Canada's cities span the continent of North America from east to west, but many of them are located relatively close to the border with the United States. Cities are home to the majority of Canada's approximately 35.75 million inhabitants (as of 2015)—just over 80 percent of Canadians lived in urban areas in 2006.
Early urbanization: 14,000 BCE – 1850 CE Settlements and villages, 14,000 BCE – 1541 CE During the Wisconsin glaciation 50,000-17,000 years ago, falling sea levels allowed people to move across the Bering land bridge that joined Siberia to northwestern North America (Alaska). Alaska was ice-free because of low snowfall, allowing a small population to exist. The Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of Canada, blocking nomadic inhabitants and confining them to Alaska (East Beringia) for thousands of years. Arriving in Canada around 16,500-13,000 years ago after initially inhabiting the territories of Alaska, archaeological evidence suggests that the Paleo-Indians' first "widespread" habitation of Canada and further south occurred during the last glacial period or, more specifically, what is known as the late glacial maximum. Yet Canada's first people did not build towns or cities upon arrival. They were few in number compared to the size of the North American continent and most lived a nomadic subsistence lifestyle, following the migration of animal herds that provided food.
Over time, Canada's First Nations started to construct different kinds of settlements, though they were generally temporary. For instance, the semi-nomadic peoples of the Maritimes, Quebec, and Northern Ontario, such as the Mi'kmaq, Cree, and Algonquin constructed temporary camps and villages with wigwams and long houses as the basic architecture of settlement. Nomadic First Nations living on the Canadian Prairies developed tipis with thin wooden frames and an outer covering of animal hides for portability in erecting temporary camps, because the people often moved to a new location each day to follow the bison herds. In the interior of British Columbia, semi-permanent settlements were constructed by First Nations with pit houses. In the far north, the Inuit constructed temporary camps with igloos, a domed structure made of snow, and tents made of animal hides in the summer.
The Haida constructed villages on Canada's west coast. These people constructed settlements with large houses of red cedar planks, demonstrating advanced carpentry and joinery skills. The most advanced design was the six beam house, named for the number of beams that supported the roof. The front of each house would be decorated with a Totem pole, brightly painted with artistic designs; the house would sometimes be painted likewise.
Near 1000 CE, many Iroquoian-speaking communities around the Great Lakes began to switch from a nomadic life to more permanent settlements. The richness of the soil in the St. Lawrence valley, along with the abundance of fisheries nearby and of forests rich in game animals, provided resources for the establishment of Iroquois villages. In what is today Southern Ontario and Quebec, the Iroquois constructed permanent agricultural settlements with populations of several hundred to several thousand people. These villages were made up of long houses and could have fortifications such as palisades.
Settlements, Villages, and Towns, 1541-1850
Aboriginal peoples had been developing different kinds of settlements over thousands of years in Canada, but it was the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century which led to the establishment of the modern cities of Canada. Many of the new arrivals, both French and English, were from cities and brought with them the experience and knowledge of urban life. They used their knowledge and technology for city building, implementing techniques for the construction of permanent buildings, transportation and communication facilities, and the means of producing food for concentrated groups of people.
Cities were slow to grow in the early period of European colonization in Canada. Those who arrived did so within a colonial and mercantile context that emphasised the exploitation of the colony for economic purposes at a minimum of imperial expense. Because the colonial economies in Canada were based to a great extent on the fur trade, cities remained mostly administrative centres for the colonies. It was also a period of conflict between England and France, rival colonial powers until 1763, and between Britain and the United States of America from that point until the mid-nineteenth century. This turmoil discouraged the development of cities.
The cities Eastern cities such as St. John's (1583), Saint John (1604), Quebec City (1608), Montreal (1642), Halifax (1749), Windsor (1749), and Sherbrooke (1793) were officially incorporated as cities in these years. To the west, Toronto was established in 1793 as York. Of these cities, Montreal would become the most prominent city in Canada up to the 20th century. Toronto grew at a quick pace, gaining its status as a city and present name in 1834.
Montreal—1642
The area now known as Montreal has been a place of human habitation by Canada's native peoples for the last 8000 years. The first European, Jacques Cartier, reached the site in 1535. However, it was only in 1639 that the first permanent French settlement was established by Frenchman Jerome Le Royer, leading to the establishment of Ville Marie, a Roman Catholic mission, in 1642.
After a series of brutal attacks by the Iroquois, defending their territory, the arrival of new colonists in 1653 ensured the future of the city. The settlement became a fur trading centre but endured continuous raids by warring Iroquois until the Great Peace of 1701 guaranteed its safety.
After the Treaty of Paris in 1763, all the French territory in North America, including Ville Marie, became part of British North America. The town was subjected to invasion and a brief occupation by American forces in 1775, but they were subsequently routed and Montreal retaken by the British, with Canadian and Indian help.
An era of growth and prosperity began as British immigrants arrived and the fur-trading North West Company was established, operating from headquarters in Ville Marie and competing with the Hudson's Bay Company. The Eagle Foundry of Montreal built the Äccommodation¨, Canada's first steam powered vessel. The opening of the Lachine Canal in 1825 reinforced the location as a port. Coal gas street lighting was introduced in 1838.
The City of Montreal was established in 1832 with 27,000 inhabitants. During the period of its primarily European history, Montreal initially had a Francophone majority but Anglophone immigration tipped the balance by about 1830. From 1844 to 1849 Montreal served as the capital of the United Province of Canada.
The rise of the city: 1850–1920
Factors of growth Canada's first cities formed during these years with high population numbers, caused by a high domestic birth rate and the arrival of white, Christian immigrants from Europe, drawn by the hope for a better life in a new world. They served as outposts of European civilization in a land that was still mostly wild and inhospitable for settlers. In 1851 Canada's population stood at 2.4 million. By 1861 it had grown a third, to 3.2 million and by 1871 to 3.7 million.
Economic forces were also at play. The repeal of the Corn Laws in Britain in 1846 marked a symbolic end to the era of mercantilism and the beginning of the era of capitalism. Private investment, mostly from Britain, supported a nascent industrial structure based on transportation (the steam train), construction, electricity, public works, heavy manufacturing, consumer and industrial services and related financial institutions.
Technological innovations also supported city growth, including the telegraph, water and sewer systems, the telephone, urban transit, the electric light, the skyscraper, central heating and the techniques of light and heavy manufacturing. These new transportation and communications technologies also led to the creation of a new inter-urban network of cities which contributed to their growth based on mutual interaction.
The fading fear of attack by the USA provided a peaceful context for urban growth and the movement away from colonialism towards democracy gave urban dwellers the power to influence the shape of their cities.
The construction of universities and cultural facilities in cities put a more human face on the harsh environment.
The British North America Act (BNA), an act of the British Parliament, which established an independent and democratic Canada in 1867, reflected the rural character of the country at that time. Of a population of 3,600,000 almost 2,900,000 were rural dwellers while 700,000 lived in cities. The political forces at play involved both federal and provincial powers. Therefore, the BNA provided areas of exclusive jurisdiction for federal and provincial governments. Because cities were not predominant, the allocation of taxing powers for the financing of their growth, was left in the hands of the provinces. This would have important negative consequences a century later.
The Canadian Pacific Railway, created to realize the dream of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald for a transcontinental nation, was almost solely responsible for the emergence of the cities of western Canada during these years.
In Quebec, the Roman Catholic Church worked to maintain the rural nature of Quebec society, in the belief that this would help preserve the Catholic nature of the population and reinforce the Church's strength. One notable example of this policy was seen in the church sponsored attempt to ¨colonize¨ the rural Abitibi region of the province by farmers in the early twentieth century. The project failed because the region was only marginally suited to agriculture. This policy served to militate against urban growth in that province.
Furthermore, the nature of immigration limited the growth of cities in Quebec. Most immigrants to Canada during these years spoke English and preferred to settle in large cities, including Montreal, where an English-speaking population already existed. On the other hand, there were few French-speaking immigrants and the mostly French-speaking cities elsewhere in the province, including Quebec City and Trois-Rivières could not rely on this source for growth.
Emigration too had a negative effect on the growth of cities in Quebec. Around 1900, economic conditions in Quebec were very difficult and about 1,000,000 French-speaking Canadians left the province looking for work in the textile mills of New England.
By 1901, cities had grown to a point where the Union of Canadian Municipalities was formed to represent their interests.
Changing structures – high rise cores and suburbs During these years the structures of cities evolved rapidly. In 1850 the city was essentially all ¨downtown¨. The main buildings, serving residential, commercial and industrial functions, were made of wood or stone, mostly four to five stories tall and self-supporting. Streets were of dirt or occasionally cobblestone and strewn with garbage and human excrement. Animals wandered about and horses were everywhere, solo, with rider or pulling wagons or carriages. In larger cities public transit was provided by horse cars on rails. Gas lights provided illumination at night. The force of life was provided by muscle power, animal or human.