Why Most Canadians Live in Just 4% of the Country

Canada is the second-largest country on Earth. Yet roughly two-thirds of Canadians live within just 100 kilometers of the U.S. border - a narrow zone representing only a small fraction of Canada's enormous territory. So why did one of the biggest countries in the world become so concentrated in the south? The answer is much more than "because the north is cold." In this video, we look at the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence corridor, the Canadian Shield, agriculture, transportation, trade, settlement history and the economic momentum that keeps Canada's biggest cities growing in the same places. And Canada isn't the only giant country with a strange population map. Russia is next. Subscribe to Strange Atlas for more geography stories that look strange until you understand why. #Canada #Geography #Population 00:00 Canada's 4% Population Mystery 00:39 Why Cold Isn't the Answer 00:59 The Real Answer: Access 01:49 The Canadian Shield 02:55 How History Locked It In 03:42 Why Big Cities Keep Winning 04:57 The U.S. Border Effect 05:48 Canada's North Isn't Empty 06:29 The Infrastructure Problem 06:49 Could Canada Change? 07:30 Why the Pattern Persists Visual credits Visual excerpts and framing adapted for this documentary. Algonquin Wetlands Drone 1080p - Derrick O'Toole. CC BY 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Algonquin Forest Sunset Timelapse 4K - Alexander Kondratskiy. CC BY 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Toronto Highway401 Aerial 1080p - InOldNews / Katherine KY Cheng. CC BY 2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... VIA Rail Lumi Train52 1080p - Sky's Trains. CC BY 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Ambassador Bridge Windsor Detroit - PDru2014 from Detroit, United States. CC BY 2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Palgrave Ontario Agricultural Fields - Steve Knight from Halstead, United Kingdom. CC BY 2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Robert Bourassa Hydro Spillway Quebec - P199. CC BY 2.5. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Radisson Quebec Northern Settlement - Quintin Soloviev. CC BY 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Tsiigehtchic Mackenzie Ice Road 1920 - Ian Mackenzie. CC BY 2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Mackenzie Ice Road Fog 1920 - Martin Male from Yellowknife, Canada. CC BY 2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Canadian North Aircraft Yellowknife 1920 - mjb84 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/markjms/. CC BY 2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Diavik Diamond Mine NWT Planet 2016 - Planet Labs, Inc.. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index... Licenses: CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... CC BY 2.5: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... CC BY-SA 4.0 (Diavik image and adaptations): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Additional footage via Pexels: Kash Tahen, Jilon Tanvir, David Montanari, Everett Bumstead, The Six, Matthew Padilla, Patrick Tomasso and Anurag Jamwal. Pexels License: https://www.pexels.com/license/ Base cartography: Natural Earth, public domain. https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ Russia base map: CC0; source and creator in the asset manifest.