Formation of the Canadian Confederation

Many of the resources below were originally collected to support the LEARN LES on Confederation
"Students begin by reflecting on the way economic transformations and political changes affect their environment.  After reviewing documents and films on early Industrialization in Canada and the economic, social and political context for Confederation, students form hypotheses around the problem posed in guiding question:  Were transformations during the time of Confederation beneficial to the environment?

Of course, these resources could support other learning approaches as well.

Resources:

General Information Sites:

Political Realities:  Political Organizations and Relationships

A New Territory

(Map resources, Treaties, Routes, etc.)

Map of Province of Canada and colonies prior to Confederation:
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-5004-e.html
or   http://www.canadiana.ca/citm/themes/constitution/constitution11_e.html#actofunion

Historical Maps of Canada 1867, from  timeline of maps from Canadian Geographic.  Describes boundary changes due to Confederation, with opportunity to compare previous and following dates on a convenient timeline.

CanadaInfo:  Territorial Evolution of Canada
10 maps including before and after Confederation.  Easily printed page.
Collections Canada Maps from 1667-1999.  (Français).  The above collection of maps was probably taken from this original collection. 
 

Map of Canada after Confederation
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-5005-e.html  
“So Canada became a separate country in 1867. It was a confederation of four provinces: the two older ones,   Nova Scotia  and   New Brunswick , and the new ones,   Ontario and   Quebec. They all kept the boundaries they had before Confederation, except that what used to be the province of Canada was divided into the new provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The boundary between these two new provinces followed the one which had existed between Upper and Lower Canada”
Source:   http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/1867/1  

Railways & Immigration in Canada
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ssric/index.html?launch=true

Animated gif for progression of territorial changes from Wikipedia Commons.  
Image page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canada_provinces_evolution.gif 
Larger version http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Canada_provinces_evolution.gif   
It has also been used as a Qwiki entry here:   http://www.qwiki.com/q/#!/Territorial_evolution_of_Canada 

Alternative animations of territorial change:
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/territorial_animation.gif/image_view   from bottom of  http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/historical/territorialevolution/ 

Biographies and Conferences links

McCord Fathers of Confederation Game
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/games/jeu5/

Economics and Industrial Development

(Industrial revolution, capitalism, trade)

Several resources are presently being organized here http://www.lignedutemps.qc.ca/t36665/  in the form of links inside event descriptions on the RECITUS Timeline site.  (under construction)

• 1859 - Victoria Bridge opens.  See also the Mccord Victoria Bridge presentation.
• 1860 - Grand Trunk railway opens  
• 1867 - CIBC opens
• 1854 - Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty
• Contributes to economic development, separation from Britain
• 1866 - Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty
• End of treaty worries Canadians, partly because US angry that Britain helped south in Civil War.  Helps create a confederation scenario eventually leading to National Policy.
• 1869 - Hudson's Bay Company surrenders territorial rights to Rupert's Land to the Crown
• 1871 - Mail-order catalogues increase economic connections to other countries
• 1872  Intercolonial Railway
• Completely owned and controlled by the federal government, the Intercolonial was also one of Canada's first Crown corporations. Became part of CN eventually.
• 1879 - National Policy  Tarrifs to protect manufacturing base.
• 1881 Canadian Pacific Railway
• 1885 Last Spike finishes the Canadian Pacific Railway 
• See also Mike's Railway History page on The  Conquest of Canada for picks, stories and a readable rendition of the whole adventure.

Urbanization, Working and Living Conditions

Cultural References

Elsewhere