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D. Changing Populations · Changing Populations: Canada's People, Patterns and Trends

Changing Populations: Canada's People, Patterns and Trends: Unit Review

A1.1 A1.2 A1.3 A1.4 A1.5 A1.6 A2.1 A2.2 A2.3 A2.4 D1.1 D1.2 D1.3 D1.4 D1.5 D2.1 D2.2 D2.3 D2.4About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe and analyse Canada's demographic characteristics, settlement patterns and migration trends.
  • I can analyse quality of life, the effects of population change, and strategies that respond to it.
  • I can connect global population issues to Canada and use the geographic inquiry process.

Words to know

demography
The study of human populations.
natural increase
Births minus deaths.
total fertility rate
Average children per woman; replacement level is about 2.1.
dependency ratio
(0–14 + 65+) ÷ (15–64) × 100.
population density
Population ÷ land area.
interprovincial migration
Moving between provinces or territories.
interrelationships
Connections between factors, such as housing and health.
criteria
Standards used to evaluate a strategy.

Let's review!

In this unit you studied who lives in Canada (size, growth, age, diversity, First Nations, Métis and Inuit populations), where people live and why (distribution, density, settlement patterns), how people move (immigration and internal migration), how well people live (quality of life and its connected factors), what population change does to communities, how governments and organizations respond, and how global population issues connect to Canada. You also practised the geographic inquiry process.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer. If a part feels tricky, go back to that lesson.

Unit map: from data to decisionsWho are we?size, age, diversityWhere do we live?distribution, densityHow do we move?immigration, migrationHow well do we live?quality of lifeWhat changes?effects, opportunitiesWhat do we do?strategies, global roles
The unit moves from describing the population to explaining change and evaluating responses.
Canada at a glance: 2021 Census shares0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%Working age (15–64)64.8%Immigrants23.0%Aged 65+19.0%Rural17.8%Aged 0–1416.3%Indigenous5.0%Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population
Key 2021 Census shares to remember. (Each bar is a share of the whole population. The groups overlap, for example an immigrant can also be 65+, so the bars don't add to 100%.)

Counting Canada: The Census and How Populations Change

1

Write the demographic equation.

2

A town: 90 births, 110 deaths, 250 immigrants, 40 emigrants. Population change?

3

Quebec grew from 8,164,361 (2016) to 8,501,833 (2021). Percent change?

Measuring Change: Birth Rates, Death Rates, Fertility and the Demographic Transition

1

CBR of a town with 450 births and 50 000 people?

2

What was Canada's total fertility rate in 2023, and how does it compare with replacement level?

3

Doubling time at 1.4% growth (rule of 70)?

Canada's Age Structure: An Ageing Population

1

Dependency ratio: 15% children, 63% working age, 22% seniors?

2

Which province had the oldest population in 2021, and which territory the youngest?

3

Why is Canada's share of seniors rising quickly?

Who We Are: Diversity, Languages and Indigenous Populations

1

What share of Canada's population were immigrants in 2021?

2

Name the three Indigenous groups and the largest of them in 2021.

3

Give two reasons the Indigenous population grew 9.4% from 2016 to 2021.

Where Canadians Live: Population Distribution, Density and the Factors Behind Them

1

Saskatchewan had 1,132,505 people on 577,060 km². Density?

2

Name one physical and one economic factor that explain why most Canadians live in the south.

3

Why can provincial density be misleading?

Settlement Patterns: Comparing Communities in Canada and the World

1

Match: long lots, concession grid, square sections → Quebec, Ontario, Prairies.

2

Which CMA grew fastest from 2016 to 2021?

3

Give one difference between many European cities and Canadian suburbs.

Immigration to Canada: Trends, Policies and Sources

1

What did the 1967 points system change?

2

Where were most recent immigrants born in 2021?

3

A post says immigrants are 75% of Canada's population. How do you check it?

On the Move: Migration Within Canada

1

Which province had the largest net interprovincial gain in 2023?

2

Give one push factor from Ontario and one pull factor to Alberta.

3

What is intraprovincial migration?

Quality of Life and Well-Being in Canada: Connected Factors

1

Give one example of an interrelationship between two well-being factors.

2

Crowded housing in 2021: Indigenous vs non-Indigenous people?

3

Does correlation prove causation?

Effects of Population Change: Economic, Social, Cultural, Political and Environmental

1

Name the five lenses for analysing effects.

2

Give one political effect of population change in Canada.

3

Predict one effect of the 85+ population growing toward 2.7 million.

Growing and Shrinking Communities: Opportunities and Challenges

1

Give one opportunity and one challenge of a shrinking town.

2

Why ask "opportunity for whom?"

3

Rewrite respectfully: "Newcomers caused the housing crisis."

Meeting the Needs of a Changing Population: Evaluating Strategies

1

List three criteria for evaluating a strategy.

2

Name one strategy for seniors and one for newcomers.

3

What is one weakness of $10-a-day child care so far?

Global Population Issues and Canada's Role

1

When did world population reach 8 billion?

2

Give one action each by a government, an organization and an individual in Canada on refugees.

3

Where do most refugees live?

Be a Population Geographer: An Inquiry Into Your Community, and Careers

1

Name the four concepts of geographic thinking.

2

Primary or secondary: a census table you analyse yourself? A magazine article?

3

Name a career and a skilled trade that use population geography skills.

Just for fun

Riddle: I grow with births and arrivals, shrink with deaths and departures, and Statistics Canada counts me every five years. What am I?

Canada's population (counted by the Census of Population).

How to use this review

  • Work through one section at a time and write full answers, not just numbers.
  • Put a check beside questions you got right on your own, and a star beside any you needed help with.
  • If you starred two or more questions in a section, go back to that lesson and redo its "More practice" questions.
  • For data questions, always say where the number comes from (Statistics Canada, year).
  • Finish with the quiz. For every mistake, read the explanation and find the lesson it came from.
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Natural increase is:

2.

In 2023, about what share of Canada's growth came from international migration?

3.

Canada's total fertility rate in 2023 was:

4.

Which place had the youngest population in 2021?

5.

What share of Canada's population were Indigenous people in 2021?

6.

Which is a political factor in population distribution?

7.

Which survey system created long, narrow lots along the St. Lawrence?

8.

Moving from Ontario to Nova Scotia is:

9.

Which strategy is designed to help newcomers learn English or French?

10.

Which concept of geographic thinking asks how different groups view an issue?

For parents and teachers

How to use the review results:

  • Errors with the demographic equation or percent change → revisit Counting Canada: The Census and How Populations Change.
  • Rate calculations, fertility or DTM stages → revisit Measuring Change.
  • Dependency ratios or provincial age differences → revisit Canada's Age Structure.
  • Diversity, language or Indigenous population facts and respectful terms → revisit Who We Are.
  • Density calculations or assessing factors → revisit Where Canadians Live.
  • Survey patterns, CMA definitions or community comparisons → revisit Settlement Patterns.
  • Immigration categories, history or checking claims → revisit Immigration to Canada.
  • Push/pull factors and interprovincial data → revisit On the Move.
  • Linking well-being factors or correlation errors → revisit Quality of Life and Well-Being.
  • Mixing up the five lenses → revisit Effects of Population Change.
  • Forgetting "for whom?" → revisit Growing and Shrinking Communities.
  • Describing instead of evaluating → revisit Meeting the Needs of a Changing Population.
  • Global issues and levels of action → revisit Global Population Issues and Canada's Role.
  • Inquiry steps, sources and careers → revisit Be a Population Geographer.

Keep practice short and regular, and ask your teen to explain one answer aloud each day. Explaining reasoning is a key Grade 9 geography skill.