Central Canada

Central Canada (French: Centre du Canada, sometimes the Central Provinces) is a Canadian region consisting of Ontario and Quebec, the largest and most populous provinces of the country. 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

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.

Geography

Ontario, Canada's fourth largest subdivision (after Nunavut, Quebec, and the Northwest Territories), had, at the 2021 Canadian census, a land area of 892,411.76 km2 (344,562.11 sq mi) (10.15 percent of Canada and the fifth largest after Nunavut, Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia) and as of 2017, there was 177,390 km2 (68,490 sq mi) (21.55 percent of Canada and the second largest after Quebec) of freshwater, for a total area of 1,069,801.76 km2 (413,052.77 sq mi) (11.13 percent of Canada).

Quebec, Canada's second largest subdivision and largest province, had, at the 2021 Canadian census, a land area of 1,298,599.75 km (806,912.47 mi) (14.78 percent of Canada and the second largest after Nunavut), and as of 2017, there was 183,890 km2 (71,000 sq mi) (22.34 percent and the largest in Canada) of freshwater, for a total area of 1,482,489.75 km2 (572,392.49 sq mi) (15.42 percent of Canada).