Talk:History of Canada
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Canada's birth is considered the least bloody of any nation's.
Oh? How about Slovakia, or any number of minor island nations (Britain pulling out of the Caribbean, for example, or the countries formed out of the former American Trust Territories in the Pacific)? The statement above may have been true before the wave of new countries that started in the late 1950s, but I can't see it being true any more. -- Paul Drye
- Hey, and what about Australia... our origins are even less violent than Canada's! We were never involved in the French-Indian war, in the American Revolutionary War or in the War of 1812... -- SJK
Someone should mention the Metis revolts and Papineau's revolt. Maybe minor but...
I think the problem is that there is a theme running throughout the article about how peaceful Canada's history has been, and that included the whole Quebec independence issue. I then added a little comment to the article that pointed out the FLQ's brief terror campaign, which doesn't really fit with that overall theme.
Er, perhaps if we qualify nations to mean those with a certain amount of economic/military clout. Most G-8 nations fought quite hard to get where they are. Colin dellow
Does anyone else here feel qualified to discuss Louis Riel and the Metis? Or shall I dig out my one book on Canadian history? -- Vicki Rosenzweig
- Go for it. I think I can get to the 1837 rebellions in a day or two. -- Paul Drye
- Great. I wrote an article on Riel; now I need to put something in the Canada article. --Vicki Rosenzweig
I do not think that '[Canada] is not part of the United States' is the type of in-joke many people outside of English-speaking Canada will understand.--branko
This seems to be the talk space for Canada/Government, so I'll put this here.
I have removed the term "Dominion of Canada," which has not been used officially in decades. It began to fade in the 1930s. The federal government does not use Dominion of Canada for any purpose anymore. Dominion Day was renamed Canada Day in 1982, the same year as the repatriation of the constitution under Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Cite (http://www.prayerbook.ca/machray/pbscmr5d.htm) - note items 27 and 28 of the bibliography. For another example, the term dominion does not appear anywhere in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a search of the Government of Canada (http://www.gc.ca) website does not turn up any current official usage of the term "Dominion of Canada."
I am a little insulted that it was changed back so soon after I edited it the first time, with no explanation. If you feel compelled to ignore the foregoing and change it back, I would appreciate an explanation here in /talk.
- - montréalais
The original source for this page is the U.S. government which feels that the formal name of Canada is the Dominion of Canada. They could be incorrect. Just because a name isn't used anymore doesn't make it incorrect. We should probably ask the Canada government on this. --rmhermen
- I did, and I'm correct.
- As I say, it's true the name was formerly used. Therefore, I will update the entry to read, "Formerly Dominion of Canada". But it is simply wrong to quote an obsolete name as if it were current.
- FWIW, the CIA World Factbook says Canada and not Dominion of Canada. [ cite (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html) ] montréalais
Lacking, so far, a section on the Northwest Rebellions, I added "see also Louis Riel. Vicki Rosenzweig
Actually, all Québécois ARE Francophone. All Quebecers are not, however. A Québécois, in English, is one of the inhabitants of Quebec descended from the French colonists thereof. I, for example, am a Quebecer but not a Québécois. - montréalais
The last paragraph mentions that Canada's 'paramount political problem' is the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada. I seem to have heard somewhere, though, that it is more the treatment of French-speaking minorities in provinces where the majority speaks English, and the treatment of English-speaking minorities in predominantly French-speaking provinces, that forms a problem.
It seems that Canada tries to present itself as a bi-lingual country, yet in almost any text I read on Canada, the tone seems to be 'Canadians speak English—and oh yeah, we've got some quaint French-speaking folk who have their own province, but don't worry, as long as you stay in Montreal, everybody will be able to speak English with you.'
Perhaps this is just to pacify US American tourists, who would perhaps dread to go a country where they cannot speak the language. It is the same tone that any tourist brochure for Amsterdam uses. Still, in how far is Canada really, deep-down bilingual?
Also, a question for JHeijmans: what age would you compare the pre-European settlers with, if not stone-age?--User:Branko
- Canada is bilingual in that it contains both anglophone and francophone regions. The majority of Canadians are English-speaking but the French-speaking population is significant both numerically and historically. For that reason, all federal services are available in both languages. However, it is much easier to get services in English in Quebec than services in French in (say) Saskatchewan. But the characterization you mention - especially the first clause - is unfair and is probably advanced for the reason you suspect. French-Canadians do not constitute some quaint backwater - Montreal is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world.
- Please note also that this isn't "Canada's paramount political problem" and hasn't been for a number of years. It's simply the most famous. Medicare, unemployment, housing, education, and the environment are regarded as much more urgent by many more people. - montréalais
I've just expanded parts of the article...I can go up to the North-West Rebellion pretty well (which I will do later), but anything after that is not really my strong point. I'll see what I can do...this article really should be more complete. Adam Bishop 19:29 22 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Now that this article is getting to be rather long, it seems like it could use some pictures to make it more interesting...I don't really know what kind of pictures, or where to get them, etc etc, but hopefully someone will have some ideas. Adam Bishop 22:01 26 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Alright, I added everything I thought was appropriate...everything since about 1900 may be too much, I think I compensated for my lack of real knowledge by just writing a lot. On the other hand, maybe everything before about 1900 just needs to be expanded. I still think it could use some pictures of some kind. I also noticed when I was editing that the page is now over 32 kilobytes or whatever the magic number is, so perhaps it should be split into smaller articles (and those could be expanded, I guess). Adam Bishop 23:00, 29 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Royal Assent says that the (British) Crown vetoed several bills in 1937 and dissolved the Canadian legislature, but nothing of particular note in 1937 is mentioned here. What happened in that year? --Delirium 09:40, Aug 2, 2003 (UTC)
- No idea...I'll see if I can find some more definite info, but a quick Google search says the Alberta legislature was dissolved in 1937, not 1936. So it would seem those two lines in Royal Assent refer to the same thing. Adam Bishop 15:12, 2 Aug 2003 (UTC)
This article should be broken down into series like History of Germany. Please propose a division so we can do that. --Jiang
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Canadian political scandals
For those familiar with the political history of politics, the list of Canadian political scandals is in need of lots of help. Thanks! --Alex S 18:52, 29 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Wikipedia:WikiProject History/Status
I have created Wikipedia:WikiProject History/Status, which has some notes about what needs to be done to make this article featured. Please add other suggestions and see what you can to help. Tuf-Kat
French & Dutch, Champlain 1604
This whole article is duplicated by the Pre-Confederation and Post-Confederation sections. Why not merge, rather than repeat the same material? How do the Dutch figure in the history of New France? Maybe further south in the American colonies, but I have never heard of them having any significant role in the history of New France. Since 2004 is the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain's arrival, how come nobody has mentioned his arrival in Ste Croix, Acadia in 1604 with Pierre Du Gua de Monts (c1558-1628). They have erected statues in Paris and in Nova Scotia this year to Champlain. --142.154.32.56 18:32, 5 Dec 2004 (UTC)
New France Nouvelle-France
Re the recent change of wording to "England and the thirteen colonies". I can't see how this improves upon "the English" since up to the American revolution they were one and the same. To be picky we could say "the British" since Great Britain took effect in 1707 with the union of Ireland to form the United Kingdom. Since a history of Canada is written from the viewpoint of Canadians, New France called their opponents "les Anglais" (the Québécois still do, regardless of whether English-speakers are of English, Chinese or Polish origin), and I think it is better to use this term. Also "the English" matches the "Hurons" and the "Iroquois". There is no doubt that American colonists were particularly hostile to New France, but the elimiantion of New France also served imperial interests. This is a potted history. For more detail see Pre-Confederation History.
- Is there really a need to enumerate every ethnic group that lived in the 13 colonies who wanted New France destroyed? Why not also mention the Irish, the Germans, etc. Indeed one could mention other Indian nations besides the Hurons and the Iroquois. Enumerations make articles lengthier than they need to be. The people of New France called their enemies "les Anglais" pure and simple. The settlement of Quebec was not a city in 1608 and using such terminology is anachronistic. Nor were the so-called St Lawrence lowlands (St Lawrence Valley?) settled in 1608. If you want more detail, see the section on Pre-Confederation History before making changes here. Also be careful about names like Quebec, Canada, New France and Acadia. New France includes Acadia, Canada, Louisiana and the Missisippi Valley. Read the French equivalent articles in Wikipedia français before making changes to the English versions. Quebecers know their history. And as with all history, there are different takes on the same event - an American sees certain events differently from a Canadian and a Québécois sees them differently from an English-Canadian. We can accommodate different points of view, but should try to arrive at a common terminology if that is possible. --BrentS 04:39, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- We don't really need to add anything here at all, deeper details are for the pre- and post-Confederation pages, that's why the page was split up in the first place. Adam Bishop 16:49, 22 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Constitution 1867 significance
Message sent to Vasile. History of Canada. Perhaps both points of view could be accommodated without lengthening the article too much. The fact of a constitution being granted is merely that, a fact. The significance of the BNA Act is that it granted virtual independence - the British expected Canada to pay for their own military, and reserved only foreign affairs to London. Foreign affairs were taken over by Canada between 1919-23. It was also Canada's choice to allow the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to remain the final court of appeal. Canada had the power to end appeals.
- By the BNA Act (1867), there is no diminution of the legal British authority over the new entity. --Vasile 15:37, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)
- I can't agree that the BNA Act granted "virtual independence." It was not only "foreign affairs" that London reserved for itself. Until the Statute of Westminster, London could still legislate for Canada in Canadian domestic matters. Canada's highest court was still in London until 1949. Canada could not amend its own constitution in 1867, nor was there any such thing as Canadian citizenship. Canada was still a colony in 1867, just one that had won a degree of autonomy within the empire. This does not, however, mean that it had "virutal independence." HistoryBA 19:26, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Hi Vasile. I was wondering why you changed "granted viritual independence" to "granted a Constitution". I had chosen the previous wording with care as most people outside Canada think Canada had little independence after 1867. In fact one of the motivating factors for the British was to reduce their military expenditures in Canada and they withdrew their armed forces as soon as they could in 1871 (only the Red River Rebellion of 1870 prevented an earlier withdrawal). That really left only foreign affairs which was not resolved until the early 1920s. Of course the BNA Act was a Constitution but it was written by Canadians, not UK parliamentarians who took almost no interest in the bill, and certainly did not draft it. To say the UK parliament granted Canada a constitution implies that it was gracious of them to do so, when in fact they merely complied with Canadian wishes, and were anxious to avoid any further expense in Canada. I wish you would restore the earlier wording. Persons who want to know more about the constitution need only consult the more detailed articles listed at the bottom of the page or via links. The agreement has been to keep this page to a bare minimum.--BrentS 03:07, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Some discussion of what the phrase "self-governing Dominion" meant would be welcome from history students. Apart from foreign affairs (and that often included fishing treaties, commercial treaties, boundary settlements, etc.), are there any examples where the British interfered with Canadian domestic affairs, except at the specific request of the Dominion government? It would be better to keep this section short and to the point, and transfer lengthy analyses to the Constitution articles. the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is a case in point. Perhaps a law student could tell us if the Dominion government had the power to end appeals to the Judicial Committee from 1867? For example, when Alexander Mackenzie created the Supreme Court in 1875, could he and the Canadian Parliament have ended Privy council appeals then? Was the decision to continue appeals more political in nature, or was there a legal impediment? Just curious. --BrentS 17:42, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)
Pilots in the First World War
What evidence supports the assertion that Canada produced more pilots during the First World War than any other country? HistoryBA 13:26, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)
1920's and 1930's
Something about the 1920's and 1930's needs to be added into this article. There are somesingfancgent events that happened in this time, including the Mantioba General Strike and the Great Depression (which is a very major event in Canada's history)--JesseMueller 16:03, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- I might give it a crack but not right away. What themes have you in mind? the usual ones are economic (post-WWI depression, prosperity, Great Depression, rise of automobile, petroleum & pulp and paper industries), social (political participation of women, waning of temperance movements), political (expansion of federal govt, diplomatic autonomy, Rowell-Sirois Commission, nationalization of railways, creation of CNR, CBC, protest parties - Progressives, Social Credit, CCF; Maritime Provinces dissatisfaction). A lot of possible themes but very little space. How many of these topics are already covered by articles?--BrentS 18:25, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)