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Jan 1, 1534
Naming Canada
Between 1534 and 1542, Jacques Cartier made three voyages across the Atlantic, claiming the land for King Francis I of France. He heard two captured guides speak the Iroquoian word kanata, meaning “village.” By the 1550s, the name of Canada began appearing on maps.
As a result, Canada became more widely known by Europeans. -
The Establishment of New France
In 1604, the first European settlement north of Florida was established by French explorers. Later on, the French and Aboriginal people collaborated in the vast fur-trade economy, driven by the demand for beaver pelts in Europe.
The contact between French settlers and indigenous peoples of Canada created the ethnic group called Métis. The word comes from the Latin “miscere,” which stands for “to mix,” and was used originally to describe the children of native women and French men. -
The Rise of the British America
In 1670, King Charles II of England granted the Hudson’s Bay Company exclusive trading rights over the watershed draining into Hudson Bay. For the next 100 years the Company competed with Montreal-based traders.
As a result, the English colonies along the Atlantic seaboard, dating from the early 1600s, eventually became richer and more populous than New France. -
The Seven Years' War
The competition between France and Britian finally erupted in the Seven Years' War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763. This war left legacies in all the countries (including their colonies) that were involved.
In North America, the British took over New Frances, as well as Cape Breton Island and Florida – making Britain the dominant colonial power in the region. -
The Beginning of Democracy
Democratic institutions developed gradually and peacefully. The Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada (later Ontario) and Lower Canada (later Quebec).
The Act also granted to the Canadas, for the first time, legislative assemblies elected by the people. The name Canada also became official at this time and has been used ever since. The Atlantic colonies and the two Canadas were known collectively as British North America. -
Abolition of Slavery
The first movement to abolish slave trade emerged in the British Parliament in the late 1700s. In 1793, Upper Canada, led by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, became the first province in the Empire to move toward abolition. In 1833, the British Parliament abolished slavery throughout the Empire. Thousands of slaves escaped from the United States, followed “the North Star” and settled in Canada via the Underground Railroad, a Christian anti-slavery network. -
The War of 1812: The Fight for Canada
After the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805, the Royal Navy ruled the sea. This led to American enmity at British interference with their shipping.
In June 1812, the U.S. launched an invasion, believing it would be easy to conquer Canada. However, Canadian volunteers and First Nations supported British soldiers in Canada’s defense.
By 1814, the attempt to conquer Canada had failed. The present-day Canada-U.S.A. border is partly an outcome of the War, which ensured that Canada would remain independent. -
Confederation
From 1864 to 1867, representatives of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada, with British support, worked to establish a new country.The old Province of Canada was split into Ontario and Quebec. These four provinces formed the Dominion of Canada. The British Parliament passed the British North America Act in 1867. The Dominion of Canada was officially born on July 1, 1867. Until 1982, July 1 was celebrated as “Dominion Day.” The day is officially known as Canada Day. -
Period: to
Expansion of the Dominion
1867 – Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
1870 – Manitoba, Northwest Territories
1871 – British Columbia
1873 – Prince Edward Island
1880 – Transfer of the Arctic Islands (to N.W.T.)
1898 – Yukon Territory
1905 – Alberta, Saskatchewan
1949 – Newfoundland and Labrador
1999 – Nunavut -
The Red River Rebellion
European settlement of Canada’s West began with the Red River Colony. In 1811, Thomas Douglas persuaded the company to grant him 300 000 square kilometres in parts of what are now Manitoba, Minnesota, and North Dakota.
But Douglas did not take into account the Métis who were already living in this region. This created tensions, and eventually led to the violent, divisive, and largely uprising movement led by the Métis, including Red River Rebellion of 1869–70 and North-West Rebellion of 1885. -
A Railway from Sea to Sea
British Columbia joined Canada in 1871 after Ottawa promised to build a railway to the West Coast. On November 7, 1885, a symbol of unity was completed when the last spike was drove. The project was funded by British and American investors and built by both European and Chinese labour. Afterwards, the Chinese were subject to discrimination. The Government of Canada apologized in 2006 for the discriminatory policy. After many years, the CPR’s “ribbons of steel” fulfilled a national dream. -
The Numbered Treaties
Between the year 1871 and 1921, a total of 11 treaties were signed. Each was given a number. These numbered treaties marked the beginning of a "cash for land" approach by the government.
It is important to understand that treaties usually placed the highly productive land in the hands of the government and confined the First Nations to smaller, less productive areas. -
The Indian Act
In 1876, the Indian Act was was developed by consolidating separate pieces of colonial legislation such as the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869.
The act was one tool the government used to encourage assimilation. This act remains in place, although many of its provisions have changed. However, in the 19th and much of the 20th century, it meant that the lives of First Nations people were strictly controlled by government officials. -
The Residential School System
The Residential School System was a system, funded by the Canadian government and operated by the Christian churches, removes First Nation children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant Canadian/Western culture.
The system is important because it leds to the lost of cultural identity for many First Nation people. -
The First Europeans
According to the Sagas of Icelanders, the first European to see Canada was Bjarni Herjólfsson, who was blown off course en route from Iceland to Greenland, also reached Labrador and the island of Newfoundland in the summer of 985 or 986 CE. However, most European exploration began around 1497 with the expedition of John Cabot, who was the first to draw a map of Canada’s East Coast.
