• Aboriginals in North America
  • Beast Literature
  • Canadiana.1
  • Dances & Music
  • Europe
  • Fables and Fairy Tales
  • Fables by Jean de La Fontaine
  • Feasts & Liturgy
  • Great Books Online
  • La Princesse de Clèves
  • Middle East
  • Molière
  • Nominations
  • Posts on Love Celebrated
  • Posts on the United States
  • The Art and Music of Russia
  • The French Revolution & Napoleon Bonaparte
  • Voyageurs Posts
  • Canadiana.2

Micheline's Blog

~ Art, music, books, history & current events

Micheline's Blog

Tag Archives: Confederation

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 & the Quebec Act of 1774

25 Wednesday Aug 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Canadian Confederation, First Nations, the Conquest

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Charles G. D. Roberts, Confederation, Les Anciens Canadiens, Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, Sir Guy Carleton, the Confederation Poets, the Proclamation of 1763, the Quebec Act of 1774

Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (Wikimedia Commons)
National Archives of Canada #C-002833 
James Murray (1721-1684) (Wikimedia Commons)

—ooo—

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Quebec Act of 1774 (uppercanadahistory.ca)

Pontiac’s War

In the above document, authors link the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774. Although we have discussed the aftermath of the fall of New France, I will repeat that the citizens of the Thirteen Colonies started to rush west to settle the territory ceded by France to Britain. Some had land grants. However, the territory they wished to appropriate was land where Amerindians had lived mostly undisturbed under the French régime. New York Governor Jeffery Amherst allowed the use of smallpox-laced blankets to create an epidemic that could exterminate Amerindians who had no immunity to this European curse. Ottawa Chief Pontiac and allies attacked the encroaching settlers. The violence was such that King George III of England issued his Royal Proclamation of 1763, thereby creating a large Amerindian reserve. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was considered an “intolerable act” by future Americans. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 is Canada’s Amerindians’s “Magna Carta.”

Given Canada’s inauspicious climate, the French needed Amerindians. During the winter of 1535-1536, twenty-five of Jacques Cartier‘s (1491-1557) 110 men died of scurvy. Others were saved because Amerindians provided annedda (thuya occidentalis). In 1609, Champlain (1557-1635) fired at Iroquois to show that the French supported the Huron-Wendat nation. Moreover, the French, the legendary voyageurs, could not have engaged in the fur trade without the Ameridians’s canoe and their guidance.

The following quotations are revealing:

In 1633 and 1635, the Huron-Wendat were asked by Champlain and Father Paul Le Jeune, S. J. to consider intermarriage with the French. The Huron-Wendat rejected this request because they considered marriage a matter between two individuals and their families, and not subject to council decision.

(See Huron-Wendat, The Canadian Encyclopedia.)

Moreover,

[a]t the time of the destruction of the Huron-Wendat homeland (sometimes known as Huronia) by the Haudenosaunee [Iroquois], in 1649-1650, about 500 Huron-Wendat left Georgian Bay to seek refuge close to the French, in the Quebec City region.

(See Huron-Wendat, The Canadian Encyclopedia)
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774

The Quebec act of 1774 

  • The Quebec Act of 1774 did not revoke the rights and privileges granted Amerindians by virtue of the Proclamation of 1763.
  • However, the Quebec Act of 1774 revoked policies aimed to assimilate the French living in a defeated New France.

Although the Royal Proclamation of 1763 recognized the rights and privileges of Amerindians, it also aimed to assimilate the French in Canada. Governor James Murray had not implemented policies aimed to assimilate the French. As for Governor Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, he revoked such policies.

Guy Carleton met Seigneurs and the clergy of the former New France to negotiate the Quebec Act of 1774. New France’s Seigneurial System and Code Civil were restored. So was Catholicism and the clergy’s right to levy tithe. The oath of allegiance French-speaking subjects had to swear in order to hold public office did not entail abandoning Catholicism, and French-speaking subjects were allowed to own property. The Quebec Act also enlarged the Province of Quebec. It included the Ohio Country.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 & the Quebec Act of 1774

Both the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 were considered “intolerable acts” by the citizens of the Thirteen Colonies. Furthermore, the Quebec Act did not please “habitants.” Yet, the Quebec Act of 1774 would be French-language Canada’s “letters patent,” and it is mostly in this regard, that the Proclamation of 1763 and the Quebec Act of 1774 can be associated.

“In French Canada the act was received without any popular demonstration by the French Canadians. On the whole the Quebec Act satisfied only the upper class French Canadians. The lower class found nothing in the Quebec Act to cheer about. The habitant had mixed feelings about it, for while it gave him security of his language and religion it also revived certain objectionable feudal privileges of the seigneurs. The habitant disliked the governor’s defence measures which involved forced labour and the requisitioning of supplies and the prospect that he might be forced into the army.” 
(See The Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Quebec Act of 1774 (uppercanadahistory.ca)

“Of great importance to Canadian history was the fact that the Act meant the province of Quebec was being treated in a special way by an imperial act of parliament.”

(See The Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Quebec Act of 1774 (uppercanadahistory.ca)

The findings of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Bicultularism, (1963-1969) (Commission royale d’enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme) led to the passage of the Official Languages Act of 1969. French was confirmed as one of the two official languages of Canada. The Quebec Act of 1774 was a precious precedent. 

Conclusion

As we have seen in previous posts, after Confederation (1867), the Dominion of Canada failed to recognize the culture and language of the nations on whose land they settled. Canada now remembers the Royal Proclamation of 1763. As for the French-speaking citizens of a Confederated Canada, Quebec would be the only province of Canada where children could be educated in both French and English. Yet, the French also had rights. The Quebec Act of 1774 constituted its “letters patent.”

We cannot tell whether French would be an everyday language in several and perhaps all the provinces of Canada, but it is obvious that Amerindians were wronged. Canada’s government has compensated the victims of Residential Schools and it has put into place a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to ascertain that Canada’s indigenous people are never subjected to assimilation policies leading to abuse and death. These crimes were a sign of the times, but we are unearthing the remains of children buried in unnamed graves. It is very painful.

Fortunately, Governors James Murray and Sir Guy Carleton did not see why Britain’s French-speaking subjects should be assimilated. Moreover, there have always been Canadians who have recognized the French. One of them is Sir Charles G. D. Roberts who translated Aubert de Gaspé’s Les Anciens Canadiens twice, as Canadians of Old, in 1890, and as Cameron of Lochiel, in 1905. He was one of four Confederation poets, a name they were given, who could see two literatures growing side by side and rooted in two advanced literatures and cultures. There were and there would be tensions, but seeing promise seems the sunnier attitude.

In the Preface to his first translation of Les Anciens Canadiens as Canadians of Old, Sir Charles G. D. Roberts wrote the following:

“In Canada there is settling into shape a nation of two races; there is springing into existence, at the same time, a literature in two languages. In the matter of strength and stamina there is no overwhelming disparity between the two races. The two languages are admittedly those to which belong the supreme literary achievements of the modern world. In this dual character of the Canadian people and the Canadian literature there is afforded a series of problems which the future will be taxed to solve. To make any intelligent forecast as to the solution is hardly possible without a fair comprehension of the two races as they appear at the point of contact. To make any intelligent forecast as to the solution is hardly possible without a fair comprehension of the two races as they appear at the point of contact. We, of English speech, turn naturally to French-Canadian literature for knowledge of the French-Canadian people. The romance before us, while intended for those who read to be entertained, and by no means weighted down with didactic purpose, succeeds in throwing, by its faithful depictions of life and sentiment among the early French Canadians, a strong side-light upon the motives and aspirations of the race.”
Preface to the first edition

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Canadiana.1 (Page)
  • Aboriginals in North America (Page)

Sources and Resources

Wikipedia, The Canadian Encyclopedia, & Britannica
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Quebec Act of 1774 (uppercanadahistory.ca)
Les Anciens Canadiens (ebooksgratuits.com). FR
Cameron of Lochiel (Archive.org ), Sir Charles G. D. Roberts, translator. EN
Cameron of Lochiel is Gutenberg [EBook#53154], Sir Charles G. D. Roberts, translator. EN

—ooo—

Love to everyone 💕

I thank you for allowing me to be on holiday. It is nearly over.

La Commission royale d’enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme
Charles G. D. Roberts cph.3a43709.jpg
Sir Charles G. D. Robert (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

© Micheline Walker
24 August 2021
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Le Vent du Nord’s “Confédération”

21 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by michelinewalker in Canadian Confederation, Indigenous People, Québec, The Great Ministry

≈ Comments Off on Le Vent du Nord’s “Confédération”

Tags

Confederation, Great Ministry, Le Vent du Nord, Louis Riel, Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine, Quebec in Confederation, Robert Baldwyn, Sir John A Macdonald, The Act of Union, The Northwest Rebellion

“La Confédération”


Although it is quite long and somewhat repetitive, I am publishing this post. In Confédération, Le Vent du Nord ensemble tells that French-speaking Canada was created three times.
1) New France was defeated.
2) Patriots were exiled after the Rebellions of 1837-1838.
3) Confederation isolated Quebec.
However, it is difficult to say to what extent being confined to a single province harmed French-speaking Canadians. What I know for certain is that English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians are two compatible populations.

—ooo—

On 1st July 1867, four provinces of Canada federated: Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. These provinces were suffering attacks by the Fenians, an Irish brotherhood whose mission was to free Ireland. Fenians lived in the United States, but some lived in Canada. Moreover, the United States purchased Alaska on 30 March 1867, three months before Confederation. Canadians feared annexation which led to the purchase of Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company and a motivation to bring British Columbia into Confederation. On 20 July 1871, after being promised a transcontinental railroad, British Columbia entered Confederation. Canada would stretch from sea to sea. (See Maps of Canada.)

Confederation

  • a continuation of the “Great Ministry”
  • a new Canada

Confederation, however, was not a continuation of the ‘Great Ministry‘ formed by Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine. The Great Ministry unified Ontario and Quebec, or the Province of Canada. It was a bilingual and bicultural Canada where French-speaking and English-speaking citizens were equals. Such was the Canada Métis leader Louis Riel envisaged. He therefore “halted the Canadian land surveys on 11 October 1869.” (See Louis Riel, The Canadian Encyclopedia.) The arrival of Orangemen at the Red River Settlement was premature and could be described as a landrush. The purchase of Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company had yet to be finalized. In addition, no policy governing the allocation of land would exist until the Dominion Lands Act was passed. It received Royal assent on 14 April 1872. (See Dominion Lands Act, The Canadian Encyclopedia.) 

The Act of Union

  • the Rebellions of 1837-1838
  • Lord Durham’s recommendations
  • the Great Ministry (Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine)

Confederation would not reflect the “Great Ministry.” It would instead be consistent with John George Lambton, Lord Durham‘s recommendations. After investigating the Rebellions of 1837-1838, Lord Durham recommended the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada. The Act of Union was passed in Britain in July 1840 and in Canada on 10th February 1841. Upper Canada and Lower Canada would constitute the Province of Canada.

Lord Durham expected that, in a Province of Canada, English-speaking Canadians would soon outnumber and absorb the French-speaking minority. The Act of Union was passed in Britain in July 1840 and in Canada on 10th February 1841, but it was followed by the “Great Ministry” In 1848, Canada obtained the responsible government it sought in 1837-1838.

Lord Durham also recommended that the language of the Assembly be English. The languages of the Assembly would remain French and English. When Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine, the first Prime Minister of the Province of Canada, addressed the Assembly, he spoke French shortly and then switched to English. He set a precedent.

The Terms of Confederation

Confederation marginalized Quebec. Under the terms of Confederation, the British North America Act, 1867, the children of French-speaking families could not be educated in French outside Quebec. In public schools, the language of instruction was English. The assimilation of French-speaking Canadians had been Lord Durham’s intent when he proposed a united Canada, the Province of Canada. So, as immigrants arrived in Canada, their children attended English-language schools. John A Macdonald (10 or 11 January 1815 – 6 June 1891) was an Orangeman and the Orange Order was anti-French and anti-Catholic. (See Orange Order, The Canadian Encylopedia.)

By 1864, the ‘great ministry’ seemed a memory. It was replaced by the great coalition of Canada, the government that would usher in Confederation. George-Étienne Cartier, the premier of Canada East, had good reasons to lead Quebec into Confederation. Confederation offered a secure environment, but Quebec would not be an equal partner. Outside Quebec, the children of French-speaking Canadians would be educated in English, unless they attended private schools, which was another problematic. So, bilingualism and biculturalism played itself out as la question des écoles,[1] the school question, i. e. publicly funded French-language schools outside Quebec. Therefore, John A Macdonald was Prime Minister of Canada after Canadian Confederation, a Confederation that was not bilingual and bicultural, except in Quebec.

“Macdonald has come under criticism for his role in the Chinese Head Tax and federal policies towards indigenous peoples, including his actions during the North-West Rebellion that resulted in Riel’s execution, and the development of the residential school system designed to assimilate Indigenous children.” (See John A Macdonald, Wikipedia.)

RELATED ARTICLES

Maps of Canada (15 October 2020)
About Confederation, cont’d (6 October 2020)
About Confederation (15 September 2020)
Sir Wilfrid Laurier: the Conciliator (15 July 2020)
Canadiana.1
(page)

_________________________
[1] Comeault, G.-L. (1979). La question des écoles du Manitoba — Un nouvel
éclairage. Revue d’histoire de l’Amérique française, 33(1), 3–23.
https://doi.org/10.7202/303748ar

—ooo—

Love to everyone 💕

Sir John A Macdonald (Britannica)

© Micheline Walker
20 April 2021
WordPress




Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Would that Robert Baldwin and Sir Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine …

22 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada's Great Ministry, Canadian art, Canadian Confederation, Canadian History

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Confederation, Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Robert Baldwin, The Exodus, The Reform Party, Union

Paysage à Québec
Marc-Aurèle Fortin Paysage à Québec (Galerie Alan Klinkhoff)

Baldwin and LaFontaine: Union

The victory of the Reform Party on 24 January 1848 was one of the most significant in Canadian history.

Baldwin, LaFontaine and Responsible Government, The Canadian Encyclopedia

English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians are not incompatible. Lord Durham suggested an assimilative Union, but Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, the Reformers, mapped out a genuine union.

Therefore, would that Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine had been alive when Confederation occurred. Confederation had French-speaking opponents, but several French Canadians wanted to join Confederation and Sir George-Étienne Cartier had good reasons to persuade his province to enter into a strong partnership: Confederation.

But …

When the ancestral thirty acres (trente arpents) could no longer be divided or were too expensive to puchase; when, moreover, there was no prospect of employment in Quebec, between 500,000 and 1,000,000 French-speaking Canadians and Acadians left for the United States. Le curé Labelle asked farmers to go north and make land (faire de la terre), but many couldn’t. This period of Canadian history is called the exodus.

When Québécois fully realize the harm John A. Macdonald inflicted on 1) Amerindians, 2) French Canadians, and, to a large extent, on 3) English-speaking Canadians, they must stay calm. All must stay calm.

We have a future to build, and it must be built harmoniously.

About Covid-19

A word on Covid-19. Quebec and other Canadian provinces have entered the second wave of the Covid-19 crisis. Let us protect one another and make sure that people do not resort to suicide. Losing one’s position is a terrible affliction, but this is a crisis and governments must help. People are afraid. My little area of Quebec is a pale yellow zone, but that will probably change. Quebec City, Québec’s capital, is the current epicentre of the pandemic in this province. However, it seems Covid-19 will not spare anyone. I’ve been indoors since early March. It isn’t good. Yet, I pity those who must go out. Let us help one another.

A few novels tell about the exodus and the many obstacles French Canadians had to face. These are:

  • La Terre paternelle (Patrice Lacombe; 1846) (novel: Canadiana.2)
  • Maria Chapdelaine (Louis Hémon; 1914) (novel: Canadiana.2)
  • Un Homme et son péché (Claude-Henri Grignon; 1933) (novel: Canadiana.2)
  • Trente Arpents (Ringuet; 1938) (novel: Canadiana.2)
  • Alexis de Tocqueville on Lower Canada (17 September 2018) (a related posts)
  • Lord Durham’s Report
  • Le curé Labelle
  • See Canadiana.2

I have written posts about all four novels. Besides, these are novels I have taught. As you know, my teaching-load was very wide: six areas. It was all but lethal. I also created language-lab components.

L’Appel du Nord by Jack Warwick (Érudit series)
Textes de l’Exode (David Hayne‘s article)
Le Développement des idéologies au Québec by Denis Monière (Érudit series)

Love to everyone 💕

Les Charbonniers de l’enfer chantent Le Combat de la Danaé

© Micheline Walker
22 Octobre 2020
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Maps of Canada

15 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, Canadian art

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Act of Union 1840, Confederation, Constitutional Act 1791, Maps of Canada, Present Day, Quebec Act 1774, Today, Tom Thomson

The Jack Pine, by Tom Thomson (1916)

1. The Quebec Act, 1774

New France fell to Britain in 1759 (Quebec City), 1760 (Montreal), and by virtue of the Treaty of Paris, 1763. The Quebec Act (1774) gave French-speaking Canadians a status that approximated the status of English-speaking Canadians. The Governor of Canada was Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester.

Afficher l’image source
The Quebec Act, 1774

2. The Constitutional Act, 1791

After the American Revolutionary War, the United Empire Loyalists moved to Canada. The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the large province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Most of the inhabitants of Upper Canada spoke English. In Lower Canada, the majority of Canadians were French-speaking (Canadiens). English-speaking newcomers also settled in Lower Canada. The Eastern Townships would be home to a large number of English-speaking Canadians. But many French-speaking Canadians felt Lower Canada was their land.

Both the citizens of Upper Canada and Lower Canada rebelled in 1837-1838. The Crown levied money from its British North American colonies.

The Constitutional Act, 1791

3. The Act of Union, 1840

Lord Durham investigated the Rebellions of 1837-1838. He recommended the union of the two Canadas. He hoped English-speaking Canadians would outnumber French-speaking Canadians.

Afficher l’image source
The Act of Union, 1840

4. Confederation Onwards

The Purchase of Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company transformed Canada into a large territory.

Afficher l’image source
Confederation, 1867 +

5. Canada, as it is

Map of Canada
Canada (2020)

Love to everyone 💕

© Micheline Walker
15 October 2020
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

A Birthday Dinner

26 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in 19th Century, Canada, Canadian Confederation

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Confederation, Federalism, Friendships, Nationalism

Micheline on John’s birthday, 22nd December 2019

I’m sending a photograph of me. It was taken by my friend John on his birthday which happens to be three days before Christmas. My dear friend Paulina and I drove to Magog to celebrate. We brought cake, wine and other goodies. But John insisted on cooking the meal, including his version of a French Canadian tourtière.

John has white hair, but mine is grey. We are ageing. Paulina’s is black.

As for my long absence from my blog, it was caused by a password catastrophe. My memory is not as good as it was, so passwords have become a major nuisance. I live alone, and no one else uses my computer. Would that I didn’t have to remember passwords!

Conclusion

I have been working on the Canadian Confederation, English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians are compatible cultures. Moreover, as immigrants arrived, members of the Orange Order were no longer be a majority. I believe, however, that a discussion of this matter belongs elsewhere. John’s birthday dinner was celebrated by three Canadians of different origins. These friendships are happy friendships, strong friendships.

Love to everyone 💕

Le Vent du Nord interprète Octobre 1837

© Micheline Walker
26 September 2020
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Sir Wilfrid Laurier: the Conciliator

15 Wednesday Jul 2020

Posted by michelinewalker in Canadian Confederation, Sir Wilfrid Laurier

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Compromise, Confederation, Ignace Bourget, Laurier-Greenway Agreement, Liberalism, Louis Riel, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, The House of Commons

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Courtesy Library and Archives Canada, C-001971
Photo by James Ashfield of Canadian artist Robert Harris’ 1884 painting, “Conference at Québec in 1864, to settle the basics of a union of the British North American Provinces”, also known as “The Fathers of Confederation”. The original painting was destroyed in the 1916 Parliament Buildings fire.
(Caption and Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

—ooo—

Upper and Lower Canada were seeking responsible government, or self-government, but French-speaking Canadians remember the Rebellions as a conflict between English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians, which it was not. Men were hanged or exiled, and victims were more numerous in Lower Canada than Upper Canada. So, French-speaking Quebecers were sadder. They had lost their motherland, and many were now sent to penal colonies. By and large, they accepted Confederation, but what role could they play?  Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1811-1919), the seventh Prime Minister of Canada, opposed Confederation:

Like the Liberals of Lower Canada, Laurier opposed Confederation, arguing both that the federal government would have too much power, and that French Canadians would be overwhelmed.

(See Sir Wilfrid Laurier, The Canadian Encyclopedia.)

John A. Macdonald, who remains a father of Confederation, was a member of the Orange Order, which was anti-French and anti-Catholic. Consequently, Confederation excluded Quebec, but Confederation was a fait accompli.

He also decided, like many other Liberals, to accept Confederation as a fait accompli and to work within the new system. In 1874, he resigned his provincial seat and ran for election to the House of Commons of Canada.

(See Sir Wilfrid Laurier, The Canadian Encyclopedia.)

The Crown located the capital city of the new Dominion of Canada on the border between Ontario and Quebec, which pleased Sir George-Étienne Cartier. Nothing prevented Québécois from running for office and being elected to the House of Commons.

Le Patriote (Le vieux de 37) Henri Julien, via Wikimedia Commons, Henri Julien, [libre de droit]s, 1904.

The House of Commons

Federalist Québécois could not undo the Conquest, nor could they walk back the hurried arrival of United Empire Loyalists. But they could bring to confederation the liberalism of Quebec’s Institut canadien. At the time of Confederation, Orangemen arrived at the Red River bearing arms and demanding their due, which caused the Red River Rebellion. This time, the conflict did oppose English-speaking settlers and the people whose land they were taking: French-speaking and English-speaking Métis, Amerindians, and other inhabitants of the Red River Colony.

At first, a radical, Wilfrid Laurier adopted moderate liberalism, but he served in Quebec before being elected to the House of Commons where French-speaking and federalist Canadians could play a vital role. In 1861, Laurier was elected to Quebec’s Assemblée nationale, the member from Drummond-Arthabaska. But, in 1874, he resigned from his position and ran for office at the federal level. Quebec could play a role in Confederation in the House of Commons. What Sir Wilfrid Laurier would take to Ottawa were his liberalism and his wish to promote national unity.  Sir Wilfrid Laurier was elected to the House of Commons in 1874 and lived in Ottawa for an uninterrupted 45 years. (See Sir Wilfrid Laurier, The Canadian Encyclopedia.) Born in St-Lin, Quebec (1911), he died in Ottawa in 1919. I am inserting a video of his state funeral. He had always been frail, chronic bronchitis, but he died of a heart attack.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier was alarmed when Manitoba abolished the dual school system Louis Riel advocated as a right. Canada was as John A. Macdonald’s Conservative-Liberal government wanted it: an Orangist and English-language country, or a Church-and-State government, resembling ultramontanisme. Yet, Laurier signed the Laurier-Greenway Agreement. His ability to find and accept compromises characterizes the Laurier years, as a member of Parliament, Prime Minister, and Leader of the Opposition. So, although he may appear a traitor to Louis Riel and to Canadian minorities, could Laurier fully support Louis Riel during his first year as Prime Minister of Canada?

In 1905, Sir Wilfrid negotiated the entry into Confederation of two western provinces: Saskatchewan and Alberta. In fact, during the Laurier years, Canada welcomed two million inhabitants. They spoke in many tongues and practiced different religions. Could the Laurier-Greenway Agreement be merely temporary? Despite his own convictions and respect for Louis Riel, Sir Wilfrid Laurier honoured the Laurier-Greenway Agreement.

I am branded in Québec as a traitor to the French, and in Ontario as a traitor to the English. In Québec I am branded as a jingo, and in Ontario as a separatist.… I am neither. I am a Canadian. Canada has been the inspiration of my life. I have had before me as a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day a policy of true Canadianism, of moderation, of conciliation.

(Sir Wilfrid Laurier, The Canadian Encyclopedia.)

Sir Wilfrid Laurier made mistakes, as did other Canadian leaders, but he remains one of Canada’s “monarchs.” He took Quebec to the House of Commons, where Quebec would have a voice and contribute leaders to Canada.

The State Funeral of the Late Right Honourable Sir Wilfrid Laurier (Canadian Encyclopedia)
Pierre Elliot Trudeau,
(photographie de Yousuf Karsh)

© Micheline Walker
15 July 2020
WordPress

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Canada’s Honourable Allan J. MacEachen: Nationhood and Leadership

03 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Allan J. MacEachen, Canada's Medical Care Act, Confederation, Margaret's Museum, President Bill Clinton, Sheldon Currie, the Coady International Institute, Universal health care

Allan J. MacEachen

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.

p16836_d_v8_aa

© Micheline Walker
12 August 2011
updated 3 July 2017
WordPress

 

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

La Saint-Jean-Baptiste & Canada Day

06 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, History, Rebellions

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Alexis de Tocqueville, Bilingualism, Canada's National Day, Confederation, democracy, Insurrections of 1837-1838, Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Responsible Government, Robert Baldwyn, Wiliam Mackenzie King

Mackenzie House 2012 (photo © by James Marsh).
Mackenzie House 2012 (photo © by James Marsh).

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-Baptiste Day, 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)

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 Seven Years’ 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-Pierre et 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.

(Courtesy The Canadian Encyclopedia)
(Charles William Jefferys)

(Photo credit: Wikipedia [2])

William Lyon Mackenzie
William Lyon Mackenzie
Toronto Marching down Yonge Street
Toronto Marching down Yonge Street

Battle of Saint-Denis, Quebec
Battle of Saint-Denis, Quebec
Battle of Saint-Eustache (Quebec)
Battle of Saint-Eustache (Quebec)

Twin Rebellions

  • similar motivation
  • Mackenzie and Papineau as allies
  • patriots and  patriotes

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 Canadian Encyclopedia.)

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

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 Report John Lambton, 1st Earl 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 in  both 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 1841 created 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-Lajoie wrote 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.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Baldwin and Lafontaine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Robert Baldwyn and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine

  • Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
  • ‘Assimilation’ cancelled (1842)
  • the 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 Robert Baldwin 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 Act to 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 of 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. ♥

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Alexis de Tocqueville on Lower Canada (01 January 2014)←
  • Three Conferences, Confederation and now: Civil Unrest (27 May 2012)
  • From Coast to Coast: The Iron Horse, Part 2 (25 May 2012)
  • From Coast to Coast: The Iron Horse, Part 1 (24 May 2012) (the railroad)
  • From Coast to Coast: Louis Riel as a Father of Confederation (22 May 2012)
  • From Coast to Coast: the Fenian Raids (20 May 2012)
  • From Coast to Coast: the Oregon Country (18 May 2012)
  • Parliament to the Rescue: the Hidden Resource (28 April 2012)←
  • La Capricieuse & Crémazie’s Old Soldier (25 April 2012)
  • The Rebellion in Upper Canada: Wikipedia’s Gallery (24 April 2012)
  • The Act of Union: the Aftermath (24 April 2012)
  • The Act of Union 1840-41 (15 April 2012)
  • Upper & Lower Canada (12 April 2012)
  • See Canadiana Pages

____________________

[1] See Lower Canada Rebellion, Wikipedia.
[2] Ibid.

Canada’s National Anthems

images7NTB48LO

© Micheline Walker
5 July 2015
(revised 6 July 2015)
WordPress

45.403816
-71.938314

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

From Coast to Coast: The Iron Horse, Part 2

25 Friday May 2012

Posted by michelinewalker in Canada, History

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

British Columbia, Canada, Canadian Pacific Railway, Confederation, CPR, Rogers Pass, William Cornelius Van Horne

 
Horse and Train, by Alex Colville
1954
glazed tempera
Gift of Dominion Foundries and Steel Limited
Collection of the Art Gallery of Hamilton
 

Roy Campbell, (2 October 1901 – 22 April 1957) was an Anglo-African poet and satirist. (Wikipedia)

Against a regiment I oppose a brain and a dark horse against an armoured train.

When British Columbia entered into Confederation, on 20 July 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.

Albert Bowman Rogers

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.

Blackfoot chief Crowfoot and Father Lacombe

There were other obstacles. For instance, the train would pass through land controlled by the Blackfoot First 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.

The Kicking Horse River

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.

William Cornelius Van Horne

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.” (Canadian Pacific Railway, Wikipedia,)

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].

 
 
You will need this list when you watch the first video:

  • 1871.  British Columbia enters into Confederation conditionally.  The Dominion of Canada will have to build a railway within ten years.
  • Sir J. A. MacDonald awards the contract to Sir Hugh Allan, in exchange for campain contributions.  That event is remembered as the Pacific Scandal.  MacDonald resigned.
  • 1873.  Alexander Mackenzie is elected prime Minister, but neglects the railway.
  • 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. 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 and eastern Canadians could travel westward.  A Mari usque ad Mare.

_________________________
[i] See Dates Provinces and Territories Entered Canadian Confederation

[ii] Report of the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration (report and evidence).

[iii] Timeline History of Canadian Pacific Railway:  http://www.kohlin.com/soo/cpr-hist.htm

Videos & a song:
–Canadian Pacific Railway
–Canada’s Canyon
–The “Big Hill” Climb
–CPR Spiral Tunnel
–GordonCanadian  Lightfoot – Railroad Trilogy (Lyrics )

© Micheline Walker
25 May 2012
WordPress
 
 
 
0.000000
0.000000

Micheline's Blog

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Europa

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 2,476 other followers

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Language Laws in Quebec: Bill 96
  • From the Rurik Dynasty to the first Romanov
  • Uvalde: Analysis Paralysis
  • The Second Amendment to the American Constitution: a Misunderstanding
  • The Rurikid Princes & the Tsardom of Russia
  • The Decline of Kievan Rus’
  • Ilya Repin, Ivan IV and his son Ivan on 16 November 1581, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
  • Ukraine’s Varangian Princes, its Primary Chronicle, the Russkaya Pravda …
  • Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a Cossack Hetman
  • Ruthenia vs Ukraine

Archives

Calendar

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May    

Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • WordPress.org

micheline.walker@videotron.ca

Micheline Walker

Micheline Walker

Social

Social

  • View belaud44’s profile on Facebook
  • View Follow @mouchette_02’s profile on Twitter
  • View Micheline Walker’s profile on LinkedIn
  • View belaud44’s profile on YouTube
  • View Miicheline Walker’s profile on Google+
  • View michelinewalker’s profile on WordPress.org

Micheline Walker

Micheline Walker
Follow Micheline's Blog on WordPress.com

A WordPress.com Website.

  • Follow Following
    • Micheline's Blog
    • Join 2,476 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Micheline's Blog
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: