Unit 1: 1867-1885 Expansion and Settler Colonialism Flashcards
Final Exam (Post-Confederation)
1873-1878: Reform Party (Liberal Party) under PM Alexander MacKenzie
3 Kinds of Reform Introduced
(1) Political Reform
(2) Military Reform
(3) Economic Reform
1873-1878: Reform Party (Liberal Party) under PM Alexander MacKenzie
Political Reform
- Introduces the secret ballot
- All elections must happen on the same day
- Closed taverns on election day to stop locals from gathering, getting them hammered and taking them to vote
- Expand the franchise
- Extend the federal vote to all non-Indigenous males
(Note: history does not move in one progressive direction
Women who owned property were allowed to vote, but now they are not. Race and gender are emphasized over class.) - Get rid of dual representation (politicians were able to hold a seat in both provincial and federal government, now they can only be one).
1873-1878: Reform Party (Liberal Party) under PM Alexander MacKenzie
Military Reform
- Sets up a national military college in Kingston
- Autonomy (a position that liberal party plans to take if Britain goes to war, but conservative party thought that Canada should just pay Britain to support their way)
- Imperial Question: What should Canada’s role be in the British military?
1873-1878: Reform Party (Liberal Party) under PM Alexander MacKenzie
Economic Reform
MacKenzie government institutes some economic reforms, but Canada enters a recession and those reforms are impacted by the economy
- Canada relies on the old, single, natural resource staples (fish, furs, timber, and now wheat); we rely on one single industrial resource
- And thus, our economy rises and falls based on that staple
Why does the Liberal Party under Mackenzie King lose to John A. Macdonald in 1878 after 5 years in office?
- Even by the end of their term in government, the liberals are still a divided party and the major division is coming out of Quebec
- Liberals had a very hard time getting anywhere in Quebec
- Quebec is dominated by the Catholic Church, which is fundamentally conservative, and so they reject change and progress
- Quebec likes British Imperialism
- Liberalism in the European context means secularism and republicanism; it lead to the French throne being beheaded
- They view liberalism as dangerous because it is tied to revolutionism
Election of 1878
John A. Macdonald gets back in power after Mackenzie, and continues his plan from when the Pacific Scandal hit.
1878: The Planks of the National Policy (Tariffs, Railways, Immigration)
(1) Tariffs
High tariffs to protect canadian industries from competition; tariffs were immediately raised to 25-30%.
(2) Railway
Building of the TransContinental Railway is his main focus, Liberals put it on the back burner, but conservatives make it their main focus.
(3) Immigration
1878: The Planks of the National Policy (Tariffs, Railways, Immigration)
Tariffs
- Tariffs mean protectionism
- John A. Macdonald would rather have a free trade agreement with the US
- The 10 year Reciprocity Treaty from the 50s and 60s became associated with prosperity because there was a huge boom (it ended though because Canada did not side with the US during the civil war)
- Under Macdonald, Canada raised tariffs against US and lifted them against Britain
- Canada had preferential tariffs to Britain
- Macdonald does this to protect the manufacturers
This tariff is going to become the heart of Canadian economy and politics for decades after, because depending on which region of the country you are in will determine how it impacts you.The tariff means nothing for agriculture and for farmers because farmers sell their crops on the international market. Instead, it hurts farmers because everything they purchase is more expensive. During this time, the West was becoming heavily agricultural based and so these tariffs only benefit central Ontario. Farmers in Western Ontario are angered and view the tariff as an injustice against them,
- The tariff is a regional policy
- It becomes one of the defining elements of the conservative party of Canada
- To be a conservative at this time means being a protectionist, and believing in high tariffs
- To be a liberal at this time is to believe in free trade
- A fundamental difference on a fundamental economic issue
1878: The Planks of the National Policy (Tariffs, Railways, Immigration)
Railway
CPR Company (Canadian Pacific Railway Company): Macdonald takes the Toronto bid and the Manitoba bid and combines them to form one company, and gives them one contract to build the railway from coast to coast by 1891.
Most of the focus is on building the railway
- The CPR will not have to pay taxes and tariffs
- They are given $25 million in funding and 25 acres of land (in Western Canada) to sell for profit
- They are given 12 000 km in pieces of track that have already been built
- The most controversial thing given to the CPR is the monopoly cause; they have no competition for 20 years, and are the only company
The CPR becomes hated, and opposed heavily in Western Canada
- Hugh Allen leads the building of this national project
- Once this project is handed to Allen, the big question is what the route will be
- We now call this route the Yellowhead route
- There are two ways to travel across Canada: the Trans Canada Highway and the Yellowhead Route Railway
- CPR goes through the prairies, but its original route was to go through the Yellowhead
- They make this change at the last minute
- The intention is to stop the problem of Canadians using American lines and crossing the border
- If it was built north as originally planned, farmers would have used the American lines to trade, but the further south railway forces them to trade in Canada
1878: The Planks of the National Policy (Tariffs, Railways, Immigration)
Immigration
Surveyors are heading West again
- Chinese labour: 17 000
- Chinese men are allowed into the country to build the CPR and they are given the most dangerous jobs (exploding the rockies and lake superior with dynamite)
- 1 Chinese man died for every mile of the CPR
- Many are seen as sojourners, because they are not allowed to bring their families, since the government does not want them to stay
- The government does not want Chinese immigrants, only white immigrants
- Chinese are brought to do the work, and then sent home
March 26 1885: Death of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
- Despite all the incentives given to the CPR, the CPR is in constant financial troubles
- There is no profit coming in since no one is using the CPR yet
- By the summer of 1883, the CPR is asking the federal government of Macdonald for an additional $23 million to finish the railway (a year’s budget for the federal government)
- This bankrupts the country
March 26 1885: CPR is on its deathbed, Hugh Allen says the railway will not be built. Within weeks, a rebellion has broken out in Saskatchewan. Louis Riel is back, and the Metis are rebelling because Macdonald is sending surveyors into Saskatchewan and is ignoring their petitions to stop.
What lead to the railway being finished in 1 year after its “death”?
The North West Rebellion of 1885: “The Riel Rebellion”
November 1885: Railway is completed (6 years before it had planned to be finished).
Conspiracy Theory: Some historians argue that this entire rebellion and allowing it to unfold was a manipulation of John A. Macdonald because it results in the railway being finished in this exact year
The North West Rebellion of 1885: “The Riel Rebellion”
1884: surveyors are showing up in Saskatchewan around Prince Albert
The execution of Thomas Scott during the 1870 Resistance caused Riel to be labeled a murderer and to be banished (he flees to Montana despite that he is elected MP of Manitoba)
Megalomania: delusions of grandeur
Louis Riel now thinks that he is a prophet of God, and that the Vatican should be moved
What lead to the formation of the RCMP (NWMP)
Cypress Hills Massacre
- Cypress Hills: an ancient, sacred sanctuary for FNs
- A group of Assiniboine people were in this area when a group of American wolf hunters came to the land and wipe out the camp looking for thieves who they believed stole horses
- This event showed the Canadian government that they needed a police force to protect the Canadian government
- From this begins the mythological juxtaposition between Canadian law and order versus American law and order
- The RCMP end up having a remarkable reputation around the world, because they do a remarkable job of protecting the border and building a strong relationship with FNs
- Their other job is to ensure the treaties are carried out, and so they bring rations to the starving FNs
That is the fundamental difference from the 1870 Resistance
What lead to the North West Rebellion of 1885
“The Riel Rebellion”
1884: John A. Macdonald is sending surveyors to Saskatchewan around Prince Albert and ignoring the Metis petitions to stop.
The execution of Thomas Scott during the 1870 Resistance caused Riel to be labeled a murderer and to be banished (he flees to Montana despite that he is elected MP of Manitoba)
- The mountain Metis travel down south to Montana to ask Riel to come back because the surveyors are there
- Riel: “I knew you were coming. I had a dream that you were coming. I am now Louis David Riel, and I am a prophet of God. Saskatchewan will become the new Vatican.”
- Riel has spent time in an insane asylum during these 15 years, and his religious views have changed him to view himself as a prophet to and through whom God speaks
- They are trying to follow the exact same path as Manitoba, since it worked well
But the circumstances are different now…
