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1497
Demand of Fish
In Europe, fish was in great demand in Europe for religious reasons. Fish became an important resource for European fisherman when they came in contact with the Amerindians and traded with them. Since the church no longer allowed for people to eat meats, they turned to fish for a food source with protein. -
1500
Amerindian's Trading System
The Aboriginal communities used the barter system which means they traded goods with each other. Trade was considered the essential to the diplomatic ties between nations. They saw trading as a way to pay war tributes, formalize meetings between dinitaries and facilitate peace negotiations. -
Diversification of The Economy
The King of France put Jean Talon in charge of diversifying the economic activities of the colony. However, New France's main economic wealth was fur. -
Hudson Bay Company
Two French explorers named Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard Chouart Des Groseilliers explored the Hudson Bay trying to establish fur trades. France would not support them so they turned to Great Britain where they created the Hudson Bay Company and built trading posts throughout the entire region. -
The Beaver Crisis
The beaver economy was in crisis because the demand for beaver pelts decreased. The King slowed down the fur trades since the pelts kept on pilying up in warehouses due to the intensity of fur trading. -
The Montrealers
Over 200 British merchants established themselves in the Province of Quebec. They exported natural resources and imported manufactured goods from Great Britain. All of these merchants were called Montrealers. -
Northwest Company
The Northwest Company was a new fur trading company. This competed with the Hudson Bay Company and since they are both trying to attract the Amerindians to their trading posts. -
The Corn Laws
Great Britain adopted the Corns Laws which guaranteed preferential tariffs on the British market to the colonies gain merchandise. -
Bank of Montreal
Since the timber trade was so lucrative the Bank of Montreal was then founded. -
Free Trade
Since Great Britan adopted free trade, there are no longer preferential tariffs nor restrictions for Canadian lumber. Now Great Britan can trade with other countries. The colony must try to find a new economic partner. -
The First Phase of Industrialization
Manufactures were slowly replacing the artisan workshop. Machines now permitted the division of labor and increased productivity. This phase focused on food, shoes, textile, tobacco, mining and lumber. All of the immigrants that are coming thanks to the new railroads, work in the new manufactures. Neighbourhoods are overpopulated, there is no sewage system, no running water and many epidemics are occurring. This phase ended in 1896. -
Reciprocity Treaty
Canada stopped trading with Great Britain after Great Britain abandoned its protectionism policy. Canada then turned to the United States for trading. With this treaty, American products were no longer taxed when trading. -
Creation of Unions
Since working conditions are terrible, the federal government will legalize unions. Unions demanded less working hours, less working days, no more children labor and an increase in salary. -
Economic Crisis
The Canadien economy had a crisis since the American products were cheaper than Canadian products since there are no extra fees nor taxes. -
National Policy
Canada's new prime minister John A. Macdonald has created the National policy in order to help the economic crisis. He increased in custom tariffs which means that Canadians must pay taxes on products from other countries. Now that Canada is making more money, he decided to create railroads in order to transport merchandise and to bring immigrants. -
The Second Phase of Industrialization
This phase was characterized by the exploitation of natural resources and the rapid expansion of industrial sectors. These sectors led to new energy sources such as hydroelectricity and oil. In this phase, regions will expand and become industrialized. This phase ended in 1929. -
The Confédération des Travailleurs catholiques du Canada (CTCC)
The Catholic Church wanted to control the unions and preserve the French Canadian culture and Catholic faith. -
Market Crash
After the First World War, there was an accumulation of products in warehouses. Companies start to produce less products and fired workers. Since less people have jobs, less people will be able to by the products so companies will produce even less products which caused the economy to decrease. -
The Great Depression
Due to the Market Crash, the population was dramatically affected. Since less people bought products from companies, companies made less products. Since they made less products and people didn't even buy the few products they created, the companies went bankrupt. -
Measures put in Place by the State
Social measures: The federal government and the government of Quebec has created public work programs to give jobs and direct aid, vouchers and checks to help the unemployed.
Economic measures: The federal government created the Bank of Canada. The government of Canada created the Office of agricultural credit which helps farmers relaunch their productivity. -
War Production
The Allies relied on Canadian industries to supply them with food and military equipment. Since men had to go to war women started working again. Now that the military was dependant on the Canadians, more products were being made which ended the economic crisis. -
After War Economic Activities
After the second world war, Quebec's population increased a lot. This period of time was called the baby boom. There was a mass consumption since women wanted to continue working and men worked too. Since people have more money, they're buying more products which made the economy start to increase. -
A Welfare State
During this period of time, the state took charge of the management of certain social programs such as health and education which led to the state becoming a Welfare State. People no longer have to pay to go to hospitals now that health care was created. -
Hydro-Quebec
The government of Quebec bought out most of the private electricity companies and integrated them into Hydro-Quebec in order to nationalize the production and distribution of electricity. -
NAFTA
The North America Free Trade Agreement was a treaty that eliminated custom duties between Canada, the United-States and Mexico signed in 1993. It was originally without Mexico in 1988, but they were added to it five years later where all 3 countries benefit from this.
