Canada During...

01/17/06

Canada During the Laurier Years

Wilfrid Laurier -qualities and characteristics that made him a good Prime Minister.

	- bilingual
	- knew great deal about English culture
	- tolerant
	- Law degree
	- honest, courageous, sense of fair play
	- excellent speaker

Imperialism & French Canadian Nationalism:

Imperialism, the policy of establishing colonies away from the homeland, was a major issue/objective of many European countries. Such colonies provided:...

1. Source of raw materials

2. Market for manufactured goods

3. Prestige, glory

4. Military strength

... for the home country.

- Canada was part of the British Empire at the turn of the century.

* English Canadians supported the Imperialist movement

* French Canadians took loss pride in the Imperialist movement.

The Boer War:

	- The Boer War ( a war between Britain and Boers from 1899-1902) created a crisis in Canada
	-The British govt. Asked Canada to send soldiers to prove Canada’s support of Britain. English Canadians were anxious to take part however many French Canadians said NO!
	- Laurier had to find a compromise to satisfy both the English and French in Canada.

Solution: Canada would send volunteers instead of the official army, however Canada would equip and transport these volunteers who would fight as part of the British forces. In the end Canada sent 7300 volunteers at a cost of 2.8 million

Reaction: The Solution did not satisfy anyone: Imperialists felt that Canada had let Britain down. French Canadians had felt Laurier had done to much

The Naval Crises:

	- In the early 1900's Germany and Britain were involved in a naval race to have the largest navy in the world. Britains power was based on it’s navy thus it’s policy was to ensure that it has and maintained the largest navy in the world. Germany was challenging this status.
	-Britain wanted Canada and other colonies to contribute funds to help build more ships
	-The question in Canada was should we help Britain build its Navy or build our own? This issue threatened to divide Canada as the Boer War had.
	-Again Laurier offered a compromise, The Naval Service Bill ( an act to create a Canadian Navy under Canadian central)

	Solution: - Canada would have a navy of it’s own under the control of the Canadian Government
	- In an emergency the Canadian Navy would be placed under British Control
	- Service in the Navy would be voluntary.

	Reaction; - French Canadian Nationalists such as Henri Bourass: complained that this policy meant that Canadians could be sent anywhere at any time to fight Britains imperialist wars.
	- English Canadians felt we should make an outright contribution to the British Navy.

The Alaska Boundary Dispute, 1903:

	- Canada came into conflict with the U.S. over the border between Alaska and Canada
	- The Alaska Boundary Dispute between Canada and the U. S. dealt with territory and parts in the Alaska Panhandle. (See page 66)
	- When gold was discovered, in the Yukon, this territory became important as thousands of prospectors flooded into the territory. Both Canadian and American merchants wanted to take advantage of this new business.
	- Canada and the U.S. argued that they controlled parts in this region; government control of parts was important as taxes could be levied on all goods and gold going in and out of the territory.
	- Eventually the dispute was submitted to a court of 6 judges:

	- 3 American
	- 2 Canadian
	- 1 British

- After one month of discussion the Tribunal decided 4-2 against Canada; the British judge had sided with the Americans against Canada. Britain was facing growing problems with Germany and knew it would need U.S. support if a war broke out with Germany, therefore it would not risk American friendship in this dispute.

- Canadians felt outraged; that the US. Had bullied them and that Britain had sold them out.

- Canadians, as result, felt more determined that it must make its own decisions in the future.

-In 1909 the International Joint Commission, a commission set up to deal with disagreements between the United States and Canada, was established to deal with disagreements over boundary waters along the Canadian-American border.
Reciprocity:

	- Farmers in western Canada demanded lower tariffs on goods traded between Canada and the U.S. when they learned that farm machinery in the U.S. sold for half the price in Canada. The high costs were blamed on Ontario and Quebec who grew rich because of the tariffs which kept competition out of Canada
	- Laurier dealt with the issue by working out the Reciprocity Agreement, an agreement to trade certain products without taxes. It was a deal every Canadian government had tried to make with the U.S. since Confederation.
	- At first this agreement seemed to ensure Laurier would win the next election.

- However things began to go wrong:

1. Clifford Sifton a liberal cabinet opposed reciprocity. He and other Liberals opposed the idea

2. Business people fearing competition from cheap American products fought the idea.

3. Canadian Nationalists did not want to see Canadian resources to leave Canada

4. An American’s journalist declared he looked forward to the day the American flag would fly over all of North America.

- These issues were enough to defeat Laurier’s Liberal government in 1911 thus ending the "Golden Age of Laurier". Reciprocity was killed.

- The two issues that helped defeat Laurier’s Liberals were:

1. The Naval Service Bill

2. The Reciprocity Deal

- Laurier died Feb 17, 1919.

This site was last updated 12/17/01