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B. Canada, 1890–1914: A Changing Society · Canada, 1890–1914: A Changing Society

Canada, 1890–1914: A Changing Society: Unit Review

B1 B2 B3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe significant events, people and developments in Canada between 1890 and 1914 and explain their impact.
  • I can compare the experiences and perspectives of different groups, including First Nations, Métis, Inuit, French Canadians, Black Canadians, newcomers, workers and women.
  • I can compare Canada in 1890–1914 with Canada today, and use the historical inquiry process.

Words to know

historical perspective
How people at the time saw events, based on who they were.
continuity and change
What stayed the same over time, and what changed.
homestead
A 160-acre quarter section of Prairie land given to a settler for a $10 fee and three years of work.
head tax
A fee charged only to Chinese immigrants, from 1885 to 1923.
treaty
A formal agreement between nations, still in effect today.
suffrage
The right to vote.
industrialization
The change to making things by machine in factories.

Let's review!

In this unit you travelled from 1890 to 1914. You studied Laurier and French-English debates over schools, war and the navy, including Regulation 17; the settlement of the West; Black Canadians such as John Ware, the homesteaders of Amber Valley and the Eldon district, and sleeping-car porters, and the 1911 effort to keep Black Americans out; the Chinese head tax, the Komagata Maru and other discriminatory policies; the Klondike and the new provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan; Treaties 8, 9 and 10 and the lives of First Nations, Métis and Inuit; the Indian Act and residential schools; industrialization; city life, work and unions; women and reform; and your own inquiry comparing then and now.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check. If a part feels tricky, go back to that lesson.

1890ManitobaSchools Act1896Laurier PM;Klondike gold1898Yukon1899Treaty 81903$500 head tax1905Alta. and Sask.1907Bryce Report1910Amber Valley1911Borden PM1912Regulation 171914Komagata Maru;war begins
The whole unit on one line (years to scale). Cover the labels and test yourself: what happened in each year?
Any eventin this unitHistorical significanceWhy does it matter?Cause and consequenceWhy? What followed?Continuity and changeSame or different now?Historical perspectiveWho saw it how?
Ask the four historical thinking questions about any event you review.

Canada in 1890: Setting the Scene

1

Name three provinces that existed in 1890 and one that did not.

2

Give one example of continuity and one of change from 1890 to today.

3

Why are some groups' voices harder to find in sources from this period?

Laurier and French-English Relations

1

What was the Laurier–Greenway Compromise?

2

Why did Henri Bourassa resign in 1899?

3

What was Regulation 17, and how did Franco-Ontarians respond?

Settling the West: Sifton and the Newcomers

1

What did the Dominion Lands Act offer settlers?

2

Name two groups of newcomers who settled on the Prairies.

3

How did settlement affect First Nations and Métis?

Black Canadians, 1890–1914: Contributions and Obstacles

1

Who was John Ware?

2

What was Order-in-Council P.C. 1911-1324?

3

Name one contribution and one obstacle of Black sleeping-car porters.

Who Was Welcome? The Head Tax, the Komagata Maru and Other Discriminatory Policies

1

How much was the Chinese head tax in 1885 and in 1903?

2

What was the continuous journey regulation?

3

What happened to the Komagata Maru in 1914?

4

When did Canada apologize for the head tax?

The Klondike Gold Rush and the New Provinces

1

Who found gold on Rabbit Creek in 1896?

2

When were the Yukon Territory and the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan created?

3

How did the gold rush affect the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in?

First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1890–1914: Treaties, Change and Resilience

1

Which treaty covers most of northern Ontario, and when was it signed?

2

Why do oral promises matter in treaties?

3

Name one way First Nations spoke out for their land rights between 1906 and 1913.

The Indian Act and Residential Schools, 1890–1914

1

What was the goal of residential schools?

2

What did Dr. Peter Bryce report in 1907, and what did the government do?

3

Give one example of resistance or resilience.

Industrialization: Railways, Resources and Factories

1

What is a branch plant? Give an example.

2

What was created in Ontario in 1906, and who led the campaign for it?

3

Why did Prairie farmers dislike tariffs?

City Life and Working Conditions

1

What share of Canadians lived in urban areas in 1911?

2

Describe two working conditions in factories around 1905.

3

Name two changes won by workers and reformers by 1914.

Women and the Reform Movements

1

What was Nellie McClung's Mock Parliament?

2

What did Adelaide Hoodless help found in 1897?

3

Which women were still left out after most women won the federal vote in 1918?

Be a Historian: Canada, 1890–1914 and Today

1

List the five steps of the historical inquiry process.

2

Why was Canada at war in August 1914?

3

Write a strong inquiry question about this unit.

Just for fun

Review riddle: I cost $10, I measure 160 acres, and you have to live on me for about three years before I'm yours. What am I?

A homestead!

How to use this review

  • Do the review in two or three short sittings. Each section matches one lesson.
  • Answer out loud first, then check. Explaining in your own words is the best test.
  • For each event, ask the four historian questions: Why significant? What caused it and what followed? What changed and what stayed the same? Whose perspective?
  • Make a timeline from 1890 to 1914 with the key events and put it on the fridge.
  • Put a star next to any question you missed, and revisit that lesson's practice.
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Who was Canada's first French-Canadian Prime Minister?

2.

What did Regulation 17 (1912) limit?

3.

How big was a homestead under the Dominion Lands Act?

4.

Where did Black homesteaders found a community in 1910, first called Pine Creek?

5.

What was the Komagata Maru?

6.

When did Alberta and Saskatchewan become provinces?

7.

Which treaty covers most of northern Ontario?

8.

What did Dr. Peter Bryce report in 1907?

9.

Which was created in 1906 to bring publicly owned power to Ontario towns?

10.

Which province was first to give women the vote, in 1916?

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit. Each review section matches one lesson.

  • Thinks Alberta or Newfoundland existed in 1890, or mixes up continuity and change: revisit Canada in 1890: Setting the Scene.
  • Mixes up the Manitoba Schools Question and Regulation 17, or can explain only one side: revisit Laurier and French-English Relations.
  • Forgets the homestead terms, calls the Prairies empty land, or forgets the preference list: revisit Settling the West: Sifton and the Newcomers.
  • Can't explain the 1911 order-in-council, or remembers only hardships (or only achievements) of Black Canadians: revisit Black Canadians, 1890–1914: Contributions and Obstacles.
  • Mixes up the head tax and the continuous journey rule, or forgets the passengers were British subjects: revisit Who Was Welcome? The Head Tax, the Komagata Maru and Other Discriminatory Policies.
  • Confuses the Yukon Territory with a province, or forgets the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in perspective: revisit The Klondike Gold Rush and the New Provinces.
  • Treats treaties as only old history, or forgets oral promises and Métis scrip: revisit First Nations, Métis and Inuit, 1890–1914: Treaties, Change and Resilience.
  • Can't explain the purpose of residential schools, or the Bryce Report: revisit The Indian Act and Residential Schools, 1890–1914.
  • Confuses tariffs and branch plants, or forgets Ontario Hydro: revisit Industrialization: Railways, Resources and Factories.
  • Thinks better working conditions just happened, or forgets who unions excluded: revisit City Life and Working Conditions.
  • Thinks all women won the vote at once, or mixes up 1914 and 1916: revisit Women and the Reform Movements.
  • Writes yes/no inquiry questions or uses only one perspective: revisit Be a Historian: Canada, 1890–1914 and Today.

Several topics in this unit are heavy: racism in immigration, residential schools and child labour. Check in with your child about how they feel, and balance the hard history with the achievements, resistance and leadership of the people involved. A few mistakes are normal; praise careful thinking and the use of evidence.