Canadian Maps and Graphics

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by megadude

Yeah, doesn't feel right like how Stoney Creek, Glanbrook, Flamboro, Ancaster and Dundas were absorbed into Hamilton. There's parts of Dundas and Ancaster I go through that feel like they seamlessly blend into Hamilton but the outer parts are rural and very much feel like they should be something other than Hamilton. When I'm somewhere off of Hwy. 6 or Hwy. 8 north of Hamilton the city, as I often am when fishing or going to the Rockton Fair for example, in no way shape or form do I feel like this should be Hamilton.

Of course, these places are technically in Hamilton but can in some ways just be viewed as still being a part of the former Region of Hamilton-Wentworth. Or can kind of be viewed like in other countries where there's a major city and the surrounding state or province has the same name. However, when it comes to much of the administrative stuff, these places function one and the same as Hamilton, Hamilton. But they still have their own identities for those old enough to remember.

And the misinformation that gets spread around in those hinterland areas is sometimes funny... What people don't seem to acknowledge is that their way of life may not exist without the big city being nearby (they do not subsidize the city either; it costs a lot of money to service the rural areas, and there were taxes paid to and decisions made by the former regional government, many of the latter of which were city-centric), and if they weren't part of Hamilton they'd be lumped in with regions like Waterloo or Halton and still be ignored or at least at the bottom of the priority list. Amalgamation wasn't handled well politically by the province, and there should be local councils advising on local needs, so I think those gripes are legitimate. But after 25 years the same complaints are trotted out again and again, without ideas for solutions.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

And the misinformation that gets spread around in those hinterland areas is sometimes funny... What people don't seem to acknowledge is that their way of life may not exist without the big city being nearby (they do not subsidize the city either; it costs a lot of money to service the rural areas, and there were taxes paid to and decisions made by the former regional government, many of the latter of which were city-centric), and if they weren't part of Hamilton they'd be lumped in with regions like Waterloo or Halton and still be ignored or at least at the bottom of the priority list.

In exurban and rural parts of Halifax, people I spoke to almost universally felt that they were getting poor value for dollar because they received lower service levels than the urban areas (it was a common topic of conversation). However, those areas are subsidized by the municipality while the urban areas overpay. Services like garbage collection cost a lot more in low density areas. If they de-amalgamated, they would have to cut services or raise taxes.

[megadude]

I know the idea of the Atlantic provinces being one has been floated before. Well, it’s official. At least according to my Winners bag.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by megadude

I know the idea of the Atlantic provinces being one has been floated before. Well, it’s official. At least according to my Winners bag.

....

They also included Anticosti Island in the fictional "Atlantic" province!
That is definitely not PEI!

[megadude]

Originally Posted by Architype

They also included Anticosti Island in the fictional "Atlantic" province!
That is definitely not PEI!

Damn, didn’t notice that. So much annexation going on these days like the Ottawa example above where they acquired part of The greater Golden Horseshoe.

Maybe QC got Sable Island in return.

PEI gets no respect at all.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by megadude

PEI gets no respect at all.

FWIW, Anticosti is actually larger than PEI in area.

[MonkeyRonin]

Map of parking tickets given out in Toronto from 2011-2020. This is perhaps the best measure of commercial density that I've seen:




Toronto's most spoken languages, other than English:

[MonkeyRonin]

The Golden Horseshoe by age of dwelling (up to 2006):


https://uwaterloo.ca/atlas-of-suburbanisms/

[jonny24]

I didn't realize St. Catharine's didn't originate at the lakeshore.

You can kind of make out the borders of Water/Wellington regions by density of dots - I wonder if that's reality or if something about the reporting makes it show up differently.

The massive red tracts representing mass-planned suburbia on huge grids is striking.

[MonctonRad]

Citrus trees in Canada? New plant hardiness map shows shift in growing zones
With climate change, it's more likely than you think
Inayat Singh · CBC News · Posted: Jul 27, 2025 5:00 AM ADT | Last Updated: July 27
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/canada-plant-map-1.7594348


About 80 per cent of the country has seen its zone increase because of warming temperatures. For example, some zones in southern Ontario have expanded by half a zone or more. The researchers point to an increase in grape cultivation in the region by 25 per cent from 1990 to 2020, and say shifts in the hardiness zones could lead to "new horticultural opportunities over time."

Limnk tp the government website:
https://planthardiness.gc.ca/?lang=e

[someone123]

The Canadian hardiness map is interesting but it's one of those made-up aggregates of a bunch of underlying factors. For example it subtracts points for the largest wind gust in the past 30 years, and adds points for more rainfall. I think it was intended more for agriculture. If you want to grow exotic plants, you can shelter them from the wind or water them. Each species will be different; a desert plant might do well in one location but get too wet in another.

[megadude]

PEI once again getting no respect.

[MolsonExport]

[Architype]

The United States If The Annexation Bill of 1866 Had Passed.

https://www.facebook.com/brilliantmaps

[zoomer]

/\ Well at least I'd still be in a Columbia of sorts..

That plant hardiness zone reminded me of this map I posted in the weather thread a few days ago:

Came across this map on Reddit and Facebook, they should have included Victoria on the southern tip of Vancouver Island which would have fit into the very top left of the map as plenty of Americans would have now clue where its located. It's funny how the ident leading to Puget Sound and Seattle is almost a shadow of Vancouver Island above it. Sorry for the large size, just the way it comes:



Now for all the endless discussion and clarification on what it means, etc there is this massive Reddit thread where folks say, "but.." "the days are warmer elsewhere" "yah, we're not measuring that" and all the nitty gritty details.

[someone123]

It seems okay but it's a really specific metric and it's a bit of a "mystery meat" visualization somewhat like the freeze list on SSP (where the noise from sample location is larger than the effect size for a noticeable chunk of the map). For Oregon, I don't think the issue is that it's colder, it's that there's a mountain range right against the coast and the coast is undeveloped so likely the largest towns in some counties are much cooler at night. But they will still have areas roughly at or above 3 C for lows. It's similar around SC/NC. You do see the little blob around Hatteras in NC.

It's true though that there's a huge effect along the coast. If you looked at something like coldest annual extreme temperature the difference would be big too. Some continental areas of the US get very cold for short periods of time each year, and a lot of people just think that as you go north it's colder and that's all there is to it. They also tend to think of all of Canada as being north of all of the US.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

I'm a fan of the USDA plant zone map as it is a measure of just the lowest temperature for an area. Canada has tried to improve on the map by introducing additional growth favourable criteria/data but it perplexes me in what value the additional data has if, for instance, your fruit tree freezes to death during the winter. What then is the use of other growth favourable data in terms of your dead fruit tree? I'm all in for having access to the additional growing data for me area but it would make more sense to me to have it separate from the life and death criteria/data.

[someone123]

Wind speed is one factor that puts some areas down in Canada plant hardiness but in practice it's very specific to a local area or even what buildings or trees are nearby.

Then there are factors like some climates being too hot or dry for some plants. I'd imagine Palm Springs has a very mild low temperature but the humidity is extremely low and the variety of what you can grow there is limited mostly to desert plants. You could grow a grapefruit tree but probably not an apple tree for example.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by someone123

In exurban and rural parts of Halifax, people I spoke to almost universally felt that they were getting poor value for dollar because they received lower service levels than the urban areas (it was a common topic of conversation). However, those areas are subsidized by the municipality while the urban areas overpay. Services like garbage collection cost a lot more in low density areas. If they de-amalgamated, they would have to cut services or raise taxes.

That same bunch leaves the room when speaking, if they do, about Fire protection. A former co worker who eventually became a Halifax Fire Captain mentioned that the first Capital acquisition of the new Halifax Regional Municipality was a brand new Quebec built Pumper to replace a circa 1949 Fire Truck, that still ran, for the Eastern Shore part of HRM in Ecum Secum. Yes, that is a place.