Canada

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Country occupying the northern part of the North American continent, bounded to the south by the USA, north by the Arctic Ocean, northwest by Alaska, east by the Atlantic Ocean, and west by the Pacific Ocean.

Government
The Canada Act of 1982 gave Canada power to amend its constitution and added a charter of rights and freedoms. This represented Canada's complete independence, though it remains a member of the British Commonwealth.

Canada is a federation of ten provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec, and Saskatchewan; and two territories: Northwest Territories and Yukon. Each province has a single-chamber assembly, popularly elected; the premier (the leader of the party with the most seats in the legislature) chooses the cabinet. The two-chamber federal parliament consists of the Senate, whose maximum of 112 members are appointed by the government for life or until the age of 75 and must be resident in the provinces they represent; and the House of Commons, which has 282 members, elected by universal suffrage in single-member constituencies.

The federal prime minister is the leader of the best-supported party in the House of Commons and is accountable, with the cabinet, to it. Parliament has a maximum life of five years. Legislation must be passed by both chambers and then signed by the governor general.

Modern history
In 1867 the British North America Act united Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in the Dominion of Canada. After confederation the dominion went on incorporating new provinces and stretching its boundaries to the north and the west – not without cost to the American Indian peoples, many of whom lost their land and were forced onto reservations. Lack of consultation also led to two rebellions of the Métis (French-Indian people) led by Louis Riel, one in 1869 and the other in 1885.

In 1870 the province of Manitoba was added to the confederation; British Columbia joined in 1871 and Prince Edward Island followed in 1873. The new provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created from the Northwest Territories in 1905. The issue of whether some of these new western provinces should be officially bilingual led to divisions between French- and English-speaking Canadians.

Between the years 1881 and 1885 the Canadian Pacific Railway was built, helping to open up the west to settlement. An improving economy led to vast areas of fertile prairie land being developed for agriculture, especially wheat. The discovery of gold and other metals, the exploitation of forests for lumber and paper, the development of fisheries and tourism, and investment from other countries gradually transformed Canada's economy into one of the most important manufacturing and trading nations in the world.

Politics and foreign affairs, 1867–1918
The decades following 1867 were dominated by the Conservative prime minister John Macdonald. His death in 1891 broke up the Conservative Party, and in 1896 Wilfrid Laurier and the Liberals were returned to power. They remained in office until 1911, when their policy of establishing a reciprocal trade agreement with the USA was defeated and the Conservatives under Robert Borden were returned.

Canada sent a contingent to the second South African War (the Boer War, 1899–1902), and in World War I landed its first contingent in Britain on 16 October 1914. However, the issue of supporting Britain in both these wars caused further divisions between French- and English-speaking Canadians. The former favoured isolationism and the latter an active pro-British policy, and this division was exacerbated by the introduction of conscription in 1917. In World War I, Canadian troops fought in the Second Battle of Ypres, at St Julien, Festubert, Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Passchendaele, the Somme, and Cambrai, among other engagements. During the period of the war the Houses of Parliament in Ottawa were destroyed by fire (February 1916), and there was a disastrous munitions explosion at Halifax, Nova Scotia (December 1917).

Canada in the 1920s
In 1919 the Prince of Wales made an official tour of Canada, laying the foundation stone of the tower of the new Parliament buildings in Ottawa. In the same year the Canadian National Railways were organized. Robert Borden was succeeded by Arthur Meighen as premier in 1920, but his Conservative ministry soon fell, and W L Mackenzie King, a Liberal, became premier (December 1921) and held office till 1926. In 1926 Meighen once again became premier, but was defeated in the House immediately and resigned, and Mackenzie King again became premier, but was severely defeated in the 1930 general elections. Taxation and protective tariffs were the dominant issues in Canadian politics during the 1920s.

The depression period
Canada suffered with other countries in the world depression following the Wall Street crash of 1929. Factories closed, the wheat market collapsed, and the demand for manufactured and agricultural products fell to disastrous levels. The Conservative R B Bennett became prime minister in 1930 at a time of increasing unemployment, and was pledged to an upward revision of tariffs to exclude imports of manufactured goods, especially from the USA. The overwhelming Liberal victory in the provincial elections of 1934 was followed by Bennett's heavy defeat in the general election of 1935, when Mackenzie King once more became premier. In 1935 Lord Tweedsmuir (John Buchan) became governor general, one of the most popular in the country's history.

The year 1930 marked the end of the era of the rise of the wheat empire, which had begun with the construction of the railways. By 1933 thousands of farmers were on welfare relief, their savings wiped out, and innumerable farms were abandoned. Though grain continued to be important, the west had great natural resources awaiting development, and in 1930 control of the exploitation of these resources was transferred from the dominion government to the Prairie Provinces. The depression also encouraged new political movements. In Alberta the Social Credit Party advocated drastic changes in the control of banking and money, and gained control of the provincial legislature.

Despite the economic depression, the 1930s were not devoid of substantial achievements. Following the 1931 Statute of Westminster, which had granted the British dominions complete autonomy in external affairs, this was a period of constitutional development in Canada, which played a leading part in the transformation from British Empire to Commonwealth.

In domestic affairs, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act of 1935, passed by the Conservative government, provided for a programme of research involving the cooperation of dominion and provincial governments. Through the efforts of farmers and scientists, the latitude at which arable agriculture was possible was pushed gradually further north in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Radio and flying, too, helped in the expansion northwards, freight being carried through the Northwest Territories and even to the Arctic islands.

Canada in World War II
Despite Mackenzie King's previous vacillation over giving aid to Britain in time of crisis and his insistence on parliamentary approval, there was little doubt of Canada's resolve in 1939 to join the Allies. However, the Canadian Parliament, in order to underline Canada's independence, allowed a week to pass after Britain's declaration of war on Germany before declaring war itself (10 September 1939).

In World War II, Canada provided troops at corps strength in both Sicily and Italy (1943–45) and in northwest Europe (1944–45), and Canadian naval units played a prominent part in the Battle of the Atlantic. Canada also operated the British Commonwealth air-training plan, and provided 48 operational air squadrons.

The US-Canadian alliance
A landmark in Canadian history was the creation on 18 August 1940 of the US-Canadian Permanent Joint Board of Defence, following an agreement signed at Ogdensburg by Mackenzie King and President F D Roosevelt. By this agreement the signatories in effect declared their determination to cooperate fully ‘in the defence of the northern half of the Western hemisphere’.

The Ogdensburg agreement marked a new stage not only in the relations of Canada and the USA, but in the relations of the USA with the British Commonwealth. For the first time in its history the USA had signed a permanent military agreement with a member of the Commonwealth, and had recognized Canada as its closest friend and associate. For the first time, too, Canada had shown that it was bound to join with its neighbour in defence of the common continent, while remaining free to offer military support to other Commonwealth nations.

With the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, the alliance began to take on a new significance. Early in 1946 the confidence of the Canadian public in the integrity of the USSR, its former wartime ally, was shaken by the ‘Gouzenko spy case’, which revealed an organized Soviet espionage ring in Canada. The Gouzenko case no doubt helped to make Canada one of the leading proponents of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which came into being when Canada joined the other 11 signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington DC on 4 April 1949. In the Korean War (1950–53) Canada supported the US-led United Nations effort by sending an army brigade, three destroyers, and an air-transport squadron, all of which it maintained in the field throughout the war.

Post-war constitutional changes
After World War II many further constitutional changes were carried through. In 1947 residents of Canada became ‘Canadian citizens’ as well as British subjects, and Canada was declared to be of equal status to Great Britain within the Commonwealth. In 1949 it was decided that there would be no further appeals from the Supreme Court of Canada to the Privy Council in London. The governor general was authorized to sign treaties on the advice of the government of Canada alone, and the power to amend the Canadian constitution in matters lying solely within federal jurisdiction was transferred from the British Parliament to the Canadian Parliament. In 1952 Vincent Massey was named governor general of Canada, the first Canadian to hold the post.

A domestic event of great importance occurred at the same time, when Newfoundland joined the Canadian confederation on 31 March 1949. This led to a considerable improvement in the economic welfare of the former colony.

Politics and the economy in the post-war period
Mackenzie King retired in November 1948 after holding office for a total of 23 years since 1921. His successor, Louis St Laurent, a Québec lawyer who had entered politics only in 1941, proceeded in 1949 to win a landslide electoral victory.

Both World War II and then the Korean War gave impetus to Canada's industrial and mineral development, which began at this time to gather real momentum. Despite a fresh round of inflation the country was so prosperous that in 1953 the St Laurent government achieved another great electoral sweep. In 1957, following a general election, the St Laurent government was defeated and the Progressive Conservatives under J G Diefenbaker were returned to power after 22 years of consecutive Liberal government. Canada was experiencing an economic boom: industry was expanding rapidly, aided by a rising immigration rate, and the whole face of the country was changing. Canada's self-confidence was exemplified in the opening of the St Lawrence Seaway in 1959.

Subsequently depression set in: unemployment rose and confidence waned. Uncertainty was exacerbated by Britain's efforts, during 1960–61, to enter the European Economic Community (EEC), which Canadians feared would have a deleterious affect on their own economy. In the elections in June 1962 Diefenbaker lost his overall majority but remained premier, and immediately announced an austerity programme to remedy the economic situation. He resigned in February 1963 after the Social Credit members, who had held the balance of power since the previous election, voted against the government on defence.

The Pearson governments
In the subsequent elections the Liberals emerged as the strongest single party and their leader, Lester Pearson, became prime minister. Canada's economic position had now improved, but the country faced a serious political problem in French-speaking Québec (see below). Various government scandals in 1964 added to Pearson's difficulties, and there was growing concern in some quarters that US influence in Canada, notably in the economic and business spheres, was being allowed to become too great. Divisions among his political opponents, however, enabled his minority government to survive into 1965 despite its apparent lack of positive leadership. The general election in November 1965 produced an inconclusive result, the Liberals still failing to gain an overall majority, but continuing in office. The Pearson government, despite its failure to win the overwhelming support of the Canadian people, did establish a modern welfare system that improved the lot of many Canadians.

Québec and national identity
In Québec, partly under pressure of a delayed industrial revolution in that province, a strong nationalist movement had emerged, whose extremist wing advocated Québec 's secession from the rest of Canada and was prepared to achieve this by force if necessary. There were even fears for the life of Queen Elizabeth II on her tour of Canada in October 1964, but in the event the tour passed off safely – although the Queen met with a frigid reception in Québec City.

In an effort to consolidate national unity in the face of the growing Québécois separatist movement, the Pearson government had in 1963 established the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. In 1965 this body published a preliminary report that highlighted the sense of national crisis and called for positive steps to be taken to remove the growing sense of grievance among French Canadians.

In December 1964, after months of bitter argument, final approval was given to a new national flag, intended to replace the Canadian red ensign (with its British Union Jack in one corner) and to act as a unifying symbol between Canada's different ethnic and linguistic groups. The new ‘maple leaf’ flag was flown for the first time in February 1965. Canadian feelings of national identity received a great impetus from the holding of the international exhibition Expo 67 in Montréal on the occasion of Canada's centenary. Other centennial projects across the country such as the building of theatres or community centres helped to engender pride in Canadian individuality. The mood was shattered somewhat by the visit of the French president Charles de Gaulle, who caused a diplomatic furore when in a speech he proclaimed ‘Vive le Québec libre!’ (‘Long live free Québec!’).

The Trudeau era
In 1967–68 both Diefenbaker and Pearson were replaced by new party leaders. Robert Stanfield, a lean and phlegmatic Nova Scotian, won the Progressive Conservative leadership contest, and Pierre Trudeau, an attractive and dynamic young lawyer from Montréal who had joined the party in 1965, won the Liberal leadership.

In the election of 1968, in an outbreak of what was called ‘Trudeaumania’, Trudeau swept to power with the first majority government since 1958. He retained this parliamentary position, except for the two years after the 1972 election when his hold on power was nearly ended by the Conservatives, but the 1974 election again provided him with a majority government. During these years much of the glamorous aura surrounding Trudeau dissipated, and he was seen by many as intellectually arrogant and contemptuous of parliamentary rights.

Problems of inflation increased the difficulties of the government, forcing it eventually to attempt to curb wages and prices contrary to its pledges in the 1974 election campaign. Criticism also centred on foreign policy, where Canadian nationalists were impatient with Canada's unwillingness to dissociate itself more completely from the shadow of US foreign policy, especially in regard to the Vietnam War.

Nevertheless Trudeau's belief in federalism and his series of conferences to sort out the problems of federal–provincial power-sharing did help for a time to stem the tide of separatism in Québec. He placed great emphasis on developing bilingualism, and a carefully planned programme to promote this was begun in 1970. Trudeau was also helped by the excesses of some separatists who in 1970 kidnapped a British trade commissioner and murdered a Québec minister.

The issue of separatism came to the fore again in the mid-1970s, and the Québec prime minister René Lévesque stated, after the success of his Parti Québécois in the November 1976 election, that a referendum would be held to ascertain whether the people of Québec wished their province to become an independent nation. The referendum, held in 1980, rejected independence.

In 1979, with no party having an overall majority in the Commons, the Progressive Conservatives formed a government under Joe Clark. Later that year Trudeau announced his retirement from politics, but when in December 1979 Clark was defeated on his budget proposals, Trudeau reconsidered his decision and won the 1980 general election with a large majority.

Trudeau's third administration was concerned with ‘patriation’ – that is, the extent to which the British Parliament should determine Canada's constitution. The position was resolved with the passing of the Constitution Act 1982, the last piece of UK legislation to have force in Canada.

The return of the Progressive Conservatives
In 1983 Clark was replaced as leader of the Progressive Conservatives by Brian Mulroney, a corporate lawyer who had never run for public office, and in 1984 Trudeau retired to be replaced as Liberal Party leader and prime minister by John Turner, a former minister of finance. Within nine days of taking office Turner called a general election, and the Progressive Conservatives, under Mulroney, won 211 seats, the largest majority in Canadian history.

Soon after taking office, Mulroney began an international realignment, placing less emphasis on links established by Trudeau with Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and more on cooperation with Europe and a closer relationship with the USA. The election of 1988 was fought on the issue of free trade with the USA, and the Conservatives won with a reduced majority. Despite the majority of voters opting for the Liberals or New Democratic Party (NDP), who both opposed free trade, an agreement was signed with the USA in 1989. Turner and Ed Broadbent, leader of the NDP, both resigned in 1989.

Other notable events in foreign relations during the Mulroney administration include Canada's participation in the coalition opposing Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990–91, and the announcement in February 1992 that Canada, a key partner in NATO, would embark on a phased withdrawal of its forces in Europe.

Constitutional reform
In 1987 a compromise had been reached between the Canadian provinces aimed at getting Québec's acceptance of the 1982 constitutional reforms. This agreement, known as the Meech Lake Accord, collapsed in 1990.

In September 1991, Mulroney presented a new constitutional reform package to Parliament, designed primarily to persuade Québec to remain as part of the Canadian federation. The plan, known as the Charlottetown Accord, was passed in August 1992, giving greater autonomy to Québec, increased powers to all provinces, and a reformed Senate. A subsequent national referendum in November 1992 rejected the plan, although its reforms were supported by all major Canadian parties except the Reform Party and the Bloc Québécois (for opposed reasons).

Another important constitutional development occurred in May 1992, when an Inuit self-governing homeland was approved by voters in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Conservatives routed by Liberals
In February 1993 Mulroney resigned the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party but remained prime minister until June 1993 when Kim Campbell succeeded him as Canada's first woman premier. In the same month the Canadian Parliament ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the USA and Mexico.The October 1993 general election brought a humiliating defeat for the Progressive Conservatives, their seat tally in the House of Commons falling from 169 to 2, with Kim Campbell losing her own seat. The Liberals won 178 seats and their leader, Jean Chrétien, became prime minister. The Bloc Québécois, led by Lucien Bouchard, won 54 seats and became the official opposition. Kim Campbell resigned as leader of the Progressive Conservatives in December 1993. Under Chrétien, the Liberal Party went on to win the next two general elections, in June 1997 and November 2000.

Referendum in Québec
In a 1995 referendum in Québec, voters narrowly rejected a proposal that their province should become an independent sovereign state. The separatist Parti Québécois, which held power in Québec under Jacques Parizeau, drew strong support from the province's French-speaking majority, attracting 49% of the vote. In August 1998 the supreme court ruled that if Québec votes to secede, it can only do so with the federal government's consent, and in December 1999 the federal government published a bill which would make secession even more difficult.

Prime Minister Chrétien appointed Adrienne Clarkson to succeed Romeo LeBlanc as governor general in October 1999. She was the first immigrant to be governor general, having come to Canada from Hong Kong in 1952 as a refugee of Chinese origin.

In September 2000, Stockwell Day and Joe Clark, the leaders of Canada's two rival right-of-centre parties, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives, each won by-elections for seats in the federal parliament. However, the Liberal Party won the general election two months later by a large margin. The win was seen as a blow to Québec separatist tendencies, and in January 2001, the premier of Québec, Lucien Bouchard, resigned after clashing with hardline separatists in the Parti Québécois. He was replaced by Bernard Landry. In May, the Alliance party split, with 8 of its 66 members of parliament seceding from the party, and calling for the resignation of Alliance's leader, Stockwell Day.

In July, Canada legalized the widespread medicinal use of cannabis. New regulations allowed thousands of people suffering from chronic illnesses to grow and smoke the drug.

In by-elections in Québec in October, the Parti Québécois lost much of its support, reducing the likelihood of a new referendum on Québecois secession.

Political change
In December 2003, Chrétien retired and was replaced by the former finance minister Paul Martin. However, Martin's government lost its majority in the general election of June 2004, and was finally brought down by a vote of no confidence in November 2005. The Conservatives were victorious in the subsequent general election of January 2006, although failing to win an overall majority, and their leader Stephen Harper became prime minister.

The mon, the central red disc, is called Hi-no-maru or sun-disc. The disc is set slightly towards the hoist. White symbolizes honesty and purity. Effective date: 5 August 1854. >>