Territorial Evolution, 1867 to 1999

It was difficult to map this country: the land mass is so vast, the climate often very harsh, and the country endured long periods of war. Explorers and cartographers groped along, by trial and error, contradicting each other, sometimes getting lost in obscure theories about North American geography, and only slowly obtained the information gathered by other countries.

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Photograph of the Fathers of Confederation

Nevertheless, navigation techniques, astronomical measurements and the making and printing of maps continued to evolve; the abstract notions gradually disappeared and information began to circulate more widely. The maps showing Canada and its surrounding waters quickly became more accurate and more reliable. Aboriginal peoples also provided a great deal of information.

By studying maps, we can explore the country’s political, economic and social history. Under first the French and then the English, knowledge continued to progress, first from the East and Northeast, then from the West and the Pacific Coast, and then into the entire Arctic region. The growth of maps produced in Canada, both general and detailed, reached new heights. (Source: National Archives of Canada).

The animation Territorial Evolution 1867 to 1999 shows sequentually the history of the political boundary changes in Canada from Confederation to the creation of Nunavut.

• Territorial Evolution, 1867 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1870 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1871 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1873 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1874 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1876 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1880 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1881 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1882 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1886 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1889 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1895 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1897 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1898 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1901 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1905 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1912 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1920 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1927 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1949 Map | Read about this map
• Territorial Evolution, 1999 Map | Read about this map

• History
• Territorial Evolution
• References and Links