Transcript Canada at the Turn of the Century

Marching towards the
Twentieth Century
~ Timeline ~
1867 - Confederation
• Ontario, Quebec,
New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia (4
Provinces in total)
form the New Canada
• John A. MacDonald is
Canada's first Prime
Minister
Why did these four provinces join
Confederation?
1.
2.
3.
Manifest Destiny and Anti
American sentiment (due to
US Civil War)
The End of free trade with
the United States Canada
needed more independence
to deal equally with America
and get the best trade deals.
Building the railway– the
promise of railways
convinced many provinces to
join Confederation.
The British North American Act
(1867)
i.
ii.
iii.
What is it? The document that
created the country of
Canada (divided the powers
between the provinces and a
national government, set up
the forms of government, gave
Canadians a degree of
independence – BUT still very
closely tied to Britain)
The type of government
established, federal system
gave more power to the
national level of government.
Why would Provincial rights be
important? The Provinces
involved were all very different,
and wanted to sustain their
unique identity while still
being part of Canada
Provinces were given powers
over education and religion.
This was particularly important
to the province of Quebec
1870
• Canada purchases Rupert's
Land (made up of Manitoba
and North West Territories)
from the Hudson’s Bay
Company
• Metis uprising in Manitoba led
by Louis Riel – Riel Rebellion,
results in Manitoba Act, brings
Manitoba into Confederation
and guaranteed rights of
language and religion.
However, execution of
Thomas Scott results in Riel
fleeing to the United States.
Marching towards the Twentieth
Century – Timeline Con’t
• 1871 - BC becomes a province – Why?
Because of the promise of a Railway
• 1872 - John A . MacDonald envisions a Canada
that is connected from east to west (sea to sea)
– Transcontinental railway started
• 1873 - MacDonald defeated at polls amid cries
of scandal over railroad contract.
– Alexander Mackenzie is first Liberal Prime Minister
– PEI becomes a province
1876 - The Native Treaties and the
Indian Act
•
•
•
•
In order to “settle the native
question” the Canadian
Government signed The
Numbered Treaties which gave
the natives certain concessions in
exchange for taking all their land
The Indian Act of 1876 denied
Natives the right to vote, practice
religious ceremonies and own
property if they identified
themselves as Status Natives.
Residential Schools were
established in 1890 to assimilate
Native Children. Run by
churches and/or the government,
they stripped the Natives of their
language, religion, customs and
culture
Assimilation – to become part of
the dominant culture.
1878
• MacDonald was re-elected
Prime Minister on the basis of
his National Policy which
included:
• protective tariffs (tax added
to American goods)
• completion of the railway
• large-scale immigration to the
west. Dominion Lands Act–
For $10, any adult male can
purchase 64 hectares of prairie
farm land. They must
construct a shelter and live on
their land at least six months a
year for three years.
1885
• The CPR railway is completed
but at the expense of 1500
Chinese lives.
• Federal government courted
Chinese to come to Canada to
perform the most dangerous
tasks in the construction.
Chinese were paid half the
wages of their Canadian
counterparts and continued to
be discriminated against after
construction was completed.
• A head tax was imposed to
discourage any further
immigration of Chinese.
• North West Rebellion, quashed
by MacDonald, Riel hung as
traitor
Marching towards the Twentieth
Century – Timeline Con’t
• 1896 - Wilfred Laurier
became Canada’s 7th
Prime Minister This man
has a vision “…that the
twentieth century will be
the century of Canada.”
• 1900 - Seven provinces,
population of 5,200,000
most people were
farmers, involved in
logging fishing, and
construction (new cities,
sewer systems, railways)
Canada at the Turn of the
Century
1900-1914
What was Canada Like?
• In 1900 Canada only
consisted of 7 provinces
• The population was
5,200,000
• Toronto, Montreal and
Halifax were the biggest
cities
• The West was comprised
of small pioneer cities like
Winnipeg, Calgary and
Vancouver
Canada at the Turn of the 20th
Century
• 63% of the population
lived in Rural areas
• Farming was the main
occupation
• Logging, Fishing and
Construction were also
popular jobs
• Women worked as
teachers, store clerks, in
factories or on the farm
Community focused life…
• Lives were usually centered around family and
the local community
• There was little entertainment outside the local
sports teams and the church
• Travel was often limited to a horse and buggy
The Political Scene…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The elections of 1896, which
made Liberal Wilfrid Laurier prime
minister
Marked a major turning point in
Canadian history.
Laurier's rise to power coincided
with an economic upswing
More railways were built, the West
was settled, and industries
flourished
The prairies joined Confederation
(Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1905)
On October 10, 1911, Sir Robert
Borden became the 8th Prime
Minister of Canada
He was a Conservative who led
Canada into WWI
The Economy
• Construction of railways
and the expansion of
central Canadian
industries fuelled the
economic boom
• Under Laurier large-scale
settlement of the West
began
• The increasing demand,
in industrial countries like
Great Britain, for
Canadian natural
resources was a major
reason for Canada's
prosperity
The Immigration Wave
• Development of the West depended on increased immigration
• Laurier's government, worked continuously to promote Canadian
immigration in both Europe and the United States by advertising
“Free Land”
• Of the 2 million people who arrived in Canada between 1896-1911,
approximately one million moved to the West
• New immigrants transformed the ethnic composition of the country
Urbanization
• Immigration also had great effects on industrial centers like Montreal
and Toronto
• Cities across the country grew rapidly creating more and more jobs
• The working and living conditions of the labouring class was often
poor
• City councils struggled to keep up with the growth i.e. transportation,
housing and sanitation
Urbanization con’t…
• Slums were created
in many cities, with
poverty, overcrowding
and unsanitary
conditions
• The Catholic Church
saw the drawbacks of
city life and felt that
cities were “breeding
grounds for disease
and death”
In Class Activity
Immigration and Urbanization
• Read pages 22 – 25
“New Immigrants”
• Answer Focus
Questions 1-4
• Read pages 40-42
“City Life”
• Answer Focus
Questions 1-3