Lecture 10: Atlantic Canada Flashcards
Describe the trend of population growth in Atlantic Canada
Very slow comapred to the rest of the country
What is a consequence of low population growth in Atlantic Canada?
Slow economic growth
Where do half of Atlantic canada’s population live? (6 cities)
Halifax, St. John’s, Saint John, Moncton, Fredericton, Charlottetown
When did the Atlantic Canada provinces join?
NS and NB entered during confederation, PEI in 1873, NL in 1949
How did Canada offset the challeneges of getting martime goods to Central Canada in the 1880s? What was it called, who paid?
Intercolonial Railway → freight rates were cheap and Ottawa soaked deficits
How did the CPR help the Atlantic Canadian economy?
Started producing a lot of steel
What happened in 1919 that damaged economic growth, population growth, and employment rates in Atlantic Canada?
Federal government subsidies for freight rates were eliminated → many migrated to New England and Central Canada
How is economy of Atlantic Canada doing today? (4 things happening)
- Projects are closing (potash in NB and mines in labrador
- Alberta oil sands commuters lost their jobs
- Tourism and shellfish exports benefitting from low Canadian dollar
- Federally funded shipbuilding is key pillar
What is beneath the seafloor of the Great Banks?
Large oil deposits 200km-300km east of Newfoundland
How did falling oil prices inpact oil drilling in Atlantic Canada
Royalties halfed to under a billion and Husky’s project is stuck half finished after NL rejected the offer to invest due to their financial situtation
What is hydrometallurgy and how is it helping the Atlantic Canadian economy?
Value-added component that turns nickel concentrate into nickel in Voisey’s Bay, NL → economic stimulant
Are NL a have or have not province?
They were have not for a long time until recently when oil was discovered, however low oil prices might bring that back down
Are Atlantic provinces going to become have provinces?
Very unlikely
Where does Atlantic Canada’s future lie?
tertiary sector, espeically high-technology industries (ex: Verafin, a anti-financial crime software)
Despite the 75% teritary sector emplotment, why is Atlantic Canadian economy growth stagnant? (2 reasons)
- High unemployment rate
- Low worker count growth rate
What is the main reason of the low growth rate in Atlantic Canada?
Inability to attract immigrants and relocation of its reisdents to economically better parts of Canada
How is urbanization in Atlantic Canada?
More and more people are people are moving to major cities at increasing rates → but they still remain the least urbanized region
Describe population growth in rural Atlantic Canada
Population growth is very low, decline is common
What is the Hibernia project?
Oil project 315km east of St. John’s, NL
Very sturdy oilplatform that can survive intense North Atlantic Ocean storms and icebergs
Has housing for workers
Describe the weather in St. John’s
Rainy, overcast, foggy (april - sept), mild temperatures, heavy snowfalls in winter, tropical storms
What is the Annapolis Valley?
Low lying area in Nova Scotia
How did the Annapolis Valley form?
Glacial retreat
Which Atlantic province is not a Maritime province?
NF
What are the 4 lowest populated provinces?
Atlantic provinces
What two phsyiographic regions are in Atlantic Canada?
Appalachain Uplands and Canadian Shield
How were fjords formed in Atlantic Canada?
Streams of meltwater from melting glaciers cut deeply into the land resulting in hilly terrain and rugged fjords along coastlines
What are the Tablelands in Western Newfoundland?
One of the places in the world where Earth’s mantle is exposed because two tectonic plates collided 350MYA and forced the mantle up and over the coast
Why is the landscape of the Tablelands desert-like despite large amount of precipitation?
The rock of the mantle is ultramafic and lacks the nutrients to support plant life
What are the Torngat Mountains?
Decently big mountains at the very northern tip of Labrador formed 750 Mya
Why is the climate of Atlantic Canada colder than BC?
The water comes from the Labrador current and is very cold whereas the Pineapple express is warm water
What are nor’easters?
Weather systems that move from west to east across NA that gain moisture from the Atlantic aand thus strenghten as they move over the region
What is there so much fog and cloud coverage in Atlantic Canada (Newfoundland especially)?
At any time of year, warm air masses from Gulf of Mexico can travel up the coast and colide with cold continental air masses
What ocean current frequents icebergs
Labrador current → titanic
Why is Newfoundland known for having the least desirable climate of any province?
Low total sunshine hours
Who came to Newfoundland in the year 1000? Where did they established a settlement?
Vikings from Norway, settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows
Who was John Cabot?
Italian explorer who reached Newfoundland in 1497 searching for Asia
Who lived in the Atlantic region in the early 1700s?
Mix of British, French (Acadiens), and Indigenous Peoples (Mi’kmaq)
What was the impact on Atlantic Canada following the Treaty of Utrecht?
The french surrendered Acadia to the British
Why did the Acadians get deported to Louisiana?
The Acadians refused to sign an oath of allegiance to Britain
What part of New France still belongs to France?
St. Pierre and Miquelon
How did the US War of Independance impact the settlement of the Atlantic region?
After the US one, 40,000 British Loyalists migrated to NS and NB
Where did the Scotish and Irish tend to settle?
Scottish in Cape Breton and Irish in NB