|
-
Important Historical Dates in the
forming of Canada as a nation:
1534-- Jacques Cartier
claimed the St. Lawrence basin for France, and settlements were established
at Quebec and Montreal. The area was called New France.
1670 -- Charles II
of England established HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
In
the battle of Quebec in 1759, British troops defeated the French forces
at Quebec City. The British approached Quebec from St. Lawrence River,
above. Their victory enabled Great Britain to take over France's
empire in Canada at the end of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) (World
Book 118).
1759-- the battle of Quebec
1867--Canada become a confederation of
former colonies (The British North America Act)
1914 - 1918 More than 600,000 Canadians
served in World War I.
1939 - 1945 More than a million Canadian
served in World War II.
1947-- the creation of the status of Canadian
citizen
1952-- the change in the royal title designating
the sovereign as King of Canada
1957-- the appointment of Vincent Massey
as the first Canadian governor.
1967-- expo '67 in Montreal
1982-- The Constitution Act ended British
control over amendments to Canada's Constitution.
1988-- Canadian Multiculturalism Act
The Constitution Act, signed by Queen Elizabeth
II on April 17, 1982, above, gave Canada the sole power to amend its Constitution.
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre E. Trudeau looked on. (World
Book 122f)
-
Canada--its name and history before WW II
The evolution of CANADA as a political entity began with the arrival of
French and English colonists at the beginning of the 17th century,
and the establishment of the HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY in 1670.
The name Canada derives from the Huron-Iroquois kanata, meaning
a village or settlement.
In 1867 the BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT united the Province of Canada
(divided into Ontario and Quebec) with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
to form "One Dominion under the name of Canada."
1867 -- 1919
"the formative period for the transcontinental nation-state and its
maturing economy. A dependent colonial existence gave way to a semiautonomous
nationhood rooted in dynamic growth at home and then manifested in impressive
wartime achievements. Yet the rapid growth also brought urban slums, rising
labour discontent and social disharmony, as well as an acceleration of
linguistic, ethnic and religious divisions. And the military glory of WWI
came at a heavy price in blood and national division. . . .
The Interwar Years
Canada's population between the world wars rose from 8 to 11 million;
the urban population increased at a more rapid rate from 4 to 6 million.
WWI
created expectations for a brave new Canada, but peace brought disillusionment
and social unrest. Enlistment in the ARMED FORCES and the expansion
of the munitions industry had created a manpower shortage during the war,
which in turn had facilitated collective bargaining by industrial workers.
There had been no dearth of grievances about wages or working conditions,
but the demands of patriotism had usually restrained the militant. Trade-union
membership grew from a low of 143 000 in 1915 to a high of 379 000 in 1919,
and with the end of the war the demands for social justice were no longer
held in check. Even unorganized workers expected peace to bring them substantial
economic benefits." (from History
of Canada in About Canada)
The forming of national consciousness
during & after World War II
-
social system nationalized
1947 -- Canadian citizenship became formally recognised in law
By 1959-- several new social welfare programmes were in
place (Unemployment Insurance in 1940; Family Allowance in 1945);
the 1960's -- a distinctive medicare system.
-
language, emblem and Constitution
1969--Official Languages Act
1965-- the new national flag
1982--Trudeau 'repatriating' the Constitution in 1982.
The Constitution Act was proclaimed, removing the last remnant of British
government authority over Canadian law. But the new Act was not without
problems.
Fragmenting National Identity
Quebec
Causes for independence movement: Quebec's financial woes after
the English conquest and cultural isolation/distinctness. (Theory
of triple colonization.)
By the time of the English conquest of Quebec in 1760, the French-speaking
population of Quebec had risen to 65,000. After the conquest English
and Scottish merchants moved north to make Montreal a cosmopolitan town
and to take over the fur trade established by the French, expanding
it westward until it reached the Pacific.
Donald Creighton--Dominion of the North (1944)
In this study he espoused what has become known as the 'Laurentian
thesis,' an economic history of metropolis and hinterland; by the terms
of this study, Montreal was the metropolis (or 'center') of Canada as long
as it controlled the fur trade. But when Toronto established itself
further upstream, it cut the hinterland off from Montreal, usurping its
role and becoming the new national metropolis.
魁北克簡史年表
-
一六○八年:法國人在魁北克建立北美洲第一個永久社區。
-
一七六三年:英國依據巴黎條約接管新法蘭西。
-
一七七四年:英國為了勸誘法語區不要加入美國獨立革命,賦與英屬法語區若干民政權及宗教權。
-
一七九一年,加拿大分成上加拿大及下加拿大(Upper Canada and Lower Canada),這兩個英屬殖民地擁有無實權的民選會議。
-
一八三七至一八三八年:法語居民發起一連串起義行動,計劃成立美利堅法蘭西共和國。
-
一八三九年:英國推動大規模英籍移民遷入加拿大,以同化法語居民。
-
一八四○年:境內百分之六十為法語人口,但加拿大聯邦以英語為唯一官方語言。
-
一八六七年:英國政府認可不列顛北美法案 (The British
North America Act) ,成立加拿大聯邦,由四省組成,魁省人口佔全境三分之一。
-
一九一八年:法語居民反對被英軍徵兵,魁北克發生數起流血暴動。
-
一九四八年:魁北克制定省旗。
-
一九六○年:魁北克省政府進行「無聲革命」(Quiet
Revolution),接管許多教育及社會政策,結束天主教會掌控局面。
-
一九六七年:法國總統戴高樂在蒙特婁演說,高呼「魁北克自由萬歲」,成為魁省獨派人士的精神口號。
-
一九六八年:魁北克黨成立,以爭取魁北克脫離加拿大而獨立為職志。
-
一九七○年:爆發「十月危機」(October Crisis),「魁北克解放陣線」策動一連串恐怖事件,出身魁北克的杜魯道(Trudeau)總理派軍鎮壓,數百名同情民族主義人士被捕。
-
一九七四年:魁北克通過法文為官方語言。
-
一九七六年:魁北克黨在選舉中大勝,首度執政,由勒維克出任魁省省長。
-
一九七七年︰178 Act強制境內商業招牌一律使用法文。
-
一九八○年:勒維克提出「主權聯繫」計畫,主張魁北克為獨立國家,但仍與加拿大維持密切關係,魁北克針對此計畫舉行公投(referendum),反對者以百分之五十九得票率獲勝。
-
一九八二年:加拿大修訂新憲法,通過權利憲章,獲得魁省外所有省份同意。
-
一九九○年:承認魁北克為「明顯不同的社會」(Distinct Society)的米奇湖協定(Meech
Lake Accord)失敗,二英語省份未批准這項協定。
-
-
一九九二年:加拿大舉行全國公投,絕大多數人反對修憲,英語系選民的理由是讓步太多,法語系選民的理由是該憲政改革仍嫌太少。
-
一九九四年:魁北克黨由黨魁巴希佐(Premier Parizeau)領導,在睽違九年後,重新入主魁省執政。
(中國時報國際新聞中心李根芳譯; 1995/10/31︰ 10)
Premier Parizeau released the referendum question on September 7 1993.
It asks:
Do you agree that Quebec should beome sovereign, after having
made a formal offer to Canada for a neweconomic and political partnership,
within the scope of the Bill respecting the future of Quebec and the agreement
signed on June 12, 1995.
Referendum results in 1993;
1995 |
Relationships between the U.S. and
Canada
the U.S.--by the mid-1950's, 60% of all Canadian exports went to the U.S.
and 70% of Canadian imports came from the U.S.
-
Free Trade agreement: In 1988 Mulroney and Reagan signed
a free-trade agreement. The benefits of "free trade"
were undone by an overvalued Canadian dollar, corporate restructuring,
a new goods and services tax, and a severe recession that led to a decline
in domestic manufacturing and an enormous loss of jobs. Bumperstickers
read, "Free Canada, Trade Mulroney" (The "Canadian
History" page).
Immigration and Multiculturalism
Act
-
increasing immigration
Two world wars and the Depression of the 1930s
slowed down the pace of immigration, which did not begin to pick up until
1946.
the postwar new-comers were at first mainly British,
with Dutch and German
quickly gathering numbers;
in the 1960s -- Mediterranean
peoples, notably Italians, Greeks and Portuguese,
in the 1970s -- a steadily growing number
of Asians--from India and China via Hong Kong
especially and of people of ultimately African origin
via the Caribbean.
New immigration legislation in the 1970s opened the borders to larger
numbers of Asian immigrants...
-
The 1981 census was ...the first to allow respondents to declare
their maternal as well as their paternal heritage, which provides a limited
opportunity to reveal more than one ethnic background.
-
Multiculturalism Act (1988)
On 12 July 1988, the House of Commons passed Bill C-93, 'An Act for the
perservation and enhancement of multiculturalism in Canada.'
(See the complete text of this Act in Hutcheon
368-73) |