Eastern Canada (, also known as the Eastern provinces, Canadian East or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait, and east of Manitoba. From east to west, it consists of the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario.
Eastern Canada overlaps into other geographic regions; Ontario and Quebec, Canada's two largest provinces, define Central Canada, while the other provinces in Eastern Canada constitute Atlantic Canada. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island are also known as the Maritime provinces.
Capitals Ottawa, Canada's capital, is located in Eastern Canada, within the province of Ontario.
The capitals of the provinces are in the list below: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Halifax, Nova Scotia Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Fredericton, New Brunswick Quebec City, Quebec Toronto, Ontario
Definitions
The Canadian Press defines Eastern Canada as everything east of and including Thunder Bay, Ontario. This definition excludes from Eastern Canada the sparsely populated section of Northwest Ontario that is west of Thunder Bay, that section including Rainy River District and the most populated part of Kenora District.
Population The total population of this region is about 25,135,649 in 2021, or about 70% of Canada's population. Most of the population resides in Ontario and Quebec. The region contains three of Canada's five largest metropolitan areas, Toronto being the fourth largest municipality in North America.
Largest metropolitan areas Toronto, Ontario: 6,254,191 Montreal, Quebec: 4,098,927 National Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario / Gatineau, Quebec): 1,568,381 Quebec City, Quebec: 807,200 Hamilton, Ontario: 536,917 London, Ontario: 474,786 St. Catharines–Niagara, Ontario: 447,888 Kitchener, Ontario: 441,380 Halifax, Nova Scotia: 403,131 Windsor, Ontario: 329,144 Barrie, Ontario: 212,667 Sherbrooke, Quebec: 212,105 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador: 205,955
The population of each province in 2021, from greatest to least is here:
Ontario: 14,223,942 Quebec: 8,501,833 Nova Scotia: 969,383 New Brunswick: 775,610 Newfoundland and Labrador: 510,550 Prince Edward Island: 154,331
Politics In Canadian politics, Eastern Canada generally supports the Liberal Party. A notable exception is Central Ontario, which remains heavily conservative.
Eastern Canada is represented by 232 Members of Parliament out of the 338 (122 in Ontario, 78 in Quebec, and 32 in the Atlantic Provinces) and 78 senators out of 105.
+2025 Federal Election Results for Eastern CanadaParty name ON QC NB NS PE NL Total LiberalSeats: 70 44 6 10 4 4 138Vote: 49.0 42.6 53.4 57.2 57.5 54.0 – ConservativeSeats: 52 11 4 1 – 3 71Vote: 43.8 23.3 40.8 35.2 36.9 39.7 – Bloc QuébécoisSeats: – 22 – – – – 22Vote: – 27.7 – – – – – New Democratic PartySeats: – 1 – – – – 1Vote: 4.9 4.5 2.9 5.2 2.5 5.5 – GreenSeats: – – – – – – –Vote: 1.2 0.9 1.7 0.9 2.2 0.1 –Total seats 122 78 10 11 4 7 232
+2025 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 138 71 22 1
+2021 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 137 55 32 6 1
+2019 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 140 50 32 8 1
+2015 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 152 45 24 10
+2011 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 92 87 30 4
+2008 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 71 69 49 22 2
+2006 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 87 59 51 15 1
+2004 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 118 54 31 10
+2000 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 155 38 10 5 2
+1997 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 138 44 19 8 1
+1993 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 148 54 2 1 1
+1988 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 121 75 10
+1984 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 150 38 13 1
+1980 Federal Election Seat Results for Eastern Canada 145 52 5
See also Western Canada Eastern United States List of regions of Canada
References
External links