Many American miners began to cross the prairies, which were sparsely populated, to reach the gold rush. This made many Canadians uncomfortable as there was Americans were seen as a significant threat, especially having their idea of Manifest Destiny. Fear that they would invade Canada was on the rise. As a result, the government advertised the “Last Best West”, selling the land in the West for very cheap (65 hectares for $10).
As Canada was becoming more industrialized, there was a rise in manufacturing. With this, the desire for more people to be working these jobs grew. Immigrants who were less familiar with farming and found urban life more …show more content…
Huge companies like Maple Leaf Milling, Massey-Harris, and Imperial Oil controlled much of the industry. Employers set high price for the goods they produced, but workers were paid low wages because there was little competition.
The industrialization and development of new technology caused two decades of rapid growth in the economy!
What impact did industrial development have on the natural environment?
Originally, Canada was abundant in natural resources such as water, fur, timber, and minerals. However, industrial development had proved to be detrimental to the natural environment.
In 1914, British Columbians began to take into account how human interference seriously damaged natural resources. For example, workers on the Grand Trunk Railway were blasting a new railway line in the Fraser Canyon. Unfortunately, an explosion caused a rockslide at Hell’s Gate Canyon which devastated the Sockeye salmon population. The rockslide ruined the spawning grounds of the salmon. Catches would never equal up to the pre-war numbers ranging up to 20-30 million fish even with attempts to fix the damage.
Incidents like the rockslide prove that human activity or development could result in long-term negative effects on the