Post-Confederation Canadian History Notes

Confederation in Conflicts

Reasons for Potential Secession

  • Nova Scotia (1860-1880):
    • Strong anti-Confederation movement led by Joseph Howe.
    • Concerns about becoming a poor country within the Confederation.
    • Joined around 1886 due to Maritime economic decline and slow population growth.
  • British Columbia:
    • Largest colony, making road construction expensive.
    • Fear of American invasions.
    • Transcontinental railway construction was a condition for joining in 1871.
  • New Brunswick (Joined July 1, 1867):
    • Anti-confederation sentiment due to parliamentary seat allotment.
    • Merchants worried about trade competition and higher taxes.

British Columbia's Distinctiveness

  • Sparsely populated, geographically vast with concentrated settlements mainly focused on mining.

Prince Edward Island's Entry (1873)

  • Land ownership issues led to near-bankruptcy.
  • Escheat movement aimed to eliminate leasehold and absentee landlords.
  • Joined Confederation in 1870 to resolve land issues.
  • Ottawa government offered to pay off the railway debt, provide a steamship service, and buy out landlords.

Red River Provisional Government

  • Coalition government of 1876 sought access to Rupert’s Land for farmland and territorial expansion.
  • Concern over population loss to the United States accelerated the Ottawa government's push to access western lands.
  • Failure to negotiate treaties with the Aboriginal population.
  • Métis and Country Boys (HBC employees and individuals of Chipewyan, Cree, and Anishinaabe descent) occupied Rupert’s Land and formed the Red River Provisional Government in 1869.
  • Led by Louis Riel, the government declared a provisional status to negotiate terms for entering Confederation.

Flaws Highlighted by the Provincial Rights Movement

  • Canadian federal model based on semi-autonomous provinces.
  • Confederation agreement (1867): strong central government with provincial control over local affairs.
  • Ottawa's power of disallowance (veto over provincial legislation) was a point of contention.
  • The Provincial Rights movement demanded non-interference from the federal government in provincial decision-making.

Strategies for Annexing the West

  • Ottawa offered the elimination of colony debts, funding for a dry dock on Vancouver Island, and construction of a railway from Canada to the West Coast.

Conditions Leading to the 1885 Northwest Rebellion

  • Canadian desire for western territories to expand and acquire more farmland.
  • Access to Rupert’s Land was a key reason for the Upper and Lower Canada coalition in 1867.
  • First Nations faced food shortages due to declining bison populations and new immigrants.
  • Different interpretations of treaties: First Nations viewed them as ongoing relationships, not submission to Canadian authority.
  • Intense famine (1879-1885) enabled Ottawa to push for First Nations' submission.
  • Growing Aboriginal support for protest and resistance by 1884 contributed to the Northwest Rebellion.

The Problematic Question of Riel’s Sanity

  • Louis Riel led the Métis and First Nations resistance in the Northwest Rebellion.
  • Suppressed by the Canadian Military, Riel was tried in 1885, found guilty, and executed for high treason.
  • Insanity was considered the best defense against the charges.

CPR's Role in Canadian Expansionism

  • The railway was promised to British Columbia as a condition for joining Confederation.
  • Completed in 1885, connecting eastern and western Canada.
  • The railway functioned as a construction company, land dealer, and hotel operator.
  • Linked to the Bank of Montreal and other corporations.

Changing Lives in the North (1867-1930)

  • Northern territories initially showed little interest in joining Canada.
  • Diverse and vulnerable population faced economic disadvantages and diseases.
  • Steam-powered shipping boats brought the region into the global economy but also introduced new diseases.
  • Missionaries attempted to change the local culture.
  • Significant changes occurred with the Yukon gold rush and the Beaufort Sea whaling industry, boosting the fur trade.

Newfoundland Before the Great War

  • Newfoundland was not interested in joining the British North American Act.
  • Divided into three main parts: Labrador, the French Shore, and the rest of the territory.
  • Population varied by region, ethnicity, language, and religion.
  • Economy based on seasonal fisheries and sealing.
  • Farming attempts to diversify the economy were largely unsuccessful.

Change of Mind in PEI Regarding Confederation

  • Refer to question 3 (land ownership issues and financial incentives).

Sources of Regional Dissatisfaction (1867-1890s)

  • Nova Scotia reluctantly entered Confederation, fearing neglect as part of a larger country.
  • Quebec's entry was closely tied to Ontario's, united as the Province of Canada in 1840.
  • The Act of Union aimed to assimilate French Canadians but led to political deadlock.
  • Manitoba and the Northwest Territories joined in 1870 after land transfers and resistance (North-West Rebellion in 1885).
  • British Columbia joined in 1871 due to the gold rush and the promise of a railway, fearing annexation by the U.S. after the Alaska purchase.
  • Prince Edward Island joined in 1873 due to debt, with Canada assuming railway debt and promising year-round communication.
  • Yukon joined in 1898, Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, Newfoundland in 1949, and Nunavut in 1999.

Canada's Annexation of Rupert’s Land

  • Refer to question 4. (desire for farmland, population concerns).

Western First Nations' Willingness to Sign Treaties

  • Refer to question 7. (food shortages and perceived ongoing relationship).

Factors Leading to the Northwest Rebellion of 1885

  • Refer to question 8. (Riel's leadership, Metis and First Nations resistance).

Louis Riel's Roles After Confederation

  • Métis leader in the Red River and North-West resistance.
  • Led the 1885 rebellion.
  • Advocated for Métis legal rights and land ownership.
  • His execution angered French-speaking Canadians and deepened divisions in the country.

Instruments Used to Subdue the West

  • Refer to question 6. (elimination of debt, funding for infrastructure, railway construction).

Distinctiveness of British Columbia and Newfoundland

  • Refer to question 2 and 11. (BC: mining settlements; Newfoundland: fisheries and sealing).

Eric Sager's Themes of Maritime History

  • Focus on understanding the prominence of the shipping industry in the 19th-century Atlantic region.
  • Canada had the fourth-largest merchant marine industry at the time.
  • Sager addresses the rise and decline of shipping industries in the Maritimes and Newfoundland.

Sager's Point on the Collapse of the Shipping Industry

  • Collapse not solely due to obsolete wooden ships.
  • Shipowners and merchants shifted investments to railways, cotton industries, factories, and sugar refineries.
  • The collapse was not primarily a technological issue.

Expectations for Maritime Manufacturing at Confederation

  • The decline of the shipping industry does not fully explain the economic decline of the Maritimes.
  • Canadian policies disadvantaged the Maritime regions, contributing to their economic decline.

Mark McGowan's View of the Catholic Community in Canada

  • Diverse community, with a majority of French-speaking people in Quebec, along with Gaelic, English, and First Nations languages.
  • Diversity increased due to immigration, language, and culture.

Québec Catholic Hierarchy's Aspirations

  • Sought to increase French-speaking immigration to the West.

Division of the Church Along Linguistic Lines

  • The church eventually divided into English-speaking and French-speaking Catholics.
  • English was increasingly used due to being seen as a more international language.

Ian Radforth's View of the Northwest Rebellion's Effect

  • Created a sense of Canadian community, regardless of province or language.
  • Celebration of troops and funerals fostered national unity.

CHAPTER 4: POLITICS AND CONFLICT IN VICTORIAN AND EDWARDIAN CANADA

Dualism

  • Recognition of French and English political, cultural, legal, and linguistic identities as equal.
  • Weakness: Mutual mistrust, with the French fearing assimilation.

Success of Macdonald’s Conservatives to 1896

  • Support for tariffs.
  • Strong political alliances with Quebec leaders, notably Georges-Etienne Cartier. Support of dualism declined after Riel’s execution in 1885.
  • Support of the clergy and Quebec, who feared the Liberals.

The Role of the Catholic Church in Politics

  • Opposed the secularization of education.
  • Pushed members to vote Conservative due to opposition to Laurier’s Rouge background (reduced role for clergy).
  • “La ciel est bleu l’enfer est rouge (alleged expression from priests) - heaven is blue, hell is red

Liberal Party and the Tariff Issue

  • Liberals wavered on the tariff issue.
  • Prior to 1896, they were anti-tariff (pro-reciprocity/free trade).
  • In 1896, they supported tariffs.
  • In 1911 under Laurier, they abandoned tariff support again.

Divisive Issues Faced by Laurier’s Administration

  • Participation in the Boer War (nationalist vs. imperialist views).
  • Naval crisis: Britain wanted money; Laurier proposed a small navy for loan to Britain (imperialists thought it was too small, nationalists thought it was too big).
  • Reciprocity (free trade) vs. tariffs.
  • Manitoba Schools.

Imperialists vs. Nationalists in Pre-WWI Canada

  • Imperialists: English-Canadians who supported the British Empire and greater Canadian involvement globally.
  • Nationalists: French-Canadians who wanted a North American focus, distancing from the British Empire.
  • Nationalists were inward-looking and suspicious of the outside world.

Ways These Two Visions Made the Country Ungovernable

  • Opposing views on British requests for money towards the Royal Navy.
  • Opposing views on participation in the Boer War.

Impact of Riel’s Execution on Federal Politics

  • Mistrust of the federal government (Conservatives) by French Catholics.
  • Started the decline of Conservatives' support in Quebec.

Macdonald's Staying Power

  • See the section on the success of Macdonald's Conservatives to 1896 (support for tariffs, alliances with Quebec leadership, support of the clergy).

Issues Raised by Imperialists and Nationalists at the Start of the Boer War

  • Imperialists wanted to support the British Empire by sending soldiers.
  • Nationalists opposed sending soldiers, viewing the Boers as a minority like themselves and not wanting to support the British Empire.

Reciprocity's Role in Defining the Parties

  • Conservatives were against reciprocity, while the Liberals were for it.
  • Liberals won in 1896 when they stopped their commitment to free trade. In 1911, with renewed commitment to reciprocity, the Liberals lost.

Values Espoused by the Liberal Party

  • Supported reciprocity (except between 1896-1911).
  • Supported provincial rights.
  • Supported reduced influence of the clergy in politics and education (separation of Church and State).

Ruth Sandwell's View of State Growth

  • States grew in various aspects during the 19th century.
  • Decisions were increasingly taken collectively within a liberal democracy.
  • The state became more involved in organizing communities through measures like compulsory schooling.

Rural Families' Dependence on Child Labor

  • Children were essential for the family economy in rural Canada.
  • There was a gendered division of labor: boys worked closer to the farms, and girls did house jobs, such as collecting wood, cooking, collecting and preserving fruits and vegetables.
  • Children were especially important during the summer for farm work.

Laurier's Belief in Canada's 20th Century

  • Optimistic view based on:
    • French and English working together.
    • Canada becoming a destination for immigration, increasing population and power.
    • Canada having greater influence in the world, reducing the influence of Great Britain and the USA.

History Used to Create National Legitimacy

  • Canada’s participation in the Great War established the country as an equal to Great Britain on the international stage.
  • Post-1919, Canada was increasingly involved internationally, independent of Great Britain.
  • Success on the battlefield increased nationalist sentiment.
  • The Battle of Vimy Ridge is an event of national importance as it was the first time that the four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together and is often referred to as the “Birth of a Nation.”

Limits of the Politics of Compromise

  • Impossible to satisfy everyone, especially when goals are at odds with each other.
  • Compromise often leaves no one happy, and leaders like Laurier were attacked from both sides.