From Ellesmere Island to Pelee Island, from Tofino to St. John’s, we’ll show you where it all happened. You’ve read about all kinds of interesting people and events in Kayak. Get clicking to see where in Canada you’ll find them.

Confederation

View Origins of Canadian Provinces/Territories in a larger map

View Origins of Canadian Provinces/Territories in a larger map

New Brunswick, 1867
There were at least two very good reasons for New Brunswick to want to be part of a bigger, stronger country. First, the United States might try to take it over, and second, a railway link would help its people make more money from larger markets.

Nova Scotia, 1867
Although its leaders wanted Confederation, the voters didn’t. At first, anyway — they voted the idea down the first chance they had. Eventually, though they supported becoming part of Canada.

Quebec, 1867
Hoping that a province where most people spoke French would better protect their language and culture, Quebec’s leaders were in favour of Confederation from the start.

Ontario, 1867
Among other reasons, Ontario liked the idea of Confederation because it offered the best chance to get a railway built that would run right across what is now Canada. That meant more business (and money) for everyone.

Northwest Territories, 1870
Originally a gigantic chunk of land bought from the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Northwest Territories became smaller as it was divided up to create Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Yukon and Nunavut, but it’s still pretty huge.

Manitoba, 1870
With Louis Riel as their leader, the Métis of the Red River Colony (a small square area around what is now Winnipeg) decided they wanted their own province. They got it, but not the fair and equal treatment they hoped for.

British Columbia, 1871
Even though there were some who didn’t want to lose their own colony and take orders from Ottawa, most in B.C. welcomed Confederation as a way to bring in more money.

Prince Edward Island, 1873
On the one hand, the new country of Canada feared P.E.I. might join the United States. On the other, the island colony needed money, which Canada would provide. So although it stayed out in 1867, P.E.I. joined Confederation seven years later.

Alberta, 1905
Originally part of the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan both received payments of more than a million dollars when they joined Confederation.

Saskatchewan, 1905
At first, Alberta and Saskatchewan were supposed to be one province. They were separated partly because one would have been too huge, but also because there were fights over where the capital would be.

Yukon Territory, 1898
The gold rush of the late 1800s brought thousands of people to the Yukon, making it big enough to demand its own territory with Whitehorse as the capital.

Newfoundland and Labrador, 1949
A British colony for nearly a century after Confederation, this province finally joined Canada when a small number more voters chose that over staying under the rule of Britain, which was happy to stop spending money on it.

Nunavut, 1999
It took nearly 30 years of talks, but eventually the Inuit of Canada’s North had a territory where they were in charge. The federal government could no longer make decisions for the Inuit without involving them.