Historical boundaries

1840
1867
1870 to 1873
1874 to 1882
1884 to 1905
1912
1920 to 1949
1999

1840

1840 - The Act of Union, passed in July 1840 and proclaimed February 10,1841, abolished the legislatures of

Lower Canada and

Upper Canada and established a new political entity, the Province of Canada, to replace them.

1867

1867 - The new Dominion of Canada is no larger than

Nova Scotia,

New Brunswick,

and the land near the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the St. Lawrence River and the north side of the Great Lakes.

1870 to 1873

1870 - The British government transfers control of the

North-Western Territory to Canada. The Hudson's Bay Company sells

Rupert's Land to the new nation. The province of

Manitoba is created out of this vast area. The new province, made up of land around the Red River, is small by Canadian standards — 36,000 square kilometres. The rest of the newly-acquired land is called the

Northwest Territories.

1871 - The colony of British Columbia becomes a province of Canada.

1873 - The small island colony of Prince Edward Island, which had rejected Confederation six years earlier, joins the union.

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1874 to 1882

1874 - Boundaries for the province of

Ontario are expanded.

1876 - The

District of Keewatin is created from part of the

Northwest Territories.

1880 - The British transfer ownership of the islands of the Arctic archipelago to Canada.

1881 - Manitoba's boundaries are extended for the first time. The new area added to Manitoba was part of the area given to Ontario in 1874. This causes conflict between Manitoba and her neighbouring province.

1882 - The Districts of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Athabaska are formed in the Northwest Territories.

1884 to 1905

1889 - The boundary dispute between

Manitoba and

Ontario is settled in Ontario's favour. Ontario's borders were enlarged northward.

1895 - The Districts of

Ungava,

Franklin,

Mackenzie and

Yukon are created in the Northwest Territories.

1898 - Quebec's boundaries are extended northward; the District of Keewatin is enlarged and the District of Yukon becomes a separate territory.

1903 - A boundary dispute between British Columbia and Alaska is settled.

1905 - The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan are created out of the Districts of Athabaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Assiniboia; the District of Keewatin is transferred to the newly-defined Northwest Territories.