Post-Confederation of Canada - Essay Example

?Post-Confederation of Canada Part Manitoba Act According to historians, the Manitoba Act was enacted into law as a response to the concerns that were raised by the Metis, under the leadership of Louis Riel, who played a great role in the development as well as the enactment of the act as he had prioritized it in his list of rights. The act which was originally termed as An Act to amend and continue the Act 32-33 Victoria, chapter 3, received the royal assent on 12th May 1870 which then enabled the creation of the Manitoba Province. The enactment of the act is significant to the history of Canada since it led to the formation of the government for the Province of Manitoba. Rowell-Sirois Commission (1937, report 1940) The famous great depression of 1930’s also affected Canada and it was due to the urgent need to address the economic challenges that faced the country that the Rowell-Sirois Commission was formed in 1937. The Commission was formed to devise permanent solutions that can prevent the country from experiencing another depression as it had been witnessed during the 1930s. The report, which the commission handed over to the government in 1940, is significant in the Canadian history since it is the report, which recommended that the federal government take full charge of workers’ pension scheme. Secondly, it is this report that made the federal government take full control of the unemployment insurance. Secondly, it recommended that the federal government create equalization payments and the disbursement of funds by the federal government to the provincial governments on a yearly basis. William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874-1950) William Lyon Mackenzie commonly referred to as Mackenzie King was Canada’s 10th Prime Minister and the longest serving Prime Minister in Canada’s history who served for 22 years between 1921 through to 1948. According to political analysts, Mackenzie King did not have typical personal attributes of a great leader especially when compared to the his peers during this era, however, he was able to serve as the longest Prime Minister because of the wide variety of skills that he possessed, which resonated with the needs that Canada had during his era. He is most significant to the Canadian history because during his tenure he laid the foundation of the Canadian welfare state. Person’s case (1929) Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy and Irene Parlby, (the famous 5s), presented a petition on 18th October 1927that requested the Governor General to issue a directive to the Supreme Court in order for them determine whether women had the right or if they were eligible to become Senator under the British North America Act. This is because up until that time, women were regarded as “persons” who could not hold public offices as Canada Senators. The ruling in this petition is significant to the Canadian history as it recognized women as persons who were eligible for appointment to the Canadian Senate and it set forth the establishment of various women rights. NAFTA (1994) The North American Free Trade Agreement is an agreement that was signed by the United States, Mexico, and Canada on 1st January, 1994 creating a trilateral trading block in North America. The agreement was signed by the three countries in order to boost investment and trading between the three countries by eliminating some of the trade barrier that had previously existed in the region. According to economists, this agreement is particularly important in the Canadian history as it enabled the country to trade more thus boosts its gross domestic product and overall economic condition. Louis Riel As previously mentioned, Louis Riel spearheaded the establishment of the government for the Province of Manitoba, and it is further noted that he was also a key figure in the Canadian history since he was the political and spiritual leader of the Metis people of the Canadian prairies. Louis Riel is also significant in the Canadian history as he is regarded as the Canadian folk hero because of his role in preserving the Metis rights and the culture of their homelands. Part 2 The issue of immigration in Canada To begin with, immigration is commonly known as the movement of people from their indigenous country to another with the main aim of resettling in the foreign country. The issue of immigration features prominently in the history of Canada, starting with native people of Canada who their ancestors migrated across the Bering Strait from Asia to even the recent immigrants in the 21st century. It is further noted that the issue of immigration in the post confederation Canada is significant since it has played an integral part in the economic development of the country and it has greatly shaped the values and attitudes of the Canadian people. It has been noted that in both the 17th and 18th century the European colonial administrators who were overseeing the territory of Canada did not give much thought into settlement in this territory and therefore, they were not ready to disburse any funds or critical resources that could encourage settlement within the region. Particularly, immigration was not encouraged by the British and French traders, adventurers, and explorers because they feared that new settlers or immigrants would possibly interfere with the lucrative business opportunities that they had established with the native people of Canada. Policy changes in the later part of the 18th century by the colonial administration gradually encouraged immigration into Canada in a bid to safeguard the colonial land claims by the colonial administration. Secondly, the colonial administration encouraged immigration with an assumption that it would help in converting the native people to Christianity, and the immigrants would help in exploiting the natural resources on behalf of European colonialist. The efforts of encouraging immigration paid off as the population size started increasing with majority of immigrants coming from Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland. During the immigration period, the number of French immigrants was quite low and even most of the French colonial administrators stated to depart for their country (France). On the other hand, only a small number of English-speaking people were willing to resettle in Canada and this meant that despite the increase in immigration, the dominance of the English language was still low since most of the immigrants were non-English speaking people. This scenario created a language problem that was unique in nature since the colonial administrators were English-speakers while the majority of the immigrants including the French administrators were non-English speakers. Because of the fact that the British administrators held the colonial powers, it meant that English-speakers who were the minority were best suited to perform most of the administrative functions and work in public offices. This therefore, meant that in order to get a competitive job opportunity and enjoy most privileges one had to learn the English language, subsequently most of the schools started offering English lessons, which later led to the dominance of the English language in the territory despite the small number of British settlers. Another interesting fact about the issue of immigration in Canada is the fact that most people immigrated into the country because their native countries were undesirable and therefore, the immigration was not by choice. For example, the loyalist immigration involved the immigration of Protestant settlers who were displaced by the American Revolution because they were loyal to the British, and therefore, they were forced to migrate to Canada not by choice. It has been noted in numerous scholarly findings that in the late 20th century, Canada seemingly absorbed many immigrants who had applied for the refugee status and the country further encouraged the immigration of immigrants with employable skills, perhaps to cover for the deficit that existed in the labor market and consequently, aid in economic growth of the country. The issue of women suffrage in the West To begin with, suffrage is defined as the right to vote in political elections, and even vie for an elective position. Universally, women did not enjoy equal rights as men before the 19th century and one of this right was the suffrage right and it has even been noted earlier in this present paper that in 1928, the Canadian Supreme Court unanimously declared that women were not “persons” who could hold public office as Senators. However, the Persons Cases that was filed by the Famous 5s was one of the first initiatives in the West that resort to issue women with suffrage and even safeguard this right. Early voting rights emerged in the 19th century whereby women with property demanded voting rights in order to pay their taxes and this enabled women in Quebec to vote without any difficulty between the 1809 and 1849 before the word “male” was included in the Quebec’s franchise act. However, women in Ontario in 1850 gained the right that had been lost by women in Quebec, since single, married, and women with property in Ontario were permitted to participate in election of school’s trustees. Among the prominent organizations that advocated for women’s suffrage was the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, which was also active in the West in areas like Manitoba that was the first to extend the basic women’s suffrage. Despite strong advocacy from various organizations, the women’s suffrage first came from the West because women played a key role in the agricultural economy of the West region and therefore, it was only fair that they participate and contribute to the politics of the West region, since politics greatly influenced the agricultural economy of the region. Furthermore, this rise of Women’s suffrage in the West is also attributed to the accommodative male politicians, who had little objections in regards to women’s suffrage. The accommodative nature of the male politicians in the West, enabled women to secure their suffrage without much fight as it was witnessed in other countries such as the United States. Part 3 The evolution of the Canadian economy from John A. MacDonald’s protectionism to the NAFTA It was noted that up until 1850, Canada’s economy was purely based on the fur-trade, the fishing, and the lumbering industry, which were largely dependent on water as the mode of transportation. By 1850, the development of the rail transport network lead to the development of the mining, pulp and paper, and the wheat-raising industries. During this period the economy of the country had started to be vibrant and there was increased trading within the country, which attracted foreign investors who wanted to participate in the growing economy. The increased foreign investor participation in the Canadian economy proved disadvantageous to the local people because of heightened competition from the foreign players. In order to address this issue, John MacDonald who served as the Prime Minister during this period instituted the National Policy, which consisted of three key initiatives. The initiatives included the protective tariffs against foreign goods, transcontinental railway, and greater immigration and settlement of the West. The protective tariffs were meant to discourage excessive exportation of local products to foreign markets thereby creating deficit in the local market. Secondly, the protective tariffs were introduced in order to lock out American products, which had proven to be far more competitive than Canadian products mostly in terms of price and this was attributed to America’s ability for large-scale production. However, economists have stated that with the expansion of the market, there was need for a radical change in the National Policy since it hindered Canadians from enjoying quality products that were fairly priced and the lack of competition, made Canadians companies sluggish in innovating and even the manufacture of superior products. This prompted opening up of the Canadian market and even enabling Canadian companies to compete aggressively in the international market. Part of the evolution was the signing of the Canadian-United States Free Trade Agreement in 1987, which aimed at eliminating the trade restrictions that had existed between the countries that limited cross-border trading. However, the North American Free Trade Agreement that was signed in the year1994 superseded Canadian-United States Free Trade Agreement. The NAFTA incorporated Mexico into the trading bloc that had existed between the U.S and Canada, thereby eliminating barriers that hindered these countries from freely trading with each other. The evolution of the Canadian economy has seen the country expand its regional market and it is able to trade freely with its neighbors, which has drastically reduced cost of operations for Canadian companies that are participating in the regional trade.   Read More