By Marta Bristow, Research Associate, Conference Board of Canada

The residents of Fort Liard, a remote community in the Northwest Territories, endured a two-week closure this past spring of the only highway linking them to the rest of the territory. Highway 7, also known as Liard Trail, had deteriorated so badly, several sections north of town were impassable.

The highway has been plagued with severe maintenance challenges in recent years. Shortcomings in the highway's original design and…

By Heidi Martin, Research Associate, Conference Board of Canada

The North is a vast region, dotted with diverse communities.  Economic conditions vary from place to place, but many Northern communities are experiencing the paradox of high unemployment rates while employers in those communities struggle to recruit.  In many regions in the North, this reflects a lack of labour force capacity among the local population.  Some communities, especially in Western Canada, are struggling to find…

The Centre for the North's Canada's North Beyond 2011 was a success! We invite you to read about conference impressions from the World Wildlife Fund's delegate by clicking here.

You can learn more about the conference highlights by clicking here. 

"Canada's North looms large in our national imagination, but not in the daily lives of most Canadians. What happens in the North, however, matters to all of us. How our far-flung northern communities develop will have a real impact on the economic future of our country, and all of us need a better understanding of the forces at work."

Read the rest of the Centre for the North's editorial in the Toronto Star by clicking here.

By Dr. Siomonn Pulla, Senior Research Associate, Centre For the North

Strong global demand for commodities -including gold, silver, copper, zinc, and diamonds-provides a unique opportunity for Canada's North to stimulate development and expand  infrastructure. Northern communities are poised to benefit greatly from major resource projects-which by their nature are large, location-specific, capital intensive and of finite duration.  Success, however, must be measured by more than simply the…

Percentage of Population Whose Mother Tongue Is French (2006 Census)

For historical and other reasons, the French language is dominant in the province of Quebec. And while there are regions of New Brunswick, Northern Ontario, and the Prairie provinces with large French-speaking communities, francophones are the linguistic minority in all provinces and territories outside Quebec. But does the prevalence of French as a mother tongue change across Canada's North-South boundary? The answer is . .…

Single-Parent Families

Since the end of the Second World War, there has been a trend among Canadians toward fewer marriages. The result is that more children are being raised in common-law relationships or by single parents. The trend toward common-law relationships has been especially pronounced in Quebec. But are there regional differences across Canada with respect to single-parent families?

As the map and tables illustrate, the percentage of families led by a single parent is far higher…

Life Expectancy at Birth

By international standards, a child born in Canada this year can expect to live a good, long life. Whatever the method used to predict life expectancy, Canada always ranks in or near the top 10 list of countries for this indicator, with an average life expectancy of about 81 years. According to the Conference Board's How Canada Performs rankings, this puts Canada in seventh place, behind such countries as Japan, Switzerland, and Australia, but ahead of the United…

Electors Per Electoral District (2008 Election)

The concept that people should be equally represented in Parliament regardless of where in the country they live ("representation by population") is somewhat more complicated to implement in Canada than it may first appear.

Elections Canada provides an interesting history of the development of the formula that is currently used to determine the allocation of seats in the House of Commons. Over the years, there have been considerations for…