Discover Canada VideoBook
Chapter 3: Canada’s History

Chapter Summary

This chapter begins with Indigenous peoples across Canada and explains how life changed after Europeans arrived, including the impact of European diseases and the early economic, religious, and military relationships that helped shape Canada. It introduces early European exploration, including the Vikings in Newfoundland and Labrador, John Cabot’s 1497 voyage, and Jacques Cartier’s voyages (1534–1542). Cartier heard the word kanata (“village”), and by the 1550s the name “Canada” appeared on maps.

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You’ll then learn about the founding of New France, including early settlements in Acadia (1604) and Champlain’s fortress at Québec City (1608). The chapter explains alliances and conflicts among First Nations and European powers, the fur trade, and the long struggle for control of North America. A key turning point was the British victory at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759), which marked the end of France’s empire in America. Britain renamed the colony the Province of Quebec, and the Quebec Act (1774) accommodated French Catholic rights and restored French civil law while keeping British criminal law.

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The chapter covers the American Revolution and the arrival of United Empire Loyalists (including Black Loyalists), followed by the gradual growth of democracy in British North America. It explains the Constitutional Act of 1791, which divided Upper and Lower Canada and created elected legislative assemblies. It also covers the move toward abolishing slavery, including Upper Canada’s 1793 steps toward abolition and the British Empire’s abolition of slavery in 1833, along with the Underground Railroad.

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You’ll study major conflicts and political change, especially the War of 1812 and the role of leaders such as Sir Isaac Brock, Chief Tecumseh, Laura Secord, and the Duke of Wellington’s influence on the founding of Ottawa through the Rideau Canal. The chapter also explains the rebellions of 1837–38, Lord Durham’s report, and the development of responsible government (1847–49), the system Canada still uses today.

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Finally, the chapter explains Confederation (1867) and the birth of the Dominion of Canada, including the Fathers of Confederation and Canada’s expansion across the continent. It covers Louis Riel and the Red River and Northwest resistances, the creation of the North West Mounted Police, and the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway (last spike in 1885). It also highlights Canada’s role in the First World War (including Vimy Ridge in 1917 and Remembrance Day) and the Second World War (including D-Day and Juno Beach on June 6, 1944), plus key changes such as women gaining the right to vote federally (1917–1918).