EXPLORING EXPLORING CANADACANADA

Viking Territory

• Around 1000 AD, Leif Erikson (son of Erik the Red) led an

expedition that landed on what is now Newfoundland, built a settlement, and later abandoned it.

• Five centuries later, and Italian navigator named Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), exploring for the British landed in Newfoundland and claimed the land for the British.

Early Peoples• Nomads came from Asia across the Beringia Land

Bridge.• Some remained in the Arctic area and were the

ancestors of the Inuits (Eskimos).• Others—ancestors of the North American Indians

—moved south and settled in what is now British Columbia.

• After the ice melted, they moved all over Canada, settling where they could grow crops.

Colonization• During the 16th and 17th centuries,

French explorers claimed much of Canada.

• The British were also colonizing North America along the Atlantic Coast.

• To both countries, coastal fishing and the inland fur trade were important.

• They soon challenged each other’s territorial claims.

• Britain defeated France in the French and Indian Warto surrender its territory, but French settlers remained.

(1754-1763), forcing France

Steps Toward Unity• By the end of the 18th century, Canada had

become a land of two distinct cultures—Roman Catholic French and Protestant English.

• Conflict erupted, and in 1791, the British government split Canada into two provinces (political units).

--Upper Canada (later Ontario) had and English-speaking majority.

Hello! Nice to meet you. Do you speak English?

--Lower Canada (Quebec), located along the St. Lawrence River, had a French-speaking population.

Bonjour! Enchanté! Parlez-vous français?

•The land to the northwest (called Rupert’s Land) was owned by a British fur-trading company.

The Dominion of Canada

• By the late 1830s, there were serious political and ethnic disputes in both Upper and Lower Canada.

• The British government decided on major reform.

• In 1867, it passed theBritish North America Act creating the Dominion of Canada – a loose confederation (political union) of Ontario (Upper), Quebec (Lower), the 2 British colonies of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

• Ottawa in Ontario became the capital.

•The Dominion gained control of Rupert’s Land in 1869.•By 1871, Canada stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific, as Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island were added.•Soon the Yukon Territory, Alberta, and Saskatchewan followed.•Only Newfoundland remained outside the union, not joining until the mid-20th century.

Urban and Industrial Growth• For much of the time after settlement,

Canadians lived in rural areas and engaged in farming.

• As the population grew and resources were developed, Canada became more urban and industrial.

• Cities and towns built around farming soon became manufacturing and service industry centers.

• Nearly all this growth took place within 100 miles of the U.S. border (climate, land, transportation).

• Canada developed into a major economic power in the 20th century.

Government• Canada was recognized as an

independent nation by Great Britain in 1931.

• Like Britain, Canada became a parliamentary government (legislative and executive functions are combined in a legislature called a parliament).

• Canada consists of a central government and smaller provincial and territorial governments.

• The symbolic head of state remains the British monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II

• Parliament consists of an appointed senate and an elected House of Commons.

• The majority party’s leader in Parliament becomes prime minister (head of govt.).

• Each of Canada’s ten provinces has its own legislature and premier (prime minister).

• The federal government administers the territories.

Canada’s Primary Industries

• Farming--Only 5% of land

suitable for farming

--Only 3% of workforce employed in farming

--Nevertheless, produces large amounts of products for domestic use and export.

•Logging --

Biggest export trade is in forest products.--No other country exports more wood pulp and paper products.

• Fishing– Three ocean coastlines

(Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific) give access to ample fish supplies.

– Fish consumption per capita is low, so much of Canada’s catch is exported.

– Exports more fish than any other country.

• Mining

–Major industry because of extensive mineral deposits. Uranium, zinc, gold, and silver are just a few exports to the world.

Manufacturing• About 15% earn their living

from manufacturing.• This accounts for 1/5 of

GDP.• Automobiles, steel,

household appliances, electronics, and high-tech and mining equipment are some products.

• Most manufacturing done in the Canadian heartland, stretching from Quebec City, Quebec, to Windsor, Ontario.

Service Industry Drives Economy•Country’s

real economic

powerhouse.•Employs more than all other industries combined.•Spectacular natural beauty has made

the tourist

industry the fastest growing service industry – 3% of all Canadians work in this field.

• The United States is Canada’s chief trading partner.

• Partly because the two countries share the longest open border in the world and the same language (English).

A Bilingual Country

•Canada is officially a bilingual country.

•It has an English-speaking majority and a French-speaking minority.

•Languages of Inuit still survive.

•Immigrant languages are also heard.

•The English were largely protestant.

•The French are Roman Catholics.

•Muslims, Jews, and others are also represented.

Population• 80% of all Canadians live on 10% of the land.• Port cities of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver

and its rich farmlands make up the country’s most densely populated areas.

• Most Canadians live along a 100-mile wide strip of land just north of the U.S. border.

• Population is mostly urban.• 75% of all French Canadians live in Quebec.• Many native peoples live in the 2300 reserves,

public lands set aside by the government.• Large number of Canadians of Asian ancestry

live on the west coast.

Atlantic Provinces

• Prince Edward Island

• New Brunswick

• Nova Scotia

• Newfoundland

Harsh Lands/Small Populations

•About 85% of land in Nova Scotia cannot be farmed because of rocky hills and poor soil.

•Home to just 8% of Canada’s population.•Most live in coastal cities.•Small population due largely to provinces’ rugged terrain and severe weather.•Forests cover 90% of New Brunswick.•Severe storms hit Newfoundland and Labrador.

Economic activities:• New Brunswick

– Dense forests provide the province with its largest industry - logging.

– Gulf of St. Lawrence and coastal waterways supply plentiful stocks of seafood for export.

– Also - mining of zinc,

Bay of Fundi, New Brunswick

copper, lead, & silver.

•Novia Scotia - Logging & fishing are mainstays

- Shipbuilding and trade through the port of Halifax provide employment and revenue.

• Newfoundland– Until the 20th century, fishing was the

principal industry.– Today, it has healthy mining and logging

industries.– Also, its hydroelectric power resources are

part of a system supplying power to Quebec and parts of the northeastern US.

Core Provinces

•Quebec

•Ontario

Canada’s Heartland• 3 out of 5 Canadians live there.• Ontario largest in terms of population.• Quebec largest in land

area.• Most of the settlements

in these two provinces are along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.

• Each province is the core of one of Canada’s two major cultures (Ontario -English-speaking majority / Quebec - French-speaking minority). Quebec

•Ontario and Quebec power Canada’s economy.•Together, they account for:

–more than 35% of Canadian agricultural production–45% of its mineral production–70% of its manufacturing

•Toronto is not only the country’s most populous city but also its banking and financial hub.•Montreal is Canada’s second largest city and the center of economic and political activity in Quebec.

Prairie Provinces

• Manitoba

• Saskatchewan

• Alberta

Canada’s Breadbasket

•More than just fertile soil - about 60% of Canada’s mineral output comes from this region.•Nations’ largest know deposits of coal and oil.•Produces 90% of Canada’s natural gas.

Prairies - Saskatchewan countryside

•Part of the Great Plains of North America.•Center of the country’s agricultural yield.•Accounts for 50% of agricultural production.

Very diverse population•Manitoba has large numbers of Scots-Irish, Germans, Scandinavians, Ukrainians, Poles. Town of St. Boniface has largest French-Canadian population outside Quebec.•Saskatchewan includes immigrants from South and East Asia and is home to the metis (people of mixed French and native heritage).•Alberta most diverse - European, Indian, Japanese, Lebanese,and Vietnamese.

Pacific Province & Territories

• British Columbia

• Yukon Territory

• Northwest Territories

• Nunavut

British Columbia

•Nearly all of it lies with the Rocky Mountains.•3/4 of the province is 3000 feet or more above sea level.•More than 1/2 is densely forested.•Nearly 1/3 is frozen tundra, snowfields, and glaciers.•Economy is built on logging, mining, and hydroelectric power production.

•Most of the population is in the southwest.•Vancouver is Canada’s largest port and has a prosperous shipping trade.

The Territories•3 territories make up 41% of the land mass.•They are too sparsely populated to be provinces.

Yukon Territory is largely unspoiled wilderness and has population of about 30,000.

• Northwest Territories extends into the Arctic and has population of about 41,000.

•Nunavut was carved out of the NW Territories in 1999. It is home to many of the Inuit. Land is rugged and climate is severe, but it has economic activities--mining, fishing, and some logging.

Northwest Territories

Nunavut

Ice fishing in Nunavut

Northwest Territories