February 7, 2011

Chapter 1
Sir John A. Macdonald
• First prime minister of Canada on July 1, 1867.(1867-73),(1878-1891)
• Leader of the Conservative political party.
• Canadian Pacific Railway built to B.C.(led to the Pacific Scandal)Its completion in
November 1885 made possible future settlements in the west.
• He became a “nation builder”.
• Produced the BNA act and the union of provinces which became Canada.(colonies of New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Upper and Lower Canada)
• Introduced the National Policy of 1879-tariff protection for Canadian manufacturers. It was
intended to be a nationalistic policy which would broaden the base of the Canadian economy
and restore the confidence of Canadians in the development of their country. The tariff on
most foreign manufactured goods was increased, affording protection to Canadian
manufacturers.
• The execution of Louis Riel in 1885 greatly increased the animosity between French-
speaking and English-speaking Canadians which would cost the support of Macdonald in
Quebec.

February 8, 2011
Canada Prior to 1867
• Canada was still a colony of Great Britain.
• Populated by English speakers living mainly in Ontario.
• Populated by French speaking people living mainly in Quebec.
• Had a large Aboriginal population throughout the territory.
• Small English speaking population in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia many of whom were
Americans who came to Canada during the American Revolution.

1867
• Confederation
• July 1, 1867 Canada officially became a nation.
• Canada as a country comprised of four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and
Nova Scotia.
• Soon other areas joined.

BNA ACT (British North American ACT)

• The fathers of confederation drafted the country's constitution which became known as the
BNA Act or the British North American Act.
• A constitution serves to the Outline and defines the government structure of a country.
• The constitution is the highest law of the nation.

Federal System
• The fathers of confederation adopted a federal system which is a two tier government.
• Wanted a strong central government-served to control all of Canada-Federal Government.
• A strong government that would take care of the needs of the provinces-deal effectively with
any local issues-Provincial government.
• Provincial government used their constitutional powers to create local government.
• Their function would be to tend to the needs of the cities and towns-Municipal government.

Sir John A. Macdonald

• The leading founding father of Confederation.
• He was instrumental in the drafting of two thirds of the BNA Act.
• Later became Canada’s first prime minister in 1867.
• Accomplished a lot in the building process of the new nation.
• Political career was long and fruitful but was marred by controversy.
• Macdonald died three months after being elected to office in 1891.

Major Accomplishments (Sir John A. Macdonald)

Confederation and the expansion of Canada to include: Manitoba (1870), British Columbia
(1871), and Prince Edward Island (1873). Built the Transcontinental Railway (Canadian Pacific
Railway)
Creation of a nation Policy Includes:
1. Build a railway from one side of the country to the other to unite all of Canada.
2. Encourage settlement in Western Canada,
3. Put taxes in places that would make people favour Canadian products over American
products.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

• Wilfrid was Canada’s first French Canadian prime minister.
• He and the liberals gained power in 1896, ending years of conservative rule.

Laurier’s National Policy

• Laurier referred to his national policy as his “Policies for Prosperity”.
• His polices were similar to Macdonald’s in that he:
1. Placed high tariffs on US and British imported goods.
2. Laurier encouraged the building of more railways to promote east-west trade and western
settlement.
• He was successful in building the second transcontinental railway in 1903.
3. Laurier appointed Clifford Sifton Minister of the Interior.
• Sifton launched an aggressive campaign to attract immigrants in order to populate the
west.

Impact of Laurier’s Policies

1. Laurier’s policies worked because at the time the US had closed its public land settlement.
• Canada in turn became a more attractive place for settlers.
• This saw a boom in Canada’s population.
2. In 1904 Laurier was able to bring Alberta and Saskatchewan into confederation.
3. Between 1896 and 1914 more than 3 million immigrants came to Canada.
• More than one million of whom settled in the Canadian Prairies.
4. Most of the settlers who came spoke English.
• About 1 million came from Britain.
• 784 000 came from the US.
• 500 000 came from places such as Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Scandinavia,
Russia, and Poland.
5. The influx of Europeans marked the first time in Canadian history that a large number of non
British and non French settlers came to Canada.
6. This also changed Canada in that it paved the way for the country to becoming a
multicultural country.

The last Best West

• The Last Best West was a massive advertising campaign geared at encouraging and
increasing settlement in Western Canada.
• Clifford Sifton’s goal was to attract experienced farmers to come to the West,
• He knew that they would face difficult hardships and that only experienced farmers had the
best chance of succeeding.
• Sifton began his campaign in the American West.
• He employed the use of newspapers, posters in small towns and railway stations and even
trips to the west to meet with settlers in person.
• The campaign was successful because there was no more free land given out in the US.
• In contrast any man over 18 could own his own farm for a $10 registration fee.
• By 1914 nearly 500 000 settlers from America had moved to Western Canada.

The extent of Sifton’s Campaign

• Sifton did not limit his campaign to the US. He advertised in Britain and other parts of
Europe.
• The British campaign brought 150 000 settlers to the Canadian West between 1912 and 1913.
• For the first time the Canadian government encouraged settlers from Eastern Europe.
• Many of these farmers came from countries such as Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine.
• These farmers were highly sought after because they were hard working and experienced in
working difficult land in harsh conditions.
• They also valued the opportunity to owning their own land.

Other Tactics Employed by the government and Sifton

• The Canadian government employed people who spoke German, Russian, Polish and
Ukraine to visit these countries to tell people about the opportunities in Canada.
• Steamship companies were given a bonus for each settler they brought to Canada.
• The steamship companies in turn began to advertise for settlers on their own in order to earn
the bonus.
• The end result was Sifton’s campaign was a great success.
• Canada became known throughout Britain, Eastern Europe and the United States as the “Last
Best West” a place of opportunity and a chance for an ordinary person to improve his/her life.

February 9, 2011
Push Pull Factors
Push Factors: The reasons people leave a country. (push them out)
• War, poverty, no jobs, no opportunities.
Pull Factors: The reasons people would want to come to a country. (pull them towards it)
• Free land, new country, better opportunities, jobs, promises of a better life.