Canadian Geography
Political Structure
10 provinces and 3 territories
Canada - Then and Now
Map of Canada 1867
Map of Canada 1999
Confederation
Canada became a nation, the Dominion of Canada, in 1867. Before that, British North America was made up of a few provinces, the vast area of Rupert’s Land (privately owned by the Hudson’s Bay Company), and the North-Western Territory. By 1864, many leaders felt that it would be good to join into one country. Known as the Fathers of Confederation, these leaders met and wrote a constitution for the new country, which had to be passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Once passed, it became known as the British North America Act, or the BNA Act. This Act brought together the three provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Canada (which became the provinces of Ontario and Quebec). The BNA Act described the structure and main laws of the new country, as well as the division of powers between the new provinces and the federal government.

We have had a type of democracy in Canada since the mid-1300s! 
Did you know that the Iroquois Confederacy in Canada was the first democracy in North America?

Urban and Rural Canada