10 - Expansion of the Dominion PDF

Expansion of the Dominion Canada’s First Prime Minister 1867 – Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick 1870 – Manitoba, Northwest Territories 1871 – British Columbia 1873 – Prince Edward Island 1880 – Transfer of the Arctic Islands (to N.W.T.) 1898 – Yukon Territory 1905 – Alberta, Saskatchewan...

Expansion of the Dominion Canada’s First Prime Minister 1867 – Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick 1870 – Manitoba, Northwest Territories 1871 – British Columbia 1873 – Prince Edward Island 1880 – Transfer of the Arctic Islands (to N.W.T.) 1898 – Yukon Territory 1905 – Alberta, Saskatchewan 1949 – Newfoundland and Labrador 1999 – Nunavut In 1867, Sir John Alexander Macdonald, a Father of Confederation, became Canada’s first Prime Minister. Born in Scotland on January 11, 1815, he came to Upper Canada as a child. He was a lawyer in Kingston, Ontario, a gifted politician and a colourful personality. Parliament has recognized January 11 as Sir John A. Macdonald Day. His portrait is on the $10 bill. Did you know? In the 1920s, some believed that the British West Indies (British territories in the Caribbean Sea) should become part of Canada. This did not occur, though Canada and Commonwealth Caribbean countries and territories enjoy close ties today. Challenge in the west When Canada took over the vast northwest region from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1869, the 12,000 Métis of the Red River were not consulted. In response, Louis Riel led an armed uprising and seized Fort Garry, the territorial capital. Canada’s future was in jeopardy. How could the Dominion reach from sea to sea if it could not control the interior? Ottawa sent soldiers to retake Fort Garry in 1870. Riel fled to the United States and Canada established a new province: Manitoba. Riel was elected to Parliament but never took his seat. Later, as Métis and Indian rights were again threatened by westward settlement, a second rebellion in 1885 in present-day Saskatchewan Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada Sir George-Étienne Cartier was the key architect of Confederation from Quebec. A railway lawyer, Montrealer, close ally of Macdonald and patriotic Canadien, Cartier led Quebec into Confederation and helped negotiate the entry of the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and British Columbia into Canada. led to Riel’s trial and execution for high treason, a decision that was strongly opposed in Quebec. Riel is seen by many as a hero, a defender of Métis rights and the father of Manitoba. After the first Métis uprising, Prime Minister Macdonald established the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in 1873 to pacify the West and assist in negotiations with the Indians. The NWMP founded Fort Calgary, Fort MacLeod and other centres that today are cities and towns. Regina became its headquarters. Today, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP or “the Mounties”) are the national police force and one of Canada’s best-known symbols. Some of Canada’s most colourful heroes, such as Major General Sir Sam Steele, came from the ranks of the Mounties. (From Left to Right) Fort Garry, 1863: the flag of the Hudson’s Bay Company flew over Western Canada for 200 years before Confederation Sir Sam Steele: A great frontier hero, Mounted Policeman and soldier of the Queen Di sco ver Ca na da Métis Resistance: Gabriel Dumont was the Métis’ greatest military leader 19