A COUNTRY IS BORN At the stroke of midnight on July 1 1867 Canadians began to celebrate the birth of their new country Guns boomed bells chimed and people cheered A huge bonfire was lit in Ottawa the new capital Even though it was the middle of the night people poured into the streets That afternoon parades led by brass bands proudly marched down the main streets of many cities and towns The sun shone brightly in each of the founding provinces It was a perfect day to celebrate At night fireworks lit up the sky before happy Canadians wearily headed home after such an important day For the first time they had a strong feeling of unity as their nation took its place in the world They looked forward to a promising future full of growth and prosperity Although Canada didn’t become a country until 1867 it already had a long history The Vikings were the first explorers to arrive from Europe When they sailed to what’s now Newfoundland around the year 1000 they were met by Aboriginal peoples who had been living on the land for thousands of years The name Canada actually comes from the Huron Iroquois word kanata which means village Around 1535 French explorer Jacques Cartier began using the name to describe parts of the country
Aboriginal peoples knew how to survive the cold difficult climate Some of these groups had learned how to plant crops and care for them so they would provide lots of food When Europeans built permanent settlements in the 1600s Aboriginal peoples taught them how to hunt and fish They also knew what plants provided medicine Their knowledge saved the lives of many explorers and settlers Throughout its long history Canada has been a place where people have come to make their homes Before becoming its own country it was part of the French colonies called New France and later part of the British colonies of British North America Even today about 250 000 newcomers arrive in Canada each year bringing skills that help make the country a better place to live Canada’s history is the story of its people and their inventions discoveries and happenings that changed the world and how we live This book is a year-by-year look at this history from 1867 to 2017 All of the events in the country’s history would never fit into one book but many important ones are here These events both good and bad have transformed the lives of Canadians The country’s people will continue to shape not only Canada but also the world What a Country Canada is a big place In fact it’s the second-largest country in the world It holds about 10 percent of the entire world’s forests And some of its parks are bigger than entire countries Canada also has the longest coastline in the world by far and no bay on Earth has as long a shoreline as Hudson Bay You’ll find thousands of lakes in Canada more than the rest of the world combined That’s definitely something to celebrate
A NEW COUNTRY 1867 1884 In 1867 Canada became a new country a confederation of just four provinces Canadians were full of hope and excitement as they saw their nation growing Most Canadians were farmers in the mid 1800s In rural areas forestry was an important industry and mining was increasing In many cities people went to work in factories and workshops as manufacturing developed Canadian streets looked very different in the 1860s There were no cars Street lights and office buildings were lit by gas lamps 1867 Confederation By the 1860s the colonies in what is now Canada knew it was time for change There was fear that the United States would take them over and Britain no longer wanted to pay to defend them As well the colonies weren’t growing as quickly as they might because it was difficult for them to sell goods to one another transportation between them was extremely poor They began to think of banding together to become stronger and more successful not by electricity like today In homes people still burned candles or oil lamps for light and cooked on wood-burning stoves By the 1860s technology was changing daily life Railways connected more and more towns Journeys that once took days by horse and carriage now could be done in hours Mail also was transported faster by rail An underwater telegraph cable had been laid across the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Ireland Now Canada could quickly get news from Europe It took three conferences lots of debate and almost three years but finally on July 1 1867 the new country of Canada was created It consisted of the provinces of New Brunswick Nova Scotia Ontario formerly Canada West and Quebec formerly Canada East Confederation or the union of provinces into a new country depended on the vision and determination of the Fathers of Confederation many of whom dreamed of a powerful new nation that would eventually stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean
Most Famous Fathers of Confederation George Brown acted for Canada West in the Confederation talks An excellent speaker he was one of the first people to suggest uniting the colonies Before becoming a politician he founded Toronto’s Globe newspaper which later became the Globe and Mail page 50 Thomas D’Arcy McGee was known as the best public speaker of his time He felt that Canada was a better place to live than the United States so he supported Confederation to prevent the United States from taking over the colonies He was one of the few politicians ever assassinated in Canada Georges-Étienne Cartier was a French-Canadian leader who was very supportive of Confederation He played an important role in persuading the French of Canada East to join the nation With Sir John A Macdonald he was co-premier of Canada East and Canada West from 1857 to 1862 Alexander Galt represented English speakers in Canada East He was a brilliant businessperson and was strongly in favour of Confederation He wanted a railway across the country and knew Confederation would make it easier to build one Samuel L Tilley was a businessperson before he became a politician He believed that Confederation could help the colonies prosper As premier of New Brunswick he also wanted a railway to connect the Maritimes to the other colonies Charles Tupper attended the Confederation meetings as premier of Nova Scotia and was greatly in favour of the union In 1896 he became Canada’s shortest-serving prime minister When he died he was the last survivor of the 36 Fathers of Confederation PROFILE Sir John A Macdonald Sir John A Macdonald from Canada West was a leading Father of Confederation He played such a large part in Confederation that he was made Canada’s first prime minister on July 1 1867 He added three more provinces and a territory to Canada and began building a transcontinental railway page 16 to span the nation and connect the provinces Whatever you do adhere to the union We are a great country and shall become one of the greatest in the universe if we preserve it Sir John A Macdonald When Did They Join Canada 1867 New Brunswick Nova Scotia Ontario Quebec 1870 Manitoba Northwest Territories 1871 British Columbia 1873 Prince Edward Island 1898 1905 1949 1999 Yukon Territory Alberta Saskatchewan Newfoundland later Newfoundland and Labrador Nunavut
