Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map.
Create AccountLac La Biche, Alberta, incorporated as a municipal district in 2007, population 8,330 (2016 census), 8,402 (2011 census). Lac La Biche County is located 225 km northeast of Edmonton on the south shore of the lake of the same name. Incorporated as a town in 1951, Lac La Biche amalgamated with Lakeland County in 2007 to create Lac La Biche County.
Athabasca, Alberta, incorporated as a town in 1911, population 2,965 (2016 census), 2,990 (2011 census). The town of Athabasca is located on the Athabasca River, 150 km north of Edmonton. Up until 1904 it was known as Athabasca Landing.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, incorporated as a town in 1792 and reincorporated in 1970, population 17,511 (2016 census), 15,400 (2011 census). The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is located where the Niagara River enters Lake Ontario. In 1970, the old town of Niagara-on-the-Lake joined the Township of Niagara. The township included the villages of Virgil, Queenston, St. Davids, Homer and McNab. Together they became a regional town retaining the name Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Raymond, Alberta, incorporated as a town in 1903, population 3,708 (2016 census), 3,743 (2011 census). The town of Raymond is located in southern Alberta, approximately 35 km south of Lethbridge. In the early 1900s the area was settled by Mormons and Japanese labourers (see also Japanese Canadians). The Raymond Stampede, Canada’s first rodeo, has been held in the town since 1902.
New Westminster, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1860, population 70,996 (2016census), 65,976 (2011 census). The city of New Westminster is located on the north bank of the Fraser River, 20 km east of Vancouver. Governor James Douglas established New Westminster in 1859 as the capital of British Columbia. The Royal Engineers surveyed the city and Queen Victoria named it. As a result, New Westminster’s nickname is “The Royal City.” New Westminster is western Canada’s oldest city.
Qalipu (pronounced: ha-lee-boo) is a Mi’kmaq First Nation based in Newfoundland and Labrador. The nation was established in 2011 under the Indian Act. According to the federal government, Qalipu has 23,435 registered members, making it the second-largest First Nation by population in Canada. The nation’s members hail from 67 different communities across Newfoundland. As of 2020, roughly 95 per cent of Qalipu members live in Newfoundland and Labrador; the other 5 per cent live throughout Canada. The Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation currently controls no reserve land. (See also Reserves in Newfoundland and Labrador.)
Cardston, Alberta, incorporated as a town in 1901, population 3,585 (2016 census), 3,580 (2011 census). The town of Cardston is located 75 km southwest of Lethbridge. It was named for Charles Ora Card (1839─1906), a son-in-law of Brigham Young. Young was a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (see Mormon Church) in the United States.
Invermere, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1983, population 3,391 (2016 census), 2,955 (2011 census). The District of Invermere is located on the northwestern shore of Windermere Lake in the Rocky Mountain Trench. Invermere is 130 km north of Cranbrook and 120 km southeast of Golden.
Elkford, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1981, population 2,499 (2016 census), 2,523 (2011 census). The District of Elkford is situated on the west side of the Elk River. The Elk River is a tributary to the Kootenay River, in the East Kootenay district of southeastern British Columbia. The district is 35 km north of Sparwood. It’s located among the Rocky Mountains, near the old coal-mining communities of Crowsnest Pass, and on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people. At 1,300 m elevation, Elkford is the highest community in British Columbia.
Fernie, British Columbia, incorporated as a city in 1904, population 5,249 (2016 census), 4,448 (2011 census). The city of Fernie lies in the narrow valley of the Elk River, amidst the Rocky Mountains. It is located on the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people.
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, incorporated as a city in 1903, population 32,724 (2016 census), 32,546 (2011 census). The city of Moose Jaw is located 160 km north of the US border and 65 km west of Regina in a sheltered valley at the confluence of the Moose Jaw River and Thunder Creek. It is governed by a mayor and six councillors who are elected to represent the city as a whole. The city’s evocative name is likely based on Indigenous sources and was perhaps first applied to a local creek that supposedly resembled the outline of a moose’s jawbone; another explanation is that it comes from a Cree word for “warm breezes.”
Barrie, Ontario, incorporated as a city in 1959, population 141,434 (2016 census), 136,063 (2011 census). Barrie is located at the head of Kempenfelt Bay, on the western edge of Lake Simcoe. Located within Simcoe County, Barrie shares borders with the municipalities of Oro-Medonte, Springwater, Essa, and Innisfil. Barrie is located on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, and covered by treaties 16 and 18.
Sicamous, British Columbia, incorporated as a district municipality in 1989, population 2,429 (2016 census), 2,441 (2011 census). The District of Sicamous is located at the eastern end of Shuswap Lake in south-central British Columbia, 140 km east of Kamloops. It lies to the west of the Monashee Mountains on a narrow strip of land between Shuswap and Mara lakes. Its name derives from a Secwepemc First Nation word meaning “narrow” or “squeezed in the middle.” (See also Interior Salish.)
The Canadian Prairies were peopled in six great waves of migration, spanning from prehistory to the present. The migration from Asia, about 13,300 years ago, produced an Indigenous population of 20,000 to 50,000 by about 1640. Between 1640 and 1840, several thousand European and Canadian fur traders arrived, followed by several hundred British immigrants. They created dozens of small outposts and a settlement in the Red River Colony, where the Métis became the largest part of the population. The third wave, from the 1840s to the 1890s, consisted mainly but not solely of Canadians of British heritage. The fourth and by far the largest wave was drawn from many nations, mostly European. It occurred from 1897 to 1929, with a pause (1914–22) during and after the First World War. The fifth wave, drawn from other Canadian provinces and from Europe and elsewhere, commenced in the late 1940s. It lasted through the 1960s. The sixth wave, beginning in the 1970s, drew especially upon peoples of the southern hemisphere. It has continued, with fluctuations, to the present. Throughout the last century, the region has also steadily lost residents, as a result of migration to other parts of Canada, to the United States, and elsewhere.
Val-des-Sources (formerly Asbestos), Quebec, incorporated as a village in 1899 and as a town in 1937, population 6,786 (2016 census), 7,096 (2011 census). The town of Val-des-Sources is located in the Eastern Townships region, 53 km north of Sherbrooke and 58 km southeast of Drummondville. Originally called Asbestos, the town was named after the mineral mined there from 1881 to 2011. During that time, Asbestos produced much of the world’s supply of the asbestos mineral, which is now banned in many countries because of its negative health effects. Asbestos was renamed Val-des-Sources in December 2020. Val-des-Sources is located on ancestral Abenaki lands. The land is unceded and is considered Indigenous territory.
Fort McMurray, Alberta, unincorporated population centre, population 61,374 (2011c), 47,705 (2006c). Fort McMurray is the largest community in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB). It is technically known as the municipality’s “Urban Service Area” and colloquially known as “Fort Mac.” The community located near the confluence of the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers in northeastern Alberta, near the centre of the vast Athabasca oil sands deposit. Originally incorporated as a city in 1980, in 1995 Fort McMurray merged with much of the surrounding area — collectively known as Improvement District No. 143 — to create the RMWB. At 63,783 km2, the municipality is the largest in North America in terms of size, accounting for nearly 10 per cent of the province’s total area. In May 2016, Fort McMurray experienced one of the worst forest fires in Canadian history. More than 80,000 residents were evacuated and approximately 2,400 structures — about 10 per cent of the city — were destroyed.
Vancouver's Chinatown features a distinctive hybrid of architectural styles that combines Chinese regional architecture with locally established Western motifs. The main streets in Chinatown follow a traditional Western grid pattern, while the north side is distinguished by interior courtyards, alleyways and façades that face both lanes and streets.
Innisfil, Ontario, incorporated as a town in 1991, population 36,566 (2016 census), 32,727 (2011 census). The town of Innisfil is located 75 km north of Toronto along the shore of Lake Simcoe.
Tsiigehtchic, Northwest Territories, population 187 (2019). Tsiigehtchic is located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Arctic Red rivers. It is home to the Gwichya Gwich’in First Nation (“people of the flat lands”) who speak an Athapaskan language (see Indigenous Languages in Canada). Formerly known as Arctic Red River, the community’s name was changed to Tsiigehtchic (“at the mouth of iron river”) in 1994. The community is on the Dempster Highway. It is accessible by summer ferry across the Mackenzie River and in winter by ice road. Tsiigehtchic is one of four communities in the Gwich’in Settlement Region. The region is an area created by the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (1992). The other three communities in the region are Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Inuvik. (See also Dinjii Zhuh (Gwich'in).)
