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Learn Index · Geography and Maps Grade 3–5

Regions of Canada

Canada can be divided into regions such as the Atlantic provinces, Central Canada, the Prairies, the West Coast and the North, each with different landforms, climate and industries.

Illustrated topic card: Regions of Canada — Canada is often divided into five regions with different landscapes, climates and economies.
Illustrated topic card: Regions of Canada — Canada is often divided into five regions with different landscapes, climates and economies.

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What is a region?

A region is an area with features in common. Geographers divide Canada into regions to study and compare it more easily.

There are two common ways to divide Canada:

  1. Political regions, grouping provinces and territories
  2. Physical regions, grouping land by natural features such as landforms, rock, climate and vegetation

Political regions

Region Provinces and territories
Atlantic Canada Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island
Central Canada Quebec, Ontario
The Prairies Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta
The West Coast British Columbia
The North Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut

Physical regions

A physical region is grouped by natural features. Canada has seven main physical regions.

1. The Cordillera

The Cordillera is the mountain region of the west, including the Rocky Mountains and the Coast Mountains in British Columbia and Yukon.

  • Land: high, rugged mountains, valleys and plateaus
  • Climate: mild and very rainy on the coast; colder and drier inland
  • Resources and economy: forestry, mining, fishing, tourism, hydroelectricity

2. The Interior Plains

The Interior Plains stretch from the Prairies north to the Arctic Ocean.

  • Land: flat to gently rolling land
  • Climate: hot summers and very cold winters, with little rain
  • Resources and economy: wheat, canola and other grains, cattle ranching, oil and natural gas, potash

3. The Canadian Shield

The Canadian Shield is the largest region, covering about half of Canada in a horseshoe shape around Hudson Bay.

  • Land: ancient rock (some of the oldest on Earth), thousands of lakes, thin soil, forests
  • Climate: cold winters, warm summers
  • Resources and economy: minerals such as gold, nickel and copper; forestry; hydroelectric power; tourism

4. The Hudson Bay Lowlands

  • Land: flat, swampy land with muskeg (wet peat bogs) along Hudson Bay
  • Climate: long, very cold winters
  • People: few people live here; communities include many First Nations

5. The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands

The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands is the smallest region, but home to more than half of all Canadians.

  • Land: flat to rolling land with fertile soil
  • Climate: warm, humid summers; cold, snowy winters
  • Resources and economy: farming (fruits, vegetables, dairy), manufacturing, finance, shipping on the St. Lawrence Seaway
  • Cities: Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, Québec City

6. The Appalachian Region

  • Land: old, rounded mountains and hills, rocky coasts, river valleys in Atlantic Canada and southeastern Quebec
  • Climate: mild, wet and foggy near the ocean
  • Resources and economy: fishing, forestry, farming (such as potatoes in PEI), tourism, offshore oil

7. The Arctic

The Arctic is Canada’s far north, including many islands.

  • Land: tundra (treeless land), permafrost (permanently frozen ground), ice and mountains
  • Climate: very cold, with long dark winters and short cool summers
  • People and economy: mainly Inuit communities; hunting, fishing, mining, tourism, arts

Comparing regions

Region Landform Climate Main economy
Cordillera mountains wet coast, dry inland forestry, mining, tourism
Interior Plains flat plains dry, extreme temperatures farming, oil and gas
Canadian Shield rock and lakes cold winters mining, forestry, hydro
Hudson Bay Lowlands swampy lowland very cold few industries
Great Lakes–St. Lawrence fertile lowland humid, four seasons manufacturing, farming, services
Appalachian old mountains, coast mild, wet fishing, tourism
Arctic tundra, islands very cold hunting, mining

Regions and people

Regions shape how people live: the jobs they do, the foods they eat, the homes they build and the activities they enjoy. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have lived in every region, developing ways of life suited to each land, from salmon fishing on the West Coast to bison hunting on the Plains and seal hunting in the Arctic.

Try it yourself

  1. Colour a map of Canada’s seven physical regions.
  2. Which physical region do you live in? Describe its land, climate and economy.
  3. Choose two regions and make a Venn diagram comparing them.
  4. Plan a road trip across Canada. Which regions would you pass through?

Quick recap

  • A region is an area with common features.
  • Canada has political regions and seven physical regions.
  • The Canadian Shield is the largest region; the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands has the most people.
  • Each region has its own landforms, climate, resources and economy.
  • Regions shape how people live and work.