1. TOWARD THE 20th CENTURY THE LAURIER ERA & POPULATING THE WEST

2. Timeline - Marching towards the 20th Century
BC becomes a province - Why? Because of the promise of a Railway
John A . MacDonald envisions a Canada that is connected from east to west (sea to sea)
Transcontinental railway started
MacDonald defeated at polls amid cries of scandal over railroad contract.
Alexander Mackenzie is first Liberal Prime Minister
PEI becomes a province
1876 – Canadian Government Introduces the “Indian Act”

3. 1878
MacDonald re-elected Prime Minister on the basis of his National Policy which included:
Protective tariffs (tax added to American goods)
Completion of the railway
Large-scale immigration to the west.
Dominion Lands Act– For $10, any adult male can purchase 64 hectares of prairie farm land. They must construct a shelter and live on their land at least six months a year for three years.

4. 1882-1885 – Intercontinental Railway
,000 men employed to build Canadian Pacific Railway from Eastern Canada to British Columbia.
17,000 Chinese men came to work for less than a dollar a day, half the rate of European Workers. Many killed.
Mar – May North West Rebellion, quashed by MacDonald, Riel hung as traitor
November 1885 – Last Spike driven into railway by Financier Donald Smith

5. LAURIER ERA
Wilfred Laurier elected as Canada’s Seventh Prime Minister from
Liberal Party Member
First Francophone Prime Minister
Promoted national unity.
Rise to power coincides with economic upswing.
Worked to increase Canada’s population and economic growth

6. “CANADA’S CENTURY”
“Let me tell you, my fellow countrymen, that the twentieth century shall be the century of Canada and of Canadian development. For the next seventy-five years, nay for the next one hundred years, Canada shall be the star towards which all men who love progress and freedom shall come.” – Wilfred Laurier, 1904

7. TURN OF THE CENTURY
At turn of the century Canada was still a British Colony.
As a dominion, Canada had its own government but depended on Britain to resolve disputes with other countries

8. CANADA AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
Seven provinces, population of 5,200,000
Alberta and Saskatchewan join Confederation in 1905.
Biggest Cities: Toronto, Montreal and Halifax
The West was comprised of small pioneer cities like Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver

9. CANADA AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
-Roughly 60% of population have roots in British Isles. 30% have roots in France.
-63% of the population lived in Rural areas
-Farming was the main occupation
-Logging, Fishing and Construction also popular jobs.
-Women worked as teachers, store clerks, in factories or on the farm

10. Settlement of the West
The Canadian Pacific Railway opened the West to large—scale settlement
- The grain could now be shipped to market
- This encouraged agricultural settlement

11. SETTLEMENT OF THE WEST
- Canadian Immigration Department attracted tens of thousands of settlers to Canada West by offering cheap homestead lands.
- Clifford Sifton, Minister of Immigration from set up a recruitment program to encourage immigrants from North/Eastern Europe and the US to settle on the Prairies.
-Advertised the “Last Best West”
- Sifton wanted hardy peasant farmers to endure the harsh conditions of pioneer life

13. The Last Best West
Under Sifton, immigration increased from 16,835 per year in 1896 to 141,465 in 1905 Canada saw rapid growth of population in western Canada during the Laurier years - Majority came from Britain, US, Eastern Europe (Ukrainian, Russian) Population increased from 4.83 Million (1891) to 7.21 Million (1911)

14. Immigration,