“What I have tried to do in this and in all my writing on the early days of this country is what the artist does when he paints a sketch of a Canadian scene or a Canadian person. I have tried to select something that is beautiful or significant or interesting or essential to an understanding of ourselves. I have tried to tell the stories of personalities, men and women who have by their human qualities, aspirations, and activities, given substance to our history, whose loves and hates and fears and achievements have been woven into the very fabric of our Canadian consciousness. I have tried to say, as the painter says, ‘here is something I think you would like to know,’ ‘here is something that has significance’ or ‘here is something that may evoke your love or pride or indignation I as the case may be.” (IO:x) This, in very simple terms, has been my aim here - to paint a picture, or rather a series of pictures of the North Shore, past and present, from the viewpoint of the human geographer. I make no claim to be a historian, nor to have encompassed the full range of material available. Rather, I have selected from the accounts of yesteryear certain aspects which have an attraction for me personally, in the hope that these might also be of interest to others. In brief, I have attempted to write an academic treatise which will yet prove acceptable to the ‘reading public.‘ [...] / fr

“What I have tried to do in this and in all my writing on the early days of this country is what the artist does when he paints a sketch of a Canadian scene or a Canadian person. I have tried to select something that is beautiful or significant or interesting or essential to an understanding of ourselves. I have tried to tell the stories of personalities, men and women who have by their human qualities, aspirations, and activities, given substance to our history, whose loves and hates and fears and achievements have been woven into the very fabric of our Canadian consciousness. I have tried to say, as the painter says, ‘here is something I think you would like to know,’ ‘here is something that has significance’ or ‘here is something that may evoke your love or pride or indignation I as the case may be.” (IO:x) This, in very simple terms, has been my aim here - to paint a picture, or rather a series of pictures of the North Shore, past and present, from the viewpoint of the human geographer. I make no claim to be a historian, nor to have encompassed the full range of material available. Rather, I have selected from the accounts of yesteryear certain aspects which have an attraction for me personally, in the hope that these might also be of interest to others. In brief, I have attempted to write an academic treatise which will yet prove acceptable to the ‘reading public.‘ [...] / fr

“What I have tried to do in this and in all my writing on the early days of this country is what the artist does when he paints a sketch of a Canadian scene or a Canadian person. I have tried to select something that is beautiful or significant or interesting or essential to an understanding of ourselves. I have tried to tell the stories of personalities, men and women who have by their human qualities, aspirations, and activities, given substance to our history, whose loves and hates and fears and achievements have been woven into the very fabric of our Canadian consciousness. I have tried to say, as the painter says, ‘here is something I think you would like to know,’ ‘here is something that has significance’ or ‘here is something that may evoke your love or pride or indignation I as the case may be.” (IO:x) This, in very simple terms, has been my aim here - to paint a picture, or rather a series of pictures of the North Shore, past and present, from the viewpoint of the human geographer. I make no claim to be a historian, nor to have encompassed the full range of material available. Rather, I have selected from the accounts of yesteryear certain aspects which have an attraction for me personally, in the hope that these might also be of interest to others. In brief, I have attempted to write an academic treatise which will yet prove acceptable to the ‘reading public.‘ [...] / fr

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The Gulf of St. Lawrence Is closed to commercial navigation for nearly five months each year due to ice conditions. In order to lengthen the shipping season, greater knowledge of the behaviour of the ice is necessary. A step in this direction was the inauguration in 1940 of aerial ice surveys in the gulf during the breakup season. The surveys have continued annually for the past thirteen years. Based primarily on the data provided by these surveys, maps were drawn showing the limits of the main ice areas in each breakup season. Although the maps enabled the isolation of several distinct patterns and rates of breakup, they revealed that the behaviour of the ice was extremely variable. The factors influencing ice conditions, including tides, ocean currents, temperature, and wind, were examined with the aim of discovering the causes of the breakup patterns. A number of factors were found to be important in determining the fundamental behaviour of the ice, bat the meteorological factors of temperature and wind appeared to be the chief agents in causing the variable behaviour from year to year. In spite of these variations, it was possible to trace average conditions throughout the Ice season. The chief characteristics of the ice season may be stated briefly. The Gulf of St. Lawrence is never completely covered with ice, but rather, it is partly covered with fields of shifting pack ice between which lie broad stretches of open water. The southern part of the gulf is an area of accumulation where ice conditions are most serious. The clearing of ice from the gulf begins slowly in January and February and becomes accelerated in March and April. The bulk of the ice moves through Cabot Strait to the open Atlantic rather than remaining inside the gulf until it melts. Generally, the ice either withdraws from west to east, passing through Cabot Strait directly, or it stagnates in the southern part of the gulf toward the end of the season. By the first of May the gulf is usually clear of ice which constitutes a hinderance to navigation. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

Since the dawn of the twentieth century, the governments of the United States and Canada had been negotiating for the joint development of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence system to allow ocean vessels to sail up the St. Lawrence River from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. At first the Canadians were reluctant to participate with the United States in such a project. It was, however, the United States Congress which proved to be the major stumbling block for the seaway project. Long after the Canadians had been won over to the plan, the American Congress continued to delay its approval. For over twenty years, Washington's powerful anti-seaway lobby, composed chiefly of railroad and coal interests, the East and Gulf Coast ports, and American maritime interests, were successful in stalling the project. However, the situation began to change after the Second World War. The experiences of this war and the Cold War which followed, had drawn the two countries closer together both militarily and economically. Moreover, the unparalleled expansion of the Canadian economy made it imperative for that country to develop the navigational and power potential of the St. Lawrence. Because of the increasing depletion of vital resources, especially iron ore, the United States had grown more and more dependent on Canada for such essential materials required by American consumer and defense industries. The St. Lawrence Seaway would assure the Midwestern industries of a constant cheap supply of these resources. This paper investigates the way in which the changing circumstances of the post-war years affected the decisions of the United States Congress on the St. Lawrence Seaway project. Drawing heavily from the Congressional investigations and debates, it tries to determine the situation in Congress, and especially in the Senate, the main battleground in the debate over the St. Lawrence Seaway. It tries to establish the significance of the Canadian ultimatum, and of the arguments of national defense and security, in changing the Congress' attitude on the project. Moreover, it looks at the various factors affecting the 1954 vote on the seaway. 1952 proved to be the turning point. Elections held in the United States that year brought a new Republican administration into Washington together with a Republican majority in Congress. In Canada patience had worn thin, and the prime minister issued an ultimatum to the Americans - either they join in the project shortly, or the Canadians would build it on their own. The impact of this ultimatum had all the more force because the post-war economic boom in Canada had made that country confident and capable of taking on the project alone. Truman's ready cooperation had, as well, helped to facilitate the joint development of the power project, a pre-requisite of the "all-Canadian" seaway. This ultimatum acted as a catalyst in achieving Congressional approval of American participation in the St. Lawrence Seaway. By making the old economic arguments irrelevant, it allowed the debate to be concentrated on the issue of national security. Together with the "Cold War" mentality prevalent in the United States at the time, it created a situation in which the new president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, could use his enormous influence as president, and his prestige as a military hero, to their fullest advantage in influencing Congress. Faced with the Canadian ultimatum and the need to have a voice in the control of the important waterway which would transport iron ore and other vital materials to American Midwestern industries, the Congress overcame its inertia and approved a limited seaway role for the United States. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

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