Whether or whether Canada is divided into individual states is a semantically nebulous topic. While the United States, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, and India all have states, Canada does not exist in the strictest sense.
This is likely because the Canadian government uses a different title (two terms, in fact). There are 13 administrative divisions within Canada (10 provinces and 3 territories), equal to individual states except for the last two.
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The 13 States (Provinces and Territories) of Canada:
Name | Type |
---|---|
Alberta | Province |
British Colombia | Province |
Manitoba | Province |
New Brunswick | Province |
Newfoundland and Labrador | Province |
Northwest Territories | Territory |
Nova Scotia | Province |
Nunavut | Territory |
Ontario | Province |
Prince Edward Island | Province |
Quebec | Province |
Saskatchewan | Province |
Yukon | Territory |
Explaining the distinction between provinces and territories in Canada

What are the distinctions between Canadian territories and provinces? The allocation of political power and authority is where the two systems diverge.
Provinces, like American states, derive their capacity to rule from the Constitution Act of 1867 and are therefore seen as co-sovereign units with considerable autonomy.
In contrast, territories only have the power and duty the Canadian federal government gives them. However, the Canadian federal government has made efforts in recent years to give territories additional autonomy, and this trend is anticipated to continue.
Also See: Brazil States 2022
According to land mass, Quebec is the biggest province while Prince Edward Island is the smallest. With almost 14 million residents, Ontario far surpasses any other province in terms of population.
The population of Prince Edward Island, the smallest, is a little over 100,000. By 2021, the combined populations of Canada’s provinces had reached over 37 million people.
Next, we have the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut. The biggest of the three in terms of landmass is Nunavut, although the Northwest Territories has the most residents. In 2021, the combined population of all Canadian territories was a little under 119,000.
Name | Type | Joined | 2021 Population | Area km² | Official Language(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alberta | Province | 9/1/1905 | 4262635 | 661848 | English |
British Colombia | Province | 7/20/1871 | 5000879 | 944735 | English |
Manitoba | Province | 7/15/1870 | 1342153 | 647797 | English |
New Brunswick | Province | 7/1/1867 | 775610 | 72908 | French and English |
Newfoundland and Labrador | Province | 3/31/1949 | 510550 | 405212 | English |
Nova Scotia | Province | 7/1/1867 | 969383 | 55284 | English |
Ontario | Province | 7/1/1867 | 14223942 | 1076395 | English |
Prince Edward Island | Province | 7/1/1873 | 154331 | 5660 | English |
Quebec | Province | 7/1/1867 | 8501833 | 1542056 | French |
Saskatchewan | Province | 9/1/1905 | 1132505 | 651036 | English |
Northwest Territories | Territory | 7/15/1870 | 41070 | 1346106 | French, English, nine First Nations languages |
Nunavut | Territory | 4/1/1999 | 36858 | 2093190 | French, English, Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun |
Yukon | Territory | 6/13/1898 | 40232 | 482443 | French and English |