Week 1
what is Confederation
Canada's official separation from Great Britain into its own nation, occured in 1867 headed by Sir John A Macdonald
Ruperts land
Rupert's land was originally a large swath of Canada given to Hudson's Bay Company that the nation sought to acquire, and ended up purchasing 4/5s of HBC land, home to the Metis
Pacific Scandal
liberals find out about the bribery of conservative politicians, catch John A MacDonald begging for booze and exploit it and take power
The working class
The increase in industry created an emerging working class, who flooded cities to be closer to their jobs, which lead to an increase in urban cities in Canada.
Imperialism
Before the 1st World War, Canada sought to prove itself on the world stage and cement its national identity, and on the breakout of the First World War, Many English men signed up to prove themselves and their nation, however, the french were not as proud of the nation
What Were Quebec's issues with Confederation
A strong identity to the region as opposed to the rest of english speaking counterparts, and the federal government seeking more power
Metis
Metis, or "new people" were a new cultural identity of people who were born from fur traders and indigenous women, commonly subsisted on bison, and upon failed hunts were forced further west. were the genesis of red river resistance
National Policy
Labour and the family
Many Children of the day were expected to contribute to the household, and children found work anywhere possible, while women were still mostly confined to the home, with some working in fields such as textiles
Conscription
During the First world war, volunteer numbers dropped, and the Canadian government sought to introduce conscription to make up for the low numbers, this was deeply against the sentiments of the French and Conscription becamea hot button issue of the 1917 election
Why did the federal government seek more power
After unrest in the US, The federal government sought more power to maintain control, and pushed for more power over the population than individual providences "any responsibility not directly assigned to the province falls to the federal government"
Red River Resistance
Headed by Louis Riel Jr., The Red River resistance began when Canadian surveyors were stopped by metis and other Western settlers, afraid of an english canadian takeover. resistance carried by buffalo hunters and others in the community. Metis later take over Fort Garry, movements of the resistance are brought to government through the "National committee"
CPR
Needed railways were built by the CPR through generous grants by John A. Macdonald, these grants were subsidized by the Canadian taxpayer, creating a lucrative monopoly on Canadian rail, which was needed to travel west
Immigration
With the nation looking to expand westward, Canada introduced the Dominion Lands Act, which promised cheap plots of land out west in exchange for residence on the plot for three years. This led to a wave of immigrants taking advantage of the cheap land to move to a new home, however many faced discrimination from canadians
Union government
A government headed by Robert Borden, this government was a unified party that sought to introduce conscription and was up against Henri Bourassa in the 1917 election, they won off of a platform of patriotism and branding Bourassa and his supporters as traitors
How did the government aid expansion
Expansion was aided through private sector juggernauts building railways and receiving handouts from the federal government
National Committee
The national committee was a political party formed by Riel which fought for indigenous rights and created a platform for the Red river Resistance to stand by
Number Treaties
These were treaties between Canada and native tribes of the west, Which were sought out by Indigenous tribes who were -promised better living conditions in return for their land, however, they were deceived by Canada, giving up their land without receiving their benefits