Until the early 20th century, Canada was primarily an agricultural nation. Since then it
has become one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world as a direct
result of the development of the 'heartland'. To a large extent the manufacturing
industries present in the heartland are supplied with raw materials produced by the
agricultural, mining, forestry, and fishing sectors of the Canadian economy, a region
known as the 'hinterland'. The 'heartland-hinterland' concept in Canada describes
patterns of economic power, namely, where economic power and control resides within the
nation. Thus, the heartland-hinterland concept distinguishes raw-material and
staple-producing hinterlands from the capital service industrial heartland and reveals
the metropolis or dominating city of the system. At a national scale, the Canadian
metropolis is Toronto, and the region with the most influence is the Great Lakes-St.
Lawrence Lowlands. But while immense influence radiates outward from the metropolis
located in the heartland, the relationship between hinterland and heartland is one of
intimate mutual dependency. In modern Canadian economics, neither region can exist
without each other, and the well-being of one directly affects the other. These two
regions show remarkable contrasts, yet they are to a large extent interdependent on each
other, clearly suggesting that the heartland-hinterland distinction is quite relevant in
terms of Canada's economic geography.
Upon discussing the importance of the heartland-hinterland in Canada, it is necessary to
discuss what each term refers to. According to McCann the heartland is an area "...
which possesses favourable physical qualities and grant food accessibility to markets;
they display a diversified profile of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary industries;
they are characterized by a highly urbanized and concentrated population which
participates in a well-integrated urban system; they are well advanced along the
development path and possess the capacity for innovative change." Literally, hinterland
means 'the land behind', the area from which a heartland draws its raw materials and
which, in turn, serves as a market for the heartland's manufactured goods.
The demographic and economic characteristics of Canada's heartland are that it contains
over 50% of the nation's population and 70% of its manufacturing industries in only 14%
of the nation's area. Canada's heartland is southern Ontario and Quebec stretching from
Quebec City to Windsor. This heartland, occupying the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands,
coincides with several favourable physical characteristics such as fertile Class 1 and 2
soils in addition to humid continental climate for optimal agricultural conditions.
However, the "hinterland regions display harsher or more limiting physical
characteristics. The Cordillera, Interior Plains, Canadian Shield, and Appalachian
regions yield tremendous resource wealth, but their soils, vegetation, and climatic
patterns do not favor wide distributions of population and concentrated development."
Canada's heartland is illustrated on the map below.
With the overwhelming presence of the above-mentioned features, this region dominates
Canada's economy due to diverse agricultural production as well as its accessibility to
the heartland of its major international trade partner, the Untied States, which is
focused around New York City. "It is the heartland that creates the demand for staple
commodities, supplying the hinterland, in turn, with capital, labour, technology, and
entrepreneurship, those factors of production which are so essential for the initial
growth and sustained development of the hinterland."
The relationship between the hinterland and heartland is complex. Resources flowing from
hinterland areas largely go directly to other countries without passing through the
heartland. Yet, it is from the heartland that an economy's organization, financial
means, equipment, and technical services arise and are paid for by the sale of the
resources. Thus, it can be said the hinterland contributes to the support and
development of the heartland. The hinterland also benefits from the interaction of its
well-developed internal linkages and a large and concentrated workforce that provides a
manufacturing core and specialized services.
Another important aspect of the heartland-hinterland distinction is with respect to
regional structure, which involves the interaction of both regions. "Locational forces
and even policy decisions of a political nature draw secondary manufacturing and service
activities, as well as skilled labour force, to core areas." The concentration of
corporate headquarters and financial institutions in the core also causes a flow of
profits from the hinterland to the heartland, ultimately causing difficulty for the
generation of capital within the periphery. These circumstances which arise from the
root of the hinterland underdevelopment problem are difficult to overcome without
political involvement. Although government assistance by means of transfer payments and
developmental projects helps the underdeveloped hinterland, it can by no means resolve
the apparent disparities present among the core and periphery regions in Canada. "If the
disparities are to be diminished, it seems more likely that hinterland areas must develop
generally according to the ways in which heartland areas have developed, although the
specific growth factors need not, nor would they likely, be the same." A hinterland
region, wishing to achieve heartland status, must be capable of innovating change and
wielding power, while progressing beyond the staple production phase for the heartland.
In terms of merchandise trade, Canada is an importer of end-products while the export of
crude materials indicate the staple nature of the export economy. The hinterland
dominates the export trade in crude materials such as oil, natural gas, and forest
products. Fabricated materials are largely produced in the core, and most of the
products (steel, copper wire, refined nickel, and rolled aluminum) are exported.
Canada's exports therefore are primarily staples from the hinterland, and as the amount
of processing increases the role of the heartland becomes more dominant.
In terms of imports, crude materials, largely crude oil to eastern Canada and
subtropical foods, are the main imports. Fabricated materials and end-products imported
from the United States were predominantly motor vehicles and auto parts, and the exports
from Canada also involved the motor vehicle sector. Thus, the hinterland clearly
dominates exports of crude materials and foods, while the heartland is the centre of both
exports and imports of fabricated products.
The economic emphasis of the 'heartland-hinterland' distinction is quite pronounced in
Canada. Various aspects of the Canadian economy dictate the undoubted relevance between
the core and periphery of this vast nation. At one extreme, the heartland is a thriving
economic region, with the Golden Horseshoe region acting as the collective metropolis,
whereas the hinterland, 'the rest of Canada', is characterized by primary resource
production, scattered population and a limited innovative capacity. Despite the
interdependency of these two regions, they are nonetheless separated by both economic and
physical factors, thereby preventing the union of a common region. Therefore, there is
an unquestionable 'heartland-hinterland' distinction present in Canada in terms of its
economic geography.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Matthews, G. 1995. Canada and the World, An Atlas Resource, 2nd Edition. Scarborough:
Prentice Hall Canada Inc.
McCann, L.D. 1987. Heartland and Hinterland. Scarborough: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.
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