Modern+Canada+Unit+Notes+2010+-+2011

__**Laurier & Modern Canada**__

__Demographics__


 * 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan joins Confederation; Canada now spans from coast to coast
 * Gold Rush: frontier exploration & immigration; (Last Best West!) population base has exploded
 * Canada encourages settlers to move to Alberta and Saskatchewan, (advertising a heavenly land of farming opportunity) in order to keep from slipping into US control
 * Some false advertising, eg. long periods of dark, -40 degrees Celsius weather (advertised vs. reality)
 * Up until 1900, Canada was just “an extended part of the British Empire”, so with the new joining provinces, Canada was starting to have it’s own identity

[|Toronto Fishing Charters]

__Political__


 * 20 years of Conservative rule (Toronto/English/British)

-> Expansion, railway, English ties -> Imperialism


 * If Canada was an imperialist country, we would want to go out and settle everywhere, plant flags and say “This is New Canada.”
 * Wilfrid Laurier (“he’s worth 5 bucks”), gets elected in 1896, is the 1st French-Canadian Prime Minister (Big deal for Quebec), Liberal Party, Great orator w/ powerful, (clever) speeches to present even-handed leadership on divisive issues (“invented” the say-very-much without promising-very-much approach, so he managed to walk the line between garnering French support while not scaring off the English = either pro-English or pro-French)

[|Toronto Fishing Charter]

__International Actions__


 * British Empire vs. Holland over South Africa (fought because of trade routes, land, pre-World War I because Britain was involved)

-> Boer War, Britain asks us to go fight in South Africa because they supply us with just about everything, so we owe them


 * French Canada disagrees (we’re not gonna leave our land, and frankly, we don’t care about you), English Canada agrees because.. well.. its Britain
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Laurier stays out of it, but compromises by sending a couple of troops to appease to the English population, yet still standing back from the war to appease to the French population -> establishes Canadian Navy
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Laurier sets up free trade with the United States: autonomy, which isn’t popular with Britain, the English community (we don’t need to rely on trading with JUST Britain, we want to trade with the US, we want to dis-attach from the English rule and become a bit more independent)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alaska Boundary Dispute-> Britain rules in favor of US (we’re not technically free to make this agreement on our own, so we ask our Mommy Britain, who disagrees because of Laurier’s earlier free trade decision, and hands Alaska over to the US)

[|Toronto Fishing Charters]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Economics__


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Canada is a “maker” country, as we have lots of supplies (lumber, mining, fishing, farming, etc.)

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-> Luckily for us, other countries have tons of money that is spent on our supplies


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Global recession ends; money plows into Canadian industry-> workforce = immigration
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">From 1891 - 1921: Canadian population doubles.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$$$$$
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Railways, railways, railways. They’re EVERYWHERE.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If you can sell stuff to other countries; if you can export, then you’re pretty well off, and the railway sends out that stuff pretty well

[|Toronto Fishing Charter]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Immigration & Human Rights__


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">With the double population, all the workers that want to come work in the prairies, they are not dukes or duchesses, they are all mainly lower class minorities from Asia, Europe, etc.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lower class minorities & women’s rights in democracy
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">First Nations rights

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Culture of “the Boom”__


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Population explosion, huge profit, severing ties with Britain, really becoming our OWN country
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">cars, photography, telephone, radio

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-> Titanic


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">poetry, painting, > Group of 7

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">-> Pauline Johnson <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">_

**Laurier is Elected** - Criticised by Sir Robert Borden for not enough Britishness and Henri Bourassa for too much, Laurier ran on a platform of balance. - First French-Canadian Prime Minister. - Major problem: Manitoba trying to de-French-ify itself. French Canadians were a small minority. **Imperialism: A French-English Split** - Laurier's goal: to make English and French work together. - During the Laurier age, Canada started truly removing dependance on Britain. - The Boer War (or South African War) saw Laurier send volunteers to help the English. - The naval race between Britain and Germany had Laurier start the Royal Canadian Navy, which could help Britain when needed. - Laurier led the country against Alaskan expansion, but lost when Britain avoided angering America. - Reciprocity (free trade) with America carried risks - and benefits. While debating this, Laurier lost the next election. **The Laurier Boom** - Laurier steered Canada through the later parts of the Klondike Gold Rush. - Mining picked up in the Canadian Shield - Better shipping and higher prices on goods helped a resource-rich Canada - The Laurier era: "More money and more people." - The end of lands granted in the American West led settlers to the prairies. - Between 1891 and 1921, Canada's population doubled. - Many settlers - especially Europeans - had a hard time adapting to prairie life. - Slums developed in cities, as immigrants were too poor to buy houses. **Railways to Everywhere** - Laurier tried to balance the two rival railway companies - the CPR and Canadian Northern. - The CN built along the same lines as the CPR. - Mackenzie and Mann - the CN owners - built a financial empire in BC with their government grants. - The Grand Trunk Railway in the east was serviced by neither, but by the government. - When WWI started, the railwaysw became unprofitable, and both were bought by the government. - The "Canadian National Railway" was to be "owned by all Canadians". **The Rise of Unions** · Canadian Industry controlled by Imperial Oil, Massey Harris (farm machinery), and Dunsmuir Coal · Very large gap between rich and poor · 10 percent of people joined a union · Legal system was against workers and they were replaced if they went on strike **Labour Unrest in British Columbia** · Dunsmuir family controlled mining in B.C. · Very bad working conditions and many people died · In 1910 mines were sold to Mackenzie and Mann (railway entrepreneurs) · Tried to increase profits while undercutting safety · This caused the miners to hold the most bitter strike in province history · Many people arrested and sent to prison, but the mines stayed open till the 30’s **Closing the Door to Immigration** · Lots of people (including Unions) didn’t like the “open door” immigration policy · Feared immigrants would be a threat to those already working there · But business people liked the cheap labour that immigration gave them · In 1905 Frank Oliver became Minister of the Interior and introduced a more selective Immigration policy **British Columbia: The Golden Mountain** · In 1919, 9400 Chinese people were living in B.C. · They lived in isolated “Chinatowns” and they worked hard for little pay · Others thought they were taking jobs away from white people and created the Asiatic Exclusion League in 1907 and protested when they were still let into Canada · Government then set a limit of 400 Japanese per year **By Continuous Passage Only** · William Lyon Mackenzie King came to investigate the riots and assess damage · Government made it impossible for Indians to come to Canada by say you had to come in a direct passage from your country · Challenged in 1914 when a ship came from Hong Kong with 354 immigrants and were quarantined in the harbor for 2 months **Those Less Equal: The Struggle For Human Rights**__ · In 1896 only males with property could vote · Many people tried to get their group the right to vote **Women’s Suffrage and Social Reform** · Canadian women had very hard lives · Barred from many professions · Started to campaign for women’s suffrage · Mainly middle class women devoted to social reform · Held lots of demonstrations · Suffragists part of a worldwide movement · In B.C. the fight for suffrage lasted more than 45 years · Finally gained the right to vote in 1917 **The Rights of Native Peoples** · Native land and culture was threatened by government policies at the turn of the century · Wanted to assimilate Native people into Canadian society · Took Native kids from their families and put them into residential schools · Forbade children from speaking their native language of practicing their customs · In 1911 chiefs from across the province presented the government with claims that the land was theirs, but no one could agree on how to handle these claims · Kept Native people sectioned off in Reserves **The New Century: Wonders of the Laurier Age** **The Arrival of the Car** · 1901-Cars appeared in a magazine in Canada for the first time · But not everyone liked them; in 1908 P.E.I banned cars from the island · Reactions everywhere else were positive though · Canada’s first gas station was in Vancouver **Soaring through the Air** · First successful Canadian flight in 1909 in Nova Scotia **A Communications Revolution** · 300,000 telephones were being used in Canada in 1901; more per-person than both the US and Britain · But the jobs for women with telephones were not very good · In 1901 first Morse Code message from England received · 1896, first screening of a Movie in Canada **Arts and Leisure** · During the Laurier era many Canadians were involved in sports · Also many Canadians were involved in poetry and art · Canadians also enjoined processed foods