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Act of Union (circa)
The joining of Upper and Lower Canada to create the Province of Canada. -
Vancouver Island becomes a British colony
Vancouver Island becomes a British colony -
Colonies of British North America
British North America was divided into colonies. This is why Canada has provinces and territories today. The provinces were under British government control and the territories were under the control of the British Hudson's Bay Company. -
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Reciprocity Treaty
Allowed free trade between British North America and the US -
Fraser Canyon War (circa)
On Vancouver Island, miners part of the gold rush polluted the water and interfered with the First Nations' way of life, which caused the Fraser Canyon War. -
The Great Coalition (circa 1864)
John A. Macdonald, George Brown and George-Étienne Cartier create an unlikely alliance in order to stabilize the government. -
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The Charlottetown Conference
Leaders from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island came together to talk about unifying their colonies. Delegates from the Province of Canada asked to join and were allowed to. Newfoundland was not included. The Charlottetown Conference included discussions over a period of time and was the first of the 3 conferences that led up to Confederation. -
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The Quebec Conference
The second of the three conferences leading up to Confederation. Representatives discussed the needs and wants of their colonies and most of the decisions were drafted. At the end of this conference, the Maritime colonies still did not decide to join the Province of Canada -
The London Conference (circa December 1866)
The Fathers of Confederation went to London, England with their resolutions so that the Province of Canada (becoming Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia could become a country. -
Confederation
Several British colonies came together to form a new country called the Dominion of Canada. -
Dominion Day
The new Dominion of Canada is officially announced and John A. Macdonal is knighted and elected prime minister. -
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Rupert's Land is Sold (circa)
The Hudson's Bay Company sold Rupert's Land to Britain. Britain then gave the land to the Canadian government. The people living on the land were not informed before the land was already sold. The Metis living there were worried since the federal government would not give them land titles like the Aboriginals. -
The Manitoba Act
Manitoba becomes a province of Canada. -
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The Numbered Treaties (circa)
11 treaties were signed between the Canadian government and the Aboriginals. They gave their land to the government so they could receive reserve land, money, tools and hunting/fishing rights. -
British Columbia Joins Confederation
British Columbia becomes a province of Canada. -
Trade Union Act (circa)
The Trade Union Act is passed, allowing trade unions to be formed. Unskilled labourers were excluded from trade unions. -
The Pacific Scandal (circa)
Sir John A. Macdonald is discovered to have taken a bribe: he gets campaign money from Sir Hugh Allan in exchange for letting Allan’s company get a contract to build the transcontinental railway -
PEI Joins Confederation (circa)
Prince Edward Island did not join Confederation when the Dominion of Canada was created. It joined later because of debt from building its own railway. -
The Jubilee Riots
Catholics were celebrating the year of jubilee with a parade but got into conflict with the Orangemen. -
The Indian Act (circa)
The Indian Act is created in order to assimilate First Nations with the European settlers, along with giving the federal government control over First Nations land. -
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Construction of the Pacific Canadian Railway
With the goal of building a railway stretching from sea to sea in order to connect the West of Canada with the East, the transcontinental railway (later renamed the Pacific Canadian Railway) is built. -
Battle of Duck Lake
Louis Riel's militia stole from a store located on Duck Lake. The next day, 100 Mounted Police tried to track down the men and take back the supplies. Both sides fought and both sides had casualties. -
Battle at Cut Knife Hill
Chief Poundmaker went to Battleford in order to negotiate famine ration relief portions. The settlers there were scared that they would attack and alerted the government. Troops were sent out and a battle was fought between the Cree, the Assiniboine and the army. -
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The Chinese Head Tax (circa)
Chinese people attempting to enter Canada had to pay a fee, starting at $50 but gradually getting higher and higher as time went on. This prevented many Chinese from immigrating to Canada, or separated families since most of them could only afford to pay the tax for 1 family member. -
Louis Riel is Executed
Louis Riel was charged with treason and was hanged. This angered the French-speaking Quebecois, who saw him as a defender of French Catholic rights. -
Manitoba Official Language Act
The Manitoba Official Language Act is passed, declaring English as the official language of Manitoba. This angered many of the French Catholic citizens that had lived there for a long time. -
Children's Charter (circa)
The Children's Charter of Rights is passed, signalling a change in the mentality of adults toward children. It protects children from neglect, mistreatment and abandonment. -
First Women's Institute Founded (circa)
Adelaide Hoodless founded the first Women's Institute. It taught the domestic sciences (food safety, nutrition and hygiene) and also familiarized society with women pursuing education, eventually leading to the acceptance of this idea. -
The London Streetcar Strike (circa)
Streetcar workers in London went on strike, demanding higher pay and less hours from their boss. Although they were unsuccessful in achieving what they wanted, it was one of the first few strikes in Canada. It triggered other strikes and boycotts across the country. -
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South African War
Canada is called to support Britain in the South African War. It is the first time that Canada has been called to war by Britain. The French-speaking and other immigrant minorities are opposed to Canada's involvement, while the English-speaking part thinks that Canada's support is too weak. This causes social tensions between the groups of people. -
Mandatory Elementary Schooling (circa)
In all the provinces except for Quebec, it is mandatory to go to elementary school. -
The Great Toronto Fire
Because of poor working conditions, a fire started in Toronto. This brought the unsafe and dangerous working conditions of labourers in cities to attention. -
The Immigration Act (circa)
It gave the Canadian government the power to deport or send immigrants back to their country of origin. It placed guidelines/rules on what types of people would be allowed in Canada. -
Anti-Immigration Riot
Chinese and Japanese homes were targeted in this riot, along with Chinese and Japanese stores, their windows being smashed by rioters. People waved white flags saying, "For a White Canada." -
The Immigration Act (circa)
This revised version of the Immigration Act gave the government even more power. Now, they could send back or reject immigrants as they felt was necessary, without any strong reasons. -
Regulation 17 (circa)
Regulation 17 restricts the teaching of French to only grades 1 and 2. It was put in place to appease the English-speaking demographic of Ontario and also angered the French-speaking demographic. -
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The Komagata Maru
Male Sikhs went aboard the Komagata Maru to come to Canada and settle. They prepared their entrance according to regulations in the Immigration Act, yet were still rejected by government officials. They refused to leave, however, but eventually, the government cut off supplies for them and they were forced to leave. -
Last Residential School Closes (circa)
Residential schools were built to assimilate First Nations children into European culture. They often isolated children from their families and forbid them from speaking their native tongues. Conditions gradually got worse: children were abused and starved. Some committed suicide and an uncounted number have died while in the schools.The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996.