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The governor of New France was the king’s official representative in the colony and the commander of military forces. He was also in charge of diplomatic relations with Indigenous peoples and other colonies.

An Act to Encourage the Gradual Civilization of the Indian Tribes in the Province was passed by the fifth Parliament of the Province of Canada (formally Upper Canada and Lower Canada) in 1857. The Gradual Civilization Act, as it came to be known, was part of a state effort to use government policy to assimilate Indigenous peoples to the economic and social customs of European settler society.

The War Measures Act was a federal law adopted by Parliament on 22 August 1914, after the beginning of the First World War. It gave broad powers to the Canadian government to maintain security and order during “war, invasion or insurrection.” It was used, controversially, to suspend the civil liberties of people in Canada who were considered “enemy aliens” during both world wars. This led to mass arrests and detentions without charges or trials. The War Measures Act was also invoked in Quebec during the 1970 October Crisis. The Act was repealed and replaced by the more limited Emergencies Act in 1988.

The War of 1812 was fought between Britain and the United States between 1812 and 1814. The war ended in a stalemate but had many lasting effects in Canada. It guaranteed Canada’s independence from the United States. It also gave Canadians their first experience working together as a community and helped develop a sense of nationhood.

(This article is a plain-language summary of the War of 1812. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry War of 1812.)

Rupert’s Land was a vast territory of northern wilderness. It represented a third of what is now Canada. From 1670 to 1870, it was the exclusive commercial domain of the Hudson’s Bay Company(HBC) and the primary trapping grounds of the fur trade. The territory was named after Prince Rupert, the HBC’s first governor. Three years after Confederation, the Government of Canada acquired Rupert’s Land from the HBC for CAD$1.5-million (£300,000). It is the largest real estate transaction (by land area) in the country’s history. The purchase of Rupert’s Land transformed Canada geographically. It changed from a modest country in the northeast of the continent into an expansive one that reached across North America. Rupert’s Land was eventually divided among Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Nova Scotia was one of the four founding provinces of Canada. It joined New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec in Confederation on 1 July 1867. However, this was mainly because Confederation delivered the Intercolonial Railway to the Maritimes, and because of the efforts of Sir Charles Tupper. His government passed approval for Confederation in the colonial legislature despite popular opposition. (See Confederation’s Opponents.) Confederation was met with mass protests in the colony. Joseph Howe led a two-year effort to repeal the union. (See Repeal Movement.) But Howe finally decided he could do more to help his province by working inside the federal government. He joined the federal Cabinet in 1869.

The Regina Manifesto was the founding policy document of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). Written in 1933, the 14-point policy statement called for eradicating capitalism and adopting socialist economic and social policies in a democratic state.

Lost Lemon Mine, a legendary gold deposit reputedly somewhere between the Crowsnest Pass and the Highwood River in southwestern Alberta, discovered about 1870 by prospectors Frank Lemon and "Blackjack."

Château Ramezay, in Old Montréal, was the first building to be designated a historic monument by the government of Québec, in 1929. Recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1949, it is now a museum with permanent collections and temporary exhibits where visitors can learn about over 500 years of Montréal’s history.

John Collins’ Purchase of 1785 is one of the oldest land agreements between Indigenous peoples and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It concerned the use of lands extending from the northwestern end of Lake Simcoe to Matchedash Bay, an inlet off Georgian Bay in Lake Huron. The purpose was to provide the British with a protected inland water route between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron, away from potential American interference. This passage was necessary for trade and the resupply of British western outposts. John Collins’ Purchase is one of many agreements made during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, known as the Upper Canada Land Surrenders.

The Crown Grant to the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, also known as Treaty 3½ or the Simcoe Deed, was issued in 1793. (See also Haudenosaunee and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.) Ten years earlier, the Crawford Purchase had acquired a large piece of territory. The British granted a small portion of this purchase to the Mohawks in recognition of their support to the Crown during the American Revolution. Gradually, the Crown grant was reduced due to encroachment by non-Indigenous settlers. The ownership of the land is still being contested. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Upper Canada Land Surrenders.)

McKee’s Purchase of 1790 (also known as the McKee Treaty and Treaty 2) was an early land agreement between Indigenous peoples and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It is the southernmost Upper Canada treaty and consisted of a large strip of territory from the southwestern shore of Lake Erie north to the Thames River and east to a point southwest of modern-day London, Ontario. This land was made available for settlement by Loyalists who were displaced by the American Revolution.

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.

The Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1787–88 (also known as the “Gunshot Treaty,” referring to the distance a person could hear a gunshot from the lake’s edge) is one of the earliest land agreements between representatives of the Crown and the Indigenous peoples of Upper Canada (later Ontario). It resulted in a large tract of territory along the central north shore of Lake Ontario being opened for settlement. These lands became part of the Williams Treaties of 1923. (See also Upper Canada Land Surrenders and Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

The London Township Treaty of 1796 (also known as Treaty 6 in the Upper Canada treaties 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 London Township Treaty encompassed a tract of land 12 miles square (about 31 kilometres square) in the southwestern part of the colony. The British originally purchased it as the location to establish the capital of the colony, but York (modern Toronto) became the capital instead. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

The Toronto Purchase of 1805 (also known as Treaty 13) was negotiated in an attempt to clarify and confirm the terms of the Johnson-Butler Purchase of 1787-88. Ultimately, it failed to do this and additional negotiations were required. These later discussions resulted in the Williams Treaties of 1923 and a compensatory settlement between the Government of Canada and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation in 2010. (See also Upper Canada Land Surrenders.)

The Sombra Township Treaty of 1796 (also known as Treaty 7 in the Upper Canada treaties 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 Sombra Township Treaty encompassed a tract of land 12 miles square (about 31 kilometres square) on the St. Clair River in the southwestern part of the colony. The British originally purchased it to offer it for settlement to their Indigenous allies who had fought with them during the American Revolution but who still lived in the new nation of the United States."

The Niagara Purchase of 1781, also known as Treaty 381, was one of the first land agreements between Indigenous peoples and British authorities in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It resulted in a six-and-a-half kilometre-wide strip along the west bank of the Niagara River, which connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, being made available for settlement by Loyalists who were displaced by the American Revolution. The Niagara Purchase was one of many agreements made in the 1700s and 1800s, which are collectively known as the Upper Canada Land Surrenders.

The Crawford Purchase of 1783 is one of the oldest land agreements between British authorities and Indigenous peoples in Upper Canada (later Ontario). It resulted in a large tract of territory along the north shore of the upper St. Lawrence River and the eastern end of Lake Ontario being opened for settlement by displaced Loyalists and Indigenous peoples who fought for and supported Britain during the American Revolution. The Crawford Purchase is one of many agreements made during the late 18th and 19th centuries, known collectively as the Upper Canada Land Surrenders. (See also Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)