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1497
Expedition by John Cabot along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador
John Cabot discovered Newfoundland. After this discovery, european fishermen participated in cod fishing close to Labrador and Newfoundland island, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Every summer, the Basques and the Bretons would set up temporary camps on the shores and dried the fish that they would then take back to Europe. Fish was very important in Europe and was in great demand because of the "abstinence days" in the Catholic religion. Fish was the first main economic activity. -
1500
Trade system of the Aboriginals
The different nomadic and sedentary Aboriginal communities used the barter system, which means they traded goods. The Aboriginals traded because not all regions produced the same resources therefore the different Aboriginal peoples relied on each other to supply resources they could not find in their own territory or goods they could not produce themselves. Traded goods were transported along traditional water routes taken by the Aboriginal people when they travelled. They transported by canoe. -
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Monopoly of merchant companies
Mostly beaver pelts were exported to France, where they served in the manufacture of goods such as felt hats. The King of France granted a monopoly in the fur trade to merchant companies. The French formed alliances with several Aboriginal nations in order to take advantage of their vast trade network. Around 1660, the fur trade in New France ran into difficulties. In 1663, King Louis XIV cancelled the monopoly of the merchant companies and established a royal government. -
Destruction of Huronia
The Iroquois competed against the business arrangement established between the Huron and the French. So, the Five Nations of Iroquois attacked the Huron. In the early 1640's, the Iroquois will start running out of fur. They will then destroy Huronia in 1649. Because of this, the French who no longer had middlemen, were obliged to go to the Algonquian territory in person in order to obtain their pelt supplies which they would then sell in France. -
Mercantilist policies
The major European powers based the development of their economy on mercantilism, an economic theory that bases a nation's prosperity on the accumulation of gold and silver. According to this theory, colonizing states should export the greatest possible quantity of goods to become wealthy from profits generated by their exports. The mother countries relied on their colonies for the raw materials necessary for the production of manufactured goods, which they could then sell to other states. -
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Talon's attempts to diversify the economy
Jean Talon tried to make the colony economically independent through self-production. Some examples are:
1.Talon imported domesticated animals from France and distributed them to settlers for the development of animal breeding.
2. Addition of wheat cultivation, and the introduction of the cultivation of cereals, vegetables and hemp diversified agriculture.
3. Talon founded a naval shipyard near Quebec city. These ships would be used to export the colony's surplus to other French colonies. -
Hudson's Bay Company
The Company was founded in 1670. The company built trading posts throughout the entire region to engage in trade with the Cree nation. Fur trade in this region was the subject of a bitter rivalry between France and Great Britain and resulted in a series of land and sea battles. This was the reason for why they wanted to control the territory of New France, because they could make a lot of money in the fur trade. -
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Crisis in the fur trade
In the 1690's, the beaver economy was in crisis. Fur-related fashion was not in demand. 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. -
Growth of Triangular trade
In the 18th century, the French organized commercial trades between France, New France & the West Indies. The purpose of this was to allow France to get rich by taking advantage of the resources of its colonies & by selling manufactured goods to its colonies. The principles of this trade was: boats cannot leave a port empty handed; boats leaving New France/West Indies must transport natural resources to France; boats leaving France for New France/West Indies must transport manufactured goods. -
Completion of the Chemin du Roy
To help with the economic trade, Gilles Hocquart wanted to create a road between Montreal and Quebec City. This road will pass through Trois-Rivières. This road is called "Chemin du Roy". It was completed in 1737. -
Control of the fur trade by British merchants
After the Conquest, British merchants and the Thirteen Colonies settled in Quebec and Montreal and took over the colonial economy and the fur trade, they were named "Montrealers." In 1783, Great Britain ceded areas south of the Great Lakes to the United States. Montreal merchants were suddenly deprived of their trade networks, so they founded the Northwest Company to compete with the Hudson's Bay Company. Montreal remained the capital of the fur trade until 1821, when the two companies merged. -
Continental blockade by Napoleon
In 1806, Great Britain was at war with France. In order to prevent the British from obtaining supplies on the European continent, the French Emperor, Napoleon the First, imposed a continental blockade, thus forcing Great Britain to find a new source for the supply of forest products. Timber will replace the fur trade as the leading export to Great Britain. The lumber industry will run the Canadian economy. -
Timber trade > Fur Trade
The lumber industry became the engine of the Canadian economy. The exploitation of our forests will cause the development of new regions, create new jobs and increase the influence of the British merchant class.The timber trade required lots of workers. The majority of workers were French Canadian or immigrants newly arrived from Great Britain, who were mainly Irish. The timber trade led to the colonization of new regions such as the Outaouais, Mauricie and Saguenay. -
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The Corn Laws
In 1815, Great Britain adopted a series of laws, the Corn Laws, which guaranteed preferential tariffs on the British market to the colonies' grain merchants. Lower Canada will benefit from these laws. However, in 1846, these laws were abolished. -
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British protectionism
Until the mid-19th century, Great Britain maintained a policy of protectionism that favoured the purchasing of resources from within the Empire. Protectionism is an economic policy established by a state or government in order to protect the economy of the country or empire from foreign competition. -
Founding of the Bank of Montreal
To help its colonies, Britain implemented preferential rates favouring the import of wood from United Canada. The wood industry interested British businessmen. They invested a lot of money to build sawmills and to pay workers. The timber trade was so profitable, that a bank was created. The Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817. -
Merging of the Northwest Company with the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company will dominate the fur trade in the Hudson Bay region. However, in 1783, a new fur trading company will be founded, the Northwest Company. Each fur trading company will try to attract the Amerindians to their trading posts. They competed against each other, spending large amounts of money to build trading posts while the demand for fur declined. In 1821, the two companies were encouraged by the British government to fuse under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company. -
The construction of the first canal built in Montreal
In order to facilitate the transportation of merchandise and to reduce the costs of production and distribution, the colonies government, along with some entrepreneurs, invested in the construction of a new transportation network. In order to transport merchandise inland by water, the first canal was built in Montreal in 1825, the Lachine Canal. A number of canal construction sites aimed to allow direct sailing between Montreal and Detroit, in the Unites States, by crossing the Great Lakes. -
Beginning of the agricultural crisis
With the strong increase in the population and the influx of British immigrants, the lands surrounding the St. Lawrence will be overcrowded. There's not enough land for farming. From 1830, farmers have difficulty to survive on agriculture. They have to leave the farm & settle in the cities or colonize new lands. Some will settle north of Trois-Rivières & Saguenay or settle in New England. Most of these farmers will have jobs in factories increasing the development of industrialization. -
The first railway route
Railroads contributed to the industrialization of the colonies by assuring the efficient distribution of merchandise, even in winter, which enabled the creation of new markets. The first railroad route was inaugurated in 1836 connecting the South Shore of Montreal to St. Jean-sur-le-Richelieu. This new transportation network allowed goods to be transported from one place to another quicker, safer and easier. -
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Reciprocity treaty
In 1846, the Corn Laws were abolished. With Free Trade, the products coming from the colonies cost more. During this time period, the United States experienced growth and constituted a new potential market for Canadian products. In 1854, the United States and United Canada will sign the reciprocity treaty. According to this treaty, raw materials or primary manufacturing products could be traded between the two partners without having to pay custom duties. This treaty came to an end in 1866. -
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First phase of industrialization
Canada had its first phase of industrialization. Manufactures were slowly replacing the artisan workshop. Machines now permitted the division of labour and increased productivity. The machines will also make more goods, in less time and at a lesser cost. New working-class neighbourhoods will appear. They are: over populated, unsanitary, no running water, many epidemics, ect. Working conditions were terrible: low wages, long hours, 6 day work week, no job security, working children, ect. -
John A. Macdonald's National Policy
John A. Macdonald tried to rectify the economic crisis by proposing a policy of industrial development: The National Policy. Canada will impose custom tariffs on imported manufactured goods. For Canadian consumers, local goods will cost less. Therefore, more people will buy "made in Canada" because it costs less. This will stimulate the Canadian economy. His three main objectives are: 1. Increase in protectionist tariff. 2. The expansion of the railway network. 3. To stimulate immigration. -
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Second phase of industrialization
The second phase was characterized by the exploitation of natural resources. New industries will flourish such as hydroelectricity, aluminum, minerals, pulp and paper. The second phase does not only happen in the city: further regions will also expand and become more industrialized. The majority of foreign investors come from Great Britain and the United States. Canada's participation in the war stimulated the economy as the country became one of the major suppliers for the allied troops. -
Stock Market Crash (New York)
During the 1920s, the Canadian and Quebec economies experienced a period of prosperity. After a while, surpluses accumulated in warehouses. In an effort to help the situation, companies started to produce less and proceeded to fire workers. This sequence of events caused the New York Stock Market to crash in 1929. This economic recession lasted for 10 years. The New York Stock Market Crash will effect the economy of most of the countries of the modern world and cause the Great Depression. -
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The Great Depression
The Great Depression started with the New York Stock Market Crash in 1929. During the 1930s, banks and factories closed their doors. Many bankruptcies occurred. There were many unemployed workers. During the economic crisis, the Federal and Provincial governments provided assistance to the poor & encouraged agricultural colonization to help people who lived in the city. In order to help the population, the government introduced direct aid, created labour camps & adopted laws to support farmers. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
To enlarge markets, the Canadian government wanted to increase trade with the United States, its main economic partner. On January 1st, 1989, the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) came into effect, eliminating almost all customs duties between Canada and the United States. The treaty was renegotiated to include Mexico, which agreed to participate in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into effect on January 1st, 1994.
