Western Expansion and the National Policy Chapter 10
Introduction The government wanted to secure the west from American takeover so they built a transcontinental railway Canada wanted to expand westward because it wanted the economy to grow and to promote settlement Settlement in the west impacted the First Nations peoples, and Francophones Cultural Diversity was encouraged in Canada when people of other nations were encouraged to settle in western Canada
A Getting the West Ready for Settlement Treaties with the First Nations Canada promised BC a railway connecting them with the east when they joined confederation in 1871 Canada was required to sign treaties with First Nations people before creating the railway because of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 Some people think that Canada observed how the Americans settled the west through war with the First Nations and decided to try to do so peacefully. Other people feel that Canadians chose its own unfair ways to negotiate with First Nations people
B What Perspectives Shaped the Numbered Treaties? Numbered in the order that they were written. Tell a story about Canada s plans for the railway
I - Sharing vs. Owning the Land Canada s government thought that the numbered treaties meant that Canada owned the land, but the First Nations people thought and continue to think that these treaties said that the land would be shared. First Nations people don t believe that land can be owned by people, but is a gift.
II - Oral vs. Written History The Canadian government didn t want to record treaties using oral histories. They felt that everything needed to be written down First Nations people used oral histories to keep records for many things Some people feel that promises that were made orally to the First Nations people were purposely left out of the written treaties so that the Canadian government didn t have to keep those promises
III - Adaptation vs. Assimilation According to the First Nations people, the numbered treaties were permanent AND they were made to help the Canadian and First Nations people adapt to living together, but not to change who they were. According to the Canadian government, they saw the numbered treaties as a temporary agreement a way to assimilate the First Nations people into British ways of living.
1. Residential Schools and Assimilation The Canadian governments saw residential schools as a means of meeting treaty promises and forcing assimilation of First Nations children. First Nations Children needed to only speak English, leave their families and way of life, and live learning the British culture and way of life. They had to wear British rather than traditional clothing Today, many First Nations people work to reverse the damages to their culture that the residential schools did.
C. A Period of Rapid Change Land use and population changed rapidly between 1871 and 1921 The demographics of the population changed dramatically as well (many different backgrounds of people moved into the west) Open plains became a huge network of farms, roads and railway towns This created pressure on the First Nations people The buffalo population was affected which directly and negatively affected the First Nations way of life Land that the First Nations people settled on was rudely taken over by Canadian surveyors The Numbered Treaties gave land rights in the form of reserves to First Nations people
D What Role did the NWMP Play in Canada s Expansion West? The gov t of Canada formed the NWMP in 1873 because 36 Nakoda people were killed in an argument about horses American traders had been trading with First Nations people for furs in exchange for repeating rifles and alcohol in southern Alberta Lieutenant Colonel Robertson Ross investigated the situation in southern Alberta and suggested that 550 armed men come in and remove the guns of the First Nations people in order for surveyors, contractors, and railway laborers to continue to work in the area. The NWMP established a headquarters at Fort Macleod in 1874 (named after Colonel Macleod). The First Nations people were happy to have help stopping the alcohol and gun trading from harming their community, but the Canadian government had selfish motives as well.
E - The National Policy Macdonald lost a federal election in 1873 because of the Pacific Scandal He accepted a bribe from Sir Hugh Allan of $350, 000 and then let him be in charge of the building of the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) In 1878, Macdonald won the election and became Prime Minister again because of his national policy
The National Policy promised: To promote Canadian Industry proposed a tax or tariff on goods purchased from outside the country to make people want to buy Canadian goods To Finish the National Railway because they had promised BC that, and he wanted to use the railway to transport goods (crops) and people To Settle the West wanted to bring people from Europe to settle the west by offering them free land. He wanted the west to be the center of agriculture for Canada and for it to improve trade
F The Chinese Railway Workers By 1885, the CPR employed nearly 15,000 Chinese railway workers BUT they were not as well paid as anyone else who worked on the railway Many Chinese workers were trying to save money to bring their families to Canada, but they could not do so with the little money they made working on the railway After the railway was built, many Chinese immigrants settled in BC creating lumber mills or canneries, but they faced discrimination from other people groups
Railway Workers cont d Starting in 1885, Chinese people trying to come to Canada had to pay a head tax of $50 ($2500 today). The government did this because they wanted to make it harder for Chinese people to immigrate to Canada RACIST. Even with this tax, 82,000 Chinese people immigrated to Canada in 35 years (1885 1920). Workers were expected to work in poor climate and harsh landscape with very little proper clothing, and for 1/10 th of the wage of a European worker doing the same job. They were expected to do the dangerous jobs involved in finishing the railway such as planting and detonating dynamite (blasting). Many Chinese workers quit working on the railway and began work as merchants in BC. Many were very successful because they believed in hard work.
G Last Spike Hammered Home The last spike of the CPR was hammered in by Donald Smith on Nov 8, 1885 Even though Chinese people built a lot of the railway in the harshest part of the landscape, they were not pictured in the newspaper photo. The government used the railway to push the First Nations and Métis people off of their land in an attempt to connect the country from sea to sea as John A Macdonald wanted to, & they were not recognized and were disadvantaged by the railway The CPR benefited English speaking Canadians of British descent the most (trade & crops) Canadiens (French) had little to do with the railway, and were connected to the west in the Métis settlements. The Métis people were harmed by the building of the railway, so many Francophone people are unhappy about the way that the railway connected east and western Canada
Impacts of Immigration on Western Canada
A Advertising for Immigrants Prime Minister John A Macdonald s National Policy was designed to have people from all over the world become interested in moving into western Canada In 1890 only 2% of the population lived in the west, and many settlers chose to move into the United States In 1896, Sir Wilfred Laurier became Prime Minister and also focused on immigration to western Canada
Clifford Sifton was Laurier s Minister of the Interior, and he focused on attracting immigrants to the west He targeted people from the US, Britain, and English speaking European countries, but avoided French speaking countries He used posters and pamphlets in many languages to advertise immigration
B Recruiting British Peoples for the West Clifford Sifton and the Canadian government still felt that British was best, so they recruited British people Over ½ of the people settling in the west between 1891 & 1930 were of British descent They were looking for hard working people who could settle in the area and live in conditions that were harsh and rugged, and very different from Britain
C Recruiting Canadiens for the West Areas like St. Albert, Villeneuve, Morinville, and Beaumont were settled by Francophones, and were holding on to the French way of life and culture BUT, Sifton s policy was only bringing British people west SO they felt the need to hold onto their culture and preserve it by creating French speaking communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan They used the Catholic faith and sent people as missionaries to settle in areas so that their culture would be preserved
D Les Franco Albertains Agissaient! People such as Joseph Henri Picard and Joseph Renee Ramas worked hard to protect French language and education in the west French schools and colleges were set up When AB and SK became provinces in 1905, many Francophones entered provincial politics to have a voice French newspapers were founded
E Eastern European Peoples Begin to Arrive i. Ukrainian People Ukrainian people were impressed with the land when they surveyed it, so they encouraged others to immigrate as well. They produced goods for people in western Canada and consumed factory goods that were being produced in eastern Canada this improved the economy They settled in the west which improved the security of the west protecting it from American Annexation Between 1896 and 1914, about 200,000 people immigrated from Ukraine to western Canada
ii - Russian and Polish Peoples Canadian and Russian governments made arrangements for Russian people of Jewish background to immigrate to different cities in Canada during the 1890s Many Russian immigrants created homesteads, factories, mills, canneries, and other industrious jobs Polish people immigrated to Canada from small towns in Poland that were being taken over by Austria. 119 600 people immigrated from 1895 1913. Many became farmers. Some Polish people became miners (coal), and worked for little pay in poor conditions
F Creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan Canada s gov t appointed the NWT s government to govern the area as a territory in 1875 through The Northwest Territories Act If an area had more than 1000 people settled in it, they could have elected officials represent them in the government Frederick Haultain wanted to have a provincial government instead of a territorial government because he wanted to be able to raise money for taxes and loans to receive money to provide services Prime Minister Laurier thought that the territory was too big to be managed by one provincial government, so he split the area into the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan (The Alberta Act and the Saskatchewan Act 1905)
Education and Language Rights Education and language rights were controversial issues in the forming of the provinces because there were conflicts between Anglophones and Francophones and the formation of schools that were Catholic and Protestant