Unit 2 A Nation is BOrn

1. Unit 2 A Nation is BOrn

2. The British Government was not yet ready to give the colonies responsible government Lord Russell who was the secretary of the colony did not feel that colonies needed to be treated the same as countries. He thought the wishes of an elected assembly in a colony might go against the wishes of the British Parliament Durham Report and Responsible Government

3. As a result the British Gov’t rejected most of the ideas of the Durham Report. Russell did support the Act of Union which unified the Canadas into one colony. The Act of Union was passed by British Parliament in 1840 Other than uniting the colonies it did not change the government established in the Canada Act of 1791 French Canadians were very vehemently opposed to the Act of Union

4. Responsible Government first was achieved in the Atlantic Colonies Responsible Gov’t is a system of Gov’t in which the executive must have the confidence of the legislative body Led by Joseph Howe they had argued peacefully for a greater say in government but it had not grown violent They were rewarded in 1846 when Sir John Harvey was named Governor and was told to avoid involvement in local politics Harvey asked the winners of the election to form the Executive Council Responsible Government Achieved in the Canada's

5. This was followed by New Brunswick, PEI and NFLD being allowed to practice responsible government by 1855 In the United Canadas the process was slower They went through three governors whose mandate was to improve the economy and prevent responsible gov’t Finally Lord Elgin is appointed governor in 1848 and he asks the head of the elected assembly to name the Executive Council, thus turning over control to the people

6. The question in both Nova Scotia and the United Canadas was would the Governor sign in to law bills that he disagreed with. Elgin passed the test when he signed the Rebellion loses bill and responsible government had arrived in Canada

7. The middle of the 19thCentury saw the country grow greatly The advent of trains helped move people and goods around the country, which greatly improved the economy The United States and Canada signed a deal of Reciprocity (basically free trade) that greatly benefitted both countries As well the Industrial Revolution continued to drive people out of Britain to Canada Changes in the Mid Century

8. Politically in the 1850’s all of the colonies began to experience problems In the Canadas the problems centered around the distribution of electoral seats The English majority wanted “Rep by Pop” while the French did not. The unified Canadas had not worked as Durham had envisioned as the French dominated Canada East Road to Confederation

9. Political alliances sprouted up between English and French parties that would share similar ideology and goals The Conservative Party, led by John A. MacDonald and the Bleus, led by Georges Etienne Cartier, joined to promote industry and mercantilism The Liberals led by Francis Hincks, and the Clear Grits led by newspaper publisher George Brown.

11. These alliances and the large number of independents led to chaos in the government as no one could get a clear majority A particularly contentious issue became the choosing of a capital city. Eventually Ottawa was chosen in 1858

12. Eventually George Brown proposed a solution to the political problems He headed a committee to study the problems of the deadlock Brown believed that the deadlock could only be broken by a Confederation of all colonies in British North America He proposed that each colony would have two levels of gov’t, federal and provincial The Great Coalition

13. To allow these things to happen, Brown agreed to ally with the Conservatives and the Bleus and a leading independent Alexander Galt to form what was known as the Great Coalition The Great Coalition was dedicated to establishing a union of all the Canadian colonies They were led by John A. Macdonald who distinguished himself as a great politician who tactfully kept the coalition together

14. The movement towards Confederation had begun and was about improving the political process and gaining autonomy from Britain, but other factors played a role The United States was going through a volatile period in their history and were talking about annexing Canada Challenge of Confederation

15. The Atlantic colonies were experiencing an economic depression as a result of the end of the American Civil War They were interested in establishing a inter colonial railway with Canada which would improve the economy The leaders of the Great Coalition asked to present their ideas on Confederation and the railroad at the Maritime Union Conference Charlottetown Conference

16. The date of the Conference was Sept. 1st 1864 and was held in Charlottetown, PEI. The delegates defeated the idea of a Maritime Union but were optimistic about joining a greater Canadian Union They believed that joining Canada would provide them with more markets to stimulate their economy They agreed to meet again in Quebec City

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19. The Quebec Conference started on Oct.10, 1864 The Maritime Colonies wanted reassurance that the railway would be built Much of the discussion centred around how the government would be formed Having learnt from the USA they decided to have a strong centralized gov’t Quebec Conference

20. And the provinces to have limited power and a clearly defined set of responsibilities Federal responsibilities included tax collection, creation of a civil and criminal law code and the military Provinces were responsible for running the law courts, education, roads, transportation The French Canadiens wanted guarantees that their culture would be protected

21. There were also a large number of threats from outside sources to Canada The British had supported the Confederates in the Civil War which had angered the United States government Many Americans believed it was their manifest destiny to rule all of North America and thought they should invade Canada External Pressure on Confederation

22. A group of Irish Americans called the Fenians decided to raid Canada as it was the closest place to attack the hated British These raids were largely ineffective but did help to increase the desire of some provinces to join Confederation Also the United States ended the Reciprocity trade agreement with Britain, this increased pressure from merchants to speed up confederation

23. After the Quebec Conference it took two years two finalize confederation, during that time it was debated across the country In N.S. and N.B. it took awhile but the Legislative Assemblies finally passed the bill to join confederation The last remaining step was to get the British to sign off on the creation of Canada Confederation Acheived

24. Held in London through the winter of 1866-67 delegates worked with British Parliament to create the British North America Act It passed on March 28, 1867 creating the Dominion of Canada The BNA Act created the system of government we live in today It most closely resembles the British Parliament London Conference

25. Canadian Government British Monarch Governor General Senate Executive Council House of Commons Opposition Government Members The People of Canada

26. It also established the responsibilities of the federal and provincial government The new country would have four provinces Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia The BNA Act remained a piece of British Legislation until 1982 Any changes to our constitution had to go through British Parliament

27. The Dominion of Canada was officially created on July 1st, 1867 There were celebrations across the country to mark the birth of the country John A. Macdonald was elected as the first Prime Minister of Canada and was knighted by Queen Victoria The country spread from the shores of the Atlantic to the edge of Lake Superior but the founding fathers had bigger dreams July 1st, 1867

28. 6 Reasons for Confederation War and Expansionist ideals in the US Fenian Raids British Trade Policy End of Reciprocity Failure of the Railway Political Deadlock Review

29. In the formation of Canadian Government which influences were stronger- British or American? Explain Compare the American and Canadian systems of government. What was the significance of Canada being created by a British Act of Parliament? What did it mean for Canada heading forward? What obstacles existed to Confederation? Questions

30. Westward Expansion

31. In the years following confederation Macdonald spent a great deal of time developing and promoting the National Policy At first it centered around re-establishing reciprocity with the United States Over time it grew to include the construction of the railroad, the settlement of Western Canada and the addition of new provinces MacDonald’s National Policy

33. The development of Western Canada was spurred on by the fur trade Traders had to move further and further away to find furs As well land was available and settlers started to move west in search of land There were a few problems however, as the land had been promised to the First Nations The Move West

34. Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk in Scotland wanted to create a new life for poor Scottish and Irish peasants on the banks of the Red River in Rupert’s land He was granted land in 1811 totalling 44 million acres (160,000 square miles) in the Red River district which would remain property of the HBC He was able to do this because he lead a group of Scottish investors who had control of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Selkirk Land Grant

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36. Settlement began immediately but harsh conditions threatened to starve out the settlers They were saved by the Métis even though the settlement threatened their way of life by driving the Buffalo away In 1814 this leads to the first conflict as Governor Miles Macdonell bans the sale of Buffalo and pemmican The Battle of Seven Oaks

37. This hinders the economy of the Métis and prevents the traders of the rival NWC from eating So the Métis arrested Macdonell and destroyed the settlement This was known as the Battle of the Seven Oaks This paves the way for the HBC to amalgamate the NWC

38. Canada buys Ruperts Land from the HBC for 300,000 pounds It gives Canada 2.8 million hectares of Prairie and was renamed the North West Territory This brought Canada a huge area that was rich in resources and farmland and also prevented the USA from moving North and staking claim to this area. The Red River Rebellion

39. The Métis and their leader Louis Riel were infuriated as they had been promised this land as well most of the Métis were French and Catholic and the settlers were mainly English and from Ontario They felt that their traditional way of life was under siege they gave a list of grievances to the government called the Métis List of Rights The list included things like bilingualism, tolerance of Catholicism

40. Things take a turn when the Métis take over Fort Garry and established a provisional government in the territory They were attempting to ensure that the rights of all people in the area were protected. The reaction to this event was mixed. In Quebec the french supported the Metis, Ontario was pro government on the issue Manitoba becomes the fifth province on May 12, 1870 and included many of the items on the Métis list of rights Including language and both Catholic and protestant school systems

42. It was during this time that Riel made a critical error The Métis detained members of the Canadian party who wanted English rule in Manitoba The Metis detained the most aggressive members of the Canadian Party in Fort Garry The most vocal of these was Thomas Scott who tormented his guards, publicly threatened Riel’s life and tried to incite riots in the Fort Garry jail The Death of Thomas Scott

43. He was tried and found guilty of uttering threats to Riel and was executed by a Métis firing squad on March 4th,1870 The news of this reached Ontario where it nearly incited riots as angry members of the Orange Order demanded justice In Quebec it was seen as an unfortunate cost of protecting Métis rights Macdonald bowed to pressure and sent 1200 troops west to assert a strong Canadian presence in the region

44. When the troops arrived the Fort was abandoned and Riel had fled to the United States

45. The Northwest Rebellion • March 1885 saw tensions that had begun in the Red River Settlement had carried over into Saskatchewan • Many of the Métis from the Red River Settlement had moved west when Europeans moved into Manitoba • The head of the NWMP in Battleford contacted Ottawa on March 13th, 1885 saying revolt was brewing and that the Métis would be joined by the First Nations population

46. Five days later acting on the rumour that 500 NWMP were on their way, the Métis captured a small community in Batoche • They held several government workers and were gathering supplies • Blood was first shed on March 26th ,1885 when Superintendent Crozier of the NWMP led a force of 98 men to attack the Metis near Duck Lake • Crozier’s party was poorly prepared and trained

47. They were surrounded by Gabriel Dumont and several hundred armed Metis • Crozier and Dumont met peacefully but as they retreated shots rang out and a battled ensued • The Metis had a much better position and killed 12 of the NWMP force losing only four of their own. Had the Metis pressed their advantage and attacked the retreating NWMP force the numbers would have been higher

49. Duck Lake forced Riel to change strategy as he had hoped that the mere threat of violence would be enough to achieve what they wanted • The railway had changed this as it became easy for the government to send troops westward • Riel realized that he needed to be more aggressive

50. The Metis were also able to attract allies in the Plains Cree who lived in Saskatchewan • Chief Poundmaker attacked the town of Battleford on March 29th looking for food, clothing and ammunition • The residents of Battleford holed up inside the fort for nearly a month until the Cree left as a party of Canadian Militia approached