewidth = 2
 | x =  1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931, 1941, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971, 1975, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021
 | y1 = <!--Saskatchewan, , , 1.69938, 6.83303, 8.61987, 8.88536, 7.78673, 5.93692, 5.47643, 5.07275, 4.78461, 4.29446, 4.00705, 3.97776, 3.98909, 3.62286, 3.38553, 3.26234, 3.11704, 3.14834, 3.1246, 3.06149
 | y2 = <!--Ontario 43.9343, 44.5551, 43.7454, 40.6408, 35.0689, 33.3828, 33.079, 32.9171, 32.8175, 33.6107, 34.1924, 34.8619, 35.7149, 35.944, 35.4313, 35.9618, 36.9452, 37.2783, 38.0245, 38.4662, 38.3904, 38.2584, 38.4514
 | y3 = <!--New Brunswick 7.74123, 7.42768, 6.64695, 6.1646, 4.88284, 4.41373, 3.93495, 3.9751, 3.68107, 3.44889, 3.27847, 3.08904, 2.94209, 2.94551, 2.86077, 2.8031, 2.65195, 2.55881, 2.43109, 2.30917, 2.24386, 2.12536, 2.09670
 | y4 = <!--Nova Scotia 10.5116, 10.1871, 9.31872, 8.55608, 6.83172, 5.96086, 4.94348, 5.02285, 4.5868, 4.32011, 4.041, 3.78644, 3.65798, 3.60364, 3.48123, 3.45001, 3.29687, 3.15211, 3.02597, 2.88952, 2.75334, 2.62746, 2.62052
 | y5 = <!--Prince Edward Island 2.54851, 2.51782, 2.25683, 1.92242, 1.30058, 1.00837, 0.84862, 0.82602, 0.70259, 0.61741, 0.57368, 0.54357, 0.51759, 0.51419, 0.50325, 0.50037, 0.46394, 0.46645, 0.45087, 0.43837, 0.41881, 0.40654, 0.4172
 | y6 = <!--Manitoba0.68382, 1.4396, 3.15536, 4.75137, 6.40234, 6.94267, 6.74885, 6.34193, 5.54299, 5.28599, 5.05359, 4.82329, 4.58193, 4.44275, 4.21572, 4.20009, 4.00025, 3.86143, 3.73106, 3.6327, 3.60928, 3.63671, 3.62823
 | y7 = <!--BC0.9825, 1.14361, 2.03121, 3.32613, 5.44609, 5.96933, 6.69221, 7.10772, 8.31733, 8.69637, 8.93223, 9.38385, 10.1288, 10.7278, 11.2741, 11.3925, 12.0236, 12.9113, 13.0227, 13.0121, 13.1436, 13.2228, 13.5188
 | y8 = <!--Newfoundland and Labrador, , , , , , , , 2.57981, 2.58115, 2.5104, 2.47106, 2.42068, 2.42565, 2.33199, 2.24561, 2.08257, 1.91283, 1.70936, 1.59893, 1.537, 1.47849, 1.38016
 | y9 = <!--Alberta , , , 1.35948, 5.19375, 6.69615, 7.05216, 6.9192, 6.7062, 6.98412, 7.30303, 7.32811, 7.54753, 7.99403, 9.19241, 9.34766, 9.32544, 9.3488, 9.91368, 10.4083, 10.8889, 11.5703, 11.5231
 | y10 = <!--Yukon ,,, 0.50675, 0.11811, 0.0473, 0.04077, 0.04271, 0.06493, 0.0758, 0.08021, 0.07203, 0.08526, 0.09497, 0.0951, 0.09287, 0.10183, 0.10665, 0.09556, 0.09607, 0.10126, 0.10205, 0.10876
 | y11 = <!--NWT 1.30107, 1.30517, 2.04763, 0.37475, 0.09029, 0.09266, 0.0898, 0.10453, 0.11424, 0.1201, 0.1261, 0.14393, 0.16137, 0.18532, 0.1879, 0.20639, 0.21119, 0.22326, 0.1245, 0.13116, 0.12385, 0.11887, 0.11102
 | y12 = <!--Nunavut , , , , , , , , , , , , ,, , , , 0.085729, 0.089129, 0.093234, 0.095308, 0.102254, 0.09964
 | y13 = <!--Québec 32.29691, 31.42397, 30.79788, 30.69822, 27.83232, 26.86253, 27.70581, 28.95613, 28.94965, 28.78166, 28.83617, 28.952, 27.94732, 27.115, 26.44849, 25.81048, 25.26284, 24.7473, 24.11923, 23.87042, 23.60748, 23.22606, 22.9829
 | colors = #076a21, #c8102e, #8c0c04, #0047b6, #068774, #000000, #f47f28, #ff99cc, #005d7c, #fcc917, #a3a3a3, #9370db, #1E90FF
}}
---->

== See also ==
{{Portal|Canada}}
* [[Interprovincial migration in Canada]]
* [[List of Canadian provinces and territories by historical population]]
* [[List of largest Canadian cities by census]]
* [[List of the largest cities and towns in Canada by area]]
* [[List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population]]
* [[List of the largest population centres in Canada]]
* [[Population of Canada]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Provinces and territories of Canada}}
{{Lists of the provinces and territories of Canada}}

[[Category:Demographics of Canada by province or territory| ]]
[[Category:Lists by population|Canada, population]]
[[Category:Lists of provinces and territories of Canada|Population]]
[[Category:Ranked lists of country subdivisions|Canada, population]]

==External links==
*[https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2018005-eng.htm Canada's population clock] – Statistics Canada