The honourable Simon Thomas Fraser was a Scottish fur trader who was born in the Village of New York on May 20th 1776. Fraser was the eighth child of Captain Simon Fraser, who was the 84th highland regiment, his beautiful mother Isabella Grant was the offspring of the almighty Laird Daldregan. Fraser father came to North America was regiment in 1773, however he was brutally captured and was imprisoned and left there to die after the Battle of Bennington. Simon widowed mother remarried a poverty-stricken servant named Garcia, to be able to support her family.
In 1790 at the age 14 Fraser moved to Montreal where he interned for his highly ranked uncles at the North West Company. From the years 1792 to 1805 Simon showed his loyalty to the company by working in the Athabasca Department. At the age of 24 Fraser was full partner with the North West Company, and was in charge of all the west of Rockies operations. All of Fraser efforts and pursuits was one of the reason Canada got the 49th parallel after the World War. Fraser established a majority of what is now known as British Columbia. In 1803 Fraser began travelling the Peace River creating the Rocky Mountain Trading Post. Many problems occurred when Fraser was exploring British Columbia, such as the delay of founding Fort George (Prince George). Simon was genuine man who made sure to be on good terms with the Aboriginals, he adapted friendly relationships with all the tribes he came across. Fraser always made sure the Tribes he met were sending positive messages downstream upon his arrival, letting the next tribe know he came with good intentions. For the most part this tactic worked out, however Fraser stumbled on some problems when encountering the Musqueem people, there ...
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... old explorer passed away on August 18th 1862.
I believe Simon Fraser was an astonishing man, although that is my perspective others may vary. One might claim that he is a farce, and that he conquered land that belong to First Nations. However that is your perspective on him from what I see is a man who was very prompt and adventurous. I believe he deserves to be admired by all Canadians, because he contributed greatly to the upbringing of British Columbia and made this glorious province what it is today, well thats my connotation on Simon Fraser.
Works Cited
"On the Musqueam Reserve, Canada's First Citizens Welcome Its Newest." The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2014.
"Simon Fraser." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2014.
"Biography – FRASER, SIMON." Biography – FRASER, SIMON – Volume IX (1861-1870). N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2014.
Tommy Douglas was a remarkable Canadian whose contributions have helped to shape our nation. During his forty two years in politics, Tommy Douglas proved himself to be an outstanding Canadian leader. He is largely responsible for our central banking, old age pensions, unemployment insurance, and our universal medicare. Though he never became Prime Minister, he is highly regarded by the general public. Tommy Douglas was one of the greatest Canadians that ever lived.
Like any politician, Pierre Elliot Trudeau made his mistakes. Aboriginal people also have their reasons to criticize him. The initial perception of the White Paper as that it was an attempt at assimilation. However, Trudeau’s intention was to make a statement of if you want to be as successful and happy as the rest of Canada, you will be treated like the rest of Canada. This man had a vision of a Canada that is unified despite its cultural fragmentation that seems to divide our country at times. Trudeau ushered in an era of settled land claims, self-determination and the acknowledging of First Nations rights like no other prime minister, to this day, has ever done.
Eichler, Leah. "Alistair MacLeod: Of Scotsmen in Canada." The Publishers Weekly 247.17 (2000): 54. Print.
White, G. (2002). Treaty Federalism in Northern Canada: Aboriginal-Government Land Claims Board. Publius Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 89-114
Wilson, J. Bradely Cruxton and W. Douglas. Spotlight Canada Fourth Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2000.
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Harold Cardinal made a bold statement in his book, The Unjust Society, in 1969 about the history of Canada’s relationship with Aboriginal peoples. His entire book is, in fact, a jab at Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s idea of ‘the just society’. Pierre Elliott Trudeau made great assumptions about First Nations people by declaring that Aboriginal people should be happy about no longer being described as Indian. His goal was to rid Canada of Indians by assimilating them into the Canadian framework. Considered by many as a progressive policy, Trudeau’s white paper demonstrates just how accurate the following statement made by Harold Cardinal at the beginning of his book is : “The history of Canada’s Indians is a shameful chronicle of the white man’s disinterest,
John Alexander Macdonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland on January 11, 1815. His family immigrated to Canada (Kingston, Ontario) in 1820, Macdonald was five years old at the time. In 1829 Macdonald ended his schooling, his parents could not afford to send him to university. Macdonald would later say that if he had went to university he would have ended up in literature, not politics. (Waite, John, 7-10)
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
MacDougall, Brenda. One of the Family: Metis Culture in Nineteenth-Century Northwestern Saskatchewan. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2010.
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.
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.
Our government’s predecessors have attempted to eradicate Canada’s first people, which is not only an insult to the indigenous people of the past, but to the present. This country did not start off as a joint endeavor of the two general groups of people that inhabited it during its birth, but decimation and forced assimilation of great traditions and people. The assimilation of a great culture, the destruction of oral histories, and the forced loss of language destroyed the chance trust. Only by teaching disgust towards that type of attitude and action, by not excusing it or attempting to justify, will begin a new age of
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Canada is a large country with a history of many people and cultures, both good, and bad. Louis Riel, one of the most controversial men in history, was not a hero; in fact he may have been the mere opposite. Riel, one of the most famous Metis leaders, is greatly viewed in the perspective of some, but he can also be viewed, as a true rebel, and someone who wasn’t a heroic Metis. Although Riel took part in joining Manitoba in the dominion of Canada, he also threatened the new dominion of Canada. Riel’s actions and decisions are very controversial, and although many regard his actions and decisions very highly, Riel did the opposite. Through the organization of the Riel rebellions, the executing of Thomas Scott, and going against the Canadian Government, Louis Riel was truly a rebel, who threatened the dominion of Canada.