Article
Special Council of Lower Canada (1838–1841)
Between 1838 and 1841, Lower Canada was governed by an “authoritarian” political body known as the Special Council.
Enter your search term
Signing up enhances your TCE experience with the ability to save items to your personal reading list, and access the interactive map.
Create AccountArticle
Between 1838 and 1841, Lower Canada was governed by an “authoritarian” political body known as the Special Council.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/9b102db4-f93d-44c3-a26e-d61b3ea11b50.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/9b102db4-f93d-44c3-a26e-d61b3ea11b50.jpg
Article
The SS Queen Victoria played host to crucial discussions about Confederation in Charlottetown harbour in 1864. Two years later, the ship was lost in a hurricane off Cape Hatteras. The wreckage has never been found.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/7c6fd58d-8f6a-4557-baf5-d9d38ea623ff.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/7c6fd58d-8f6a-4557-baf5-d9d38ea623ff.jpg
Article
In the third year of the American Civil War, around 20 Confederate agents raided the town of St. Albans, Vermont. The raid was planned by Confederate spymasters based in St. Catharines and Montreal. On 19 October 1864, the men robbed the town’s three banks and killed a man, before crossing the border into Canada. Fourteen of the raiders were soon arrested. They were brought to trial three times and released each time by Canadian judges. The raid and court decisions worsened relations between Canada and the US, which were already strained.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Capt-Young.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/Capt-Young.jpg
Article
On 13 May 1861, 2,000 protesters gathered outside the Colonial Building in St. John’s, Newfoundland. They objected to actions taken by the colony’s governor, Sir Alexander Bannerman, during the recent, highly contentious election; he had defied responsible government and install a new, Conservative government. The protest turned into a riot that damaged property and resulted in the deaths of three people. It took months to settle the political stalemate. The Conservatives won by-elections in disputed ridings and remained in power. The riot led to new laws that protected polling stations, saw police officers keep the peace instead of soldiers, and discouraged events and practices that could lead to violence.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/StJohnsRiots/Stamp_Newfoundland_1928_20c_Colonial_Building.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/StJohnsRiots/Stamp_Newfoundland_1928_20c_Colonial_Building.jpg
Article
The St. Joseph’s Island Treaty of 1798 (also known as Treaty 11 in the Upper Canada numbering system) was an early land agreement between First Nations and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It was one of a series of Upper Canada Land Surrenders. The St. Joseph’s Island Treaty encompassed all of St. Joseph’s Island, known as Payentanassin in Anishinaabemowin and today called St. Joseph Island. The 370 km2 island is situated at the northern end of Lake Huron, in the channel between Lakes Huron and Superior. The British needed a post in the area to protect their interests and maintain contact with Indigenous peoples of the region. The British also realized they would have to evacuate their post at Michilimackinac under the terms of Jay’s Treaty and needed an alternative location.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/StJosephIslandTreaty/StJosephIslandTreaty1.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/StJosephIslandTreaty/StJosephIslandTreaty1.jpg
Article
The first European expeditions that came to Canada to explore and trade for furs did not include women.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/be832524-f521-4200-b242-3c702ae0f3c4.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/be832524-f521-4200-b242-3c702ae0f3c4.jpg
Article
The Statute of Westminster is a British law that was passed on 11 December 1931. It was Canada’s all-but-final achievement of independence from Britain. It enacted recommendations from the Balfour Report of 1926, which had declared that Britain and its Dominions were constitutionally “equal in status.” The Statute of Westminster gave Canada and the other Commonwealth Dominions legislative equality with Britain. They now had full legal freedom except in areas of their choosing. The Statute also clarified the powers of Canada’s Parliament and those of the other Dominions. (See also Editorial: The Statute of Westminster, Canada’s Declaration of Independence.)
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/fb8b6e92-b549-4842-8b58-76626f1e9087.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/fb8b6e92-b549-4842-8b58-76626f1e9087.jpg
Article
Statute of Westminster, 1931: DocumentSelected text of the Statute of Westminster:An Act to give effect to certain resolutions passed by Imperial Conferences held in the years 1926 and 1930 Whereas the delegates to His Majesty's Governments in the United Kingdom, the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland, at Imperial Conferences holden at Westminster in the years of our...
"https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9
Editorial
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. In the fall of 1929, Canada’s Minister of Justice, Ernest Lapointe, travelled to England. He took with him Dr. Oscar Skelton — the “elder statesman” of the Canadian civil service, as William Lyon Mackenzie King once described him. When Lapointe and Skelton were done their negotiations, they had confirmed that Canada would have its independence from the British Empire.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/43cb3921-bb9b-4a07-818d-0f1dfeb80b26.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/43cb3921-bb9b-4a07-818d-0f1dfeb80b26.jpg
Article
Women’s suffrage (or franchise) is the right of women to vote in political elections; campaigns for this right generally included demand for the right to run for public office. The women’s suffrage movement was a decades-long struggle to address fundamental issues of equity and justice. Women in Canada, particularly Asian and Indigenous women, met strong resistance as they struggled for basic human rights, including suffrage. Representative of more than justice in politics, suffrage represented hopes for improvements in education, healthcare and employment as well as an end to violence against women. For non-white women, gaining the vote also meant fighting against racial injustices. (See also Women’s Suffrage Timeline.)
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/88bab6f6-366c-45d5-be02-092e23d46e97.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/88bab6f6-366c-45d5-be02-092e23d46e97.jpg
Article
In 1792, after exploratory voyages by Spaniards Manuel Quimper (1790) and Francisco de Eliza (1791), the extent of Juan de Fuca Strait remained a mystery. Some still believed the strait held the entry to the fabled Northwest Passage.
"https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9
Article
The temperance movement was an international social and political campaign of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was based on the belief that drinking was responsible for many of society’s ills. It called for moderation or total abstinence from alcohol. This led to the legal prohibition of alcohol in many parts of Canada. The Canada Temperance Act (Scott Act) of 1878 gave local governments the “local option” to ban the sale of alcohol. In 1915 and 1916, all provinces but Quebec prohibited the sale of alcohol as a patriotic measure during the First World War. Most provincial laws were repealed in the 1920s in favour of allowing governments to control alcohol sales. Temperance societies were later criticized for distorting economic activity, and for encouraging drinking and organized crime.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/c0f20001-e566-4ebf-9c88-f1a5ae278291.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/c0f20001-e566-4ebf-9c88-f1a5ae278291.jpg
Article
Airplanes became an important part of modern warfare during the First World War (1914–18). Aircraft technology developed rapidly and by war’s end, airplanes were involved in reconnaissance, artillery spotting, air-to-air combat, strafing ground targets, anti-submarine warfare, tactical and strategic bombing and home defence. More than 20,000 Canadians served in British flying services (Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force) during the war. Approximately 1,400 were killed or died from wounds or accidents. Canada did not have an air force during the First World War; a single-plane Canadian Aviation Corps was established in 1914, but never saw service and soon disbanded. Later, on 5 August 1918, two Canadian Air Force squadrons were formed in Britain, but were disbanded the next year when the British cut off funding. The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service was formed in September 1918 but lasted only three months before the war ended. Canada would not have a permanent air force until 1924 (see Royal Canadian Air Force).
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/f864cf51-65b5-4803-85a1-a7908ffdc0aa.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/f864cf51-65b5-4803-85a1-a7908ffdc0aa.jpg
Editorial
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. It is the greatest murder mystery in Canadian political history. Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Father of Confederation and outspoken opponent of the Fenians, was assassinated on an Ottawa street in the early hours of Tuesday, 7 April 1868.
"https://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/4a74eaf5-4691-4b89-9d50-e98da872ed41.jpg" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/media/4a74eaf5-4691-4b89-9d50-e98da872ed41.jpg
Editorial
The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated.
"https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9" // resources/views/front/categories/view.blade.phphttps://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg?v=e9dca980c9bdb3aa11e832e7ea94f5d9