Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1889-02-22
CAN A.
It's Population, Area and Rate of
Growth.


Growth.
Since the political union OF Canada Is to
be discussed as "A possibility, well informed
persons affirming that it is no longer clear
that the majority of Canadian voters may
not favor the change, il is timely for the
people Of this country TO gather informa-
ton regarding the area, the population and
the different elements of the provinces com
posing the Dominion. The enthusiastic
Canadian is in the habit of saying that the
territory is greater than that of the United
States, but i'm no sense is this true. Some
standard works put the area OF Canada at
3,2O0,000 square miles and others at $780,
600, il is true, but the census report makes
the area Of the United States n little over
100000 square miles. The one statement
includes Alaska. but the other includes two
or three times ms much territory less inhab-
tied now, and so far as is known less fit for
human habitation. An enormous portion OF
the Canadian area is covered with water
and the extent OF the land surface, though
not even approximately known, must be
very much less than that of the United
States.
The entire area OF the provinces Quebec,
Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island is but
1864 square miles according to official
statements but the area Of Ontario is, ac-
cording to some publications, about 5000
square miles larger than the figures here
included, while the portion of British North
America, IN any sense occupied as yet. is
nowhere officially stated. Even within the
area of the older provinces, 10y far the great
er part is wilderness, and hardly one-seventh
appears to be occupied at all. For in On
tario the returns of 1881 showed that 1920,
900 acres were occupied, out of l0l, 733 square
miles in Quebec only 6,539, leo acres were
occupied out of 1854 square miles; and in
all the provinces the area occupied at that
| time was not over 3J,0O00J0 acres, out or
| 2oy,2l2, leo supposed TO be embraced Wlthln
| the provinces named. But since 1854 there
! has been some inclea in Ontario, II, los
| 7g5 acres were occupied in 1886, of which
! only l0,a3S.41l were improved II the ln-
crease has been relatively about as great IN
| the years 1887 and ISIS, and for tine past
eight years in the other provinces, still the
/ occupied area in all of them would not now
exceed 35,01O,O0O acres. Eight years ago
there were in the state Of Illinois alone more
! land occupied than in all the Dominion OF
! Canada, and probably there is now. In Ia
kota alone. not vet a state, the public land
sales within the past eight years have eX-
Ceeded ~, 900 acres, and with the sales
Of corporations probably exceed the entire
present occupied acreage in the DOMINION OF
! Canada.
OF the resources of the Canadian Provin-
ces in timber, III fertile land, in fisheries,
mining and salt, IL is not necessary here 10
speak: they are enormous, and so little has
! been done 10 define or develop them that
| they may greatly exceed any estimate
| But resources without men, resources
which human energy and enterprise have
failed so far to develop, may not be found
of much practical value for the future.
Therefore ii is to Americans "A fact which
needs explanation that the Canadian Pro
vinces have developed so slowly. For Can
ada is older than the rich and powerful
| states composing the Union. Quebec was
founded by Champlain five years before the
first huts were built on Manhattan Island.
Ontario was settled four years before the
Ohio Company started down the river in
fiatboats TO make its first settlement in Mar
! ietta. But in and west Of Ontario to the
I Pacific Ocean the inhabitants Of Canada
are now not more than 3,0O0,0)0; in and
| west of Ohio the inhabitants are more than
100000 The entire Province of Quebec
has only about the population of the City
| of New York alone. In the absence of eX-
PLANTATION, men are liable TO suppose that
this slowness OF growth must b. due TO in
| superable obstacles Of nature, or else TO in
sttutions yet more rigorous.
But Canada is essentially free country,
and the institutions and governments have
done much TO invite and encourage immi-
STdllOL ana 10 ueNclOp ulNCfSlIcd industry.
In spite OF all these efforts, there We're O.,
600 people from this country living IN Can
ada in 1881, while there are now about l.
100000 Canadians living in the United
States. y fifth of the entire present popu-
lation OF Canada has sought better oppor u
mites In this country; about thOusandth
part OF the population of the United States
have removed 10 Canada-and some of these
have migrated only because eXtraditiou
treaties are defective. The contrast Is
startling. And yet paper read by Mr..
Blue, secretary of the Ontario Board of
Industry, about a year ago showed that
this province would actually have lost popu-
lation during the previous seven wears but
forimmigration. With 20S,00O immigrants
and the natural increase of 2}4, 900 or 4I2 900
in all, the province only gained l45, 900; 1.-THE
lamentable truth is that we are growing
men for the United States" Mr.. Blue re-
marks.
Ontario is nevertheless the most pro-
! gressive OF the older provinces, and much
the most populous and productive. More
than twothirds Of the occupied acreage in
the entire Dominion are within its limits
Quebec, the next province in population and
area cultivated, gained in che ten years ISL
1881 only l6', 800 in population, about twelve
| per cent in ten years. The provinces of
| New Brunswick and Nova Scotia gained in
the same ten years only thirteen per cent.
The population of the entire Dominion in
! 1881 was 4,324,Sl0 and ii is supposed to have
since increased to 5,0O0,OO0 or more But
the growth of the United States in ten years
ending with 1880 was over IL 900 O0O or
thirty per cent. and its increase in ropula-
ton since 1850 has been nearly three times
the present population of the Dominion
New York Tribune