Attitudes of Canadian Government and Railway Companies to Settlement in North-Central Saskatchewan: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Policy, 1867-1931 A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Geography University of Saskatchewan by Don D. Skopyk © Copyright Don D. Skopyk, August 2005. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who has supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department, or the dean of the College in which my thesis work was completed. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material of my thesis. Request for permission to copy or to make other use of the material of this thesis in whole or in part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of Geography University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 i Attitudes of Canadian Government and Railway Companies to Settlement in North-Central Saskatchewan: A Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Policy, 1867-1931 Abstract: My research will seek to affirm the factors that influenced the pattern and pace of populating a region between present day Prince Albert and North Battleford, Saskatchewan, during the period 1867 and 1931. A settlement boom had occurred in Western Canada during this era, and previous studies have sought to ascertain the factors that accounted for the boom and why the phenomenon had not occurred earlier. To date, studies addressing this issue have considered the Federal Policies for land, immigration and railways, several global push-pull factors, and the physical variables of land capability and climate as the primary factors affecting the settlement boom. In examining the history of settlement of Western Canada, no study to date, however, has linked the inventory of land with the flow of immigrants into the region. It is exactly this gap that this study addresses. This study will utilize the inventory of the allocation of agricultural land to the population that first settled the region during this era, and will examine the timing and pace of homestead settlement in relation to the timing of all other forms of land alienation for the purposes of agriculture. These include the land sales of the purchased homesteads; pre-empted homesteads; school districts; the railway companies; land companies; and the Hudson’s Bay Company. This, furthermore, points to an important conjecture regarding government and railway policies that actually impeded settlement. Lewis (1981), Lewis and Robinson (1984) and Ward (1994) introduced the notion that the late railway branch-lines construction, and the late sale of pre-empted lands, may have acted as impediments to settlement. This suggestion has not been supported one way or another. In addition, the Railway’s late selection of lands they were entitled to from the railway land grant reserve, and the subsequent late availability of sale of these lands to agriculturists have not been addressed. My research is intends to affirm these premises. The linkages between the different forms of land alienation will be shown here as a factor that contributed to the order and pace of settlement. ii Acknowledgements Most of all I would like to extend my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Abraham (Avi) Akkerman for his guidance throughout my Graduate Studies program. His knowledge and experience are complemented by his inimitable ability to convey his knowledge to his students. I am eternally indebted to him for offering me a glimpse of academia, for providing a wholesome and sustainable study environment, and for facilitating attainment of what at times only he knew was possible. His methods are most often Socratic, whereby in the quest for truth, the master teaches by asking questions instead of just informing. He is a multi-lingual philanthropist of knowledge, and with his patience and meticulous scrutiny, I have begun to learn how to write. Thank you! I am also indebted to my professors, colleagues, and family: • Dr. Maureen Reed, who has broadened my background in geographic research; • Dr. Xulin Guo for her constant availability as a committee member; • Dr. O.W. (Bill) Archibold for expediting University bureaucracy when needed and for his constant administrative support; • Dr. Scott Bell for introducing me to the world of GIS; • Drs. Alan Anderson, Kim Naqvi, Murray Rice, Despina Iliopoulou, Bohdan Kordan, and David Quiring for their time and advice; • Keith Bigelow, Elise Pietroniro and Xing Fang for sharing their GIS expertise; • My graduate colleagues who were there to share the pains and joys: James Dzisah, Dusty Guedo, Lee Everts, Stuart Leard, Pavan Kumar, Dan DeLury, Choon-Lee Chai, Nestor Hlynsky, Scott Sutherland, Chris Evans and Brock McCleod; • My teaching colleagues: Lawrence Kyba, Denyse Smith, Morris Brizinski and Kenn Wolffe, for encouragement prior to, and throughout my Master’s Program; • Northern Light’s School Division for funding and the sabbatical opportunity; • My parents Paul Skopyk and the late Stella (Malicky) for instilling in me a fundamental work ethic of which my heritage would be proud; • My sons, Joshua and Jeffrey Skopyk, for understanding why I was not always there for them, and for making me swell with pride in their abilities. Dedication The timing of this research is intended to commemorate the Centenary of the Province of Saskatchewan: 1905-2005. It is hoped this study may give greater understanding and appreciation of our heritage and the aggregate of factors that interplayed during Western Canadian settlement between 1867 and 1931. Settlement epitomizes the definition of research in geography because it involves the interface between of a human population and a virtually undemarcated landscape. I dedicate this thesis to my grandparents Dmytro and Anna Skopyk, and Paul and Maria Malicky, who left their Galician Ukrainian homeland a century ago, and to all immigrants that ventured West in the hope of offering a better life for their children. iii Thesis Table of Contents Page Permission to use ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements and dedication iv Table of Contents v List of Tables and List of Figures viii List of abbreviations ix Part 1: A history of Canadian policies on immigration and land. 1 Chapter 1.0 Introduction to the study 1.1 Thesis question 1 1.2 Conceptual framework 3 1.3 Limitations of the research 4 1.4 Geographic location and description of the study area 4 1.5 Period of study 7 1.6 Pre-emption lands and branch-line railroads 8 Chapter 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 Global factors 10 2.3 Canadian factors 12 2.4 Summary of literature review and gaps in research 13 Chapter 3.0 A history of immigration in Canada 1760 to 1931 3.1 Introduction 15 3.2 Contact 16 3.3 French Colonization 17 3.4 The Loyalists 18 3.5 Britain and France: 1800 to 1867 18 3.6.0 Push-Pull Forces 20 3.6.1 Push factors 20 3.6.2 Pull factors and promotional efforts 21 3.7 Immigration post-Confederation: (1867-1896) 24 3.8 The National Policy 26 3.9 Canada-U.S. relations: (1867-1896) 27 3.10 Summary of the Macdonald era: (1867-1892) 28 3.11.0 The Laurier Era: 1896-1911 29 3.11.1 Clifford Sifton (1896-1905) 29 3.11.2 Frank Oliver (1905-1911) 32 3.12 Immigration and World War 1 (1914-1918) 33 3.13 Summary and profile of importance 1901 to 1931 34 iv Chapter 4.0 Land Acts and Policies 4.1 Introduction 38 4.2.0 A History of orthogonal planning 38 4.2.1 Ancient cities 39 4.2.2 Alexandria 39 4.2.3 The Romans 40 4.2.4 The Renaissance 41 4.2.5 The Cartesian grid 41 4.2.6 Eastern Canada and the introduction of the U.S township system 42 4.3.0 The Dominion Lands Survey (1872) 4.3.1 Introduction 42 4.3.2 Meridians 44 4.3.3 Ranges and townships 45 4.3.4 Sections 48 4.3.5 Correction lines 49 4.4 The DLS proprietary template 50 4.5.0 Land Acts and Policies (1867-1931) 4.5.1 The Dominion Land’s Act and the Homestead Act 51 4.5.2 The Hudson’s Bay Company lands 53 4.5.3 The Indian Act 53 4.5.4 The Non-status Indians and the Métis 56 Part 2: Observations and analysis of government and corporate land and rail policies. 59 Chapter 5.0 The Railways 5.1 Introduction 59 5.2 The Canadian Pacific Railway Transcontinental railroad (1870-1885) 60 5.3 The other transcontinental railroads (1880-1914) 67 5.4 Branch-line railroads (1890-1919) 67 5.5.0 Railway land grants and the land companies 5.5.1 CPR and CNoR land grants 70 5.5.2 Other colonization Railway land grants 73 5.6 Railroad freight rates 75 Chapter 6.0 The Alienation of the Dominion lands (1885-1931) 6.1 Introduction 79 6.2 Free homesteads, pre-emption and purchased homestead 80 6.3.0 Railway land sales 83 6.3.1 CPR tax exemptions and the price of CPR land (1901-1913) 83 6.3.2 Alienation of Canadian Northern Railway land grants 84 6.4.0 Land Companies 85 6.4.1 Mackenzie, Mann and Company Limited 85 6.4.2 Saskatchewan Valley Land Company 87 6.4.3 Canadian Northern Prairie Lands Company 88 v 6.5 Hudson’s Bay Company lands 89 6.6 School Lands 90 6.7 Other forms of land alienation 95 Chapter 7.0 Hierarchies of administration affecting settlement 7.1 Introduction 97 7.2 Canada as a Colony and as a Nation 98 7.3 Provincial administration 99 7.4 Railway land grants and the respective railroad mileages 101 7.5 The pioneer regional setting 102 7.6 Land-lock 103 7.7 Settlement in relation to railroads and the distance to grain market 104 7.8 Service centres 106 7.9 Wheat prices and the economy 107 7.10 Patterns of change in the size of farm units 108 Part 3: Results, summary, and conclusions.