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Jan 1, 1492
Vikings
Vikings were the first ones to arrive and discover America before 1492. -
Jan 1, 1492
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus "discovered" America in 1492. At first, when he landed in the Caribbean, he thought that he landed in India. When the Europeans came to America they came here with the belief of terra nullius (land that belongs to no one). They wanted to claim it, but they did not realize that the First Nations already lived here for years. -
Period: Jan 1, 1492 to
Immigration to Canada
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Jan 1, 1497
Northwest Passage
This was a passage that everyone desired to find. It was a route that would go over North America to reach Asia. England hired John Cabot to go find it. In 1497 he could not find the passage but instead, landed in Newfoundland and Labrador. He found an abundance of fish which encouraged other Europeans to come. -
New France
The first man to permanently settle in Canada was Samuel De Champlain. In 1608 he establised Quebec as a base for North America. It was the start of New France. But it was not doing so well. It was until King Louis the 14th in France led to the growth of New France by making it a royal province. -
Jesuits
The Jesuits (black robes) went to New France to convert native people such as the Hurons to Christianity. They did that by building permanent missions in Huronia and they offered them gifts. The Huron's already have their own God, so there were very few conversions. -
Hudsons Bay Company
The Hudsons Bay Company was created in 1670. King Charles proclaimed that beaver hats should be worn by all men. It went from the fur trade to retail department stores. It pushed the fur trade into the interior of Canada, which inccreased the European presence -
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham
During the battle, soldiers who came to Canada to help the British fight, were people from Ireland (Farmers), workers for Britian (people in clothing factories and shipyards), and the Fraser Highlander. -
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The Loyalists
During the American Revolution, there were people who chose to remain loyal to Britian during the war. They were know as Loyalists. During the revolution, families were driven out to go into exile. There were 100 000 refugee loyalists and half of them came to Canada. -
Red River Valley
Thomas Douglas created new settlements in the Red River Valley. He did it for the Scottish Farmers that lost their land because of landlords. -
The Great Migration
During the 1840s in Ireland, there was a failure in the potato crop. It spread famine all over Ireland. They ended up emigrating to Canada because people were dying from starvatiion and disease. Others were unable to pay rent and lost their homes -
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The Underground Railroad
Slavery was a common practice in the southern colonies. The Underground Railroad was a chain of routes and safe houses. It helped the slaves escape from America to Canada (an anti-slave society). -
The Confederation of Canada
On July 1st, 1867 Canada became a country. The first four provinces at the start of Canada were Ontariio, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. We managed to become a country through discussions and compromises, not violence. Confederation helped unite everyone together and encouraged others to ccome join our great nation. It attracted people because of our availability of farmland. -
Manitoba Act
Noelle Ritchot and John A. MacDonald had negotiations about the creation of Manitoba. Noelle also wanted 1.4 million acres of land for the Metis because he wanted to protect them. The Manitoba Act was created in 1870. MacDonald helped settlers have a peaceful transition by sending a military force to help out. -
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The Canadian Pacific Railway
To unite our nation, Canada wanted to build a railway the stretched all the way from the West to the East. They needed workers, so the Chinese came here to help build it. But they faced many harsh conditions living here. Working on the railway was full of hardships; one Chinese died for every mile of track laid down. Not everyone wanted the Chinese to live here. The government put on head tax to discourage them from coming. -
Open Door Immigration Policy
The former Prime Minister of Canada, Wilfrid Laurier created the Open Door Immigration Policy. About 1 million immigrants came from the United States, Great Britian, and Europe. He also helped expand Canada; he created two new provinces : Saskatchewan and Alberta.
