Chapter 10: Expanding Confederation Topic 1: British Columbia Joins Confederation

Chapter Focus: What factors led British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and then Newfoundland to become provinces of Canada, and what were the consequences? Historical Perspective: History is a record of what occurred in the past. Without history, we do not know how things came to be as they are today. All events have their roots in the past. History helps us to understand why things are the way they are. This is called a historical perspective.

British Columbia Joins Confederation Focus: What factors led to British Columbia joining Confederation? After 1867. many newcomers came to Canada to settle in the vast prairies of the North-West Territories due to its rich farmland. British Columbia appeared to be all rock and mountain. Farming appeared to only be possible in the mountain valleys and river deltas. What actually attracted people to British Columbia was gold!

A Gold Colony The fur trade attracted many people to the Pacific coast. The number of explorers and traders was small, compared to the First Nations people who lived in the area. They lived mainly around the coast and parts of the interior. In 1849, there is only a small British colony on Vancouver Island called Fort Victoria.

A Gold Colony In 1850s, the First Nations people who lived along the Fraser River had been mining in the area for hundreds of years. When the HBC set up in this area, the First Nations people began bringing their gold to trade. Rumours started that there was gold in the mountains. Before long, prospectors (A person who searches for precious metals) in search of gold stamped into the region. This was the beginning of the gold rush.

A Gold Colony In 1858, about 25 000 prospectors came into the region of the Fraser River. Vancouver Island initially was a colony and the interior was British territory. The governor was James Douglas. He grew alarmed as thousands of miners – mostly Americans – flooded into the area. The California gold rush had created lawlessness and Douglas did not want to same thing to happen in his region. He began issuing licences to the miners. Then, in order to maintain peace, he created a police force and magistrates (judges) to enforce the law.

A Gold Colony The First Nations people who lived along the Fraser River (Sto:lo and Nlaka’pamux) relied on the salmon in the region for their livelihood. The miners searched the river all day long for gold. This scared the fish away. In August 1858, the First Nations blocked the river to keep miners out. The standoff turned violent and many people were killed. The two sides were close to war before Douglas and a band of soldiers arrived to restore peace. They assured the First Nations people that they would be protected from the miners.

A Gold Colony To bring law and order to the region, Britain created the colony of British Columbia in 1858. Fort Victoria was to remain an administrative centre. Douglas was appointed governor of both colonies. The two colonies had a population of about 50 000, including First Nations.

The Road to Gold The prospectors began to move farther north. They began looking for the main source of gold from the river. They finally discovered more gold along the Quesnel River in the Cariboo mountains. It was hard to get supplies to these remote mining camps. The Fraser River was too rough to travel by boat. Douglas decided to build a wagon road. The Cariboo Road was finished in 1865 and cost more than a million dollars to complete. Over time, about 100000 miners would venture into this region. The boomtown of Barkerville would be the largest city outside of San Fransico and Chicago.

A New Beginning The gold rush only lasted until 1868. This was because Barkerville burned to the ground. During the gold rush, Victoria became a booming centre and many newcomers stayed. They built farms, businesses. The business of the gold rush brought with it a prosperous Pacific coast. Logging became an important industry in British Columbia. The Cariboo Road marked the beginning of a whole network of roads.

First Nations in British Columbia The First Nations in this region hunted sea mammals, gathered shellfish and fished the mountain coast. The Pacific Coast has a lush and temperate rainforest. The First Nations relied on it as a dependable source of food. They also had a developed trade system. In 1850 and 1854 Governor Douglas bought 14 parcels of land on Vancouver Island from the First Nations. These became known as the Douglas Treaties. Douglas set up small reserves where the First Nations people could live.

First Nations in British Columbia The Douglas Treaties recognized the First Nations’ peoples right to hunt and fish on unoccupied territory. In return, the people agreed to move off their traditional lands. These were the only land deals between the British and the First Nations in British Columbia for many decades. To this day, most First Nations have not signed treaties. They have not received any compensation for land taken from them.

First Nations in British Columbia Sometimes the First Nations tried to fight back. In 1864, a road crew was building a road through Tsihqot’in lands without permission. The work was scaring off animals and fish. In addition, some of the workers were raiding villages and looting graves. In response, some of the First Nations fought back, killing some of the members of the road crew. The British sent soldiers to end the conflict. They arrested some Tsihqot’in men and charged them with murder. The men were found guilty despite the fact the judge agreed the crew provoked them. The next year, a law was passed stating it was illegal to steal from First Nation graves.

One Colony on the Pacific On the Pacific Coast , first furs, and then gold added to Britain’s wealth. Britain valued its two Pacific colonies for their location. They provided a base for the British fleet on the Pacific coast. In return, Britain paid for the colonies defence and government. As the gold rush wound down, the colonies almost went bankrupt. The gold was nearly gone and the fur was in the decline. In 1866, Britain decided to unite the two colonies. Now there was just one colony called British Columbia.

One Colony on the Pacific The colonies were unhappy with Britain because they were deeply in debt. It had spent most of its money building the Cariboo Road and other roads and providing public support. The government did not have enough money to meet its needs. Things were changing outside the colony. East of the Rockies, Canada was expanding across the prairies. The United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. The state of Washington was filling up with homesteaders.

One Colony on the Pacific The British Columbians felt the time had come for change. They had three choices: To remain a British colony. To become a province of Canada To join the United States.

Confederation Achieved In 1870, three delegates from British Columbia travelled to Ottawa. They wanted to talk about joining Canada. They were determined to drive a hard bargain. If they were to join, they wanted several things: They wanted Canada to pay the colony’s debts. They wanted a road to be built across the prairies to the Pacific. It would link British Columbia with the rest of Canada. They wanted Canada to make payments to the new province every year. Canada agreed. They offered to build the railway, and they promised to finish it within 10 years.

The Growth of Vancouver Vancouver began as a tiny sawmill village called Granville. People also knew it as Gastown. The nickname came from a saloon keeper known as “Gassy Jack” Deighton. Life in Granville became very busy after the village became the western end of the railway line. April 1886, the town became the city of Vancouver. It was named after an important British explorer George Vancouver. The CPR brought many families and industries into the region.