When you drive along Robson Street, you’re in the heart of Vancouver and can find core commercial blocks to walk along and explore. Have you ever wondered who was in charge of naming our Vancouver streets? Until last year, street naming was exclusively a City staff function; currently, the Civic Asset Naming Committee, including both members of the public and City staff, work together to choose new names. Assuming this committee must have been influenced by Robson’s notable contributions to BC’s history and it’s union with Canada, they honoured him with a street, however, he wasn’t always such a significant figure.
Mr Robson played a large role in our local history and was the ninth Premier of British Columbia amongst other roles. Beginning as a merchant in Upper Canada, the aspiring gold miner moved West to The Colony of British Columbia in 1859 after hearing news of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Although his prospecting was unsuccessful, he became known in the town of New Westminster, the colony’s capital. Soon after arriving in the unfamiliar colony, Robson was hired in 1861 as an editor for “The British Columbian,” mainland BC’s
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Furthermore, Robson was a powerful opponent of land speculation, believing it to be a settlement interference and wanted to transform the land into viable resources. His greatest success possibly came as the leading advocate for constructing the Canadian Pacific Railway terminus at Granville, and his support of the citizens there to include their locality. Credited for having the legislature name the new municipality of Vancouver upon its incorporation in 1886, Robson convinced the council that our city we know would be called
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest serving prime minister, is known for both the great contributions he brought to Canada and for the scandals he was involved in. The one event that makes him most famous to Canadians is the King-Byng Affair of 1926. During this event, Mackenzie King asked Lord Byng to dissolve parliament in order to force a new election as he had lost with a minority. Because King’s intentions were to regain a majority government, Byng refused out of distrust for King’s plans and King was replaced in power by the Conservatives. While William Lyon Mackenzie King’s actions were in accordance with all the laws regarding his power as Prime Minister, he acted for selfish reasons thus putting him in the wrong. Mackenzie King’s and Lord Byng’s histories will be quickly analyzed to understand their actions in the affair. Right after, King’s options and reasons for dissolving parliament will be analyzed. Thirdly, Byng’s options and reasons for refusing King’s request will be researched. Once enough evidence has been collected, the end results of this affair will be discussed and the conclusion as to whether or not King was right to go against responsible government will be made.
Today I am here to discuss the perks and the good of British Columbia joining Confederation. Joining Confederation means that British Columbia will receive things that the province is in desperate need of, such as a rail link to the East, and help with debt and government. If British Columbia were to choose differently from Confederation, economic isolation, no support from Great Britain or becoming enemies with Great Britan, and American invasion would be the case. British Columbia is falling apart, and so are the people and the economy. Who will help us as we continue to fall?
Canada became an emerging country after the Second World War. There was a need for Canada to identify themselves as a distinct nation from Britain and the United States. The Trans Canada Highway became a visible nationalistic figure that set apart Canada from other countries. The Trans Canada Highway was a significant structure built in 1949 through 1961 that emerged as a result of a newfound unity and nationalistic view in Canada. Although there were many different political, personal and economical standpoints on the building of the highway, the finalization of the construction of the highway brought a unique unity that could be appreciated by all Canadians.
Stevenson, Garth. "Canadian Federalism: The Myth of the Status Quo." Reinventing Canada: Politics of the 21st Century. Ed. M. Janine Brodie and Linda Trimble. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2003. 204-14. Print.
Any person, place or event that has held the honour of being commemorated in Canada has been recognized of an extreme importance to the country. It is impossible to research commemoration in Canada without reading about world war one and two; The great wars are arguably the most commemorated events in History let alone Canada. Understanding this they are not the only events that receive attention from Canada, the government recognizes many other occurrences as, well, anything from Sir John A. Macdonald day on the 11th of January to the anniversary of the statute of Westminster on the 11th of December. I do not believe that any one event can be placed above or below another, and that they all hold a value in whatever way that may be. This Essay
Stanley Park, named after the governor-general Lord Stanley, is a nestled place of nature that is surrounded by the concrete jungle that is known as the city of Vancouver. It allows the residents to take a break from the urban sprawl, all while remaining in the comfort of their own city. While, today it is seen as a change of pace that is smoothly integrated into our city’s culture and transportation networks, the creation of the park and its history actually has a checkered past of conflict and inequality that many seem to have taken for granted. While the park did serve as a site for sore eyes, it was not only a urban park or environmental relief, it was also an indication of the larger trend that was occurring
Canada likes to paint an image of peace, justice and equality for all, when, in reality, the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in our country has been anything but. Laden with incomprehensible assimilation and destruction, the history of Canada is a shameful story of dismantlement of Indian rights, of blatant lies and mistrust, and of complete lack of interest in the well-being of First Nations peoples. Though some breakthroughs were made over the years, the overall arching story fits into Cardinal’s description exactly. “Clearly something must be done,” states Murray Sinclair (p. 184, 1994). And that ‘something’ he refers to is drastic change. It is evident, therefore, that Harold Cardinal’s statement is an accurate summarization of the Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationship in
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
The government took several steps to prepare for immigrants in the west, for the size of a population that they wanted, a certain infrastructure was needed. In 1870 they begin buying rights to the land from the Hudson Bay Company, at the same time Britain handed the rights to much of the land to the colony. Between 1871 and 1877 the government negotiated several treaties (called the Numbered Treaties, 1-7) with the aboriginal and Métis peoples who populated the area. They created an infrastructure of laws and created the RCMP to police the area. In 1872 with the Dominion Lands Act, colonists could buy 160 acres for 10$, of which they retained full possession if they occupied the land for 3 years. They also kept some of the territories to sell at full price or use for other projects; for example, when Canadian Pacific built the railroad in 1885, the government gave them 10.4 million hectares, on top of paying them 63 500 000$ for their work and lending the company 35 000 000$.
Neatby, H. B. (2005). KING, WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE. Retrieved February 15, 2014, from Biographi: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/king_william_lyon_mackenzie_17E.html
In the year of 1867 the nation we know as Canada came into being. The Confederation in this year only came about after things had been overcome. Many political and economic pressures were exerted on the colonies and a federal union of the colonies seemed to be the most practical method of dealing with these pressures and conflicts. While Confederation was a solution to many of the problems, it was not a popular one for all the colonies involved. In the Maritime colonies views differed widely on the topic. Some were doubtful, some were pleased, others were annoyed and many were hopeful for a prosperous future.1
The Confederation act of 1867 without question has had a major influence on the status of contemporary Canada. It has helped shape Canada into one of the worlds most politically and economically powerful countries; a country that is strong, independent, and united. There was a series of events which led to the confederation of Canada, some which are more significant than others. However, I believe that despite the significance of events such as the British encouragement of uniting its North American colonies, the central and key reason for confederation was the fear of potential American (Yankee) inhabitance (whether by persuasion or invasion) of the divided and vast British North American colonies, and the way that the “Fathers of Confederation” were able to take advantage of this situation and persuade reluctant colonies to join Confederation. A strong and united nation could not be easily invaded or bought. These essential factors will be discussed in the paragraphs to come.
...cess. Ultimately his actions opened debate and contributed to the demise of the Meech Lake Accord. Later that summer the infamous Oka standoff, where the Mohawks in southern Quebec engaged in a 78-day armed standoff with authorities over a land dispute, escalated to widespread protest by Aboriginals that year (Ramos 2006:211). Another major outcome of the expression of Indigenous resistence to colonialism in the summer of 1990 was the establishment of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (Peach 2011:21). A mandate appointed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in response to the Oka confrontation. It was the government’s attempt to allow First Nation’s to express recommendations and propose specific solutions to the problems which have plagued relationships with government and Canadian society as well as issues that Aboriginals were confronted with at the time.
Clark, Paraskeva. “Charles Hill Interview with Paraskeva Clark.” National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives. 18 Oct. 1973. Web. 22 Feb. 2010.
The Canadian crown city Vancouver has the potential of keeping busy travellers on long holidays in Canada by its versatile, captivating and interesting sites capable of cat...