British Columbia and Confederation

1. British Columbia and Confederation Social Studies 7

2. Before Confederation • Before the 1850s, British Columbia had a low population of European settlers. What few settlers did live in the region were mostly centered around Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island, although other traders and explorers were spread throughout the mountains. The region was also home to a large population of First Nations groups (Tlingit, Squamish, Haida) that lived along the entire coast as well as inland.

3. Before Confederation • By the 1850s, HBC traders began trading for a valuable resource that the coastal First Nations groups had been mining for years: gold. As the HBC traded for the gold in large amounts, others heard rumour of the wealth in the mountains (and the Fraser River in particular) and began to journey there in great numbers.

4. Before Confederation • During this time, British Columbia was technically made up of two British-owned colonies: Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia. When the other British colonies formed Confederation in 1867, BC was not made an offer to join. However, BC realized by the late 1860s that it needed to come up with solutions to economic problems (based on a small tax base and expensive construction projects).

5. Before Confederation • Many felt that these problems could be best solved by joining Confederation and becoming a part of Canada, so representatives from the colony were sent to meet with the government in Ottawa. These representatives were able to easily negotiate British Columbia’s entry to Confederation with the government, on certain terms: • The construction of a railway that would unite the entire country • Payment of debt and annual federal funding • By July 20, 1871, both the BC and the federal governments had approved the deal, and BC had become the sixth Canadian province.

6. Geography and Resources • Early transportation in BC was done mainly by water travel, thanks to the large network of rivers through the mountains. The territory was also directly on the Pacific Ocean, which made it ideal as a center of international trade. The economy in BC relied on several important industries: • Gold mining • Forestry • Fishing • International trade

7. Why Join Confederation? • Confederation was beneficial for both Canada and BC. By joining Confederation, BC would: • Have access to federal funding to help develop its transportation systems , • Be able to settle its interior mountainous region, • Have a larger, more diverse economy, • And have its own provincial government and representation in the federal government.

8. Why Join Confederation? • Also, once BC joined Confederation, the Canadian government would: • Be able to make use of BC’s gold, forestry, and fishery resources, • Have direct access to the Pacific Ocean, which would encourage trade with Pacific countries (made more effective with the completion of the CPR), • And have a larger population and tax base.

9. Important Steps • 1858—Britain creates BC as an official British colony • 1865—BC begins developing transportation systems and creating settlements inland, finishes a road system to the Cariboomountains • 1870—delegates sent to Ottawa to negotiate terms of Confederation • 1871—BC joins Confederation • 1887—the CPR becomes fully functional, allowing trade with Eastern Canada to develop, and establishing the importance of Vancouver as a port city