Timeline
By: Harsheen

1854
RECIPROCITY TREATY IS SIGNED
- between Britain and the United States
- allowed free trade between countries
- no taxes included between these two

1862
BRITAIN SENDS 10 000 TROOPS
- sent to British North America
- this is during the American Civil War

September,1864
THE CHARLOTTETOWN CONFERENCE
- representatives from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick
- to discuss a Maritime Union
- first of three sets of meetings

October,1864
THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE
- representatives from Canada West, Canada East and the Atlantic Colonies
- to discuss and debate the needs and wants of the colonies
- only the province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia agreed to join confederation
- Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland were not convinced

June,1866
THE FENIANS INVADE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA
- the Fenians were members of a movement
- 1 000 heavily armed Fenians crossed the Niagara River from Buffalo, New York
- they were led by John O'Neil a former US Calvary officer
- British North America was unprepared for combat, only half their troops had practiced firing their rifles with live amunition

December,1866 - March,1867
THE LONDON CONFERENCE
- fathers of confederation traveled to England to write the British North America Act
- the act officially ended their status as individual British Colonies
- the colonies would be united by an act of the British Parliament

May 12,1870
THE MANITOBA ACT
- the act officially created Manitoba as a province
- it made sure the Metis' religious and language rights were guaranteed
- the Metis and French Canadians were pleased by Prime Minister MacDonalds decision

1872
THE DOMINION LANDS ACT
- this gave away land to farmers in the Northwest
- this applied to farmers who cleared between 15-50 acres of land
- farmers had to have planted crops and homes built within three years of settlement

May,1873
THE NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE ARRIVE
- they maintained law and order in the area
- ensured that First Nations complied with the regulations

1876
THE INDIAN ACT PASSES
- set of regulations that controlled First Nations
- the Metis and Inuit were not included in this act

1881
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY
- the railway travelled through the Northwest
- the government recruited people from China to build the railway
- Chinese workers received $1 per day, while white workers got $1.50 - $2.50 per day
- one Chinese worker died for every mile of the railway

1883
CANADIAN GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHES RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS
- designed to assimilate and educate First Nations children
- children as young as four, were taken from their homes and forced to live in schools away from their families
- they were forced to learn and speak English or French
- were forbidden from practicing their own cultural and spiritual traditions
- most schools were located in Western Canada or Northern Ontario

November 16,1885
RIEL WAS EXECUTED
- the jury found Riel guilty of treason, but recommended mercy
- French Catholic Canada found Riel as a heroic defender of French and Catholic rights
- if Prime Minister MacDonald freed Riel, he would offend English Canada, if he punished Riel harshly, he would lose Quebec's support
- in the end, MacDonald decided to hand Riel

1890
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACT
- it cancelled funding for Catholic schools
- it also eliminated French as an official language in the province
- Prime Minister MacDonald refused to get involved, thinking that if he did it would strengthen the province's resistance to federal control

1892
LAWS FOR CHILDREN
- people began to see childhood as a time for education and play
- laws were passed that prevented children from working
- child labor was discouraged
- children were banned from entering saloons, pool rooms and dance halls
- they were no longer allowed to beg or perform on the street
- separate courts were created for children up to 16, who had been accused of crime

June 22, 1897
QUEEN VICTORIA'S DIAMOND JUBILEE
- this occasion was an observance of the Queen's 60th anniversary on the throne
- it was also an opportunity for all of the British Colonies to show their allegiance to the British Empire
- the Queen's diamond jubilee was celebrated with parades, speeches, receptions all across Canada
- the diamond jubilee brought Canadians from diverse backgrounds together
- children also participated in these celebrations

1899
THE LONDON STREETCAR STRIKE
- streetcar workers in London, Ontario, walked off the job
- 79 strikers refused to work
- the strikers' goal was to make their American employer, Henry Everett, raise their wages and reduce their hours
- Everett refused and locked the employees out. Then replaced them with new, non-unionized employees
- these new employees were known as Strikebreakers
- This strike went on for a long time

1906
IMMIGRATION ACT
- a more restrictive immigration policy
- this act didn't restrict immigrants based on their culture, ethnicity, or nationality
- the government would be allowed to prohibit any class of immigrants when necessary

1908 - 1910
CANADA ESTABLISHES A NAVY
- Canada was called upon to show its loyalty to the British Empire again
- Canada was asked to contribute money to build up its Navy
- French Canadians opposed this policy, so Laurier proposed that Canada would build a small navy of its own instead
- Laurier introduced the Navel Service Bill in Parliament on January 12, 1910

July 28,1914 - November 11,1918
FIRST WORLD WAR (WW1)
- WW1 was the most brutal conflict in Canadian history
- Nearly 61,000 Canadians died
- the Canadian Parliament didn't choose to go to war, it was because of the British Empire
- there was a fund called The Canadian Patriotic Fund, which collected money to support the families of the soldiers