Inequalities in the standard of living exist throughout the world. Countries such as Canada are usually considered to be economically well off while countries such as Mali are considered as economically poor. Various terms such as well developed, less developed, and least developed are often used to classify countries based upon their economic well-being. While most Canadians realize that huge differences exist throughout the world in terms of economic well being, they sometimes do not realize that inequalities exist within our own country. In fact, economic inequalities exist at many scales. In addition to global inequalities, there are often large differences within countries, as well as within provinces and territories and even within communities.

This activity is designed to allow you to examine the concept of regional inequalities or disparities within Canada at two different scales, the national and the regional/provincial scales.

There are many different variables that are used to determine the standard of living. Most commonly, some type of income variable such as per capita Gross National Product (GNP) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or average income is used to determine the standard of living of a region. In this activity, you will be using median income data, which is displayed on an Atlas of Canada map available on the Web. Later in the exercise, you will consider other possible variables that might be useful in determining a region's well being.

The map that will act as the major source of data for the first part of the assignment is The Median Income Map found on The Atlas of Canada Web site at atlas.gc.ca

Instructions: Go to the Atlas of Canada Web site at atlas.gc.ca and select the appropriate language. From the Explore Our Maps section in the left menu select Economy » Income » Median Income of Individuals, (1995$) Map. Once the map appears, click on the Read more about this map link located in the small text box on the map or at the end of the abstract.

Answer the following.

1. In order to make sense of the information portrayed on this map, you must understand the variable that it is based upon, median income.

a) What is median income?

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b) How is it different from average income?

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c) Why is median income considered as a better measure of the relative wealth of an area than average income?

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Instructions: Return to the Median Income of Individuals, (1995$) Map or from the left menu panel re-select: Economy » Income » Median Income of Individuals, (1995$) Map.

Note: Depending upon the monitor you are using, you may have to examine Canada by Zooming In and starting at one coast and then manoeuvre across the country. You may do this by clicking the arrows, on the sides of the map, to shift the view of Canada shown on the map, or by selecting specific regions from the Zoom to Region tool above the map.

Answer the following.

2. The Atlantic provinces are usually considered as a disparate region of Canada because the residents have a lower standard of living.

a) How does the map support the disparate designation for the Atlantic region?

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b) Are there other provinces that also could also be considered as disparate based upon the information in the map? If so, which ones?

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c) Which provinces appear to have the highest standards of living?

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Instructions: Return to the Median Income of Individuals, (1995$) Map or re-select from the left panel menu Economy » Income » Median Income of Individuals, (1995$) Map. Use the Zoom to Region tool above the map and select Nova Scotia. The resulting map should show most of the Maritimes. You will have to repeat this step to select Newfoundland and Labrador in order to study that province.

Answer the following.

3. Within both the world and Canada there are richer and poorer regions, and the same holds true for individual provinces. The map of the Atlantic region shows considerable variation, indicating that there are both wealthy areas and poor areas within the region.

a) The median income for Canada is $18 891. How many of the census divisions in the Atlantic region are equal to or above that figure?

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b) What do these richest areas in each of the Atlantic provinces have in common with each other in terms of their relative location to the provincial capitals?

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c) Does the same general principal apply in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, even though the highest values of median income are not equal to or greater than the Canadian average?

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d) Why do you think the higher median incomes are found in close proximity to the provincial capitals?

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4. Geographers attempt to detect spatial patterns. Maps such as the one you are examining can help geographers to find these patterns. Rarely are these patterns perfect, but a general trend may be evident.

a) Examine the maps of the Atlantic region. What generally happens in terms of the standard of living of the residents of each census division as the distance from the capital cities increases? (Try to look at the distance from the cities, not necessarily from the edge of the capital cities' census divisions.)

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This type of pattern is referred to as a distance decay pattern. (As the distance from a place increases, the amount of the variable being studied diminishes)

b) Many geographic phenomena are distributed in a similar way. Describe two other examples of phenomena that are distributed in a distance decay pattern? (These do not have to be economic variables)

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5. Spatial patterns such as distance decay patterns are rarely perfect. Trying to explain the exceptions to the patterns is often a very interesting exercise, and one that allows geography skills to play a prominent role.

a) Which county/counties in Nova Scotia does or do not seem to fit the pattern?

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b) Suggest some possible reasons why not.

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c) The map of Newfoundland and Labrador shows an interesting pattern in the sense that one of the census divisions farthest away from St. John's has the same median income value as St. John's. Provide an explanation for this.

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6. Instructions: Return to the Median Income of Individuals, (1995$) Map or re-select from the left menu panel Economy » Income » Median Income of Individuals, (1995$) Map. Click on the Get Info from Map tool above the map, then click on one of the census divisions on the map. You will find a lot of information including Median Income of Population, 15 years and over (1995 Dollars). As you select each different census division, this data appears.

In order to support the observation you have made regarding a distance decay relationship, you can produce a scatter graph that will illustrate this relationship mathematically. Since the pattern is most evident in Nova Scotia, you will use data from that province to construct the scatter graph.

To assist you with this part of the exercise, the appropriate income information has been gleaned from these data tables and placed in Table 1 below, along with road distances from Halifax to the major community in each census division.

a) Construct a scatter graph based upon the road distance from Halifax and the median income. Place distance from Halifax along the horizontal axis of your graph using a scale of approximately 1 centimetre equalling 40 kilometres. Place the median income along the vertical axis using a scale of approximately 1 centimetre equals $2 000.00.

b) After placing the dots on the graph, construct a best-fit line.

c) Is there a positive or inverse relationship between the distance from Halifax and the median income?

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The scatter graph shows an inverse relationship between the two variables and thus confirms the distance decay relationship. (A distance decay relationship is a spatial representation of an inverse relationship.)

d) Place a line across the map at $18 427, the Canadian average for median income. How many of Nova Scotia's census divisions are below that?

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e) Suggest reasons why this situation exists?

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7. Geographers seldom base their determination of a region's prosperity solely upon one variable such as income. We recognize that money may not tell the whole story, as there are other aspects of people's lives that may be just as important as money. In order to determine the quality of life, we have to consider more than just money.

a) Why can income related data sometimes be misleading?

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b) Suggest four additional variables that would be useful in order to help you get a more complete picture of the quality of life, not just the standard of living, in a region. Explain why you believe that these variables would help to give a better picture of a region's quality of life.

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8. One of the measurements often used at the international level is known as the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI). In addition to an income variable (gross national product per capita), the HDI also considers life expectancy and knowledge (literacy rate and educational attainment).

The educational variables and life expectancy are considered as useful variables because virtually all societies/cultures value both education and life; therefore, they all try to maximize both the educational opportunities for children and the life expectancy of their citizens. Because of this, these two variables are more value free, or show less cultural bias than many other variables.

Although the maps available on this Web site do not provide life expectancy data, they do provide several interesting and useful health related data. Three of the maps are of particular interest here: Population-to-physicians Ratio, 1996 Map and Population-to-specialists Ratio, 1996 Map and Population-to-nurse Ratio, 1996 Map. While these variables are not necessarily equivalent to a measurement of life expectancy, they are certainly connected, and they provide some indication of the quality of life that residents of specific counties experience.

Instructions: On the Atlas of Canada Web site, select from the left menu panel: Health » Health Resources and each of the following maps in turn:

• Population-to-physician Ratio, 1996 Map
• Population-to-specialist Ratio, 1996 Map
• Population-to-nurse Ratio, 1996 Map

a) Examine Nova Scotia in the three maps. Does the distance decay pattern generally exist in regards to the various health indicators?

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b) The major exceptions to the pattern are similar in all the maps. Provide an explanation for these major exceptions.

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Data on knowledge (literacy rate and educational attainment) is readily available at the Statistics Canada E-STAT Web site.

The data available here is at the provincial/territorial scale only. Therefore, you will use the available data to reconsider the concept of regional disparities at the national scale. This time you will be considering disparities in terms of the quality of life. In order to see how the ranking of the provinces and territories based upon an education variable match up with the ranking based upon an income variable, you will use both types of variables.

To assist you with this part of the exercise, appropriate educational and income information has been collected from the E-STAT Web site and placed in Table 2 below.

c) Do the educational data support the idea that the Atlantic region is a disparate region?

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d) Which regions have the highest levels of educational attainment? Does this correspond with the standard of living in these provinces based upon average income?

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e) Construct a scatter graph based upon the data in Table 2, and add the best-fit line. Place median years of schooling on the horizontal axis. Start the horizontal scale at 11 and use a distance of 3 centimetres for each half a year. Place the average income on the vertical axis. Start the vertical scale at $18 000 and use a distance of 1 centimetre for each $1000.

f) Is there an inverse or positive relationship between these two variables?

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g) The most noticeable outlier in the graph is the dot representing the Northwest Territories. Suggest an explanation for this.

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Instructions: Using the Atlas of Canada Web site, select: Health » Health Resources and each of the following maps in turn:

• Population-to-physician Ratio, 1996 Map
• Population-to-specialist Ratio, 1996 Map
• Population-to-nurse Ratio, 1996 Map

You will have to look quite closely at the maps because only a few areas of the Northwest Territories have sufficient population and therefore have data shown on the map.

h) Look at the Northwest Territories in the three maps above and, in particular, at the level of health care provided to the citizens. What do you notice? (The same basic answer applies to all three maps.)

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Both the educational data and the health data suggest that the quality of life in the Northwest Territories is below the Canadian average despite the significantly higher average income. This is an example of why using income data only, can sometimes provide a misleading image of the quality of life of a region.

9. As you have discovered, whether you examine income, health services, or educational variables, the Atlantic provinces tend to rank at or near the bottom of the Canadian socio-economic hierarchy. Despite this fact, there are over 2 000 000 Atlantic Canadians who willingly remain in the region. Obviously there must be some aspects of their way of life that appeal to the residents of the region. Whatever these are, they seem to compensate for the lower incomes and the reduced health and educational opportunities of the Atlantic region. One such advantage of the Atlantic region that many residents enjoy is the slower pace of life in the area. There are countless others as well.

a) List at least five other perceived advantages that people in the Atlantic region enjoy compared to the richer parts of Canada.

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b) These factors must also be considered when analyzing the quality of life in a region. Some of these factors are difficult to quantify, and therefore difficult to add into a formula. Which of the five that you listed could not be easily measured?

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c) Check with some of your classmates and see what other advantages they thought of to help explain Atlantic Canadians' love of their region.