The Production of Space in Western Canada, 1850–1914.

Studies that investigated the rate of settlement in the Canadian prairies used decennial census or provincial census records to estimate the flow of population into the area. I use, instead, detailed data from individual land offices across western Canada. What the analysis shows is that dividing the land into small plots does not mean that the allocation of land was successful or more democratic, as several studies claim. The HGIS analysis helped to estimate the area of influence of each land office and thus to evaluate with more precision the dynamics of prairie settlement. By incorporating georeferenced data into the study of the region, I provide a new toolset to study a changing geography in time and space. The importance of this method resides in the fact that even though several works performed micro-studies of small communities or areas, nobody has yet produced a complete record of the region. I provide another methodology for a more comprehensive estimate of the production of space in western Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]