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Excerpts from history textbooks

1. Industrialization | 2. Urbanization | 3. Living Conditions | 4. World Wars | 5. Politics and Social Movements

3. LIVING CONDITIONS

3. LIVING CONDITIONS

3.1 Portrait of the Population

38) What were the basic features of society around 1850?

"Diversity was undoubtedly the dominant trait of colonial societies in the 1850s. All things considered, it is incorrect to speak of a colonial society in British North America but rather several colonial societies. In terms of size, for example, a wide gap separated the small colony of Prince Edward Island, (pop. 63,000) from the huge United Province of Canada (pop. 1,800,000). Similarly, there was not much in common, from an ethnic or religious perspective, between the eastern section of the United Province, essentially French Canadian and Catholic, and the western section, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant. Despite their fundamental differences, the colonial societies of that century shared two overarching characteristics, in differing degrees. First, they harboured significant class divisions that limited social mobility; and second, they were societies in motion, with people coming and going in the hope of improving their lot." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 163.

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39) What were the main socioeconomic groups making up society around 1850?

"Generally speaking, the colonial societies of the period were stratified, which means that they were divided into social classes on the basis of occupation and personal fortune. At the top of the social pyramid sat a small group of privileged individuals. This class comprised the wealthy industrialists, businesspeople and professionals. Such individuals were active in forestry, shipping, the railways and nascent industry in general, and enjoyed a very high standard of living. They set the tone for the economic development of the colonies, in particular through the influence they wielded within their governments.

"In the middle of the social pyramid were the members of certain professions, the more successful farmers, the local merchants and the prosperous tradespeople? these people were relatively well-off but not really immune to reversals of fortune. Under them in the social hierarchy were the day labourers; that is to say, the majority of the population. Finally, relegated to the margins of society were the destitute, the handicapped, the Indians, the prostitutes and so forth." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 163-164.

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40) How was the status of Canadian men and women different in 1850?

"Standard of living and occupation were not the only determinants of a person's social class. If one other key factor must be singled out, it was gender: women were always considered inferior to men, and in fact, were not even considered people under the law! They did not enjoy the same legal rights and employment possibilities as men. Married women had no standing before the courts, and could not start their own business; their husbands held absolute control over the family's income. In the realm of politics, women were disenfranchised: they could not vote in elections of the Legislative Assembly. Some of them had even held this right previously but had lost it during the preceding decades. Still, women were able to wield some political influence; for example, by signing petitions." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 164.

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41) Was there racial discrimination in Canada in the second half of the 19th century?

"Another equally pernicious criterion of social stratification was that of ethnicity or race. The Irish, although white and English-speaking, were often discriminated against and confined to the lower socioeconomic echelons due to their ethnicity, which was associated with Catholicism. Discrimination against Blacks and Indians was even more overt. The case of Indians was special, in that their inferior status was spelled out in the Indian laws in force in the 1850s. In the United Province of Canada, for example, these laws specified who was an Indian and what his or her legal standing was. The civil rights of native peoples were limited; notably, they did not have the right to vote. The only way for them to become full-fledged citizens was to renounce the Indian culture and way of life. Land ownership, too, was out of bounds for most natives. The land on the reserves was proclaimed to be Crown property, i.e. owned by the government. For Indians to become landowners on a reserve, they had to give up their status. And native women's rights were particularly restricted. An Indian woman who married a non-Indian lost her status, while an Indian man who married a non-Indian kept his, and his spouse acquired Indian status.

"Blacks, too, held inferior status in the British colonies, although the law had nothing to do with it. In theory, nothing prevented them from asserting their rights as full-fledged citizens, which had indeed been their legal status since the abolition of slavery. The institution of slavery was officially banned throughout the Empire in 1834, but had been in decline anyway in British North America since the end of the 18th century. But the reality was that Black people were disadvantaged because of their socioeconomic status, as well as societal prejudices about their colour and their slave heritage. Whether descendants of the first slaves under the French regime, Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, or slaves on the run from the United States, whether they lived in the Maritimes or Western Canada, Black people represented a supply of cheap labour. Largely employed as day labourers, they remained on the margins of society, excluded from the white churches, the white schools?" [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 164-165.

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42) What were the major Canadian population movements during the 19th century?

Another major trait present in British North American societies to differing degrees was geographic mobility. In the mid-19th century, millions of people were changing their place of residence. There were immigrants arriving in North America in great numbers during the 1840s and 1850s, many of them of Irish origin. Some 352,000 people immigrated to the colonies between 1851 and 1861 (?). It should be said, though, that a large number of British colonials chose to leave the territory; in fact during the same period some 170,000 emigrated, mainly to the United States.

"Of the emigrants from the colonies, a good number were Europeans in transit for the United States in any case; many more, however, were descendants of long-established colonial families. French Canadians, in particular, began to leave Eastern Canada at the start of the decade due to the dearth of agricultural land. Nearly 6,000 emigrated in the 1850s to find work in the factories of the northeastern states. And, with the years, the trickle became a flood: some 200,000 French Canadians emigrated between 1862 and 1871. The same phenomenon was occurring in much of the Maritimes during the same period.

"Significant population movements were also occurring within the boundaries of British North America. People moved because circumstances or the context forced them to do so, or simply to improve their situation. The region most affected by internal mobility was Western Canada (?). The phenomenon was also widespread in the older colonized areas, where demographic pressures and land scarcity induced people to head for new frontiers, other cities of the province, or the United States. All sectors of the economy were affected. People who left for the cities and their industries contributed to the formation of a working class and an urban proletariat." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 166-167.

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43) What were the reasons for the rise in Acadian nationalism in the 19th century?

"The school question of the 1870s ... fosters in many Acadians a new awareness of the situation of their people not only in the field of education, but also with respect to politics and culture. As a minority living in all four corners of New Brunswick, the Acadians are poorly represented in politics; they have few educational institutions and only one newspaper, Le Moniteur acadien, which begins publishing in 1867. Furthermore, even though the Acadians represent the majority of the Roman Catholics in the province, the Irish hold the most prominent positions in the Church. And the latter community makes no bones about its ambition to assimilate the Acadians." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 225.

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44) What were the signs of the rise in Acadian nationalism in the 19th century?

"Over the next few decades [after the 1870s], the Acadians experience remarkable demographic, cultural and political growth. The percentage of the Acadian population in New Brunswick increases from 17.5 per cent in 1871 to 28 per cent in 1911. New institutions of higher learning and new newspapers are set up in various Acadian communities. In addition, the Acadians become more actively involved in political parties and in government.

?Such advances lead to an increase in nationalist sentiment among the Acadians, who begin speaking out, notably at the several large conventions held around the turn of the century. Organized by lay leaders, in particular Pierre-Amand Landry, and by members of the clergy, these large gatherings hone the collective consciousness of the Acadians. The delegates discuss the economic, political and cultural problems they face and adopt several symbols representing their community and their adherence to it. At the first convention, held in Memrancook in 1881, a national holiday is named. In Miscouche, in 1884, a flag and national anthem, written by Monseigneur Marcel-François Richard, are adopted. After the convention in Arichat in 1900, the Acadians begin a long battle against the domination of the Catholic Church by the Irish. In 1912, after numerous appeals to Rome, the first Acadian bishop is named.

Until the First World War, the Acadians focus on developing and strengthening their institutions. They are supported in their efforts by the religious orders, which are instrumental in setting up schools (including boarding schools), community colleges and hospitals. The Acadians found several farm organizations that help members update their farming methods and diversify their production. Finally, they create an important social and economic tool: the Société l'Assomption. This mutual aid society, and source of insurance for members, provides numerous Acadians with a degree of financial security." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 225-227.

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45) What are the landmarks in the advancement of the Acadian people between 1864 and 1914?

1864 Opening of first Acadian classical college, Collège Saint-Joseph, in Memramcook (NB)

1867 Founding of the Moniteur acadien, the region's first French-language newspaper

1875 Riot in Caraquet over the Common Schools Act of 1871

1878 Nomination of Pierre-Amand Landry to the New Brunswick Cabinet; he is the first Acadian to hold such a post

1881 First ?National Convention? of the Acadians, in Memramcook (NB); naming of August 15 as the national holiday

1884 Second ?National Convention? of the Acadians, in Miscouche (PEI); choosing of a national anthem and a flag

1885 Founding of the Courrier des provinces maritimes, in Bathurst (NB)

1887 Founding of L'Évangéline, in Digby (NS)

1890 Opening of Collège Sainte-Anne, in Pointe-de-l'Église (NB)

1893 Launch of L'Impartial, in Tignish (PEI)

1899 Founding of Collège du Sacré-C?ur, in Caraquet (NB)

1903 Setting up of the Société l'Assomption, in Massachusetts (USA)

Publication of Histoire du Canada en 200 leçons, by Philéas-F. Bourgeois

1912 Nomination of the first Acadian bishop, Monseigneur Édouard Leblanc, as the head of the diocese of St. John. (NB)

1913 Launch of the newspaper Le Madawaska, in Edmundston (NB)

[transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 227.

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46) Where did the first wave of gold seekers into British Columbia come from?

"Word reached San Francisco in early 1858. Soon, hundreds of unemployed miners were trying to book tickets on any ship that would take them north. The first ship to arrive at Fort Victoria was the side-wheel steamer Yosemite. Some 450 miners disembarked on April 25, 1858.

Almost immediately, they moved on to the mainland. The miners had to be creative about getting across the Strait of Georgia?some even used makeshift rafts. More ships arrived as the year progressed. By the end of the summer, more than 10 000 miners?mostly Americans?were working on the Fraser River."

Cranny, Michael et al. Horizons. Canada Moves West, Scarborough, Ont., Prentice Hall Ginn Canada, 1999, p. 217.

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47) Who worked on the roadway leading into the Cariboo region in British Columbia?

"Before construction of the Cariboo Road, the oldest trails along the Fraser Canyon had belonged to the Native peoples. Those who knew these trails intimately?and had often escorted miners to the goldfields?also helped to build the Cariboo Road. Although European construction workers always got the first jobs, by 1862, gold prospecting had caused a labour shortage. Contractors working under the Royal Engineers began hiring Chinese immigrants, as well as workers from the aboriginal nations. Eventually, Chinese immigrants would comprise approximately one-third of miners working in the Cariboo region."

Cranny, Michael et al. Horizons. Canada Moves West, Scarborough, Ont., Prentice Hall Ginn Canada, 1999, p. 221.

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48) What social position did Chinese immigrants occupy in Barkerville, in British Columbia?

"Chinese immigrants were an important part of Barkerville life for almost a hundred years. They established a number of businesses, including the Kwong Lee Company, a general store that sold groceries, clothing, hardware, and mining tools. The Kwong Lee Company also had other stores in other parts of British Columbia, but the Barkerville store was one of the most impressive in town.

The Chinese community also built cabins for Chinese miners, where they saved money by sharing four or five to a cabin, and Tai Ping (the ?Peace Room?), the equivalent of a modern nursing home."

Cranny, Michael et al. Horizons. Canada Moves West, Scarborough, Ont., Prentice Hall Ginn Canada, 1999, p. 223.

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3.2 Labour and Trade Unionism

49) What were life and work like for city dwellers at the turn of the 20th century?

"In 1891, approximately 30% of Canadians lived in urban areas; in 1911, this proportion was more than 40%. As cities industrialized and expanded, they became the points of concentration for practitioners of every trade, for people of all income levels and every origin, whether a nearby region or a faraway country. The development of urban transit enabled the middle and upper classes to migrate out of the downtown areas and settle in well-off suburbs, far from the congestion and pollution. At the other extreme, various downtown neighbourhoods and factory districts were home to the working classes, for whom living and working conditions were generally unacceptable. The result was that large cities became increasingly divided from a social point of view." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 243.

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50) Who were the factory workers of Quebec?

"Irish people, forced by poverty and famine to leave their country, arrived in Lower Canada en masse in the first half of the 19th century. They settled overwhelmingly in Montreal and Quebec City, where they found work as day labourers and stevedores, and came to comprise a large proportion of workers in Quebec's nascent industries. But early on, thousands of French Canadian men, women and children, too numerous in the countryside, also entered the industrial workforce.

"In industries such as iron and steel that required skilled labour (workers with a specialized trade), British immigrants were very often the workers of choice. But when unskilled labour was needed, French Canadians were hired in large numbers. In the tobacco and textile industries, for instance, thousands of women, children and adolescents were employed, earning wages much lower than those paid to the men." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 236.

"In 1891, of the 117,389 industrial workers?representing nearly one-third of the active population of Quebec?there were 22,898 women and 9,555 children or adolescents under the age of 16. In certain factories, it was not uncommon to find children under 12 at work. As a labour inspector wrote at the beginning of the 20th century: 'But what to do for the poor children, the boys of twelve and girls of fourteen, who must rise at six o'clock in the morning for breakfast and be ready to work by seven, only to labour all day until six o'clock in the evening, with just one hour for lunch?" [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 236.

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51) How was factory work organized toward the end of the 19th century?

"Industrial work was increasingly being done in very large factories occupying multistory buildings, each employing hundreds or even thousands of people. These factories were divided into departments, which were responsible for different stages in the production process." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 236.

"In the transition to industrial production, the nature of work changed. Independent artisans such as shoemakers had once performed all of the tasks in producing their products. In industrial production, the artisan was increasingly replaced by an unskilled worker who did not own his or her tools and who did a specialized job in making one part of the product. In the case of a large shoe manufacturer, the worker used the owner's sewing machine to stitch shoes. [There has been a] transformation in the scale of the production, the work site, and the tools."

Dickinson, John A. and Brian Young. Diverse Pasts, a History of Québec and Canada, Mississauga, Copp Clark, 1995, p. 190.

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52) Could people work at home?

"[Toward the end of the 19th century,] some of the work in the clothing industry was done at home. An entrepreneur known as a jobber would distribute pieces of fabric to dozens of women and girls, who would assemble them in their homes. For this work, the women received a pittance?from $0.50 to $3.00 for a week's work." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 236-237.

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53) What characterizes workplace in the early 20th century?

"The Canadian workplace in 1900 was in the midst of great changes. While many workers were still working in primary industries ? fishing, farming, forestry, and mining ? most were employed either in factories or in the fastest-growing area of the economy, the service sector.

[...]

The other growth area in the economy was the service sector, the group who serve other workers and the public. A whole range of jobs existed in the service sector, such as taxi driver, letter carrier, railroad porter, bank teller, accountant, salesperson, and cleaner. Clerical work emerged as one of the biggest growth areas in the service sector. General office workers and bookkeepers were replaced by telephone operators, filling clerks, stenographers, accountants, and secretaries. Office work was transformed by inventions such as the telephone, the typewriter, and a new filing system called the Hollerith punch-card machine."

Newman, Garfield. Canada: a Nation Unfolding, Toronto, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2000, p. 49.

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54) What were factory working conditions like?

"Working conditions in general were hard. Most unskilled workers could not earn enough to support their families, and had to send their children to work at an early age. The work week ranged from 60 to 72 hours. Job security was far from guaranteed, since entrepreneurs would lay workers off whenever they saw fit. Within the factory, foremen imposed rigorous discipline - even children could be beaten. Workers were subjected to fines of all sorts, which cut even further into their meager wages. What is more, health and safety conditions were often deplorable, and accidents were all too frequent." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 237.

"During the 1880s, a royal commission studied working conditions in Canadian industry in preparation for labour reforms. Théophile Charron, a fourteen-year-old Montreal cigar maker, testified at the hearings.

Q. You began working at 11 years?

A. Yes sir.

Q. What did you get during your apprenticeship?

A. One dollar a week for the first year; $1.50 for the second; $2.00 for the third.

Q. Did you have to pay any fines during your apprenticeship?

A. Yes sir. A good number.

Q. How many hours did you work a day?

A. Sometimes ten hours, other times eight hours; just as they liked.

Q. Were you ever licked?

A. Yes; not licked so as any harm was done me, but sometimes they would come along and if we were cutting one leaf wrong, they would give us a crack on the head with the fist."

Dickinson, John A. and Brian Young. Diverse Pasts, a History of Québec and Canada, Mississauga, Copp Clark, 1995, p. 248.

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55) What was the status of unskilled workers in society?

"The growth of industrialization in Canada created a demand for unskilled labour. Men and women often tended machines for ten to twelve hours a day. Besides the monotony, workers had to endure hazardous and uncomfortable working conditions. Factory owners paid little attention to worker safety or to washroom facilities, and regular rest breaks were unknown. For workers, injury on the job meant time off without pay?or even dismissal."

Cranny, Michael et al. Horizons. Canada Moves West, Scarborough, Ont., Prentice Hall Ginn Canada, 1999, p. 269.

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56) How did workers react to these conditions toward the end of the 19th century?

"Little by little, in response to these hard realities, workers banded together in associations to demand better working conditions. Until 1872, trade unions were prohibited under the Criminal Code, and they were forced to operate in a manner akin to secret societies. But their star would soon rise. Many of the first Quebec unions were US-based organizations, such as the Knights of Labour, founded in the United States in 1869. In the 1880s, the Knights played a certain role in raising the consciousness of Quebec workers, but could not marshal the resources necessary to counterbalance the power of the bosses.

"The majority of the unions were structured around a skilled trade, such as shoemaking, typesetting, cigar-making or carpentry. They were often affiliated with similar unions in the United States, and for this reason bore the names of international unions. In 1896, the international unions merged to form the first modern union federation of North America: the American Federation of Labor. In Canada, this organization's affiliated unions formed the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada (TLCC). Thus, Quebec and Canadian unionism were strongly influenced from abroad.

"When the first unions attempted to bargain for better working conditions with the bosses, they met with fierce resistance. The bosses refused to recognize the unions, claiming that they would only talk to each worker individually. As a result, strikes became an increasingly frequent pressure tactic. At first, strikes were the result of spontaneous actions by workers, and sometimes led to outbreaks of violence, to which the army responded with repression. With better organization by the unions, subsequent strikes had more success, particularly when they concerned skilled workers who were difficult to replace." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 237-238.

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57) What labour-related measures did the government adopt in the second half of the 19th century?

"In Quebec, the Factories Act, adopted in 1885, limits the work week to 60 hours for women and children and 72½ hours for men. It makes it illegal to hire girls younger than 14 and boys younger than 12 without the authorization of their parents. It calls for the appointment of inspectors to ensure the enforcement of the law and to supervise health and safety conditions in factories. But because only three inspectors are appointed for all of Quebec, business owners can easily get around the law.

For its part, the federal government, after removing from the Criminal Code anything that might affect the organizing of unions, agrees several years later to set up a royal commission to investigate labour-capital relations. This commission provides workers a means to voice their grievances and their demands, but fails to produce any concrete action." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville et Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 233.

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58) What were the results of the Royal Commission study on relations between capital and labour?

"In 1886, the federal government created the Royal Commission on the Relations of Capital and Labor. The commission's report, tabled in 1889, listed a number of recommendations that led several provinces, such as Ontario and Quebec, to regulate relations between employers and their employees. Aware of the growing strength of the trade union movement, the federal government established a Department of Labour in 1900 for the purpose of settling disputes between bosses and workers. In addition, it adopted a law in 1907 providing for labour dispute arbitration in the public service. This piece of legislation represented the first step towards recognition of the right to collective bargaining, or the legal obligation of employers to negotiate with the representatives of workers." [...] [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 247-248.

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59) What were working conditions like for the working class in the early 20th century?

"A worker's life was not an easy one. In the first decades of the 20th century, the normal factory work week was sixty hours: ten hours a day, Monday to Saturday. Gradually, the work week was cut back: workers succeeded in winning Saturday afternoons off and in shortening their daily work schedules. Workplace health and safety were highly deficient, with poor ventilation and numerous accidents.

"Workers at the turn of the century had no notion of job security: Work was irregular, unemployment a common predicament. Dock workers and construction workers, whose industries were seasonal, could expect to be unemployed all winter long. Wages were generally extremely low; only highly skilled workers were in a position to bargain for more. Women and adolescents generally earned a pittance, much less than men. Most families needed more than one wage earner to make ends meet. Some male heads of households held a second job. Women who stayed home took in boarders or sewing to earn some extra income. By age 13 or 14, most adolescent boys and girls would be working and bringing home almost all their pay to their parents.

"There was no employment insurance nor social security for people who became jobless. Families in need had to fall back on charity organizations like the Société Saint-Vincent-de-Paul." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 290.

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60) What was the reason for the influx of women into the service sector at the start of 20th century?

"Service-sector jobs were increasingly given to women as the economy expanded. At the time it was said that women were more suited to these tasks because they were better at handling detail and had nimble hands that were efficient in the constant use of the new machines. Behind these reasons, however, was a more important one: women could be paid much less than men."

Newman, Garfield. Canada: a Nation Unfolding, Toronto, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2000, p. 49.

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61) How did unions operate in Quebec at the start of the 20th century?

"The emergence of unions enabled workers to improve their status by bargaining with employers for better working conditions. Still, unionized workers remained in the minority, never composing more than 10-15% of the labour force during this period.

"There were two major types of trade union federations in Quebec: those affiliated with the large international unions based in the United States, and those that grouped together domestic, i.e., strictly Canadian unions. Most of these latter were affiliated with the Catholic Church.

"The Canadian federation of union locals affiliated with the international union was called the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada (TLCC). The Catholic unions, for their part, represented a new phenomenon. In the 1880s, the Catholic bishops were opposed to unionism; but faced with the strength of the movement, they finally accepted it. However, they objected to French Canadian workers becoming members of international unions, which had no religious affiliation. Instead, they proposed the creation of strictly Canadian, Catholic unions. Such unions were founded in many cities, especially outside of Montreal, and in 1921 they joined in a federation, the Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada (CTCC).

"The turn of the century was a period of vigorous growth for the union movement. Numerous unions were created in almost every city. Powerful strikes captured the public's imagination. Labour activism even found expression in political action. A worker's party was founded in Montreal and managed to get a few candidates elected. However, in the 1920s, the union movement went through a period of relative stagnation." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 290-291.

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62) What was the pattern of trade union growth in Canada?

Growth of International Trade Unionism in Canada, 1880-1902
Number of Union Groups in Province

Province	1880	1890	1897	1902
Ontario	42	147	192	615-635
Quebec	10	30	47	111-116
New Brunswick	0	12	17	43
Nova Scotia	0	10	13	46-50
Manitoba	0	11	17	48
British Columbia	0	25	27	137-139
Territories (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Yukon)	0	5	7	27-30
Prince Edward Island	0	0	0	9
Total	52	240	320	1 036- 1 070

[transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 247.

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3.3 Quality of Life

63) How did the smallpox epidemic affect native people in the 1860s in British Columbia?

"[...] (In 1862) an outbreak of smallpox started outside of Victoria and spread to other parts of the colony. Smallpox was a dreaded disease in Europe, and one that affected the settlers and miners. For the Native peoples of the Americas, it was almost always fatal?they had never been exposed to it before, and had no immunity to it. It is estimated that after European contact, smallpox was responsible for the deaths of more than 70 percent of all aboriginal peoples.

Following the outbreak in Victoria, the authorities responded swiftly but misguidedly. Homes of the Native peoples were destroyed, and the occupants were ordered to leave Victoria. As they travelled up the coast, they infected other Native peoples. By summertime, smallpox had reached the Native communities in the northern part of the colony.

The effect was devastating. Whole villages began to die, and survivors scattered into the hinterland. With no one left to perform burial rites, corpses rotted in the abandoned villages, and travellers along the coast reported the scene to the press. Among the Haida of the Queen Charlotte Islands, the effect of smallpox was perhaps the most pronounced. More than 80 percent of the Haida died that summer, and villages that had existed for thousands of years became ghost towns. Along the entire coast, it is estimated that over half of a total population of some 60 000 people died of the disease in 1862.

Unscrupulous?or ignorant?European traders and prospectors compounded the tragedy. They collected blankets and other possessions from the dead and sold these to other Native communities. The smallpox virus can live for more than six months in contaminated clothing, and so the recipients of these goods quickly contracted the disease. During 1863, even more aboriginal peoples died of the disease inland.

Among the Chilcotin, the smallpox epidemic was a catalyst for rebellion. Their traditional land overrun by road construction and unwelcome influx of American and European miners?who also disturbed their salmon weirs (a fenced-in stream for easier salmon fishing)?they staged a brief war in 1864. Smallpox survivors attacked several labourers as they were building a railway right-of-way from the coast to the interior. Eventually, five Chilcotin were tried and executed for their role in the uprising."

Cranny, Michael et al. Horizons. Canada Moves West, Scarborough, Ont., Prentice Hall Ginn Canada, 1999, p. 221.

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64) What were urban health and hygiene conditions like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

"Life in the city was far from paradise, particularly in working-class neighbourhoods. A number of contemporary observers remarked on the fact that many dwellings were poorly heated and ventilated, and had neither running water nor indoor toilets. Sanitary conditions were inadequate, and epidemics frequent. Mortality was high, especially among young children, many of whom did not survive to their first birthday. For many working families, low wages or unemployment meant that decent lodgings, healthy food and medical services were out of reach." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 242.

"In each major city, workers were concentrated in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, where misery and poverty were generalized. In Montreal and Toronto, for example, most workers lived in boarding houses or dilapidated apartment buildings with no yards. An average five-person family typically lived in a one- or two-room apartment, which was often damp, poorly ventilated and lit, and mostly unfurnished. Open sewers were the norm. Overpopulation was an acute problem. In Toronto, rapid growth caused a housing shortage, forcing many families to share an apartment, or to take shelter in shacks or tents; some had no better option than a wooden or cardboard box on the street. These conditions were conducive to the propagation of diseases, resulting in high infant mortality." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 243-244.

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65) Was pollution a concern at the turn of the 20th century?

Along with industrialization came a problem that can take on considerable dimensions: air pollution, caused by the toxic or sickening fumes emitted from factory chimneys. Here is what Mr. Joseph Lessard, a Quebec government official, wrote in an 1896 report:

"Public health and factory smoke: here is a matter to which our attention has been drawn more than once. It is regrettable to see how in Montreal, where the urban agglomeration continues to spread, industrialists, unconcerned with their interests, and ignorant of public health regulations, dump enormous quantities of smoke into the atmosphere; to such an extent that on these hot days, offices, stores, private homes, schools, and hospitals are, in the vicinity of such factories, obliged to close their windows to keep out the fumes." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 243.

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66) What was the spatial dimension of social inequality?

"The great differences in income and social class were reflected in the social landscape of Montreal [in the early 1900s]. The rich lived on the terraces above Sherbrooke Street, while the working classes also had specific neighbourhoods. The Irish lived near the Lachine Canal and Grand Trunk Railway yards in Point St. Charles. Newer immigrants settled along Boulevard Saint-Laurent. While some Francophones settled in Western areas like Saint-Henri, most lived east of the old city between the waterfront industries and the Canadian Pacific Angus yards. In the parish of Saint-Pierre-Apôtre near the Molson Brewery, 89 percent of the population was French Canadian. Here the church played an important role in providing social and educational, as well as spiritual, support."

Dickinson, John A. and Brian Young. Diverse Pasts, a History of Québec and Canada, Mississauga, Copp Clark, 1995, p. 293.

"Social inequalities also had a spatial dimension: each group had its own neigbourhoods, with radically different housing and environmental conditions (?) On the one hand there were districts with wide avenues, lovely trees, parks and luxurious homes; on the other, slums with badly maintained streets, long rows of multifamily houses, and no trees or greenspace." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 282.

"Here is a description of two Montreal neighbourhoods, written in 1897 by Herbert Brown Ames, industrialist, philanthropist, and partisan of social reform.

'The city above the hill' is the home of the classes. Within its well-built residences will be found the captains of industry, the owners of real estate, and those who labor with brain rather than hand. Here in predominating proportion reside the employing, the professional and the salaried classes. The manual worker in this district is indeed rare, the home of the poor cannot there be found. It is the exclusive habitat of the rich and the well-to-do.

'The city below the hill,' on the other hand, is the dwelling place of the masses. Here it is the rich man that one finds it difficult to discover. Salaried and professional men are not entirely lacking, but even when to their number are added the shop-keepers and hotel men, these together represent but 15 percent of its population. 'The city below the hill' is the home of the craftsman, of the manual wage-earner, of the mechanic and the clerk, and three-quarters of its population belong to this, the real industrial class. This area is not without its poor, and, as in other cities, a submerged tenth is present with its claims upon neighborly sympathy.

Most of the residents of the upper city know little and at times seem to care less regarding their fellow-men in the city below. To many of the former, the condition of the latter is as little known as that of the natives in Central Africa." [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 284.

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67) How did infant mortality rates vary from one class to another?

"Differences in the quality of the environment have an impact on public health. This can be seen by comparing the infant mortality rate among different neighbourhoods of Montreal.

INFANT MORTALITY RATES IN MONTREAL AND SUBURBS, 1922 (in 0/00)

Upper-class municipalities or neighbourhoods

Upper-class municipalities or neighbourhoods
Saint-André	48,6
Saint-Georges	43,9
Westmount	55,1
Outremont	57,0
Working-class municipalities or neighbourhoods
Saint-Henri	212,9
Sainte-Anne	182,4
Sainte-Marie	213,8
Papineau	195,7

Source: From T. Copp, The Anatomy of Poverty: the Condition of the Working Class in Montreal.? [transl.]

Charpentier, Louise, René Durocher, Christian Laville and Paul-André Linteau. Nouvelle histoire du Québec et du Canada, Anjou, Centre éducatif et Culturel, 1990, p. 285.

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68) In the 19th century, who was responsible for education?

"The family is the primary social institution in the colonies throughout the 19th century. The churches are also very influencial in social life. However, with industrialization and the subsequent emergence of the working class, the State gradually becomes more involved in the social realm, in particular, in the field of education." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Étions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 171.

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69) What role did organized religion play in education in the 19th century?

"During this period, education and religion are closely linked. Until the 1840s, the colonies, in creating their informal systems of schools, had allowed the founding of separate schools based on religious denomination. The members of the various religious denominations want their children to receive instruction that conforms to their beliefs. The denominational schools, in which religious instruction plays an important role, are financed both by contributions from parents and by government grants, which are distributed based on various funding formulas. Higher education is almost completely dominated, in all of the colonies, by organized religion.

However, the existence of these separate schools poses certain problems. Because many communities are made up of several religious denominations, the number of schools begins to multiply, resulting in an increase in the resources channelled to them and consequently in the cost. In some areas, the size of the population and low government revenues cannot support the full range of religious diversity of society. In addition, many people, especially those in Canada West, believe that separate schools foster intolerance and religious conflict within the school system. Finally, with the expansion of industrialization after the middle of the century, education gradually takes on a new role, that of instilling in individuals the qualities needed for the fulfillment of their duties as Christians, of course, but also as members of the community." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 172.

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70) What was the role of the State in the realm of education in the 19th century?

"Because of (...) criticism, the separate school system finds itself increasingly under attack in the colonies after the 1840s. The State sets out to undermine the power of the Catholic Church in the realm of education and throws its support behind a public, rather than a denominational, school system. The colonial governments set up and fund public schools, that is, schools theoretically accessible to everyone and whose costs are fully covered by the State, or, more precisely, by tax revenues. These actions lead to great upheaval, providing fodder for a lengthy debate, notably between Roman Catholics and Protestants, on the role of religion in schools." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 171.

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71) What measures did the provincial governments take with respect to education at the end of the 19th century?

"Beginning in the 1870s, some provincial governments limit or abolish religious instruction in the schools, to appease the increasingly strident demands of Protestant voters as well as to modernize their education systems. Roman Catholics, for whom religious instruction is synonymous with cultural survival, engage in a bitter fight against this abrogation of what they believe to be their constitutional rights. In addition, the debate begins to change focus, the religious dimension giving way over the years to a linguistic one. Nonetheless, the conflict over the school question goes on for several decades, directly affecting the majority of the population: first in New Brunswick, then in Manitoba, in the Northwest Territories and, finally, in Ontario. This conflict results in many headaches for the federal government, in particular the administration of the French-Canadian prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 219.

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72) What different viewpoints did the issue of school financing raise in the 19th century?

"Section 93 of the British North America Act guarantees to minorities the educational and religious rights that they had been accorded by the provinces. This protection is extended to the people of Manitoba upon the creation of that province in 1870. However, in the provinces where the majority is Protestant, most people oppose the use of public funds for religious instruction, especially when it comes to Catholic instruction. Most Protestants believe that religious education is solely the responsibility of churches and parents, and that the State must remain neutral by providing funding only to schools that do not teach religion and are not tied to any one religious denomination. Roman Catholics, however, continue to support the notion of denominational schools financed by the State and offering moral and religious education. Their commitment is strengthened by the fact that, in the eyes of French Canadians, language and religion go hand in hand. Defending the place of religion in schools therefore means defending the place of language." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 219-220.

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73) What characterizes the development of the school system in Quebec in the late-19th and early-20th century?

"After 1801, important school laws were passed in Lower Canada, and these offered financial help to communities that opened schools. Until the 1840s, however, the local community was not obliged to educate its children in formal schools. Many rural communities resisted the taxation, state authority and loss of control over their children that accompanied education. Many priests opposed a school system that reduced their authority in the local community.

"In 1845-46, education acts established the structure of Quebec education for the next century. Two state-aided systems - Protestant and Roman Catholic - were set up. The state played less of a role in education in Lower Canada than it did in Upper Canada, although it did influence school taxes, teacher training and textbooks. A lot of control over the schools was given to Protestant and Catholic authorities.

"Beyond elementary school, the classical college dominated Catholic education. These residence schools, taught largely by clerics, emphasized a general education with a strong basis in Greek, Latin, religion and mathematics. The student body was dominated by sons of merchants, doctors and lawyers. The Université de Laval was founded in 1852 with faculties of theology, law, arts and medicine.

"The Montreal High School was built in 1843. Like Stanstead College (established 1817), Bishops College (established 1837), and St. Johns School, which became Lower Canada College in 1909, the Montreal High School was founded to prepare Protestant boys for professional careers in such areas as medicine and law. Scottish influence on the school was stronger than English; this gave it an emphasis on the sciences as well as on classical subjects. Many of the school's graduates went on to McGill University, which had medical, arts and law faculties by the 1850s. Women were admitted to many American universities in the 1860s and in 1875 Mount Allison University in New Brunswick awarded a degree to a woman. McGill's first class of women graduated in 1888, while Laval did not admit women until 1910.

"Religious orders such as the Frères des écoles chrétiennes and the Congrégation Notre-Dame provided teachers for the Roman Catholic system. In 1853, 11 percent of the teachers in Catholic schools were clerics; by 1887 this had risen to 48 percent.

"Schools spread rapidly across Quebec after 1845, and the literacy rate rose. By 1861, 65 percent of Quebec adults could read. This was also the period when higher education was developed.

"The church played an important part in the lives of Canadians at this time. Protestant communities established places of worship throughout the colony. Anglophone Catholics, however, sometimes had to fight to get their own church, as 'A Petition for an English-Catholic Church' shows."

Dickinson, John A. and Brian Young. Diverse Pasts, a History of Québec and Canada, Mississauga, Copp Clark, 1995, p. 202-206.

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74) What characterizes the development of the school system in the Acadian communities of New Brunswick in the 19th century?

"Schools financed by parents and by the Church are few and far between in the first half of the 19th century. Young Acadians receive at most a rudimentary education from the itinerant school teachers who travel from village to village giving their lessons. Then, in the 1850s and 1860s, the number of teachers and schools serving the French-speaking population increases, largely as a result of the dedication of Catholic priests and religious orders, as well as the financial assistance of friends in Canada East and France. The first Acadian institution of higher learning, the Collège Saint-Thomas, is erected in Memramcook in 1854; it is the culmination of years of work by Father François-Xavier Lafrance. That institution is replaced in 1863 by Collège Saint-Joseph, under the direction of Father Camille Lefebvre." [transl.]

Couturier, Jacques Paul. L'expérience canadienne, des origines à nos jours, Moncton, Éditions d'Acadie, 1994, p. 171.

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75) What was urban recreation like at the turn of the 20th century?

"Without television, radio or the movies, people had to amuse themselves. They played the fiddle, carved wood, painted, embroidered, sculpted, sang and danced. Fiddling was the chief form of folk music in Canada. Singing relieved the drudgery of work or the loneliness of being away from home.

"People kept their family traditions alive by telling stories (...)."

Dickinson, John A. and Brian Young. Diverse Pasts, a History of Québec and Canada, Mississauga, Copp Clark, 1995, p. 249.

"Expanding public transportation (in the early 1900s) gave workers access to new kinds of leisure. Many of these workers had other interests than the greenery on Mount Royal and the principles of the City Beautiful movement. On their day off, they wanted music, food and drink for themselves and their families. Sohmer Park was in the east end near the docks, railways, smokestacks and Molson's Brewery. Instead of vistas it featured freak shows, puppets, wheelbarrow contests, classical concerts, industrial exhibitions, beer and food. While Mme. Juez Palmer could pick up 200 pounds (about 91 kg) with her teeth, the greatest hero of Sohmer Park was strongman Louis Cyr."

Dickinson, John A. and Brian Young. Diverse Pasts, a History of Québec and Canada, Mississauga, Copp Clark, 1995, p. 287-288.

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3. LIVING CONDITIONS

3.1 Portrait of the Population

3.2 Labour and Trade Unionism.

3.3 Quality of Life.

3. LIVING CONDITIONS

3.1 Portrait of the Population

3.2 Labour and Trade Unionism

Total

3.3 Quality of Life