Chapter 9: Growth in the West

Social Studies 7

Page 194

Natural Resources• Natural Resources: the parts of nature that

people can use; including: fish, land, trees, furs, water, oil and minerals

• They can be used to meet basic needs (food, clothing, shelter)

• They affect where people choose to live • They affect what types of jobs people have

Natural Resources in the 21st Century

• Page 195 map

Securing the Land

• Canada wanted to control the land in the west before Americans invaded & took control

• Remember: Canada bought Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company (in 1869) – this land became the North West Territories

• Before the North West Territories could be settled – the government had to gain control of the land

• To gain control of the land, the government:– Signed treaties with First Nations peoples– Marked the Canada – USA border – Sent a new police force: the North West Mounted

Police – to the west • The North West Mounted Police were

supposed to make the land safe for the newcomers

Did you know...During the 1800s – the land in western USA was called the “Wild West” because there were no laws & no police. It was a very dangerous time and a dangerous place… Canada did not want this to happen to the North West Territories

Marking the Border• The 49th parallel (running west from the Great

Lakes) is the border between Canada & the USA!• In 1870s – American & British surveyors marked

the border (with the help of Metis guides)• Surveyors measured the land:– They planted an iron post every 1.6 km – At approximately every 5km they built a low mound

of dirt• These markings showed the exact limit of

Canada’s territory

Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan

• Before the Northwest Mounted Police & new settlers – Cree, Nakoda, and Siksika (First Nations) came to Cypress Hills, Sask. during the winter, to hunt animals

• Eventually, Metis hunters & traders also moved out to Cypress Hills

Trouble in “Whoop-Up Country”

• During 1860s Cypress Hills became known as “Whoop-Up Country” because of the whiskey traders who came to Canada from USA to trade liquor for furs & buffalo robes

• Selling liquor was illegal BUT there were no police around to enforce the law

• American Wolf hunters (called Wolfers) also came to Whoop-Up Country to hunt wolves

• When buffalo died – wolves fed on their bodies (carcasses)

• Wolfers would put poison in the dead buffalo• Wolves eat the poisoned meat & die – then

wolfers collect the wolf pelts (skins and furs)

• Problem: dogs belonging to local First Nations people also ate the poisoned meat and died

• Some First Nations got back at Wolfers by stealing their horses

• This led to conflict between Wolfers and First Nations people

Creating a Police Force• Prime Minister: John A. Macdonald & his

government created the North West Mounted Police because they were worried about violence / trouble in Whoop-Up country

• The North West Mounted Police would:– Show USA that Canada controlled the land– Protect First Nations from American outlaws – Help newcomers adjust to life on the frontier – Keep peace between First Nations and newcomers

Cypress Hills Massacre• June 1, 1873 – there was a conflict between First

Nations & American wolfers • The Nakoda people were camped near Farwell’s and

Solomon’s trading posts in Cypress Hills• A group of American wolfers thought that the Nakoda

had stolen their horses (they hadn’t but that didn’t matter to the wolfers)

• Wolfers ambushed / attacked Nakoda camp & murdered 36 men, women & children

• This event became known as the Cypress Hills Massacre• Prime Minister Macdonald was outraged – he made it a

priority to get NWMP to Cypress Hills As Soon As Possible!

The Great March West• July 1874 – 300 Mounted Police headed West in a

Caravan (with ox carts, horses and wagons)• This “Great March” soon became a disaster!

– Food supplies ran low– Horses died due to lack of water– They (the expedition) got lost – local Metis guides rescued

them! • Finally the Police arrived safely• Some went south and established Fort Macleod (west

of present day Lethbridge & Fort Walsh in Cypress Hills• Others went North to Fort Edmonton & built a police

fort• Calgary also began as a police fort (Fort Brisebois)

The Role of the Mounted Police• The North West Mounted Police had one Major

Task: to make life in the territory peaceful • Officers were to make sure people obeyed laws• North West Mounted Police performed many tasks:– They cleared out whiskey traders– Arrested lawbreakers and put

them on trial– Delivered the mail– Fought grass fires & assisted

new farmers– Fought in the Second Metis

Uprising (1885)

Jerry Potts (1840 – 1896)

• North West Mounted Police needed lots of help from local guides & interpreters

• Jerry Potts was one of these people!

• Jerry Potts’ mom was a Kainai woman (First Nations) – his dad was a Scottish trader

• He grew up partly with his mom’s people & partly at a trading post in Montana

• He worked as a guide & interpreter but was also a skilled hunter & trapper

• Jerry Potts was very important to the North West Mounted Police because:– He seemed to know every trail & coulee (dry ravine)– He gave excellent advice about the Plains First

Nations– He took part in talks that led to the signing of many

treaties– He trained scouts who worked for the NWMP– He worked for the NWMP most of his life!

Think it through…

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The National Policy

• Prime Minister John A. Macdonald wanted a new policy (The National Policy) for Canada

• By 1878 the government had secured the land in the west – but in order to use the land (resource) effectively, Canada needed 3 things:– A transportation system to reach the land– A population to farm and harvest the land – An Economy to nurture the new resource industry

A Three-Pronged Policy

• The National Policy was made to achieve these 3 things…it was basically 3 policies in 11. A TRANSPORTATION POLICY – to build a railway

across the continent2. AN IMIGRATION POLICY – to encourage farmers

to move to and populate western Canada3. AN ECONOMIC POLICY- to build a strong

national economy for Canadians!

National Policy: #1 Transportation Policy• During 1870s, work began on the

transcontinental railway• Canada hoped if they built it – BC would join

Confederation (this would keep Americans out of West)

Challenges to Building a Railway in Canada:• Canada is a huge country (2nd largest land

mass in the WORLD!)• Railway had to cross 1000s of km of forests,

wilderness, and prairie grasslands• Swamps had to be filled• Rocks had to be blasted out of the way • Bridges had to be built across rivers

Finding the Best Route! • Surveyors had to find the best route • 1st they looked at a northerly route – it would

go Northwest from Winnipeg to Edmonton then cross the Rockies through the Yellowhead pass

• The route ended up running farther south – crossing the prairies to Calgary – then crossing the Rockies through Kicking Horse Pass

Advantages to the Southern Route:• Land was flatter with fewer trees (easier to build a

railroad)• Coal deposits near Lethbridge could provide fuel for

steam engines• Route was close to the border – most people would take

Canadian railway instead of American one • In the south, railway company controlled most of the land

& would keep the profit from its sale • Scientists reported that the southern prairies were well

suited for farming (they were wrong – but no one knew that)

Finding the Best Route!

Building the Line• A private company (CPR – Canadian Pacific Railway) built

the railway in stages • They raised money from investors (people who donated $

$$) and received government grants • On average – 1km of track cost half a million dollars

($500,000)• Work crews faced many challenges in each section of the

country: – During summer – mosquitoes & flies buzzed around – In winter they faced the bitter cold – Workers lived together in dark, smoky bunkhouses – They slept in piles of hay infested with fleas & rats– Their meals = salt pork, corned beef, molasses, beans & tea

Impact of the Railway

• Railway had a huge impact on the development of Canada – It brought many newcomers to the west – Linked Canada from east to west coast – Created new jobs, new towns, new industries – Made transportation of goods and people faster /

easier!

Canada’s First Chinese Immigrants• The Canadian Pacific Railway faced a shortage

of workers for the dangerous tasks • so they hired approximately 17 000 Chinese

workers to help build the railway in the mountains (1881 – 1885)

Conditions they faced…

• The Chinese workers were paid $1.50 per day (approx. half of what other workers were paid)

• They had to pay $4.00 per week for room & board• Their tents were flimsy, food was poor • Most weren’t prepared for the bitter cold conditions• They were earth movers – they hung from ropes and

chipped away at rock faces with chisels and hammers – they also laid dynamite to blast through rock

• Approximately 700 workers died: crushed in landslides, blown up by explosives, & lost in rivers when bridges collapsed – some died of scurvy and other diseases

Their Accomplishments…

• According to John A. Macdonald – “Without the Chinese, there would be no railway”

• Without the Chinese, the railway would have been too expensive!

• & Without the railway, Canada would not be connected from East to West!

Opinions about the Railway

Think it through…

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The National Policy: #2 Immigration Policy • Before newcomers arrived in the west – the

government surveyed the land:– Surveyors divided the land up into large chunks

called TOWNSHIPS– Each township was divided into 36 squares called

SECTIONS– Each section was divided into 4 QUARTER

SECTIONS (each quarter section = 64 hectares or 160 acres)

• Surveyors marked off each quarter section by driving iron stakes into the ground

• The whole North West Territories was measured this way

• The Government set aside 2 SECTIONS in each TOWNSHIP which were later sold to pay for schools

• Other sections belonged to the Hudson’s Bay Company

• Other sections went to the CPR to pay for building the railway

• Rest were open for new settlers

• 1872 – government passed the Dominion Lands Act • According to this act:

– any head of a family could apply for land (so could any male at least 21 years old)

– They would receive a quarter section of land called a HOMESTEAD (it cost $10)

– After 1882 women could apply too! • Each person who applied had to promise 3 things:

– To live on the land for at least 6 months of the year– To build a house – To start farming

• After 3 years the homesteader got to keep the land if he / she fulfilled these promises!

A Rough Life

• Life of a homesteading family was difficult• Most newcomers were poor, could not afford

to buy seed, farm tools, livestock, or materials to build houses and barns

• Crops would be ruined by grasshoppers, lack of rain, early frost, or hail

• Many newcomers gave up!

The First Newcomers: From Ontario

• Government = eager to attract newcomers to Northwest Territories so they put on a campaign to “sell” the west!

• Earliest newcomers came from Ontario (farmland was scarce there)

• In 1870s so many Ontarians moved to Manitoba (it got the nickname “New Ontario)

The Arrival of the Mennonites

• Mennonites do not believe in fighting wars BUT the Czar of Russia wanted them to serve in the army

• A Canadian immigration agent visited Russia & invited Mennonites to move to Canada

• Mennonites would be able to: – Practice their religion– Farm collectively (all together on a big farm)

• The first group took land southeast of Winnipeg

• Approximately 7000 Mennonites came to Canada

• They brought a heavy plough that was good at breaking the prairie sod

• They started about 100 communities in West

From Iceland to Canada

• Group of immigrant farmers also came from Iceland

• In March 1875, the Askja volcano in Iceland erupted – the falling volcanic ash poisoned the land & killed the cattle

• Many refugees from the disaster fled to Canada

• The government gave them approx. 800 square kilometres of land

• They had the freedom to speak their language, keep their customs, and were able to make their own laws

• The first group of 235 arrived in 1875 – they travelled to the shores of Lake Winnipeg

• They called their lands: New Iceland – their main community was Gimli (means “paradise”)

• BUT New Iceland = no paradise • Climate was harsh, floods forced colonists off

their land• Some starved to death & others died in a

smallpox epidemic • Many people left but some stayed • In 1881, Manitoba absorbed New Iceland • Some who left went to Alberta & settled near

Red Deer, in a community called Markerville

Farming and the First Nations

• When the First Nations signed treaties the government agreed to help them become farmers

• Treaties guaranteed: – Farm land for First Nations– Farm animals, tools, and seed

• Only some of these promises were fulfilled • First Nations welcomed machinery that would

help them farm • They appreciated learning farming skills (such as

making butter)

• Many promises were not fulfilled– Most land assigned to First Nations was not good

for farming – Much of the equipment they were promised was

not given to them – Instructors were supposed to teach farming skills,

but not many instructors came to help – First Nations farmers were often prevented from

buying farm machinery– Those who did farm successfully had a hard time

selling their crops • Many First Nations farmers gave up

Think it through

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The National Policy: #3 Economic Policy • The goal of the 3rd part of the National policy was

to build a strong economy • Farming in West & manufacturing in East were

crucial to the Canadian economy • The government wanted to build farming and other

industries – this would create jobs for Canadians!

DIVERSE ECONOMY – when a country has many types of industry. If one industry is suffering, the others can help make the country money!

American Competition

• One of the reasons why the colonies joined confederation was to increase trade with one another

• Creating the railway made this trade possible • Canadian manufacturers in the East had a huge problem • American businesses could produce goods in large

quantities • This kept their unit costs low (production costs) • So – American goods sold at a lower price than Canadian

goods • Canadian producers worried that Canadians would buy

the less expensive US goods – they were right!

The Solution: Protective Tariffs

• John A. Macdonald put a tariff on goods coming into Canada: a PROTECTIVE TARIFF

• PROTECTIVE TARIFF = a tax placed on a product crossing the border

• This tax adds to the cost of the product making the product more expensive

• The tariff made American goods more expensive than Canadian goods

• Macdonald hoped this would convince Canadians to buy goods made in Canada

American Competition & Protective

Tariffs

• Which of the arguments would each of the following individuals use? Why?– Ontario Plough Maker– Western Farmer– A worker in a Montreal clothing factory– Halifax fisherman

Viewpoints on the Protective Tariff

Impact(s) of the National Policy 1891

• Compare the top and bottom sections of the poster

• What does this poster say about life with the National Policy?

• What does this poster say about life without the National Policy?

• What is the main message of the poster?

• Would a Manufacturer from the East agree with the poster?

• Would a Farmer from the West agree with the poster?

Slow But Steady Progress• Changes in the North West Territories:– New arrivals from Europe and Eastern Canada were

farming the land – Grain began to replace furs as the chief export from

the west– Ploughed fields covered the prairies where buffalo

used to roam– The railway replaced the canoe and the Red River cart – Trading posts changed into busy business centres for

farms

• First Nations and Metis faced many problems:– Government neglected them / ignored them – Many newcomers were unfriendly

• BUT – they did their best to adapt to changes in their land

• By 1891, Manitoba and the North-West Territories had a population of 281 000 (more than double what it had been 10 years earlier)