No description available.

No description available.

This thesis examines the rate and pattern of settlement of the Canadian Prairies over the period of the 'Wheat Boom'. The principal aim of the work Is to explain the economic reasons for the late start to that settlement. Economic growth of the Canadian Prairies did not begin until almost the turn of the 20th. century, long after the initial occupation of the American West. I hypothesise in this thesis that the delay in the development of the Canadian Prairies was principally due to an initial lack of appropriate technology. The growing season In Canada is shorter than that further south, leaving grain farmers with little time to sow in spring and harvest In the fall. The technology available in 1880 enabled farmers to crop less than 50 acres even in the best areas, making farming uneconomical over most of the Prairie area. The technology available to the Prairie farmer over the period is carefully examined to determine the effects of various changes which occurred. In order to analyze the implications of technological change, a number of representative Prairie farms are modelled using the technique of dynamic linear programming. Five locations which were first occupied on different dates are analyzed, and for each location the value of capitalised rent for a typical new farm is calculated on four dates. The results of these calculations show that in 1880 most Prairie land was economically worthless. Over time all the hypothetical farms showed Increases in value, and settlement appears to have occurred on approximately the date at which the calculated value of the land rose above zero. The reasons for the increases in the value of the land are examined, and the most important exogenous change appears to have been the improvement of mechanical farming equipment. The development of appropriate 'dry-farming' techniques was also important, but it is argued that this was endogenous to Prairie growth. Wheat prices did not begin to increase until about 1904 and therefore were not a cause of the start of the 'Wheat Boom', although they contribute significantly to farming profits by 1910. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

The distribution of Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Mo and Se in earth surface materials on the Southern Canadian Interior Plain was examined with the aim of recommending appropriate methods of producing regional geochemical maps. Investigations were undertaken in three separate areas, one in each of the prairie provinces, selected to represent a range of environmental conditions. In the Swan River - Dauphin area emphasis was placed on investigating the regional distribution of Mo in both soil and stream sediment. These patterns were related to data on the Mo status of plants and to information on Mo-induced Cu deficiency in cattle. In the Rosetown area of Saskatchewan, and the Red Deer area of Alberta, attention v/as focussed on examining variations in the Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Se content of soils; in the Rosetown area concentrations of these elements in whole wheat plants were also determined. Procedures for regional geochemical mapping using stream sediment are well established. On the Southern Canadian Interior Plain, however, stream density is generally inadequate for routine application of these techniques. Although tributary drainages are relatively common in parts of southern Manitoba, results of investigations in the Swan River - Dauphin area indicate that Mo concentrations in stream sediment typically reflect Mo levels in upstream soil, but not those of associated plants. In contrast to findings reported by V7ebb and his associates in the United Kingdom, Manitoba stream sediment data are of little value in identifying areas where potentially toxic Mo concentrations are likely to occur in forage. Reconnaissance surveys based on soil sampling, on the other hand, can be applied throughout the Canadian prairies. Results of studies around Rosetown and Red Deer indicate that regional compositional trends for soil may be efficiently described in terms of variations among means estimated for individual soil parent materials. In the Rosetown area, for example, over 70% of the total variance for Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in A horizons is attributable to differences among parent material means. This parent material effect appears, in turn, to be mainly a function of textural variations, with lowest concentrations associated with sand-rich and highest with clay-rich deposits. The importance of differences among means for soil associated with individual surficial deposits is also emphasized, in the Rosetown area, by relatively strong positive relationships (r>0.73) between parent material based Mn, Fe and Cu means for wheat and soil. When data are considered on an individual sample basis relationships between plant and soil concentrations are generally much weaker (r< 0.40). It is suggested, therefore, that on the Southern Canadian Interior Plain, regional geochemical maps can be efficiently produced using parent material based soil compositional data. The procedure recommended involves collection of A horizon samples at randomly chosen sites over each of the major parent materials recognized, and estimation of geometric mean and deviation values for each deposit. Duncan's New Multiple Range test is used to identify significant differences among means, and results are summarized in map form, showing only composition-ally distinctive parent materials or parent material groups. In view of close relationships noted between parent material based means for soils and plants, maps produced in this fashion should be useful in identifying areas where trace element excesses or deficiencies are limiting crop or livestock productivity. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

Historians and geographers have focused on the study of the images of the West. Their studies have demonstrated that the images of the West were as important as reality itself in understanding the history of western Canada and the western Canadian identity. Both the regions history and identity have been influenced by the images of the West. Another way to look at the history and identity of the West is through climate. This thesis examines the images of the climate of western Canada in order to obtain new insight into western Canadian history and western Canadian identity. This new attempt is considered from three perspectives. First, the way in which Canadian expansionists advertised the West is described. In the latter half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, Canada needed to dispel negative images of the western climate in order to attract millions of homesteaders. The climate portrayed in immigration pamphlets was all positive. Secondly, the actual experience of pioneer homesteaders is investigated by examining pioneer questionnaires, recorded interviews, and diaries. Settlers encountered the harsh reality of the climate. The real perception of the climate was very different from the idealized climate. Finally, literature and arts of the 1920s and 1930s demonstrate how the climate of western Canada was viewed at that time. The expansionists views were still influential even after the settlement boom. The actual perception was minimized by the ideal climate myth.

Historians and geographers have focused on the study of the images of the West. Their studies have demonstrated that the images of the West were as important as reality itself in understanding the history of western Canada and the western Canadian identity. Both the regions history and identity have been influenced by the images of the West. Another way to look at the history and identity of the West is through climate. This thesis examines the images of the climate of western Canada in order to obtain new insight into western Canadian history and western Canadian identity. This new attempt is considered from three perspectives. First, the way in which Canadian expansionists advertised the West is described. In the latter half of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, Canada needed to dispel negative images of the western climate in order to attract millions of homesteaders. The climate portrayed in immigration pamphlets was all positive. Secondly, the actual experience of pioneer homesteaders is investigated by examining pioneer questionnaires, recorded interviews, and diaries. Settlers encountered the harsh reality of the climate. The real perception of the climate was very different from the idealized climate. Finally, literature and arts of the 1920s and 1930s demonstrate how the climate of western Canada was viewed at that time. The expansionists views were still influential even after the settlement boom. The actual perception was minimized by the ideal climate myth.

The specific objective of this thesis is to examine the causes of agitation for the establishment of one province to encompass the three existing provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, or the Prairie region. Regional studies are hampered by the somewhat elusive meaning of 'region’. It is argued here, however, that the Prairies constitute a distinctive region of Canada, and such argument can be defended by looking into the historical, cultural and economic need for Prairie people to adopt a collective philosophy towards their lives concerning common goals, and, more recently, an antagonism towards Eastern Canadian economic domination over the Prairie provinces. Such a view of the three Prairie provinces has many times stimulated the question - Why don't they join together and create one Prairie province? The Conference to discuss this question was most recently held at Lethbridge, Alberta, and from the proceedings of this conference comes the stimulus and interest in this topic. A further objective is to identify the interesting growth of co-operative organisations which transcend political boundaries within the Prairies. It is suggested that these are in direct response to the fact that the region needs a co-operative approach to many of the problems that are faced by the whole region. This is indeed a cause for agitation in that integration is increasing in the Prairies. Argument can be made that political unification is the ultimate step. It must be pointed out that the writer has not taken a stand on the advisability of the idea, but merely to identify the bases of the agitation for it. The method of investigation in this work is to determine the extent to which the Prairie provinces could be considered to have an identity which points particularly to the Western alienation question. A measure of the following for the idea of Prairie union is given. This is examined with regard to the increasing number of organisations that concern themselves with a Prairie hinterland, as opposed to an area of influence contained by the political borders of one of the Prairie provinces. The conclusion is that the Prairies do have a definable identity which is predominantly a result of the feeling of Western alienation in the Prairies. The desire to control their own future stimulates the growth of Prairie organisations. The agitation for Prairie unity does not necessarily express itself in terms of a political union, but in terms of Prairie co-operation. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

For twenty years after 1888, the British Government conducted an experiment in colonisation on the Canadian prairies. Hoping to avoid a radical redistribution of land to alleviate distress and disorder in Scotland's Western Islands, the Salisbury Government attempted an emigrationist policy. In 1888 it authorised the expenditure of public funds to establish colonies of Highlanders in Manitoba and Assiniboia. Adverse economic and climatic conditions combined with inadequate planning to severely hamper the progress of the settlements. Problems associated with administration from London compounded existing difficulties. By 1893, a Liberal administration less inclined to favour state-aided emigration abandoned all commitments to such schemes on the basis of the experience of the struggling Highland settlements. The Canadian Government was unable to adopt a consistent policy toward the British scheme. The Department of the Interior was frequently at variance with the Office of the Canadian High Commissioner in London. The settlements received much publicity and required much administrative attention before the British Government, with financial integrity, was able to conclude the settlement scheme in 1908. It is argued that the experience of the Canadian settlements played a far larger role in determining British policy toward state-aided colonisation than has previously been acknowledged. It is maintained that the publicised difficulties of the settlements contributed to the Canadian perception that British agriculturalists made unsatisfactory settlers and to the subsequent policy preference for continental European emigrants. It is suggested that the episode stands in sharp contrast to the orthodox view of the Scottish experience in Canadian historical writing / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

a) Basic Problem The main question posed in this research was as follows; where exactly, and in what types of locality have those of French ethnic origin living in the Prairie provinces been most (or least) successful in preserving a distinctive French-Canadian culture. b) Method of Investigation i) The production of detailed population distribution maps showed where, and to what extent, French-Canadians were areally concentrated into distinct group settlements. It is only in such group settlement that such a sub-culture can hope to survive. ii) The varying degree of ethnic homogeneity within the various group settlements was analysed. This study confirmed that the more French Canadians were intermixed with other groups the more susceptible they would be to anglicisation and assimilation. iii) The varying strength of the French-Canadian position was measured by calculating the proportion of French Canadians in each group settlement belonging to a French-language parish - an institution which has played a great role in the cultural survival of the French-speaking minorities. iv) The areally varying strength of French-language education in the Prairie provinces was studied. v) The areally varying degree of access to a French-language newspapers, radio and television was analysed; vi) Population increases and/or decreases among this ethnic group were studied. The extent of these increases and decreases, in both rural and urban areas, affects the strength of this sub-culture. vii) A cartographic description, using the most detailed census data available, was made of those of French ethnic origin who have retained French as their mother-tongue. The retention of French among this group was taken as the key index of assimilation, not least because they have always fervently regarded such linguistic fidelity as the essential basis of their distinctive cultural survival. b) Conclusions i) Neither the province of Quebec, nor the French-Canadian people have ever shown great interest in settling western Canada. ii) A considerable and increasing proportion of French Canadians in the Prairie provinces has become completely assimilated into the English-speaking community. However, within the group settlements the degree to which French has been retained is often high. iii) By far the strongest French-speaking community is situated in south-eastern Manitoba where three large rural groups focus on the unique urban group of St. Boniface. The cultural survival of French-Canadian communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan is much more threatened, either by their cultural isolation from other French-speaking groups, or by the extent to which they have been intermixed with non-French-speaking groups. iv) The key socio-geographic factor in the linguistic assimilation of western French Canadians seems to be the degree to which they are physically intermixed with other groups. This factor emerged as much more important than other considerations such as situation in an urban or rural area, or group settlement size. v) The western French Canadian sub-culture is an extremely "localised" phenomenon. Immediately beyond the "core" areas of the group settlements assimilation becomes very marked, even if a considerable number of French Canadians can still be found. Evidence of assimilation can be found even within the "cores" of some groups. vi) The future survival of this sub-culture depends, among other things, on strengthening French Canadian institutions within the group settlements. This applies particularly to the need to develop genuinely bilingual schools. Also a new form of "group settlement" must be developed to maintain and stimulate French-Canadian institutions and culture among the increasing numbers of Francophones who have left their rural communities for the larger urban areas. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

No description available.