Founders & Leaders
Born in January 1815, he was Canada's first prime minister and served for most of his life until his death in 1891.
Who was Sir John A. Macdonald?
Post-Confederation, manufacturing expanded heavily in these two specific provinces of Central Canada.
What are Ontario and Quebec?
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was constructed during this precise four-year window in the early 1880s.
What is 1881 to 1885?
This specific group of 15,000 immigrants did the "death-defying" work required to build the railway through the Rockies.
Who were Chinese workers?
It sounds like a comic book superhero, but your notes use this dramatic two-word nickname to describe the mighty Canadian Pacific Railway.
What is the "Iron Goliath"?
This key figure helped stop political deadlock in 1864 by offering to join forces with his political rivals.
Who was George Brown?
In Central Canada, these small communities rapidly transformed into larger factory towns where people moved to find jobs.
What are small villages?
Thanks to the CPR, cross-country travel time plummeted from 3 months by wagon down to this many days by train.
What is 5 days?
The unsung heroes of the railway grid struggled through hazardous conditions while being paid this remarkably low daily wage.
What is $1.00 a day?
According to your notes, this ocean-side province was one of the specific Maritime places importing goods like cotton and sugar before new tariffs ruined the trade.
What is Nova Scotia (or New Brunswick)?
Sir John A. Macdonald is highly remembered for pushing for this specific type of government for the new nation.
What is a strong central government?
Because they had access to the ocean, the Maritime provinces originally imported sugar, tea, spices, and cotton from Asia, the Caribbean, and this country.
What is the United States?
Before the railway linked the country, Canada's economy faced the challenge of having very little of this connection between its few provinces.
What is economic connection?
This is the specific mountain range where Canada's economy and railway would have failed without the immense sacrifice of immigrant laborers.
What are the Rockies (Rockies Mountains)?
As business boomed in Ontario and Quebec, these retail businesses expanded rapidly to sell all the new products being made in the towns.
What are stores?
To secure a strong majority to govern and focus on improving the area, George Brown joined forces with John A. Macdonald and this third leader.
Who was George-Étienne Cartier?
By the end of the 1880s, these newly implemented taxes made it far too expensive for the Maritimes to import goods from other countries.
What are tariffs?
Workers had to build the historic train tracks through swamps and this grueling material with zero power tools.
What is solid rock?
Immediately after the last spike was driven into the track, the Canadian government passed this discriminatory fee to stop Chinese workers from staying.
What is the Chinese Head Tax?
Long before electric bulbs were invented, Canadian factory workers in the late 1800s relied on lamps filled with this specific type of oil to see their work.
What is kerosene (or whale oil)?
This historic political alliance, formed in 1864, brought political rivals together and paved the way for Confederation.
What was the "Great Coalition"?
Due to overproduction, high shipping costs, and heavy competition from Central Canada, many Maritime residents left their region to move here.
What is Western Canada?
The primary challenge behind the massive expansion of the railway was developing a national economy strong enough to survive beside this powerful neighbor.
What is the United States?
Your notes state that without the monumental efforts of these 15,000 workers, these two specific things would have died.
What are the railway and Canada's economy?
While the "Iron Horse" became the famous nickname for the train, this simple, silent, non-motorized two-wheeled vehicle was just starting to become popular for city travel in the late 1800s.
What is the bicycle?