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Kingston, Ontario, incorporated as a city 1846, population 132,485 (2021 census), 123,798 (2016 census). Kingston was first settled in 1783, incorporated as a town in 1838 and as a city in 1846. It is located approximately 175 km southwest of Ottawa, 290 km west of Montreal and 260 km east of Toronto. The former capital of the Province of Canada (1841), Kingston’s position at the junction of the  Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, its proximity to the border with the United States and the dominance of the  Canadian Shield in its surrounding area, have been crucial to its settlement, political and economic history.

Halton Hills, Ontario, incorporated as a town in 1974, population 62,951 (2021 census), 61,161 (2016 census). Halton Hills is located approximately 45 km west of Toronto and was created by the amalgamation of Acton, Georgetown and Esquesing Township. The town also encompasses several hamlets — Ballinafad, Glen Williams, Stewarttown, Limehouse, Glen Lawson, Speyside, Ashgrove, Crewson’s Corners, Bannockburn, Henderson’s Corners, Whaley’s Corners, Mansewood, Hornby, Silver Creek, Terra Cotta and Norval. From 1926 to 1935, Norval was home to Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables.

Dresden, Ontario, population centre, population 2,401 (2021 census), 2,451 (2016 census). Incorporated as a town in 1882, Dresden lost this status in 1998 after it merged into the new municipality of Chatham-Kent. Dresden is an agricultural community located in southwestern Ontario on the Sydenham River. The Dawn Settlement, near Dresden, was one of the final destinations of the Underground Railroad. In the mid-20th century, some businesses in Dresden became infamous for refusing to serve Black Canadians (see Racial Segregation of Black People).

Regina, Saskatchewan, founded in 1882, incorporated as a city in 1903, population 215,106 (2016 c), 193,100 (2011 c). The City of Regina is the capital, commercial and financial centre of Saskatchewan. Regina is situated 160 km north of the United States border. The city is set in a wide, level alluvial plain. It was named for Queen Victoria, mother-in-law of the Marquess of Lorne, governor general at the time of the city’s founding.

District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, incorporated in 1971, permanent population 60,599 (2016 census), 58,017 (2011 census); estimated seasonal population 85,163 in 2016. Muskoka is an iconic area of Ontario’s cottage country located approximately 200 km north of Toronto. A destination for seasonal residents and tourists who have been drawn by its natural beauty since the late 1800s, the district has equally been home to generations of permanent residents.

There are 42 reserves in Nova Scotia, held by 13 First Nations (see First Nations in Nova Scotia). Nova Scotia is one of just two provinces, the other being Prince Edward Island, that is part of the traditional territory of only one Indigenous people. In both cases, it is the Mi'kmaq. In 2020, there were 17,895 registered Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia, about 63 per cent of whom (11,202 people) lived on reserve. Reserves in Nova Scotia vary in size from over 3,500 hectares to less than one, though almost every First Nation has more than one land tract.

Vaughan, ON, incorporated as a city in 1991, population 323,103 (2021 census), 306,233 (2016 census). The City of Vaughan — which includes the five constituent communities of Maple, Kleinburg, Concord, Woodbridge and part of Thornhill — is located in the York regional municipality, next to the northwest boundary of metropolitan Toronto. Traditionally an agricultural and milling community, Vaughan’s economy diversified over the latter half of the 20th century as immigration increased and the township developed into a city. Today, Vaughan is a multicultural community with a growing metropolitan core.

Saskatchewan is home to at least 70 First Nations and various Métis communities. It contains 782 reserves, settlements and villages, many of which are located in the southern half of the province. Reserves in Saskatchewan were created between 1874 and 1906 by Treaties 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10. As of 2016, 47.5 per cent of the province’s 114,570 self-identified First Nations peoples live on reserves, a percentage comparable to the province of Manitoba. Most of the remaining 47 per cent who reside off-reserve in Saskatchewan live in the cities of Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.

Schefferville, Quebec, incorporated as a town in 1955, population 155 (2016 census), 213 (2011 census). Schefferville is located between Knob and Pearce Lakes, on Quebec’s border with Labrador, 510 km north of Sept-Îles.

Nova Scotia was one of the four founding provinces of Canada. It joined New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec in Confederation on 1 July 1867. However, this was mainly because Confederation delivered the Intercolonial Railway to the Maritimes, and because of the efforts of Sir Charles Tupper. His government passed approval for Confederation in the colonial legislature despite popular opposition. (See Confederation’s Opponents.) Confederation was met with mass protests in the colony. Joseph Howe led a two-year effort to repeal the union. (See Repeal Movement.) But Howe finally decided he could do more to help his province by working inside the federal government. He joined the federal Cabinet in 1869.

Africville was an African-Canadian village located just north of Halifax and founded around the mid-19th century. The City of Halifax demolished the once-prosperous seaside community in the 1960s in what many said was an act of racism. The mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality apologized for the action in 2010. For many people, Africville represents the oppression faced by Black Canadians, and the efforts to right historic wrongs.

East Gwillimbury, Ontario, incorporated as a town in 1971, population 34,637 (2021 census), 23,991 (2016 census). Located in York Region, East Gwillimbury’s northern border is less than a kilometre from Lake Simcoe. Historic communities within East Gwillimbury include Sharon, Holland Landing, Queensville and Mount Albert. As of 2021, the town was Canada’s fastest growing municipality of over 5,000 people, with a population increase of over 44 per cent between 2016 and 2021.

Throughout history, the East Gwillimbury area has been home to different Indigenous groups, namely the Wendat (Huron), Tionontati (Petun), Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg, including the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation. The land is part of the Williams Treaties (1923).

Red Deer, Alberta, incorporated as a city in 1913, population 100,844 (2021 census), 100,418 (2016 census). The city of Red Deer is located on the Red Deer River, 150 km south of Edmonton. The Cree applied the name “Elk” to the river, but Scottish fur traders appear to have confused elk with the red deer of their homeland.

Cupids, Newfoundland and Labrador, incorporated as a town in 1965, population 743 (2016 census), 761 (2011 census). The town of Cupids is located in southwest Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula, about 80 km west of St. John's. Originally known as Cupers Cove (1610), other early variants of the name include Cuperts Cove and Kibby's Cove. However, the name Cupids Cove appears quite early: Sir William Alexander referred to it by this name in his An Encouragement to Colonies (1624). No one knows the origin of the name, but it may be an anglicized version of a Spanish or Basque name.

Kitimat, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1953, population 8,236 (2021 census), 8,131 (2016 census). The district of Kitimat is located at the head of the Douglas Channel, 206 km east of Prince Rupert by road. Its name comes from the Tsimshian term for the Haisla inhabitants of the area, Kitamaat (“people of the snow”). The modern community was founded in the early 1950s.

Cambridge, Ontario, incorporated as a city in 1973, population 138,479 (2021 census), 129,920 (2016 census). Cambridge is located within Waterloo Region and along the Grand River. It was created through the amalgamation of the City of Galt, the Towns of Preston and Hespeler, and parts of North Dumfries and Waterloo townships.

Throughout history, the Cambridge area has been home to different Indigenous groups, namely the Neutral, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe. The land is covered by the Haldimand Proclamation.

Fort Nelson, BC, population centre, population 2,611 (2021 census), 3,371 (2016 census). Fort Nelson is the service centre for the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM). The NRRM is made up of a number of communities, of which Fort Nelson is the largest. Fort Nelson is located in the northeast corner of British Columbia, near the confluence of three rivers: Muskwa, Prophet and Sikanni Chief. Together these rivers combine to become the Fort Nelson River. The community is 387 km north of Fort St. John. It was named after British Admiral Horatio Nelson, famous for the Battle of Trafalgar. Incorporated as a town in 1987, Fort Nelson became a part of the NRRM in 2009.

Squamish, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1964, population 23,819 (2021 census), 19,497 (2016 census). The district of Squamish is located 70 km north of Vancouver at the head of Howe Sound. The municipality is governed by a mayor and six councillors. It is the service centre for a richly endowed recreational area, with road, rail and water access to Vancouver.

The Quebec Act received royal assent on 22 June 1774. It revoked the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which had aimed to assimilate the French-Canadian population under English rule. The Quebec Act was put into effect on 1 May 1775. It was passed to gain the loyalty of the French-speaking majority of the Province of Quebec. Based on recommendations from Governors James Murray and Guy Carleton, the Act guaranteed the freedom of worship and restored French property rights. However, the Act had dire consequences for Britain’s North American empire. Considered one of the five “Intolerable Acts” by the Thirteen American Colonies, the Quebec Act was one of the direct causes of the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). It was followed by the Constitutional Act in 1791.

This is the full-length entry about the Quebec Act of 1774. For a plain language summary, please see The Quebec Act, 1774 (Plain-Language Summary).

Flin Flon, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, incorporated as a city in 1970, population 4,940 in Manitoba, 159 in Saskatchewan (2021 census); 4,991 in Manitoba, 203 in Saskatchewan (2016 census); area 13.87 km²in Manitoba, 2.37 km²in Saskatchewan. The city of Flin Flon is situated along the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border, 743 km northwest of Winnipeg. The Saskatchewan part of Flin Flon is jointly administered by the two provinces. Flin Flon is named after the fictional character Professor Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin (created by J.E.P. Muddock), the adventurer-explorer hero of The Sunless City (1905).