The Canadian Encylcopedia - Most Read Articles

Pierre Elliott Trudeau

REG WHITAKER

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

Great Depression

JAMES STRUTHERS

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

Louis Riel

GEORGE F.G. STANLEY

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

Confederation

P.B. WAITE

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, Dominion

Second World War (WWII)

C.P. STACEY Revised: NORMAN HILLMER

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

New France

JACQUES MATHIEU

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

Sir John Alexander Macdonald

J.K. JOHNSON

Sir John Alexander Macdonald, lawyer, businessman, politician, first prime minister of Canada (b at Glasgow, Scot 10 or 11 Jan 1815; d at Ottawa 6 June 1891). John Alexander Macdonald was the dominant creative mind which produced

Fur Trade

JOHN E. FOSTER, W.J. ECCLES

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

War of 1812

PIERRE BERTON and JAMES MARSH

The war of 1812 was a military conflict between the United States and Great Britain. As a colony of Great Britain, Canada was swept up in the War of 1812 and was invaded a number of times by the Americans. The process of naming

Aboriginal People: Eastern Woodlands

CHARLES A. BISHOP

Major Language GroupsEastern Woodland indigenous people belong to two unrelated language families, Iroquoian and Algonquian. Iroquoians occupied much of southern Ontario, northern Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and the St

Vimy Ridge

R.H. ROY

Vimy Ridge, battle fought 9-14 April 1917 during the FIRST WORLD WAR. 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.

Group of Seven

CHRISTOPHER VARLEY

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. MACDONALD and F.H. VARLEY

Physiographic Regions

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

Canadian Pacific Railway

OMER LAVALLÉE

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

Samuel de Champlain

MARCEL TRUDEL

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

Winnipeg General Strike

J. NOLAN REILLY

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

Rebellions of 1837

P.A. BUCKNER

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

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

GÉRALD-A. BEAUDOIN

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

Natural Regions

ED WIKEN

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,

First World War (WWI)

DESMOND MORTON

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

Emily Carr

DORIS SHADBOLT

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

William Lyon Mackenzie King

H. BLAIR NEATBY

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

Aboriginal People: Northwest Coast

MICHAEL KEW Revised: BRUCE GRANVILLE MILLER

The Canadian portion of the Northwest Coast is a region of extremes in topography, from wide beaches to deep fjords and snow-capped mountains. Temperatures are moderate, the January mean above freezing and July less than 18°

Prohibition

GERALD HALLOWELL

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

Aboriginal People: Plains

TED J. BRASSER

Plains Aboriginal Nations were found throughout a vast territory that 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

Seven Years' War

W.J. ECCLES

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

Hydroelectricity

E.W. HUMPHRYS

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

Farley Mowat

GERALD J. RUBIO Rev: KAREN GRANDY

Farley Mowat, author, environmentalist, activist (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

Hudson's Bay Company

ARTHUR J. RAY Rev: SASHA YUSUFALI

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

Aboriginal People: Plateau

DOROTHY KENNEDY AND RANDY BOUCHARD

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 coastal mountains and the Rocky Mountains that at lower

British Columbia

J. LEWIS ROBINSON

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,

Jacques Cartier

MARCEL TRUDEL

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

Red River Rebellion

J.M. BUMSTED

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

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

RÉAL BÉLANGER

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

Women's Movement

MARGRIT EICHLER AND MARIE LAVIGNE

Since the end of the 19th century, Canadian women have been organizing to redefine their place in society, to demand equality and justice. Through legal and political means, the women's movement has allowed Canadian women to

War Measures Act

DENIS SMITH

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

North-West Rebellion

BOB BEAL and ROD MACLEOD

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 ,

Prejudice and Discrimination

LEO DRIEDGER, HOWARD PALMER

Prejudice refers to an unsubstantiated negative prejudgement of individuals or groups, usually because of ETHNICITY, RELIGION or race (seeRACISM), but it could be based on any quality, including gender, age, physical appearance

Prince Edward Island

S. ANDREW ROBB AND H.T. HOLMAN

Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province and the seventh to enter Confederation, is affectionately referred to by its people as "the Island." Known to its earliest settlers, the MICMAC, as Abegweit ("cradle

Indian Act

WILLIAM B. HENDERSON

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

October Crisis

DENIS SMITH

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,

Immigration Policy

GERALD E. DIRKS

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,

Aboriginal Treaties

ANTHONY J. HALL

Introduction Aboriginal 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

Baby Boom

KAROL J. KROTKI, JACQUES HENRIPIN

Baby Boom is the name given to a substantial rise in the population birth rate, especially when referring to the generation that occurred after the Second World

Women's Suffrage

SUSAN JACKEL

In the 19th century, female property holders could demand municipal voting rights on the principle of "no taxation without representation." Propertied women in Québec voted unchallenged between 1809 and 1849,

Royal Proclamation of 1763

ANTHONY J. HALL

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

Aboriginal People: Arctic

MILTON M.R. FREEMAN

INUIT have enjoyed almost exclusive occupation of the Canadian Arctic, those inland and coastal areas north of the TREELINE. In areas close to the treeline, Inuit and Aboriginal people have traditionally occupied similar

Aboriginal People: Subarctic

ROBIN RIDINGTON

The area of Subarctic cultures lies largely within the five million km2 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

Québec

CLAUDE COUTURE

Québec is the largest province in Canada by area and borders Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland (Labrador was attributed to Newfoundland in 1927 by the British Privy Council). The territory of Québec

Iroquois

PETER G. RAMSDEN

Iroquois is a term which designates a confederacy of five First Nations originally inhabiting the northern part of New York state, consisting of the SENECA, CAYUGA, ONEIDA, ONONDAGA and MOHAWK, also known as the League of the