http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com The Canadian Encylcopedia - Most Read Articles http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008141 Pierre Elliott Trudeau, politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, prime minister of Canada 1968-79 and 1980-84 (b at Montréal 18 Oct 1919; d at Montréal 28 Sept 2000). Trudeau was born into a wealthy family, the REG WHITAKER http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003425 Few countries were affected as severely as Canada by the worldwide Depression of the 1930s. It is estimated that between 1929 and 1933 Gross National Expenditure declined by 42%, by the latter year 30% of the LABOUR FORCE was JAMES STRUTHERS http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006837 Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the NORTH-WEST REBELLION (b at Red River Settlement [Man] 22 Oct 1844; d at Regina 16 Nov 1885). Riel was educated at St Boniface and studied for the GEORGE F.G. STANLEY http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004867 Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Brunswick Place, across the Clyde R from Glasgow, Scot 10 Jan 1815; d at Ottawa 6 June 1891). He was the dominant creative mind J.K. JOHNSON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008376 Vimy Ridge, battle fought 9-14 April 1917 during WORLD WAR I . The long, low ridge formed a key position linking the Germans' new HINDENBURG LINE to their main trench lines leading north from HILL 70 near Arras, France. R.H. ROY http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001842 Confederation, the union of the British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Canada (Canada being an earlier 1841 union of Lower Canada and Upper Canada), was achieved 1 July 1867 under the new name, P.B. WAITE http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005701 France was a colonial power in North America from the early 16th century, the age of great European discoveries and fishing expeditions, to the early 19th century, when Napoléon Bonaparte sold Louisiana to the US. From JACQUES MATHIEU http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009067 Major Language and Tribal GroupsEastern Woodland Indians spoke languages belonging to 2 unrelated families, Iroquoian and Algonquian. At the onset of the historic period, Iroquoians occupied much of southern Ontario, northern CHARLES A. BISHOP http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003112 Fur trade in Canada began as an adjunct to the fishing industry. Early in the 16th century fishermen from northwest Europe were taking rich catches of COD on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St Lawrence ( JOHN E. FOSTER, W.J. ECCLES http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001322 Commencement of a transcontinental railway within 2 years and completion within 10 years were conditions of British Columbia's entry into Confederation in 1871 (seeRAILWAY HISTORY). Competition for the lucrative contract for the OMER LAVALLÉE http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005502 Farley Mowat, author (b at Belleville, Ont 12 May 1921). Mowat has been writing since his pre-teens. He recalls composing "mostly verse" while living with his family in Windsor (1930-33) and then publishing a regular GERALD J. RUBIO Rev: KAREN GRANDY http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008442 On 18 June 1812, at the height of the Napoleonic conflict ( see NAPOLEONIC WARS ), the US declared war on Great Britain and struck at the only British possession on the continent: Canada. Most of the battles that followed PIERRE BERTON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003476 The Group of Seven was founded in 1920 as an organization of self-proclaimed modern artists. The original members - Franklin CARMICHAEL , Lawren HARRIS , A.Y. JACKSON , Franz JOHNSTON , Arthur LISMER , J.E.H. CHRISTOPHER VARLEY http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008649 The Winnipeg General Strike, 15 May-25 June 1919, was Canada's best-known general strike. Massive unemployment and inflation, the success of the Russian Revolution (1917), a wave of strikes across Canada and rising J. NOLAN REILLY http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008717 Memories of WWI - the tragic loss of life, the heavy burden of debt and the strain on the country's unity imposed by CONSCRIPTION- made Canadians, including politicians of all parties, loath to contemplate another such C.P. STACEY Revised: NORMAN HILLMER http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001505 Samuel de Champlain, cartographer, explorer, governor of New France (b at Brouage, France c 1570; d at Québec City 25 Dec 1635). The major role Champlain played in the St Lawrence River area earned him the title of MARCEL TRUDEL http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001428 Emily Carr, painter, writer (b at Victoria 13 Dec 1871; d there 2 Mar 1945). Her parents were English people who had settled in the small provincial town of Victoria, where her father became a successful merchant and respected DORIS SHADBOLT http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004312 William Lyon Mackenzie King, politician, prime minister of Canada 1921-26, 1926-30 and 1935-48 (b at Berlin [Kitchener], Ont 17 Dec 1874; d at Ottawa 22 July 1950), grandson of William Lyon MACKENZIE. Leader of the LIBERAL PARTY H. BLAIR NEATBY http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0007300 The Seven Years' War, 1756-63, was the first global war. The protagonists were Britain, Prussia and Hanover against France, Austria, Sweden, Saxony, Russia and eventually Spain. Britain declined to commit its main forces on W.J. ECCLES http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006708 The Rebellions of 1837 took place in both Upper and Lower Canada. In LOWER CANADA the rebellion was in large part an expression of a resurgent FRENCH CANADIAN NATIONALISM . The French Canadian majority constituted the P.A. BUCKNER http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006515 Prohibition was an attempt to forbid by law the selling and drinking of intoxicating beverages. It was enacted in Prince Edward Island in 1901 and in the remaining provinces, the Yukon, and Newfoundland during the First World GERALD HALLOWELL http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001439 Jacques Cartier, navigator (b at St-Malo, France, between 7 June and 23 Dec 1491; d there 1 Sept 1557). Cartier led 3 voyages of exploration to the St Lawrence region in 1534, 1535-36 and 1541-42. He is usually credited with MARCEL TRUDEL http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006275 Physiography originally meant "the study of natural phenomena," but later usage limited its application to PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY in particular and, more recently, to landforms alone. Physiographic regionalization is here Contributers to this article: I.A. BROOKES, OLAV SLAYMAKER, JOHN K. STAGER, J.M. RYDER, D.F. ACTON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004558 Sir Wilfrid Laurier, lawyer, journalist, politician, prime minister of Canada (b at St-Lin, Canada E 20 Nov 1841; d at Ottawa 17 Feb 1919). As leader of the LIBERAL PARTY 1887-1919 and prime minister 1896-1911, Laurier was the RÉAL BÉLANGER http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003886 The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), chartered 2 May 1670, is the oldest incorporated joint-stock merchandising company in the English-speaking world. Formerly headquartered in London, England, and via an intermediary residence in ARTHUR J. RAY Rev: SASHA YUSUFALI http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009069 The Canadian portion of the Northwest Coast is a region of extremes in topography, from wide beaches to deep fjords and snowcapped mountains. Temperatures are moderate, the January mean above freezing and July less than 18° MICHAEL KEW http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003932 Hydroelectricity is obtained from the ENERGY contained in falling water; it is a renewable, comparatively nonpolluting energy source and Canada's largest source of ELECTRIC-POWER GENERATION . In N America in the 1850s the E.W. HUMPHRYS http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001270 The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the only Charter of Rights entrenched in the Canadian Constitution, came into force on 17 April 1982. According to section 52 of the CONSTITUTION ACT, 1982 , every law that is GÉRALD-A. BEAUDOIN http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009071 The Plateau culture area is named after the geographically defined Columbian Plateau. In Canada this area consists of the high plateau between the British Columbia coast range of mountains and the Rockies. Scholars over the DOROTHY KENNEDY AND RANDY BOUCHARD http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009070 The Plains Indian culture area extended from southern Manitoba and the Mississippi River westward to the Rocky Mountains, and from the North Saskatchewan River south into Texas. This is a region with a continental climate - hot TED J. BRASSER http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006727 Red River Rebellion (also known as Red River Resistance), a movement of national self-determination by the MÉTIS of the RED RIVER COLONY in what is now Manitoba, 1869-70. The settlement was after 1836 administered by J.M. BUMSTED http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005802 North-West Rebellion, 1885, culmination of the discontent of the MÉTIS , Indians and white settlers which had not abated since the RED RIVER REBELLION of 1869-70. The Plains Indians - CREE , BLACKFOOT , BLOOD , BOB BEAL and ROD MACLEOD http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003975 The Indian Act, is the principal federal statute dealing with INDIAN status, local government and the management of reserve land and communal monies. The present Act was passed in 1951, but its provisions are rooted in colonial WILLIAM B. HENDERSON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000995 British Columbia is Canada's most westerly province. It is a mountainous area whose population is mainly clustered in the southwestern corner. It is a land of diversity and contrast within small areas. Coastal landscapes, J. LEWIS ROBINSON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009095 Canada is among the largest nations on the globe. Within the country's borders, there are portions of 3 major OCEANS, large tracts of the Arctic, huge expanses of varied types of FORESTS, extensive areas of plains and MOUNTAINS, ED WIKEN http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005522 Alice Munro, nee Alice Laidlaw, short-story writer (b at Wingham, Ont 10 July 1931). Alice Munro was born and spent her early years in western Ontario farming country. She met her first husband, James Munro, at the University of E.D. BLODGETT http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005880 The October Crisis denotes the kidnapping on 5 October 1970 of James Cross, the British trade commissioner in Montréal, by members of the FRONT DE LIBÉRATION DU QUÉBEC . The kidnappers' demands, DENIS SMITH http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0000390 Margaret Eleanor Atwood, "Peggy," poet, novelist, critic (b at Ottawa 18 Nov 1939). A varied and prolific writer, Margaret Atwood is one of Canada's major contemporary authors. She studied at the University of Toronto BARBARA GODARD http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008439 War Measures Act, statute (1914) conferring emergency powers on the federal Cabinet, allowing it to govern by decree when it perceives the existence of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended." The Act was DENIS SMITH http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004796 Loyalists, American colonists of varied ethnic backgrounds who supported the British cause during the AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1775-83). In 1789 Lord Dorchester (seeCARLETON), governor-in-chief of BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, proclaimed BRUCE G. WILSON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006481 Prince Edward Island, Canada's seventh and smallest province, is affectionately referred to by its people as "the Island." Known to its earliest settlers, the MICMAC, as Abegweit ("cradle in the waves"), the S. ANDREW ROBB AND H.T. HOLMAN http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009072 The area of Subarctic cultures lies largely within the 5 million km 2 zone of northern or boreal coniferous forest that extends from the arctic tundra to the mountains, plains or deciduous forest in the south and across North ROBIN RIDINGTON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006458 Prejudice usually refers to an unsubstantiated negative prejudgement of individuals or groups because of their ETHNICITY, race or RELIGION (seeRACISM). Discrimination is the exclusion of individuals or groups from full LEO DRIEDGER, HOWARD PALMER http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008716 On 4 August 1914 Britain's ultimatum to Germany to withdraw from Belgium expired. The British Empire, including Canada, was at war, allied with Serbia, Russia, and France against the German and Austro-Hungarian empires. Prewar DESMOND MORTON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006990 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III to establish a basis of government administration in the N American territories formally ceded by France to Britain in the Treaty of PARIS, 1763 , following the ANTHONY J. HALL http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004349 Klondike Gold Rush, touched off by the 16 August 1896 discovery of placer gold (the claim was staked on August 17) on Rabbit (later Bonanza) Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River, by George Washington Carmack and his Indian PIERRE BERTON http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006320 The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, 13 September 1759, during the SEVEN YEARS' WAR , fought upstream from Québec on a tract of land that is thought to have been named after Abraham Martin, to whom it was granted C.P. STACEY Revised: NORMAN HILLMER http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003983 IntroductionIndian treaties in Canada are constitutionally recognized agreements between the Crown and aboriginal peoples. Most of these agreements describe exchanges where aboriginal groups agree to share some of their interests ANTHONY J. HALL http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0003961 Canada's IMMIGRATION policy is the most explicit part of what might be described as a POPULATION policy. In a liberal democratic state such as Canada, only the prevailing rates of immigration and not those of mortality, GERALD E. DIRKS http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005642 The Native peoples of Canada are considered under 6 general articles. Native People: ARCTIC ; EASTERN WOODLANDS ; NORTHWEST COAST ; PLAINS ; PLATEAU and SUBARCTIC . There are also separate entries on the following &author;