Re: Top 30 Canadian Cities by population

"Chuck Taylor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Toronto (Ontario) 4,682,897
> Montreal (Quebec) 3,426,350
> Vancouver (British Columbia) 1,986,965
> Ottawa-Hull (Ontario-Quebec) 1,063,664
> Calgary (Alberta) 951,395
> Edmonton (Alberta) 937,845
> Quebec (Quebec) 682,757
> Winnipeg (Manitoba) 671,274
> Hamilton (Ontario) 662,401
> London (Ontario) 432,451
> Kitchener (Ontario) 414,284
> St. Catharines-Niagara (Ontario) 377,009
> Halifax (Nova Scotia) 359,183
> Victoria (B.C.) 311,902
> Windsor (Ontario) 307,877
> Oshawa (Ontario) 296,298
> Saskatoon (Saskatchewan) 225,927
> Regina (Saskatchewan) 192,800
> St. John's (Newfoundland Lab.) 172,918
> Greater Sudbury (Ontario) 155,601
> Chicoutimi-Jonquière (Quebec) 154,938
> Sherbrooke (Quebec) 153,811
> Barrie ( Ontario)  148,480
> Kelowna (British Columbia) 147,739
> Abbotsford ( British Columbia) 147,370
> Kingson (Ontario) 146,838
> Trois-Rivières (Quebec) 135,507
> Saint John (New Brunswick) 122,678
> Thunder Bay (Ontario) 121,986
> Moncton (New Brunswick) 117,727

These are all "and surrounding area" population figures.  Which is
probably appropriate for the purposes of CFL expansion discussions.

The southern Ontario cities are problematic.  Oshawa, Kitchener, St.
Catharines are all in Argo or Ticat territory.  London and Windsor are
long-term longshots, I suppose.

Quebec City is the obvious candidate from this list, but Halifax has
the added benefit of having significant populations within fairly
close driving distance.  It would also be the "Atlantic" team, and
would draw people from all parts of the Maritimes.  I imagine it would
follow the regional kind of model that the Roughriders now enjoy.

It would be nice to add both Quebec and Halifax, but then the
temptation would be to add a 12th team to the west.  I would love a
12-team league, but it's not clear what would work.  Victoria and
Saskatoon are the only sensible possibilities IMHO, but both with big
disadvantages.  Victoria has an odd "British" culture, and has a large
proportion of seniors, which I don't believe would bode well for
football fandom.  Adding a team to Saskatoon would be dangerous to the
Roughies of course -- I think you'd either develop two strong teams
with a great rivalry, or both teams might die in the attempt.

I'm just dreaming of course, I'm really favour of any kind of
expansion, and sooner rather than later.  Expansion increases interest
in existing markets, widens the TV audience a great deal, and makes
our league bigger and more important.  I say run with it.

-Matt S.