Western Canada Flashcards
Prior to 2014 how did western canada prosper
high economic and population growth
Post 2014 how were each province effected
alb and sask faced difficult economic times and Man continued slow steady growth
what are the two challenges posed by Western canada’s geographic location?
1) The region’s dry continental climate makes farming riskier than other regions
2) Their position in north america makes distance to world markets too long which hurts the region’s resource development
How has the fuel business been effected
shift away from fossil fuels and introduction of carbon taxes.
What are the four physiographic regions of western can
interior plains
canadian sheild
cordillera and hudson Bay (small parts)
where is vegetation varied
north-south zones
where are arid conditions found
the dry belt (Alberta)
where is most petroleum found
The Western Sedimentary Basin (most of alberta)
where is the “athabasca tar sands” and what are they
in north eastern Alberta and they are huge petroleum reserves
why is this region dry
1) distance from Pacific
2) the orographic uplift of winds over rockies causes these winds to lose percipitation
chinooks and alberta clippers
chinook= dry warm
alberta clippers= strong frigid winds (blizzard conditions)
what are the threats of oil sands extraction
release of greenhouse gases
scarred landscape (open pit mining)
resource and energy draining (seperation of oil from bitumen)
draining of toxic waste into huge tailing ponds.
how does arid climate impact environment
causes dry spells and droughts because of temp unpredictability
example : Fire of Fort McMurray 2016
Ruperts Land
all land draining into Hudson Bay
Non native history dated back to when
the fur trading days, early days of HBC ( beginning of 1670) HBC used western canada for 200 years
Red River Settlement
formed by selkirk (scots nobleman) for scots who were “evicted” the climate was so harsh many gave up and moved to upper canada and the states
Later settled by Metis who focused on subsistence farming and buffalo hunting
why did plains indians sign treaties
because the buffalo were practically extinct and Ottawa planned to settle the area so Plain indians had to live on reserves
- Metis formed red river that was remote from Canada
Explain the concession of 1869 in the red river region
Ottawa “allowed” the metis to have control along with french was respected the catholic church had a place and they had ownership of land
In 1885 they took it away by sending troops forcing riel and his rebels to flee and settlers came in and change the demographic
Riel was hanged for treason
when were western lands ceded to canada by british
1870
Homesteader
a settler who obtained land in western canada, quatre sections were available as homesteads under the federal governments plan known as the Dominion Lands Act (1872) where a settler paid $10 for the quarter section
Why was the CPR founded and what did it obtain
Britain was worried lack of train system would allow americans to take over west they wanted to unite the country from coast to coast
it secured the red rever valley
allowed settlement of prairies
granted access to major grain markets in europe
How has technology made prairie growing conditions more productive
plant breeding and biotechnology
horizontal drilling
carbon capture and storage
what determines the types of crops grown
prices
what are critical trends in agriculture in western canada
- fewer, older and larger farms
- biotechnology
- demise of rural towns
- marketing of grain farmers following demise of canadian wheat board
