Another Province Joins Canada July 19 1871 Guess

Another Province Joins Canada July 19, 1871

Guess Who? • British Columbia joins 1871

• The People who lived in BC faced serious problems. • There were not enough of them to provide the services and type of government they needed.

B. C had three options: 1)Stay as a British colony and pay off debts • After the gold rush died down, prospectors left, leaving ghost towns and debt • Already had development to accommodate the gold rush 2) Some suggested that the colony should become part of the United States. (oh no!!!) 3) Join Canada

Context: • Pressure from U. S. to speed up Canada’s efforts to bring BC into confederation: • U. S. just bought Alaska leaving B. C. surrounded by Americans to the north and to the south, with rocky mountains to the east • Americans proposed that B. C. be given to them • B. C. already had many economic dealings with the U. S. • U. S. already had a transcontinental railway that easily could have connected B. C. to the rest of the U. S.

Reasons for Joining U. S. • Many Americans living in B. C. • Colony had strong trade ties with American state of California • Closer geographically to U. S. ; separated from rest of Canada by mountains and vast prairies

Reasons for Joining Canada • A former Nova Scotian wrote about the benefits of confederation {William Smith Amor De Cosmos (Lover of the world) -father of B. C. - Cosmos was a newspaper founder and was able to rally others to cause of B. C. joining confederation - Became first BC premier in 1871

• In 1870, delegates were sent to Ottawa to discuss the idea of BC joining Canada. • Prime Minister JAM was a firm believer in a Canada from Sea To Shining Sea

Canada entices B. C. to join • Canadian government promised some pretty tempting things… - A railway where construction would begin within 2 years and be completed in 10 years - Canada would absorb the colony’s considerable debt of almost $1. 5 million -Canada would provide an annual subsidy of $216, 000

Stop PPT • Work on BC Joins Confederation text assignment and continue this in two days

• Now Canada was a country that stretched from “Sea to Shining Sea” • Now was the monumental task of building a railway to connect the country

The Canadian Pacific Railway • Connecting the country from “sea to sea” Here is an example from Craigellachie, BC (near Revelstoke BC-between the Rocky and Coast Mtns

The Railway • Longest railroad ever built - Had to forge through uncharted wilderness - Most difficult terrain in the world

True or False? 1. The Canadian Pacific Railway was built largely by Chinese labour. True 2. They had safe conditions to work in False: they risked their lives to perform the most dangerous jobs for the completion of the railroad 3. Chinese laborers worked for half the wage of the white workers True

True or False 4. Most came to Canada to seek their fortune False: They were escaping the turmoil of their homeland that was plagued with starvation, war and rebellion 5. After the completion of the CPR, large head taxes were imposed on the Chinese laborers and immigrants to discourage them from staying True: also, harsh immigration laws were passed to make it virtually impossible for laborers families to join them

Building the CPR • Construction began in 1872 - Working conditions were dangerous-many men killed in dynamite blasts and rock slides and falls. - 9000 workers from China: faced low wages, long hours and poor living conditions - Chinese paid half of what European workers got: $1 a day

CPR-Completed Nov 7, 1885

The Last Spike Sanford Flemming William Van Horne Donald Smith There at least 3 photographs depicting the official ceremony and driving in of the official “Last Spike”---Donald Smith missed the nail the first time ; p