The Legacy of Sir John A. Macdonald By Michael Wang Grade 5 Dr. John G. Egnatoff School

Overview

Sir John A. Macdonald was a politician and nation founder who helped create the Canada we know today. He was a major politician who used his power for good and bad actions. Examples of this are the uniting of Canada, the CP Rail, the Residential School system and the treatment of First Nations people. These events happened partly because of him and other politicians under good and bad leadership. These actions effected millions of people in and out of Canada. Sir John A Macdonald is an example of a highly significant individual who changed Canada back then and is still changing Canada today. Sir John A. Macdonald’s Role in the Canadian Pacific Railway

Sir John A. Macdonald had a big role in building the Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway which helped to unite Canada. His role was mainly making decisions and giving instructions. By building the railroad he convinced some of the B.N.A (British North American) provinces that hadn’t joined Canada yet to join. For example, the province of British Columbia decided to join Canada if the railway was built so that it connected them to the other provinces. When building the railroad, however, he needed land which he got by forcing a lot of first nations and Métis people off their own land. This then led to the northwest rebellion and caused Canada a lot of trouble. Meanwhile a lot of Chinese and European workers were hired. The Chinese workers were treated unfairly because they earnt much less than the white workers, but had to build the most dangerous parts of the railway, resulting in more than 600 Chinese deaths.

The process of building the railroad was stopped many times due to financial issues and more. One of these times was during Macdonald’s first time in office. He and some other politicians from the conservative party went in search of campaign funds. They found the Scottish- Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist Sir Hugh Allan. He agreed to fund them if in return they gave him the contract for the CP Rail. Eventually the liberal party found out about this bribe. Because Sir Hugh Allan’s lawyer, John Abbott kept a letter for him which described most of the deal of Sir Hugh Allan made with Sir John a Macdonald and his conservatives. However, John Abbott’s private secretary, George Norris and an accomplice stole the letter and sold it to the liberals for $5,000. After this event Macdonald was forced to dissolve the parliament. Alexander Makenzie won the election after the scandal. But Macdonald made a comeback in the 1876 Canadian election and finished the building of the CP Rail. He stayed in office for the remainder of his life.

Sir John A. Macdonald’s Role in the Unification of Canada

Sir John a. Macdonald had a significant role in uniting Canada because of his influence in building the CP rail and attending the conferences that were held so that the delegates from Canada could decide on becoming a nation. These events were all results of uniting Canada and they happened mostly because of Sir John A. Macdonald’s actions. Part of his role in uniting Canada was the Charlottetown and Quebec conferences which was a pivotal point in the creation of Canada because most of the nation’s delegates would be at the conference discussing the terms of the new nation. A lot of other conferences followed these two conferences. At these two conferences Macdonald helped convince the Maritimes to join confederation by telling them that if they joined confederation it would create a lot of new opportunities for them. So that the Maritimes would join confederation and Canada would become a nation.

After the nation of Canada was made, Sir John A. Macdonald and the government tried to add other provinces to the new nation of Canada. They wanted the provinces such as British Columbia to join but they did not want communities with First Nations people or Chinese immigrants. Provinces such as British Columbia joined when Canada promised them things such as the CP Rail. They wanted the railway because it would connect them to the other provinces and it would also connect them to a new opportunity which was trading with more people. These decisions effected the course of creating Canada because they resulted in a lot of change. This idea matters because if there wasn’t a Sir John a. Macdonald there probably wouldn’t be the Canada we live in today. Why was the Relationship between Sir John A. Macdonald and First Nations People in Canada Negative?

Sir John A MacDonald relations with First Nations People are considered bad for a lot of reasons such as the indigenous residential school system, the northwest rebellion led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, and the famines and starvations that the indigenous people had to suffer through.

The residential school system was introduced by prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald in the year 1883. This decision effected thousands of indigenous people and children by forcing them to leave their homes and culture behind and follow a belief that was not theirs. They were physically and verbally abused by the people working at residential schools. This resulted in pain and misery even after the residential schools were stopped in 1996 because of the damage on the indigenous culture and people.

The north-west rebellion was a highly significant event in Canadian history that killed over 80 people and wounded hundreds more. This rebellion was the provisional government side led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont versus the government of Canada led by Sir John A. Macdonald. The first nations and Métis people felt that their basic needs and survival were not being respected. As a result, they chose to retaliate against the government and started this rebellion.

The famines and starvations that the first nations people had to suffer through were catastrophic because a lot of people died during the events and the government didn’t even try to help the First Nations people. These famines were used by the government to drive first nations off their native land even though it guarantees relief in times of famines and pestilence in Treaty NO.6

These ideas support my opinion because it shows how Sir John A. Macdonald made the first nations and Métis people’s lives miserable. This topic matters because it effected thousands of people back then and continues to effect people today.

Sir John A. Macdonald’s Significance

Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald played an important role in many events that made or shaped the Canada where we live today, regardless of its good or bad impacts on Canadians. An example of good leadership would be his contribution to the construction of the CP Rail and the creation of Canada, whereas an example of bad leadership would be the residential school system or the famines and starvation of First Nations people. He was a key figure in these events and a notable individual at the time. His impact on Canada was huge, widespread and felt deeply all over Canada. Sir John A MacDonald was a major political figure because he was naturally charming and could usually persuade fellow politicians to support or agree with him on political and non- political views. His contribution to Canada was memorialized by statues, books, paintings and more. For example, the book “Nation Maker: SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD HIS LIFE, OUR TIMES” by: Richard Gwyn or the Sir John A. Macdonald statue at Victoria park in Regina, Saskatchewan. The statement I present here demonstrates that Sir John A. Macdonald is important for our Canadian history and continues to effect people today.