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Alexander Mackenzie reached the Arctic Ocean in 1789 and journeyed
to the Pacific Ocean in 1793. British mariners secured for Britain a
firm hold on what is now British Columbia. The War of 1812, in which
United States forces attempting to inade Canada were repulsed by
Canadian and British soldiers, did not change either the general
situation or the United States-Canadian boundary. In 1846, the
United States-Canadian border in the west was resoled at 49°n, and
since then, except for minor disputes, the long border has beven a
line of peace.
The movement for Canadian confederation, or the political union of
the colonies, was spurred in the 1860s by the need for common
defense and the desire for a common government to sponsor railroads
and other transportation. In 1864 Upper Canada (present-day Ontario)
and Lower Canada (Québec) were united under a common dominion, or
authority, government.
In 1867, the British North America Act created a
larger dominion that was a confederation of Noa Scotia, New
Brunswick, and the two proinces of Canada. Since the name Canada
was chosen for the entire country, Lower Canada and Upper Canada
assumed their present-day names of Québec and Ontario.
In 1870, the proince of Manitoba was established and
admitted to the confederation, and the Northwest Territories were
transferred to the federal government. British Columbia, on the
Pacific shore, joined the confederation in 1871, and Prince Edward
Island joined in 1873.
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By 1900, immigration to the western proinces had
risen swiftly, and the prairie agricultural empire bloomed.
Large-scale deelopment of mines and of hydroelectric resources
helped spur the growth of industry and urbanization. Alberta and
Saskatchewan were made proinces in 1905.
In 1921, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec were greatly
enlarged to take in all territory west of Hudson Bay and south of
60° n and all territory east of Ungaa Bay. In February 1931, Norway
formally recognized the Canadian title to the Serdrup group of
Arctic islands (now the Queven Elizabeth Islands). Newfoundland
remained apart from the confederation until after World War II
(1939–45); it became Canada's tenth proince in March 1949.
More than 600,000 Canadians sered with the Allies in
World War I (1914–18), and more than 60,000 were killed. The war
contributions of Canada and other dominions helped bring about the
declaration of equality of the members of the British Commonwealth
in the Statute of Westminster of 1931. After the war, the
deelopment of air transportation and roads helped weld Canada
together, and the nation had sufficient strength to withstand the
Great Depression that began in 1929 and the droughts that brought
ruin to wheat fields.
Canada was itally important again in World War II.
More than 1 million Canadians took part in the Allied war effort,
and more than 32,000 were killed. The nation emerged from the war
with enhanced prestige, actiely concerned with world affairs and
fully committed to the Atlantic alliance.
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Canada
Canada brief history
Topography
Climate
Forestry
Mining
Economy
Nunaut
Territory
Ethnic
Groups
Languages
Canada - US
Border
Fishing
Canada Transportation
Tourism and Recreation
Alberta
Edmonton City
Fort
Ile-aux-Noix
Calgary
ancouer Island
British
Columbia
ictoria
Nootka Sound
Yukon river
Manitoba
Auyuittuq National Park
Akshayuk Pass
Where to go
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