New Central Canada

New Central Canada (often abbreviated NCC) is a nation in post-outbreak North America that was established in late 2026. The nation is located at the very center of the continent of North America, spanning across parts of several former U.S. states and former Canadian provinces. The borders of New Central Canada are not previously defined borders, and encompass most of the former state of North Dakota, much of former South Dakota, the eastern edge of former Montana, and a large portion of southeast former Saskatchewan and southwest former Manitoba.

Presently, the nation is divided into three divisions, called New Manitoba, New Saskatchewan, and New Dakota. The population of the nation, as of a rough April 2027 census, was determined to be about 318,000. The nation’s capital is currently Minot, New Dakota and the division capitals are Regina (New Saskatchewan), Brandon (New Manitoba), and Minot (New Dakota).

The government of New Central Canada is a parliamentary democracy consisting of an elected president as the head of government, an elected head of state, an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Commons. All governmental elections happen every three years, as defined by the nation’s constitution, which was developed in late 2026. The first and current president of New Central Canada is Atwater McWinterbury.

New Central Canada has a culture similar to the former states/provinces that once occupied the area. The nation has adopted several cultural aspects of its neighbors and fellow trading partners, such as the Chicago Kingdom and Rapid City. New Central Canada maintains good relations with its trading partners and has no enemy nations. For protection, New Central Canada has gathered an army, led by the Chief of Defense, who is appointed by the head of state.

History
In April 2026, as the zombie outbreak hit North America and started to infect many areas of the world, the area of what would later be New Central Canada was hit less hard. However, many of the rural areas in these parts went abandoned due to isolation, and cities either grew or shrank in size, depending on the safety and extent of the outbreak.

It wasn’t until July that citizens in the area of the Dakotas and the southern portions of the Prairie Provinces began to discuss establishing a new nation, as the former nations of Canada and the United States of America had collapsed, and the Chicago Kingdom had arisen in the east. The first talks in July detailed the need for the area to keep its own culture and to stay apart from developing nations like the Chicago Kingdom. Citizens were also interested in building a wall around the territory that was proposed as a new nation to keep zombies from further entry. It was decided that by developing a nation, the area would be much safer and organized in the deteriorating world.

In August and September, the talks of building the new nation grew and continued to grow. In October, the discussion grew to the point where starting a nation was being very seriously considered. Later that month, the border of the territory is defined and the inner parts are split into three divisions and named – New Dakota, New Saskatchewan, and New Manitoba. By late October, it becomes clear that the nation is being established and will soon operate as one. It was during this time that a wall around the nation’s borders has begun construction and employed many of the area survivors.

In early November, the citizens within the territory elect a group of leaders to represent them and help establish a constitution for the new nation. The constitution, though quickly done, is made as thorough as possible to sustain the governmental needs of the nation the way the people desired. Atwater McWinterbury is elected to be the first president of the nation. The entire national government of New Central Canada is formed. During this time, the official military is also established and soldiers recruited.

Also in early November, the name of the nation becomes official, as it is entitled New Central Canada, and the capital is established in Minot, New Dakota. The reason for the choice of Minot as the capital was due to its central location within the nation and its population, which was the second highest in the nation.

In late November, the capitals of the divisions of New Central Canada are established, and divisional governments are established. New Dakota’s capital is determined to be Minot, New Dakota (which also serves as the national capital), New Saskatchewan’s is determined to be Regina, New Saskatchewan, and New Manitoba’s is determined to be Brandon, New Manitoba.

By December, New Central Canada officially becomes a nation, and achieves recognition from the neighboring Chicago Kingdom and from Rapid City. The nation begins to operate as one – and trading partners are established, the first of which being the aforementioned two nations. Word of New Central Canada’s existence as a nation spreads and most of North America eventually is notified of its existence.

In the final week of January, the concrete wall around the border of New Central Canada is finished after several months of constant effort and endless channeling of supplies to the areas of construction around the borders. By February, the zombies within the territory are extinguished and more zombies are kept out from further entry.

Beginning in late February, the government of New Central Canada votes to take an immediate rough census of the population to get a good idea of the actual population of the nation. Almost a thousand citizens volunteer, and by March the census project has started in the major cities of New Central Canada.

In late April, the rough census is complete, and the population is determined to be about 318,000 with a few thousand margin of error. The populations of the three divisions are determined to about 141,000 (New Dakota), 93,000 (New Saskatchewan), and 84,000 (New Manitoba).

In mid May, a giant pack of zombies manages to tear through the bordering wall and enter New Central Canada via what was once Montana and overwhelm the guards and citizens in the area. The virus spread over western New Dakota, and the need to eliminate the virus from spreading worsened.

The government ordered the army and all citizens who were ready and healthy to fight the zombies to save the rest of the nation from getting infected. After a long fighting process with many citizen lives lost to the zombies, the virus is finally stopped in June and zombies are kept from further entry once again.

This incident rose concerns over the safety of the concrete walls that bordered New Central Canada. In late June, the government voted to improve the walls by adding an extra several feet to the top and enough to safely reinforce the existing walls. The project began to be carried out by the military and civilian volunteers in early July.

In late June of 2027, the New Central Canadian government organized a team of rescuers, called "The New Central Canadian Rescue Team". Their purpose was to venture north of New Central Canada and rescue the potentially isolated and stranded people in the sparsely populated areas of former northern Canada, and take them to safer areas in New Central Canada. There were eight teams, each consisting of six members each, making a total of 48 rescuers. The teams were supplied with two SUVs, extra gasoline, water, food, clothing, tents, guns, and other necessities. The mission started on June 22, 2027 and ended on August 22, 2027, with 44 of the 48 total rescuers returning safely. Three rescuers from the Northwest Territories Team perished in the northlands of Canada, and one rescuer from the Hudson Bay Team was attacked and killed by a bear. A total of 33 people were rescued by the teams and taken to safety in New Central Canada. The New Central Canadian government reinforced the notion that this mission was not intended to be a mission to show that New Central Canada was eventually going to take over the northern lands of former Canada, but instead to help stranded people get to safer places.

The rest of 2027 was peaceful in New Central Canada; the nation was peacefully trading with the Chicago Kingdom and Rapid City and maintaining good relations with them. The nation itself was accepting newcomers from unorganized lands outside of nations, who had to be tested to make sure they were clear of the infection. The nation’s population was slowly growing and few conflicts and issues arose.

Currently, in 2028, the nation continues to operate as a peaceful and growing nation with a relatively small but strong population.

Government
The government of New Central Canada is a parliamentary democracy consisting of an elected president as the head of government, an elected head of state, and an appointed Senate (6 appointed officials per division [appointed by the head of government with consent from the head of state]) and an elected House of Commons (50 elected representatives per division). The constitution of New Central Canada was drafted in early November 2026 and established in December 2026. It states that elections for all governmental offices occur every three years in November, with no clear rule restricting any politician from having a limited number of terms before expiration, as long as the majority of votes continuously elects him/her.

Geography & Population
New Central Canada is located at the very center of the continent of North America, spanning across parts of several former U.S. states and former Canadian provinces. The borders of New Central Canada are not previously defined borders, and encompass most of the former state of North Dakota, much of former South Dakota, the eastern edge of former Montana, and a large portion of southeast former Saskatchewan and southwest former Manitoba. The three divisions of New Central Canada do follow previously defined borders, however; the border of New Dakota being everything south of the former line that divided the United States and Canada, and New Saskatchewan and New Manitoba being bordered by the same line they were bordered with back in their Canadian provincial days.

The nation is completely landlocked, but contains several lakes and rivers such as Lake Manitoba, Dauphin Lake, Devil’s Lake, and the Missouri River. The land is mostly flat prairieland with occasional hills and knolls. The biggest industry is, thus, agriculture. New Central Canada produces a very large quantity of wheat.

The population of New Central Canada, as determined by the rough April 2027 census, is about 318,000, but the number may be inaccurate as of the current day. The population is spread out over cities, small towns, and rural areas. Much of the population is in isolated areas in the country, which produce agricultural goods and services for the nation. Many, however, live in cities. The most populated city of New Central Canada is Regina, New Saskatchewan. The other cities with the highest populations are, respectively, Minot, Brandon, Bismarck, Moose Jaw, and Estevan. The entire list of the 15 most populated cities in New Central Canada are as follows:


 * 1) Regina, New Saskatchewan
 * 2) Minot, New Dakota
 * 3) Brandon, New Manitoba
 * 4) Bismarck, New Dakota
 * 5) Moose Jaw, New Saskatchewan
 * 6) Estevan, New Saskatchewan
 * 7) Mandan, New Dakota
 * 8) Mobridge, New Dakota
 * 9) Portage La Prairie, New Manitoba
 * 10) Aberdeen, New Dakota
 * 11) Yorkton, New Saskatchewan
 * 12) Weyburn, New Saskatchewan
 * 13) Dickinson, New Dakota
 * 14) Williston, New Dakota
 * 15) Jamestown, New Dakota

Economy
The economy of New Central Canada is diverse, but runs mostly on agriculture. The entire area of New Central Canada is covered in agricultural farms, which produce mainly corn, wheat, canola, and other grains and crops. Agriculture accounts for many jobs in New Central Canada, topped only by the military.

New Central Canada’s trade mostly involves the exportation of agricultural goods it produces. While some of the farmers in the country run on subsistence agriculture, many also trade with the Chicago Kingdom and Rapid City for other goods and services, such as industrial and commercial goods and services.

New Central Canada is also somewhat rich in oil, but oil resources have not yet been exploited to a great deal as agriculture has. The Bakken Formation, a widely untapped oil shale reserve, has seen some New Central Canadian drilling, but it remains relatively constant since oil was first discovered there in the 1900s. New Central Canada relies mostly on imported oil from other areas until it begins to make use of the resources it currently possesses, especially in the Bakken Formation.

New Central Canada’s economy is a free market economy, which runs on individual rights to create businesses and to move freely about the nation. Tax rates are medium in the country, and do not overly tax the citizens, but provide enough to fund important governmental services such as the military, police, fire department, schools, and hospitals.

The GDP of New Central Canada is $11,000,000 and the GDP per capita is roughly $4,500.

Military
Unlike its strong neighbor, the Chicago Kingdom, New Central Canada lacks a very large military with several branches. New Central Canada does not have an air force or a navy, but does have an army. The army of New Central Canada is, however, large and is the biggest employer in the country, exceeding agricultural jobs. The army is called the New Central Canadian Military and is made up of almost 40,000 men and women.

The motto of the New Central Canadian military is “Protection of New Central Canada – unstoppable and unmitigated.”

The military is led by the Chief of Defense, who is appointed by the head of state.

Culture
The culture of New Central Canada remains similar to the culture of the area before the outbreak. Unlike the Chicago Kingdom, the culture did not change as the zombie outbreak progressed and old ideas were abandoned. Instead, New Central Canada kept the same religion and customs as the area had earlier in history.

Holidays that are celebrated in New Central Canada include Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter, but also include a new holiday called “New Central Canada Week”, which celebrates the official declaration of New Central Canada as a nation for a week in early November.

New Central Canada does have a stark difference between a certain cultural aspect of both its neighbors Rapid City and the Chicago Kingdom, and that is that it does not allow slavery. Slavery is outlawed by the constitution of New Central Canada, and everyone in the nation is allowed equal opportunities and not forced to work for the government or an individual/group of individuals. However, the constitution does say that in times of catastrophe, the government may order citizens to assist in a government effort, as displayed for the first time during the May – June 2027 zombie scare in western New Dakota.

The main language spoken by residents of New Central Canada is English. The constitution states that English is the official language of the nation. Other languages, which are rarely spoken, are French and Spanish.

Controversy
Several controversial points have arisen over New Central Canada.

The main controversy is regarding the name of the nation. Some people claim that it should be renamed because the territory it occupies is not just in central Canada as the name suggests; it is mostly the Dakotas, which were part of the United States, not Canada. However, supporters of the name have reassured that it does not matter that part of the territory wasn’t at once part of central Canada, and that the nation still does have almost half of its land in what was once Canada. Also, they claim that the idea for the nation originated in Canada, and then later spread to the Dakotas, so they felt the name would be appropriate.

Another controversy is if New Central Canada should join the Chicago Kingdom as a province. Almost every resident of New Central Canada is against this because that would mean abandoning their culture and government and forsaking it to the neighbor’s Kingdom. However, the question still remains whether or not New Central Canada should merge, although neither government has shown support of this. The Chicago Kingdom stated that New Central Canada should remain a country, saying that New Central Canada is an ideal partner and could assist in future wars against other developing nations, such as the Dominion of the South and The Remnants.

Other controversies include a proposed relocation of the capital to another city and for more divisions. None of these have received any support.

Appearances
New Central Canada has appeared in the largest number of side-stories in the Week 14 Universe, as of now, with the following stories having it as a setting:
 * 1) Franzibald Fitzwilliam – A Turbulent Winter
 * 2) Oleksandr Luschenko – Summer of the Inhospitable
 * 3) Oleksandr Luschenko – A Coup d'État