![\"Historical](\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/postconfederation2e\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/104\/2015\/05\/694px-Canada_provinces_evolution_2.gif\")
<\/a> Figure 1.1 Canada's territorial evolution from 1867 to 2003. <\/a> Figure 1.1 Canada's territorial evolution from 1867 to 2003. [Long Description]<\/a>[\/caption]Canada in 1867 covered an area roughly equivalent to the original [pb_glossary id=\"845\"]Thirteen Colonies of Britain[\/pb_glossary]\u2014the core elements of the United States of America (U.S.) in 1783. However, Ontario (formerly Canada West), Quebec (formerly Canada East), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were much more sparsely populated, and the new Dominion was a curious mix of highly concentrated and urban populations on the one hand, and overwhelmingly rural and remote on the other. For example, much of southern Ontario was farmland, and the northern coastline of Lake Superior was forestry and mining territory in which only small clusters of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people lived. There was some degree of industrialization underway from which a Canadian working class\u00a0 emerged. Cities like Hamilton, Ontario transformed from leafy commercial towns in the 1850s to smoky industrial engines in the late 1860s. The former colonies \u2014 now \u201cprovinces\u201d \u2014 were not uniformly happy to be part of the new [pb_glossary id=\"846\"]federation[\/pb_glossary]. Britain\u2019s role in the post-1867 era was still unclear. Indeed, the meaning of the new federal union of colonies (and, to be clear, although they were provinces they were all still colonies as well) was not entirely obvious to the British North Americans themselves.\r\n\r\nHistorians have debated for many years just what was accomplished in the British North America Act<\/em>\u00a0(BNA Act<\/em>)\u00a0of 1867. There is the matter of what the so-called \u201cFathers of Confederation\u201d believed they were doing and agreeing to. And there was also the question of Britain\u2019s objectives: The new constitution might have signalled greater decision-making autonomy when it came to internal matters, but there was no suggestion of colonial independence. What, too, did the rest of the British North Americans \u2014 the people of the Plains and British Columbia, for example \u2014 believe was underway? Was the BNA Act<\/em> a pivotal moment for them? And what of the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral and current territories were now captured within the boundaries of the new \u201cDominion\u201d? This chapter summarizes the steps that led to the new constitution, and identifies the many peoples who both comprised the emergent country and who were soon (or not so soon) going to be entangled in Canadian expansionism. It may be convenient to think of 1 July 1867 as a new beginning but it was, in a great many respects, more about continuity than change.\r\nLearning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n
![\"Historical](\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/accessibilitytoolkit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/313\/2015\/05\/694px-Canada_provinces_evolution_2.gif\")
<\/a>Canada in 1867 covered an area roughly equivalent to the original Thirteen Colonies of Britain<\/a>\u2014the core elements of the United States of America (U.S.) in 1783. However, Ontario (formerly Canada West), Quebec (formerly Canada East), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were much more sparsely populated, and the new Dominion was a curious mix of highly concentrated and urban populations on the one hand, and overwhelmingly rural and remote on the other. For example, much of southern Ontario was farmland, and the northern coastline of Lake Superior was forestry and mining territory in which only small clusters of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people lived. There was some degree of industrialization underway from which a Canadian working class\u00a0 emerged. Cities like Hamilton, Ontario transformed from leafy commercial towns in the 1850s to smoky industrial engines in the late 1860s. The former colonies \u2014 now \u201cprovinces\u201d \u2014 were not uniformly happy to be part of the new federation<\/a>. Britain\u2019s role in the post-1867 era was still unclear. Indeed, the meaning of the new federal union of colonies (and, to be clear, although they were provinces they were all still colonies as well) was not entirely obvious to the British North Americans themselves.<\/p>\n Historians have debated for many years just what was accomplished in the British North America Act<\/em>\u00a0(BNA Act<\/em>)\u00a0of 1867. There is the matter of what the so-called \u201cFathers of Confederation\u201d believed they were doing and agreeing to. And there was also the question of Britain\u2019s objectives: The new constitution might have signalled greater decision-making autonomy when it came to internal matters, but there was no suggestion of colonial independence. What, too, did the rest of the British North Americans \u2014 the people of the Plains and British Columbia, for example \u2014 believe was underway? Was the BNA Act<\/em> a pivotal moment for them? And what of the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral and current territories were now captured within the boundaries of the new \u201cDominion\u201d? This chapter summarizes the steps that led to the new constitution, and identifies the many peoples who both comprised the emergent country and who were soon (or not so soon) going to be entangled in Canadian expansionism. It may be convenient to think of 1 July 1867 as a new beginning but it was, in a great many respects, more about continuity than change.<\/p>\n Learning Objectives<\/p>\n<\/header>\n Figure 1.1 long description: <\/strong>A series of historical maps of Canada between 1867 and 2003. In order, the maps are labelled:<\/p>\n [Return to Figure 1.1]<\/a><\/p>\n The Atlantic Coast colonies established in the 17th and 18th centuries; rebelled against British rule in 1775\u201383 and became the core elements of the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Long Descriptions<\/h1>\n
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Media Attributions<\/h2>
definition<\/span>
![The Evolution of the Canadian Provinces<\/a> ©](\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Canada_provinces_evolution_2.gif\"){kind=link}