Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CANADIAN
CONFEDERATION
British Columbia threatened to separ-
ate. It wasn't until November 7, 1885
that the railway from Montréal to Port
Moody (20km from Vancouver) was
fi nally completed, four years late.
Unlike the Prairies, which were simply
annexed to the Canadian Confederation
in 1868, British Columbia was already a
British colony and was thus able to ne-
gotiate its entrance into Confederation.
Isolated on the Pacifi c coast, British
Columbia's principal trading partner
was California. As its population grew
with the 1858 gold rush, certain resi-
dents even dreamed of creating an
independent country. But these hopes
were dashed at the end of this pros-
perous period, when in 1871, British
Columbia's population was only 36,000.
Great Britain had already joined its col-
ony on Vancouver Island with the col-
ony of New Caledonia on the British
Columbia mainland in anticipation of
their eventual integration into the new
Canadian Confederation.
EXPANDING
CONFEDERATION
As the railway expanded, more and
more farmers settled in the region
known as the Northwest Territories,
which had no responsible government
on the provincial level. You will recall
that Canada had annexed the territor-
ies (Prairies) without giving them prov-
incial status, except for a small parcel
of land that became the province of
Manitoba. Inevitably, Canada had to
create the provinces of Alberta and
Saskatchewan and enlarge the province
of Manitoba in 1905.
With a promise from Canada that a
pan-Canadian railway would reach the
coast by 1881, British Columbia joined
Confederation in 1871. However, all
sorts of problems delayed the con-
struction of the railroad, and in 1873,
as a severe recession gripped Canada
and caused major delays in the railway,
Most settlers arrived in Alberta when the
Canadian Pacifi c Railway reached Fort
Calgary in 1883 and eight years later in
1891 when the Grand Trunk Railway's
northern route reached Edmonton.
Ranchers from the United States and
Canada initially grabbed up huge tracts
of land with grazing leases; in the case
of the Cochrane Ranch, west of Calgary,
the lease occupied 40,000ha. Much of
this open range land was eventually
granted to homesteaders.
6
A Western homesteader's cabin.
© Glenbow Archives; NA-2061-10
To easterners, the West was ranches,
rodeos and cheap land, but the reality
was more often a sod hut and loneli-
ness. Though a homestead could be
registered for $10, a homesteader fi rst
had to cultivate the land, and own a
certain number of head of cattle. But
the endless potential for a better future
Search WWH ::
Custom Search