Grab your suncream, shades and snorkels – because we’re heading Down Under with these fab facts about Australia! [121] ". [123], The Colony of Vancouver Island was chartered in 1849, with the trading post at Fort Victoria as the capital. Canada joined with its democratic allies in the fight to defeat tyranny by force of arms. [148] The reputation Canadian troops earned, along with the success of Canadian flying aces including William George Barker and Billy Bishop, helped to give the nation a new sense of identity. [47] Despite these initial failures, French fishing fleets visited the Atlantic coast communities and sailed into the St. Lawrence River, trading and making alliances with First Nations,[48] as well as establishing fishing settlements such as in Percé (1603). Trans-Canada Airlines (the precursor to Air Canada) was formed in 1937, as was the National Film Board of Canada in 1939. The first companies in Canada were formed during the French and British regimes and competed for the fur trade. Today, it is a world leader in agricultural production, telecommunications and energy technologies. Parliament has recognized January 11 as Sir John A. Macdonald Day. It was also an unusual collaboration with the French arm of the network, which traditionally had autonomous production. "[72] This was due to the natural abundance of meat, fish, and pure water; the good food conservation conditions during the winter; and an adequate wheat supply in most years. The British Empire, which included Canada, fought to resist Bonaparte’s bid to dominate Europe. (From left to right) Canadian soldiers observe Remembrance Day Remembrance Day poppy Canadian war veteran. The French and Aboriginal people collaborated in the vast fur-trade economy, driven by the demand for beaver pelts in Europe. The British monarch is the head of state of Canada. The final war, called the French and Indian War, left the British in control of Canada, but French influence continued and remains strong even today. Nevertheless, species like wolves, lynx and Atlantic fish have faced threats from overhunting and overfishing. Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada [ See larger version ]. Area: 9,970,610 square kilometres [211] The World's Fair titled Expo 67 came to Montreal, coinciding with the Canadian Centennial that year. [20] According to oral tradition, the Ojibwa formed the Council of Three Fires in 796 CE with the Odawa and the Potawatomi.[21]. It allowed religious freedom for Catholics and permitted them to hold public office, a practice not then allowed in Britain. [11] However, individual groups started to focus on resources available to them locally; thus with the passage of time, there is a pattern of increasing regional generalization (i.e. Prince Edward Island followed in 1773, New Brunswick in 1785. [33] Official tradition deemed the first landing site to be at Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, although other locations are possible. Champlain allied the colony with the Algonquin, Montagnais, and Huron, historic enemies of the Iroquois, a confederation of five (later six) First Nations who battled with the French settlements for a century. Download this chapter: MP3 (MP3, 56.54MB). He was inspired by Psalm 72 in the Bible which refers to “dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth.” This phrase embodied the vision of building a powerful, united, wealthy and free country that spanned a continent. The Government of Canada apologized in 2006 for this discriminatory policy. [93] Britain eventually gained control of Quebec City after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Battle of Fort Niagara in 1759, and finally captured Montreal in 1760. [223] The Air India attack is the largest mass murder in Canadian history. Jaenen, "Canada during the French regime" (1982), p. 40. French Canadian debates have escalated since the 1960s, as the Conquest is seen as a pivotal moment in the history of Québec's nationalism. [198] In 1948, the British government gave voters three Newfoundland Referendum choices: remaining a crown colony, returning to Dominion status (that is, independence), or joining Canada. Laws are made by Canada’s elected federal government, which includes a parliament and a prime minister. [177], In 1935, the Liberals used the slogan "King or Chaos" to win a landslide in the 1935 election. He was a lawyer in Kingston, Ontario, a gifted politician and a colourful personality. [203] Throughout the mid-1950s, prime ministers Louis St. Laurent and his successor John Diefenbaker attempted to create a new, highly advanced jet fighter, the Avro Arrow. Regrettably, from 1914 to 1920, Ottawa interned over 8,000 former Austro-Hungarian subjects, mainly Ukrainian men, as “enemy aliens” in 24 labour camps across Canada, even though Britain advised against the policy. [186][187] Building up the Royal Canadian Air Force was a high priority; it was kept separate from Britain's Royal Air Force. Canadians remember the sacrifices of our veterans and brave fallen in all wars up to the present day in which Canadians took part, each year on November 11: Remembrance Day. Canada: A People’s History doesn’t tell us where we are going, but it shows us where we have come from This richly illustrated book, the first of two volumes, tells the epic story of Canada from its earliest days to the arrival of the industrial age in the 1870s. [112], The War ended with no boundary changes thanks to the Treaty of Ghent of 1814, and the Rush–Bagot Treaty of 1817. Although responsible government had existed in Canada since 1848, Britain continued to set its foreign and defence policies until the end of the First World War. Despite this concession, many Quebec citizens have long sought independence. To better govern the French Roman Catholic majority, the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act of 1774. [240] Canada is one of several nations that assisted in the development of the F-35 and has invested over CA$168 million in the program. In July 2010, the largest purchase in Canadian military history, totalling C$9 billion for the acquisition of 65 F-35 fighters, was announced by the federal government. [55] He took personal administration over the city and its affairs, and sent out expeditions to explore the interior. History of Canada. Cornelius Jaenen argues: Historians of the 1950s tried to explain the economic inferiority of the French-Canadians by arguing that the Conquest: destroyed an integral society and decapitated the commercial class; leadership of the conquered people fell to the Church; and, because commercial activity came to be monopolized by British merchants, national survival concentrated on agriculture. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. [192] Population: 36,307,820 Controversially, Lord Durham also said that the quickest way for the Canadiens to achieve progress was to assimilate into English-speaking Protestant culture. Cornelius J. Jaenen, "Canada during the French regime", in D. A. Muise, ed. "[249], Anglophone historians, on the other hand, portray the Conquest as a victory for British military, political and economic superiority that was a permanent benefit to the French.[250]. The first people to come to Canada arrived between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago across a land bridge that joined Asia and North America.