First elected into office in 1953, under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was instrumental in designing Canada’s social programmes.
Although he was not reelected in 1958, his only political defeat, he did not leave Ottawa. He worked instead as a special assistant and consultant on economic affairs for the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson, a Nobel Laureate.
Under Louis St. Laurent, Canada had begun putting into place social programs that would protect Canadians. For Mr MacEachen, this endeavour would culminate in the Medical Care Act, passed by Parliament in 1966, when Mr MacEachen served as Minister of National Health and Welfare (1965-1968). The implementation of Medicare was a major victory for Mr MacEachen and an enormous gift to Canadians. It was, in fact, a major historical moment. A nation was born.
Very few persons could have been as dedicated as Mr MacEachen in his role as Canada’s Minister of National Health and Welfare. Mr MacEachen had worked as professor of Economics at St. Francis Xavier University, which is home to the world-renowned Coady International Institute, founded in 1959 and named after the Reverend Dr Moses Michael Coady, a coöperative entrepreneur who created the Antigonish Movement. On 19 November 2009, during an interview with Steve Sutherland of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), Mr MacEachen said he was a “disciple” of Father Coady who wanted to “enable people to get a vision of possibilities. (StFX Digital Archives, Quotes by Rev. Dr. Moses Coady) ”
Moreover, Allan J. MacEachen was born in Inverness, Cape Breton, the son of a coal miner. The coal miners of Cape Breton toiled painfully, and often died, reaping coal deep underground and bringing it to the surface. (Have you seen Margaret’s Museum, a 1995 British-Canadian film based on a story by Sheldon Currie, a former teacher at StFX?) When interviewed by Steve Sutherland of the CBC, Mr MacEachen said that the miners of Inverness were “poor” and, that, when they had to retire, they did not have a “pension.” He had witnessed poverty.
The Honourable Allan J MacEachen studied at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT), and became a professor of Economics. In his CBC interview, he said that people were not interested in what he knew. They wanted to know what he could do for them. They had needs which he understood and he was in a position to help his nation. He had the knowledge and the shrewdness to do so.
During the same interview, Mr MacEachen stated that, as a politician, he had learned that he had to “obey” his constituents. He had learned to “listen” to the people, to “serve” them, and to “take Canada into account.” That interview is a lesson in leadership and nationhood. Mr MacEachen cared for the people, as should all elected officials.
Former US President Bill Clinton is a recent visitor to StFX University. On 11 May 2011, President Clinton opened StFX University’s Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership. That Centre has solid foundations.
The Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was Minister of Amateur Sport, Minister of National Health and Welfare, Minister of Manpower and Immigration, Minister of Finance, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Secretary of State for External Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, and a Senator. In this capacity, he was the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
For two decades, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen was also my next-door neighbour in Antigonish, N. S. and a dear friend. I am honoured to say that he remains a dear friend.
William Lyon Mackenzie’s house on Bond Street in downtown Toronto.
Canada’s National Holiday
On Wednesday, July 1st, Canadians celebrated their National Holiday. As for the citizens of Quebec, they celebrated their National Holiday on 24 June which is Saint-Jean-BaptisteDay,the former Saint-Jean. The date on which Saint-Jean-Baptiste is celebrated is on or near the summer solstice or Midsummer Day, the longest day of the year. This year, the summer solstice occurred on the 22 June.
Midsummer Dance by Anders Zorn, 1897 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As for Canada Day, it is celebrated on the anniversary of Confederation, the day Canada became a Dominion of Great Britain: 1st July 1867. I have written posts telling the story of Confederation and have listed them at the foot of this post.
Although the people of Quebec do not celebrate Canada day, the province of Quebec was one of the four initial signatories of the British North America Act. Quebec’s Premier was George-Étienne Cartier, named after George III, hence the English spelling of George, i.e. no final ‘s’. The other three provinces to join Confederation on 1st July 1867 were Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The Discrepancy: Quebec and Ottawa
As you know, a large number of Québécois are nationalists and many advocate the separation, to a lesser or greater extent, of the Province of Quebec from the remainder of Canada. This explains why Quebec, one of the first four signatories of the British North America Act, does not observe Canada Day.
It could be argued that the province of Quebec was Lower Canada risen from its ashes, land apportioned by Britain itself, under the terms of the Constitutional Act of 1791, to the descendants of the citizens of New France defeated by British forces on 13 September 1759 at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.* The battle had claimed the life of both its commanding officers: Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, aged 47, and General James Wolfe, aged 32, but it had lasted a mere fifteen minutes.
*The Battle of the Plains of Abraham is thus called, i.e. Abraham, because it was fought on land belonging to Abraham Martin.
The Greater Loss to Quebecers
1759, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
1840, the union of Upper and Lower Canada
Of the two, first, the loss of Lower Canada’s motherland, ceded to Britain in 1763, and, second, the Act of Union of 1841 which followed the Rebellions of 1837-1838, the greater loss may well be the loss of Lower Canada. One cannot know the fate awaiting Nouvelle-France had France won the SevenYears’ War (1856-1763), called the French and Indian War in North America. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, France chose to keep its sugar-rich Caribbean colonies, as well as the islands of Saint-Pierreet Miquelon, off the coast of Newfoundland.
However, Quebec had been granted a period of grace after the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763. The citizens of the former New France knew they had become a colony of Britain, but they had yet to feel the full impact of their condition as British but ‘conquered’ subjects.
A Reprieve
the Treaty of Paris
the Quebec Act of 1774
the Constitutional Act of 1791
betrayal
There had been a reprieve. First, France negotiated the cession of Nouvelle-France. Britain would not deprive its new subjects of their language, their religion, their property and their seigneuries. It didn’t. Second, by virtue of the Quebec Act of 1774,the citizens of the former New France had become full-fledged citizens of a British Canada. Third, less than two decades after the Quebec Act of 1774, 17 years to be precise, the Constitutional Act of 1791 had divided the vast province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada.
Whatever its purpose, the Constitutional Act of 1791 created Lower Canada and, in the eyes of Canadiens, Lower Canada was their country, or terroir, which they were now losing. Therefore, if one takes into account the loss of Lower Canada and the determination to assimilate Canadiens, the Act of Union of 1841 was betrayal on the part of Britain, not Upper Canada.
The Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 occurred in both Canadas: Upper and Lower Canada. These could be perceived as twin rebellions orchestrated by Louis-Joseph Papineau (7 Oct 1786 – 25 Sept 1871), in Lower Canada, and William Lyon Mackenzie (12 March 1795 [Scotland]-28 August 1864 [Toronto]), in Upper Canada.
However, Papineau and William Lyon Mackenzie were not fighting against one another. Both Papineau and Mackenzie were “patriots” and allies. Their common motivation was to be granted a responsible government and, consequently, greater democracy.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the citizens of Upper Canada were English-speaking Canadians living on British soil. As for the citizens of Lower Canada, they were a conquered people, former French subjects, living on British soil and realizing that they had been conquered. Not all of Lower Canada’s rebels were Canadiens. One was Dr Wolfred Nelson (10 July 1791 – 17 June 1863), a patriote and a future Mayor of Montreal.[1]
The majority however were descendants of the citizens of a defeated Nouvelle-France. In short, the rebels of Upper Canada differed from the rebels of Lower Canada. The patriots and the patriotes were not on an equal footing, so it is somewhat difficult to speak of the rebellions as twin rebellions. They weren’t, at least not entirely and not according to a reality of the mind.
The Rebellions in Lower Canada
different intensity
repressive measures, harsher
There were two rebellions in Lower Canada. The first took place in 1837 and the second, in 1838. The rebellions in Lower Canada were more intensive than their equivalent in Upper Canada.[2] Six battles had been waged in Lower Canada. Repressive measures were therefore much harsher:
“[b]etween the two uprisings [in Lower Canada], 99 captured militants were condemned to death but only 12 went to the gallows, while 58 were transported to the penal colony of Australia. In total the six battles of both campaigns left 325 dead, 27 of them soldiers and the rest rebels. Thirteen men were executed (one by the rebels), one was murdered, one committed suicide, and two prisoners were shot.” (Peter Buckner, “Rebellion in Lower Canada,” The CanadianEncyclopedia.)
Most importantly, as we will see below, Lord Durham had recommended the assimilation of Canadiens, which was devastating to the people of Lower Canada. In Upper Canada, three men were hanged and William Lyon Mackenzie fled to the United States. He lived in New York until he was pardoned in 1849. Louis-Joseph Papineau also fled to the United States and then sailed to France. As for Dr Wolfred Nelson, he was unable to flee and was exiled to Bermuda. It was a brief period of exile.
Dispossession
Act of Union of 1840-1841
Lower Canada, the homeland of French-speaking subjects
Clearly, for the former citizens of Lower Canada, the Act of Union of 1840-1841 was dispossession. During the years that preceded the Rebellions, it had occurred to Louis-Joseph Papineau, the leader of the Parti canadien, that Lower Canada should seek independence from Britain. Although Nouvelle-France had been ceded to Britain, by virtue of the Constitutional Act of 1791, Lower Canada belonged to Britain’s French-speaking subjects. Britain could not help itself to the vaults of both Upper and Lower Canada, its North American colony.
Lord Durham(Courtesy The Canadian Encyclopedia)
Lord Durham’s Report
an ethnic conflict
a United Province of Canada
the assimilation of French-speaking Canadians
a responsible government
Tocqueville: a nation
It should be pointed out that in the ReportJohn Lambton, 1stEarl of Durham submitted after he investigated the rebellions in the two Canadas, he concluded that the Rebellions were an ethnic conflict, which is not altogether true nor altogether false. The rebellions were a quest for responsible government which Lord Durham himself proposed in his Report. The motivation was the same inboth Canadas: responsible government.
However, in his Report, Lord Durham proposed not only the Union of both Canadas, but also recommended the assimilation of French-speaking Canadians whom he viewed as a people possessing “neither a history nor a literature.” Never were French-speaking Canadians so offended! The Act of Union of 1841created a United Province of Canada.
Moreover, when the United Province of Canada was created, the land apportioned English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians made French-speaking Canadians a minority. It should also be noted that the United Province of Canada was not granted a responsible government, which had been the reason why the two Canadas rebelled and one of Lord Durham’s recommendations.
The time had come for both Canadas, now united, to be mostly self-governed. During a trip to Lower Canada, Alexis de Tocqueville noticed and noted that the French in Lower Canada had become what I would call a nation, but a conquered nation that had yet to enter the Industrial Age and whose people had not acquired the skills they required to leave their farms, or thirty acres, trente arpents, the acreage provided to the settlers of Nouvelle-France.
Alexis de Tocqueville in Lower Canada
a nation, but a nation conquered
In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville (29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859) and Gustave de Beaumont (16 February 1802 – 30 March 1866) took a little time off from their duties in the United States, to visit the inhabitants of France’s former colony, believing they had become British, or assimilated, which was not the case. Their language, religion, land and seigneuries had not been taken away from French-speaking Canadians. They were a nation, albeit a conquered nation.
Canadiens wanted news of “la vieille France,” old France, but there was no “vieille France,” not after the French Revolution. What was left of vieille France, Tocqueville and Beaumont found in Lower Canada. According to Tocqueville, the villain in the loss of New France was Louis XV of France. Louis XV had abandoned France’s colony in North America.
It is astonishing that, in 1831, a few years before the Rebellions and during a brief visit to Lower Canada, Tocqueville should express the opinion that the “greatest and most irreversible misfortune that can befall a people is to be conquered:”
Je n’ai jamais été plus convaincu qu’en sortant [de ce tribunal] que le plus grand et le plus irrémédiable malheur pour un peuple c’est d’être conquis.
(See RELATED ARTICLES, below.)
The above is significant. In the wake of the Acte d’Union,Antoine Gérin-Lajoiewrote his plaintive “Un Canadien errant,” dated 1842. Moreover, as mentioned above, French-speaking Canadians had begun creating a “literary homeland,” (la Patrie littéraire) the name given to the period of French-Canadian literature during which French-speaking Canadians set about proving Lord Durham wrong, which they did successfully.
Baldwin and Lafontaine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Robert Baldwyn and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
‘Assimilation’ cancelled (1842)
Responsible government achieved (1846)
Matters would also be redressed ‘politically,’ so to speak. In 1842, shortly after the Act of Union was passed (1840-1841) Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine (4 October 1807 – 26 February 1864) was elected Joint Prime Minister of the United Province of Canada, a position he shared with RobertBaldwin whose jurisdiction was the western portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham’s proposed assimilation of Britain’s French-speaking subjects was never implemented. Finally, although it would not happen immediately, the Baldwin-LaFontaine team would achieve the objective pursued by the rebels of 1837 and 1838, responsible government, which meant greater democracy.
LaFontaine resigned one year after his appointment as Prime Minister because Britain was not delivering on responsible government. However, in 1848, James Bruce, the 8th Earl of Elgin, who had been named governor general of the United Province of Canada in 1846, asked Lafontaine (also spelled LaFontaine) to form a responsible government.
“LaFontaine thus became the first prime minister of Canada in the modern sense of the term. During this second administration, he demonstrated the achievement of responsible government by the passage of the Rebellion Losses Bill, despite fierce opposition and violent demonstrations. His ministry also passed an Amnesty Actto forgive the 1837-38 rebels, secularized King’s College into the University of Toronto, incorporated many French Canadian colleges, established Université Laval, adopted important railway legislation and reformed municipal and judicial institutions.” (Jacques Monet, S. J., “Sir Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine,” The Canadian Encyclopedia.)
Confederation
So a mere twenty-six (26) years after passage of the Act of Union, Quebec, under the leadership of George-Étienne Cartier, entered Confederation. Sir George-Étienne Cartier asked that Quebec retain its recently-acquired Code civil and that primary education remain compulsory. These requests were granted.
Confederation had the immense benefit of returning to Canadiens their former Lower Canada. They regained a territory or patrimoine (a homeland), however mythical. And they have bestowed on their patrimoine its National Day, la Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
At the last meeting of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Premier Dr Philippe Couillard, stated that Quebec was a patrimoine to Québécois and Canada, their country.
My kindest regards to all you and apologies for being away from my computer and late in every way. Yesterday was Independence Day. Belated wishes to my American readers. Next, I will write about an award.♥
Against a regiment I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armoured train.
When British Columbia entered into Confederation, on July 20, 1871, the Dominion of Canada, constituted on July 1, 1867, promised it would build a railway that would stretch from coast to coast. July 20, 1871[i]is a post-Confederation date as is July 15, 1870, when Manitoba joined the Dominion of Canada.
The railway promised British columbia was to be built within ten years which may have worked except for the lack of a team and money. This railway had to cross several hundreds of kilometers of what seemed unbreachable ranges of mountains.
In 1881, The Canadian Pacific Railway promised to give Major Albert Bowman Rogers (28 May 1829 – 4 May 1889), a cheque for $5,000.00 to find the pass named in his honour. As quoted in Wikipedia, Rogers “became obsessed with finding the pass” that would be named the Rogers Pass. The pass was discovered in April 1881. The CPR gave Rogers the cheque for $5,000.00 which he kept in a frame until the CPR gave him an engraved watch.
The ten years had passed since British Columbia had entered into Confederation. The railway was under construction but there had been a lull.
There were other obstacles. For instance, the train would pass through land controlled by the BlackfootFirst Nation. A missionary priest, Albert Lacombe, persuaded the Blackfoot chief Crowfoot that construction of the railway was inevitable. Crowfoot agreed and was rewarded with a lifetime pass to travel on the CPR.
Another obstacle was the Kicking Horse River. There was a 350-meter drop in the first 6 km (3.7 miles). The CPR would have to build to a long stretch of track with a 4.5 percent gradient when it reached the pass in 1884. This was too steep a gradient for nineteenth-century technology and two steep a gradient for current technology. That section of the track would be called the CPR’s Big Hill (see Video). Special locomotives would have to be built, but runaways (go to List) occurred including the first locomotive to descend the line. These conditions remained for 25 years or until the completion of the Spiral Tunnels (see Video) in the early 20th century.
Besides construction was too slow until 1882, when the CPR hired renowned railway executive William Cornelius Van Horne. There were all manner of catastrophes including floods (eastern part). However, by June 1882, the Department of Railways and canals built the Thunder bay brand (west from Fort William) and turned it over to the CPR in May 1883, “permitting all-Canadian lake and rail traffic from eastern Canada to Winnipeg, for the first time in Canada’s history.” (Wikipedia, Canadian Pacific Railway)
Sections built simultaneously
The railway was built in sections. Certain eastern parts of the railway were built at the same time as western parts, making it possible for the railway to be built faster. At that rate “by the end of 1883 the railway had reached the Rocky Mountains, just eight km (5 miles) east of Kicking Horse Pass. The construction seasons of 1884 and 1885 would be spent in the mountains of British Columbia and on the north shore of Lake Superior.” (Wikipedia, Canadian Pacific Railway)
The Navvies and the Coolies: shame on us!
East of the Rockies, navvies built the railway. But in British Columbia, Chinese workers called coolies were hired. The navvy, many of whom were immigrants, was poorly paid: “between $1 and $2.50 per day, but had to pay for his own food, clothing, transportation to the job site, mail and medical care.” But matters were worse for Chinese workers, coolies, who made 75 cents and $1.25 a day, paid in rice mats, and not including expenses, leaving barely anything to send home.
The Chinese workers ASSIGNED THE MOST DANGEROUS JOBS
The more dangerous construction jobs were carried by the coolies, the Chinese workers. They cleared tunnels using explosives and the families of those who died were not compensated for the loss of their bread-winner. At times, they were not even notified that their relative had died. As for the men who survived, they had not earned enough money to return to their families in China, despite a promise from Chinese labour contractors. There is a sense in which the Chinese (go to lower part of the entry) built the railway (its western part). No apology was issued by the Canadian government until 2006.
The Railway Relief Bill & the Last Spike
Yet, despite the low cost of labour, building through solid rock was too expensive for the government to continue building. It therefore passed the Railway Relief Bill, providing a further $22.5 million in loans to the CPR. The bill received royal assent on 6 March 1884 and a year later the last spike was the, the Last Spike was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia, on 7 November 1885. Not that the entire railway was completed but British Columbia had its railway as promised. See timeline[iii].
Therefore, B. C. threatens to secede from its union with Canada.
1878. Sir J. A. MacDonald is re-elected, primising completion of the railway
1881. CPR is incorporated and Sir Donald Alex Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, will build the eastern part of the railway.
Western part contracted to American Railway Engineer Andrew Onderdonk
Underdonck hires Chinese, which is opposed by inhabitants of British Columbia.
1885. A Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration[ii] settles the debate. The Chinese workers are needed or the railway will not be built. Sir John A. MacDonald argues that the Chinese will return to China.
About 15,000, some say 17, 000, Chinese workers are hired. Approximately 1,500 die during construction, but there is no official record.
The Last Spike: November 7, 1885 (driven by Sir Donald Alex Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal).
This ends my story of the railway. It would now be possible to travel from coast to coast although, temporarily, alternative transportation would be necessary in certain areas. But former British colonists who had retired to Victoria—many from the Far East—finally had a means of crossing their province and the Dominion of Canada and eastern Canadians could travel westward. A Mari usque ad Mare.
