The Country Moves West

We start today with a painting. Canoe Manned By Voyageurs Passing A Waterfall is an 1869 work by Frances Anne Hopkins. Fur trading voyageurs made extensive journeys into the West and North, interacting with indigenous peoples, long before most Canadians were even thinking of the concept.

A nearby railing looks over the side and down into a lower area. On the wall here are four works of art by the Dene artist Alex Janvier, collectively The Seasons.

White fur traders had a long tradition of living among First Nations peoples and integrating themselves into the tribe as opposed to the reverse. This would lead to the rise of a people who thought of themselves as their own distinctive culture- the Metis.

The federal government had its eyes looking west to become fully transcontinental in the  years after Confederation. Regardless of who was already out there. This would lead to conflict with indigenous peoples.

These are the moccasins of Chief Crowfood, a Blackfoot who advocated for peace.

The idea of building a transcontinental railroad to span the coasts took shape.

Here we have a theodolite and a sample rail.

One of the legacies of that era for the world at large is the concept of standard time. It was Sanford Fleming, a railway engineer, who proposed a system of dividing up the world into time zones to facilitate ease of travel.

One of the indigenous leaders who stood up to the federal government was Louis Riel, who led armed resistance by the Metis, and would end up arrested, tried, and executed.

These were the cuffs used to bind him during his trial.

 

The Fathers Of Confederation

One of the contributing factors into Canadian Confederation was south of the border. North and South fought the bloody Civil War between 1861-65. Leaders in Canadian colonies looked south, seeing an example not to follow, and understood the need for a strong federal union. This display case includes a rifle and a Union army coat.

Irish-American veterans of the Union Army wore their army jackets in another endeavour in the wake of that war, launching several raids into Canada, pushed back each time. The period was called the Fenian Raids, and the objective was to hold Canada for ransom and force Britain to make Ireland independent. The Raids contributed in their own way to the unification of Canada.

In 1864, leaders of the Canadian colonies began to meet with the goal of uniting under one banner. Three of them were referred to as the Great Coalition- John A. Macdonald, George-Etienne Cartier, and George Brown. Macdonald and Cartier were co-premiers of the Canadas. Macdonald and Brown despised each other. And yet they worked together for a common cause.

Another of the Fathers of Confederation was its most eloquent speaker and writer, very much a driving force in his own right. Thomas D'Arcy McGee had been an Irish radical in his youth, but had come to Canada and saw for himself how British parliamentary style government could work. He changed his world view, went into law and journalism, and ended up a member of Parliament, close friend of Macdonald, and staunch supporter of Confederation.

His change of perspective led to his assassination in 1868. Irish revolutionaries had long considered him a traitor to the cause. He was shot in the back of the head coming home from a debate on Parliament Hill.

This is the gun taken from the assassin, an Irish-Canadian named Patrick James Whalen, who was tried for the crime and hung- though there are doubts to this day that he was the actual killer.

This remarkable painting of McGee hangs overhead.

One of the most famous photographs in the country's history- the Fathers of Confederation meeting at the Charlottetown Convention. Their discussions and work would lead to the creation of the country.

Out west, native peoples were already dealing with contact- both good and bad- with white people. These artifacts are displayed here.

One of the prize artifacts of the museum is this. The Blackfoot tribe had a tradition of a winter count- the most important event of a year depicted on an elkskin, starting at centre and spiralling out. This is one of them.

 

The Country Finds Its Own Path

Carrying on where I left off, this beautiful sleigh is the Cabriolet sleigh, exhibited in London in 1851, and typical of a homegrown industry in the Canadian colonies in making such items.

Also in Montreal, until it transferred to Ottawa later in the century, was the Geological Survey of Canada, doing field work and scientific work. Its public museum is the predecessor of the national museums of the country, seven of which are in the national capital region.

The GSC was led by William Logan, whose mission of documentation, mapping, and learning as much as possible about the country was carried out by the agency. Logan was decorated internationally and earned a knighthood for his work. Canada's highest mountain is named in his honour.

Here we have a crest of the developing country before it was a country.

The 1830s saw rebellions in the Canadas. The response was to forge one legislative entity out of Upper and Lower Canada- today's Ontario and Quebec. An ill-thought out idea, but it brought together two men as co-premiers whose work did much to pave the way for Confederation.

They were Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, and they advocated for responsible government with controls over their own affairs. This enraged the Tory opposition, but won the support of the British governor-general, Lord Elgin.

This is a bust of Lord Elgin.

The country such as it was at the time is seen here. Rupert's Land, to the north and west, was effectively the place of the Hudson's Bay Company and the many indigenous tribes.

Confederation was coming. The work of Baldwin and Lafontaine would pay off what would end up becoming Canada as we know it today.

The Formation Of A New Canada

 Back into the series again. At centre in this display case is a model of a canoe. In the background is the reproduction of a portrait of one of the great indigenous leaders in the history of the country, Joseph Brant.

Here we have a capot, an overcoat worn by many Canadians in the 19th century.

The Acadians had been expelled before the French and Indian War. When they were allowed to return, they came back by land or by sea and rebuilt their lives and their culture, which thrives today.

European settlers began to cross the ocean to build new lives in North America. Some of their artifacts are here.

This is the crest of the old Molson's Bank in Montreal. The city became the centre of finance, learning, and manufacturing in British North America.