We’re about to transition into what happens for Canada after the separation of American States and the migration of British Loyalists to Canada. Some of the biggest issues that need to be resolved include:

• the presence of two cultural groups, French-speaking and English speaking, governed by the English
• the decision of how to settle these different groups – integrate them Catholic French with Protestant English, or segregate them to allow them to live with different sets of laws, culture, language, religion, etc.
• a growth in population spread out over a great area, meaning people are governed quite remotely and resented it. They wanted more local governing, so issues specific to their areas and needs could be addressed.
• a desire as well to have more of a local voice in decisions made, instead of governed only from the top down (by the British) so establishing locally elected assembly, similar to what the American patriots had before their separation

The decisions made by authorities in response to these issues has contributed (indirectly) to some of the tensions and issues Canadians are currently facing and struggling with today, including:

• the tension over the Wet’suwet’en territory sovereignty and treaty negotiations with multiple unceded territories within Canada
• the continued systematic inequality that resulted from the Indian Act or laws made to benefit some and not others
• the relationships of colonies to each other – that they work only if they continue to be interdependent or beneficial both ways. Alberta is currently feeling a great deal of resentment, that they’re not receiving a fair reciprocal relationship with the Federal government despite the natural resources of Alberta territory benefiting other provinces through equalization payments.

To help you find ways to connect to and be able to focus on this new information, you have to try to connect it to existing knowledge you already have.

Or you won’t be able to understand and retain it. This initial discussion of the topics and developments that will occur of Canada’s history in this Unit are an attempt to help you recognize how these events and choices made regarding them lead us to where we are today, the good and the bad!

Overview of Unit Concepts (video/discussion)

Reading Textbook – lead up to split of Upper and Lower Canada (video)

Pdf of Text Pages 118-141 Shaping Canada Textbook