When does a locational distinction change its suffix and capitialization in a proper name?

Solution 1:

There are no rules to guide you; it is a matter of idiom. Once the area is sufficiently distinct, the description gets capitalized and a new proper name is born. As if that weren't enough trouble, sometimes the adjective form of the cardinal direction comes and goes. I live in South Florida, but other people live in Southern California. I was born in East Tennessee, a designation that arises from the from a statutory definition. Not to mention West Tennessee and Middle Tennessee. The Grand Divisions of Tennessee

Solution 2:

Some directions or adjectives are part of a place's proper name, and others are not.

• North York, East York: proper names which contain cardinal directions
• north Toronto, northern Toronto: two ways to refer to the northern part of Toronto.
• north York would be the northern part of York, not North York.

Is Western Canada a proper name? If so, capitalize it. If not, then western Canada is correct. As for the choice between "West Canada" and "Western Canada", it seems that when naming places that are explicitly located in certain positions relative to other, similarly-named places, you often use the bare direction. North Dakota, South Dakota. West Virginia. When referring to a portion of a larger whole, you use the adjective form: the southern US states.