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1497
Discovery of Newfoundland
John Cabot discovered Newfoundland in 1497, which in this time fish was in high demand because the Catholic church banned meat consumption for almost 150 days during the year. European fisherman were sent over and participated in cod fishing near Newfoundland and Labrador. This led to the creation of fisheries to prepare the fish for Europe. -
Mercantilism
In the 1600s, the french europeans practiced mercantilism. Mercantilism was when the amerindians of which they had a relationship would get them furs in return of metal objects from the Europeans. The french send it back to France to be transformed into manufactured goods and sold back to the amerindians in New France. -
Company of 100 Associates
The company of 100 associates were 100 shareholders that invested in start-up capital. Each shareholder was to receive a share of the profits from the fur trade, but in exchange the company was required to populate and manage the territory. They had controlled the fur trade from 1627-1663. Although, there was a war at sea between English and French, which caused the company to have great financial loses and unable to settle the territory. -
Destruction of Huronia
The Iroquois were running out of fur, so they started to fight against the Wendt-Hurons who had a relationship with the French. Since the french no longer had amerindians to get the fur to them, the turned to the Algonquins for a new fur trading relationship. -
King Louis XIV
King Louis XIV began his reign in 1661. He had dissolved the company of 100 associates in 1663, but he set up crown corporations. These companies were accountable to him (ex: Dutch West India Company), and they were created to assert territorial claims in North America and gain control of economic activities in New France. -
Jean Talon
From 1665-1668 and 1670-1672, Jean Talon tried to make the colony economically independent through self-production. He imported domesticated animal from France and distributed them to settlers for the animal breeding development. Agriculture became diversified because of the encouragement for cereals and hemp. He also encouraged the creation of small workshops, created a brewery and he founded a naval shipyard where they would export the colony's surplus. -
Hudson's Bay Company
Two french adventurers, Radisson and Groseilliers, explored Hudson Bay to try and establish the fur trade. French offered them no financial support, so they went to Great Britain who did. They founded the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, which built trading posts throughout the region to engage in trade. -
Beaver crisis
In the 1960s, the beaver economy was in crisis because now it wasn't trendy in the fashion industry anymore and the demand of beaver pelts decreased. Fur trading was too intense and the pelts piled up in warehouses in France. The King demanded a slowdown of the fur trade -
Change of Empire
In 1760, the French surrendered to the British who know took over. They now controlled all the commerce, especially the fur trade. Now, all the furs were exported to Britain for profit. A bunch of British merchants came over and settled, they replaced the French Canadians because they were higher up financially. They hired the French Canadians as voyageurs because they knew the territory and the amerindians. -
Protectionism
From 1760-1840, Great Britain implemented their protectionist policy. Under this policy, their colonies were only trade with their mother country, no one else. This leads to rich french merchants to leave and go back to France, which opened up opportunities for the french merchants coming in also well as the canadiens. -
Northwest Company
Several Montreal merchants joined forces to form the Northwest Company against the Hudson's Bay Company. It also funded expeditions aimed at expanding the trade territory. It successfully implemented a monopoly by absorbing competing companies. But, it was very costly this rivalry while the fur trade was declining so there was a merger in 1821. -
Transformation of agriculture
In the 19th century, Great Britain could no longer produce enough food to meet its own needs. Great Britain turned to Canada for more foodstuffs, mostly what. The Lower Canada region started cultivating other crops such as oats, potato, barley and hemp. The most important change was the growth of animal husbandry and dairy product. The dairy industries started opening closer to the cities and the railroad. Agriculture also developed in regions that had been recently opened to forest development. -
Continental Embargo
In 1806, Napoleon I was the French Emperor, who aimed to conquer the whole of Europe. He created a blockade (continental embargo) against Great Britain, so they weren't able to trade with other European countries. this led to Great Britain to turn to their colonies for resources. Canada was their main provider of timber, which increased their economy. -
Navigation act
Any merchant ship now looked to to have a surplus or diversify their crops to sell on the market. Corn laws encouraged this, they wanted to export more wheat. In the 1830s and 1840s we see dairy production on the rise as well. -
First Phase of Industrialization
From 1850-1900, the capital for financing new industries came from British sources. The main source of energy was coal/steam. Factories and assembly lines were more efficient and faster than craftsmen but it was more dangerous and repetitive work. Urbanization occurred. The working class had horrible working and living conditions, so unions were formed. -
Treaty of Reciprocity
Canada and the United States of America signed a free trade agreement with one another (No duties/tariffs on imported products) -
Confederation
In 1867, Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia came together to form the confederation of Canada. With the creation of the confederation, there is a railroad connecting them to Quebec's and Ontario's railroad network. This was much easier for transportation of people and exports. The four colonies also created a vast market which promoted industrial development -
National Policy
In 1878, the first prime minister John A MacDonald created his national policy. He encouraged immigration for the expansion in the West, improve railway transportation to assure better circulation of people and goods, and imposed customs tariffs. -
Second Phase of Industrialization
From 1900-1929, there was a quick expansion of industrial sectors which had developed because of new energy resources (hydroelectricity and oil). Their capital came from the US. They had better working conditions. Canadian companies depended on their ability to compete against american and british companies. There were now lower production costs, and railways reduced costs because it gave access to resources and sped up the distribution of products. Mining, pulp and paper are also important. -
World war 1
From 1914-1918, Canada's effort in the war stimulated its economy because they became one of the major suppliers of the allied troops. The war production led to modernization of factories, which had to meet high demands. -
Great Depression
In the 1930s, the economy was going through a crisis called the "Great Depression". In 1929, there was too much products being stored in warehouses that weren't selling. This led to the New York Stock Market to crash, affecting everyone. People were now losing their jobs and companies were shutting down for the following 10 years. -
Work War 2
In 1939-1945, World War 2 was occurring in Europe. The British took part of the combat. Since Canada was allies with Great Britain, they provided them with armoury, foodstuffs, uniforms, etc. This was period of economic prosperity for Canada. -
Quiet Revolution
In the 1960s, the Quiet revolution occurred in Quebec. There were major political, economical, social and cultural changes occurred. This led to Quebec to become a welfare state. -
Hydroelectricity
In 1963, the Government of Quebec nationalized the electricity industry. The government run Hydro-Quebec took control of the sale electricity on a provincial sale and ended private control of hydroelectricity industry. Quebec became the leader in hydroelectricity, they attracted high energy consumption industries as clients because it offered them competitive electricity rates. -
NAFTA
In 1993, Canada, Mexico and the United States of America signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. This permitted free circulation of goods between these countries. This led to a growth in Canadian exports an relocation of manufacturing jobs towards Mexico.
