|
The Alaska boundary dispute, took place between Canada and the US over the boundary of the Alaska Panhandle running south to latitude 54°40' north on the coast of BC. When the US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, it inherited the Russian position on the boundary, first defined in the 1825 Anglo-Russian treaty. The US claimed a continuous stretch of coastline, unbroken by the deep fiords of the region. Canada demanded control of the heads of certain fiords, especially the Lynn Canal, which gave access to the Yukon. The KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH, which got underway in the autumn of 1897, brought the smouldering dispute to a head. When direct negotiations in the Joint High Commission of 1898-99 failed, the problem was referred in 1903 to an international tribunal, whose 3 American and 2 Canadian members (A.B. Aylesworth and Sir Louis Jetté) were frankly partisan. The sixth, Lord Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice of England, supported the American claim for a boundary running behind the heads of the inlets, but agreed to the equal distribution of 4 islands at the mouth of Portland Canal. In protest the Canadian judges refused to sign the award, issued 20 October 1903, and violent anti-British feeling erupted in Canada.
Irritated at the decision, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier asserted that Canada's lack of TREATY-MAKING POWER made it difficult to maintain its rights internationally, but he took no immediate action. Canadian anger gradually subsided, although suspicions of the US provoked by the award may have contributed to Canada's rejection of FREE TRADE in the 1911 "reciprocity election." Nevertheless, the Alaska settlement promoted better understanding between the US and Britain that worked to Canada's advantage in WWI.
 Alaska Boundary Dispute
Author
D.M.L. FARR
Links to Other Sites
Canado-american Treaties
This extensive website provides free access to the text of all bilateral treaties established between the United States of America and Canada from 1783 to 1997. From Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the Library of International Relations (Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology), and the LexUM (Centre de recherche en droit public, Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal.)
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| Time waits for no man… and neither do trains... |
|
| Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River ... |
|
|
| The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - ... |
|
|
| Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Brunswick Place, ... |
|
|
| Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that ... |
|
|
| John Ware, "Nigger John," horseman, rancher (b near Georgetown, SC 1845; d near Brooks, Alta 11 Sept 1905). ... |
|
|
| Créditistes, Québec party involved in federal politics. For nearly 2 decades before its 1958 formation ... |
|
|
| Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, "Judy," lawyer, politician, broadcaster, novelist (b at Chatham, Ont 20 Dec 1924; d at ... |
|
Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
The ultimate test of your knowledge of Canada, trivial and otherwise. You can choose from more than 60 dynamic quizzes with visual or text clues. Your scores depend on the speed with which you answer and the number of clues you need. Results are sent to you by email and high scores are posted on the site.
This unique resource includes more than 6000 events from Canadian and world history. It can be searched by era, subject, keyword or date. To find out what happened on your birthday, select the month and day of your birth.
This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
| THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA |
|
| Roland Leduc, (Joseph Augustin Georges). Cellist, conductor, teacher, administrator, b Longueuil, near Montreal, 25 Jul 1907, d 15 Sept 2001; premier prix (Brussels Royal Cons) 1929, prix de virtuosité Van Cutsem ... |
|
|
