LESSON 8: THE PROBLEMS WITH SETTLEMENT
Following the Numbered Treaties and the creation of the new provinces and territory, Canada now had the land in which to settle its new population. The problem? It was missing the people.
Canada's population was not large enough in the east to spread into the west, it needed an entirely new source of settlers. It turned to Europe, and set up a system to make immigration more attractive for new settlers.
Canada's population was not large enough in the east to spread into the west, it needed an entirely new source of settlers. It turned to Europe, and set up a system to make immigration more attractive for new settlers.
There were several things that needed to be addressed and several problems to be solved in the development of the west. Can you come up with solutions?
Problem One: Low Population
The population of the western provinces and territories makes up less than 3% of Canada’s total size. How can Canada grow its population, settle the west and protect its new provinces from outside forces?
Problem Two: Immigration and Health
When Christopher Columbus first came to the Americas, he brought with him new and unusual diseases that the indigenous populations could not defend against. The Canadian government fears that the new immigrants from Europe may bring with them diseases that would wipe out their already tiny population. How can we make sure that new settlers are healthy?
Problem Three: Homesteads
Dear Governor Morris -
It has been decided that the province of Manitoba will be divided into townships, each containing 10km square blocks of land, and that each township is to be divided into 36 sections which will be allocated as follows:
Yours,
Prime Minister MacDonald
It has been decided that the province of Manitoba will be divided into townships, each containing 10km square blocks of land, and that each township is to be divided into 36 sections which will be allocated as follows:
- 2 for the Hudson’s Bay Company
- 2 for the school
- 16 for sale or rent (to pay for the railways)
- 16 homesteads
Yours,
Prime Minister MacDonald
Problem Four: The Road Allowance People
“Fearless men who could brave sub-zero temperatures and all the dangers associated with living in the bush [are giving] up, frustrated and discouraged. Gradually, the Métis homesteads [are] reclaimed by the authorities and offered to the immigrants. The Métis then become squatters on their land and [are] eventually run off by the new owners. One by one they drift back to the road lines and Crown lands where they build cabins and barns along the unclaimed road lines, and ... are known as “Road Allowance People.""
- Maria Campbell on the Métis farming situation
- Maria Campbell on the Métis farming situation
Immigration Act, 1869
MAIN PURPOSE: passed to manage the flow of immigrants into Canada and keep out people with infectious diseases
KEY ELEMENTS:
KEY ELEMENTS:
- limits were placed on the number of passengers that could be carried on immigrant ships
- ships were required to show passenger lists to officers of the Canadian government
- seriously ill passengers could be placed in quarantine
Dominion Lands Act, 1872
MAIN PURPOSE: to set up rules on how Rupert's Land was to be used
KEY ELEMENTS:
KEY ELEMENTS:
- prairies divided into townships (10km square), and each township was divided into 36 sections
- 4 blocks of land for HBC and schools
- 16 blocks of land were for sale or rent
- 16 blocks of land were homesteads (used to farming) - sold for $10 but must be turned into a farm within 3 years