Canada the nation of natural Resource:

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Doug Pitfield  

Mr. MacNeill

CHI 4UO Grand 12

Canadian history

June 15, 2013

Canada the nation of natural Resource:

 Found upon, industrialized upon, and

prospered upon

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      Canada is a country that is known to be difficult to define. With a large and diverse array of ideologies and a strong developed foundation of multiculturalism, it is not difficult to understand why Canada is such a challenging country to wrap up into a single package. Though to better understand what defines Canada as a nation one must look far into history and realize the importance of all the natural resources which gave rise to a strong an independent country. Through the development of the nation’s abundant natural resources, we can identify the building blocks that shaped Canada into the unique Country it is today.  When the European explorer John Cabot first arrived off the coast of Newfoundland, his thrilling discovery of the overflowing cod waters allowed for the cod fishing industry of Europe to bloom and expand. Soon after, the coast of North America became a popular cod fishing ground for European fishing vessels. The unbelievable fishing gave reason for new explorers to venture into the foreign land in search of what else this new promising land would have to offer. Skip forward another 50 years; Jacque Cartier, an experienced mariner, was ordered by the king of France to explore the unknown lands of Canada in search of a passage to Asia and/or gold.  Cartier ventured into the great river of the St. Lawrence. As he searched further and further west for a route that would lead to Asia, he was motivated by what seemed to be fertile lands and the abundance of wild life.  Though Cartier’s voyage in search of a passage was unsuccessful, his interactions with new strange faces on American soil, as well new understanding of the land brought the realization of the benefits and mercantilisms France could  obtain from the resources of the new world.  With Cartier’s exciting discovery of the new world’s potential and the rise of the beaver hat fashion in Europe, settlement of the new world quickly became a priority.  The fur trade gave reason for settlement and before long the population growth began to rise; a nation was born.

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These new promising foundations for Canada continue to prosper.  Farming became a way of life, a necessity for survival of the families of New France. The soil proved rich and allowed for the new inhabitants to expand in agriculture down the St. Lawrence and further in land. The known potential brought settlers from other parts of Europe as well; other monarchs wanted to claim the foreign land, knowing it would bring mercantilism back to their country. The Britain crown recognized the natural resources the land had to offer and ordered settlement to the New World in order to claim the land in the name of the King of Britain. Britain expanded and conquered New France. Though the French population was much larger than the British, settlement continued to grow, thriving on the natural resources of the country. Ships and ship building became an importance; exporting more goods back to Britain meant a demand for more ships.  Logging became an industry which gave economic growth within the colonies and work for the settlers. Canada was beginning to bloom and the colonies began to seek independence from the crown.  Politic government  formed based on British rule and control was enlarged by steps, so that Canadians through government based on elected parliaments gradually developed command of their own political concerns. By doing this Canadians achieved national self –direction without revolution. Canada; a country born, cultivated and flourished on natural resource, even today Canada’s vast environment and resources are creating growth, jobs and prosperity for the nation.  Canada in many ways is a nation defined by its Natural resource.

            To better understand Canada, one must go far into the past and analyze the pre-history of our nation and Canada’s first settlers that are believed to have ventured onto the land unknowingly, though that’s not to say it was without reason. The aboriginals are believed to have migrated over thousands and thousands of years. The oldest archaeological evidence dates back to the first ice age and in the Blue fish Caves in the Old Crow Region of the Yukon, there they found what seems to be chipped stone

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artifacts which date back as old as 12 000 year. The artifacts found are quite similar to those found in Northeast Asia from the same time period. The evidence uncovered brings reason to believe that Northeastern Asian during the time period of the last ice age, around 13 000BC migrated to North America. Why? What purpose drove these people to travel such distances? The answer is survival, in all migration theories whether it is the Beringia land bridge or The Coastal Route Theory the migrating was believed to have been for the search of the natural resources that were necessary for the survival of their people. The people of Northeastern Asia were known to have lived a nomadic life style; where their food went they were sure to follow. Canada’s very first inhabitants who date back more than 12 000 years, recognized the prosperity of natural resources Canada had to offer and were able to develop and sustain a comfortable life style relying on wild game and fish for the necessities of life. One can relate the prehistoric discovery to the early history discovery of John Cabot as well Jacques Cartier. Both explorers crossed long distances in search of Asia and though they did not uncover a successful route they did uncover an encouraging discovery of abundant natural resource and in turn brought great excitement back in Europe. The first discovery which sparked interest was the great amount of Cod fish found off the coast of New Found Land, Cabot Claims “They could catch buckets full by simply lowering pales into the water.”  The abundant Cod fishing brought great enthusiasm across Europe because of the amount of Catholics who refrained from eating meat. This religious restriction created a high demand for fish and primarily for cod, because of its pleasant taste and simplicity to cook. In result, fisheries from all across Europe arrive to the coast of Newfoundland to take part in the unbelievable cod fishing. The cod fishing expanded Europe’s fishing ground significantly and with that came the drive to explore this newly uncovered land. Another explorer named Jacques Cartier was sent by the King of France over to the New World. Cartier’s  two main proposes of his journey was to map out the unknown land and

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