1840-1896

The Formation of the Canadian Federal System

Student Site Sections 

Browse the various sections that are available below.  Designed to combine related program together in a logical way, these sections are structured around a few learning intentions, as well as suggested essential questions.

Act of Union

Original student texts, materials and student activities considering guiding questions like "Is historical change caused more by individuals or the conditions of society at the time?"  You will learn about the roles of the Legislative assembly, the Governor, Executive and Legislative councils, the main aspects of Lord Durham’s report,  how to put the territory of the Province of Canada on a Map, and the changes and continuities made by the Act of Union.  Go to page ➦

Responsible Government

Original student texts, materials and student activities considering guiding questions like "Is historical change caused more by individuals or the conditions of society at the time?"  You will learn about the change in economic policy of the British Government, the alliance of Reformers in the Province of Canada, and the development of Responsible government in United Canada.  Go to page ➦

Irish Immigration

Original student texts, materials and student activities considering guiding questions like "Why do people migrate?"  or "What forces drive human migration?"   You will learn about the causes and consequences of the migration of the Irish, and how to map and indicate related patterns of migration.  Go to page ➦

French Canadian Migration

Original student texts, materials and student activities considering guiding questions like "Why do people migrate? or What forces drive human migration?  You will learn about the demographic situation in Lower Canada, and the causes and consequences of the emigration of the French Canadians.  Go to page ➦

The Role of the Catholic Church

Student tasks and accompanying historical document collections that help students consider essential questions like "Is historical change caused more by individuals or the conditions of society at the time?"  You will learn about the characteristics of Ultramontanism, the characteristics of Anticlerical Liberalism, and the characteristics of Survival Nationalism.  Go to page ➦

Industrialization - Capitalism and Changes

Student tasks and accompanying historical document collections that help students consider essential questions like "Did the lives of people in the 19th Century get better or worse?"  You will learn about industrial development, the characteristics of capitalism and how it contributed to industrialization, factors that contributed to industrialization, and the changes that occurred during and after the industrial revolution.  Go to page ➦

Changes in Timber, Farm and Dairy Industries

Student tasks and accompanying historical document collections that help students consider essential questions like "How did Industrialization change society?"  You will learn about how industrialization changed the timber industry, the main areas of the timber industry on a map, how industrialization changed the farming industry, and the impacts of industrialization and urbanization on the dairy industry?  Go to page ➦

Causes of Confederation

Student tasks and accompanying historical document collections that help students consider essential questions like "Is historical change caused more by individuals or the conditions of society at the time?"   You will learn about ministerial instability and the causes of Confederation. Go to page ➦

British North America - Conferences & Debates

Student tasks and accompanying historical document collections that can be used to help students consider essential questions like "Is historical change caused more by individuals or the conditions of society at the time?" You will learn about the Charlottetown Conference, the purpose and outcome of the Quebec Conference, and the positions both for and against Confederation.  Go to page ➦

British North America Act - Situating new provinces, and division of powers

Curated historical documents that can be used to help students consider essential questions like "How should history remember John A. Macdonald?"   You will learn how to situate the provinces and the chronology of confederation on a map, and how to describe the division of powers in the BNA Act.  Go to page ➦

Red River and Northwest Rebellions

Curated historical documents that can be used to help students consider essential questions like "What happens when cultures collide?"  You will learn about the causes and consequences of the settlement of Red River, the main points of the Indian Act, the consequences of the National Policy on the Metis, and the relationship between the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples in the 1880s. Go to page ➦

Women in Victorian Canada

Curated historical documents that can be used to help students consider essential questions like "Is women’s history separate from Canadian history?"  Learning intentions covered relate to the legal status of women in the 19th century, and why women began to organize and the impact of English-speaking women’s organizations in Quebec.  Go to page ➦

National Policy

Curated historical documents that can be used to help students consider essential questions like "Why is the pacific scandal historically significant?"  You will learn about  factors that contribute to migration, the measures taken by the Canadian government regarding immigration, the economic situation in the 1870s, the relationship between business and government, and how to explain the solution of the Canadian government to the economic situation.  Page, tasks and document collection under construction here

Timeline of key events for the period

We are in the process of translating several timelines constructed by our RECIT partners that are available on their  Histoire du QUÉBEC et du CANADA site.  What has already been translated is available below.  You can also view it in a separate window here.