 This increased to 474,805 in the 2016 Census

Welsh mapmaker David Thompson was one of the great explorers of the North West Company in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and is often called "Canada's Greatest Geographer".He covered 130,000 kilometres on foot and surveyed most of the Canada–United States border in the early days of exploration.One of the first efforts to encourage Welsh emigration to Canada began in 1812, when Welsh native John Mathews endeavoured to bring his family to Canada.