Canada 1869

Today's Canada has a total of ten provinces and three territories; Yukon (Whitehorse), Northwest Territories (Yellowknife), British Columbia (Victoria), Alberta (Edmonton), Saskatchewan (Regina), Manitoba (Winnipeg), Ontario (Toronto), Quebec (Quebec), New Brunswick (Fredericton), Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown), New Foundland and Labrador (St. John's) and Nunavut (Iqaluit). There exists still a French overseas territory of St. Pierre and Miquelon island near the neighbouring New Foundland Island. The provincial boundaries of Canada are well-known and are pretty much straight lines or flow along the various rivers of the nation. But looking back at the 19th century, the map of Canada was more of a labyrinth of tiny landlocked counties (or electoral districts), most of whose names don't exist in the present day. Listing down the various counties of Canada when they were still British possessions. 

1. Columbia (divided into British and non-British)
2. Mackenzie River
3. Peace River
4. Saskatchawan 
5. Athabasca
6. Great Slave Lake
7. Lesser Slave Lake
8. English River
9. Cumberland
10. Swan River
11. Nelson
12. Norway
13. Island
14. Red River
15. Rainy Lake
16. Albany
17. Severn
18. York
19. Churchill
20. Rupert River
21. Labrador
22. Moose
23. Ontario
24. Abbittibbe
25. Quebec
26. New Brunswick
27. Prince Edward Island
28. Nova Scotia
29. New Brunswick
30. New Foundland

The above names are as per an 1869 dated map by GW Colton. Note that how Saskatchewan was printed as 'Saskatchawan' and this was the time when mainland Canada was marked only near the Great Lakes, a territory that at present resides a major portion of the Canadian population. 

It's interesting as to how Canada once had provinces such as Norway and a certain Island, neither of them having any connection with the sovereign state Norway nor any of them is an island. The province of Norway was surrounded around the Lake Winnipeg region while the Island province was deep in today's Manitoba province, northeast to the Nanowin Rivers Park Reserve. The 19th-century 'Saskatchawan' province was almost half the size of what it is today and was neighboured by five provinces namely (W-E) British Columbia, Lesser Slave Lake, English River, Cumberland and Swan River. As it is clearly observable, many of these provinces were named after the rivers flowing through them. 

The counties of Ontario and Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were shown heavily populated with townships such as Toronto, Coburg, London, Kingston, Ottawa City, Prescot, Montreal, St. John's, Quebec, William Henry, Frederickton, Bathurst, Chatham etc. Along with the establishments, the lakes such as Nippising, Tamagaminguc, Temiscamingac, Simcoe, Gatneaur, etc. can be also seen marked. 

At present, most of the Canadian islands are grouped under the province of Nunavut. The 19th-century Canadian maps had ill-shaped islands scattered all along the Arctic Ocean segregated outside any marked or well-defined counties. These islands were themselves divided into various lands and territories, all after various British royalties, something that continues even to date. For example, today's Victoria Island was seen divided into Prince Albert Land, Wollaston Land, Victoria Land and Prince of Wales Land. Incorrectly, the Prince of Wales Island is shown stuck to Victoria Island. Similarly, Baffin Island is shown divided into divisions such as Cockburn Island, Cumberland Island, Fox's Land, Penny's Land and  Meta Incognita. 

As the boundaries of the Dominion of Canada expanded in the 19th-century, Rupert's Land was adjusted several times and the western British territories were added gradually. The administrative structure of the entire country was divided into provinces and territories that gave way to how the country looks today. Below here is a recreated version of the map discussed above, originally created by GW Colton in 1869.