British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province, nestled between the Pacific coast and the Rocky Mountains. Known worldwide for its natural attractions, it is home to 4.6 million people. The majority of the population lives in the southwestern region of the Lower Mainland, and the total area of ​​the province is larger than that of Germany, France and the Netherlands combined.

The capital of British Columbia is the city of Victorialocated on Vancouver Island. Interestingly, the largest is not Victoria, but Vancouver - the third largest city in Canada with a population of 2.5 million (including suburbs). Every year more than forty thousand immigrants from all over the world arrive here, which is why the ethnic composition is particularly diverse. Based on the facts, every third local resident was born abroad, and the Chinese diaspora is the largest in the country. The cosmopolitan atmosphere and excellent quality of life makes British Columbia one of the main destinations for immigrating to Canada.

Geography

British Columbia is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, Alaska to the northwest, Yukon and the Northwest Territories to the north, Alberta to the east, and Washington, Idaho, and Montana to the south. The area of ​​the territory is 944375 square kilometers. The winding coastline is 27,000 kilometers long and includes both deep mountainous fjords and 6,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited. It is the only Canadian province with access to the Pacific Ocean.

The capital of British Columbia is the city of Victoria on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island. Only a narrow strip of coast from the Campbell River to Victoria is inhabited on the island. The western coast is covered with almost impenetrable temperate rainforests. The most populated city in the province is Vancouver, located in the southwest of the continental part.

The coastline and numerous bays attract hundreds of thousands of tourists to British Columbia with stunning views. In recent years, the topic of ecotourism has been especially relevant. 75% of the province is located above 1000 meters above sea level, 60% is covered with forest, and only 5% is suitable for agriculture. Despite this, the Okanagan region is Canada's largest producer of wine and cider. Other wine destinations in British Columbia are the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island and the Fraser River Valley near Vancouver.

The northern two-thirds of the province is almost uninhabited, except for a small area east of the Rocky Mountains, where the Canadian Prairies begins, centered on Dawson Creek on the border with Alberta.

Climate

Thanks to the warm Kuroshio Current (also known as the Japanese Current), the southern part of British Columbia has a mild, rainy climate, similar in places to the Mediterranean. The continental part of the province, covered from the west by mountains, has a semi-arid climate - some places receive less than 250 mm of precipitation per year. In the most populated areas, the average annual temperature reaches 12 degrees - warmer than anywhere else in Canada.

In winter, it almost constantly rains on the coast, on average, only 25-50 centimeters of snow falls during the winter, although once every few years heavy snowfalls up to 20 centimeters at a time and frosts down to minus 10-12 degrees are possible. In the northern part of British Columbia, winters are very severe. In the city of Smith River, on the border with the Yukon, one of the lowest temperatures in all of North America was recorded - minus 58.9 degrees.

Summers are usually warm and dry, which is why forest fires are frequent. The heat inside the mainland reaches 44.4 degrees - this is the temperature that was recorded in the city of Lytton on July 16, 1941.

Story

British Columbia has a rich history associated with Indian tribes. Anthropologists have irrefutable evidence that the first people appeared here about 11.5 thousand years ago. On the west coast, the density of Indians was especially high: at the time of the first contact with Europeans, half of the Canadian aborigines lived here.

The first Europeans - the British James Cook and George Vancouver (after whom the city and the island were named) - appeared in the province at the end of the 18th century. They were followed by fur miners, who began the permanent presence of Great Britain in this part of the world. Many modern cities began as trading posts.

British Columbia joined the Canadian Confederation in 1871, becoming the sixth province. At the end of the 19th century, immigrants from all over Europe, as well as from China and Japan, settled here. After the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the people of BC moved away from traditional farming to lumberjacks and miners.

After World War II, British Columbia experienced a period of dramatic industrial growth. The authorities were able to effectively use the huge income from the sale of timber to modernize the economy. At this time there was a cultural flourishing of the Colombian cities, Vancouver and Victoria became significant cultural and educational centers, which flocked to writers, poets, actors, scientists and musicians.

Nowadays, the province remains one of the leaders in terms of quality of life. Its cities are consistently recognized as the world's best places to live, the cleanest and most comfortable. These qualities helped Vancouver win the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Demography

The province is home to 4.6 million people. On average, a woman gives birth to 1.4 children, which is much less than the national level - 1.6. This means that population growth is provided mainly by immigration. Local employers experience a significant shortage of labor, which is filled by foreign workers.

On the map below you can see which areas are preferred by people from certain countries. For example, North Vancouver is covered in light green to represent Iran. The south of the city is preferred by people from China, the Philippines and the UK.

Due to its geographical location on the Pacific coast and relative proximity to Asia, British Columbia has always experienced an influx of immigration from Asian countries. The Chinese make up about ten percent of the population, and the number of Japanese, Filipinos, and Koreans is also significant. In South Vancouver and Surrey, immigrants from South Asian countries - India and Bangladesh - prefer to settle.

Immigration

Immigration has always played an important role in the history of the province, from the first settlers to modern times. Given the low birth rate, the entire population growth will depend on visitors. To address the labor shortage, the government has developed a special provincial immigration program that speeds up the immigration process for qualified applicants who want to settle in British Columbia and devote their efforts and funds to its development. Many new residents come here through a temporary worker program.

Cities

85 representatives, each from their constituency, are elected by the Members of the Legislative Assembly every four years. Now power belongs to the Liberal Party of British Columbia. The head of government is Christy Clark.

The quality of life

British Columbia is widely known for its high quality of life, and Vancouver is consistently ranked among the world's most comfortable cities. For newly arrived immigrants, Vancouver provides economic opportunities and support for existing national communities, a low crime rate and beautiful nature. The same can be said for Victoria, and inland cities such as Kelowna.

The cost of living here is considered the most expensive in all of Canada, mainly due to high housing costs, but this is offset by high salaries. The minimum hourly wage is $10.25 and the income tax is one of the lowest in the country. Large parks, two mountain ranges and the Pacific Ocean allow for a healthy lifestyle, which affects the average life expectancy of 82 years.

The property

The residential real estate market in British Columbia is considered overheated, the cost of houses here is significantly higher than in the rest of Canada. The most expensive are Vancouver and Victoria, as well as their suburbs. Most families spend between 30 and 60 percent of their income on housing. The cost of commercial real estate is close to the national average.

Many Vancouverians choose to live in nearby suburbs such as Richmond, Surrey and Burnaby. Living in these cities is not only cheaper, but also provides more space for families, and the center is not too far to get to.

Education

British Columbia has an excellent educational system, including world-class research universities. In Canada, all citizens and permanent residents under the age of twenty are entitled to free secondary education, including alternative schools, Indian programs, immersion in French, fine arts, sports, and of course regular public schools. Students are not limited in their choice of schools and can attend any of them of their choice. Provincial examinations are taken in grades 10, 11 and 12.

For those wishing to continue learning, more than 1,900 educational programs are offered at 25 institutions: 11 universities, 11 colleges and three institutes. For Canadians, the tuition fee is about $4,300 per year. In order to increase the availability of higher education, the government has developed student assistance programs in the form of loans and scholarships.

Top universities in British Columbia, including (UBC), Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria, form a research network that attracts scholars and students from all over the world. UBC alumni include Nobel laureates in medicine, physics and economics. A strong educational network makes the province's economy competitive on a global level.

healthcare

Under Canadian law, all provinces and territories are required to provide free comprehensive health care to every citizen and permanent resident of Canada. In other words, most medical services cost nothing to them. Some procedures that are considered optional remain chargeable, such as cosmetic surgery and some dental procedures. The list of paid services varies depending on the province.

British Columbia has one of the highest levels of healthcare costs for its residents. On average, the BC government spends $5,700 a year per person.

culture

The culture of British Columbia is largely inspired by the natural beauty of these places. The inhabitants of the province are known for their healthy lifestyle, love of active sports - cycling, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking and swimming are especially popular.

The local culture has been strongly influenced by the historically high level of immigration. The British, German, Chinese, Indian and Japanese diasporas are especially strong here. This makes Vancouver a very cosmopolitan and creative city, attracting artists from all over the world.

Video

The French kings let the Britons steal half the continent

The French see their Canadian brethren as a whimsical reminder of the past. Quebecers speak with an accent that most French people find primitive, even comical, a sort of seventeenth-century peasant accent. Quebecers use funny words, such as char instead of car (car), blonde (blonde) instead of girlfriend (girlfriend), and they use ancient religious terms as curses - sacrament (sacrament) and tabernacle (chapel)! When a Quebecer (or woman) is interviewed for French television, he or she is usually subtitled in “normal French,” as if the language spoken in French-speaking Canada is so barbaric that Parisians simply cannot understand it. In short, the French treat Quebecers in much the same way that New Yorkers treat Alabamas. Unless you peel it off a little - then it will do.

But at the same time, any mention of the history of Quebec immediately kindles an anti-British and anti-American fire in the heart of every Frenchman, as if someone had hinted at turning their favorite cafe into a Starbucks. Canada has been stolen from France, the French will assure you, and if Acadia comes up in conversation, you will have to listen to an angry speech about the British genocide. (Well, if the interlocutor knows about Acadia. Many French people have no idea what this thing is - maybe the name of a pop star or a diminutive nickname for the French Academy?)

Akadi (Acadia) - this is the French name for the current Nova Scotia, a peninsula in northeastern Canada, which in 1713, after a century and a half of confrontation, finally went to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht; after that, the French inhabitants of Acadia, who refused to submit to the British crown, were expelled. In the 1750s, about 12,600 Acadians were forcibly removed from Canada by sea, and most of them settled as refugees in New England, Britain, France and Louisiana (the word "Cajun", which refers to the French-speaking inhabitants of Louisiana, is nothing more than as a corruption of "Acadian").

If you visit the island of Belle-Ile-en-Maire, off the coast of Brittany, you will find a permanent exhibition dedicated to the settlers from Acadia in its capital, Le Palais. The island's official website has a touching page about Acadian refugees, which talks about "the diaspora of these humble, peace-loving people, whose civilization was built on faith in God, respect for their ancestors and hard work." In short, Acadia, along with such names as Joan of Arc, is associated in memory with vile British treachery and heartless Francophobia.

However, as was already the case with Joan of Arc, the French seem to forget about their far from outstanding role in this matter ...

No place for France in the New World

As soon as Columbus returned from his first transatlantic voyage, the king of Spain and the king of Portugal asked the Pope to grant them open lands. Which he did, allowing these countries to draw on the existing map of the Western Hemisphere a line that cuts the Atlantic in half from pole to pole. Everything that turned out to the east of this line - the coast of Africa, the vast expanses of the ocean and the protruding part of Brazil - went to Portugal. The open lands to the west of the line were given to Spain. Roughly speaking, on June 7, 1494, by divine command, North and South America became almost entirely Spanish.

France was extremely outraged by this circumstance, although everything was expected, since the current Pope, Alexander VI, aka Rodrigo Borgia (yes, from those same Borgias), became the pontiff following the results of an election campaign in which both political lobbies and the establishment were involved , and high promises, and - it is believed - not without bribes. And France supported the rival Borgia, becoming generous as much as 200,000 gold ducats (by today's standards, a huge amount). Well, it's no surprise that France flew past the Pope's approved map of the New World.

The French considered all this doubly unfair, since, according to them, it was they who discovered the New World long before Columbus. (For some reason, it never occurred to anyone that the natives of America could discover these lands, and not sprout in them like cacti, and no one knew about the Viking expeditions in the eleventh century. They were mentioned only in the Icelandic sagas, but "Saga about the Greenlanders" was not yet on the shelves of French public libraries. Perhaps simply because there were no public libraries in fifteenth-century France at all.)

In the 1940 edition of The History of the French Colonization, Henri Blais refers to the fact that the church in Dieppe was decorated with mosaics depicting American Indians as early as 1440 and that the city archives kept records of sailors who had been in South America for at least fifty years before Columbus. Monsieur Blay writes that, by a tragic coincidence, all this evidence was destroyed during the bombing of Dieppe by the British in 1694. In general, as always, the British are to blame.

The same author writes that "fishermen from Bayonne" (a city in southwestern France) have long been fishing for whales on the island of Newfoundland off the coast of Canada, but immediately spoils everything by mentioning that they called the island Bakkalaos, and this name is derived from Spanish name for cod. In fact, these fishermen were Basques, not French: it was the Basques who dried and salted the fish there for centuries, keeping secret about the rich fish stocks for obvious reasons.

Monsieur Blay adds that fishermen from Normandy, Brittany and La Rochelle also reached Canada decades before Columbus crossed the Atlantic, and concludes that “the French had a hand in these great discoveries. Only they kept their travels secret…” We admit that this was the first (and last) case in history when the French did not trumpet their achievements.

Be that as it may, Signor Borgia, aka Pope Alexander VI, issued a bull recognizing Portugal and Spain's right to own the New World. You can see this as a slight irony of fate, since one of the curiosities brought back by Columbus was syphilis - a disease that the sinful Pope would then pick up.

Henry VII of England, defying the displeasure of the Pope, equipped the expedition of the navigator Giovanni Caboto (also Italian, like Columbus), changing his name to John Cabot so that his discoveries sounded more convincingly British. In 1497, Cabot dutifully "discovered" North America (Columbus did not advance north of the Caribbean Sea), although he probably waved his hand to the Basques when he arrived in Newfoundland - if he sailed there at all. His maps were not accurate enough for anyone to really understand them. Which, perhaps, explains his sudden disappearance during the second expedition in 1498.

Meanwhile, the French entertained themselves with complaints about the Pope's rule. The same Henri Blay writes that King Francis I limited himself to only notes of protest against the Spaniards, appealing to their conscience: “The sun shines for me in the same way as for all other people, and I would like to see that item in Adam’s will , which excludes me from the division. Maybe witty, but not very productive, because the Spaniards simply ignored him.

Call Mr Darcy!

For the next two centuries, the English and French monarchs did little more than send explorers and settlers across the Atlantic to take over the beaverskin and cod market. The French arriving on the east coast of America were usually beaten, but not by the Britons, but by squabbles and squabbles in their own ranks. All this time, France was torn apart by religious wars that hampered its attempts to colonize the world: the fact is that the largest shipowners were Protestants, while the country was usually ruled by Catholics. All that was required of the Britons was to keep the fire of religious strife and send their semi-pirate ships to plunder the French colonies that had managed to survive in the absence of attention or proper management from the mother country.

For this reason, by the end of the 1600s, French territories were mostly hidden inland along the St. Lawrence River in heavily fortified settlements like Quebec and Montreal, while British colonies stretched from Virginia up to Maine, and on This territory was inhabited by one thousand two hundred planters and merchants. The population of the French colonies barely reached twenty thousand, and all because the French insisted on sending Jesuit nuns and priests to the settlements, and neither of them were noted in history as groups with a high birth rate.

There was another problem: in the 1590s, King Henry IV of France decreed that French settlements should be located above forty degrees north latitude, away from the ubiquitous Spaniards. In making this decision, he believed that the climate at the fortieth latitudes in North America is the same as in Europe. And when the French colonists were dying of cold in Canada, their groans - "But aren't we on the same latitude as Venice?" - drowned out the arctic winds.

But even in this situation, by the beginning of the eighteenth century, the French with enviable tenacity continued to develop Nouvel France (New France, as they called the French territories in Canada) and Acadia, their strip of the Canadian coast. Well, it's all the more shameful that in the end, France gave these lands to the Britons.

In 1713, King Louis XIV signed the Treaty of Utrecht, which, among other things, gave up claims to Newfoundland and Acadia in exchange for reduced duties on French goods imported by Britain, as well as the possession of Alsace, a region in eastern France. In short, the Canadian coastline has been sacrificed to more valuable and closer interests. That's why Quebecers still hate France.

A flood of English-speaking colonists and soldiers immediately poured into Acadia. In 1749, the Britons founded the city of Halifax, intending to turn it into a new, non-French-speaking capital. And the Acadians were not at all happy when, in 1754, Charles Lawrence became governor of Nova Scotia, a man of the type that Jane Austen described in her works: an arrogant English fanatic, confident that the law is on his side, and therefore he has the right to any heinous deeds. Jane Austen would certainly have called upon Mr. Darcy to bring the governor down, but unfortunately the setting was too far from the English countryside, on a wild peninsula in a remote part of the world where death was commonplace and entire communities were wiped out. lands or moved endlessly from place to place in the memory of one generation.

Lawrence, a military man, was a sadist with unlimited power. In addition, he was extremely suspicious of the Acadians and one of the first acts demanded that all of them swear allegiance to Britain and agree to carry out active military service, repelling the invasion of any enemy - for example, France. The Acadians, of course, refused, and not only because they did not want to shoot at their former compatriots. They did not want to be interrupted from their work on the ground and hunting every time some narcissistic Parisian commander decided to stick his nose into their possessions.

Lawrence responded by imposing absurdly harsh penalties for any act of disloyalty. Let's say, if an Acadian was ordered to deliver firewood to a British settlement, and he pulled with the execution, his house was dismantled for kindling. Lawrence ordered the confiscation of guns and canoes from the Acadians - vital tools for hunting and fishing, he also planned to convert all French settlers to the Anglican faith. It is not surprising that the Acadians began to seek refuge away from this English madman, since Nova Scotia was a vast and undeveloped peninsula with many rivers and streams that could feed an experienced fisherman and hunter.

Understandably, enraged by the perfidy of the French, undermining his authority, on July 28, 1755, Governor Lawrence ordered the start of the deportation.

He asked New England to send him a fleet of two dozen cargo ships, with holds converted into prison cells without windows and amenities (colonialists from New England had long mastered this type of transport, as they successfully practiced the slave trade). Meanwhile, near the village of Grand Pre in Nova Scotia, soldiers were encamped - also from New England; for the time being, they did not take any action, as ordered, since it was time for the harvest, and the governor wanted the Acadians to leave behind a good supply of fresh food.

Unaware of what the soldiers had in mind, the civilian settlers continued to live as before, but became suspicious when five empty cargo ships approached the shore, and Charles Lawrence ordered all adult males to gather at three o'clock in the afternoon on September 5 in the church of St. Charles in the village of Grand Pre. (It is difficult to say whether the choice of site was a joke. Perhaps not. Charles Lawrence was not suffering from frivolity.) It was announced that those who ignored the governor's order would face "confiscation of personal and immovable property."

That day, 400 men and youths gathered in the church, to whom a certain Colonel Winslow set forth "His Majesty's final resolution on the further fate of the French inhabitants of His province of Nova Scotia, who hitherto enjoyed more favor of His Majesty than the rest of the dominions." Colonel Winslow said that he was "very uncomfortable" to do what he intended to do, "and it's just as sad for you, because you, too, are members of the human race." (Well, at least he recognized the Acadians as human beings.) He further announced: “Lands and buildings, livestock of all kinds are confiscated to the British Crown with all your personal effects, savings, money and household utensils, and you yourself are moved from this province.

It was a shocking statement to say the least, but Winslow said that the Britons were playing fair and added: “On behalf of His Majesty, I give you permission to take with you as much money and utensils as you can carry, but so as not to overload the ships ". Considering that the ships could accommodate a strictly defined number of passengers, this was a deliberate lie.

He also promised that "the whole family will follow on the same ship," another lie, confirmed by an order Lawrence gave to one of the organizers of the loading, a certain Colonel Robert Monkton: "I would not wait until they were brought up if I were you wives with children, send men without them."

At first, the announcement made in the church was met with bewilderment by the Acadians, since they knew only a couple of words in English: “cod” and “beaver”. Apparently, the only linguist in the audience was the Acadian Pierre Landry, who translated the British resolution as soon as he recovered from his shock.

Immediately sounded the pleas of the Acadians for mitigation of punishment. Some offered to pay a ransom for their release and move to French lands inland, but they were refused. Others begged to be allowed to go home and tell their wives what was going on so they could pack. In the end, the small delegation was released, and Winslow left the rest as hostages, sending 250 young people to the holds of five anchored ships.

It was not until October 8 that the bulk of the cargo fleet arrived, and Winslow could begin a mass deportation. During this time, twenty-four people jumped from the ships, and two were shot while trying to escape. Women and children came up to join their husbands; they carried with them as much belongings as they could carry, but despite the promises of the British, they had to leave things on the shore, where they remained until they were discovered by the English settlers who arrived five years later.

On the twenty-seventh of October, fourteen ships went to sea with 3,000 men on board, locked in the holds like slaves and half-starved. If the ships had portholes, the Acadians would have seen the flames and smoke rising from their settlements, where the soldiers set fire to houses and barns, ensuring a complete clearing of the territory.

Elsewhere in Nova Scotia, deportations were carried out just as brutally, but less effectively. The men fled, many families went into the forests, hiding from the search parties, and, as best they could, tried to survive in the harsh climate and without food. Here and there, whole villages were removed from their homes and migrated inland in the hope of creating new settlements where the Britons would not find them.

To prevent the Acadians from getting help from friendly Indians, Lawrence promised the local Mi'kmaq tribe a generous reward: 0.30 pence (a small fortune) for each man and 0.25 pence for a woman or child caught alive, and - terrible to say - 0.25 pence for a man's scalp (although it's not very clear how he was going to determine the ownership of the scalp).

There was a large-scale ethnic cleansing, which the Britons had not practiced since the Hundred Years War, with the only difference being that the victims multiplied from the crush in the ship's holds and hunger, and rarely anyone died from a sword strike.

In total, during the period from 1755 to 1763, about 12,600 Acadians were deported out of the 18,000 that made up the community. It is believed that 8,000 died, including those who fled or hid.

It cannot be said that France was very worried about the fate of its colonists. No one choked when the angry-tongued Voltaire put into words what the Parisians thought about Canada, writing in a letter after the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755: “It would be better if the earthquake swallowed this wretched Acadia.” Voltaire is often remembered (at least in Quebec) also because in 1757 he lamented the feud between Britain and France over "a few acres of snow in Canada." And French Canadians, who have a whole list of such quotes in store, often recall another Voltaire declaration of 1762: "I would rather choose the world than Canada."

This is not to say that the deportation of the Acadians was the high point of Britain or New England. That is why these events are mentioned much less frequently in the books of English history than the heroic land operations on the mainland ...

Wolf in Wolf's clothing

In 1756, a year after the deportation of Acadia began, the Seven Years' War broke out and, instead of being traded for petty skirmishes, France and Britain engaged in an official, large-scale battle for a military presence in their colonies in North America and other parts of the globe.

Acadia was more or less left alone, left to fend for itself, but to protect its interests in the rest of Canada, France sent an experienced soldier - Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Saint-Veran (in our stingy time, he is usually referred to simply Montcalm). He participated in several European conflicts and was wounded by a sword and a musket ball. In the spring of 1756, he crossed the Atlantic with 1,200 soldiers to support a force of 4,000 already based at Nouvelle France. He also had about 2,000 local militias at his disposal, although he knew that they were useless warriors: they were much more interested in gutting animals than in international wars.

Initially, Montcalm led a series of successful raids against the Britons, capturing fortresses and much-needed guns and ammunition. But the help promised by Paris was late, as the British intercepted most of the French convoys, and in September 1759 Montcalm took refuge in heavily fortified Quebec.

And here the English General James Wolf came into play, who was supposed to deliver the decisive blow. On September 13, 1759, Wolff arrived in Quebec, having managed to travel 450 kilometers up the St. Lawrence River with a huge army of 9,000 soldiers and 18,000 sailors on 170 boats - thanks in large part to the thirty-year-old captain James Cook, who had the talent of a navigator and cartographer, who served him well over the years.

The French felt very comfortable in the fortified city on top of an impregnable cliff, it seemed to them that Wolf's long river cruise was a completely futile enterprise. But the general categorically refused to admit defeat and sent a detachment to storm the coastal cliffs. In other circumstances, this would not have bothered Montcalm at all, but the British unloaded cannons on the shore, and he was afraid that the British would bombard the city, so he personally led 5,000 soldiers out of the fortress to throw the enemy into the river.

Wolf also led his troops into the attack, and he had his own, bold and cold-blooded style of frontal attacks. He allowed the French to come very close, so that there were forty meters between the opponents, and then ordered his soldiers to open heavy fire from muskets, knocking over the defense with a deadly volley and forcing the surviving French - many of whom were the same militias - to instantly retreat. The battle was over in a quarter of an hour, and Quebec was taken.

But both commanders remained lying on the battlefield, mortally wounded. When Wolff was informed that the enemy was retreating, he said: “Thank God, I will die peacefully” - and did not hesitate to do so. Meanwhile, Montcalm was informed that he would not recover from his wounds, and he groaned: Tant mieux - "so much the better." He seemed to already know that the battle for Canada was lost.

Go home (if you know where home is)

Another important French city in mainland Canada, Montreal, capitulated a year later. The Britons did not touch the civilians, and they remained there, cut off from France, with their archaic accents and Catholic large families, thanks to which most Quebecers of the next generation had ten brothers and sisters.

The Acadians were deprived of that luxury. For those who survived prison and exile, the suffering is not yet over.

The British colonies were not warned of the impending wave of refugees, although New England Governor William Shirley was actively involved in the deportation process. About 1,500 Acadians landed in Virginia and New Carolina, but were denied entry and forced to live on shore or on ships while awaiting onward shipment to England.

When they left America again, two ships sank in the Atlantic, and with them 300 people, although those who survived hardly had it any better. For years, the Acadians lived in huts along Southampton harbor, in the abandoned potteries of Liverpool and the ruined buildings of Bristol, and they were all considered prisoners of war.

About 2,000 refugees arrived in Massachusetts; many died there of smallpox, the rest had to go to the servants. And down the coast, in New York, 250 people were thrown into prison or enslaved.

In Maryland, Acadians were treated little better than slaves, and if they did not immediately find work, even the most menial, they were sent to prison. When trying to leave the colony, they were killed. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, all Acadians were first shoved into a dirty, smelly town near Philadelphia (“the city of brotherly love”), and then denied their right to work. Many were pushed to emigrate to Haiti, where the island's French governor used them as slave laborers to build a naval base.

Bienvenus in France

In 1763, France and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, according to which all of Canada, with the exception of a couple of tiny islands off the Atlantic coast, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, passed to Britain. One of the goals of this treaty was to improve Franco-British relations, which would allow France to return its prisoners of war, the Acadians. Or, to put it another way, now that the war is over, the Britons and American colonists have an opportunity to get rid of troublesome French-Canadian refugees.

Accordingly, almost all Acadians who managed to survive these years of imprisonment, slavery, deprivation, and bad English lessons were "allowed" to emigrate from the American colonies and England. Several hundred "lucky ones" went to Haiti, but soon regretted it: as before, the French treated them no better than the British, and half died of malnutrition and disease. Several dozen emigrants were taken to the Falklands, but very soon sent back when France ceded these islands to Spain. About 1,500 Acadians made their way to French Louisiana, where their name was mutilated and they became Cajuns.

And almost 4,000 Acadians left for France, of which seventy-eight families settled on the island of Belle-Ile. These new Bellilleans now have their own museum in the fortress of Le Palais. The permanent exhibition shows them in harrowing scenes of being deported from Canada, or gazing gratefully at their little cottages in their new homeland.

On Belle Île they were given land and cattle (not every French peasant could boast of such wealth), and, as the website of the island's tourist office assures, "they assimilated fairly quickly among the local population, and in the first year there was a surge of mixed marriages" .

Apart from the fact that it is strange to hear about “mixed marriages” among people of the same ethnic origin (the term is always a bit of a thorn in the ear, but especially in this case) who speak the same language, this is also not the whole truth. The Acadian-Cajun website says that "due to epidemics among cattle, crop failures, drought and local resistance, the colony died out in seven years."

So it seems that the Acadians did not feel at home in France either. After all, if you think about it, they took land, food and work from the needy French peasants. Moreover, they started tricks with local blondes. Yes, and they probably set traps for beavers, which caught the dogs and cats of the islanders. And - which is absolutely unacceptable! - spoke with a funny accent.

In a couple of years, more than 1,500 Acadians, "repatriated" to France, again left its shores. Most went to their former neighbors who settled in Louisiana. However, the new refuge turned out to be temporary, since France was already going to sell these lands to the same good-natured American colonists.

Sacramento and Tabernacle!

The content of the article

CANADA, a federal state that occupies most of the mainland of North America and the adjacent numerous islands. Total area 9,984,670 sq. km. In the west it is washed by the Pacific Ocean and borders on Alaska (US state), in the east it is washed by the Atlantic, in the north - by the Arctic Ocean, in the south it borders on the USA. Geographical coordinates: in the south - 41 ° 41 "N, in the east - 52 ° 40" W, in the west - 141 degrees W. The mainland of Canada stretches for 5400 km. from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Off the east coast and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are the islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Anticosti, Prince Edward, and others. Baffin Island, the Hudson Bay Islands and numerous islands of the Polar Archipelago, separated by narrow and shallow straits, stretch in the north. The Pacific coast is heavily indented with narrow and long bays with steep slopes. Not far from the western coast lies the large elevated Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte Islands, etc.

The origin of the word "Canada" is unclear. It is believed that it comes from the Indian "rope" - a collection of huts or a group of people. Obviously, this is how the Indians of modern Quebec called their lands, which the first French conquerors encountered. During the period of French colonial rule in the 16th-17th centuries. the name Canada was used along with the official - New France. Since 1791, the British colonies in the area of ​​the modern provinces of Quebec and Ontario have been so called, and since 1867 the name has been transferred to the entire country between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

NATURE

Relief.

Most of Canada is a rolling plain bounded to the east and west by mountainous uplifts along the coasts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In the west of the country along the Pacific coast stretches the mountainous country of the Cordillera (the width of the mountain belt is about 600 km.). The Canadian Cordillera begins with a series of mountain ranges on the border with Alaska (Ogilvy Range, Mackenzie, Pelly, Cassjar), reaching a height of 2000–2700 m. ridge; their western slopes are covered with coniferous forests, the eastern slopes are bare and rocky; individual peaks exceed 4000 m in height. The Western Range is called in the northern part of Mount Caribou, to the south it is divided into separate branches (Golden Mountains, Selkirk and Parcell). West of the Rocky Mountains lies the volcanic plateau of the Fraser and Columbia Rivers. The Pacific Coast Mountains also consist of two meridional ridges, separated by a longitudinal valley, in the southern part flooded by the sea. The highest sections of the western belt of mountains in the south are the coastal islands of Vancouver, Queen Charlotte, etc., and in the north, on the border with Alaska, they end with wide massifs of the mountains of St. Elijah and Logan (5959 m, the highest point in Canada), covered with powerful glaciers going down to the sea.

Low mountain ranges stretch along the Atlantic coast, continuing the Appalachian mountains of the USA. These include the hills to the east of Quebec, the mountains of Notre Dame on the right bank of the river. St. Lawrence, the Shikshok Massif in the north of the Gaspé Peninsula, the Kibkid Mountains running latitudinally from the northeast corner of the Bay of Fundy, and the New Brunswick Highlands cut by the St. John River Valley. The height of these mountains does not exceed 700 m. The surface of the island of Newfoundland is elevated (up to 805 m high).

To the north of the St. Lawrence and Lake Superior to the shores of the Arctic Ocean extends a vast area of ​​the Canadian Shield - a low country, composed of solid crystalline rocks (granites, gneisses and shales). Its modern surface bears clear traces of geologically recent glaciation – curly rocks treated with ice (“ram's foreheads”), numerous lakes, fast rapids rivers, and a thin soil layer. The Labrador Peninsula is characterized by bare stone hills and rocks. Along the southern and western coasts of Hudson Bay, the height of the terrain does not exceed 200 m, to the east and closer to Lake Superior the terrain rises, but not higher than 500 m, and only in the eastern part of Labrador do the Torngat mountains rise. The strip of lowland also stretches along the northern coast of Canada, going far into the depths of the mainland along the Mackenzie River.

To the west of the Canadian Shield to the meridional belt of the Rocky Mountains, there is a plain, wide in the south and narrowing towards the Mackenzie River basin. In the direction of the mountains, it rises in a series of steps: on the first of them (height 200–400 m) lie the lakes of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, the height of the second is 400–700 m, the third is formed by the Coto de Missouri plateau (height up to 1000 m.). Near the southern border of Canada lie the flat-topped Wooded and Cypress Mountains 1000–1100 m high.

Water resources.

Most of Canada's rivers belong to the basin of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and much fewer rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean. The most significant river is the navigable St. Lawrence with numerous tributaries (Ottawa, Saginay, Saint-Maurice, Manicouagan, etc.). It connects the Great Lakes basin with the Atlantic Ocean. The Saskatchewan River flows into Lake Winnipeg, from where the river flows out. Nelson, which flows into Hudson Bay. The Churchill River also flows into it. The Athabasca and Peace River merge into the Slave River, which is a tributary of the Great Slave Lake. The mighty Mackenzie River flows from it, flowing into the Arctic Ocean. Its basin extends far into the Rocky Mountains. The Fraser River flows into the Pacific Ocean, as well as the Yukon and Columbia Rivers, which partially pass through Canada.

Canada is one of the richest countries in the world with lakes. On the border with the United States are the Great Lakes (Upper, Huron, Erie, Ontario), connected by small rivers into a huge basin of more than 240 thousand square meters. km. Less significant lakes lie on the territory of the Canadian Shield (Great Bear, Great Slave, Athabasca, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis), etc. Among the powerful waterfalls is the famous Niagara on the border with the United States.

Climate.

Due to the large latitudinal extent and features of the relief, the climate of Canada is extremely diverse. A number of climatic regions can be distinguished from cold in the north to mild-temperate on the Pacific coast. The main feature of the climate is its continentality, sharp transitions between extreme types of weather: hot summers and cold winters. The polar archipelago, the large northern part of the Mackenzie River basin, the northern half of the Labrador Peninsula are located in the cold zone. The annual temperatures of the cold zone are 5–10°, the ground is covered with snow for most of the year and freezes to a great depth. Summers are short and cold, precipitation (more in solid form) is negligible. To the south, in the region of the middle Mackenzie, the climate becomes somewhat less severe; rainfall approx. 400–500 mm. in year. In southern Canada, average winter and summer temperatures rise, but daily temperature amplitudes reach 20–25 degrees.

The climate of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence is moderately warm, winters are characterized by an abundance of precipitation and frequent snow storms. Precipitation increases towards the Atlantic Ocean. On the Atlantic coast, winters are milder but summers are cool; frequent fogs. The Pacific coast has mild rainy winters and cool summers. The area near Vancouver is the only one where the temperature in January remains above 0°. There is a lot of precipitation on the Pacific coast - 1500-2000 mm per year, and on Vancouver Island - St. 5000).

On the plateau between the Rocky Mountains in the east and the Coastal Mountains in the west, the climate is sharply continental - harsh winters give way to hot summers, the amount of precipitation is negligible. The strip between Lake Winnipeg, Edmonton and the Rocky Mountains receives approx. 380 mm of precipitation per year. In the upper reaches of the Yukon, winters have the lowest temperatures in all of North America (minus 60°).

Soils.

On the territory of Canada, podzolic soils are most common, as a rule, they are infertile. They predominate in the tundra and the vast zone of coniferous forests located to the south. In areas where there is less precipitation, and it occurs mainly in the summer, highly fertile black soils are formed, which are unusually suitable for agriculture (the Winnipeg-Edmonton-Calgary triangle). Coniferous forests give way to vast prairies. Where less than 330-360 mm of precipitation falls annually, chestnut soils are formed, which are widely used in agriculture. High yields can be obtained here in wet years and with the help of irrigation. To the south, grayish soils are common, which are characteristic of arid regions.

Vegetable world.

The polar islands are located in a zone whose surface is covered with snow and glaciers that do not melt even in a short summer. Baffin Island and other islands off the north coast of Canada are covered in tundra that covers the entire northern mainland of Canada, penetrating far south along the western coast of Hudson Bay and into the Labrador Peninsula. Heather, sedge, shrub birch and willow grow here. To the south of the tundra, between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, there is a wide strip of forests. Coniferous forests predominate; the main species are black spruce in the east and white spruce in the west (in the valley of the Mackenzie River), pine, larch, thuja, etc. Less common deciduous forests consist of poplar, alder, birch and willow. The forests in the Great Lakes region are especially diverse (American elm, Weymouth pine, Canadian train, oak, chestnut, beech). On the Pacific coast, coniferous forests of Douglas, Sitka spruce, Alaskan and red cedar are common); Arbutus and Oregon oak are found near Vancouver. In the coastal provinces of the Atlantic - Acadian forests with balsam fir, black and red spruce; also cedar, American larch, yellow birch, beech.

South of the forest belt, west of Lake Winnipeg to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, is the prairie steppe zone, mostly plowed under wheat fields. Of the wild ones - wheatgrass, bonfire, buteloua, keleria and feather grass.

Animal world.

In the tundra zone, reindeer, polar hare, lemming, arctic fox and the original musk musk ox are found. To the south, the animal world is more diverse - forest caribou deer, red deer, wapiti, elk, in mountainous areas - bighorn sheep and snow goat. There are quite numerous rodents: Canadian chikari squirrel, chipmunk, American flying squirrel, beaver, jumper from the jerboa family, muskrat, porcupine - needlewool, meadow and American hare, pika. Of the feline predators for Canada - Canadian lynx and cougar. There are wolves, foxes, a gray bear - a grizzly, a raccoon. Of mustelids - sable, pecan, otter, wolverine, etc. There are many nesting migratory birds and game birds. The fauna of reptiles and amphibians is not rich. There are many fish in fresh waters.

POPULATION

The population of Canada, as of July 2004, was 35 million 507 thousand 874 people. Of these, 19% of residents are under the age of 15, 69% are between the ages of 15 and 64, and 13% are 65 and older. The average age of the population is 38.2 years. Population growth in 2004 reached 0.92%. The birth rate was 10.91 per 1000 inhabitants, the death rate was 7.67 per 1000 inhabitants. Infant mortality - 4.82 per 1000 newborns. Average life expectancy is estimated at 79.96 years.

In the past, immigration has been an important source of Canada's population growth. Between 1901 and 1911, 1,759,000 people arrived in Canada; between the 1951 and 1961 censuses, Canada received 1,542,853 people. Subsequently, the level of immigration declined and in 2003 was only 6 per 1,000 inhabitants. The 1991 census showed the largest concentration of the Russian population in British Columbia, Ontario and Alberto. The Russian religious section of the Dukhobors settled in Saskatchewan.

From an ethnic point of view, Canada is a unique entity. Two main cultures and two languages ​​coexist, the result of the struggle between England and France that took place in the early stages of the colonization of that part of North America that was destined to become Canada. Currently, 28% of residents are of British, 23% French, 15% other European origin, the ancestors of the remaining 6% came from various Asian, African and Arab countries. 2% of the population are Indians and Inuit (Eskimos). 26% of residents are of mixed origin.

The official languages ​​of Canada are English and French. The first is native for 59% of the country's inhabitants, the second - for 23%. Other Canadians speak Italian, German, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and various Amerindian and Inuit languages. Illiteracy is less than 5%.

Religiously, ca. 46% of believers are adherents of the Roman Catholic Church, 36% are Protestants (Anglicans, United Church of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists, Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, etc.). Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, etc. are widespread among other religions.

Most of the population of Canada is concentrated in a strip along the border with the United States (2% of the territory, more than 50% of the inhabitants). More than 62% of Canadians live in the country's two largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec. 77% live in cities.

The largest city in the country is Toronto (4.7 million inhabitants), the former capital of the colony of Upper Canada, currently the province of Ontario, a leading commercial, financial and industrial center. The most important city in the east of the country, French-speaking Montreal (3.4 million inhabitants), one of the main commercial, industrial and cultural centers, an inland port. The country's capital Ottawa (1.1 million) forms a single agglomeration with the city of Hull located on the other side of the Ottawa River. Other significant cities that form agglomerations: the western seaport of Vancouver (more than 2 million), Calgary (more than 900 thousand), Edmonton (more than 900 thousand), Quebec (about 700 thousand), Winnipeg (about 700 thousand people). ) and etc.

GOVERNMENT

Canada is a federal parliamentary democratic state with a monarchical form of government. It was formed on July 1, 1867, under the British North America Act, as a federation of British colonies. The country received its statehood, but the British monarch remained the head of state, and the UK retained the exclusive right to change the constitution of Canada, the right to represent it in international relations, conclude treaties and agreements on its behalf, and resolve issues of war and peace. Canada did not have its own citizenship. Such a state structure was called a dominion. According to the Statute of Westminster of 1931, Canada and other British dominions gained political sovereignty, foreign policy independence, and British laws no longer applied to them. But only on April 17, 1982, Canada officially received a new constitution, according to which the Canadian authorities received the right to change the constitution.

federal authorities. The head of state is the British monarch (from February 6, 1952 - Queen Elizabeth II). In the country, he is represented by the Governor General of Canada, who since 1947 has had all the powers to carry out all functions on behalf of the sovereign. The monarch appoints the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada for a term of 5 years. Since October 7, 1999, Adrienne Clarkson has been the Governor General.

The functions of the governor-general are largely formal. In theory, he could refuse to approve legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament, but in practice he never did so. Government decisions are submitted to the governor general for approval in the form of "recommendations", but he usually just authorizes them. He may refuse to dissolve the lower house of parliament on the advice of the prime minister if the latter's party is defeated in the election. The powers of the governor general include the appointment of the prime minister, but in practice the leader of the party or coalition that won the majority in parliamentary elections is appointed to this post.

Legislation in Canada is carried out by the Parliament of two chambers. The upper one - the Senate - consists of persons appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister (no more than 105 senators). They may remain in office until the age of 75. A representation rate has been established for each of Canada's provinces. In practice, the Senate stands aloof from the political struggle, does not oppose any government proposals, limits itself to checking and studying bills and making minor changes to their text.

The lower one, the House of Commons, currently has 301 members. They are elected for a five-year term by universal direct suffrage of citizens over 18 years of age. The Government may dissolve the Chamber ahead of time. Elections are held in single-member constituencies by a simple majority vote. The number of members of the House of Commons is determined on the basis of the population in each province or territory, but the representation of certain provinces is not always strictly proportional to the number of their inhabitants. The number of deputies from a province cannot be less than the number of its senators and cannot decrease by more than 15% as a result of a new census. The number of votes required to elect one candidate (electoral quota) in each province is determined by the ratio between its population and the number of parliamentarians elected from that province. The number of voters in each constituency should not differ from the electoral quota by more than 25%. Features of the electoral system can lead to cases when the majority of seats in the House of Commons were won by a party that received fewer votes than its rival.

Parliament adopts laws and legislative acts, as well as the state budget. The main legislative initiative belongs to the government. The corresponding opportunities for the opposition are significantly limited.

Executive power is exercised by the government - the cabinet of ministers, which makes the most important decisions collegially. The head of government is the prime minister, who is appointed by the governor general. They are the leader of the party or coalition that has the most seats in the House of Commons. The head of government can be removed at any time if he is defeated in the election of the leader of his own party or if he does not receive support in the vote in the House of Commons. Since December 12, 2003, the post of prime minister has been occupied by Paul Martin, leader of the Liberal Party.

Federal ministers are chosen by the prime minister from among the deputies from his party or coalition. Formally, the appointment, removal and transfer of ministers is carried out by the governor-general at the suggestion of the prime minister. Cabinet decisions are usually taken by consensus and only rarely by majority vote. At the same time, all members of the cabinet are obliged to obey the decision and support it, or resign.

Government departments are headed by deputy ministers. They are appointed at the request of the prime minister, however, the appointment and promotion of all civil servants is carried out not on political affiliation, but on the basis of their business qualities, so a change of government does not mean the resignation of deputy ministers. The appointment and movement of civil servants is overseen by the Independent Public Service Commission, which consists of three members who are appointed for a 10-year term. Control over the financial activities of ministries and departments is carried out by the Treasury, which includes a number of government ministers. It also represents the government in negotiations with civil servants' unions.

The solution of many issues of coordination and regulation, for example, in the field of transport, is entrusted to independent commissions. The functions of public bodies are also carried out by public corporations, which act independently, but are generally subordinate to parliament, and members of their boards are appointed by the government.

Provinces and local government. Canada is a federation of 10 provinces. It includes the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan, as well as three territories - Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon.

The administrative bodies of the provinces are built on the same principle as the federal ones. Functions similar to the head of state are assigned to governors appointed by the federal government. The provincial parliaments are unicameral. Provincial governments are formed by the parties or coalitions that win the majority in provincial elections.

Established joint jurisdiction of the provinces and the federal government in matters of pensions and dependency benefits (unemployment insurance remained under the jurisdiction of the federation). The federal government establishes uniform standards and procedures for sharing costs for services such as medical care, pensions, social security, and the construction of federal highways.

Many important decisions are made at meetings of representatives of the federal and provincial governments. Issues of taxation, pensions, medical care, and constitutional issues are often discussed by the heads of the federal and provincial governments. Amendments to the constitution can be carried out by a joint decision of the federal government and seven provinces in which at least 50% of the population lives. The provincial prime ministers have such power that they often prefer this position to the appointment of a federal minister.

The work of local governments is carried out by provincial governments in accordance with provincial legislation. Cities have mayors and city councils elected by direct elections. Large cities are divided into municipal districts with a certain independence. Representatives of individual municipal districts are included in the central city councils, which are responsible for city planning and the maintenance of the city police. Some smaller municipal districts are administered directly by a city manager.

The provinces are governed by federal agencies and services, but have some elements of self-government. The federal government appoints commissioners who are responsible to it. Territories have territorial assemblies and executive bodies elected by them. The territory of Nunavut, formed in 1999 and populated mainly by indigenous people - the Inuit, has expanded autonomy rights.

Political parties.

Canada has a multi-party system, but throughout its history, two parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, have replaced each other in power, and the differences in programs between them are minimal.

Liberal Party of Canada(LP) took shape as an all-Canadian in 1873. Initially, it united the defenders of the "rights of the provinces", supporters of free trade and greater independence in relation to Great Britain; relied on the theoretical legacy of English Manchester liberalism, North American radicalism, and the French Revolution of 1848. The liberals defended state ownership of the means of communication and communication, but opposed the expansion of state interference in economic activity. However, since the 1930s, the LP moved to a more active social policy, including helping the unemployed, subsidizing farmers, and so on. Continuing to defend free enterprise, liberals allowed state economic regulation, the "canadization" of the economy, and the introduction of state welfare programs. The LP declares its commitment to the liberal principles of "individual freedom, responsibility and dignity of the human person within the framework of a just society and political freedom within the framework of genuine participation for all", as well as the rule of law. Liberals proclaim equality of chance for all members of society, the promotion of cultural diversity and bilingualism. The LP was in power from 1873-1878, 1896-1911, 1921-1926, 1926-1930, 1935-1957, 1963-1979, 1980-1984 and since 1993. Part of the Liberal International.

In the elections to the House of Commons in 2000, the party collected 40.8% of the vote and won 172 seats. Promised to prevent dilution and "hidden privatization" of health insurance and implement a "liberal, moderate and balanced plan" for the development of the country in the spirit of "the golden mean between the payment of public debt, a fair reduction in taxes and investments in health care, research and innovation, development of the family and childhood, as well as in the preservation of the environment”. The Liberal government declares its intention to "share the fruits of economic development" among all Canadians.

The leader is Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Conservative Party of Canada(CPC) founded in 1854. In the 19th century. advocated protectionist economic and trade policies to protect Canadian industry and the market from overseas competition. The Conservatives emphasized their commitment to the idea of ​​a strong government and closeness to the British crown. They traditionally advocated free enterprise, but from the 1930s they allowed for the possibility of more active state intervention in economic life (control of resources, protection of investors and consumers. In the spirit of the time, the CPC was renamed the Progressive Conservative Party (PCP) in 1942. However, recognizing economic and social functions of the state, the party sought to limit and minimize them.In the 1980s and 1990s, it pursued a neo-conservative political course, sought to reduce social spending, develop free trade and strengthen political cooperation with the United States

The Conservatives were in power in Canada from 1867-1873, 1878-1896, 1911-1921, 1926, 1930-1935, 1957-1963, 1979 and 1984-1993. In 1987, the PKP split: right-wing conservatives from Alberta and British Columbia created the Reform Party, which criticized the tax policy of the federal government and the influx of immigrants from Asian countries. Since the 1990s, the Reform Party, which became the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance in 2000, has been the leading opposition force in the House of Commons. In 2004, the PKP and the alliance reunited into the CCP. She advocates tax cuts (especially on firms and profits) and public debt, a deficit-free budget, a "more efficient" government and "more responsible" social policies, and the strengthening of traditional families. political and moral values. According to the CCP, the economy should be based on free market competition, and the state should only encourage private initiative, invest in education and research, protect social norms and laws, and provide assistance only to the most needy. In the field of government, the conservatives are in favor of introducing elections to the Senate and a system of proportional voting in elections to the House of Commons, for using the practice of popular referendums, etc.

In the elections to the House of Commons in 2000, the PKP received 12.2% of the vote, and the Reform Conservative Alliance - 25.5%. Both parties had 12 and 66 seats in parliament, respectively. The leader of the reunited CCP is Stephen Harper.

Quebec Party(KP) - established in 1968. Seeks recognition of the Quebec nation and its right to self-determination, the implementation of the political separation of the French-speaking province of Quebec from Canada while maintaining the economic "association" between the two states. In the socio-economic field, the party's program was close to social democracy, putting forward demands for full employment, progressive tax reform, expansion of the public sector and control in the economy, and trade union rights in production (including participation in the management of enterprises). Later, these slogans were softened, but the general social-democratic orientation of the CP was preserved. In the sphere of spiritual life, Quebec separatists advocate the coexistence of cultures while encouraging the development of French as the only state language in Quebec. The Party of Quebec was in power in the province from 1976-1985 and since 1994. Does not participate in federal elections. The leader of the party and the prime minister of the province of Quebec is Lucien Bouchard.

Quebec block(KB) - a party of a social democratic persuasion, formed in 1990 by Quebec separatists specifically to participate in federal elections. Does not participate in provincial elections in Quebec; Supports the Quebec Party. The bloc advocates the idea of ​​self-determination of the Quebec nation and the political sovereignty of Quebec. The CB accuses the federal authorities of infringing on the rights and interests of Quebec in the economic, financial, social, political, international and cultural fields. Advocating for the "sustainable development" of society and the improvement of the quality of life, the Quebec separatists claim the "failures of neoliberalism" and the need for "the predominant role of the state" in the conditions of the "Quebec model" and "the dynamic relationship between the state, the market and civil society", without any the hegemony of one of these factors and the narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor. While Quebec remains a part of Canada, the CB puts forward demands for federal tax cuts for people with average (rather than high) incomes, the development and expansion of the unemployment insurance system, the increase in federal transfers for the needy individuals and categories of the population, as well as for the needs of health care, the rejection of reducing social spending, banning the use of strikebreakers in federal enterprises, ratifying international environmental agreements, and ending the practice of restricting civil liberties under the pretext of combating terrorism. In the area of ​​foreign policy, Quebec separatists are calling for increased aid to Third World countries, limiting foreign interventions to strict international law, and the creation of an American continental currency.

From 1993–1997, the KB was the leading opposition party in the Canadian Parliament. In the 2000 federal election, he received 10.7% of the vote and 38 seats in the House of Commons. Leader - Gilles Duseppe.

New Democratic Party(NDP) It took shape in 1961 on the basis of the Federation of the Cooperative Commonwealth that had existed since 1932 and part of the trade unions that were members of the Canadian Labor Congress. NDP is a social democratic party, a member of the Socialist International. He advocates the implementation of a program of "economic, political and social change" and the development of society "toward equality, social justice and democracy." The New Democrats intend to build a "social democratic society" that combines "sustainable progress and social, economic and political equality." Production and distribution should be "focused on societal and individual needs within an environment and a sustainable economy, and not driven by profit." The NDP demands that monopolies in production and distribution be brought under control through economic and social planning. It promises to "expand the application of the principle of public property", to strengthen the dignity and freedom of the human person. Works for Canada to pursue a more independent and peaceful foreign policy and achieve greater social justice in the world.

The NDP has the strongest positions in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario, where it has repeatedly been in power. In the 2000 federal election, she collected 8.5% of the vote and has 13 seats in the House of Commons. Leader - Jack Layton.

Green Party of Canada(ZPK) grew out of environmental, human rights, women's, anti-war and other social movements. The first green party in Canada was founded in 1983 in British Columbia, and then the greens expanded their activities throughout the country. The party advocates "sustainable development" in harmony with the environment, social justice, the development of "democracy from below", non-violence, decentralization, equality between the sexes, the preservation of biological and cultural diversity. In the economic field, the Greens are for an economic system focused on local needs, "self-help" and human needs within the "natural boundaries of the Earth." In the 2000 federal election, the ZPK received 0.8% of the vote. Not currently represented in the House of Commons.

In addition to the main ones, there are many other parties of various kinds in Canada: Christian Heritage Party(right, founded in 1987), Natural Law Party, Trotskyist organizations ( Socialist Left,socialist alternative,International Working Committee,socialist action,New socialist group.International Socialists,Socialist Equality Party,Working resistance), Maoists ( Communist Party of Canada(Marxist-Leninist), Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec.(Marxist-Leninist Alliance) and etc.

Judicial system. The legal system in Canada is based on English common law, while in Quebec it is based on French law. The Supreme Court of Canada is the final and last resort for appeals in all civil and criminal cases. It consists of a Chief Judge and 8 Judges, at least 3 of whom must be from Quebec. The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada. The Federal Court hears appeals from the federal departments and services and oversees the activities of the provincial courts. It shares jurisdiction with the provincial courts in criminal law and litigation, handles matters beyond the jurisdiction of the provincial courts, maritime law, and claims against the federal government. It includes the Federal Court of Appeal, headed by the Chief Justice.

There are three types of courts in the provinces of Canada. The highest category courts include courts of first instance and courts of appeal; they hear the most important criminal and civil cases. Lower instances are county and district courts. There are also special courts for probate, misdemeanors and claims, as well as municipal courts for violations of local government decisions. Criminal cases are tried by jury.

Armed Forces and Police. The Canadian Armed Forces consist of ground, naval, air force, communications, and training formations. They are built on a professional basis, the number is more than 100 thousand people. The country's military spending in 2001/2002 was approx. 7.9 billion US dollars, which corresponded to 1.1% of GDP. The Canadian Forces are stationed in Canada itself, as well as in Europe.

Only two provinces (Quebec and Ontario) currently have their own police force. In other regions of the country, police functions are performed by the Canadian Mounted Police, formed in 1873. There is a Canadian Security and Intelligence Service. In recent years, the participation of the armed forces in peacekeeping operations conducted under the auspices of the UN has expanded.

International relationships. Canada has traditionally been guided in its foreign policy by Great Britain. Although in 1931 it officially acquired foreign policy independence, the country remains a member of the Commonwealth. In the 20th century relations between Canada and its southern neighbor, the United States, have strengthened. In 1920 Canada joined the League of Nations. In 1949, she joined NATO, and in 1957 she went to merge her air defense with the American one as part of the North American Air Defense Joint Command (NORAD).

Canada does not follow the lead of US foreign policy in everything. She maintained relations with Cuba after 1961, did not support a number of US military actions, and rejected a joint program for the development of energy resources. Introduced stricter requirements for foreign investment, canceled the payment of government subsidies to publishers who produce American and other foreign publications. She led the international campaign to ban anti-personnel mines. In 2003, she refused to support the US-British military operation against Iraq.

Canada is a member of the UN and its specialized organizations, joined the Organization of American States. Has diplomatic relations with Russia (established in 1942 with the USSR). In 1992 Russia and Canada signed an Agreement on Consent and Cooperation and a number of agreements.

ECONOMY

General characteristics. Canada is a rich, technologically advanced industrial society with a market-oriented economy and a high standard of living. Significant growth in manufacturing, mining, and services in the post-World War II period transformed the Canadian economy from a predominantly rural to a predominantly industrial and urban one. The Free Trade Agreement with the United States (1989) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (1994) strengthened Canada's trade and economic integration with the United States, which had a negative impact on the Canadian economy in 2001–2002. Real growth, which in 1993-2000 was approx. 3% per year, decreased in 2001, and slightly increased in 2002. Unemployment rose, especially in industrial production and the exploitation of natural resources. However, in general, the Canadian economy has a large margin of stability, thanks to a positive trade balance, the presence of rich resources (iron, nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potassium, diamonds, silver, fish, timber, coal, natural gas, water energy ), skilled labor and capital.

In the economy of Canada there is a significant regional differentiation. The industrial and financial centers of the country are located in Southern Ontario and Quebec. The main volume of grain is produced in the steppe provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta; the latter produces nearly all of Canada's oil and natural gas. British Columbia provides the bulk of the lumber industry. Minerals are mined in the North and Northwest.

The volume of GDP in 2003 reached an estimated 958.7 billion US dollars, which amounted to 29,800 US dollars per capita per year. The structure of GDP in 2003: over 68.6% - services, 29.2% - industry, over 2.2% - agriculture. The inflation rate in 2003 was 2.8% per year.

Labor resources.

The active labor force in 2001 was estimated at 16.4 million people. Of these, 74% were employed in the service sector, 15% in industrial production, 5% in construction, 3% in agriculture, and 3% in other industries. The unemployment rate in 2002 reached 7.6%.

Industry.

Various minerals are mined. Oil and natural gas production is concentrated mainly in Alberta, from where oil is transported for processing to Ontario, Quebec and the USA. In 2001, 2738 million barrels per day were produced. Natural gas (in 2001 its production amounted to 186.8 million cubic meters) is supplied through gas pipelines to the east, west and south. Coal is mined in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Nova Scotia. The main production of iron ore is carried out on the Labrador Peninsula. Nickel and copper are mined (Manitoba and Ontario), polymetallic ores (Ontario, Northwest Territories, New Brunswick), uranium (Ontario, Saskatchewan), gold (Ontario, Quebec, Northwest Territories), asbestos (Quebec), potassium (Saskatchewan).

The forest resources of Canada are actively used, which accounts for more than 10% of the total forest area of ​​the planet. The country occupies a leading position in the world in the production of newsprint, pulp, wood pulp and lumber. Fisheries, which play a large role in the economy of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (cod) and British Columbia (salmon), were reduced in the 1990s due to a decrease in fish resources.

Electricity production in 2001 amounted to more than 566 billion kWh in 2001. Approximately 58% of electricity is provided by hydroelectric power plants, 28% by thermal power plants, and 13% by nuclear power plants. Energy consumption in 2001 reached 504 billion kWh, Canada's per capita consumption is the world's first.

About half of the manufacturing industry is located in Ontario, a quarter - in Quebec, other large enterprises are located in British Columbia and Alberta. Canada produces cars and parts for them, other equipment, products of the food, oil refining, woodworking, paper industries, etc. In 2002, industrial production grew by 2.2%.

Agriculture.

Although the role of agriculture in the economy declined after World War II, the country remains one of the world's leading grain producers and exporters. In general, arable land occupies approx. 5% of Canada, but it accounts for approx. 16% of world wheat production. It is grown mainly in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The production of vegetable oil, tobacco, fruits and vegetables is developed. Alberta is the main pastoral area.

Transport.

In 2002, the total length of railways amounted to 49,422 km, and motor roads - 1.4 million km. (including about 500 thousand with a hard surface), waterways - 3 thousand km, oil pipelines - 23,564 km. and gas pipelines - 74,980 km. Major ports: Be Comeau, Vancouver, Windsor, Halifax, Hamilton, Quebec, Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, St. John (New Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Sept-Iles, Sydney, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Churchill, etc. The merchant fleet has 122 ships with a displacement of more than 1000 tons. There are 1389 licensed airports in the country (including 507 with hard surface) and 12 helicopter airports.

Telephone, radio and telecommunications.

In the late 1990s, there were 20.8 million telephone lines in Canada, and more than 8.7 million mobile phones were in use. There were almost 600 radio stations (including 6 shortwave) and 80 television stations (excluding cable television systems). Canadians owned over 32 million radios and 21.5 million televisions. In 2002 there were over 16.8 million Internet users.

Banks and finance.

The state central Bank of Canada was founded in 1935. The largest private banks are the Royal Bank and the Bank of Montreal. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Toronto Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, etc.

Monetary unit - the Canadian dollar is divided into 100 cents. In 2002, 1 US dollar was worth 1.57 Canadian dollars.

The state budget. In fiscal year 2000/2001, government revenues were estimated at $178.6 billion and expenditures at $161.4 billion. External debt in 2000 reached $1.9 billion.

International trade.

In 2002, according to estimates, the volume of exports amounted to 260.5 billion US dollars, the volume of imports - 229 billion US dollars. The main export items are automobiles and spare parts, machine tools, aircraft, telecommunications equipment, chemical products, plastics, fertilizers, wood pulp and timber, oil, natural gas, electricity, aluminum, etc. 88% of exports were sent in 2002 to the US, 2% to Japan, over 1% to the UK. Russia is also a partial partner of Canada.

Machinery and equipment, automobiles, oil, chemical products, electricity and consumer goods are imported. 63% of imports come from the US, 5% from China, 4% from Japan.

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Society.

Canada is a country with a very high standard of living. Nearly two-thirds of Canadians live in their own homes or apartments, although rising housing costs are forcing more and more people to rent apartments. Most of the houses are equipped with basic amenities. On a per capita basis, Canada is one of the first places in the world in terms of car, telephone and television coverage.

The country has an extensive system of social security. Since the 1960s, a health development program has been implemented, in which all provinces participate to varying degrees. Canadians have the possibility of health insurance, receive small allowances for children. There is a system of mandatory contributions to pension funds, whereby Canadians receive pensions at the age of 65, retirement pensions, disability pensions, widow's allowances and additional benefits for those who have no source of income other than a pension (or those who have insufficient income). Unemployment insurance has been introduced, financed by contributions from employees, employers and the state. Work injury compensation is paid by the provincial governments. Their forms of social security also exist in the provinces and at the local level.

The labor movement in Canada includes branches of trade unions common with the United States (40% of trade union members in Canada), Canadian trade unions and Quebec unions uniting French Canadians. The largest organizations are the Canadian Labor Congress, the Confederation of National Trade Unions (Quebec), etc.

Education is administered by the provincial governments and, in the federal territories, by the central government, which also provides financial support for higher education and research. Provinces and municipalities subsidize the education system below the university level. Throughout Canada, there is compulsory and free schooling for children aged 6/7-15/16; many children also attend pre-schools. In Quebec, schools are taught in French, in other provinces - in English, but there is the possibility of obtaining an English-language education in Quebec and French-speaking - in large communities of French Canadians in other provinces. Canada has approx. 80 universities, some of them bilingual, as well as community colleges. The leading research organizations of the country are the Councils for Scientific Research and Medical Research, the Council for Science, the Canadian Council, etc.

The presence of two main cultures and traditions - Anglo-Canadian and French-Canadian - leaves a deep imprint on public life. This circumstance often causes friction. In Quebec, the authorities are taking measures to encourage the development of French Canadian traditions and culture, seeking to prevent the assimilation of French Canadians. The Quebec government has taken steps to limit the use of English and increase the use of French. The federal government is pursuing a policy of preserving the cultural "mosaic" and the coexistence of various ethnic groups.

The life of most Canadians is typical of a modern, developed industrial society. To protect the indigenous population (Indians and Inuit Eskimos), ousted during European colonization, reservations were formed, where they were supposed to be able to preserve elements of the traditional way of life. The Eskimos succeeded to a large extent in this until the end of the 20th century, when extensive development of the northern regions began. The living conditions of the Indians on the reservations are much worse than those of most other Canadians. Infant mortality among the Indians is twice, and among the Eskimos - three times higher than among the white population. An increasing number of Indians are leaving the reservations and moving to large cities, where they often face hardship and discrimination.

Christian holidays such as Christmas, Good Friday and Easter are celebrated everywhere. Canadians of Scottish descent celebrate the New Year and Halloween. Thanksgiving, Mother's Day and Father's Day are celebrated under American influence. Actually Canadian holidays - Canada Day (July 1; anniversary of the creation of the confederation of the colonies), Victoria Day (May; in memory of the British Queen Victoria), Memorial Day (November 11; in memory of Canadians who died in the war). There are provincial holidays, such as the Day of John the Baptist in Quebec (June 24).

Of the sports, ice hockey, lacrosse (the national Canadian game dating back to the Indians), baseball, football, golf, curling, and in mountainous areas - skiing are common.

There is almost no national press in the country. About 100 daily newspapers are published in English, the largest of which are Globe and Mail and Star (Toronto), Citizen (Ottawa), Sun (Vancouver), Free Press (Winnipeg), etc. The most influential of more than a dozen French-language newspapers are Montreal's La Presse and Les Devoirs. Newspapers are also published in other languages ​​of the world. Main journals: socio-political weeklies McLeans and Actualite, literary monthlys Saturday Night and Canadian Forum, literature and arts publications Canadian Literaturer, Books in Canada, Tamarack Review, Queens Quarterly, Zees Magazine, La Vie des Arts, Liberte. The largest radio and television companies are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Cm-B-C), C-T-V, Global and T-V-Hey.

cultural institutions.

There are many museums. The National Arts Center, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Museum of Man, the National Museum of Natural Sciences, the National Museum of Science and Technology, the National Library and the National Archives of Canada operate in the capital city of Ottawa. The Royal Ontario Museum, famous for its collection of ancient Chinese and Central Asian art, is located in Toronto, the Château de Ramsay museum of Canadian antiquities is located in Montreal, and the Upper Canadian Village, reproducing the life of Canadian pioneers, is located in Ontario. Vancouver has the City Museum, the Maritime Museum, and the University Museum of Anthropology, which has a large collection of works by North American Indians. Main art museums and galleries: Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto), Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal), galleries in Vancouver and Winnipeg, Beaverbrook Gallery (Fredericton), Art Gallery of Victoria. Of the libraries, the libraries of the universities of Toronto, McGill, Laval, Royal in Kingston, British Columbia, the public library in Toronto, the archive of the Glenbow-Alberta Institute in Calgary are most famous.

Art and literature.

The autochthonous inhabitants of Canada, who lived on its territory long before the arrival of Europeans, created a developed culture, but it remained unwritten. The Eskimo tribes became famous for their carvings of stone, deer antlers and walrus tusks depicting animals and people. From the Indian peoples - primarily those who lived in the Great Lakes region - songs, legends, narratives and ritual drama performances have come down to us. The Indians of British Columbia, who were engaged in fishing, played complex dramatic performances and were engaged in woodcarving, making massive heraldic pillars with images of sacred animals (totems) more than 15 m high and highly artistic carved masks for religious ceremonies.

Europeans who settled in Canada brought with them French, English, Irish folk songs and stories, handicrafts and crafts. Until the end of the 19th century. there were almost no professional writers, artists and musicians, and literature and the visual arts were dominated by the style adopted at that time in France and Great Britain and only slightly adapted to Canadian conditions.

Literature 17th–18th centuries represented by reports, descriptions, reports of the pioneers of Canada: travelers, explorers, missionaries and governors. The French have a particularly rich historiography ( History and description of New France Charleroi, History of New France Lescarbault), the English have geographical descriptions and travel diaries (Samuel Hearn, David Thompson, Alexander Henry, etc.). In the 19th century a national-political Quebec school of poets arose, the model for which was Victor Hugo (Octave Cremasi, Gustave Frechette), and after it - the Montreal poetic school (Charles Gilles, Emile Neligan, Albert Lozoau). Among the few prose works of the French-Canadians of the 19th century. Antoine Gerin-Lejoie's novel deserves mention. The founder of the Anglo-Canadian lyrics is considered to be Archibald Lampman, a singer of Canadian nature. Along with Charles Roberts and Duncan Campbell Scott, he is referred to as the so-called. "Confederate Poets" of the 1890s. Anglo-Canadian novel already in the 19th century. gave three books that are considered classics: satirical Watchmaker Thomas Chengler Haliberton, the founder of Anglo-Canadian fiction, golden dog William Kirby and a novel from the life of the first settlers - Through the forest thickets Sezanne Moody. Very few Canadian writers (before Stephen Leacock, who worked at the beginning of the 20th century) were distinguished by their originality of concept and approach. The exception is James deMille, whose Strange manuscript found in a copper cylinder(1888) is one of the few truly fantastic utopias produced in Canada, as is Sarah Jeannette Duncan; her romance Imperialist(1904) notes restrained irony. However, only with the appearance of Stephen Leacock with his satirical sketches about the life of Ontario before the First World War, Canadian literature acquired its characteristic style - ironic, self-critical and at the same time somewhat defiant, as, for example, in Sketches of a small town in sunny weather (1912).

The turning point in the development of Anglo-Canadian poetry was the 1930s, when it was dominated by E. J. Pratt, A. J. M. Smith, F. R. Scott, A. M. Klein and Dorothy Livesey. In the 1940s, a new school of English-language poets emerged, followers of Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams, and there was a noticeable bias towards imitation of American models (Irving Layton, Louis Dudek, Raymond Souster). Among post-war English-language poets, P.C. Page, Earl Burney, Phyllis Webb, Leonard Cohen, Al Purdy, Margaret Atwood, Alden Naulan, and Gwendolyn McEwan stand out. Francophone poetry in Quebec in the 1930s and 1940s is represented by the names of Saint-Denis Garneau, Anne Hébert and Rina Lanier. Since the late 1950s, a movement arose among young French Canadian writers associated with protesting against the hegemony of the Anglo-Canadians (the “quiet revolution”) and which replaced the old religiously tinged conservatism of Quebec. Among its ranks were the poets Gilles Enot, Roland Giguere, Jean-Guy Pilon, Fernand Oulette and Pierre Trotier. The group around Party Pri was trying to create literature in the Montreal dialect.

In English fiction, the first attempts to convey the local flavor were made by writers from the steppe provinces. Friedrich Philip Grove, who began writing in Germany, published a series of novels about the life of farmers, their struggle with nature and their own passions ( Settlers in the swamp and etc.). International recognition was achieved by Morley Callahan, who created a number of parables in the 1930s disguised as stories from the life of Toronto (for example, the novel They will inherit the earth published in 1935). In the 1950s, G. McLennan became the leading Canadian novelist, who in 1941 published the novel The barometer is rising. The relationship between Anglo-Canadians and French Canadians is dedicated to the novel Two solitudes(1945). Sheila Watson novel double hook(1959) introduced a fantastic current into literature, which has been a constant feature of Canadian fiction ever since. Satire circulating: Mordecai Richler combines it with fantasy in a novel about the life of Montreal Jews Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravets(1959). The most interesting contemporary Canadian novelists include Margaret Lawrence, Robertson Davis, Marian Angel, Matt Cohen and Audrey Thomas, David Adams Richards, Timothy Findlay, Guy Vanderheij, Michael Ondaatji, Katherine Govir and Carol Shields. Notable authors of short stories are Hugh Garner, Hugh Hood, Alice Munro, and David Helwig.

Francophone prose until the 1930s was dominated by rural themes and a sentimental style. However, already Philip Panneton (novel thirty arpans, 1938) and Gabriel Roy ( random happiness, 1945) described the collapse of the traditional agrarian society of Quebec and the migration of residents to the cities. Many modern French-Canadian novels deal with social problems, with Quebec separatism. Among the followers of G. Roy were such writers as Yves Theriot, Gerard Besset, Hubert Aken, Marie-Claire Vle, Rézhan Ducharme, Roche Carey and Jacques Godbou. Of particular note is the Acadian writer Antonina Maye, who was awarded the Prix Goncourt.

The first painters of Canada were the rustic artists of Quebec, travelers who in the 19th century. visited various parts of the country (Thomas Davis, Paul Klein), as well as artists who imitated European academic painting. In the 1890s, Ozaya Leduc became acquainted with the work of the French Impressionists and, under their influence, created a series of magnificent mountain still lifes and landscapes. His contemporary James Wilson Morris met Matisse and other Parisian artists; his favorite subjects were Canadian cities and rivers. In 1913-1917, the famous "group of seven" (Lauren Harris, A. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, James MacDonald, Francis Hans Johnson and Franklin Carmichael) performed. They depicted Canadian landscapes in the style and technique of the Impressionists, Cezanne and Van Gogh, and traveled extensively throughout the country. Subsequently, such masters as Emily Carr, David Milne, as well as Alfred Pellane and Paul-Emile Bordois achieved fame. The last two, having returned from Paris, opened an art school in Montreal (Jacques de Tonnancourt, Jean-Paul Riopelle). In the generation of the 1950s and 1960s, such artists as Jack Shedbolt, Harold Towne, Tony Urquhart, Gordon Smith, Jack Bush, William Ronald, Ronald Blore, Michael Snow, Tony Only, Katsuo Nakamura, as well as realist illustrators Alex Colville should be noted. and Jack Chambers. The Asian-Pacific relations of Western Canada are reflected in their work by Jack Wise, Roy Kiyoka, Lin Chenshi.

The best examples of architecture include the buildings of the universities of Simon Fraser and Lethbridge built according to the designs of Arthur Erickson, the Canadian pavilions at the world exhibitions in Montreal (1967) and Osaka (1970), the building of the Anthropology Museum in Vancouver, buildings built according to the designs of the architect Douglas Cardinal, in notably the Canadian Museum of Civilization (1989).

All major cities in Canada have symphony orchestras, the most significant are the orchestras of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The Canadian Opera Company, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company, the National Ballet of Canada (Toronto) and the Great Canadian Ballet (Montreal) gained fame. Ontario hosts an annual Shakespeare Drama Festival and Shaw Festival. Professional drama theaters operate in Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver and other cities. In Quebec, local playwrights appeared thanks to the efforts of Gracien Gelin, who created a folk theater in the 1940s. Among the leading contemporary playwrights in Quebec, Marcel Dube, Michel Tremblay, Robert Gouric and Jacques Barbeau should be mentioned. There are a number of interesting playwrights in English-speaking Canada: James Reaney, George Riga, John Coulter, Carol Bolt, Sharon Pollock, David Fennario, David Freeman, David French, Beverly Simons, Michael Cook, Judith Thompson and Wendy Lill.

Canadian cinema has developed relatively recently. The National Film Board was formed in 1939, and in 1967 the government established the Canadian Film Development Corporation (now known as Telefilm Canada) to help film producers make feature films. Shortly thereafter, such outstanding films on Canadian subjects appeared as Down the road Don Shebiba (1970) and My uncle Antoine Claude Jutra (1971). Canadian directors Denis Arcand received international recognition ( Decline of the American Empire) and Atom Egoyan ( exotic), Norman Jewison and David Cronenberg.

STORY

Indigenous people of Canada.

The ancestors of the indigenous inhabitants of North America - Indians and Eskimos - are believed to have come 30-40 thousand years ago from Asia along a land bridge that existed on the site of the Bering Strait. The oldest items made by St. 25 thousand years ago, found in the western part of North America, in the United States and Southern Canada. By the beginning of European colonization, more than 1 million Indians lived on the continent, incl. on the territory of the future Canada - from 220 to 350 thousand. Within Canada in the 16-17 centuries. There were several cultural and economic types of the indigenous population.

On the western coast of the Pacific Ocean lived settled tribes of Indians - Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshians, Nootka, Kwakiutl, coastal Selish and Inuk. They lived in large settlements, built wooden houses and totem poles, built large sea canoes, on which they fished. Buffalo hunters roamed the Canadian prairies - the Indian people of the Alconkin Cree group, Assinoboia, etc. In the Canadian forests of the east and north, forest hunters (tribes of Athabaskans, Algonquins, forest selishes) lived. They hunted fur-bearing animals and maple sap, collected wild rice, and made dwellings and canoes from wood. The Indians who settled in the Great Lakes region were engaged in agriculture. Tribal associations were formed here: the League of the Iroquois (existed from the beginning of the 16th century and united the Hurons, Mohawks, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Tobacco), the Union of the Hurons (4 tribes), the Union of "neutrals", etc. The Lake Indians lived in villages, in large long houses, growing maize, beans and pumpkins, hunting and trading.

In the north of the country, the ancestors of modern Eskimos settled, who crossed to America from Chukotka ca. 10 thousand years ago. To 2 thousand BC they separated from the Aleuts and formed an independent ethno-cultural community. By the time the Europeans appeared, the Eskimos numbered approx. 23 thousand people. They lived in small nomadic groups, hunting walruses, seals and whales with a harpoon and deer with bows and arrows.

The emergence of Europeans.

It is believed that already in the 5th-6th centuries. The Irish sailed to North America. In 985, the Norwegian Bjarni Heryulfson reached the coast of northeastern America, and in 1001, the Normans from Greenland, led by Leif Erikson, landed on the territory of modern Canada. These lands were named Helluland, Markland and Vinland. In the north of Newfoundland (Cape Meadows), the remains of a Norman settlement of the early 11th century were discovered. The sagas also report on the subsequent expeditions of the Normans to North America, their winterings and settlements, as well as bloody clashes with the locals, whom the newcomers called "skrelings". So, in 1008-1011, 250 Vikings lived in Vinland, led by Thorfinn Karlsefni. It is believed that in the 15th century. the lands of what is now Newfoundland were visited by English sailors from Bristol. However, all these voyages were of an episodic nature, and constant contacts between Canada and the outside world did not exist until the 16th century.

The discoveries of Columbus became an incentive for new expeditions of Europeans across the ocean. In 1497 and 1498 the shores of Newfoundland and North America reached the navigator John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), who acted on a patent received from the English King Henry VII. It was followed by the expeditions of the Portuguese Gaspar Cortirial (1500, 1501) and Miguel Cortirial (1502), Bristol merchants (1503–1506), and others. The Florentine Giovanni Verazzano in 1524 explored the North American coast on behalf of France and gave it the name New Gaul. Attracted by the abundance of cod, English, French and Portuguese sailors organized fishing off the coast of Newfoundland; seasonal fishing settlements were created on the Atlantic coast. However, the development of Canada by Europeans has not yet begun.

In 1534, on behalf of the King of France, Francis I, an expedition headed by Captain Jacques Cartier set off for North America. He was instructed to find a way to China. Cartier explored Father Prince Edward and landed on the Gaspe Peninsula, where he established contact with the Huron Indians and erected a cross on the shore in honor of the French king. In 1535, during the second voyage, Cartier penetrated deep into the territory, which he called, according to the Indians, Canada. He explored the area between the Indian villages of Stadacona (now Quebec) and Oshlaga (now Montreal), spent the winter in the country, and in 1536 went back to France. In 1541–1542, Cartier again sailed to Canada, and in 1542–1543 Jean-Francois de la Roque (Roberval). However, this time the French failed to gain a foothold in the country, and the “gold” they brought home turned out to be actually iron pyrite.

New France.

The situation changed at the beginning of the 17th century, when the French king Henry IV tried to attract merchants from Rouen and Saint-Malo to organize settlements in the valley of the St. Lawrence River. The colonization of Canada was led by the traveler and geographer Samuel de Champlain. In 1603, an expedition with his participation visited the country and began a wide exchange of European goods for furs. In 1605, Champlain founded the settlement of Port-Royal (now Port-Royal) on the coast of the hall. Fundy, giving the area the name Acadia (now Nova Scotia). In 1608 he sailed up the St. Lawrence Estuary and founded Fort Quebec, through which the fur trade was conducted. Champlain then began a systematic study of the entire St. Lawrence basin. The French managed to conclude an alliance with the Indian tribes of the Hurons and Algonquins, who supplied them with furs. But their relations with the Iroquois since the first clash in 1608 were hostile.

In 1612, the Prince of Condé was appointed Viceroy of New France, who appointed Champlain as his representative in Canada. The colonization of Canada included merchant companies (Canadian, Montmorency), as well as the Catholic Church. The French began to interfere in the election of Indian leaders, pitted various tribes against each other and encouraged them to sell furs to French traders. Gradually trappers and the so-called. "forest vagabonds" moved further and further into the interior of the continent. Through their efforts, the fur trade spread throughout the territory up to the headwaters of the Mississippi. Merchant companies that received royal concessions were primarily interested in her, and not in the development of agricultural settlements. In order to strengthen French power, Cardinal Richelieu established the New France Company in 1627, transferring to its jurisdiction the entire territory from Florida to the Arctic Circle and from Florida to the Great Lakes. Possession could be divided into seigneuries, large feudal estates were created. In 1642, the city of Montreal was founded, which controlled the entire fur trade of the colony with the interior of the continent.

After the death of Champlain (1635), colonization took place mainly under the control of members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). They tried to convert the Indians to Christianity, established missions, and secured a ban on Protestants from settling in Canada.

Not wanting to lag behind France, the British also took up the development of Canada. As early as 1583, Newfoundland was declared an English colony (the governor was appointed in 1729). In 1610, English ships were already plying Hudson Bay and James Bay. The British colony of Nova Scotia was founded in 1627, and the British and Dutch possessions in North America greatly outnumbered the French colonists. In 1629-1632, the British captured New France, and in 1654 they tried to drive the French out of Acadia. The British and Dutch supported the enemies of the French - the Iroquois.

European colonization caused significant damage to the Indian population of Canada. It suffered from the spread of alcoholic beverages and diseases brought from Europe, and died en masse in wars made much bloodier by the use of European-supplied weapons. By 1867, the number of Indians in Canada had fallen by two-thirds.

Encouraged by the Dutch and the British, the Iroquois smashed Catholic missions, in 1648 staged a mass extermination of the Hurons, and for 12 years continuously attacked Montreal.

The feudal-merchant colonization of Canada proved ineffective, and in 1663 its territory was declared a royal province under the control of the Supreme Council (with the participation of a governor, intendant, bishop, and a number of other officials). The European population of the colony began to grow faster. The royal intendant Jean Talon encouraged the birth rate, settlement and the development of handicrafts. In Canada, the French feudal system of land tenure was introduced, and the peasants (Abitans) carried duties in favor of the lords. Huge territories were granted to the Catholic Church, which also controlled education.

Buying furs proved to be much more profitable than farming under the seigneurial system, and many Frenchmen preferred the life of itinerant merchants and adventurers, penetrating farther inland. As early as 1673, a merchant detachment of Louis Jollier reached the Mississippi and explored it, in 1682 the Chevalier de La Salle reached its mouth, and in 1699 the French founded a colony on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Now their colonial possessions stretched from north to south from the Hudson to the Gulf of Mexico.

In contrast to the French, England began to consolidate its possessions. In 1670, the English Hudson's Bay Company was established, proclaiming its authority over all the surrounding territories. In the valley of the Hudson River, the British ousted the Dutch in 1664 and entered into an alliance with the Iroquois. The governor of Canada, Count de Frontenac, managed to defeat the Iroquois in the 1670s-1690s and organized attacks on English settlements and fortifications in New England and the Hudson Bay region. The fighting in North America went on with varying degrees of success; The Peace of Ryswick (1697) did not bring victory to either side.

But the general balance of power between England and France gradually leaned more and more towards the former. During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713), the British captured Port-Royal, and according to the Peace of Utrecht (1713), France was forced to cede to England the Hudson Bay area and Acadia, which became Nova Scotia. After that, the French began to strengthen the remaining possessions. They erected the powerful fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, the forts of Crown Point and Tyconderoga south of the St. Lawrence Valley and a chain of trading posts to the Saskatchewan River. But this did not save the French colonial empire in North America, which was increasingly lagging behind the British in its development. By the middle of the 18th century. in the British North American possessions lived approx. 2 million people, and the number of the French was only 80 thousand.

Subsequent wars led to the fall of France's colonial rule. During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the British captured Louisbourg, but returned it to France in 1748. In 1754, extensive hostilities began in North America between the British, on the one hand, and the French and their allied Indians, on the other. They coincided with the Seven Years' War in Europe (1756–1763). The French stubbornly resisted, but in the end, yielding to superior British forces, New France capitulated in 1760. Under the Treaty of Paris of 1763, France recognized Canada as a British possession.

British Canada.

In 1763, approx. 80 thousand French and several hundred English, but in subsequent years the number of the English-speaking population began to grow rapidly. The British demanded that the laws of the metropolis be introduced in Quebec and that privileges be granted to non-Catholics. But the British government chose to make concessions to the top of the French-Canadian society, fearing that Canada would join the movement of the North American colonies for independence, which ultimately led to the emergence of the United States. In 1774, the British authorities introduced the Quebec Act, according to which the Catholic Church retained its rights and privileges, French civil law and the French language were preserved. Only English criminal law was introduced.

The Quebec Act, which included in Canada the lands west of the Allegheny Mountains, only increased the discontent of the inhabitants of 13 North American colonies, which in 1776 declared their independence from Great Britain. During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and after it, 40,000 “loyalists” (opponents of secession) moved to Canada. This English population, as well as the French, supported the struggle of the metropolis against the rebellious colonies and fought the American detachments that invaded Quebec in 1775. In 1784, the Loyalists received the right to form a separate colony of New Brunswick. Along with it, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island were also separated from Nova Scotia. Loyalists also settled in Nova Scotia and Quebec (in what is now Ontario). Dissatisfied with the preservation of Catholic and feudal orders, in 1791 they achieved the adoption of a new "Constitutional Act", which divided Canada into two parts - Lower Canada (with a predominance of the French population) east of the Ottawa River with the cities of Quebec and Montreal, and Upper Canada to the west from the Ottawa River, inhabited almost exclusively by the British. Both colonies received a constitutional structure with two legislative chambers: the lower, elected on the basis of a high property qualification, and the upper (senate) with members appointed by the governor. Executive power and the right to veto any decisions of the chambers belonged to the governor. A similar system was introduced in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Part of Labrador was annexed to Newfoundland as early as 1763, where self-government and a bicameral parliament with an administration responsible to it were also introduced in 1835.

In Lower Canada, French civil law and the privileges of the Catholic Church were preserved, but one-seventh of the public lands were transferred to the Anglican clergy, and the same amount to the executive. In Upper Canada, the administration of Governor John Graves Simcoe generously distributed large land holdings to military, government officials, and merchants.

The division of Canada did not ease the internal tensions in Britain's North American possessions. The French expressed dissatisfaction with the privileges of the British, the arbitrary distribution of land to officials, heavy tax oppression and the arbitrariness of governors. The British demanded a better distribution of land and the secularization of church holdings. Merchants and industrialists advocated the elimination of the seigneurial system. Dissatisfaction with the rule of the ruling elite of the colonies spread. In the elective assembly of Lower Canada, a radical party was formed that defended the rights and traditions of the French population, sought to expand parliamentary control over taxes, the budget and political life.

During the Anglo-American War of 1812–1814, the majority of Canadian society still sided with the mother country. The American invasions were repulsed. The peace treaty in Ghent (1814) confirmed the borders that existed before the war. According to the diplomatic conventions of 1817–1818, the border between the USA and Canada on the segment from Lake Lesnoye to the Rocky Mountains was established along the 49th parallel.

In the 1820s and 1840s, Canada's economy developed steadily. In 1815-1850, about 80 thousand immigrants from the British Isles arrived in the country, and the total population increased from 400 thousand to 1.8 million. Trade with Great Britain developed, large ships and shipping channels were built. Disputes over the distribution of customs duties, calls for the unification of Upper and Lower Canada contributed to the radicalization of public sentiment. Radical and liberal immigrants, as well as farmers and small traders, opposed the ruling elites, who were closely associated with the governors and the main oligarchic families of the colonies. In the English-speaking provinces, the Protestant masses (Presbyterians and Methodists) were dissatisfied with the privileges of the Anglican Church. In the Maritimes and Newfoundland, reformists sought freedom of the press and increased powers of legislatures, and in Prince Edward Island, the transfer of absent landowners to tenant farmers. In Upper and Lower Canada, political groupings of radical Republicans formed. In Upper Canada they were led by the Scottish immigrant William Lyon Mackenzie (elected Mayor of Toronto in 1834), and in Lower Canada by Louis Joseph Papineau, speaker of the provincial assembly, a supporter of the ideas of the French Revolution. The radicals sought accountability of the executive branch to the legislature and gravitated towards the support of the United States. In 1837, Republican armed uprisings broke out in Lower and Upper Canada; unrest also swept Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The uprisings were suppressed, and their participants were repressed. 32 rebels were hanged and 154 exiled to penal colonies. The leaders of the uprising fled to the United States.

Unrest in Canada forced the British authorities to undertake reforms. A mission was sent to the country, headed by Lord Derham, appointed governor-general of the British possessions in North America. He took steps to ease tensions, including dropping charges against most of those involved in the uprising. Durham's moderate policies led to his resignation, but in 1838 he presented a draft of reforms, the Report on the State of British North America. Durham advocated the assimilation of the French-Canadians and proposed for this purpose the unification of Upper and Lower Canada. The colony, as well as the rest of the provinces, was to receive full self-government while maintaining the powers of the metropolis in constitutional and foreign policy issues. The British government accepted the proposal to unite the colonies, but rejected the idea of ​​a ministry responsible to Parliament.

In 1840, the Act of Union was adopted, proclaiming the unification of Upper and Lower Canada into a single colony - Canada - with a united legislative assembly. Governor Lord Sydenham (1840–1841) appointed government councilors from among the majority supported members of the assembly. In turn, Anglo-Canadian and French-Canadian supporters of responsible government formed the liberal Reform Party, led by Robert Baldwin and Louis Hyppolite La Fontaine. She had a majority in the Parliament of Canada. Governor Charles Bagot, having met with opposition in the legislature, in 1842 invited Baldwin and Lafontaine to form a government with the participation of reformists. The next governor, Matcalfe, restored autocratic rule, which led to numerous protests. In 1846, the liberals who came to power in Great Britain appointed Lord Elgin as Governor General of Canada to complete the creation of a system of responsible government. In Nova Scotia, a responsible cabinet was created, headed by the reformist Prime Minister Joseph Howe. In 1848, a responsible government led by Lafontaine and Baldwin also appeared in the colony of Canada. In 1849, an amnesty law was adopted for all participants in the uprising of 1837 and compensation for damage to residents who suffered during its suppression. An attempt by local conservatives associated with oligarchic families to obstruct the reforms failed. Neither street riots, nor threats to join the United States, nor a petition to London, nor even an arson of the building of the colonial parliament, helped. From 1850, a law was introduced that ordered the municipalities to introduce a special tax on property to finance education, but this was implemented slowly. In 1854, in spite of the resistance of large landowners and the church, the Parliament of the Province of Canada passed a law on the destruction of church segments and seigneurial rights. The peasants received the right to redeem land taxes and rent.

The political situation in Canada remained unstable. New radical political parties emerged - the Clie Crits in English Canada, led by John Brown, and the French Red Party, led by Antoine Dorion. Brown denounced the "dominance of the French" and Catholics. He demanded the abolition of the equal representation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canada in the provincial parliament. The leader of the Klie Crits sought to have the number of deputies determined on the basis of the population, which was larger in the English part of the country. French Canadians, fearing assimilation, began to lean toward supporting conservative political forces. In 1854 the moderate Tories and part of the liberals merged into the Conservative Party; its leaders were John A. MacDonald and Georges Etienne Cartier. The radicals of French-speaking Canada from the "Red Party" sought the introduction of a democratic electoral system and the division of the province into French and English parts. But their republican and anti-clerical ideas frightened the conservative majority of French Canadians. In the end, the Clea Crits won in western (English) Canada, but the Conservatives were able to win with support in the eastern part of the province. In 1854, the government of Macdonald-Cartier came to power, but it was unstable. In 1854-1864, 10 government offices were replaced in Canada.

In 1846, Great Britain and the United States agreed to divide the territories on the Pacific coast of North America. Previously, the Oregon area was considered to belong to both countries, but now the border was drawn along the 49th parallel, and Oregon went to the United States. After that, the British side began to actively develop the land north of this line. Initially they were controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, but in 1849-1850 the crown colony of Vancouver was formed, and then (after gold was discovered in the Caribou mountains in 1856 and thousands of gold prospectors rushed there, mainly from California) - the colony of British Columbia ( 1859). In 1866 both territories were united.

In the 1850s, Canada experienced a period of rapid economic development. Railway and steamship construction grew, British and American entrepreneurs invested heavily in Canadian enterprises. In 1853, Canada switched from the British pound to the Canadian dollar, as it was more convenient for trading with the United States. In 1854, Canada and the United States entered into a reciprocity treaty that provided for both parties free trade in raw materials and agricultural products, opened Canadian waterways to American shipping along with English shipping, and also provided the United States with access to the fisheries of the maritime provinces. The economic crisis of 1857 and the resumption of Russian wheat exports after the Crimean War damaged the Canadian economy. To protect it from foreign competition, Secretary of the Treasury A.T. Gault obtained from Great Britain the consent to impose protectionist duties on imported goods in Canada, including British imports.

When the North-South Civil War (1861–1865) broke out in the United States, industrial development revived again in Canada, British investment increased, and railroad construction boomed. Government-subsidized railroads not only contributed to the economic development of the regions, but also created a strong link between the St. Lawrence Valley and the Maritime Provinces. In the 1860s, the industrial revolution unfolded in the country.

Fears grew in Canadian society over US expansion. The Americans were especially interested in the sparsely populated lands from the eastern prairies to the Pacific Ocean, which were under the control of the Hudson's Bay Company. During the American Civil War, many Canadian radicals and Democrats sympathized with the North. In contrast, the British authorities in North America, conservative Canadian landowners and entrepreneurs supported the Confederate Southerners who raided US territory from Canadian territory. This prompted the Americans to break the Treaty of Reciprocity in 1865, and US Secretary of State William Seward and the press openly demanded the annexation of Canada. In turn, the American side supported the Irish Fenian rebels, who in 1866 attempted to invade Canadian territory.

A sense of long-term threat from the south held Canadian provinces together. In addition, they were pushed to rapprochement by economic interests. The disunity of the provinces, which had different tax systems and different customs tariffs, was an obstacle to economic development. The association was supported by the big merchants of Montreal and Toronto, as well as the farmers of the western part of Canada, who expected to develop the western prairies. Most of the British ruling circles also leaned in favor of this idea, considering a strong united Canada as a reliable counterbalance to the United States. By contrast, the Maritime provinces and the French-speaking population had a reserved or negative attitude towards these plans.

In 1864, a coalition government was formed in the province of Canada, consisting of the Conservatives of Macdonald and Cartier and part of the liberals who supported Brown. It was intended to break the political impasse and bring about the unification of British North America. However, the Atlantic coast provinces took the initiative and convened a conference in Charlottetown to discuss the unification of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. The arriving representatives of Canada proposed expanding the planned union, and in October 1864 33 delegates from Canada, the Atlantic provinces and Newfoundland gathered in Quebec to draft a constitution for a new federation "under the crown of Great Britain." Ultimately, 72 resolutions were approved, providing for the formation of a federal union of provinces with central and local governments. The Assembly of Canada approved the draft constitution, against the voices of radical Anglophone and Francophone liberals. In New Brunswick, Parliament rejected the Quebec resolutions and the pro-unification government resigned. However, the governor dissolved the assembly and called new elections, which brought success to the unification cause. The Assemblies of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland also rejected the project. In Nova Scotia, a sharp struggle flared up between the conservative Prime Minister Ch. Tupper (a supporter of the federation) and the opposition, led by reformist leaders J. Howe. The government never ventured to put the resolutions to a vote and promised to secure special terms for the province.

A conference of British and Canadian representatives in London approved the draft British North America Act. It was then adopted by the British Parliament and entered into force on July 1, 1867. In accordance with it, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the two provinces into which the former province of Canada was divided (French-speaking Quebec and English-speaking Ontario) were united into a "federal dominion". The last term, meaning "possession", was borrowed from religious psalms and was supposed to emphasize that we are not talking about creating a new independent state. The central government, responsible to the federal parliament, was to decide on the construction of railways, was responsible for taxation, defense, trade, finance, policing and other general issues that were not within the jurisdiction of the provinces. The rights of the provinces were limited to local affairs, such as the administration of justice at the local level and legislation relating to "property and civil rights", education, the collection of local taxes. In Quebec, French civil law remained in force, while criminal law acted uniformly throughout the country. Over time, court rulings and political agreements adopted on various occasions led to the expansion of the rights of provincial governments and the limitation of federal power. The governor-general, appointed by the British monarch, exercised executive power on the basis of the recommendation of ministers, could grant pardons, refer some questions of legislation to the government of the British Empire and decide on the dissolution of Parliament; however, these rights were gradually phased out in later years.

Canadian Dominion before World War I.

The first government of the federation was formed by the Conservative leader Macdonald (1867–1873). Initially, some liberals were also represented, but the cabinet soon became almost exclusively one-party. The Conservatives ruled by generously distributing subsidies to the provinces and private entrepreneurs. In turn, the radical liberals, the Quebec Red Party, and the reformists from the Maritimes gradually coalesced into the opposition Liberal Party (LP).

The situation in the dominion at first seemed unsustainable. J. Howe and other opponents of the union won the elections in Nova Scotia, but MacDonald managed to neutralize this opposition when he included Howe in the government in 1869, promising to increase the appropriations for Nova Scotia. In 1873, having received special loans, Prince Edward Island also joined the dominion. The Canadian government also began to annex the western lands. In 1869, the Hudson's Bay Company sold their rights to the Northwest Territories to Canada. After an uprising raised in 1869–1870 by the mixed French-Anglo-Indian population of the Red River region, led by Louis Riel, who demanded independent entry into the federation, a new Canadian province of Manitoba was formed on this territory in 1870. It recognized equal rights for both languages, the ability to create Catholic and Protestant schools; residents received land. In 1871, British Columbia entered Canada, to which the MacDonald government promised military assistance in guarding the border, economic benefits, the payment of provincial debt, and the construction of the Pacific Railroad.

Outside of Canada, only Newfoundland remained, which from 1855 had a responsible government. It remained a separate British colony.

To attract immigrants, Canada in 1873 passed a law according to which each immigrant, after three years of cultivating the land, received a plot of 160 acres free of charge. However, before the beginning of the 20th century. Canada remained predominantly a country of intermediate migration: most of those who arrived then went on to the United States.

The conservative government in 1872 recognized the workers' right to strike and organize trade unions. In 1873, the Canadian Workers' Union arose, but by 1876 it had disintegrated again.

In an effort to normalize relations with the United States, MacDonald took part in the Anglo-American Conference in Washington in 1871. However, he failed to achieve the restoration of the Reciprocity Treaty he desired. Canada has agreed to give US fishermen access to its fisheries for 10 years, and the US has waived import duties on Canadian fish. At the same time, the American side refused to take responsibility for Fenian raids across the US-Canadian border. The opposition sharply criticized the Washington "deal". In 1872, the Conservatives managed to win the general election, but the very next year, the Liberals accused the government of taking a bribe of $350,000 from a group of Montreal entrepreneurs closely associated with American capital in exchange for granting them the right to build the Pacific Railroad. A scandal erupted and the Macdonald government resigned.

The new government of Canada was led by the Liberal Alexander Mackenzie (1873–1878). It established the Supreme Court, created the mounted police, somewhat democratized the electoral law. But the liberal cabinet had to fight the economic depression that had begun, which continued with varying intensity until the end of the 19th century. The Pacific Road was built slowly. The ruling PL was torn by disagreements over economic policy. The Prime Minister and the liberals of the Maritime Provinces advocated the principle of free trade and cuts in government spending. In 1874, Mackenzie unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with the United States to reduce customs tariffs. Edward Blake and other liberals defended the position of protectionism - the imposition of high duties on foreign (primarily American) goods. They formed the "Canada First" movement, advocating the expansion of the country's political independence while strengthening ties with the British Empire.

Relying on Quebec, the conservatives tried to take revenge. In 1878, promising to pursue a protectionist course, speed up railway construction and encourage immigration, they won the parliamentary elections. Having formed a new government, Prime Minister MacDonald (1878–1891) raised import duties on industrial goods, and in 1880 he signed a contract with a large syndicate led by the Bank of Montreal and the Hudson's Bay Company to build the Pacific Railroad. As a result, by 1885 the construction was completed.

In foreign policy, the Conservatives were guided by Great Britain, but, at the same time, they did not want to unconditionally submit to British requirements and sought greater independence. So, in 1885 Macdonald refused to send a Canadian military expedition to the Sudan. Economic ties with the United States developed. In 1883, imports from the United States for the first time exceeded imports from Great Britain, and by 1896 they accounted for more than half of all Canadian imports.

The Conservative government was tolerant of unionization. In 1886 the Trades and Workers' Congress, which was closely connected with the US trade unions, was created. At the same time, it brutally suppressed the uprising of 1884-1885 of white farmers, Indians and mestizos in Saskatchewan, led by L. Riel, who protested against the unfair distribution of land and demanded the status of a province with its own government. Riel was captured, accused of high treason, despite numerous protests, especially among French Canadians, sentenced to death and hanged.

Riel's execution contributed to the weakening of MacDonald's government. In Quebec, the disaffected part of the conservatives united with the liberals and formed the National Party, headed by Honore Mercier, which in 1886 came to power in the province. The Liberal government of Nova Scotia demanded tax cuts, threatening to secede from the federation, and in Ontario, the ruling Liberals sought rights to license the sale of alcohol, exploit natural resources, and self-justice. In 1887, Mercier convened a conference of representatives of the provinces, which announced its intention to deprive the central government of the right to repeal provincial laws, and also demanded free duty-free trade with the United States and an increase in the share of provinces in national income. But the unity of the opposition did not last long. The government of Mercier in Quebec paid the Catholic Church large compensation for property confiscated in 1773, which caused outrage among the Protestants of Ontario. In this province, as well as in Manitoba, a movement arose to ban the teaching of French in schools. The authorities of Manitoba made a decision on this issue, but the federal government canceled it in 1895. In response, Canadian LP leader Wilfrid Laurier accused the Canadian cabinet of meddling in the affairs of the provinces.

In 1891 the Conservatives were still able to win the federal election. After MacDonald's death, the Cabinet was led by John Abbott (1891–1892), John Thompson (1892–1894), Mackenzie Bowell (1894–1896) and Charles Tupper (1896). In the elections of 1896, the liberals marched under the slogan of defending the rights of the provinces, and this brought them victory. Liberal leader Wilfrid Laurier (1896–1911) became the new Prime Minister of Canada. He reached a compromise with the Manitoba authorities: students could receive extra-curricular instruction in matters of religion, and some subjects could be taught in French.

Laurier largely continued the policies of the conservative cabinets. He sought reconciliation with the church, abandoned radical free trade, and pursued a protectionist course that favored British imports. However, economic dependence on the US grew. It was expressed not only in huge American investments, but also in the growth of imports from the south. By 1913, imports from the United States already accounted for two-thirds of all Canadian imports.

In 1896-1914, about 2.5 million people moved to Canada from England, continental Europe and the USA; the total population of the country increased due to this to almost 8 million people. This contributed to the rapid growth of industry and railroad construction, as well as the intensive settlement of the western prairies. In 1905, two new provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan, were formed.

The real economic power in the West was in the hands of entrepreneurs from Montreal, Toronto and federal politicians. Farmers' organizations demanded reductions in lending rates and tariffs, as well as regulation of prices for freight transport and the use of elevators. Government attempts to regulate the price of storing grain in state-owned grain elevators failed, and many Western farmers joined the Grain Grovers cooperative organization that bought and sold grain.

Many immigrants found themselves in difficult situations and lived in difficult conditions. The government provided almost no assistance to them. Newcomers often encountered manifestations of nationalism on the part of Anglo-Saxon Protestants, on the one hand, and French Canadians, on the other (the latter were afraid to become a minority in their own country). All this contributed to the radicalization of public sentiment. The ideas of Christian socialism, Fabianism and syndicalism spread among the working people, and socialist parties arose. In 1900 a representative of organized workers was elected to the federal parliament for the first time. The growth of the labor movement prompted the authorities to undertake some reforms. In 1907, the federal government passed the Industrial Disputes Investigation Act, which prohibited strikes and pickets, as well as lockouts during the period of investigation of labor disputes. Some provinces have enacted minimum wage laws and have also piloted state ownership of some businesses.

The growth of grain production in the west stimulated the development of the production of agricultural machinery and industrial goods in the central part of the country, the construction of grain elevators and railways. The construction of railway lines was heavily subsidized by the government, which increased the public debt, but the situation was softened as a result of the "wheat boom". The discovery of gold in the Yukon was followed by the development of other minerals, the paper industry and hydropower.

In foreign policy, the Laurier government tried to pursue a course of compromise. It rejected the idea of ​​a British imperial alliance with a unified military force. During the Boer War, the Canadian cabinet allowed only the recruitment of volunteers to help Britain, which caused discontent among many Anglo-Canadians and French-Canadian nationalists who objected to participation in the British colonial wars. In 1909, in response to the British demand that Canada contribute to the creation of a unified naval force of the British Empire, the Laurier government proposed the construction of a small detachment of ships that could join the British fleet when Canada deemed it necessary. This was opposed both by the conservatives, who stood up for imperial allegiance, and by the French Canadians, who objected to any Canadian military commitments. This question was at the center of the election campaign of 1911. Laurier's position was also complicated by the unexpected transition of the cabinet to free trade positions. In 1911, the prime minister held talks with the US administration on the mutual reduction of customs tariffs.

All this weakened the position of the PL and led to its defeat in the elections. The Conservatives returned to power, led by a new prime minister, Robert Borden (1911–1920).

The Borden government continued the policies of its predecessors: it built railroads, encouraged immigration and settling in the west, and continued the civil service reform begun by Laurier. The Conservatives refused to build their own Canadian navy, preferring instead to transfer the money to Great Britain.

Canada in 1914–1945.

As part of the British Empire, Canada took part in World War I on the British side. In military formations fought approx. 630 thousand Canadians; OK. 60 thousand were killed. Prime Minister Borden was granted the right to establish an independent Canadian military command; Canada received representation in the imperial military council and at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Relations with Great Britain were built on a common foreign policy position with "permanent consultation" between parts of the empire.

The Wartime Measures Act of 1914 gave the government the right to introduce censorship, carry out arrests and deportations, control the movement of people and goods, trade, production and distribution of goods and raw materials. Customs tariffs were raised. The government began in 1917 a program of nationalization of railroads (with the exception of the Pacific). Prices, wages and labor relations were regulated. War loans were made. By 1921, the total amount of public debt had risen to $4.8 billion.

350 thousand Canadians participated in military production. The war contributed to the revival of the country's economy, which in 1913 experienced a depression. New jobs were created, exports of agricultural products and raw materials increased sharply. American investment in the country and loans overtook the British.

In 1917, conservatives and liberals - supporters of the introduction of military service - created a coalition government. It was still led by Borden.

After the war, state control of the economy was abolished, which caused the depression of 1921–1922. The railroads remained in the hands of the state.

General protests against high tariffs and lending rates, against the rising cost of living, caused a major social crisis. Farmers' organizations demanded the public ownership of natural resources and utilities, the imposition of taxes on personal and corporate income, drastic reductions in tariffs, and electoral reform. Trade unions, among which syndicalist sentiments had intensified (in 1919 a new radical trade union center, One Big Union was formed), carried out mass strikes. Their apogee was the general strike in Winnipeg in May-June 1919, which was suppressed by the government. In 1920 four socialists were elected to the Parliament of Manitoba, and in 1921 a member of the Socialist Party became a member of the federal parliament.

After Borden's resignation, the Canadian government was led by the Conservative Arthur Meighen (1920–1921), an advocate of conscription and high protectionist tariffs. LP leader William Lyon Mackenzie King promised voters guarantees against unemployment, the introduction of old-age pensions and some other reforms; at the same time, he tried not to aggravate relations with the business community. The elections brought victory to the Liberals, who, nevertheless, failed to achieve an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons. In second place was the National Progressive Party, which united farmers and demanded lower tariffs and "reciprocity" in trade with the United States. From 1919 to the early 1920s, the NPP was in power in Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba. The Conservatives came in third. Mackenzie King formed a Liberal government (1921–1926) that was supported from outside by Progressives. However, their movement turned out to be heterogeneous and short-lived. A slight improvement in the economic situation that began in 1923, a narrowing of the gap between industrial and agricultural prices, an increase in world demand for grain, and concessions by the liberals in the field of tariffs hastened its disintegration.

King's government made significant cuts in duties and tariffs, abolished the income tax, and cut the income tax and sales tax somewhat. At the same time, assistance was provided to the coastal provinces in equipping ports and developing shipping, and protectionist measures were introduced to protect the coal industry in Nova Scotia. At the same time, the government crushed a strike in Nova Scotia's coal and steel workers who were protesting wage cuts.

Despite the economic stagnation that continued until 1929 in Primorskaya province, on the whole the 1920s were a period of economic prosperity. Mass production of automobiles began, railways and highways were built, grain exports grew. Farmers united and created their own organizations for the storage and marketing of grain - wheat pools. In the province of Alberta in 1921-1935, the government of the United Farmers was in power.

Anglophone Canada saw the rise of Protestant fundamentalism, accompanied by demands for strict Sunday observance and a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages. However, the governments in the provinces were unable to prevent the massive smuggling of liquor; as a result, by the mid-1920s, most provinces had repealed Prohibition, instead introducing government control over the sale of alcoholic beverages.

In foreign policy, the Canadian government sought greater independence. In 1922, it rejected the British call to take part in military operations against Turkey. The Imperial Conference of 1923 supported King in that the dominions should have the right to pursue an independent foreign policy.

In the 1925 elections, the Conservatives again became the strongest party in Canada, but the Liberals remained in power. In 1926, King asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call new elections, but he instead entrusted the formation of the government to Conservative leader Meighen. But his government could not hold out, and early elections were held. The liberals, accusing the governor general of interfering in the internal affairs of Canada, won and King returned to power (1926-1930). Two workers' deputies also supported his government after King agreed to introduce an old-age pension system.

Dependent on the American economy, on the export of grain, fish and timber, Canada suffered greatly from the world economic crisis that broke out in 1929. By 1933, unemployment reached 23%. Wages have fallen to a meager level.

The global economic crisis had a detrimental effect on the position of Newfoundland, which was not included in the Canadian federation. In 1907, he received the rights of a dominion, but the crisis of the early 1930s brought him to the brink of bankruptcy. In 1933, on the recommendation of the Royal Commission, the constitution was suspended, the dominion status was abolished, and power in 1934 passed to the British governor.

Despite the difficult situation in Canada, Mackenzie King refused to resort to large-scale measures to help the unemployed, insisting on the need for a balanced budget and "respect for the rights of the provinces." In 1930 the LP suffered a crushing defeat in the parliamentary elections. The Conservatives came to power, led by Richard Bedford Bennett (1930–1935).

The Bennett government allocated money to organize public works and provide assistance to provinces and municipalities, significantly increased tariffs (in 1932 an agreement was concluded to reduce customs tariffs for countries that are members of the British Commonwealth, but this did not have a noticeable effect on Canada's foreign trade). Several large state corporations were created (the Bank of Canada National Bank, the CBC Broadcasting Company). In 1935, Prime Minister Bennett put forward a reform program that came to be known as the Canadian New Deal (similar to Roosevelt's New Deal). At his urging, Parliament passed laws on lending to farmers, the creation of a natural resources marketing agency, social and unemployment insurance, minimum wages, and limits on working hours. However, the liberal opposition opposed them, declaring them unconstitutional abuses of the powers of the federal government.

In foreign policy, the Bennett government completed the transition to Canadian political independence. The Statute of Westminster of 1931 declared Canada and other dominions completely equal and independent in foreign and domestic policy. The governor-general represented the crown.

In the 1930s, other radical parties emerged in Canada. In 1932, the leaders of the socialist, labor and farm movement and trade union activists created a social democratic party, the Federation of the Cooperative Commonwealth (FCS). She called for the establishment of socialism in Canada. In Alberta, in 1935, a new Social Credit Party came to power, which promised farmers and pastoralists fair prices and credit in proportion to the amount of goods produced or services rendered. Under reformist slogans, the liberals who won in Ontario and opposed King, led by Mitchell Hepburn, and the National Union party, led by Maurice Duplessis in Quebec, spoke out.

In the Conservative Party itself, not everyone agreed with Bennett's reforms. The split in the camp of the conservatives led them to defeat in the elections in 1935. The liberals returned to power, led by Mackenzie King (1935-1948). They took Bennett's laws to the Supreme Court, which overturned most of them as violating the rights of the provinces. The liberal government set up a special commission on relations between the federation and the provinces, which presented a report in 1940 recommending that the role of the federal government in the country's economy be strengthened and that it be made responsible for social security on a national scale. Amendments to the British North America Act were passed to give the federal government the power to create a national unemployment insurance system.

On the eve of World War II, King pursued an isolationist course, opposing participation in efforts to establish collective security within the League of Nations and the Commonwealth, but rejecting the demands of French-Canadian nationalists to declare neutrality in the event of war in Europe. Only a week after Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, a special session of the Canadian Parliament adopted a similar decision. At the same time, the government promised that universal military service would not be introduced. In October 1939, the National Union, which opposed participation in the war, was defeated in the elections in Quebec and ceded power in the province to the liberals. In early 1940, King held early federal elections. The LP won a resounding victory.

The Government of Canada re-enacted the Wartime Measures Act, restricting political and civil rights. A number of left-wing organizations (including the anti-war syndicalist trade unions Industrial Workers of the World, as well as the communists) were banned. The authorities established control over military production, the organization of the production of military products and the mobilization of material resources. More than 1 million people worked in the military industry. From the provinces to the federal center passed the collection of income tax, corporation tax and inheritance. State control over prices and wages was introduced. State corporations were also created. The Canadian economy grew rapidly during World War II. Increased its dependence on the United States. Strengthened and military-political ties with the southern neighbor. In 1940, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada signed an agreement at Ogdensburg on joint planning for the defense of the North American continent.

With a population of 12 million, Canada mobilized 1 million people during the war years. Canadian troops participated in the fighting in Europe and Asia, their losses amounted to 42 thousand people. The question of the introduction of universal military service was repeatedly raised. A plebiscite held in April 1942 found that this measure was supported by the Anglo-Canadian but rejected by the French-Canadian population. In November 1944, the government began the forced recruitment of soldiers.

During the war period, the government carried out a number of social reforms. In 1941, state unemployment insurance was introduced, and in 1944 Parliament passed the Family Allowance Act, according to which payments were made to parents who had dependent minor children. By 1945, liberals had implemented social security measures such as hospital insurance, "fair" prices for agricultural products, housing, and economic planning.

However, rising inflation and the cost of living caused growing popular discontent, which was reflected in strikes and the results of provincial elections. In Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, the influence of the FCC increased. In 1943 it became the main opposition party in Ontario, and the following year it won in Saskatchewan. In 1944, the nationalist Duplessis returned to power in Quebec and remained at the head of the provincial government until 1959. Nevertheless, in June 1945, the LP again won the federal elections.

Canada after World War II.

The period of post-war reconversion, the associated decline in production and employment, was relatively short. The orientation of the Canadian economy to meet US demand for raw materials and the influx of American capital contributed to the accelerated development of the post-war Canadian economy until the end of the 1960s, interrupted by recessions in 1948-1949, 1953-1954 and 1957-1961. In 1939–1967, the GNP grew from 6 billion to 62 billion dollars. In 1941–1968, the population of Canada grew from 11.5 million people to 20 million people or more, 2 million of this increase came from immigrants, most from who came from European countries and settled in cities. The extractive industry, energy, and transport developed rapidly, but some agricultural areas were in decline.

The Wartime Measures Act was repealed after World War II, but negotiations and conferences between representatives of the federal and provincial governments revealed the impossibility of returning to the previous distribution of powers. They ended with a compromise agreement that the federal government retained the powers of control and regulation for 3 years, and also concentrated tax revenues in exchange for subsidies to the provinces and assistance to them in implementing social programs. The provinces retained the power to raise local taxes, manage resources, and so on. The fixed principles of economic policy meant the transition to the Keynesian (Keynesian theory of state regulation of the economy) model of the "welfare state".

The authorities of the country focused on partnership with entrepreneurs and trade unions. However, in the second half of the 1940s, the number of strikes increased, especially in Quebec, where they were actively suppressed by the provincial government of Duplessis.

The Canadian economy is increasingly integrated with the American one. The US became a major source of foreign investment and a major trading partner, accounting for 70% of Canadian imports, 60% of exports, and more than 75% of foreign investment in the late 1950s. More than half of the manufacturing industries were owned or controlled by US corporations; even more significant was the US share in the mining industry and the development of natural resources. In 1947, a plan was adopted by Canadian Finance Minister D. Abbott, which provided for the country's transition from the comprehensive development of the manufacturing industry and trade with all countries to the expansion of the extraction of raw materials needed by the United States. The law on the state monopoly on exploration and production of uranium was repealed; in this area, as well as in oil production, American companies have established themselves. In 1950, Canada entered into an agreement on the principles of economic cooperation with the United States.

Confederation 1950. The Liberal government was headed until 1948 by Mackenzie King, and in 1948–1957 by Louis Saint Laurent. It continued an active social policy (in particular, it established pensions for the elderly). In 1949, Newfoundland became part of Canada as a province. Strengthening political and cultural independence, the country's authorities in 1947 introduced the Canadian Citizenship Act. In 1949 the parliament was given the right to make additions to the constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada became the highest court of appeal. Canadian Vincent Massey (1952–1959) was first appointed to the post of Governor General. To support the development of Canadian culture, science and education, the government established the Canadian Council. In foreign policy and military matters, Canada mainly relied on the Western bloc. In 1949 she participated in the creation of NATO.

The Liberals won the parliamentary elections in 1953, but in subsequent years their authority began to decline. The general public was dissatisfied with the growing economic dependence on the United States. Outrage was caused by the government's decision to grant an American company the right to build a gas pipeline from Alberta. Farmers were worried about chronic overproduction in agriculture and the lack of effective assistance from the government. Many provinces were under the rule of the opposition - conservatives, the Social Credit Party and the FCC (the latter led the state health insurance system in Saskatchewan). In 1957, the Conservatives (PCP) won the election, calling for Canada to be prevented from becoming the "49th state of the United States." They promised to develop the economy of the North, reduce economic disparities between provinces, and improve the social welfare system. Party leader John Diefenbaker led a minority government dependent on support from the right-wing Social Credit Party. Early elections in 1958 brought Diefenbaker's government (1957-1963) an absolute majority of votes and seats in the House of Commons. They also led to a severe defeat for the FCC.

However, he failed to fulfill his promises. In an attempt to achieve greater economic independence, the government was able to find new markets for Canadian wheat, mainly in the Soviet bloc. But the promise to switch 15% of Canada's foreign trade from the US to the UK proved unrealistic. In foreign policy, the former orientation was also generally maintained. In 1958, Canada concluded an agreement with the United States on the creation of the North American Joint Air Defense Command (NORAD); part of the country's Air Force came under American command. But the Canadian government, despite pressure from Washington, never joined either SEATO or the Organization of American States (OAS) and refused to cut off diplomatic and trade relations with Fidel Castro's Cuba. At the Commonwealth Conference in 1959, the Canadian prime minister won a condemnation of the policy of apartheid in South Africa.

Other areas of conservative policy were also not entirely successful. There were not enough funds and people for the large-scale development of the North. The government increased the Canadian presence in a number of companies, banks and broadcasting, stimulated the development of the production of finished goods, but could not change the general trend. Increasing federal government spending on public enterprise, social needs, etc. did not allow Diefenbaker to keep his promise to protect the rights of the provinces, and he continued the practice of "equalizing" federal subsidies and increasing the provinces' share of income tax revenues.

Economic difficulties, rising inflation and the devaluation of the Canadian dollar (1962), and an increase in unemployment undermined the popularity of the PCP. The opposition grew stronger. In 1961, Canadian trade unions (in 1956 merged into the Canadian Labor Congress) and the FCC merged with the New Democratic Party (NDP) of the social democratic persuasion. In the 1962 elections, the Conservatives lost their absolute majority in parliament. The following year, the House of Commons passed a vote of no confidence in the Diefenbaker government. New elections were called. The Prime Minister relied on the slogan of Canada's renunciation of its own nuclear weapons, while liberals, on the contrary, spoke in favor of nuclear weapons. Having won a relative majority of seats in parliament, the PL returned to power. A minority Liberal government was led by Lester Pearson (1963–1968). In 1964, a nuclear weapon was placed in Canada.

Pearson's cabinet, which also won the 1965 elections, preferred not to make significant policy changes. Among his government's accomplishments were the passage of the National Health Insurance Act and the introduction of the new Canadian flag. Faced with economic difficulties in the late 1960s, it raised taxes on personal income but cut corporate taxes. The budget deficit has become chronic.

In the field of foreign economic relations, the orientation towards the United States increased again, which now accounted for 80% of capital investments from abroad. In foreign policy, Canada followed a course of "quiet diplomacy", seeking to play the role of an intermediary in international relations.

The activities of the government were also constrained by the aggravation of the Quebec problem. In 1960, a new, reformist leadership of the liberals came to power in the provinces, pushing the National Union aside. The provincial government, headed by Jean Lesage, began the implementation of the so-called. "quiet revolution" - reform programs in the field of economy, politics and education with the aim of modernizing the economy and supporting the French Canadian culture. It expanded the public sector in the economy and the social functions of the state, embarked on the reform of education and the secularization of education.

In response to demands for greater autonomy for Quebec, the federal government agreed to exempt Quebec from mandatory participation in certain federal social security programs (such as the pension plan). Instead, the province received funds that it could use itself. However, Quebec's "special status" irritated English-speaking Canadians. At the same time, a separatist movement was gaining strength in Quebec, which demanded complete independence. In 1963, several explosions were carried out in the English-speaking quarters of Montreal.

A commission set up by the Pearson government to study the problems of bilingualism and the coexistence of two cultures recommended that French and English be recognized as equal official languages ​​at the federal level, as well as in the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario. But this could not satisfy the parties. In 1966, Le Sage's party was defeated in the elections in Quebec. The National Union returned to power in the province, and supporters of the continuation of reforms, nationalization in the economy and political independence of Quebec formed the "Movement Sovereignty - Association" headed by René Leveque.

In 1968, after the resignation of Pearson, the government of Canada was headed by the new leader of the Liberals, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who promised to resist chauvinistic nationalism and preserve the federal state. In the elections of the same year, the LP won an absolute majority in the House of Commons for the first time in many years.

The Conservative Cabinet has focused on reducing the budget deficit and improving the competitiveness of Canadian businesses. He refused to interfere in the activities of private firms and carried out the privatization of many state-owned enterprises and corporations. The government has abandoned the regulation of transport, telecommunications and the financial sector. Social programs have been significantly curtailed. The growth of national income in 1984-1988 was about 3% per year. But in 1990-1993 the country again experienced a decline in production.

Mulroney sought to strengthen economic and political ties with the US. His cabinet lifted a number of restrictions on the participation of foreign capital in Canadian corporations and the use of energy resources and, at the same time, promoted an increase in the volume of Canadian investments abroad. In 1988, he began negotiations for a free trade agreement with the United States. The opposition sharply criticized this plan, but in the 1988 parliamentary elections the Conservatives were able to maintain a majority in parliament, and in 1989 the agreement was signed. In December 1992, Mulroney and the Presidents of the United States and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In an attempt to find a compromise with Quebec, Mulroney negotiated with the provincial authorities to grant it the status of a "separate community" within Canada and special rights. However, the agreement was not ratified by all the provinces within the stipulated time (Newfoundland rejected it, and Manitoba postponed discussion). In 1992, the status of a "separate community" for Quebec was agreed upon at a conference of provincial and territorial heads of government and party leaders in Charlottetown and put to a referendum. However, 54% of participants voted against. The agreement never entered into force.

The introduction of a federal tax on all goods and services on January 1, 1991 caused widespread dissatisfaction with the Mulroney government. He left the leadership of the PKP. Kim Campbell, secretary of defense in the Mulroney government, was elected as the party's new leader. On June 25, 1993, she succeeded Mulroney as prime minister. But in the general election on October 25, 1993, the Conservatives were defeated, receiving only 2 seats in the House of Commons. The liberals, led by Jean Chrétien of Quebec, who promised to create jobs by expanding public works, as well as to renegotiate the free trade agreement with the United States and Mexico, won a landslide victory. In second place came the separatist Bloc Québécois, in third place was the Reform Party, formed by disaffected conservatives in Alberta. November 4, 1993 Jean Chretien took over as Prime Minister (1993-2003).

Although the Liberals were sharply critical of Mulroney's economic policies, they continued to be tough on this area, citing the need to reduce the high public debt, lower the budget deficit, and pay the interest on the debt. They went to cut government spending, primarily on healthcare, education and social security. Since most of these expenses were borne by the provincial authorities, it was much easier for the country's leadership to reduce federal appropriations for these needs, giving the provincial authorities the opportunity to cope with emerging difficulties and discontent on the ground. The number of persons eligible for unemployment insurance was reduced, and the number of civil servants was reduced. The policy of promoting the privatization of state-owned enterprises continued. The government went for the privatization of the Canadian National Railways (1995) and a number of local airports.

Canada at the end of the 20th century - early 21st century

Contrary to promises, the liberal government did not revise the NAFTA agreement, and it entered into force in 1994. However, in the second half of the 1990s, tensions arose in relations with the United States due to the development of Canadian-Cuban relations, the introduction of American sanctions against Canadian firms trading with Cuba, and disagreements over fishing quotas off the coast of Alaska. The "Fish War" ended in 1999 with an agreement on fishing quotas.

In September 1994, the separatist Party of Quebec again won the parliamentary elections in Quebec, and the new head of the provincial government, Jacques Parisot, promised to achieve separation from Canada. On October 30, 1995, a second secession referendum was organized, and this time 49.4% of the participants voted for independence. A small majority (including at the expense of national minorities) voted against. Parisot resigned and was replaced as head of government by Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard. In an effort to take advantage of the results of the referendum, the Canadian Parliament passed legislation granting Quebec the right of a "separate community", but this gesture remained largely symbolic. In September 1997, the heads of government of 9 of the 10 provinces (all except Quebec) signed a call to preserve the unity of Canada (the Calgary Declaration). Emphasizing the equality of all provinces, they again recognized the "originality" of Quebec, which should be reflected in the constitutional compromise. In August 1998, the Supreme Court, at the request of the federal government, overruled Quebec's right to a unilateral declaration of independence, putting forward a set of criteria for secession negotiations. In November 1998, in the provincial elections, the Liberals were ahead of the separatists in terms of the number of votes cast, however, due to the peculiarities of the electoral system, the Quebec Party retained power in the province, and Bouchard remained as head of the government of Quebec. He rejected the draft of a new agreement between the center and the provinces to expand the powers of the latter in the field of finance, social policy and education, considering the federal government's concessions insufficient. In December 1999, Canadian Prime Minister Chrétien announced his readiness to begin negotiations on the granting of independence to Quebec, provided that the majority of the population of the province voted for it in a referendum and the criteria formulated by the Supreme Court were met.

The Canadian authorities made some concessions to the indigenous population of the country. In 1993, Parliament approved the separation from the Northwest Territories of the new Canadian territory of Nunavut, populated predominantly by Inuit. The decision came into force in 1999. The territory received the rights of broad autonomy; elected its own parliament and formed a government headed by Paul Okalik.

In 1996, an agreement was reached to give the Nisgaa Indians of British Columbia land rights on the Alaskan border and self-government (in exchange for giving up 90% of their original land claims). The corresponding agreement was signed in August 1998 and approved by Parliament in 2000. The agreement was considered as the basis for negotiations with 47 other tribes in the province. The Newfoundland Court of Appeal in October 1997 granted the Inuit of Labrador a complaint to suspend the expansion of nickel mining at Voisey Bay. In December 1997, the Supreme Court in Ottawa considered the complaint of the Delgamuuk Indians and recognized in principle the validity of the claims of the indigenous people to the lands they inhabited before the arrival of Europeans. In January 1998, the federal government issued a formal apology to the natives for cases of injustice and mistreatment; funds were allocated to a special fund for the payment of compensation. In September 1999, the Supreme Court confirmed the fishing privileges of the Mi'kmaq Indians.

As progress in interethnic relations in Canada, the appointment of Adrienne Clarkson, a Chinese by origin, as the Governor General of the country (1999), and the head of the government of British Columbia, the Indian Ujjal Dosanjha (2000), is considered.

On June 2, 1997, early parliamentary elections were held in Canada. The main pre-election controversy was reduced to the issues of ensuring the interests of the regions, the efficiency of the economy and maintaining the unity of the country. The Liberals, with Ontario as their stronghold, won 155 of 301 seats in the lower house, the main opposition party with 60 seats this time going to the Conservative Reform Party, which dominated British Columbia and Alberta. In Quebec, the Quebec Bloc won (44 seats). The increase in votes was achieved by the NDP (21 seats) and the PKP (20 seats). The next elections in November 2000 again brought victory to the Liberals, who won 172 seats; the second place was taken by the Canadian Alliance, formed in 2000 as a result of the merger of the Reform Party and part of the PKP (66 seats). The rest of the parties (Bloc Québécois, NDP and PKP) lost some seats. The Chrétien government remained in power until 2003.

In December 2003, there was a change of leadership in Canada: Paul Martin became the new Liberal leader and Prime Minister. Significant changes are also noticeable in the opposition camp. As a result of the unification of the Canadian Alliance and the PKP, the Conservative Party was reunited in 2004. Stephen Harper was elected leader of the new party.

On June 28, 2004, federal elections were held. The Liberals won 36.7% of the vote, while the Conservative Party won 29.6% of the vote. Although the Liberals did not win a parliamentary majority, they managed to form a minority government. Paul Martin became prime minister again.

In November 2005, the leader of the Conservative Party, Harper, and the head of the New Democratic Party, J. Leighton, announced a vote of no confidence in the government. This was due to the findings of the Gomery Commission's investigation into the Conservative Party funding scandal. Conclusions were drawn about the corruption of the party. On January 23, 2006 parliamentary elections were held. The Conservative Party of Canada won the largest number of seats with 36.3% of the vote. Liberals received 30.2%. A Conservative Party minority government was formed. Harper became the new prime minister. More than 12 years of liberal rule was cut short.

On October 14, 2008, federal elections were held. The ruling Conservative Party won. S. Harper was re-elected Prime Minister.

On March 25, 2011, the government of S. Harper resigned due to a vote of no confidence. On May 1, 2011 parliamentary elections were held. The Conservative Party won a landslide victory and won 167 out of 308 parliamentary seats. The main opposition party was the left-wing New Democratic Party, with 102 seats. The Liberal Party was defeated, winning only 34 seats.

Vadim Damier

. M., 1981
Tishkov V.A., Koshelev L.V. History of Canada. M., 1982
Danilov S.Yu. Canada's two-party system: development trends. M., 1982
Soroko-Tsyupa O.S. History of Canada. M., 1985
Contemporary domestic politics of Canada. M., 1986
Kuznetsov Yu.G. Is maple juice sweet? Modern Canada and its people. M., 1988
See S.W. History of Canada(Conn), 2001
Gross W. Political Parties, Representation and Electoral Democracy in Canada. New-York, 2001



Founding of New France. In 1602 King Henry IV of France granted a monopoly on the fur trade in Canada to a group of merchants from Rouen. This group, the first of a series of companies that for the next 60 years effectively ruled New France, sent out an expedition to Canada in 1603 and appointed Samuel de Champlain as their chief representative. In 1605, Champlain founded the settlement of Port Royal (now Port Royal) on the coast of the hall. Fundy, giving the area the name Acadia (now Nova Scotia). In 1608 he sailed up the St. Lawrence Estuary and founded Fort Quebec, through which the fur trade was conducted. Then Champlain began a systematic study and mapping of the entire basin of the St. Lawrence, from Hall. Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) in the northwest to Lake. Champlain in the south. However, in order to enlist the friendship of the Indian tribes of the Algonquins and the Hurons, who controlled the routes to the inland regions, Champlain was forced to side with them in their enmity with the Iroquois alliance of the Five Tribes. As a result, France acquired irreconcilable and dangerous enemies in the person of the Iroquois. Gradually trappers and the so-called. "forest vagabonds" like Etienne Brule and Jean Nicolet moved further and further into the interior of the continent. By their efforts, the fur trade spread throughout the territory up to the headwaters of the Mississippi; at the same time, France's colonial ambitions also grew. The success of these pioneers prompted the companies that received royal concessions to concentrate all their efforts on the fur trade, without investing their energy in developing agriculture in the St. Lawrence Valley; many colonists abandoned the settlements and moved into the "forest vagabonds". In general, in the first half of the 17th century. the colonies in Canada almost paid attention to the mother country, as it was involved in the Thirty Years' War. After the death of Champlain (1635), colonization took place mainly under the control of members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Driven by the missionary zeal of the Counter-Reformation, they tried to convert the Indians to Christianity and strengthen the Catholic faith in New France. Traveling with the "forest vagabonds", the Jesuits founded missions; in this way they succeeded in extending their influence west as far as the hall. Georgian Bay. In 1659 Francois Laval became the head of the church in the colony, and in 1674 he received the rank of bishop of New France; under him, Protestants were forbidden to settle in Canada. Since the missionaries took part in the fur trade, they were attacked by the Iroquois, who were associated with the competitors of the French - the Dutch traders who settled in the valley of the river. Hudson. The Jesuits were especially active among the Hurons, the main suppliers of furs from the interior of the continent. In 1648, the Iroquois invaded the lands of the Hurons, massacred and destroyed the Jesuit mission of St. Mary on the banks of the hall. Georgian Bay on the lake. Huron; their goal was to exterminate the Hurons and, by cutting off the trade routes by which furs were sent to the French, to make the Dutch settlement of Fort Orange (modern Albany) the main trading center. The Iroquois captured the priest Jean Brébeuf and several other Jesuits, tortured them and burned them at the stake; these were the first Christian martyrs of French Canada. After that, the Iroquois began to raid the very center of New France. Montreal was in especially great danger; this settlement, founded in 1642 on an island at the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, controlled the entire fur trade of the colony with the interior of the continent. For 12 years, Montreal was subjected to constant attacks by the Iroquois.
Royal province. In 1663, King Louis XIV, dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the colony, deprived the New France Company of monopoly rights to this territory. The colony was declared a royal province under the control of the Supreme Council, which was charged with the duty to monitor the implementation of royal edicts. At the head of the Council were the governor, who was responsible for the defense of the colony; the intendant, whose duties included the administration of justice and the provision of economic development; and the bishop, who was in charge of the affairs of the church and therefore had great influence. Despite the fact that the members of the Council constantly quarreled among themselves, this body acted very effectively. Under the leadership of able and dedicated administrators, such as Jean Talon, the royal intendant, for example, who first held this office, New France entered the path of prosperity. Its population grew from 2,000 people in 1663 to 6,000 in 1672. In addition, almost 1,000 veteran soldiers of the French Carignan-Salier regiment were sent there to strengthen security. Talon encouraged large families, the development of crafts and the creation of permanent agricultural communities. On the territory of the colony, a seigneurial system of land ownership, based on French land law, operated. Since really large fortunes were rare here, the feudal hierarchy did not play a big role, and feudal duties were smaller than in the metropolis, and were not a particularly heavy burden for the peasants - abitans (from French habitant). Even under Bishop Laval (1659-1688), the church received huge land holdings (seigneuries) and very significant sums granted to the Jesuit order. Education was entirely in the hands of the clergy. The church also insisted on its right to monitor the morality of the colonists, but its attempts to impose a ban on the use of alcohol (brandy) in the fur barter were not successful.
Expansion of French possessions deep into the continent. Attempts by quartermasters and bishops to create in the basin of the St. Lawrence, the real French Catholic society, based on feudal landownership, constantly failed; the main reason was that buying furs was a much more profitable business than cultivating the land, and the peasants often abandoned their plots and went into the forests to hunt the beast. In addition, due to the harsh climate, the upper part of the Sv. Lawrence every winter turned out to be ice-bound. This prevented the development of maritime trade with settlements in Acadia and with the French West Indies. Therefore, the French penetrated deeper into the continent faster and further than the British. Already in 1673, a trading detachment under the command of the "forest tramp" Louis Jollier set off from the hall. Green Bay on the lake. Michigan to the headwaters of the Mississippi. The expedition was attended by a Jesuit missionary, Father Jacques Marquette, who left notes about this campaign. They reached the Mississippi and explored this river to the confluence of the Arkansas River. In 1682, Sieur de La Salle reached the mouth of the Mississippi River, and in 1699 Pierre de Moines, Sieur d'Iberville, one of the most remarkable explorers born in Canada, founded a small French colony in Biloxi, on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, to 1700, the French established a system of forts penetrating far to the west, which was controlled from the St. Lawrence Valley and covered the area from the Hudson Bay in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south.
Anglo-French rivalry. This expansion of France's sphere of influence inevitably created friction with English colonial power in the New World. The English Hudson's Bay Company, formed in 1670, began trading in furs. Using the monopoly rights granted by the English king Charles II to his cousin Prince Rupert and a group of courtiers and financiers, the Company extended its power to the entire territory covered by the rivers that flowed into Hudson Bay. With a convenient sea route at their disposal to the heart of the "fur country" in northwest Canada, these English adventurers threatened to deprive the French of their most reliable source of furs. In the south, in the Hudson River valley, English traders replaced Dutch ones. Allied with the Iroquois, they began to compete with the French for control of the Ohio territory that stretched from the Mississippi to the Allegheny Plateau.

In 1672, the Comte de Frontenac was appointed governor of this French colony, which was in increasing danger. This ruler, although later celebrated by the American historian Francis Parkman for his military exploits, actually turned many colonists against him by using his position for personal enrichment. He lost the confidence of the French-friendly Indian tribes by not fulfilling his promise to support them in the war against the Iroquois. In 1682, Frontenac was recalled and left, leaving his successors an internally divided and poorly defended colony. However, new Iroquois attacks and the outbreak of war between England and France prompted the French government to return Frontenac to the post of governor in 1689. Under his command, raids were carried out (with the participation of Indians and French) against the border settlements of New England and the state of New York, which were distinguished by extreme cruelty in towards the Protestant population. The Iroquois were pacified, but the enraged English colonists were burning with a desire for revenge. In 1690, an English fleet sailing from Massachusetts captured Port Royal in Acadia. The British attacked Quebec and Montreal, but these attacks were repulsed, and D "Iberville captured many of the forts built by the Hudson's Bay Company. Peace was concluded with the Iroquois in 1701, but by this time it became clear to everyone that the outcome of the Anglo-French conflicts in Northern America is as much dependent on events in Europe as it is on the actions of the colonists.The early 18th century was marked by rapid population growth and economic growth in the British colonies.Lack of land prompted the colonists to move west.During the War of the Spanish Succession - a dynastic quarrel between Bourbons and Habsburgs because of the Spanish throne (1702-1713) - the British again captured Port Royal, which was returned to France in 1697, and attacked Quebec.In 1713, the war in Europe ended in the defeat of France; the Treaty of Utrecht was concluded, according to which England the territories in the Hudson Bay area and Acadia, which from that moment was called Nova Scotia, departed.The French, having lost all approaches to the lands in river valley St. Lawrence, except for the path past Fr. Cape Breton and about. Saint-Jean (modern Prince Edward Island), began to strengthen their defenses. On the island of Royal (Cape Breton), a well-fortified Fort Louisbourg was built, where an army of 1,400 people was stationed. Seeing this as a threat to their colonies in Nova Scotia and the fishing industry in the Newfoundland area, the British increased pressure throughout the border zone. Fort Oswego, located on the south shore of Lake Ontario, challenged French territorial claims in the area and threatened the trade routes that linked the St. Lawrence Valley with the hinterland. To protect themselves from the British invasion of New France through Lake. Champlain and the Richelieu River, the French built the fortifications of Crown Point and Tyconderoga south of the St. Lawrence Valley. In the far northwest, Pierre La Verandrie built a chain of fortified trading posts in the 1730s that stretched across the prairies to the Saskatchewan River; thus limits were placed on the westward expansion of the Hudson's Bay Company.

French and Indian war with the British. During the 1740s and 1750s, sporadic hostilities continued in North America, fueled by the clash of different cultures, economic interests, and imperial ambitions. During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748), the French fortress of Louisbourg on Royal Island was captured by the British, but later, under the terms of the peace treaty signed in Aachen in 1748, it was returned to France (in exchange for a trading post in India). To counter French military influence in the area and create a naval base that could control the North Atlantic, the British fortified the harbor on the south coast of Nova Scotia, where they established a new colonial capital, Halifax. In 1755, after the outbreak of war with the French and Indians, more than 10 thousand Frenchmen who remained in the vicinity of Port Royal in Acadia were expelled from this province. The final stage of the Anglo-French rivalry was marked by the so-called. the war with the French and Indians, which began in 1754 and continued as part of the Seven Years' War (which began in Europe in 1756). By the start of the war, the population of 13 British colonies on the Atlantic coast was approx. 2 million people, while the French in all of North America were only approx. 80 thousand people and most of them lived in the valley of St. Lawrence. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the war, the French managed to maintain and strengthen their defensive lines. In 1754 they defeated the colonial troops commanded by Colonel George Washington and built Fort Ducane in the heart of the Ohio Territory. In 1756, France sent significant military reinforcements to the St. Lawrence Valley under the command of an able young general, the Marquis de Montcalm. With a regular army of about 10,000 men, Montcalm immediately took Fort Oswego from the British and captured several other British fortifications; he kept the British forces in constant tension all along the frontier. The era of French colonial rule in Canada was drawing to a close, when in 1758 the British government launched a massive offensive by land and sea. Louisbourg capitulated, and in the spring of 1759, English troops under the command of General James Wolf embarked on ships, entered the St. Lawrence River and moved to the fortress of Quebec. After several unsuccessful attacks on the outer defensive lines of the city, the British landed near the city at night, climbing a steep rock. On the morning of September 13, Wolf forced Montcalm to fight on the Abraham Plateau outside the walls of the fortress. Both commanders, Wolf and Montcalm, were killed in the battle, and Quebec surrendered. Governor Vaudreuil and the surviving soldiers retreated down the river to Montreal, hoping to recapture Quebec the following spring when reinforcements arrived from France. However, in 1760, English, not French, ships were the first to arrive here, and in September Vaudreuil signed a surrender, thereby ceding all of New France to Great Britain.

• - country in North America. The area is 997 thousand km2. Population 28.3 million people The capital is Ottawa...

  Historical dictionary

• - The term that the guards of the "death camps" called the huge storage facilities for sorting property seized from newly arriving prisoners ...

  Encyclopedia of the Third Reich

• - So, what conclusions can be drawn from a review of the development and change in the lunch menu of different classes of the Russian population over the past 150-200 years? What conclusions can be drawn from that comparison of dishes of different composition and...

  Pokhlebkin's Great Encyclopedia of Culinary Art

• - THE FIRST RESIDENTS. FRENCH COLONY. BRITISH RULE. CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM. THE EVOLUTION OF FEDERALISM. MOVEMENT FOR CONFEDERATION. EXPANSION OF THE DOMINION 1867-1914. 1914-1945...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - World War I. When Great Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, Canada, as part of the British Empire, became involved in the war...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - The policy of the new government...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - Quebec Resolutions...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - Immigration and economic development. The 35 years that followed the conclusion of the Peace of Ghent were a time of stable economic development...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - The first inhabitants...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - The end of the King era. The Liberals remained in power until 1957, the post of prime minister was held first by Mackenzie, and after his resignation in 1948 by Louis Saint Laurent. Newfoundland joined the Confederation in 1949...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - Problems of unity and accession of lands. The formation of the first government of the dominion was entrusted by Governor General John MacDonald in 1867 ...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - Treaty of reciprocity. In the 1840s there was concern in Canada that much of the valuable land in North America was being ceded to the United States...

  Collier Encyclopedia

• - or Algeria - the name of the French colony in North Africa, stretching along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea between Tunisia in the east and Morocco in the west for 1070 km, in the south reaching far into the depths of the Sahara...

• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - French colony on the west coast of Africa ...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - I Dnieper Russia IX-XII centuries. lands "occupied by tribes, were determined partly by natural boundaries - the lines of watershed portages, partly by the cross-collision of individual waves of colonization ...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

"CANADA. HISTORY. FRENCH COLONY" in books

Canada

From the author's book

Canada Musk's grand escape to Canada is hardly well thought out. He knew that he had a great-uncle in Montreal, so he got on a plane and trusted his luck. After landing (it was June 1988), Musk found a pay phone and tried through

Canada

From the book of the GRU in the Great Patriotic War author Kolpakidi Alexander Ivanovich

Canada In the pre-war period, Canada was not the object of special interests of the Soviet military intelligence. Work on it was carried out mainly from the territory of the United States, although there were informants in Canada itself, as a rule, communists. Canada participated in World War II

French colony in St. Petersburg of the 19th century

From the book Metaphysics of Petersburg. Historical and cultural essays author Spivak Dmitry Leonidovich

The French colony in Petersburg in the 19th century The French colony has never been large in our country - from 2 to 4 thousand people, which throughout the 19th century was less than half a percent of the total population of the city. As a result, marking on the map

Canada

From the book Hippies from A to Z. Sex, drugs, music and the impact on society from the sixties to the present day by Stone Skip

Canada Vancouver, Victoria & Nelson - “Vancouver is a Greenpeace city and our southern neighbors (not including you wonderful, open-minded brothers and sisters, of course) call us Northern Colombia! AND WE LEGALIZED MARIJUANA TOO!" Tofino, British Columbia - "It's right on

Oh Canada

From the Book of Reflections author Stupnikov Alexander Yurievich

Oh, Canada - Oh, this Canada, - dreamily sang Valera, a veteran sports journalist, and poured us "five grams" of vodka infused with pine nuts. For scent. Or vice versa, from him. It depends on who you have to deal with. - On the first day, in Montreal, I asked

CANADA

From the UFO book. Sensational eyewitness accounts by Jenny Randles

CANADA UFO Situation Although UFO activity in Canada is not so high compared to the enormous number of contacts in its southern neighbor - the United States, Canada has already developed its own ufological traditions and an impressive number of registered

CANADA

From the book Six Systems of Indian Philosophy the author Muller Max

CANADA Although Nyaya and Vaiseshika are often considered related systems, we, having considered the philosophy of Gotama, must, for the sake of completeness, give at least a general outline of the Canadian system. There is not much originality in this system and, apparently, it even involves getting to know others.

English history from 1 to 445 AD. e. England as a Roman colony

From the book New Chronology and the Concept of the Ancient History of Russia, England and Rome author

English history from 1 to 445 AD. e. England as a Roman colony Period from 60 B.C. e. before the beginning of e. (see Fig. 8) - this is the era of the conquest of England by the Roman troops of Julius Caesar. The period from the 1st century AD. e. until 445 CE e. considered the era of the Roman occupation of England. In England, as in

2.2. English history allegedly from 1 to 445 AD. e England as a Roman colony

From the book Book 2. The Secret of Russian History [New Chronology of Russia. Tatar and Arabic languages ​​in Russia. Yaroslavl as Veliky Novgorod. ancient english history author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich

2.2. English history allegedly from 1 to 445 AD. e England as a Roman colony The period from allegedly 60 BC. e. - until the first years of A.D. e. is considered the AGE of the CONQUEST of England, begun by the Roman troops of Julius Caesar, fig. 3.3. Period allegedly from the 1st century AD. e. until 445 CE e. counts

Chapter 6 French Canada, or How to Lose a Colony

From the book England and France: we love to hate each other by Clark Stefan

CHAPTER 6 French Canada, or How to Lose a Colony The French Kings Let the Britons Steal Half a Continent The French see their Canadian brethren as a bizarre reminder of the past. Quebecers speak with an accent that most French find

Afterword THOMAS CARLYLE AND HIS WORK "THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. HISTORY"

From the book French Revolution, Guillotine by Carlyle Thomas

Chapter 2 French colony in Moscow

From the author's book

Chapter 2 The French colony in Moscow We will look here only for a monument of his gratitude to the hospitable city, which became his second home. J. Lecointe de Laveau. Moscow travel guide. 1824. The French colony in Moscow was formed rather late

French colony under pressure (1805–1812)

From the author's book

French colony under pressure (1805–1812) After initial optimism, there is always a time for disappointment. In 1805, France and Russia broke off diplomatic relations; Russia joined the Third Coalition together with England, Austria, Sweden and Naples. Defeat

Red colony (colony of Schaefer and Burch)

From the book Historical districts of St. Petersburg from A to Z author Glezerov Sergey Evgenievich

The Red Colony (the colony of Schaeferov and Birches) More than a hundred years, before the Great Patriotic War, on the lands between Avtovo and Dachny there was an extensive settlement of German colonists - the Red Colony. The name comes from the river Krasnenkaya, flowing nearby. How

G.V. Plekhanov French Dramatic Literature and French Painting of the 18th Century from the Point of View of Sociology

From the book Theory of Literature. History of Russian and foreign literary criticism [Anthology] author Khryashcheva Nina Petrovna

G.V. Plekhanov French dramatic literature and French painting of the 18th century from the point of view of sociology

Canada... A vast country stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, multicultural, developed and wealthy, a desirable destination for millions of immigrants from all over the world.
The history of this country began with its discovery by the French navigator Jacques Cartier back in 1534. He also gave the name to the future new power, asking the local Iroquois Indians what their land was called, while waving his hand in the direction of their settlement. "Kanata" - "village" - the harsh, laconic inhabitants of the forests answered briefly. That's what they decided on. Since then, Canada has been inextricably linked with France, its language and culture.

Already in 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded St. Lawrence, the city of Quebec, which became the capital of New France, as Canada was then officially called. A little later, in 1611, the French founded the Mont Royal fur trade post, now known as Montreal, the second French-speaking city in the world after Paris.
The French thoroughly settled down on new lands - the city of Quebec was surrounded by a stone fortress wall (the only case in North America), stone houses, warehouses, piers in the port were built, the streets were paved with cobblestones, like somewhere in Brittany or Normandy, fields were cultivated around the city and farms appeared.

The attitude of the French towards the Indians was different from that of the British colonists who lived further south. The French did not consider the natives to be second-class people. French merchants and voyager hunters willingly married Indian squaws, and new relatives helped the colonists, serving as guides to the most remote points of the new lands.

It was thanks to this wise policy that the French founded a number of cities - Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis and others; descended the Mississippi, founding the new colony of Louisiana and its capital, New Orleans. The territory of New France stretched from the Appalachians to the Rocky Mountains and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

The British at that time owned only a relatively narrow coastal strip near the Atlantic. If the king of France paid more attention to Canada, who knows, French might have been the official language of the United States now. But the king was more interested in rum and sugar from Martinique, and he preferred Canadian furs to new lands in Canada. Voltaire contemptuously called Canada "a few arpans of snow."

The colony was left to itself. Strongly losing to the British in numbers, the French colonists nevertheless very successfully resisted the expansion of the "red coats". Here the French were again greatly helped by their Indian allies - the Hurons and Algonquins.

Small mobile detachments of Indians and French were effective against a well-trained and well-trained British army, ill-suited to action in the forest.

The French were loyal to the end to their Indian allies. They rejected the proposal of an alliance with the mighty "Union of the Five Tribes" of the Iroquois, one of the conditions of which was the refusal of cooperation between the French and the Hurons. The Iroquois then said that America would have been theirs and the French, if not for the Hurons. Nevertheless, the Hurons as a people survived only because they remained under the protection of the allied obligations of the French and the guns of Quebec.

But British influence grew in the colonies every year. In 1759, the British stormed Quebec, Montreal fell a year later. In 1763, New France was ceded to the British. The British evicted some of the French colonists from Acadia to Louisiana. This is how Cajuns, Cajun spicy cuisine and incendiary music appeared. When English-speaking residents of Louisiana asked the newcomers where they were from, they answered in French "Acadien" - "Acadian", a resident of Acadia. The British thought they were saying "A cajun" - Cajun. This is the etymology of this word.
After the fall of New France in 1763, the Indians - allies of the French, dissatisfied with the tough policy of the British, rose up in arms against the hated power of the British Crown. The rebels were led by the leader of the Ottawa tribe, Pontiac.

He addressed the representatives of the rebellious tribes with a speech: "Brothers, it is important for us to completely destroy on our land the nation that came to destroy us. You, like me, see that we can no longer count on the help and support of our brothers - French. Therefore, we ourselves must destroy the enemy immediately. There are few of them, we are many ... ". It is amazing that this speech was delivered in French, and even more amazing is the devotion of these people to their defeated allies. The Indians remember the help and nobility of friends, do not forgive lies and betrayal of enemies.

The uprising continued until 1766, when the English General Amherst decided to distribute blankets infected with smallpox to the rebels - which is not a biological weapon.

Part of the rebels withdrew with weapons in their hands beyond the Mississippi and into Louisiana. In 1766, the British signed peace with Pontiac.

French Canadians have managed to preserve their language and culture. The province of Quebec - the historical heart of Canada - is now the most developed and richest province in the country. Life here is more like life in Europe than in America. French is the state language and has equal rights with English throughout the country. And proudly sound the words of the anthem of Canada, written by the inhabitants of Quebec Lavalle and Routier in 1880: "O Canada! Terre de nos aieux ..." - "O Canada! The land of our ancestors ..."

Read also...

• Profession of a person who raises animals
• Who grows vegetables: profession
• What to give your wife for the New Year?
• The origin and nature of the name Ulyana