Note: All information text taken directly from Wikipedia.org

“Western Canada, commonly referred to as the West, is a region of Canada normally including all parts of Canada west of the province of Ontario. From west to east, this comprises four provinces:
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba”


British Columbia:

~“is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is famed for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu ("Splendour without diminishment").”
~“The capital of British Columbia is Victoria while the largest city is Vancouver, which is also Canada's third-largest metropolitan area.”



~“British Columbia is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on its west, by the American state of Alaska on its northwest, and to the north by the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, on the east by the province of Alberta, and on the south by the U.S. states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana”



~“The Coast Mountains, Canadian Rockies and the Inside Passage's many inlets provide some of British Columbia's renowned and spectacular scenery, which forms the backdrop and context for a growing outdoor adventure and ecotourism industry. Seventy-five percent of the province is mountainous (more than 1,000 metres or 3,280 feet above sea level); 60% is forested; and only about 5% is arable.”



~“British Columbia has a very diverse ethnic population, with a large number of immigrants having lived in the province for 30 years or less. Asians are by far the largest visible minority demographic, with many of the Lower Mainland's large cities having sizable Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and Korean communities. The Sikh population is also considerable, especially in Surrey and South Vancouver.”




Alberta:

~”is one of Canada's western provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.”
~ “Alberta is located in Western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, Northwest Territories to the north, and by the U.S. state of Montana to the south. Alberta is one of two provinces (the other being New Brunswick) to border only a single U.S. state. It is also one of two provinces that are completely land-locked (the other being Saskatchewan).”



~ “The capital city of Alberta is Edmonton, located just south of the centre of the province. Calgary is a major distribution and transportation hub as well as being one of Canada's major commerce centres.”



~”Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria.”



~”With the exception of the southeastern section, the province is well watered. Alberta contains dozens of rivers and lakes used for swimming, water skiing, fishing and a full range of other water sports.”



Saskatchewan:

~”The province's name comes from the Saskatchewan River, whose name comes from its Cree designation: meaning "swift flowing river".”
~”Saskatchewan has the distinction of being the only Canadian province for which no borders correspond to physical geographic features.”



~ “Saskatchewan lies very far from any significant body of water, deep within the continent of North America. It is about a 20-hour drive from the Pacific Ocean and a three-day drive from the Atlantic Ocean.”



~ “Saskatchewan's economy is associated with agriculture; however, increasing diversification has meant that now agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting together make up only 6.8% of the province's GDP.”



~ “Saskatchewan grows 45% of Canada's grain.”




Manitoba

~ “It was officially recognized by the Federal Government in 1870 as separate from the Northwest Territories, and became the first province created from the Territories. It is the easternmost of the three Prairie provinces.”
~ “Its capital and largest city (containing over one half the provincial population (around 700,000)) is Winnipeg.”



~ “The province has a coast along Hudson Bay, and contains the tenth-largest fresh water lake in the world”



~ “This south central part of the province is flat with few hills. However, there are many hilly and rocky areas in the province, along with many large sand ridges left behind by glaciers.”



~ “As Manitoba is far removed from the moderating influences of both mountain ranges and large bodies of water (all of Manitoba's very large lakes freeze during the winter months), and because of the generally flat landscape in many areas, it is exposed to numerous weather systems throughout the year including prolonged cold spells in the winter months when Arctic high pressure air masses settle over the province. There are three main climate regions.”