Vocabulary
Prime agricultural land that has the fewest natural constraints for growing crops (Canada has very little of this land).
Class 1 & 2 Farmland
This is the process of people establishing homes, and often citizenship, in a country that is not their native country.
Immigration
VOCAB: The outward physical expansion of cities into surrounding rural areas, often consuming high-quality agricultural land.
Urban Sprawl
An Imperial Conference verbal declaration recognizing Britain's Dominions (including Canada) as equal members of the British Commonwealth rather than subordinate colonies.
Balfour Report
What is the distinction between the Balfour Report (1926) and the Statute of Westminster (1931)?
The Balfour Report was the political statement declaring Dominions equal to Britain (a "verbal agreement"). The Statute of Westminster made that principle an enforceable British legal statute, confirming Canada's legislative independence
The movement of people from the countryside or farming communities into cities.
Rural-to-Urban Migration
VOCAB: People forced to leave their homes or countries due to war, destruction, or political persecution (such as communist regimes or post-WWII devastation).
Displaced Persons (DPs) / Refugees
VOCAB: A modern urban centre driven by high-tech sectors, financial institutions, corporate headquarters, and knowledge spillovers rather than direct primary manufacturing or farming.
Corporate City
A British law that made the Balfour Report legally binding, ending the British Parliament's power to pass laws affecting Canada without Canadian consent.
Statute of Westminster
Why was Emily Murphy's appointment as a judge in 1916 challenged?
A defense lawyer claimed that under the British North America Act (1867), the word "persons" in British common law only applied to men; therefore, she was not legally a "person" qualified to serve as a magistrate.
The process where an increasing percentage of a total population lives in cities and suburbs rather than rural areas.
Urbanization
Conditions or events that drive people away from their current location and can draw them somewhere else.
Push and Pull Factors
How does urban expansion threaten Canadian agriculture?
Answers may vary. Key points - Only about 5% of Canada’s land is prime agricultural land without severe climate or soil constraints. Urban sprawl tends to expand over Class 1 and Class 2 farmland.
The constitutional legal battle establishing that women are legally recognized as "persons" under Section 24 of the British North America (BNA) Act and are eligible to hold public office, including the Senate.
The Persons Case
VOCAB: British and European women who married Canadian soldiers stationed overseas during World War II and immigrated to Canada with their children following the war.
Major concentrated population centres (such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) where a significant share of Canadians reside.
Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)
How did Canadian immigration policy shift before versus after World War II?
Answers may vary. Key points - Discriminatory, placed restrictions on immigrants from Asia and Africa. The post war boom led to a shift in policy.
What are the four major industries heavily impacted by the rise of urbanization?
Infrastructure & Suburbs, Oil & Gas, Hydroelectricity, and Auto & Paper.
Who was excluded from early suffrage gains in Canada?
Any women who was not considered to be a white woman.
Which provinces led the way for women's provincial suffrage in Canada, and when?
The Prairie provinces led first in 1916 (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta). Federal voting rights for most women followed in 1918.
One of Canada's fastest-growing regions, spanning Edmonton south through Red Deer to Calgary, where the vast majority of Albertans live.
Calgary–Edmonton Corridor
How did the destination of post-WWII immigrants differ from early 1900s immigrants?
Early 1900s immigrants settled primarily on rural Prairie homesteads to farm. Post-WWII immigrants moved directly to cities.
Why was the 1947 oil strike in Leduc, Alberta, a major turning point?
Before 1947, Alberta was predominantly a region of small farming communities. The discovery of oil in Leduc triggered massive industrial and corporate growth, spurring the rapid urbanization of Edmonton and Calgary and establishing the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor.
The legal right to vote in political elections.
Suffrage
Five prominent Alberta women activists (Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, and Henrietta Muir Edwards) who campaigned for women's voting rights and legal status as persons.