Chapter 9Chapter 9

Growth in the WestGrowth in the West

• Natural resources – parts of nature that people can use

Ex: fish, land, trees, water, oil, minerals

• Canada was/is very rich in natural resources

• They are the reason Europeans came to Canada in the first place

1. Land1. Land

• Provides a place to live

• Kept F.N.s alive

• Land=power

• The gov’t of Canada wanted to control more of it – it was running out back East

Securing LandSecuring Land

• Canada wanted to secure the West before America could

• “Rupert’s Land” was changed to the “Northwest Territories”

• The gov’t gained control of land by signing treaties with F.N.s

• The gov’t then created the Canada/U.S. border, and used the RCMP to control it

The BorderThe Border

• Known as the “49th Parallel”

• Surveyors marked the border with mounds of dirt and iron posts

Trouble in Whoop-Up CountryTrouble in Whoop-Up Country

• “Whoop-Up” country is present day Cypress Hills• Traditional F.N. hunting grounds• Became part of the whiskey trade• Many outlaws hunted/traded here illegally from

America• People hunted wolves by poisoning dead

carcasses of buffalo• There was no law enforcement

The Law ArrivesThe Law Arrives

• Canada was worried about how violent Whoop-Up was becoming

• He sent the North West Mounted Police to:

1. Show the U.S. who owned the land

2. Shield the F.N. from American outlaws

3. Help new settlers live in the land

4. Keep the peace between settlers and F.N.

MassacreMassacre

• In the U.S., thousands of F.N. were massacred, and their land stolen

• 1873: Nakoda F.N. camping near Cypress Hills

• American wolfers accused them of stealing horses

• They killed 36 men, women, and children

• John A. got the NWMP there ASAP

The MarchThe March

• 300 police marched West

• The march was hard, and they weren’t prepared

• Eventually, one half created Fort MacLeod in present-day Lethbridge

• The other half created Fort Edmonton

Their RoleTheir Role

• Their role was to make life peaceful. To do this, they:

1. Cleared out the whiskey traders

2. Arrested lawbreakers / put them on trial

3. Delivered mail

4. Fought grass fires / helped new farmers

5. Fought in the 2nd Metis Uprising

The RCMPThe RCMP• Eventually, the NWMP joined forces with

the police from eastern Canada, and became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

• The RCMP is the federal police force for Canada

Building the Iron RoadBuilding the Iron Road

• Standard Time

• Building the Railroad

• PM John A created a new “policy” for the West. It needed to do 3 things:

1. Transportation: create a transportation system from East to West (railway)

2. Immigration: populate it so the land could be used

3. Economic: create a strong economy there

1. Transportation1. Transportation

• Called the “transcontinental railway”

• May convince B.C. to join Canada

• It would be a huge task

• Built by the “Canadian Pacific Railway Company” (CPR)

• The builders decided to build it more south than north:

1.Flatter land / fewer trees

2.Coal deposits down south would fuel the trains

3.To compete with the American railways close to the border

4.The railway company already owned the land

5.They thought the south was better for farming

Rough life…Rough life…

• Each kilometer of railway cost $1/2 million!• Summer was very hot• Mosquitoes were terrible• Winter was freezing• Poor living conditions• Same meals• Land was hard to work on (mountains,

swamps, etc.)

Impact:Impact:

• Brought many newcomers to Canada

• Changed to look of the land

• P.204 Chinese immigrants

• P.205 Father Albert Lacombe

• P.206 Opinions about the railway

2. Immigration2. Immigration

• The gov’t needed people to farm the West

• Before people got here, the land had to be surveyed:

1.Land divided into large chunks called “townships”

2.Each one divided into 36 sections

3.Each section divided by 4, 64 hectares each

• Any “head” of a family, or any male over 21, could apply for a ¼ section

• They had to promise:

1.Live there for 6 mo. of the year

2.Build a house

3.Start farming

• If the man did these things, they were allowed to keep the land

• Life was very rough:

• Immigrants did not have money to start their farms, or materials to build

• Nature was tough: bad weather, bugs, etc. ruined crops

Ontario newcomersOntario newcomers

• Land was scarce in Ontario

• The gov’t spent a lot of money convincing people from Ont. to move West

• They went to Manitoba, and nicknamed to place, “New Ontario”

Other groupsOther groups

• Mennonites

• Icelanders

• P.211 First Nation farms

3. Economy3. Economy

• competition with the US: since the US could make materials cheaper, people were buying from there

• Solution: protective tariff: a tax on products coming across the border

• P.211 – mixed feelings

• Progress was slow, but steady