How the Provinces got their Names

Newfoundland	Was named by King Henry VII, who referred to John Cabot's discovery in 1947 as " New Found Luanda ".
Nova Scotia	The Latin form of New Scotland.
Prince Edward Island	Was named in 1799 after a son of King George III, Prince Edward who was commander in chief of British North America at the time.
New Brunswick	Was named in 1784 in honour of the reigning Monarch, King George III, who was also the Duke of Brunswick.
Quebec	Was named in 1763, after the Algonquin word for narrow passage.
Ontario	Is of Native origin from the Huron words, "onitari" for lake and "io" for beautiful; and the Iroquoian word "kanadario" for sparkling water. It appeared in 1641 and was applied to the province in 1867.
Manitoba	Comes from Manitou bou, which in Cree means, " narrows of the Great Spirit ".
Saskatchewan	Was derived from the Cree name for the Saskatchewan River, "Ksiskatchewananisipi" which means "swift flowing river".
Alberta	Was named in honour of Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, in 1882.
British Columbia	Was the name of Queen Victoria chose for the colony in 1858 ( it was originally known as New Caledonia in the North and Columbia in the South).
Northwest Territories	Was known as the North-Western Territory 1870.
Yukon	Was named after the Loucheaux Native word for great river, "Yuchoo".
Nunavut	Was born in 1999, and it means "Our Land"

Published on: 2004-08-05 (14641 reads)

How the Provinces got their Names - Canadian Hi