Older Research Notes

Sir John A Macdonald

• First Prime Minister of Canada
• 1815-1891
• Came into politics in Kingston in 1844
• Elected to conservative party
• Had bad drinking problem
• Took on projects such as railroad after confederation
• Experienced a lot of loss in life
• Father of Confederation

Resources:

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sir-john-a-macdonald/023013-1000-e.html

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sir-john-a-macdonald/023013-2000-e.html

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sir-john-a-macdonald/023013-3000-e.html

D’Arcy McGee

• Born in Ireland in April 1825
• First emigrated to U.S at age 17
• Started a newspaper in Boston (Boston Pilot)
• Got into some trouble over his radical ideas in the States
• In 1857 moved to Montreal and Started Paper there
• His skills in rhetoric landed him in the Canadian Parliament
• Advocated and influenced greatly the Colonies coming together
• Shot one early morning on Sparks Street
• D’Arcy McGee’s assassination (April 7, 1868)-McGee was father of confederation and had anti-Fenian views/did not want secret societies to undermine government
• Patrick Whelan accused as assassinator

Resources:

http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Canada/thomas_d.htm

http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPCONTENTSE1EP9CH1PA2LE.html

Patrick Whelan/Carleton County Gaol

• Convicted in assassination of D’Arcy McGee
• Alleged Fenian although Never Proven
• Many doubt that Whelan was killer
• 11 February, 1869 hung at Carleton County Gaol but always said he was innocent
• Gaol opened in 1842 on land given by Nicholas Sparks (landowner) who created Sparks Street where McGee was killed

Resources:

http://www.cbc.ca/history/EPCONTENTSE1EP9CH1PA2LE.html

http://www.carletoncountygaol.com/content/history/inmate.shtml

http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4714

http://www.carletoncountygaol.com/content/history/history.shtml

George Brown

• Canadian Politician Born 1818. Died 1880-Father of Confederation
• Created newspaper Globe and was editor
• “Leader” of Liberal Party
• Helped to write resolutions for what came to be British North America Act
• Lead Liberal Party in 1867 election but most of the “reformers” who had fought for confederation were now with the conservatives
• Lost and left politics in October that year
• Stayed with newspaper
• March 25 1880 George Bennet (a Globe employee) tried to kill him because he was angry
• Brown pushed his hand down but pistol shot him in leg-died weeks later of gangrene May 9th

Resources:

http://torontoist.com/2009/05/historicist_the_death_of_george_bro.php

http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=38983

Liberal Party

Resources:

http://www.liberal.ca/party/history/

http://www.liberal.ca/pdf/docs/070417_lpc_history_en.pdf

Lester B. Pearson

• Born in Toronto April 1897
• Went to University of Toronto
• Commissioned in 1916 and joined the Royal Flying Corps where he was injured twice and had to spend the rest of the war training other flyers
• Moved up in Canadian and international politics throughout the years
• He wrote the speech that was made proposing NATO in 1949 and in 1952 was president of the UN General Assembly during the Korean War
• When the French and British were against Egypt in the Suez Crisis he came up with the idea of the first UN security force to prevent another war
• After Prime Minister St. Laurent left the Liberals he became party leader when Diefenbaker was prime minister
• In 1963 the liberals came to power with a minority government
• In 1967 Pearson lit the centennial flame-a time of unity for Canadians
• Quote: “The choice, however, is as clear now for nations as it was once for the individual: peace or extinction.”

Resources:

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/2/4/h4-3356-e.html

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1957/pearson-bio.html

http://www.quotesandpoem.com/quotes/listquotes/author/lester-b.-pearson

Centennial Flame

• 1st January 1967 to commemorate Canada`s 100th Birthday-Lester B Pearson lit the flame
• Represents Canada`s unity-represents all of Canada
• Each “Shield” for each province around flame has year they joined Canada
• People toss coins into fountain where flame is located
• There was an act passed in 1991-that says the coins tossed in go to fund research for disabled Canadians

Resources:

http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/histoire-history/terrains-grounds/flmm-flm-eng.html

Peace Tower

• On one side of Centennial Flame
• Built to remember those Canadians who died in the First World War
• Replaced Victoria Tower on Centre Block of Parliament

Resources:

http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/histoire-history/tour-tower-eng.html

Queen’s Gate

• “Entrance” to Parliament-1876 they were finished

Resources:

http://www.collineduparlement-parliamenthill.gc.ca/histoire-history/1859-1916-eng.html

Canada in the Great War (WWI)

• Canada entered Great War in 1914 automatically when Britain did because we were not fully independent
• Canada barely had 3000 troops when they entered the war but by the end 600 000 troops were in Canada’s forces
• Famous battles were The Somme, Vimy Ridge (Canada’s day of victory), and the Third Battle of Ypres
• Vimy Ridge is known as Canada’s moment the day we were unified as a nation
• Around 66 000 troops were killed in the horrors of Trench warfare

Resources:

http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/guerre/home-e.aspx

http://wwii.ca/content-8/world-war-i/facts-and-information/

http://wwii.ca/content-40/world-war-i/canada-enters-the-war/

Sir Robert Borden

• Prime Minister during first World War and during Great Fire of February 2 1916 when Centre Block of Parliament burnt down
• Recognised Canada as a sovereign nation and that we need our independence
• Born in 1854 spent many years building up the Conservatives
• Saw the horrors first Hand of the First World War and organized a nations resources and soldiers to the war effort
• Conscription 1917 divided the country and Borden’s cabinet was divided too with many French not in favour of it
• Fought for Canada’s place in the Paris Peace Conference
• Left office in 1920; Died in 1937

Resources:

http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/histoire-history/1916-eng.html

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/2/4/h4-3206-e.html