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Chapter 7 - Canada


Section 1: History and Government

A. Humans reached North America at least 13,000 years ago

1. May have come earlier by sea

2. Vikings, led by Leif Eriksson, colonized Newfoundland around 1,000 AD
• The colony was later abandoned

B. European explorers

1. English: John Cabot – claimed Canada for England in 1497

2. French: Samuelde Champlain founded the first French settlement, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River in 1608

3. Both France and Great Britain valued the coastal fisheries and inland fur trade

4. Britain defeated France in the French and Indian War (1754-1763)

5. France surrendered all territory in North America to Britain, but French settlers remained

C. By 1800, Canada had become a landof two distinct cultures:

1. French-speaking Roman Catholics

2. English-speaking Protestants

3. To settle conflicts between the two groups, the British government divided Canada into provinces, or political units:

• Upper Canada (later Ontario) near the Great Lakes, had an English-speaking majority

• Lower Canada (later Quebec) along the St. LawrenceRiver, had a French-speaking population

• Rupert’s Land, to the northwest, was owned by a British fur-trading company

D. Conflicts between English-speaking settlers and French-speaking settlers did not end

1. 1867 – British government created the Dominion of Canada
• Confederation: a loose political union
• Included Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and NewBrunswick
• Self governing, but still part of the British Empire
• Ottawa, Ontario became the capital

E. By 1871, Canada stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific
1. Transcontinental railroad from Montreal to Vancouver was completed in 1885
2. The discovery of gold in the Yukon spurred development of western Canada
3. Immigrants from parts of Europe other than Britaincame to Canada

F. Like the U.S., towns in Canada first sprang up where farming was possible

1. Later, these areas became manufacturing and service industry centers

2. The majority of Canadians live within 100 miles of the U.S. border
• Warmer climate
• More productive land
• Transportation is more widely available

3. Like the United States, Canada is a majoreconomic power in the 20th century

G. Canada’s government is a democracy

1. Parliamentary government; legislative and executive functions are combined
• Elected parliament (legislature)
• Prime Minister is the head of the majority party in parliament (chief executive)
• Britain’s monarch (Queen Elizabeth) is also Canada’s symbolic head of state

2. Like theUnited States, power is shared between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments

Section 2: Economy and Culture

A. The fur trade was a major economic activity in early Canada

1. First Nations (Native Americans) traded with European fisherman along the coast

2. Later, traders and trappers from France and England spread across Canada

B. Canada isone of the world’s richest countries; highly industrialized and urbanized

1. Farming, logging, mining, and fishing account for more than 10% of Canada’s GDP

2. About 5% of Canada’s land is suitable for farming
• 3% of the labor force works in agriculture
• Produces large amounts of food for domestic use and export

3. Canada exports more wood products than any othercountry in the world

4. Most manufacturing is done in the “heartland”, Ontario and Quebec

5. Like the U.S., Canada has a post-industrial economy
• More than 60% of Gross Domestic Product comes from service industries

6. Trade has always been important to Canada

• The United States is Canada’s chief trading partner

• 85% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S....