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Period: Oct 27, 1500 to
Economy
All things to do with the economic growth and developmental growth of Canada. -
Oct 30, 1500
European Fisheries
After the discovery of Newfoundland by john Cabot in 1497, European fisherman participated in cod fishing close to Labrador and Newfoundland Island, and in the gulf of St Lawrence. During this period, fish was in great demand in Europe because the Catholic Church banned meat consumption for almost 150 days during the year. These days were called "abstinence days." -
Amerindians' Trading Systems
In the 16th century, trading occurred between the Iroquois of the St Lawrence Valley and the Algonquians. The Iroquois offered their farming surplus in exchange for the Algonquians hunting surplus. These trades (barter system) occurred on land occupied by the Algonquians. -
Birth of the Fur Trade
The Amerindians offered furs to European fishermen in exchange for metal objects such as pots and knives. High quality hats and coats were made from beaver fur. For the Europeans, beaver pelts were worth much more than metal objects; this opinion was the reverse to that of the Amerindians who did not know about metallurgy. Since they made more profit from pelts and it requires less effort, fishermen loaded their boats with metals to be traded. Commercial alliances with Amerindians were crucial. -
Economy of Fur (1/4)
In the first half of the 17th century, the Amerindian nations and the French met each spring during trading fairs. Hundreds of Amerindians reached the trading posts located in Quebec, Trois-Rivieres, and Tadoussac. The Hurons-Wendats were the biggest fur suppliers because they obtained their fur supplies from the entire Great Lakes region. -
Economy of Fur (2/4)
The Five Nations Iroquois competed against the business arrangement established between the Huron and the French because they also got their supplies from the Amerindian nations of the Great lakes and the Outaouais. They traveled down the Hudson river to bring pelts to the Dutch and to the British. The Five Nations Iroquois started running out of fur and fought against the Hurons. In 1649, they destroyed all the villages belonging to the Hurons forcing them to spread out over the territory. -
Economy of Fur (3/4)
After the Destruction of Huronia in 1649, the french, who now no longer had middlemen, were forced to go to the Algonquian territory in person in order to obtain their pelt supplies. The governor and the intendant attempted to control this commerce by granting trade licenses or permission to trade. Coureurs des bois practiced illegal trading activities without acquiring a trade licence, and smuggled the fur. -
Economy of Fur (4/4)
The king of France imposed a 25% tax on the furs coming from New France. Since the British and the Dutch merchants did not have to pay said tax, they offered the Amerindians and coureurs des bois more for the pelts. For example, in 1689, the British exchanged one rifle for two pelts whereas the French exchanged one rifle for 5 pelts. Therefore, it became difficult to suppress trade with the British trading posts and the competition between France, Great Britain and Holland was vigorous. -
The Company System
The companies that had a monopoly in the trading industry were financed by shareholders that shared the profits and the losses in proportion to their initial investment. Only they could determine the price and the quantity of pelts that could be sent to France/ -
Agriculture
Throughout the French regime, agriculture was the activity that occupied most people. It was a subsistence activity. Wheat was the main crop, forming the basis of food intake. The cultivated territory expanded as the population increased. Children from large families made their contribution by cleaning new lands in lots granted by the lords. -
Economy of New France Before 1663
The mother country and the trading companies shared a different opinion than the settler and the religious communities with regards to the function of New France. The mother country and the trading companies considered that New France's role was to enrich France. The other groups tried to convince the King to make New France a settlement colon, which would lead it to become prosperous society on its own. -
Attempts to Diversify the Economy after 1663 (1/2)
Jean Talon tried to make the colony economically independent through self=production. To reach this objects, Talon imported domesticated animals from France and distributed them to the settlers for the development of animal breeding. Agriculture became diversified with the addition of wheat cultivation, and the introduction of the cultivation of cereals and hemp. -
Attempts to Diversify the Economy after 1663 (2/2)
In 1665, New France started to ell some of its surplus fur; however, this was difficult due to the cost of transportation. In the 18th century, some small external commerce started: flour was exported to Ile Royale and fish to the Caribbean. These exports encouraged Canadian peasants to produce flour surpluses; this, in turn, stimulated flour mill construction. -
Hudson's Bay Company
In the 17th century, two french adventurers; Groseillers and Radisson, explored Hudson Bay, where they tried to establish the fur trade. Since they had no support from France, they got the support from Great Britain and founded the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670. The company built trading posts throughout the entire region to engage tin trade with the Cree nation. Fur trade in this region was the subject of a bitter rivalry between France and Great Britain. -
Expansion of the Territory
The search for furs led to the exploration of the North American continent. Adventurers travelled the territory on the waterways. They explored the Great Lakes,the Prairies all the way to the Rocky Mountains, Hudosn Bay, the Ohio Valley and the Mississippi River to Louisiana. The regions that were discovered were often disputed between the British and the French. Each group built forts to protect its commerce against the enemy. -
The Beaver Crisis
In the 1690s, the beaver economy was in crisis. Fur-related fashion was passé and the demand for beaver pelts decreased. Fur trading was too intense and the pelts piled up in warehouses in France. As a result, the King ordered a slowdown of the fur trade. However, it again gained strength after 1715 when the previously stored furs were ruined by rodents and insects. -
The Currency
The currency used in New France was the currency of France: the pound. When cash was lacking, it was often replaced by other means of exchange such as animal pelts or wheat. Intendant Jacques de Meulles and his successors also issues the card currency which was playing cards with cash value to be exchanged when the ships arrived from France. During the 1760 conquest, the Canadians faced difficulties getting their paper money reimbursed by France. Many only got 1/4 of its value. -
The Obstacles to Diversification
New industries encountered major issues: scarcity of specialized labour, higher production costs than in France, lack of capital, weakness of local market, etc. For example, the naval building site needed the best wood and it could only be found in the Lake Champlain area. Most of the metal used for ship construction had to be imported from France. There was also a lack of carpenters. To attract them, they offered better salaries than their counterparts in France. This all made ships cost a lot. -
Transportation Infrastructure
The waterways were the main communication paths in New France. Because they were not navigable along their entire length during the whole year, road construction began. As of 1737,, a packed dirt road of approximately seven meters wide connected Montreal to Quebec along the north shore; it was known as the King's Road. Within the Seigneuries ,the development of many small paths enabled the connection of houses to each other and to the village. -
Decline of the Fur Economy
After the Conquest (which gave New France to the British), merchants settled in Montreal to practice the fur trade. Since they had greater financial means than the French Canadians, they replaced them in the fur trade. -
Start of British Rule
In North America, the Seven Years' War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. As part of the treaty, France ceded all North American land to Britain, except Louisiana (which was ceded to Spain) and two islands off the shores of Newfoundland, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. This started New France under "British Rule" -
Expansion of Timber Econonomy
Because of Napoleons embargo, Great Britain was unable to get their wood. So, thinking smartly, they decided they were going to start getting woods by exploiting New France's abundance of trees. This became a very good source of revenue for Seigneurs and for Farmers who otherwise wouldn't be able to or know about the profits they could make from the trees on their pieces of land. This created jobs for people shipping the wood, people cutting it, and people crafting it. -
The Transformation of Agriculture
At the beginning of the 19th century, Great Britain could no longer produce enough food to meet its own needs. From then on, it brought more foodstuffs from Canada, particularly wheat. Since upper Canada produced more wheat, Lower Canada started cultivating other crops such as potato, oats, barley and hemp. However, the most important change was the growth of animal husbandry and dairy production. -
Beginning of Industrialization
The 19th century was a transition period in the industrialization of Canada. Changes occurred in the world of work and entrepreneurship. Before these changes, apprentices learned their trade from a master craftsman in exchange for accommodation and food. They were now salaried workers who executed duties requiring less training (factory workers.) Industrial Capitalism was also born in this period. Urbanization followed the industrialization as well. -
Economic Policies
Int he beginning of the 19th century, Great Britain opted for the adoption of a protectionist policy towards Canada by imposing customs duty on the wood coming from European countries. This way, it supported its colony's timber industry. Eventually, this failed and the colony started to struggle so Great Britain entered in deals with the United states in the Reciprocity treaty (1854) to allow international trade. -
Transportation Infrastructure
At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a great need to build transportation infrastructure. The great lakes region encountered difficulties shipping its farming surpluses to Lower Canada because of the rapid between lake Ontario and Montreal. In order to reduce costs and facilitate trade, the Canadian government began to financially support private initiatives to build transportation infrastructure. -
The Canals
Waterways that had previous been unnavigable saw the building of channels that facilitated the circulation of steamboats: The Lachine Canal in Montreal on the St Lawrence River whose surrounding area quickly became a major industrial zone The Rideau Canal between Ottawa and Kingston connecting the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario The Chambly Canal on the Richelieu River at St.Jean from 1833 to 1843. -
Work Relations
Industrialization created the formation of a new social class, the working class. The horrible working conditions led workers to form unions> These were illegal until 1872, when the federal government authorized unionization according to strict rules, which no existing union could break. -
Concentration of Capital
At the end of the 19th century, the means of production were concentrated in the hands of a small number of companies. Some would become so powerful in a certain industrial sector that no other company would compete. They exercised a veritable monopoly. The capitalist owners of these companies formed a dominant social class, the industrial bourgeoisie, generally Anglophone. -
The Sectors
Primary: In the 19th century, there were often times when Agriculture barely met a family's food needs. However, with mechanization, the situation kept on improving and product increased.
Secondary: Everything became mechanically done. Hand made things became novelty and not a standard.
Tertiary: Only became popular in the 20th century. Jobs in fields like administration and finance grew. Thus a new type of worker was created, the office worker. Many women worked in this sector. -
WW2
During the war in Europe (1939 to 1945), Quebec profited greatly from the needs of the soldiers. Being opportunists, they decided to start a war reliant economy. Everything that the soldiers needed to fight or to survive and live abroad was produced back at home and shipped off. This gave Quebec a very big surge of money and stimulated its economy greatly. The economic prosperity continued after the war and resulted in a lot more jobs for women as they'd been working while the men were overseas.
