CANADIAN POLITICS – FOUNDATIONS & PRE-CONFEDERATION CONTEXT

Chapter 1 – Geographic & Demographic Foundations

  • Territory & size
    • Canada is a “massive country” stretching nearly the same flying-time east–west (Montreal → Vancouver) as Montreal → Paris.
    • Vastness creates:
    • Distinct regional settlement patterns (Atlantic, Central, Prairie, Pacific, North).
    • Divergent physical geographies (shield, prairie, cordillera, tundra, etc.).
  • Population distribution
    • Overwhelming concentration along the southern band bordering the USA.
    • North/South split produces different lifestyles, services, and political priorities.
  • Economic implications
    • Resource endowments vary sharply by region, shaping regional interests, political cleavages, & party systems (e.g., oil-rich Alberta vs. manufacturing Ontario/Québec).
    • Export orientation links regions to different external markets (Asia for BC; Europe for Atlantic Canada).

Chapter 2 – Resources & the “Staple Thesis”

  • Harold Innis (20s–40s)
    • Economic-historian / political-economist; formulated the “Staple Thesis.”
  • Core argument
    • Canada’s economy developed around successive export staples → \text{fur} \rightarrow \text{fish} \rightarrow \text{timber} \rightarrow \text{wheat} \rightarrow \text{oil}
    • Dependence on external metropoles (first Britain, later USA) moulded domestic institutions & regional power.
  • Political consequences
    • Western provinces, esp. Alberta, highly sensitive to energy policy; fuels West–Centre tensions.
    • Partisan geography: Conservatives strong in resource West; Liberals historically dominant in industrial East.
  • Settlement layers
    • Sequence: Indigenous occupants → French settlers → British settlers → later European immigrants.
    • “Who arrived when” underlies contemporary cultural & constitutional debates.

Chapter 3 – Indigenous Nations & the Crown

  • Pre-contact diversity
    • >50 distinct Indigenous nations/cultures prior to European arrival.
    • Early interactions framed as nation-to-nation diplomacy.
  • Royal Proclamation 1763
    • Landmark document governing Crown–Indigenous relations to this day.
    • Key clauses:
    • Crown monopoly over land purchases in declared “Indian Territory.”
    • Settlement or private purchase forbidden without prior treaty.
  • Implementation & aftermath
    • Westward expansion led to frequent treaty violations.
    • Drastic demographic collapse: \text{Population} \; \approx 500\,000 \; \rightarrow \; 140\,000 by 19th c. → genocide / displacement.
    • Patchy treaty map; many areas never covered or negotiated in bad faith.
  • Future coverage
    • Course will devote a separate lecture to Indigenous issues & modern reconciliation.

Chapter 4 – French/English Origins & Early Constitutional Milestones

  • Conquest & trauma (1759–63)
    • Battle of the Plains of Abraham → France loses “New France.”
    • British Crown imposes Royal Proclamation 1763:
    • Abolishes French civil law.
    • Bars Catholics from public office.
    • Implies assimilation of French Canadians (“Canadiens”).
  • Governor James Murray’s pragmatism
    • Soft-pedals full implementation; tolerates limited Catholic participation.
  • Quebec Act 1774
    • Restores:
    • French civil code.
    • Catholic eligibility for office.
    • Seigneurial land tenure.
    • Enlarges Quebec southward to the Ohio Valley → angers 13 Colonies, contributing to the American Revolution.
  • Loyalist influx post-1776
    • Royalist refugees settle in present-day Ontario & parts of Québec.
    • Demand British-style representative institutions.
  • Constitutional Act 1791
    • Splits colony:
    • Upper Canada (Anglo-Protestant, today’s Ontario).
    • Lower Canada (Franco-Catholic, today’s Québec).
    • Each granted elected Legislative Assembly; Executive Council still governor-dominated.

Chapter 5 – Rebellions, Union & Responsible Government

  • Rising discontent
    • Assemblies lack control over executive → reform agitation.
  • Rebellions of 1837\text{–}1838 (both Canadas)
    • Suppressed by British military.
    • Lord Durham’s Report (1839):
    • Diagnoses “two nations warring in the bosom of a single state.”
    • Recommends assimilation of French Canadians & union of the colonies.
  • Act of Union 1840
    • Creates Province of Canada (Canada West & Canada East under single legislature).
    • Responsible government promised, formally granted \approx 1848.
  • Baldwin–LaFontaine Alliance
    • Robert Baldwin (Anglo-Ontario) & Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine (Franco-Québec) form cross-cultural coalition.
    • Rapidly restore French language rights and self-rule within new parliament.

Consociationalism in 19th-Century Canada

(Arend Lijphart’s term for power-sharing in divided societies.)

  1. Grand Coalition – cabinets must include leaders from each pillar (Anglophone & Francophone).
  2. Mutual Veto – each group can block vital changes → protects minority interests.
  3. Proportionality – offices & resources distributed in proportion to population share (e.g., 30 % group ⇒ 30 % civil-service positions).
  4. Segmental Autonomy – each community controls key cultural institutions (e.g., separate school systems).

Chapter 6 – Toward Confederation (Preview)

  • British North America Act 1867 (Confederation) will formalize Dominion of Canada.
  • Next lecture will analyse WHY four initial provinces (Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick) agreed to confederate.

Key Names & Visual Cues

  • Harold Innis – “Staple Thesis.”
  • Chief protagonists of Responsible Government:
    • Robert Baldwin (Anglo portrait).
    • Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine (Franco portrait).
  • Governors/officials: James Murray; Lord Durham.

Chronological Quick-Reference

  • 1759 - Plains of Abraham.
  • 1763 - Royal Proclamation.
  • 1774 - Quebec Act.
  • 1791 - Upper/Lower Canada created.
  • 1837 - Rebellions.
  • 1840 - Act of Union.
  • 1848 - Responsible Government achieved.
  • 1867 - Confederation (to be discussed).