The Beginning of Democracy Flashcards
The first representative assembly
Elected in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1758. Prince Edward Island followed in 1773, New Brunswick in 1785.
Importance of the Constitutional Act of 1791
Divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada (later Ontario), which was mainly Loyalist, Protestant and English-speaking, and Lower Canada (later Quebec), heavily Catholic and French-speaking. The Act also granted to the Canadas, for the first time, legislative assemblies elected by the people. The name Canada also became official at this time and has been used ever since.
What was known as British North America?
The Atlantic colonies and the two Canadas were known collectively as British North America.
When and which province started movement to abolish slavery in Canada/the Empire?
In 1793, Upper Canada, led by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe (also found Toronto/City of York), a Loyalist military officer, became the first province in the Empire to move toward abolition. In 1807, the British Parliament prohibited the buying and selling of slaves, and in 1833 abolished slavery throughout the Empire.
What is meant by “the North Star”
Thousands of slaves escaped from the United States, followed “the North Star” and settled in Canada via the Underground Railroad, a Christian anti-slavery network.
When did the Montreal Stock Exchange open
1832
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
Activist in the movement to abolish slavery. In 1853 she became the first woman publisher in Canada.
Who fought against US invasion in 1812?
Canadian volunteers and First Nations, including Shawnee led by Chief Tecumseh, supported British soldiers in Canada’s defence.
Retaliation to Americans burning Government House and the Parliament Buildings in York (now Toronto) in 1813.
In 1814, Major-General Robert Ross led an expedition from Nova Scotia that burned down the White House and other public buildings in Washington, D.C. Ross died in battle soon afterwards and was buried in Halifax with full military honours.
Significance of Duke of Wellington (2 things)
1) The Duke of Wellington sent some of his best soldiers to defend Canada in 1814.
2) He then chose Bytown (Ottawa, thus founding it) as the endpoint of the Rideau Canal, part of a network of forts to prevent the U.S.A. from invading Canada again.
Name several Fathers of Confederation
1) Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché
2) Sir George-Étienne Cartier
3) Sir John A. Macdonald
4) Sir Leonard Tilley
The first British North American colony to attain full responsible government
Nova Scotia in 1847–48.
In 1848–49 the governor of United Canada, Lord Elgin, with encouragement from London, introduced responsible government in Canada.
Who assigned Canada’s national colours (white and red)?
King George V in 1921
Importance of Sir Leonard Tilley, an elected official and Father of Confederation from New Brunswick
Suggested the term Dominion of Canada in 1864. He was inspired by Psalm 72 in the Bible which refers to “dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.” This phrase embodied the vision of building a powerful, united, wealthy and free country that spanned a continent. The title was written into the Constitution, was used officially for about 100 years, and remains part of our heritage today.
Order in which provinces and territotries joined Canada - Expansion of the Dominion
1867 - Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick 1870 - Manitoba, Northwest Territories 1871 - British Columbia 1873 - Prince Edward Island 1880 - Transfer of the Arctic Islands (to N.W.T.) 1898 - Yukon Territory 1905 - Alberta, Saskatchewan 1949 - Newfoundland and Labrador 1999 - Nunavut
Canada’s first Prime Minister.
In 1867, Sir John Alexander Macdonald, a Father of Confederation.
Parliament has recognized January 11 as Sir John A. Macdonald Day. His portrait is on the $10 bill.
Importance of Louis Riel
1) Led an armed Metis uprising and seized Fort Garry (currently Manitoba), the territorial capital.
2) Defender of Métis rights and the father of Manitoba.
When did Prime Minister Macdonald established the North West Mounted Police (NWMP)?
In 1873 to pacify the West and assist in negotiations with the Indians.
first French- Canadian prime minister since Confederation
Sir Wilfrid Laurier
- encouraged immigration to the West
- is on the $5 bill.
Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914
- When Germany attacked Belgium and France in 1914 and Britain declared war, Ottawa formed the Canadian Expeditionary Force (later the Canadian Corps).
- More than 600,000 Canadians served in the war, most of them volunteers, out of a total population of eight million.
- 60,000 Canadians were killed and 170,000 wounded.
April 9 is celebrated as Vimy Day.
The Canadian Corps captured Vimy Ridge in April 1917, with 10,000 killed or wounded, securing the Canadians’ reputation for valour as the “shock troops of the British Empire.”
- the first British victory of the First World War
Importance of General Sir Arthur Currie, Canada’s greatest soldier.
In 1918, under his command the Canadian Corps advanced alongside the French and British Empire troops in the last hundred days. These included the victorious Battle of Amiens on August 8, 1918–which the Germans called “the black day of the German Army”–followed by Arras, Canal du Nord, Cambrai and Mons.
Agnes Macphail
a farmer and teacher, became the first woman MP in 1921
Dr. Emily Stowe
1) Founder of the women’s suffrage movement in Canada
2) First Canadian woman to practise medicine in Canada
first province to grant voting rights to women.
Manitoba in 1916
When most of women got the right to vote in Canadian federal elections?
1918, Aged 21 +
When did Quebec granted women the vote?
In 1940
What does Remembrance Day on Nov 11 celebrate?
Canadians remember the sacrifices of our veterans and brave fallen in all wars up to the present day in which Canadians took part.
Canadian medical officer Lieutenant- Colonel John McCrae composed the poem “In Flanders Fields” in 1915; it is often recited on Remembrance Day.
As part of the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Which area did Canadian troops capture?
Juno Beach
Canada’s Contribution to the 2nd World War?
1) took part in the liberation of Italy in 1943–4
2) Approximately one in ten Allied soldiers on D-Day was Canadian.
3) liberated the Netherlands in 1944–45
4) More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders (Newfoundland was a separate British entity) served and 44,000 were killed.
5) Canada contributed more to the Allied air effort than any other Commonwealth country, with over 130,000 Allied air crew trained in Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
6) The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) protected convoys of merchant ships against German submarines. Canada’s Merchant Navy helped to feed, clothe and resupply Britain.
Main Social Assistance Programs
- The Canada Health Act ensures common elements and a basic standard of coverage.
- Unemployment insurance (aka “employment insurance”) was introduced by the federal government in 1940.
- Old Age Security was devised as early as 1927, and the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans in 1965.
- Publicly funded education is provided by the provinces and territories.
Key elements of Quiet Revolution
1) In 1963 Parliament established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.
2) This led to the Official Languages Act (1969), which guarantees French and English services in the federal government across Canada.
3) In 1970, Canada helped found La Francophonie, an international association of French-speaking countries.
Referendums for Quebec Independence
Defeated in 1980 and 1995
Last minotiry to gain voting rights?
1) In 1948 the last of these, the Japanese- Canadians, gained the right to vote.
2) Aboriginal people were granted the vote in 1960.
When was Group of Seven founded
1920
Who and when invented basketball?
James Naismith in 1891
9 GREAT CANADIAN DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS
1) Alexander Graham Bell — the telephone.
2) Joseph-Armand Bombardier — the snowmobile.
3) Sir Sandford Fleming — time zones.
4) Matthew Evans and Henry Woodward — the first electric light bulb.
5) Reginald Fessenden — contributed to the invention of radio, sending the first wireless voice message in the world.
6) Dr. Wilder Penfield — was a pioneering brain surgeon at McGill (“the greatest living Canadian.”)
7) Dr. John A. Hopps — cardiac pacemaker.
8) SPAR Aerospace / National Research Council — invented the Canadarm, a robotic arm used in outer space.
9) Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie — of Research in Motion (RIM) — the BlackBerry.
Three key facts about Canada’s system of government
1) federal state (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments)
2) parliamentary democracy (the people elect members to the House of Commons in Ottawa and to the provincial and territorial legislatures)
3) constitutional monarchy
When and in which document the responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments were defined?
In 1867 in the British North America Act, now known as the Constitution Act of 1867.
Three parts of the parliamant
1) the Sovereign (Queen or King)
2) the Senate
3) the House of Commons.
Provincial legislatures comprise the Lieutenant Governor and the elected Assembly.
How Senators are appointed?
Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and serve until age 75.
How bill becomes a law - The Legislative Process?
1) first Reading – The bill is considered read for the first time and is printed.
2) Second Reading – Members debate the bill’s principle.
3) Committee Stage – Committee members study the bill clause by clause.
4) Report Stage – Members can make other amendments.
5) Third Reading – Members debate and vote on the bill.
6) Senate – The bill follows a similar process in the Senate.
7) Royal Assent – The bill receives royal assent after being passed by both Houses.
How the members of the legislature are called?
- members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)
- members of the National Assembly (MNAs)
- members of the Provincial Parliament (MPPs)
- members of the House of Assembly (MHAs)
depending on the province or territory
When are federal elections held?
1) on the third Monday in October every four years following the most recent general election.
2) The Prime Minister may ask the Governor General to call an earlier election.
