Canada’s Maritime Provinces have distinctive personality, share much with Southern United States

Many in the United States may think of Canada as being much like their own country — only colder. This is not far from the truth.
  
Canada is the United States’ northern neighbor, sharing more than 5,000 miles of boundary. According to the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists, nine out of 10 Canadians live within 200 miles of the border. 
  
In many ways, the two nations are strikingly similar. 
  
The histories of both include colonization by western Europeans followed by independence from England. Unlike the United States, however, Canada continues to be known formally as a constitutional monarchy with governmental representatives of the queen, although the positions are largely ceremonial and have no power apart from the elected government. 
  
Both England and the United States now have prosperous economies and stable, centralized governments. Also both nations are collectives of smaller entities. 
 
While the United States has 50 states, Canada comprises 10 provinces and three territories. Because Canada is the second-largest nation in the world geographically, the provinces and territories tend to be much larger than U.S. states.
  
The exception to this is Canada’s Maritime Provinces. The three small provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island lie on the Atlantic Ocean and together are approximately the size of the state of Alabama. 
  
In addition to their size, the Maritime Provinces share a common heritage and a culture that differs somewhat from the rest of Canada. The earliest people in the region were the Micmac. The French followed in the early 17th century. They settled in the area and established their culture until 1763, when France yielded the territory to British control. Under British rule, immigration accelerated from western European nations, especially Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, England and Scotland. 
  
As Atlantic Canada became more populated and more prosperous, the idea of uniting Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island into a confederation became more serious. 
  
The three colonies voted to meet to discuss a union, but the Province of Canada — which later became known as the provinces of Ontario and Quebec — asked to be allowed to attend to discuss a larger union.  
  
At a conference held in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island in 1864, the plans for a union of the Maritime Provinces were dropped, but the seeds were planted for what would, in 1867, become the nation of Canada.
  
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, along with the Province of Canada, were the founding members of the new nation, while Prince Edward Island did not become a member until 1873. 
  
Canada, like the United States, continued to expand, adding its last territory, Nunavut, in 1999. 
  
The formation of Canada brought with it hope for continuing the Maritime Provinces’ economic prosperity of the 1850s and 1860s. Known as the “golden age” of the Maritimes, the era saw extensive manufacturing, particularly shipbuilding. 
  
But instead of the expected growth, the region’s economy soon began to decline. While historians disagree on whether joining the new nation affected the area’s economy, a number of things certainly impacted it, especially changes in transportation. 
  
The railway system hastened the decline of the shipbuilding industry in the Maritime Provinces by making it easier to transport goods into and from interior sections of the country, bypassing the Atlantic provinces. 
  
Although they continue to lag behind the rest of Canada economically, the Maritime Provinces are today in an economic upswing. 
  
A switch from industries based on natural resources such as fishing and lumber exports to the service industry, including booming tourism and information technology, has prompted economists to forecast a bright future for the region. 
  
Transportation to and within the provinces has also improved with the construction of the Confederation Bridge between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in 1997, as well as upgrades in highway, rail and air capabilities. 
  
Life in the Maritimes today is much like life in the Southern United States, said Wallace Jorden, pastor of Community Baptist Church, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Jorden, a native of the province, completed his doctoral work at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. 
  
“The people are very friendly, and most have a rural background,” he said. “We never had a civil war, but Canada is made up of very distinct regions.” 
  
He noted that because Canada is such a large nation, it is easier for those in the Maritimes to relate to the South than to people in western Canada.
  
Carol Ann Vaughn, director of the Christian Women’s Leadership Center at Samford University in Birmingham, visited Nova Scotia in July 2006 to present a paper at Acadia University in Wolfville. 
  
She was struck by the friendliness of the people. “I think any Alabama Baptist would feel very much at home among Canadian Baptists. … Our Canadian brothers and sisters would do everything they could to put you at ease and make you feel welcome.”