Canadian Confederation: Unifying Canada

• Confederation holds significance for Canadians today.

Historical Significance of Confederation

• The unit discusses the events and discussions that led to Confederation.
• It assesses the effects Confederation had on different groups.
• The success of Confederation at unifying Canada gets examined.

Unit Topics - 1850-1890

• Significant causes of Confederation are explored.
• Consequences of this historical event for various groups are addressed.
• Events that contributed to the consequences get examined.
• Groups and individuals who played a central role get investigated as well.

Editorial Creation

• The purpose is to determine the focus of the editorial.
• Important changes over time need identifying.
• Causes and consequences of the identified changes get determined.
• How those changes impacted various people are assessed.
• Historical sources are used to interpret the past.
• Editorials are opinion-based articles backed by evidence.
• Editorials will have a conclusion.

Life in British North America (1850-1864)

• British North America had separate colonies and territories.
• The colonies were under British government control.
• The territories were governed by the British Hudson's Bay Company.
• The Atlantic colonies were Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
• Canada East (Québec) and Canada West (Ontario) were further inland.
• Northwest region and New Caledonia were governed by Hudson's Bay.
• Colonies and territories got established on Aboriginal lands.
• Established colonies and territories often displaced the Aboriginal inhabitants.
• Distances between territories and colonies affected relations.

Atlantic Colonies Shaping

• Prince Edward Island was known for agriculture.
• Nova Scotia was known for shipping and coal mines.
• Forestry and shipbuilding were important for New Brunswick.
• Newfoundland was known for its fisheries.
• Industry was booming in the Atlantic colonies in the mid-1800s.
• Opportunities for working and middle-class people were available to make a living.
• Merchants, shipbuilders, and other businesspeople could develop successful businesses.
• Successful businesses created a wealthy upper class.
• Joseph Salter was a successful New Brunswick businessman and politician.

Producing Goods in Mid 1800's

• Ports in the Atlantic colonies bustled with business activity.
• Lumber, iron, and coal benefitted from the shipbuilding industry in New Brunswick.
• The Marco Polo was the fastest ship in the world, making a record-breaking trip to Australia.
• Prince Edward Island faced uncertain times because only about a third of farmers owned land, working as tenants.
• Fishing families were often in debt to wealthy merchants.
• Merchants controlled the industry by buying the catch and supplying the families with food, equipment, and other goods.

Changing Trade Relations in Atlantic Colonies

• Most of the goods produced went to Britain, the United States, and the West Indies in the first half of the 1800s.
• American railway building created more demand for goods from the Atlantic colonies in the 1850s.
• Britain and the United States signed the Reciprocity Treaty in 1854, allowing free trade of agricultural products and natural resources.
• The war ended and the United States ended the Reciprocity Treaty since they began heavily taxing goods.

Working-Class Children

• Most children in the 1800s helped their families make a living, unlike wealthy children.
• As British North America became more industrial and demand for goods increased, more children spent days in dangerous conditions.
• 449 boys worked in coal mines in Nova Scotia, representing almost 15 percent of the mining workforce by 1866.
• Girls worked for low wages cleaning and preparing the catch for fish merchants.

First Nations' Loss of Territory

• Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy First Nations signed Peace and Friendship treaties with the British government in the Atlantic colonies.
• Guarantees to Aboriginal rights to hunt and fish were part of the treaties.
• Lands at Tabusintac sold without their consent were objected by Mi'kmaq.
• Martin Butler was born in 1857 in New Brunswick and worked as a child to support his family who were farmers.

French Majority Affect on Canada East

• Majority of Canada East consisted of French speakers called Canadiens who were descendants of early settlers of New France.
• Most Canadiens were Catholic and belonged to the working class.
• English men dominated the economies of Montréal and Québec City.
• Mid-1800s were time of prosperity of the English speaking, but working-class Canadiens did not share it.
• Bishop of Montréal built a Cathedral in the heart of English-speaking Protestants, which provided for the construction of a new Catholic cathedral.

Ownership in Canada East

• Wealthy landowners that rented out land plots to Canadien farmers were known as seigneurs.
• Land that was farmed was divided amongst children when a farming family died, making each family member's land smaller over the years.
• Canadien men sought other ways to make money, such as in jobs in the lumber industry.

Canadien Migration

• Hundreds of thousands of farmers were forced out due to debt, forcing them to move to cities to find work.
• Those struggling were forced to leave and find work in the cities with almost the population doubling.
• Some also left Canada East to find work in the United States.

Case Study: Quebec Women in the Workforce

• Women have contributed to the economy throughout history.
• The industrialization and loss of Canada East farms in the 1800s forced many Canadiens to factories.
• Many women in the 1800s found work in clothing industry sewing garments.
• 80% of workers in the clothing industry were women and children in about 20% of Montreal's industry in 1871.
• Factory owners took advantage of the number of people looking for work and took advantage of these people by lowering worker pay in factories.

The Development of French Nationalism

• When the Act of Union joined Upper and Lower Canada into one colony in 1840, the English politicians dominated government.
• English politicians tried to assimilate the French.
• Many Canadiens fought back against being assimilated to English culture.
• The French nationalism was an effort by leaders to create a national identity and protect language, religion, and culture.

The Rise of Canadien Artists

• There was a growing French-speaking middle class in Canada East in the mid-1800s.
• Middle class class embraced Canadian literature and arts.
• They created stories about Canadien heroes such as Joseph Monferrand.

How Was Canada West Changing

• Tens of thousands of British immigrants arrived in Canada West every year by 1800s.
• Canada West was changing rapidly from isolated settlements to a bustling network of farms, towns, and cities by 1850s
• Canada West underwent transformations due to the introduction of the railway transportation

The Railway System

• Before, ships transported crops and timber for export to Europe and the U.S.
• Land was cheaper away from the Great Lakes, making it tough for farmers to get crops to market.
• Railways brought products to ports for export.

Rural Communities and Railway Relationships

• Railways led to development of other cities such as Toronto and Brantford as centres of commerce for smaller communities like Thornton.
• Farms and services had blacksmith's and shops for rural populations.
• Woolen Mills turned sheep's wool into fabric.

New Opportunities and the Blackburns

• Railways and the economy had new opportunities to immigrate too cities and towns of Canada West.
• After coming to Canada West penniless, the Blackburns earned enough to start their own business.
• By 1860s population has almost tripled to 1.5M

Catholics vs Orange Order

• 1860s, Irish in Canada were by far the largest ethnic group.
• Most didn't have funds to buy land as railway companies offered employment.
• Because of the social tensions the Protestant Irish formed the Orange Order as they trained to defend communities, controlled police and firefighting and caused tension.

The Underground Railroad

• Was not a real railway, but a network of conductors, people and safe housing and gave people of color safe passage as they wanted to avoid slavery and seek safe haven.
• 1850- Fugitive Slave Act led more blacks to seek asylum in British North America
• Between 30,000 to 40,000 Blacks followed to British North America
• Harriet took 19 missions to help 300 slaves

Farming and Industry

• Railroads demanded for agricultural products led to more farming in Canada West. The railroad and the high price wheat led to increased investment.

Impact of Farming on First Nations: Buying the farms

• In the mid-1800s, some First Nations farms adopted European style agriculture, though European immigrants wanted the land and pushed them further away.

What Changed in the Northwest and on the Pacific Coast?-1850

• Gold was discovered leading to settlement. The British sought to lay claim to the land before the U.S and created Vancouver Island.

Population in the Early-mid 1800s

• There were few settlers compared to FN people (10:14000 people). They also created a European style economy.

The Impact of the Fraser River Gold Rush

• The Fraser River Gold Rush saw an influx of European and Chinese. But this led to conflicts.

A Colony of Many Cultures

• Vancouver became home to diverse groups of people. However not all diverse groups were accepted into the fold with great love.