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Hudson Bay and North West Companies Amalgamate
In 1821 the Hudson Bay Company and North Wast Company profits were shrinking drastically because of the lawsuits and after 200 years of the fur trade, their resources were depleting quickly. Instead of the posibilaty of going bankrupt the two companies decided to amalgamate. -
Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada
The Lower Rebellion, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, was more violent than the Upper Canada Rebellion, led by William Lyon Mackenzie. The Lower Rebellion was driven by how revenues were used to fund the colony, but the Upper Rebellion disagrees on how land grants were given to British colonists first. The Rebellions lead to Lord Durham being appointed who wrote the Durham report, which historians agree, lead to joining the two colonies into one called Province of Canada. -
Charlottetown Conference Takes Place
In 1864 the confederation in Canada was set in motion. The conference brought together all the British colonists. The confederation started in Charlottetown and continued in Halifax, St. John, Fredericton and ended in Toronto were the discussions were concluded. The province of Canada sent delegates to the conference even know they haven't been invited. Their purpose for going was to create a stronger union since the British were reducing their funding for the Canadian colonies. -
Canada Becomes a Dominion
In 1864, a conference was held in Quebec which led to Canada becoming a Dominion. The conference settled on a basic union for all of British North America. The fathers of Confederation wanted to call the union the 'Kingdon of Canada' but it was feared this would upset America. Sir Leonard Tilly suggested it be called Dominion of Canada, based on a passage in The Bible. Even though this name was chosen, the phrase, Dominion of Canada was never actually used in any documentation. -
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion started when Rupert's land was transferred to the new nation of Canada. The rebellion was led by Louis Riel who was either considered a hero or an outlaw. The Metis inhabited a part of Rupert's land and they were worried that their culture and land rights would be lost when the land transferred to Canada. The uprising led to the creation of Quebec. All of this led to the North West Rebellion. -
Rupert's Land Gets Transferred to Canada
Three years after Confederation the Canadian government acquired Rupert's land for $1.5 million. Rupert's land is a third of what is now Canada. It was the largest real estate transfer (by land area) in Canadian history. It also gave the Hudson Bay Company and merchant governors exclusive rights to trade and colonize. -
North West Mounted Police Formed
The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a forerunner of Canada's RCMP. They helped the federal government suppress the North West Rebellion. Also, they brought order to the Klondike gold rush. The NWMP was modelled after the Irish Constabulary. After the Rebellion, the government increased the NWMP to one thousand men and appointed commissioner Lawrence Herchmer to modernize the force. -
North West Rebellion
The North West Rebellion was a violent rebellion that lasted 5 months in 1885. The Rebellion took place in what is now Saskatchewan and Alberta. The result of this rebellion was the enforcement of the Canadian law in the West, the subjugation of the Metis people and the conviction and the hanging of Louis Riel. After many battles, the Metis rebels were defeated and Riel was sentenced to be hung on September 18th, 1885. It took decades for the Aboriginal to recover from the 1885 defeat. -
Canadian Pacific Railway is Completed
The Canadian Pacific Railway was a five year project. It connected Eastern Canada and Western Canada. This played an important role in the development of the nation. There were over 15,000 temporary Chinese workers and at least 600 of them died. Today's value of the CPR is 19.2 billion. -
World War 1 Begins
World War 1 was the bloodiest conflict in Canadian history. More than 61,000 Canadians died. The war at first united Canadians. The Canadian parliament didn't choose to go to war. The Liberal opposition urged prime Minister Sir Roberts Bordons Conservative government to take sweeping powers under the new war measures act. World war one started woman enterinig the labor force.
