Canada is the world's second largest country and the most northern country of the North American continent. It has a population of 24.4 million people and most of them live in the cities bordering the United States. This is a country with diversity, rich history, and loyalty. As a neighbor to the United States, Canada has a peaceful district history from that of its neighbor. In this paper, I will examine how Canada gained autonomy from Great Britain. Canada independence was a long process that lasted until the 1900s.
First and foremost, Canada did not officially gain independence from British North America Act of 1867. To explain its dependence we must explain the core Canadian loyalty to Great Britain, unlike the United States. Prior to
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the BNA Act of 1867, “Canada was populated by colonists from France and the United Kingdom and the colonists were governed by the laws of their home countries.” (Billingsley, Lawnow.Org) When the United States decided they wanted independence from Great Britain, they “had invited four other British colonies in North America to join the revolution: Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland.” (Kasoff and James) they wanted to include the northern nation in the fight for independence from Great Britain.
however, they rejected signaling Canada's preference and how they viewed themselves different from the United States. When themselves as distinct from Americans, and to develop an identity as Canadians.” (Kasoff and James) when the war was over, many Canadians began to feel independent and started to request partial freedom from Great Britain. Some began to express their discontent through rebelling. according to the textbook, “most of the rebels, the Patriotes, were French Canadians – making the rebellion much …show more content…
more difficult for British troops to suppress.” (Kasoff and James) in response, “British Government then sent Lord Durham to examine the situation; he stayed in Canada only five months before returning to Britain and brought with him his Durham Report, which strongly recommended responsible government.” (wikipedia.org) Canadians were acknowledging their difference from Britain and now are expressing their needs. As a result, they emerged as one single colony known as the United Province of Canada by the 1840 Act of Union. The Act of Union was a way to assimilate the French in Canada, however, this failed.
The first step of independence Canada took was to recognize French as the second national language in 1849. In 1864, under prime minister John A. Macdonald, The Quebec Conference and Charlottetown Conference took place which outlined the “British colonies in North America into a federation.” (wikipedia.org) As a result, it “led to the formation of the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.” this formation which implied a “country firmly within the British Empire.” (Kassoff, James) Canada did not necessarily wish to free comply from Britain, they wanted a voice within their nation. Also, Britain wanted Canada to defend itself because the cost of taking care Canada was a lot. For example, Britain was responsible for new railways and sending over representatives. “In 1867 the British North America Act created Canada in its modern political form through the union of four of the colonies, a process referred to in Canada as Confederation. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario (the former Canada West), and Quebec” (Kasoff and
James) Now, the BNA Act did not give Canada freedom over foreign affairs, altering of the Constitution, or an official Canadian supreme court. “ no power over its relations with other countries, a power that Britain retained, and no power to amend its own constitution.” (Kasoff and James) after WWII “with Britain’s blessing, Canada took its own seat at the League of Nations,” (Kasoff and James) Now, after WWII, many people feared another world war and wanted human rights because this was not part of the Canadian Constitution and the Canadian government had no power to change the constitution, only Britain did. It took the promise of many prime ministers and try and fail to implement the Canadian Bill of right. First, I must explain the relevance of the Bill of rights on the subject of Canadian autonomy. The Bill of Rights gave Canada the power to alter the Constitution and implement a Supreme Court thus increasing Canada power and reducing Britain control of the Canadian government. When the progressive conservative, led by John Diefenbaker, won control of parliament, they were able to implement a Bill of Rights. However, this had very little power in Canada and rarely used. When Pierre Trudeau became prime minister, he attempted to push to amend the Canadian Bill of rights, but once again failed due to province division. Moreover, at the same time, Canada wanted to be involved in foreign affairs and was getting frustrated from getting involved in Britain foreign affairs. For example, the 1922 Chanak Affairs forced Canada to send troops in order to support Britain affairs in Africa even though Canada did not support it. According to Canada history.Ca Prime Mackenzie King was determined to make its own foreign policy after this affair. The next stepping stone that gained Canada the right to represent itself in foreign affairs was the 1923 Halibut Treat. This treaty was signed between Canada and the United States over fishing rights in Halibut. Prime Minister King believed Canada had the right to represent itself without the presence of Great Britain. In 1927 Canada opened its own embassy in the U.S. and Vincent Massey became Canada's first foreign diplomat. the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster in 1931 which acknowledged “Canada as coequal with the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms.” this allowed Canada to govern itself within its own rules. Now with the Bill of Right for Canada, Pierre amended it without the assent of all the provinces. According to the textbook, “Trudeau saw this moment in time as a small window of opportunity to patriate the constitution and to add an entrenched charter of rights with judicial enforcement” (Kasoff and James) although Trudeau actions violated the constitutional rights of convention, he did not violate the right to act unilaterally as a prime minister. So, Canada crafted a compromised constitution that was enacted and became the supreme law of Canada on April 17, 1982, after being presented to parliament and the crown. This was the final step in achieving full sovereignty. Canada did have an official “revolution” like the United States. Their independence was slow and gradual. They took pride in their association with Great Britain and experienced a series of very different constitutions. They negotiated their rights to freedom and stay under Great Britain until the 1900s. This is a distinct country with a rich history that has truly proven its loyalty..
But today more then even Canadian culture is affected by the American influence. Media, American artists, economic dependence, American propaganda and political pressure from the United States is making Canada too Americanized. All of these factors reflect on the social life of ordinary Canadians threatening the heritage and the traditions that define Canada as independent country. Canada and the United States are the largest trade partners in the world. It is the result of the geographical position of two countries and the free trade between two countries.
It was once stated by F.R.Scott “ There are two miracles in canadian history. The first is the survival of French Canada, and the second is the survival of Canada.” His quote came to reality as of Canada grew to be a stable and secure country where everyone would want to be. Yet to accomplish this, many obstacles and events occurred such as the Spanish Succession war in 1713 , the seven years war in 1763, the constitutional act in 1791 and finally the Act of Union in 1841. First in 1713, the Spanish Succession war occurred where the British took control of Acadia. Soon after that, in 1763 the Seven Years War ended where the British took over New France and was later renamed British North America. Before the British most of the colonies were
A century ago, Canada was under control by the British Empire. The battles we fought the treaties we signed and the disputes we solved all helped us gain independence from our mother country “Britain”. Canadians fought a long battle protecting others, and from these battles we gained our peaceful reputation and our independence from Britain. Canada became a nation on July, 1st 1867. Although we were an independent country, our affairs and treaties were all still signed by Britain.
To start off, I’ll be writing about the life of people in British North America and its significance towards unifying Canada, as well as background knowledge of conflicts that existed. Life in British North America was changing at an alarming rate. New technology and services were being introduced such as railways and steamships. Industries such as building, producing and farming were being introduced. This was in part due to the many immigrants from Britain and France who’d settled. This was dreadful for the First Nations as their land had been taken away even more so than before. More resources were needed for the growing crowd so trade agreements were made. As more people came, the First Nations were even more distanced from the Europeans. Meanwhile, the French and the British wanted the other’s culture to be erased from the
Canada’s eligibility to participate on the world stage and its move towards independence was proven after the accomplishments at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Foremost, Canada’s first opportunity to partake on the world stage came soon after the end of World War I, during the Paris Peace Conference. The accomplishments of the Canadian Army in the Battle of Vimy Ridge helped to earn Canada a spot in the Paris Peace Conference, after long arguments made on behalf of Canada by Prime Minister Robert Broden . The Prime Minister argued that Canada’s wartime record had earned Canada a seat separate from Britain. Canada was granted the seat despite the disapproval of the American President, Woodrow Wilson’s as they contributed greatly to the Allied forces especially in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The approval of Canada’s seat is important to both the significance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the eligibility to participate on the world stage because it was one of the first steps Canada took towards its independence from Great Britain. Additionally, Canada became more social with other countries separate from Britain after the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Canada involved itself more in trading after the battle and the war, and had a flourishing...
Source I is a quote from the Paris Peace Talks by British Prime Minister; Lloyd George, where he states a desire for Germany to suffer. This line was said after the end of World War I, where nations met up to discuss the Treaty of Versailles or the treaty to end World War I. In that treaty, it claimed that Germany was responsible for the war and included all the punishments for Germany. Britain and France wanted to make Germany hurt, in return from all the losses it’s caused them, like death of loved ones and damaged property. Squeezing an orange until its pips squeak, means to apply intense pressure on one, until it suffers or in Germany’s case, becomes economically and militarily weak. The Treaty of Versailles harshly punished
Canada became increasingly autonomous throughout the 1920's and 1930's. Being established officially as a nation apart from Britain certainly helped, but there were more than just official pieces of paper at play. The negotiation of the Halibut treaty was a large push towards become an autonomous nation from Britain. The final push were the seats Canada was given at various significant events.
Canada has become a superior nation thru, perseverance, courage and even care as they persevered thru many dark battles, and made sure they all came thru together as a unit other than individuals. Their courage made there fighting 100% stronger as they wouldn’t back down to any task and they weren’t afraid to lose their life to help a fellow friend and country out. Care played a major aspect in each Canadian heart. There cared about Britain so they weren’t to go help them when they declared war, they helped other troops with their emotional problems and lastly they even cared a little about there enemies as they are the same person, however the only thing separating them is there culture. Canadians contributed in many ways to help our country's great efforts in the First World War.
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
The post-war time was a period where major changes were occurring. After being involved in two international conflicts, Canada was ready to reestablish their economy. During this time, Canada had started working on ways to become stronger and reputable. It is evident that Canada had matured through the post-war era. Canada’s economic progress left a positive impact on the growth of the country as consumerism became popular, and economic ties with America became stronger. Moreover, the removal of racial and ethical barriers contributed to Canadian social affairs such as the huge wave of immigration and the baby boom. The Canadian government also had become more aware and involved in issues impacting Canadian citizens. Canada as a whole started identifying itself as an independent nation and participating in events that brought a positive reputation amongst them. These economical, social, and legal changes helped Canada mature into the country it is today.
Currently, Canada remains the world’s second largest country, full of vast and rich resources from all corners of the nation. None of the accomplishments and achievements that Canada has made to date would have been possible without Confederation. Without intense pressure from the Americans, and without the common goal that a few men shared of unifying a country, Canada would not be the strong, free, independent and united nation that it is today.
Canada is known by outsiders to be a very peaceful country. But if you ask any Canadian they well tell you that is unfortunately not the case. For there is a large ongoing conflict between Canadians. The conflict is between the French and the English, or more specifically between Quebec and the rest of Canada. As a result of this conflict, along with some wrongdoing and propaganda. Quebec has considered and has gone as far to hold referendums over Separatism (Surette,2014). Separatism is that the province of Quebec separates from the rest of Canada to form its own country. Which would have immense effects on indubitably Quebec but also the rest of Canada (Martin, 2014). This report will focus on the root causes and origin of Quebec Separatism, the current state of Quebec Separatism and finally how we as a society can act towards Quebec Separatism.
The question of whether Quebec will secede from Canada to become an independent nation has been a hot topic in the country for several years now. It dates back to the abortive rebellions of 1837-38. In 1980, a referendum to secede was rejected by a 60-40 margin. Since then though, the numbers of Quebeckers that want to become sovereign has significantly increased. There is so many questions of what will happen if this does happen. In this paper I plan to take a deeper look at this situation and try to figure out what it would actually be like if Quebec was its own country.
The History of Canada and Canadians Canada and World War 1. (n.d.). The History of Canada. Retrieved May 29, 2012, from http://www.linksnorth.com/canada-history/canadaandworldwar1.html
Achieving unity within a country is the most fundamental and central goal of a nation. In order for a county to unite, they must first achieve unification in what values they hold to be important. They also need to be in accordance with one another as to how the country works and how they wish to be governed. These factors help create a region's identity and make it different from areas around it. It is a goal most difficult to accomplish due to the discrepancies between cultures, religions, personal beliefs and many other factors that may exist in that area.