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Vaughan, ON, incorporated as a city in 1991, population 323,103 (2021 census), 306,233 (2016 census). The City of Vaughan — which includes the five constituent communities of Maple, Kleinburg, Concord, Woodbridge and part of Thornhill — is located in the York regional municipality, next to the northwest boundary of metropolitan Toronto. Traditionally an agricultural and milling community, Vaughan’s economy diversified over the latter half of the 20th century as immigration increased and the township developed into a city. Today, Vaughan is a multicultural community with a growing metropolitan core.

Niagara Falls, Ontario, incorporated as a city in 1904, population 88,071 (2016 c), 82,997 (2011 c). The City of Niagara Falls possesses a fame and name that are based on the stunning, world-famous Niagara Falls on the Niagara River. Growth has combined tourism and gambling with railhead developments at this Canadian–US border crossing. In the past the manufacturing industry (including electrochemicals and abrasives) dominated, fuelled by cheap and readily available hydroelectric power.

Africville was an African-Canadian village located just north of Halifax and founded around the mid-19th century. The City of Halifax demolished the once-prosperous seaside community in the 1960s in what many said was an act of racism. The mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality apologized for the action in 2010. For many people, Africville represents the oppression faced by Black Canadians, and the efforts to right historic wrongs.

Edmonton, Alberta, incorporated as a city in 1904, population 932,546 (2016 c) 812,201 (2011 c). Edmonton is the capital of Alberta, and is located on the North Saskatchewan River, near the geographical centre of the province. Commonly known as the "Gateway to the North," it is strategically situated on an economic divide between the highly-productive farmlands of central Alberta and a vast, resource-rich northern hinterland.

Winnipeg, Manitoba, incorporated as a city in 1873, population 705,244 (2016 c), 663,617 (2011 c). The city of Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, and is located at the confluence of the Red River and Assiniboine River 100 km north of the Minnesota border. The name is derived from the Cree name for Lake Winnipeg, 65 km north, win-nipi, meaning "murky water." Winnipeg is an important economic and cultural centre for the Prairies. Lying midway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, it has been called "Bull's Eye of the Dominion," and because of its location between the Canadian Shield and the prairie, "Gateway to the West."

District Municipality of Muskoka, Ontario, incorporated in 1971, permanent population 60,599 (2016 census), 58,017 (2011 census); estimated seasonal population 85,163 in 2016. Muskoka is an iconic area of Ontario’s cottage country located approximately 200 km north of Toronto. A destination for seasonal residents and tourists who have been drawn by its natural beauty since the late 1800s, the district has equally been home to generations of permanent residents.

In 1841, Britain united the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This was in response to the violent rebellions of 1837–38. The Durham Report (1839) recommended the guidelines to create the new colony with the Act of Union. The Province of Canada was made up of Canada West (formerly Upper Canada) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada). The two regions were governed jointly until the Province was dissolved to make way for Confederation in 1867. Canada West then became Ontario and Canada East became Quebec. The Province of Canada was a 26-year experiment in anglophone-francophone political cooperation. During this time, responsible government came to British North America and expanded trade and commerce brought wealth to the region. Leaders such as Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir George-Étienne Cartier and George Brown emerged and Confederation was born.

(This is the full-length entry about the Province of Canada. For a plain language summary, please see Province of Canada (Plain Language Summary).)

 Whitehorse, Yukon, incorporated as a city in 1950, population 25,085 (2016 c), 23,276 (2011 c). The City of Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon, is located about 87 km north of the British Columbia border. Communities like Whitehorse, which fall along the Alaska Highway, are often identified by where they sit on this stretch of road. With Dawson Creek, British Columbia at 0 km, Whitehorse is at kilometre 1,476. The city lies mainly on the western side of the Yukon River on a 600 m wide river plain backed by a steep escarpment with a plateau-like summit 60 m above. The Whitehorse landscape is dominated by Canyon Mountain (locally known as Grey Mountain) to the east, Haeckel Hill to the northwest and Golden Horn Mountain to the south. Nestled in a protected valley, Whitehorse enjoys a moderate climate for the North, with warm, dry summers. Long hours of summer daylight (almost 20 hours in June) offset a short growing season and dark winters.

St. Catharines, ON, incorporated as a city in 1876, population 136,803 (2021 census),  133,113 (2016 census). The City of St. Catharines is the principal city of the Niagara Region. It lies south of Toronto across Lake Ontario (111 km by the Queen Elizabeth Way), 19 km inland from the international boundary with the United States, along the Niagara River. The city is named after Catharine Hamilton, wife of Robert Hamilton, an influential merchant of Queenston and a landowner with mills on Twelve Mile Creek; the growing community, then known as The Twelve or Shipman's Corners, was renamed in her honour after her death in 1796. After 1876, as the urban area of St. Catharines expanded, it was permitted to annex parts of the surrounding Grantham Township, culminating in 1961 in the complete amalgamation of the township as well as the adjacent towns of Merritton and Port Dalhousie. In 1970, the rural township of Louth to the west was split between St. Catharines and the new town of Lincoln.

Victoria, BC, incorporated as a city in 1862, population 91,867 (2021 census), 85,792 (2016 census). The capital of British Columbia, the City of Victoria is situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, about 100 km south of Vancouver. Occupying a peninsular site, Victoria is bordered by the Juan de Fuca and Haro straits. In addition, the Olympic Mountains lie to the south, the San Juan Islands to the east, and the fjord-like Saanich Inlet and richly forested Malahat Ridge and Sooke Hills to the west. Greater Victoria lies within the Capital Regional District (CRD), a federation comprising the following incorporated areas: the cities of Victoria, Colwood and Langford; the towns of Sidney and View Royal; and the municipalities of Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, Central Saanich, North Saanich, Sooke, Metchosin and Highlands. The CRD also includes the electoral areas of Juan de Fuca, the Southern Gulf Islands and Saltspring Island.

Bathurst, New Brunswick, incorporated as a city in 1966, population 11,897 (2016 census), 12,275 (2011 census). The City of Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary where the Nepisiguit River meets Chaleur Bay. Bathurst is the administrative, commercial, educational and cultural hub of northeastern New Brunswick. The city is part of the Chaleur Regional Service Commission along with the neighbouring municipalities of Beresford, Nigadoo, Petit-Rocher, Pointe-Verte and Belledune, and sits adjacent to the Pabineau First Nation.

In 1841, Britain united the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This was in response to the violent rebellions of 1837–38. The Durham Report (1839) laid out the guidelines to create the new colony with the Act of Union in 1840. The Province of Canada was made up of Canada West (formerly Upper Canada) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada). The two regions were governed jointly until Confederation in 1867. Canada West then became Ontario and Canada East became Quebec.

Little Burgundy is a neighbourhood in the southwest borough of Montreal, Quebec. It is the historical home of the city’s Black English-speaking, working-class community (see also Black Canadians). Montreal's early Black settlement was comprised mainly of African Americans who lived in the Faubourg (French for "suburb") of St. Antoine — a neighbourhood that is now known as Little Burgundy. The settlement dates to the emergence of the railway companies in the mid- to late 19th century and the era of the Black sleeping car porters.

Calgary, Alberta, incorporated as a city in 1894, population 1,306,784 (2021 census), 1,239,220 (2016 census). The city of Calgary is situated on the Bow River in southern Alberta, about 220 km north of the American border at the meeting point of the Western prairies and mountain foothills. It is the financial centre of western Canada, based on its key role in the development of the region’s oil and gas industry. With its panoramic backdrop of the Rocky Mountains and its historic association with cattle ranching and oil exploration, Calgary is one of Canada’s most identifiable cities.

In 1841, Britain united the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This was in response to the violent rebellions of 1837–38. The Durham Report (1839) laid out the guidelines to create the new colony with the Act of Union in 1840. The Province of Canada was made up of Canada West (formerly Upper Canada) and Canada East (formerly Lower Canada). The two regions were governed jointly until Confederation in 1867. Canada West then became Ontario and Canada East became Quebec.

Lower Canada was a British colony from 1791 to 1840. Its geographical boundaries comprised the southern portion of present-day Quebec. In 1791, Britain divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. (See: Constitutional Act 1791.) Britain had followed a similar policy of territorial division twice before. Prince Edward Island was detached from Nova Scotia in 1769. The provinces of Cape Breton and New Brunswick were created in 1784 in response to the wave of Loyalist immigration (which also occurred in Quebec). In 1841, Upper Canada and Lower Canada were renamed Canada West and Canada East, respectively. They were united as the single colony of the Province of Canada.

Acadia’s history as a French-speaking colony stretches as far back as the early 17th century. The French settlers who colonized the land and coexisted alongside Indigenous peoples became called Acadians. Acadia was also the target of numerous wars between the French and the English. Ultimately, the colony fell under British rule. Many Acadians were subsequently deported away from Acadia. Over time, as a British colony and then as part of Canada, Acadians increasingly became a linguistic minority. Nonetheless, Acadians have strived to protect their language and identity throughout time.

St. John's, NL, incorporated as a city in 1921, population 108,860 (2016 c), 106,172 (2011 c). The capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, the city of St. John's is located on the eastern side of the Avalon Peninsula of southeast Newfoundland. Its landlocked harbour is approached through a long, narrow channel and is protected by the high hills on which the city is built. The origin of the name St. John's is not known, but its use appears on a Portuguese map by Pedro Reinel (1516–20) as "Rio de San Johem" and later, in a 1527 letter by the English seaman John Rut, as the "Haven of St. John's." According to popular folklore, however, the city takes its name from the feast of Saint John the Baptist and the arrival of Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) on the shores of Newfoundland on 24 June 1497.

Ottawa, Ontario, incorporated as a city in 1855, population 934,243 (2016 c), 883,391 (2011 c). The City of Ottawa is the capital of Canada and is located on the Ottawa River on Ontario's eastern boundary with Québec, about 200 km west of Montréal. The name "Ottawa" is thought to derive from an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the same name, probably from a word meaning "to trade" (see Odawa). Amalgamation, on 1 January 2001, merged "old" Ottawa with 11 area municipalities and the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton to create a “new” city. The amalgamated city encompasses the municipalities of Ottawa, Vanier, Nepean, Kanata, Gloucester and Cumberland; the townships of Rideau, West Carleton, Goulbourn and Osgoode; and the village of Rockcliffe Park.

Charlottetown, PEI, incorporated as a city in 1855, population 36,094 (2016 c), 34,562 (2011 c). The capital of Prince Edward Island, the City of Charlottetown is also the administrative centre of Queens County and the principal municipality of Canada's smallest province. It is situated on a broad harbour opening into the Northumberland Strait. Three rivers converge there, with the city located on a low-rising point of land between the Hillsborough (East) and North (Yorke) rivers just opposite the harbour's mouth. Suburban development has spread across the Hillsborough to Stratford, and between the North and West (Eliot) rivers at Cornwall. Besides its governmental functions, Charlottetown services a considerable agricultural hinterland and is the focus of Island communications. Its favourable climate, nearby beaches and claim to be the “Birthplace of Confederation” have made it a major tourist centre.