statistics]
CAN ADA 531 large proportion in the mining districts are Americans, and in the courts and parliament. Elsewhere English is exclusively used, cities Chinese with some Japanese. The mixed nationality of except by the newly-arrived foreigners. The male sex was at the the population is also remarkable in the town of Lethbridge, in census of 1891 predominant in all the provinces except Quebec South Alberta, as well as in the city of Yictoria, British Columbia. (where the sexes were about equal), the males in the Dominion Since 1876 there has been a great change throughout the west, i.e., numbering 2,460,471 and the females 2,372,768. The greatest from Lake Superior to the Pacific. Then Manitoba was principally discrepancies were in British Columbia with a surplus of 27,833 inhabited by English and French half-breeds (or Metis), descendants males, Ontario with 24,653, Manitoba with 16,178, and the Terriof Hudson Bay Company’s employees, or adventurous pioneers from tories 8603, though this order would be entirely changed were the Quebec, together with Scots settlers, descendants of those brought discrepancy to be exhibited with a percentage of the people. The out by Lord Selkirk, some English army pensioners and others, figures of the census of 1891 for the occupations of the people are and the van of the immigration that shortly followed from Ontario. used here, and to them should be added about 7^ per cent, to agree Beyond Manitoba bison were still running on the plains, and British with the later population. The percentage of miners, however, Columbia having lost its mining population of 1859 and 1860 was is necessarily disturbed by the recent aggregations in British inhabited by Indians, and its white population were principally Columbia _ and _ the Yukon :—persons engaged in agriculture, Englishmen and others who had drifted westwards. Domestic cattle n m n ™ S) 15,168; in fishing, 27,079 ; in lumbering, and grain have taken the place of the bison, while a rapidly increas- 12,756 ; ’*•m* manufacturing, 320,001
- in transportation,
186,495 ; ing English-speaking population is supplemented by 7000 Dou- professional, 63,280 ; students for professions, 10,867. In the khobors, and about 18,000 Galicians. French is the language of non-pi oductive classes : Indian chiefs, 143 ; members of religious the people of Quebec, though English is much spoken in the eastern townships and equally with French in the cities, both lan- 15 607 ’ P-P-’ pensioners, 179; retired persons, The following table (1891) shows the population by creeds guages being officially recognized in that province as in the Federal Provinces.
Church of England.
Methodists.
Presbyterians.
Baptists.
Other Denominations.
Total.
Ontario Quebec. Nova Scotia. New Brunswick Manitoba British Columbia Prince Edward Island The North-West Territories
385,999 75,472 64,410 43,095 30,852 23,619 6,646 15,966
654,033 39,544 54,195 35,504 28,437 14,298 13,596 8,158
453,147 52,673 108,952 40,639 39,001 15,284 33,072 12,558
106,047 7,991 83,122 79,649 16,112 3,098 6,265 1,555
156,795 21,146 17,265 6,415 17,533 21,031 1,662 46,386
1,756,021 196,826 327,944 205,302 131,935 77,330 61,241 84,623
Grand Total. 358,300 2,114,321 1,291,709 1,488,535 122,452 450,396 115,961 321,263 20,571 152,506 26,843 104,173 47,837 109,078 14,344 98,967
Canada
646,059
847,765
755,326
303,839
288,233
2,841,222
1,998,017
Indians.—The Indian population numbers about 100,000. Except in British Columbia ancl the unorganized Territories, nearly all of these are on reservations, where they are under Government supervision, receiving an annuity in money and a certain amount of provisions; and where, by means of industrial schools and other methods, civilized habits are superseding the former mode of life. The Indian population slightly increased in the decade 1890-1900. British Columbia has about 25,000, most of whom are along the coast, though one of the important tribes, the Shuswaps, are in the interior. Manitoba and the North-West Territories have the next largest number of Indians. Ontario has 20,610. They are entirely civilized, and many of them are good farmers. Quebec has 10,677 ; Nova Scotia, 2027 ; New Brunswick, 1627 ; Prince Edward Island, 314. The Peace River Indians number about 900, and the number computed for the outside territories is 17,648, in which are included the Eskimo of the barren lands and Arctic coasts. The Government acts as trustees for the Indians, investing their moneys accruing from the sale of lands, timber, &c., which in 1898 amounted to $3,725,747, and parliament annually makes a large appropriation for the payment of their annuities, schools, expenses of management, &c. Chinese and Japanese.—The Chinese and Japanese are nearly all in British Columbia. By an Act of 1895 the Chinese are compelled to pay a fee of $50 on entering Canada. From 1896 to 1898, 20,017 paid this fee, and 351 entered exempt from payment. In 1897 the British Columbia legislature passed an Act to prevent the underground employment of Chinese and Japanese in the coal and other mines, but the Federal Government disallowed the Act so far as it related to Japanese. Births, Marriages, and Deaths. —In the absence of a uniform system of registration, a complete return of births, deaths, and marriages is not obtainable. The following are the figures for 1897 :—
Roman Catholics.
4,839,239
Constitution.—The Dominion is a federation of the British colonies in North America (Newfoundland excepted), with the addition of Rupert Land and other territories formerly under the rule of the Hudson Bay Company. It is governed by a parliament consisting of the Sovereign, represented by a Governor - General, an Upper House called the Senate, and a House of Commons. The members of the Senate are appointed for life by the Government of the day, and they are 81 in number—being 24 members each from Ontario and Quebec, 10 each from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, 4 each from Prince Edward Island and Manitoba, 3 from British Columbia, and 2 from the organized Territories. The number of representatives in the House of Commons is re-arranged after each decennial census in such a way that the province of Quebec shall always have 65 members, and every other province such number as will give the same proportion of representatives to its population as the number 65 is to the population of Quebec. By the terms of union with Canada, British Columbia was never to have less than 6 members. Each province is presided over by a lieutenantgovernor appointed by the Governor-General in Council for a term of 5 years, and has its own legislature and executive council, the jurisdiction of the provincial legislatures being described and limited by the imperial Act of 1867 federating the colonies. At this date Quebec and Nova Scotia were given two chambers — a legislative council and legislative assembly—the one appointed and the other elected; and on the creation of Manitoba (1870), two chambers were given to that province. Quebec and Nova Scotia are the only provinces now retaining a legislative council. These legislatures have exclusive jurisdiction over their own range of subjects, but their Acts are nevertheless subject to disallowance (within one year of their passage) by the Federal Government, in the same way that the Acts of the parliament of the Dominion are subject (within two years) to disallowance by the imperial Government. This power has been used, though rarely, in both cases. Matters of purely local interest are dealt with by the municipalities into which the several provinces are divided. The organized Territories were at
