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History of Canada |
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Aboriginal
peoples (Red Indians, Eskimos or Inuit) are thought to have arrived
from Asia 10,000 years ago across a land bridge between Siberia and
Alaska. Some of them settled in Canada, while others chose to
continue further south. When the European explorers arrived, Canada
was populated by a diverse range of Aboriginal peoples who,
depending on the environment, were hunters, fishermen or farmers.
First contacts with Europeans probably occurred about 1000 years ago
when Icelandic Norsemen settled for a brief time on the island of
Newfoundland. But it would be another 600 years before European
settlement began in earnest.
Seeking a new
route to the rich markets of the Orient, French and British
explorers plied the waters of North America. They constructed a
number of posts -- the French mostly along the St. Lawrence River,
the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River; the British around Hudson
Bay and along the Atlantic coast. Although explorers such as Cabot,
Cartier and Champlain never found a route to China and India, they
found something just as valuable -- rich fishing grounds and teeming
populations of beaver, fox and bear, all of which were valued for
their fur.
Permanent French and British settlement began in the early 1600s and
increased throughout the century. With settlement came economic
activity, but the colonies of New France and New England remained
economically dependent on the fur trade and politically and
militarily dependent on their mother countries.Inevitably, North America became the focal point for the bitter
rivalry between England and France. After the fall of Quebec City in
1759, the Treaty of Paris assigned all French territory east of the
Mississippi to Britain, except for the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, off the island of Newfoundland.
Under British rule, the 65, 000 French-speaking inhabitants of
Canada had a single aim - to retain their traditions, language and
culture. Britain passed the Quebec Act (1774), which granted
official recognition to French civil laws and guaranteed religious
and linguistic freedoms.
Large numbers of English-speaking colonists, called Loyalists
because they wished to remain faithful to the British Empire, sought
refuge in Canada after the United States of America won its
independence in 1776. They settled mainly in the colonies of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, and along the Great Lakes.
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The increase in population led to the creation in 1791 of Upper
Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). Both were
granted their own representative governing institutions.
Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada in 1837 and 1838 prompted
the British to join the two colonies, forming the united
Province of Canada. In 1848 the joint colony was granted
responsible government except in matters of foreign affairs.
Canada gained a further measure of autonomy but remained part of
the British Empire |
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A Country
Is Born
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Britain's North
American colonies -- Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince
Edward Island and Newfoundland -- grew and prospered independently.
But with the emergence of a more powerful United States after the
American Civil War, some politicians felt a union of the British
colonies was the only way to fend off eventual annexation. On July
1, 1867, Canada East, Canada West, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
joined together under the terms of the British North America Act to
become the Dominion of Canada. |
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The government of the new country was based on the British
parliamentary system, with a Governor General (the Crown's
representative) and a Parliament consisting of the House of Commons
and the Senate. Parliament received the power to legislate over
matters of national interest (such as taxes and national defence),
while the provinces were given legislative powers over matters of
"particular" interest (such as property, civil rights and
education). |
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Westward
Expansion |
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Soon after
Confederation, Canada expanded into the northwest. Rupert's Land --
an area extending south and west for thousands of kilometres from
Hudson Bay -- was purchased by Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company,
which had been granted the vast territory by King Charles of England
in 1670. |
Westward expansion did not happen without stress. In 1869, Louis
Riel led an uprising of the Métis in an attempt to defend their
ancestral rights to the land. A compromise was reached in 1870 and a
new province, Manitoba, was carved from Rupert's Land.
British Columbia, already a Crown colony since 1858, decided to join
the Dominion in 1871 on the promise of a rail link with the rest of
the country; Prince Edward Island followed suit in 1873. In 1898,
the northern territory of Yukon was officially established to ensure
Canadian jurisdiction over that area during the Klondike gold rush.
In 1905, two new provinces were carved from Rupert's Land: Alberta
and Saskatchewan; the residual land became the Northwest
Territories. Newfoundland preferred to remain a British colony until
1949, when it became Canada's 10th province.
The creation of new provinces coincided with an increase of
immigration to Canada, particularly to the west. Immigration peaked
in 1913 with 400 000 coming to Canada. During the prewar period,
Canada profited from the prosperous world economy and established
itself as an industrial as well as an agricultural power.
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A Nation
Matures |
Canada's
substantial role in the First World War won it representation
distinct from Britain in the League of Nations after the war. Its
independent voice became more and more pronounced, and in 1931
Canada's constitutional autonomy from Britain was confirmed with the
passing of the Statute of Westminster. In Canada as elsewhere, the
onset of the Great Depression in 1929 brought hardship. As many as
one out of every four workers was without a job and the provinces of
Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were laid waste by drought.
Ironically, it was the need to supply the Allied armies during the
Second World War that boosted Canada out of the Depression.
Since World War II, Canada's economy has continued to expand. This
growth, combined with government social programs such as family
allowances, old-age security, universal medicare and unemployment
insurance has given Canadians a high standard of living and
desirable quality of life.
Noticeable changes have occurred in Canada's immigration trends.
Before World War II, most immigrants came from the British Isles or
eastern Europe. Since 1945, increasing numbers of southern
Europeans, Asians, South Americans and people from the Caribbean
islands have enriched Canada's multicultural mosaic.
On the international scene, as the nation has developed and matured,
so has its reputation and influence. Canada has participated in the
United Nations since its inception and is the only nation to have
taken part in all of the UN's major peacekeeping operations. It is
also a member of the Commonwealth, la Francophonie, the Group of
Seven industrialized nations, the OAS (Organization of American
States) and the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) defence
pact. |
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A New
Federation in the Making |
The last
quarter of a century has seen Canadians grapple once more with
fundamental questions of national identity. Discontent among many
French-speaking Quebeckers led to a referendum in that province in
1980 on whether Quebec should become more politically autonomous
from Canada, but a majority voted to maintain the status quo.
In 1982, the process toward major constitutional reform culminated
in the signing of the Constitution Act. Under this act, the British
North America Act of 1867 and its various amendments became the
Constitution Act, 1867-1982. The Constitution, its Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, and its general amending formula redefined the powers
of governments, entrenched the equality of women and men, and
advanced the rights of individuals and ethnocultural groups.
Two major efforts were made to reform the constitutional system: the
1987 Meech Lake Accord - which was not implemented since it did not
obtain the legislative consent of all provinces - and the 1991
Charlottetown Accord. The Charlottetown Accord would have reformed
the Senate and made major changes in the Constitution. It was
rejected in a national referendum held on October 26, 1992.
The Parliament of Canada has since passed a bill, on February 2,
1996, guaranteeing Canada's 5 major regions that no constitutional
change concerning them would be made without their unanimous
consent. As well, less than a month after the Quebec sovereignty
referendum of October 30, 1995, the Parliament of Canada passed a
resolution recognizing Quebec as a distinct society within Canada.
Federal evolution is also underway in Canada's North. On April 1,
1999, the Northwest Territories was divided into two by Act of
Parliament, creating a new 2 000 000 km2 territory called Nunavut
("our land" in Inuktitut, the Inuit language). |
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Equality for All. |
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There is no
racial or social discrimination in Canada. A large number of Asians
and other nationalities, now Canadians, have excelled in all fields
in Canada. Quite a few of them are honourable Ministers & Members of
Canadian Parliament, Mayer etc. |
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