Canada is a wonderful country. We do many things right here. We're not perfect, by any means, but we try and, quite often, we succeed.
But there are many peculiarities about this country. In some ways, it is helpful to think of Canada as a "great experiment." By that, I mean that several things were done here first and under a watchful eye, in order to ascertain if things work or if they're failures. This is offered in the context of Canada being a part of the British Empire, and of Canada being a bit of a "problem child" for its British parents. Consider the following:
Of the 10 Canadian provinces, 7 of them existed in recognizable form before Confederation. Ontario and Quebec were known by several names, notably "The Canadas" or "Upper Canada" (Ontario) and "Lower Canada" ( Quebec ). They were partially self-governing colonies within the British Empire. So, too, were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and, arguably, the oldest of them all, Newfoundland. In point of fact, Newfoundland had achieved "Dominion" status within the Empire after Canadian Confederation, putting the island on an equal footing with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Newfoundland's dominion status ensured that it would remain an independent entity, separate but equal, from Canada.
British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland held out from the original Confederation in 1867 for various reasons, but what's important to realize is that the reasons were unique to each colony and were an expression of the will of the governing class of people, just as the fact that the original four provinces in Canada were expressing the will of their governing classes as well. The original map of Canada was a small one, with only Nova Scotia and New Brunswick occupying the territory they have today. Ontario and Quebec had territory only going so far as the "height of land" as defined by the British. The rest of the territory was known as the "NorthWest Territories", which was nominally under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company, then put under the control of the British Crown.
Why is all this important? What is the purpose of this history lesson? Stay with me, for all will be revealed as this "great experiment" continues.
When British Columbia ( 1871 ) , Prince Edward Island ( 1873 ), and Newfoundland ( 1949, finally! ) joined Confederation, they did so, again, as an expression of the will of the governing classes in those colonies. But it must also be said that they did so under considerable pressure and influence of the fledgling Canadian government and, especially, of the British, who wanted less to do with the affairs of these strange and wild colonies in North America. It is also important to note that, in 1870, the British passed ownership and care of the vast NorthWest Territory ( also known as "Rupert's Land" )to the Canadian federal government. All of a sudden, the tiny east coast and Great Lakes country of Canada became a continental giant, spanning more than 3,000 miles from the Maritimes to the Pacific and north to the ice cap. And this is where the experiment takes an interesting turn.
The federal government began creating new provinces where none had existed before. Manitoba was the first, in 1870, although it was just a small portion of what it is now. On a map of the time, it resembled a "postage stamp" in shape and size. As time evolved, so too, did the map. Ontario and Quebec expanded north beyond the "height of land" to gradually fill in the boundaries we know today, reaching Hudson's and James Bays in 1912. Manitoba also grew northwards to fill in the territory we know today.
It is in the creation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta that the experiment takes its most interesting turn. Those provinces were created out of districts organized by the federal government in the late nineteenth centuries. As Manitoba grew, so did the others. Saskatchewan and Alberta were amalgamations of some of those districts and became provinces in 1905.
The territories were re-organized later, reaching their final iteration in 1999, with the creation of Nunavut, carved by the federal government from the NorthWest Territories. The NWT is now a shadow of its former self.
What's interesting about all of this is that the 3 "Prairie Provinces" and the 3 Territories were not created out of existing entities within the British Empire ( colonies or dominions ), nor were they really created as expressions of the will of the governing classes, because there were no governing classes, unless one counts the provisional governments of Louis Riel and his Metis followers. The legitimacy of those governments is very, very debatable.
No, the Prairie Provinces and Territories are, without doubt, creations of the Canadian federal government. There can be no debate about this: this is historical and political fact.
Once one understands the nature of the creation of the provinces, one gets a better appreciation of the experimental essence of our Confederation. But it also creates much uncertainty about the future outcome of the experiment.
More of this later.
No comments:
Post a Comment