Changing Societies in the West

How was the way of life of the First Nations people being threatened by immigrants? Brought in diseases, hunted animals that the FN relied on, hunting land was being turned into farms, etc. The FN needed help, but so did the government… The FN wanted their rights and resources protected and they needed help with disease and starvation. The government knew that if the FN did not agree to allow homesteaders onto their land, the immigration policy would fail. Thus, 11 treaties were signed between the government and the FN people (between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes). The treaties gave the government control of the land, but in return, the government would provide the FN people with certain goods/services and cash payments.

Treaty #7 The government was under the impression that they had bought the land from the FN people in exchange for services and cash payments. The FN people were under the impression that they made a deal to SHARE the land in exchange for services and cash payments. This led to a disagreement over land ownership, but unfortunately for the FN people, the government had a written agreement, whereas the FN people had always made verbal agreements. Sadly, this happened with all 11 treaties. Both sides tried to communicate clearly, but language and cultural differences got in the way. But the Government had something else in mind for the FN… They planned a policy of assimilation and the creation of residential schools. Define: Assimilation/Residential Schools.

Many different cultural groups immigrated to Canada. Some examples are the Doukhabors, Mennonites, Eastern European Jews, and the Chinese. Thinking back to Ch 11, what might have been a PUSH factor and a PULL factor for the Doukhabors and the Mennonites coming to Canada? Religious Persecution and Religious Freedom Many Immigrants became homesick after moving to Canada. What do you think they did to help ease their sadness? They move close to others from their homeland. An example of this can be seen in “Chinatowns”. The Chinese people in particular wanted to live near their friends and family, so they would all occupy a certain neighborhood. These areas eventually became known as Chinatowns.

Not everything was easy for the Settlers. Even though they were able to ease their homesickness a bit, they ran into difficulties. The Eastern Europeans for example were very successful with farming because Canada’s prairie land and climate were very similar to their homeland. However, no one was prepared for… THE LONG HARSH WINTERS -_- Despite the cold weather, think back a few chapters, what might have been a major PULL factor for the Chinese people? Building the CPR. Chinese people settled all over Canada to work on the railway, and eventually sent for their families. However, after the railway was finished, the greatest number of Chinese people in the prairie provinces settled in …. ALBERTA

People in Canada were scared of the Asian people The were worried that Asian workers, who would work for little money, would take all of the jobs and that they wouldn’t fit in with the current culture in Canada. So after the railway was complete the government put in a policy to keep Asian cultures out of Canada. They implemented the Chinese head tax. This was a tax that every person immigrating from China had to pay. It started at $50 per person and rose to $500 Remember that at this time, Chinese railway workers may only make $7 a week In 1923, a new policy stopped immigration from China all together. Not even relatives were allowed. It wasn’t until the 1940 s that things began to change. Only then did Chinese Canadians begin to be treated equally.

After Confederation, Francophones thought very positively about the West. Many immigrants from France, and Belgium came to Canada. They believed that Canada being bilingual meant that they would be equally accepted and that the West would also be a bilingual society. Soon positive feelings turned into negative ones. Initially the West was primarily Francophone, but as we saw in Chapter 11, Canada was not advertised to the French. Immigrants were expected to learn English and so the West became more and more Anglophone.

FURTHERMORE, the government did not want to PAY for services to be offered in both languages. Thus the official language debate came into play. At first, the Constitution Act said that French and English were equal in the government and the law. Both languages could be used in legal documents and in the courts Manitoba Act – both languages equal 1890 Manitoba – Law that English is the official language 1979 Manitoba – Supreme Court overturns 1890 law Next door, in the NWT, (AB/SK) were officially bilingual Until the 1892 Haultian Resolution – made NWT official language English for almost 100 years In 1988 Supreme Court ruled that the HR was never a law This meant that AB/SK were still biligual So what was their response? ***Both provinces quickly made English the official language

Initially in the West/Manitoba, French Catholic schools were the greatest in number. As immigrants arrived, English Protestant schools outnumbered the FC. Francophones struggled to protect their language rights and the right to separate schooling But the government did not want to pay for seperate schools boards, and the French Catholic board was eliminated Francophones all over the country were outraged!! This was a great disappointment for them. Finally in 1982 – the Charter of Rights and Freedoms became law, and Anglophone and Francophone Canadians who live in minorities were legally given education rights.

Western wheat farmers felt that there was economic favoritism in the East. The Western farmers had to pay too much for shipping and there were too many high tariffs on farming equipment. This meant that they were paying more to produce their wheat than they were making! The Western farmers responded by creating agricultural associations that would help them to be treated fairly: Ex: United Farmers of Alberta, Territorial Grain Growers Association. While the wheat farmers may have felt they were not being treated fairly, the ranching industry was encouraged! The government gave ranchers cheap land because they knew that the industry would become very profitable for them. Ranching is still very important in Alberta.

The numbered treaties are: 11 treaties between government and FN Why did the FN agree to the treaties: needed food and money In exchange for signing the numbered treaties, the FN were given: Goods/services and cash payments. The main disagreement in Treaty #7 was over: land ownership Residential schools were used as a tool in the policy of: Assimilation What is assimilation: process of making once culture more like another The key PULL factor for the Doukhabors, Mennonites, EE Jews was: Freedom of religion The main PUSH factor for the above groups was: religious persecution Main PULL factor and reasons for the Chinese people to settle in Canada: CPR After building the CPR the Chinese people settled mainly in which prairie province: Alberta How did immigrants ease homesickness: move close to others from home An example of the above would be: Chinatowns What about Canada, made farming easy for Eastern Europeans: similar farm land/climate What were NONE of the immigrants prepared for: the winter The Chinese head tax was: a policy that required Chinese to pay admission to Canada Why implement the above policy: to reduce immigration from China to Canada True or False: Eventually only family members could emigrate from China: False(no one) When did Chinese rights begin to change: 1940s At first the Franco. felt____ about the West, but began to feel_____: Positively/Negatively What changed in the West that made Francophones feel negatively: the provincial goverments no longer wanted to pay for services in French The official language or languages of AB and SK is/are: English Define Anglophone: English speaking True or False: The Francophones were very disappointed with the outcome of the Manitoba Schools Question: True In 1988, minorities were given education rights under what section of the AB School Act: 23 Ranching is: Cattle farming What came about in the West to protect farmers: Associations like United Farmers of AB