HISTORY26 - Canada: Part 2

                                                    Dominion of Canada to Present                                                                                                                                                         

This is the second part of my article on the history of Canada.  Part 1, “Indigenous Peoples to the Dominion of Canada” covers Canada’s history up to 1867 and was posted on my blog on August 29^th.  In this Part 2 article, instead of using my usual overall timeline approach, I’m trying something different:  discussing different categories of Canadian history since 1867, including steps to independence, territorial growth, key events, politics, and Canada today.

This Canadian flag was adopted in 1965.

Steps to Independence

It was a long road to independence for Canada.  The French claimed today’s Canada in 1535, based on the voyages of Jacques Cartier up the Saint Lawrence River.  The British founded a settlement on Newfoundland in 1583 as their first North American colony.  Over the next 200 years or so, England continued to colonize Newfoundland and today’s maritime provinces of Canada, and settled the 13 Atlantic coastal colonies of the future United States, while maintaining an interest in Hudson Bay and thoroughly exploring and mapping the far west to the Pacific Ocean.  France settled along the Saint Lawrence River and expanded north, west, and south into the Midwest of the future U.S. - reaching a maximum extent in the 1750s.

In 1763, having lost the French and Indian War to Great Britain, France ceded all their lands in North America to the British.  In 1775-1783, the American Revolution successfully created the independent United States of America, leaving Great Britain in control of most of today’s Canada, with considerable unclaimed land to the west.  By 1867, accommodating more than a million immigrants, developing a booming fur-trade business in the west, and resolving border disputes with Russia and the United States, Britain controlled virtually all of today’s Canada.

In 1867, the British Parliament passed the British North American Act (later renamed the Constitution Act of 1867) that created a new country, the Dominion of Canada and its government.  At the time, there were three British provinces:  Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.  The Province of Canada was divided into mostly French-speaking, Roman-Catholic Quebec and mostly English-speaking, Church-of-England Ontario, so that each linguistic group would have its own province, preserving their own, political, educational, and religious practices.  Britain retained possession of its three western territories and Newfoundland.

The Dominion of Canada in 1867 included four provinces:  Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The major provisions of the British North American Act are shown in the table below, along with the two other major acts that eventually resulted in complete independence for Canada.

The Statute of Westminster 1931 was the statutory embodiment of the principles of equality and common allegiance to the crown set out in the Balfour Declaration of 1926, which declared that the United Kingdom and Dominions to be “autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown and freely associated members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.”  The statute applied to the United Kingdom, Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, Irish Free State, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Besides confirming Canada’s power to ament its own constitution, the Constitution Act, 1982 enacted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a bill of rights to protect political, legal, and human rights of people in Canada from the policies and action of all levels of government.

The three major political steps to Canadian independence.

Year	Act	Provisions	Other
1867	British North American Act   (Constitution Act, 1867)	Created the Dominion of Canada, a confederation of the existing provinces; defined a major part of the constitution, including federal structure, House of Commons, Senate, justice and taxation systems. Ottawa was named the capital.	Canada established as a self-governing colony of the British Empire.  British parliament retained authority to amend Canada’s constitution and to legislate for Canada.
1931	Statute of Westminster 1931	Removed British parliament’s authority to legislate for Canada.	British parliament retained authority to amend Canada’s constitution.  Maintained Canada’s allegiance to the British Crown.
1982	Constitution Act, 1982	Canada formally assumed authority over its constitution - final step to full independence and sovereignty.  Created Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.	Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association, with no legal obligations among members.  Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is the current head.

 

Territorial Growth     

In general, the order of provinces entering the Canadian Confederation reflected early settlement in the country’s southeast, then the Pacific Coast, followed by filling in the south-central territories, and finally the beginning of growth to the north.

In 1870, following a series of agreements among Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada acquired the Rupert’s Land Territory and the North-Western Territory, forming the Northwest Territories, a piece of which, survives today.  Manitoba was subdivided from the new territory, becoming Canada’s fifth province.

In 1871, the British colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island joined together and then entered the Canadian Confederation as the Province of British Columbia, Canada’s sixth province.

In 1873, Prince Edward Island entered the Confederation as the seventh province.

In 1880, the British Arctic Territories were ceded to Canada, becoming part of the Northwest Territories.

In 1898, the Yukon territory was partitioned from the Northwest Territories, along the border with Alaska, to become a Canadian territory.

In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan were partitioned out of the Northwest Territories to become the eighth and ninth provinces of Canada.

In 1949, Newfoundland entered the Confederation as Canada’s tenth province.  In 2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the province’s name to Newfoundland and Labrador.

In 1999, Nunavut was partitioned from the Northwest Territories to become a Canadian territory, the largest and most northerly of Canada’s territories.

The tables below list the timeline of Canadian provinces and territories entering the Confederation.  Today’s area and population are shown to get a feeling for relative size and population density.  Ontario and Quebec remain the largest and most populated of the provinces, while the northern territories remain relatively unpopulated.

Timeline of Canadian provinces entering the Confederation.

No.	Province	Entered Confederation	2020 Area  (square miles)	2020 Population
1	Ontario	1867	415,488	14,745,040
2	Quebec	1867	595,233	8,552,362
3	Nova Scotia	1867	21,340	978,274
4	New Brunswick	1867	28,142	780,890
5	Manitoba	1870	250,050	1,379,121
6	British Columbia	1871	364,668	5,120,184
7	Prince Edward Island	1873	2,185	158,717
8	Saskatchewan	1905	251,300	1,181,987
9	Alberta	1905	255,300	4,428,247
10	Newfoundland and Labrador	1949	156,412	520,437

                                                                                   

Timeline of Canadian territories entering the Confederation.

No.	Territory	Entered   Confederation	2020 Area     (square miles)	2020 Population
1	Northwest Territories	1870	519,597	44,992
2	Yukon	1898	186,223	41,293
3	Nunavut	1999	807,971	39,486

 

 

Canada today is made up of ten provinces and three territories.

Key Events

A timeline of key events in Canadian history is shown in the table below and illustrates the development of Canada as a nation.  These events can be related to the steps to Canadian independence and territorial growth discussed above.

Key events in Canadian history since 1867.

Year	Event	Remarks
1869-70  1885	Métis Rebellions	Mixed indigenous-European people rebelled against Canada not protecting their rights, land, and survival as distinct people - in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.  Government eventually put down rebellions.
1873	North-West Mounted Police (Mounties) Established	Originally founded to patrol Northwest Territories, expanded in 1904 to cover all Canada, with name changed to Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Charged with federal law enforcement, national security, counterintelligence.
1885	Completion of Transcontinental Railroad	Built between 1881-85, Canadian Pacific Railway joined eastern Canada with British Columbia.  For decades, was only practical means of long-distance passenger transport in most regions of Canada and was instrumental in settlement and development of Western Canada.
1896-99	Klondike Gold Rush	100,000 prospectors migrated to the Klondike region of the Yukon in northwestern Canada.
1914-18	World War I	Canadian Forces and civilian participation in the First World War helped foster a sense of British-Canadian nationhood.  High points of Canadian military achievement came during the Somme, Vimy, Passchendaele battles and what later became known as "Canada's Hundred Days.” Reputation Canadian troops earned, along with the success of Canadian flying aces, helped to give the nation a new sense of identity.  Approximately 67,000 killed and 173,000 wounded.
1918	Women’s Suffrage	Women gained right to vote in federal elections.
1920	League of Nations	Canada admitted as a full member of the League of Nations, independently of Britain.
1929-1939	Great Depression	Resulted in widespread poverty and unemployment for a decade.
1939-45	World War II	Canada played major role in supplying food, raw materials, munitions, money to the hard-pressed British economy, training airmen for the Commonwealth, guarding the western half of the North Atlantic Ocean against German U-boats, and providing combat troops for the invasions of Italy, France, Germany.  More than 45,000 died, and 55,000 wounded.  During the war, Canada became more closely linked to the U.S. Americans took virtual control of Yukon in order to build the Alaska Highway, constructed during World War II to connect the contiguous United States to Alaska across Canada, and were major presence in the British colony of Newfoundland with major airbases.
1945	United Nations	Canada joined the United Nations.
1954-9	Saint Lawrence Seaway	A joint project between Canada and the U.S., system of locks (15), canals, and channels - 370 miles long - in Canada and U.S, that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from Atlantic Ocean to Great Lakes.
1960	First Nations Suffrage	Indigenous people granted right to vote.
1967	Expo 1967	Hosted in Montreal, World Fair considered most successful of 20th century, and a landmark in Canadian history.
1980       1995	Quebec Independence Referendums Fail	Beginning in the 1960s, Quebec was center of militant agitation to separate from Canada and establish a French-speaking nation.  People of Quebec perceived themselves as a French society forced to undergo English makeover. In spite of forceful action by the separatist party, two referendums failed.
1990       1995	Indigenous Peoples Protests	Mohawks (1990), Ojibwe (1995), Shuswap (1995) violently protested intrusion on tribal lands.
1992	North American Free Trade Agreement (NFTA)	Agreement among Canada, Mexico, U.S. to eliminate long standing trade barriers.
2005	Same Sex Marriage	Civil Marriage Act legalized same sex marriage across Canada.  4th country in world, 1st outside Europe.
2018	Cannabis Act	Legalized recreational cannabis use nationwide in Canada.
2018	U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement  (USMCA)	Successor to NAFTA; entered into force on July 1, 2020.

 

Politics

Canada has been described as a full democracy, with a tradition of liberalism, equality, and moderate political ideology.  Far-right and far-left politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society.  Peace, order, and good government, alongside an implied bill of rights, were founding principles of the Canadian government.  An emphasis on social justice has been a distinguishing element of Canada’s political culture.

The prime minister of Canada is the head of the executive branch of the Canadian federal government.  He or she provides leadership and direction to the government with the support of a cabinet, which the prime minister chooses.

Since the formation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867, 23 different individuals have served as prime minister, some for multiple terms.  The two dominant political parties in Canada have historically been the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.  The principal difference between the two parties, from Confederation, well into the 20^th century was that Conservatives were in favor of levying tariffs against imports from outside the British Empire, and strong political and legal links to Great Britain, while Liberals promoted free trade, closer ties to the United States, and a greater independence from Britain.  Of the 23 prime ministers, 13 were from the Conservative Party and 10 from the Liberal Party.

An historical ranking of the effectiveness of Canadian prime ministers was conducted by academic historians, economists, and political scientists.  The ranking focused on achievements, leadership qualities, and failures and faults in office.  The top six (first quartile) ranked Canadian prime ministers are listed in the table below in order of the time period:

Top six ranked Canadian prime ministers in order of the time period.

Rank	Prime Minister	Political Party	Time Period	Time in Office	Selected Accomplishments
3	Sir John A. Macdonald	Conservative	1867-91	18 years 359 days	First PM.  Added Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island to Confederation and Northwest Territories.  Northwest Mounted Police.  Transcontinental railroad.
2	Sir Wilfrid Laurier	Liberal	1896-1911	15 years 86 days	First French-Canadian PM. Created Alberta, Saskatchewan.  Royal Canadian Navy.  Department of External Affairs.
1	William Lyon Mackenzie King	Liberal	1921-48	21 years 154 days	Longest serving PM. Lower tariffs.  U.S.-Canadian fishing rights.  Balfour Declaration.  Intro old age pensions.  Canadian Broadcasting Corp.  Nation Film Board.  Unemployment Insurance.  Bank of Canada.  WWII. United Nations. Trans-Canada Airlines.
6	Louis St. Laurent	Liberal	1948-57	8 years 210 days	Newfoundland to Confederation.  Canada in NATO.  Trans-Canada Highway. St. Lawrence Seaway.  Trans-Canada Pipeline.
5	Lester B. Pearson	Liberal	1963-68	4 years 363 days	Bomarc missile program.  Universal Healthcare. Canada Pension Plan.  Canada Student Loans.  New Canadian Flag.
4	Pierre Elliott Trudeau	Liberal	1968-84	15 years 164 days	China relations.  Official Languages Act.  G7 membership.  1980 Quebec Referendum.  Constitution Act, 1982.  Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 

 Canada Today

Today, Canada has a population about 38 million people, most of its residents living within 125 miles of the U.S. border.  Canada’s capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.  Canada’s expansive wilderness to the north plays a large role in Canadian identity, as does the country’s reputation of welcoming immigrants.  Canada is one of the world’s most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations.

Canada is a high-tech industrial society with a high standard of living.  While the service sector is Canada’s biggest economic driver, the country is a significant exporter of energy, food, and minerals.  Canada ranks third in the world in proven oil reserves and is the world’s fifth-largest oil producer.