Are you among the one in six near the eclipse?

If you haven’t heard, there’s a total solar eclipse happening in the afternoon on Monday, April 8, 2024!

The path of totality—a swath of territory 100 to 115 kilometres wide, over which the moon will completely cover the sun—will stretch from southern Ontario at 3:12 p.m. ET, through four more provinces, and to eastern Newfoundland at 5:16 p.m. NT. 

Here at Statistics Canada, we’re pretty excited for it. So much so that our geomatics team did some calculations and figured out that about one in six Canadians are within the path of totality! Of the nearly 37 million Canadians counted in the 2021 Census of Population, that’s about 6.1 million.

To calculate this, the team mapped the parts of the 70 census divisions (CDs) that are within the path of totality, down to the individual dissemination block (DB). CDs are groups of neighbouring municipalities joined together for the purposes of regional planning and managing common services, while DBs are the smallest geographic area for which population counts are disseminated.

Also partially or fully in the path of totality are 35 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) and census agglomerations (CAs). CMAs have a population of at least 100,000, while CAs have at least 10,000 people.

As well, given the rapid population growth observed in Canada in 2022 and 2023, as outlined by the most recent demographic estimate of nearly 40.8 million, it’s safe to say that even more than 6.1 million Canadians will be able to view this rare celestial event.

That said, we’ll break down the numbers based on the geographical level of detail only census data can provide! Here are the highlights.

Ontario has the longest eclipse durations

The relatively smaller amount of territory in Ontario (21,800 km²) in the path of totality includes the CMAs of Hamilton, Belleville–Quinte West and Kingston. It also includes St. Catharines–Niagara, which will have the longest eclipse duration among CMAs (3 minutes, 32 seconds), and Norfolk, which will have the longest among CAs (3:29).

Ontario also has more than one-third (36.1%) of the nationwide population in the path.

Total eclipse of the heart… of Eastern Canada

The majority (57.4%) of Canada’s population in the path of totality is in Quebec. The Sherbrooke CMA (3:26) and the Cowansville CA (3:23) in Quebec’s Eastern Townships will have the longest eclipse durations of any CMA or CA outside Ontario.

Montréal is the most populated CMA in the path, but it will see a shorter eclipse (1:27).

Miramichi (3:08), New Brunswick, has the longest eclipse duration among the remaining CMAs or CAs. Following a pass through the town of Alberton (3:03), Prince Edward Island, the eclipse over nearby Summerside (1:02) will have about one-third the duration.

Newfoundland has the most eclipse territory, Nova Scotia, the least

After the eclipse passes over Gander, toward Newfoundland’s eastern shore, and begins to cross the Atlantic Ocean, it will have covered more territory of Newfoundland and Labrador (61,600 km²) than any other province, but also the least-populated amount of territory.

New Brunswick’s totality area is second among provinces, at 40,900 km², followed by Quebec (29,200 km²). However, Quebec has the most residents per square kilometre (119) among provinces in the path of totality.

Prince Edward Island will have 1,900 km² in the path. Only a fraction of northern Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia (219 km²) will be in it—and at less than one resident per square kilometre, Nova Scotia also has the lowest population density in the path among provinces.

Watching safely and weather forecasts

Remember that looking at the sun without appropriate protection can lead to serious problems such as partial or complete loss of eyesight. The Canadian Space Agency has some tips and tricks for safe viewing.

Fingers crossed that the weather will be clear when it’s showtime! Keep an eye on your local forecast with Environment Canada.