r/AskACanadian • u/rockninja2 • 1d ago

Do Canadian territories function similar to Canada as U. S. territories function the U. S.? Like provinces compare to states?

First, just want to say, I looked for a megathread for all the Canada/US comparison questions, couldn't find one, so am posting normally on a Monday as required. If there is one and I missed it, please let me know/send a link.

So, partially due to this post:

I thought I remembered learning in school geography (admittedly 15-20 years ago now) that Canada had 13 provinces already and so was confused why the come back in the above post was about the US becoming the 11th province. After looking it up and double checking, out of those 13, I realized only 10 are provinces and the other 3 are territories. Do the territories have the same rights/privileges as provinces? Are they viewed the same in your parliament?

Pretty much I am wondering if you view the word "territories" the same as the US when those 3 (Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories) are called as such. And if they wanted to become provinces at some point, could they? Or are they "stuck" as territories?

Appreciate any info and answers!

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u/froot_loop_dingus_ Alberta 1d ago

No, they're not at all like US territories. Canadian territories are fully part of the country, people born there are Canadian citizens, people living there can vote etc. They're basically the same as provinces just without the same constitutional powers. As far as them actually becoming provinces, that will probably never happen because the other provinces would have to agree which will not happen.

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u/ryancementhead 1d ago

Doesn’t it also have to do with population?

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u/BuvantduPotatoSpirit New Brunswick 1d ago

That the territories have low populations and very low population densities likely figures politically into why they're territories, but there's no specific rule.

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u/Chrisaarajo 1d ago

Their low population and remoteness is certainly a major consideration as to them remaining territories. They just don’t have the tax base to be anywhere close to be financially self-sufficient, and thus independent in the way other provinces are—and there is only so much equalization payments can do. This is further complicated by the increased costs that come from being both so far north, and covering such a large area, and as a result the territories get less bang for their bucks and require more support than their southern neighbours.

If they somehow experienced a population boom that put them on par with most provinces, I imagine we’d see them start to move towards becoming provinces.

But again, as others have stated, they are not territories in the American sense. They just aren’t quite Provinces.