The National Policy and the Rebirth of the CPR - PowerPoint Presentation

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The National Policy and the Rebirth of the CPR

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Mackenzie and the CPR

What was Alexander Mackenzie’s opinion on the CPR?

Unlike

John A. MacDonald

, Alexander Mackenzie did not believe that Canada needed a

transcontinental railway

He thought it was simply too

expensive

to build because just before Mackenzie was elected, an economic

depression

Thus,

construction

of the CPR stopped while he was

prime minister

However, he did allow

surveyors

to continue investigating possible

routes

that a potential railway could take

In

British Columbia,

this caused

outrage

across the new province; they had been promised the CPR as one of the conditions of joining

confederation

in 1871Slide3

Focus question:

Do you think Alexander Mackenzie justified in his belief that a transcontinental railroad would be to expensive to justify the costs? Weigh the positives and negatives in your group.Slide4

Macdonald makes his comeback

During the late 1870s, Macdonald’s

Conservative

Party began to

recover

in popularity

Mackenzie and the

Liberal

Party became associated with the economic depression that had swept the country

Although many of the problems, such as

crop failures

and

plagues

of insects, were not directly their fault, they were still blamed for the problems

In response to this, MacDonald developed what he called his

National Policy

It was both his election

platform

and his vision for the future of Canada

The National Policy was based on three main ideas, a system of protective

tariffs,

settling the

west,

and finishing the

CPR Slide5

Focus question:

Although many (though not all) causes of the 1870s depression were beyond the Liberals’ control, they were still blamed for it. Did Mackenzie deserve to lose the election over this, or should he have been given more time to implement his vision?Slide6

The Tariff system

During the 1870s,

American companies and farms could produce goods and

agriculture much faster and cheaper that their Canadian counterpartsMany of these companies would sell their products in Canada,

and Canadian companies simply couldn’t match

their prices without going out of businessIn response to this, MacDonald promised to double the tariffs,

or taxes, that American companies would have to pay to sell their goods in CanadaWhat effect do you think this would have on American-made products sold in Canada?The idea was to make American goods too expensive

to be sold in Canada, so people would buy from Canadians insteadSlide7
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Some people would argue that it is protective tariffs are unfair and that all companies should have equal opportunities to do business, regardless of what country they are from. Do you agree or disagree with this? Why?Slide9

Western Settlement

To provide a larger

market

for Canadian goods, MacDonald wanted to settle the vast, sparsely

populated

west by farmers

MacDonald’s plan was for these farmers to produce

grain

to be

exported

around the world, particularly to

Europe

Then, the farmers would

spend

their money on Canadian-made goods produced in

eastern

Canada

The idea was that the east and west would have a

symbiotic

relationship, neither competing with each other but

supporting

each other insteadSlide10

Focus Question:

What group of people does this plan ignore? Why do you think Macdonald decided not to reach out to them to help in his plan?Slide11

Finishing the CPR

In MacDonald’s view, all of this depended on the

CPR

finally being finished

He believed it was

pointless

to develop western agriculture if they could not be sent to

ports

on the east coast quickly for

export

, or if goods built in eastern Canada could not be

transported

to the west to be sold

These promises succeeded in convincing many voters that Macdonald deserved a second chance, and in 1878 he was

re-elected

as prime minister with a large

majority

Slide12

Focus Question

:

If you were a Canadian voter in 1878, would you have voted for MacDonald again? Weigh his National Policy platform against his past (mis)deeds.Slide13

The CPR Syndicate

But because of the

Pacific Scandal,

Hugh Allan was no longer involved, meaning that new

investors

had to be found

Macdonald eventually found three new

investors;

the George Stephen, president of the Bank of Montreal, Donald Smith, governor of the HBC, and James Hill, a Canadian investor in American railways

This group would come to be called the CPR

syndicate

Macdonald offered them a

monopoly

on all railway traffic west of

Lake Superior

for the next 20 years

In return, they agreed to complete the CPR within 10 yearsSlide14

Focus Question:

Do you think there is any real difference between Macdonald’s arrangement with the CPR syndicate and his arrangement with Hugh Allan? What does this suggest about Macdonald’s political principles?Slide15

Van Horne and the CPR

Construction started on the CPR in 1881, but proceeded very

slowly

At the going rate, it would

not

completed in 10 years

To help, the syndicate then hired

William Van Horne

to as the project’s new

general manager

to help finish it

He made the project extremely

efficient

; he increased the construction speed from 230 km a year to over 800 km a year

But as the project reached the

Rocky Mountains,

it began to run out of money

The government paid money to the CPR based on every

section

completed and because construction through the Rockies was slow and dangerous, making money

scarce

By late 1884, it looked like the CPR might simply run out of cash

What event that happens around this time do you think might affect this?Slide16

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The CPR “Saves” Canada

In March of 1885, the

Northwest Rebellion

breaks out, meaning the government needed to send

soldiers

to the Northwest Territories as fast as possible

While the CPR was not finished, it allowed troops to be sent from

Ontario

to

Manitoba

in just five days

This demonstrated to the

public

that the CPR would allow the government to respond to problems

quickly

Thus, the

syndicate

could ask Macdonald for enough money to finish the CPR without looking foolish

Macdonald agreed to one final cash delivery to help

finish

the railroad, which it does in the fall of 1885Slide18

Focus Question:

Horizons describes the CPR as having saved the nation after the outbreak of the Northwest Rebellion; is this an accurate description or just simply a convenient coincidence for the CPR syndicate and Macdonald’s nationalist ideas?