1850-1890 Industrializing Canada
Thesis
Industrializing Canada led to economic developments in Canada. This era 1850- 1890 shows the second half of the 19th century. This period covers the effort of the young nation which consolidated its economy and created a very good foundation for the upcoming of other institutions that led to the great development that the Canadians are experiencing now in this 21st century.
Canadian economy relied on agriculture more in this era than ever before, the agricultural products which mainly included white and timber were exported, this development in agriculture led to development in the economy of Canada.
During this period the Canadian government decided to protect the domestic market through imposing heavy tariffs.
During this era there was also a great development in infrastructure since it is during this period that the Canadian government constructed the first inter-colonial railway. It was also during this period that the Canadian government constructed the Canadian northern railway which was an intercontinental line thus boosted the Canada railway mileage. This development in the infrastructure boosted agriculture in Canada and it also opened the economy of Canada.
During this period around 1890 there were expansion of manufacturing industries producing iron, steels products and even paper (Clement, 2007). This development in manufacturing industries opened various towns in Canada leading to urbanization.
During this period most of the towns emerged this was due to increased settlements around places where there were industries and around institutions.
During this period there was industrial revolution which led to the introduction of the factory system in Canada. This led to the production of more of these products which were then exported to other industries hence leading to increased international trade.
This era also led to increased employment opportunity this is due to the development of the manufacturing industries and the institutions which were around (Francis et al, 2009).
The consequences
It led to the development in the agricultural sector in Canada. This was evidenced by the increased production of wheat in Canada. Wheat became one of the main exports in Canada and Canada really benefitted from its production especially when the prices of wheat went high.
It also led to the development of manufacturing industries in Canada, these industries were producing materials which were mainly used in the agricultural sector (Harris, 2003). These industries grew and created many employment opportunity for most of the people in Canada.
It also led to the increased settlement in Canada this was due to the improvement in agriculture for most people come to Canada to seek for jobs and eventually became permanent settlers.
It also led to the coming up of major towns in Canada especially places near the manufacturing industries.
It also led to the development of infrastructure especially the transportation system, it was during this period that major railway lines were made, and this improvement in the infrastructure opened Canada for easy trade.
It also led to increased trade between Canada and other countries since Canada was in a position to export and import goods more easily (Russell, 2012).
Conclusion
In conclusion industrialization of Canada during the period of 1850 was a very vital period since it led to most development which boosted the economy making Canada one of the developed countries in the 21st century. The foundation that it laid then has greatly improved the economy of Canada.
References
Clement, W. (2007). Understanding Canada: Building on the new Canadian political economy. Montreal [u.a.: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press.
Russell, P. A. (2012). How agriculture made Canada: Farming in the nineteenth century. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Francis, R. D., Jones, R., & Smith, D. B. (2009). Journeys: A history of Canada. Toronto: Nelson Education
Harris, R. C. (2003). Historical atlas of Canada: 2. Toronto u.a: Univ. of Toronto Press.
