The Canadian Shield

1470 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: 1800 westward expansion

Between 1760 and Confederation, settlement in Lower and Upper Canada expanded into the Canadian Shield. In Lower Canada, the Saguenay River, St. Maurice Valley, and the area north of Montreal were the primary areas of settlement. In Upper Canada, settlement was attempted in the Ottawa-Huron Tract, which extended eastward from Lake Huron into the Ottawa Valley. The Canadian Shield presented a challenge to settlement until population growth pushed the boundaries. In the early nineteenth century, the Shield provided a solution to the ideological and economic dilemmas in the Canadian colonies, and settlement was encouraged. The settlement that developed in the Canadian Shield was based on resource extraction and shaped the region's landscape. However, settlement in the Shield ultimately declined due to poor conditions, and new settlement solutions were found. The Canadian Shield influenced settlement in Lower and Upper Canada because it was a temporary solution during a difficult period of demographic and economic transition. The Shield highlighted the limitations of settlement in the Canadian colonies and compelled settlers to establish settlements in the Northwest Interior. Settlement in the Canadian Shield provided an outlet for the growing population. In the early nineteenth century, Lower Canada experienced a surge of labor, pioneer families, and capital from transatlantic and eastern North America. Settlement began to expand northward; however, according to Geography professor Cole Harris, settlement "hesitated at the edge of the Canadian Shield" and "neither settlers nor capital touched the Canadian Shield until the early 1850s." Although the Shield was not effectively settled, it staved off emigration until alternative solutions were found and allowed for further resource exploitation. Because the margins of the Canadian Shield were pushed, settlers realized that Canada was narrowly confined and sought solutions elsewhere. It could be said that the failed settlement of the Shield contributed to westward expansion.
Works Cited:
Galois, Robert M. "Rural Quebec: After the Conquest." Lecture, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, November 3, 2011.
Galois, Robert M. "Upper Canada: Agriculture and Rural Settlement." Lecture, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, November 10, 2011.
Harris, R. Cole. The Reluctant Land: Society, Space, and Environment in Canada before Confederation. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2008.

Show More
Related

  • The Case of the Black Donnellys

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upper Canada was in the tumultuous process of settlement during the nineteenth century. From 1800-1860, wheat and flour exports went from a negligible amount to peak at 13 billion bushels in 1860.1 It is important to understand the rapid nature of settlement to contextualize life in rural Upper Canada. From 1805-1840, the population increased by over eight hundred percent.2 Many of these were Irish emigrants, even in the period preceding the famine; these pre-Famine Irish emigrants were predominantly “middling farmers,” «c'est à dire des fermiers cultivant des terres petite oucharacterizedes, Simmons, et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al., et al.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Jacques Cartier John Cabot And Henry Hudson

    366 Words  | 1 Pages

    Canadian history has shaped Canada's future for centuries now. Without the great explorers of their time, and maybe even our time, provinces and territories, gulfs, bays, rivers and land would be lost and undiscovered for many years. Our great country can thank many brave and brilliant explorers and their crew, for founding our name, and creating such an amazing land. Jacques Cartier, John Cabot and Henry Hudson, all managed to explore much of Canada. Through discovering the islands of Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island to locating the Hudson Bay, these 3 explores endure Canada's harsh winters, famine, scurvy and much more, to begin the great discover of all of Canada.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Book 'Clearing The Plains'

    1229 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Clearing the Plains” begins set in the time period of 1100 C.E before Europeans ever settle into Canada. It depicts the laid back lifestyle that Indgienous people became accustomed to where everyone had a role and the community worked together to survive. However, as time goes on the Indigenous populations becomes thrust into a disease stricken society where there is no hope for survival due to minimal resources. The author, James Daschuk goes on to argue the reasons for this

    Read More

  • Explain How Successful Was Confederation At Unifying Canada

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The History of the Metis

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    They had known for some time that Canada was busy constructing a colonists highway from Lake Superior to the Red River. The situation became tense surveyors were sent into the flow of settlers, and it was considered a wise move to have the surveying well under way before settlement began in earnest. It was decided to use a system or land survey similar to that used in the western part of the United States. Townships were to be divided into thirty-six sections, each containing one square mile or 640 acres. The sections were then to be divided into, the quarter-section was thought to be enough land for each family settling in the North West.

    Read More

  • Treaty-Making in Canada

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... middle of paper ... ... Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina. Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) (2013).

    Read More

  • Why The Discovery of Insulin is a Defining Moment in Canadian History

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wilson, J. Bradely Cruxton and W. Douglas. Spotlight Canada Fourth Edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2000.

    Read More

  • The Impacts of the Sixties Scoop on First Nations People

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Steckley, J., & Cummins, B. D. (2008). Full circle: Canada's First Nations (2nd ed.). Toronto:

    Read More

  • The Red River Rebellion

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the 1850s, the population of Canada West was rapidly rising, this meant that the majority of the suitable land for agriculture had already been farmed and settled. Thus, more and more people were moving West seeking for new areas to occupy and clear.The Red River Valley was a very appealing prospect to them because of its fertile soil and small population. However, the majority of the migrating population in the Red River were Protestants and members of the Orange Order, this fact alone had caused tension to rise within the colony. The Orange Order was a Protestant movement that was vehemently anti-French and anti-...

    Read More

  • Canadian Technological Advancement in the 20th Century

    1259 Words  | 3 Pages

    Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.

    Read More

  • Women In the Fur Trade

    2974 Words  | 6 Pages

    MacDougall, Brenda. One of the Family: Metis Culture in Nineteenth-Century Northwestern Saskatchewan. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2010.

    Read More

  • The American Influence in Canadian Popular Culture

    1937 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Canadian Confederation

    3837 Words  | 8 Pages

    The British North America Act went into effect July 1st, 1867 creating a union known as the Dominion of Canada, but this did not complete the debate on the Confederation issue. Many Nova Scotians continued their opposition to the idea and it would take considerable time before all Nova Scotians would accept the fact of Confederation. “These Nova Scotians, disgruntled at their treatment by Great Britain, found that their loyalty had markedly diminished. The more they considered taking over the responsibility for their own affairs from England, however, the greater trust they had to place in Confederation.”25 Confederation struck a balance between the rights of English and French speaking Canadians. Nevertheless, many divisions, conflicts, and debates would occur not only in Quebec but also in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick over this balance. Economic disparities between the Maritimes and the rest of Canada would also create many problems for the years following 1867. As a result, Confederation can be viewed as a beginning and not an end.

    Read More

  • Immigration in Canada: A History

    2479 Words  | 5 Pages

    Canada has continuously served as a home to immigrants and refugees from decade to decade harbouring people from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The first set of immigrants to settle in the country came from Britain, the United States and from other nationalities mostly including immigrants from Europe who were either desperate to escape from religious or political turmoil or were simply attracted to Canada’s economic promise. Soon after the Canadian confederation in 1867, immigrants from Irish and Chinese backgrounds who occupied most of the country were used as workers and the demand for labourers to develop the country increased rapidly as more Chinese descents were imported to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. Although, Canada opened its doors to immigrants, but the country also intended to gain human resources for work in the farms, in the forests, factories and mines but not everyone was equally welcomed in Canada.

    Read More

  • Canadian Nationalism

    1878 Words  | 4 Pages

    government, t. p. (n.d.). Quebec Nationalism - Quebec History. Faculty.marianopolis.edu. Retrieved May 27, 2012, from http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/events/natpart4.htm

    Read More

More about The Canadian Shield

Open Document