Economy 150
From Made Beaver to marijuana, Canada’s economy has changed a lot since Confederation.
One hundred and fifty years ago, on July 1, 1867, four provinces — Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia — formed the Dominion of Canada. Nearly 3.5 million Canadians, including about 135,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, lived on this land and navigated an economy that looked dramatically different than the one we know today. In 1867, the British North America Act ushered in enormous changes, from the expansion of railways in the four provinces to further colonial control over Indigenous people, treaties and lands. “Economy” was and is based on a European construct, and contact and trading with settlers drastically changed the way Indigenous communities lived and laboured. Groups moved from subsistence living to working within a European economic model, which continued to expand its influence and, to many, exploitation. Nevertheless, these systems form the foundation of everything that followed and still have enormous influence today.
For almost as long as there’s been a Canada, there’s been a University of Alberta. Over the next year, in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary, we’re proudly celebrating the people, achievements and ideas that contributed to the making of a confederation.
Originally published at UAlberta Business Magazine on November 15, 2017.
