Group 2 Pages 221-238 Presented By: Tawnya Chomiak, Ken Conrad, Jamie Brown, Eric Brodie, and Yual Chiek.

Group 2 Pages 221-238

Presented By:

Tawnya Chomiak, Ken Conrad, Jamie Brown, Eric Brodie, and Yual

Chiek

Immigration and Colonization

• 1862 Bureau became a separate department

Policy of economical land

• 1854 immigration decrease to the St. Lawrence region

• Competition for settlers increases

British effort in the Maritimes

• 1713-63 English mercantile policy expanded in Maritimes

• 1749 Halifax founded for military defense• End of Civil was English loyalists move to

Acadia• With the loss of the 13 colonies, Britain

believed that Nova Scotia could supply the West Indies

1783

• Shift from increasing settlement to more intensive use of resources

• Funding of Loyalists to settle St. John River valley

• Profitable activities were non-agricultural (fishing, lumbering, trapping)

1805

• Bread-Corn Bounty enacted to encourage agricultural settlement

1815• End of European and American Wars

resulting in the end of Bread-Corn Bounty1818• Series of letters from Agricola result in

formation of a Central Board of Agriculture (the CBA did little to improve the agriculture situation)

1820• Emigrant Aid and Agricultural Society

movement began1826• End of CBA

1826 – 1841

• Prosperity

1841

• New CBA formed, local societies abundant

1859

• Central Agricultural Society created

1885

• CBA abolished and replaced by a Secretary of Agriculture

Maritimes Agriculture

- -Approaching confederation maritime focused on husbandry

- -Land conditions were more suited to livestock than agriculture

- - Prince Edward Island was only maritime province considered agricultural land prior to confederation

- - Famous fore horses, hay, oats, sheep, beef, pork and bacons,

- -Provided breeding stock for other colonies

• - PEI had no choice but to develop agriculture because there were no other resources

• - Domestic stalemate in representation in the Canada's and the increase of reluctance of the imperial government to maintain the burden of colonial defense

• - Need existed to create union• - Needed to be national economy because two

other alternatives had disappeared a) imperial economic system b) continental economic integration due to removal of British economic reciprocity in 1854 and 1866

• - Also intensified by success of Americans and confederation provided way to withstand pressure from the south

- Needed some policies to create economic unit in British North America

National Policy

• - National policy was formula for creation of nation• - System of tariffs were central to the policy• - National Policy generally refers specifically to the

system of tariffs• - The national policy is more encompassing and

included additional components• - Tariffs were for protection of economy as well as

a source of revenue• - The national policy predated national government

• - Required a) national constitution= British North America Act of 1867

• -BNA allowed for removal of trade barriers between colonies= means to complete an intercontinental railway by national government

• -Transformation required new areas of resources to be used to promote the economy; direction towards Rupert’s Land and Pacific colonies even before Confederation

• Could be pursued by presence of national government= could easily obtain ownership and provide transportation facilities

• - Needed western land settlement• - Arable land could be used to attract immigrant to

bring in revenue for railway-building• - System of protective tariffs necessary to complete

transformation• - Economic objective was to create new frontier of

investment opportunities for commercial and financial interests in St. Lawrence area.

• - Interests thought of investment in terms of large-scale agricultural settlement and immigration

• - Dependent on many factors one of is the extent of the agricultural economy that is being created

Effectiveness of nation Policy

• a) 1900 to 1930 4.5 million immigrants came to Canada 3 times as many as came in the past 50 years; doubling population to 10 377 000

• b) 1901 8% of pop. lived on prairies, 1931 almost ¼ lived there, prairie pop. increased five fold to 2 354 000

• c) farms increased sevenfold to 300 000 farms, acreage improved to 60 million acres

• d) wheat went from 25 million acres and by 1920 wheat became most valuable Canadian export ex. 1901 was < $10 million and 1929= $496 million

• -Before agricultural settlement could begin and be successful certain criteria had to be met. a) North West Territories had to be acquired from Hudson Bay Company

• - June 22 1869 measure passed by Canadian Parliament to arrange acquisition of Rupert’s land and the NWT and provide government for the region.

• -Transfer of Rupert’s land was arranged from the company to the Queen arranged between company and the imperial government

• - Finally finished with re-transfer from the Queen to the Dominion of Canada by Dec. 1, 1869

• - Summer of 1869 Dominion sent survey parties to locate the meridian line 98 degrees which was to be basis of future survey

• - They surveyed over Metis lots which caused the Red River Rebellion and caused the transfer to be delayed until 1870

• - Many of the settler’s demands were granted by the Manitoba Act of 1870, one major exception was control of material resources.

• - June 8, 1870 the company surrendered it’s charter to the Crown and all of the NWT was transferred to the Dominion of Canada

• - Terms of transfer were that HBC was to receive 300 000 pounds, 1/20 of the fertile belt plus 50 000 acres around trading post

• - Second criteria was a sure product to support settlement and that could be marketed profitably

• Needed a fast maturing wheat; 1870’s Red Fife was developed in Ontario it matured in 115-125 days, 1904 Marquis was developed by Dr. Saunders at Indian Head matured in 114 days. In 1920’s Garnet was developed to mature in 100 days

• - Third requirement for development of western lands was to construct transportation and communication facilities

• -Even though steam boats existed this requirement was not met until completion of the CPR in 1885

• Last requirement was a system of land survey and land grants

Western Canadian Land Policy

• - Developed to meet two critical needs; pay for the construction of railroads and purchase of lands while encouraging settlement, thus an effective land grant system and survey was vital

• - Survey was relatively simple because it was technical while the land grant system was more complex because it was a political matter; many attempts were made before it worked properly

Survey System in Western Canada

• - Based on the American system but improved upon because Canada's learned from American mistakes

• - Included formation of blocks of 36 sections called townships

• - Each section contained 640 acres plus 40 acres for roads 66` wide

Land grants

• Metis Grant– Dominion provided 1 400 000 acres for

families of Metis residents– 1874 issued scrip of $160 toward the purchase

of Dominion lands to heads of Metis families

Railway land grants

• At first provided 50 million acres grant, 20 miles deep and 6-12 miles wide on each side. Resulted in 40 mile belt.

• 1873 CPR Pacific Scandal

• 1878 railway complete to Winnipeg

• 1879 offering a grant of 100m acres for building railroad

• 1881- new CPR syndicate formed– The CPR received less land, it would gain in

traffic what it lost in land sales

• 1885 CPR was complete.– The only railway that has never gone broke

• About 12 companies got land grants averaging about 1 000 000 acres each. Eventually 6 became absorbed by CPR.

School land grants

• 1872 – Domination Lands Act provided land grants to fund schools and education

• Eastern Canada had poor administration of school land grants

• The average price for school land: Manitoba $9.79, Saskatchewan $16.85, and Alberta $14.40

• The net proceeds to the Prairie Provinces from sale of school lands from 1870 to1930 was $65 555 268.

Free Homestead Legislation

• 1872 – Dominion Lands Act granted 160 acre homesteads– The farmer had to settle on a quarter and pay a

fee of $10; in the 1st year had to break 10 acres; in the 2nd year he hand to seed those 10 acres and break 15 more; and in the 3rd year, the previously broken 25 acres had to be seeded and 15 more had to broken

Odd-numbered sections in the belts A through E

A – 10 miles @$6 acre

B – 15 miles @$5

C – 20 miles @$3.50

D – 20 miles @$2

E – 50 miles @$1

• Eventually even-numbered land section were opened. It was discovered that the CPR would make more from the traffic of rapid settlement

• CPR grants were sold at a low-price. CPR $7.63 VS Hudson Bay Co. $12.10

• With the opening of the even-numbered sections farms were not a land locked.

• 1908 all railroad grants were liquidated and the remaining lands were thrown open for homesteads. This shows that the homestead system worked.

Preemption and Purchased Homesteads

• Policy decisions were made in Ottawa by people who knew little about agriculture in western Canada

• Some areas of 160 acres could not maintain a family

• To solve preemption was permitted• If successful with the 1st 160 acres another 160

acres would be granted at a price of $1-3/acre

• 1908 –Preemption was restricted to an area in width from Calgary to Moose Jaw and in depth from North Battleford to the US border

- Priced at $3 acre for an adjoining quarter

• 1930 –homestead system came to a close, total homesteaded acres were 58 million

Major Effects of Land Policy

• 1) Immediate overpopulation in certain areas of the prairies were out-migration was needed

• 2) Rapid settlement lead to labor shortages

• 3) Some area was undeveloped, and other area were cultivated in unsuitable areas

Conclusion

• The delay in agriculture created an environment suitable for the expansion of government, in areas beyond land policy

Discussion/ Questions