ins a mixed population, of which in the mining
districts a large proportion is American. Since 1871 a great change has
taken place throughout the west, i.e. from Lake Superior to the Pacific.
Then Manitoba was principally inhabited by English and French
half-breeds (or Metis), descendants of Hudson's Bay Company's employes,
or adventurous pioneers from Quebec, together with Scottish settlers,
descendants of those brought out by Lord Selkirk (q.v.), some English
army pensioners and others, and the van of the immigration that shortly
followed from Ontario. Beyond Manitoba buffalo were still running on the
plains, and British Columbia having lost its mining population of 1859
and 1860 was largely inhabited by Indians, its white population which
centred in the city of Victoria being principally English.

French is the language of the province of Quebec, though English is much
spoken in the cities; both languages are officially recognized in that
province, and in the federal courts and parliament. Elsewhere, English
is exclusively used, save by the newly-arrived foreigners. The male sex
is slightly the more numerous in all the provinces except Quebec, the
greatest discrepancy existing in British Columbia.

The birth-rate is high, especially in Quebec, where families of twelve
to twenty are not infrequent, but is decreasing in Ontario. In spite of
the growth of manufactures since 1878, there are few large cities, and
the proportion of the urban population to the rural is small. Herein it
differs noticeably from Australia. Between 1891 and 1901 the number of
farmers in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces decreased, and
there seemed a prospect of the country being divided into a
manufacturing east and an agricultural west, but latterly large tracts
in northern Ontario and Quebec have proved suitable for cultivation and
are being opened up.

_Religion_.--There is no established church in Canada, but in the
province of Quebec certain rights have been allowed to the Roman
Catholic church ever since the British conquest. In that province about
87% of the population belongs to this church, which is strong in the
others also, embracing over two-fifths of the population of the
Dominion. The Protestants have shown a tendency to subdivision, and many
curious and ephemeral sects have sprung up; of late years, however, the
various sections of Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists have united,
and a working alliance has been form