Mr. Wilson History 404

After the Treaty of Paris – the furs from New England were sent to Britain.

The Fur trade remained the main economic activity up until the 19th century and the Napoleonic Wars.

The Fur trade started to decline and Forestry (or timber) took over!

Due to England war against France and INDUSTRIALIZATION, Britain needed wood in a big and bad way.

No problem, they had a whole colony full of nothing but trees.

The Quebec Act of 1774 and U.S. war of independence 1783 also had a big impact on the economy.

The Scottish, the English and the Americans all started settling in Montreal to do business after the British conquest.

The French companies virtually disappeared as the British took over.

However the French Canadian Voyageurs were still highly recognised for their knowledge and contact with the Amerindians.

Although the North and the West were still doing a lot of business in the Fur Trade, after 1783 – all of the southern territory was lost.

In 1783 several Montreal merchants combined to form the Northwest Company – which was responsible for a good amount of land prospecting in Canada.

The Northwest Company and the HBC spent a lot of time and money competing in a market that was slowing down.

As a result, they merged in 1821 and the Fur Trade in Montreal basically stopped all together.

During the 18th century, England was getting its timber form Northern Europe (Russia, Prussia and Norway.)

Canada had a tough time breaking into this market due to the cost of transportation across the Atlantic.

However, this suddenly changed when Napoleon arrived on the scene!

In 1806 – Napoleon, now Emperor of France, wanted to conquer ALL of Europe.

On land, Napoleon was the best, but in terms of naval power – the British still ruled the seas.

So Napoleon cut off England’s supply of timber, hoping that their navy would eventually be unable to repair itself.

Napoleon’s blockade forced England to get its wood from its colonies.

In other words = fur trade out, timber in! British investors started putting up huge

amounts of CAPITAL in order to get the timber business rolling to help with the war effort.

Also, the number of ships going up and down the St-Laurence multiplied by 6 in a ten year period.

Lower Canada (Quebec) produced mainly SQUARE-SAWN TIMBER – used for ship parts and construction.

New Jobs created: Lumber Jack Loggers or raftsmen Stevedores or longshoremen Carpenters and woodworkers Labour for the lumber mills

The new timber industry fuelled the expansion of territory – the Outaouais, Saguenay Lac-St-Jean and the Mauricie.

Due to the new jobs, the STANDARD OF LIVING also went up.

This increase naturally fuelled the rest of the economy.

Most of the investor in this new economic activity were English.

They made so much money, the Bank of Montreal opened in 1817 to help them out.

It is Canada’s oldest bank.

By the beginning of the 19th century, England could no longer feed its population.

As a result, it started relying on Canada’s wheat production to help out.

Upper Canada produced most of the wheat, while Lower Canada produced more ANIMAL HUSBANDRY.

“Of course, Henry Ford’s greatest invention was not the Model T – but the assembly line that created it.”

- From the movie Seabiscuit

The 19th century was a transition period for Canada as Industrialization picked up speed.

Master craftsmen were suddenly replaced by unskilled workers.

Industrial Capitalism also became an issue, and competition with local tradesmen started to become an issue.

Another effect of industrialization was URBANIZATION.

Trois-Rivières, Quebec and especially Montreal, with its huge port – were developing quickly.

Investors were setting up industries in Montreal as that is where the wheat from Upper Canada was shipped.

Protectionist Policy = where a government sets up customs and duties on its imports and exports in order to contain outside competition.

Thus, England supported business from its colonies over business from outside sources.

Liberalism Policy = this is the belief that the government should not interfere with economics.

Issues like “Free Trade” are liberalist views on the economy.

The United States became Canada’s best partner, not only because of location, but because its increasing population meant it had a HUGE demand for resources.

As industrialization started to change the demands of business – a better transportation network was needed.

The construction of the Erie Canal in 1825 (US) threatened to divert trading to New York.

Canada was then forced to invest into its transportation network in order to stay competitive.

The Lachine Canal (1821-1825) So steam boats could go around the Lachine Rapids

The Rideau Canal (1826-1832) Connecting the Ottawa river to Lake Ontario

The Chambly Canal (1833-1843) Connects the Richelieu River to Lake Champlain.

Workbook Pages: 73, 74,77