Maritimes
Encyclopedia
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada
consisting of three provinces
, New Brunswick
, Nova Scotia
, and Prince Edward Island
. On the Atlantic
coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada
, which also includes the northeastern province of Newfoundland & Labrador. The population of the Maritime provinces was 1,826,896 in 2008.
The Maritimes front the Atlantic Ocean and its various sub-basins such as the Gulf of Maine
and Gulf of St. Lawrence systems. The region is located northeast of New England
, southeast of Quebec
's Gaspé Peninsula
, and southwest of the island of Newfoundland.
There was talk of a Maritime Union
of the three provinces to have greater political power; however, the first discussions on the subject in 1864 at the Charlottetown Conference
led to the process of Canadian Confederation
which formed the larger Dominion of Canada instead.
The Maritimes are home to Mi'kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy
people and have an extensive history of French and British
settlement dating back to the seventeenth century, forming a unique culture that predates Canada.
over ten thousand years ago, human settlement by Native Americans
or First Nations
began in the Maritimes with Paleo-Indians during the Early Period, ending around six thousand years ago.
The Middle Period, starting six thousand years ago, and ending three thousand years ago, was dominated by rising sea levels from the melting glaciers in polar regions. This is also when what is called the Laurentian tradition started among Archaic Indians, existing First Nations peoples of the time. Evidence of Archaic Indian burial mounds and other ceremonial sites existing in the St. John River valley has been uncovered.
The Late Period extended from three thousand years ago until first contact with European settlers and was dominated by the organization of First Nations peoples into the Algonquian
-influenced Abenaki Nation which existed largely in present-day interior Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, and the Mi'kmaq Nation which inhabited all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, eastern New Brunswick and the southern Gaspé. The primarily agrarian Maliseet Nation settled throughout the St. John River and Allagash River
valleys of present-day New Brunswick and Maine. The Passamaquoddy
Nation inhabited the northwestern coastal regions of the present-day Bay of Fundy
. The Mi'kmaq Nation is also assumed to have crossed the present-day Cabot Strait
at around this time to settle on the south coast of Newfoundland but were in a minority position compared to the Beothuk
Nation.
explorers discovered and settled in the Vinland region
around 1000 AD
, which is when the L'Anse aux Meadows
settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador
has been dated, and it is possible that further exploration was made into the present-day Maritimes and northeastern United States.
Both Giovanni Caboto
(John Cabot) and Giovanni da Verrazzano are reported to have sailed in or near Maritime waters during their voyages of discovery for England
and France
respectively. Several Portuguese
explorers/cartographers have also documented various parts of the Maritimes, namely Diogo Homem
. However, it was French explorer Jacques Cartier
who made the first detailed reconnaissance of the region for a European power, and in so doing, claimed the region for the King of France. Cartier was followed by nobleman Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
who was accompanied by explorer/cartographer Samuel de Champlain
in a 1604 expedition where they established the second permanent European settlement in North America, following Spain's
settlement at St. Augustine
. Champlain's settlement at Saint Croix Island, later moved to Port-Royal
, survived where the ill-fated English settlement at Roanoke
did not, and pre-dated the more successful English settlement at Jamestown
by three years. Champlain went on to greater fame as the founder of New France
's province of Canada which comprises much of the present-day lower St. Lawrence River valley in the province of Quebec
.
, led to the fertile tidal marshes surrounding the southeastern and northeastern reaches of the Bay of Fundy
being populated by French
immigrants who called themselves Acadien. Acadians eventually built small settlements throughout what is today mainland Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick
, as well as Île-Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island
), Île-Royale (Cape Breton Island
), and other shorelines of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador
, and Quebec
. Acadian settlements had primarily agrarian economies, although there were many early examples of Acadian fishing settlements in southwestern Nova Scotia and in Île-Royale, as well as along the south and west coasts of Newfoundland, the Gaspé Peninsula
, and the present-day Côte-Nord
region of Quebec. Most Acadian fishing activities were overshadowed by the comparatively enormous seasonal European fishing fleets based out of Newfoundland which took advantage of proximity to the Grand Banks
.
The growing English
colonies along the American seaboard to the south and various European wars between England
and France
during the 17th and 18th centuries brought Acadia to the centre of world-scale geopolitical forces. In 1613, Virginian raiders captured Port Royale, and in 1621 Acadia was ceded to Scotland's
Sir William Alexander who renamed it Nova Scotia. By 1632, Acadia was returned from Scotland to France
under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
, and the Port Royale settlement was moved to the site of nearby present-day Annapolis Royal
. More French
settlers, primarily from the Vienne
, Normandie
, and Brittany
regions of France
, continued to populate the colony of Acadia during the latter part of the 17th and early part of the 18th centuries. Important settlements also began in the Beaubassin
region of the present-day Isthmus of Chignecto
, and in the St. John River valley, and settlers began to establish communities on Île-Saint-Jean and Île-Royale as well.
In 1654, New England
raiders attacked Acadian settlements on the Annapolis Basin
, starting a period of uncertainty for Acadians throughout the English constitutional crises under Oliver Cromwell
, and only being properly resolved under the Treaty of Breda in 1667 when France's claim to the region was reaffirmed. Colonial administration by France throughout the history of Acadia was contemptuous at best. France's priorities were in settling and strengthening its claim on New France
and the exploration and settlement of interior North America
and the Mississippi River
valley.
. Confusion over the boundaries between Acadia, New France, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
left Britain in possession of what is the present-day Nova Scotia peninsula
. The early British capital of the Colony of Nova Scotia (sometimes referred to as the 14th Colony) was established at Annapolis Royal, where Fort Anne
was constructed.
France still maintained control over much of present-day New Brunswick and northern Maine
, Île-Saint-Jean
, and Île-Royale
. In 1719, to further protect strategic interests in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River, France began the 20-year construction of a large fortress at Louisbourg on Île-Royale. Massachusetts was increasingly concerned over reports of the capabilities of this fortress, and of privateer
s staging out of its harbour to raid New England fishermen on the Grand Banks. The War of the Austrian Succession
saw Britain and France in conflict with each other, and in 1745 several warship
s and a small contingent of troops were sent from Boston, first to the Nova Scotian fishing port of Canso
, and on to Louisbourg where they laid siege to the fortress until the French surrendered and were evacuated.
The British returned control of Île-Royale to France with the fortress virtually intact three years later under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
and the French reestablished their forces there. In 1749, to counter the rising threat of Louisbourg, Halifax was founded and the Royal Navy
established a major naval base and citadel.
; Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
; the Battle of Petitcodiac
; the Raid on Lunenburg (1756)
; the Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
; Battle of Bloody Creek (1757); Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
, Petitcodiac River Campaign
, Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
, St. John River Campaign
, and Battle of Restigouche
.
The British Conquest of Acadia
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour.
During the Seven Years' War, the British sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The British began the Expulsion of the Acadians with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
. Over the next nine years over 12,000 Acadians were removed from Nova Scotia.
In 1758, the fortress of Louisbourg was laid siege for a second time within 15 years, this time by more than 27,000 British soldiers and sailors with over 150 warships. After the French surrender, Louisbourg was thoroughly destroyed by British engineers to ensure it would never be reclaimed. With the fall of Louisbourg, French resistance in the region crumbled. British forces seized remaining French control over Acadia in the coming months, with Île-Saint-Jean falling in 1759 to British forces on their way to Quebec City for the Siege of Quebec and ensuing Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
The war ended and Britain had gained control over the entire Maritime region.
, empty Acadian lands were settled first by New England Planters
and then by immigrants brought from Yorkshire
. Île-Royale was renamed to Cape Breton Island and incorporated into the Colony of Nova Scotia.
Both the colonies of Nova Scotia (present-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and St. John's Island (Prince Edward Island) were affected by the American Revolutionary War
, largely by privateering against American shipping, but several coastal communities were also the targets of American raiders. Charlottetown, the capital of the new colony of St. John's Island, was ransacked in 1775 with the provincial secretary kidnapped and the Great Seal stolen. The largest military action in the Maritimes during the revolutionary war was the attack on Fort Cumberland
(the renamed Fort Beausejour
) in 1776 by a force of American sympathizers led by Jonathan Eddy
. The fort was partially overrun after a month-long siege, but the attackers were ultimately repelled after the arrival of British reinforcements from Halifax.
The most significant impact from this war was the settling of large numbers of Loyalist
refugees in the region, especially in Shelburne and Parrtown (Saint John). Following the Treaty of Paris
in 1783, Loyalist settlers in what would become New Brunswick persuaded British administrators to split the Colony of Nova Scotia to create the new colony of New Brunswick in 1784. At the same time, another part of the Colony of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, was split off to become the Colony of Cape Breton Island.
The Colony of St. John's Island was renamed to Prince Edward Island
on November 29, 1798.
The War of 1812
had some affect on the shipping industry in the Maritime colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton Island; however, the significant Royal Navy
presence in Halifax and other ports in the region prevented any serious attempts by American raiders. Maritime and American privateer
s targeted unprotected shipping of both the United States and Britain respectively, further reducing trade. The American border with New Brunswick did not have any significant action during this conflict, although British forces did occupy a portion of coastal Maine
at one point. The most significant incident from this war which occurred in the Maritimes was the British capture and detention of the American frigate
USS Chesapeake
in Halifax.
was merged back into the Colony of Nova Scotia for the second time by the British government.
British settlement of the Maritimes, as the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island came to be known, accelerated throughout the late 18th century and into the 19th century with significant immigration to the region as a result of Scottish
migrants displaced by the Highland Clearances
and Irish
escaping the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). As a result, significant portions of the three provinces are influenced by Celt
ic heritages, with Scottish Gaelic
having been widely spoken, particularly in Cape Breton, although it is less prevalent today.
During the American Civil War
, some Maritimers emigrated to the United States to volunteer for the armies of the Union or the Confederacy. However, the majority of the conflict's impact was felt in the shipping industry since diplomatic tensions between Britain
and the Unionist North had deteriorated after Britain expressed support for the secessionist Confederate South
. The Union navy, although much smaller than the Royal Navy, did posture off Maritime coasts at times. Although an amphibious invasion was never in question, blockading by Union naval forces was common, particularly at Halifax, where Confederate navy ships sought refuge and reprovisioning.
The immense size of the Union army (the largest on the planet toward the end of the Civil War), however, was viewed with increasing concern by Maritimers throughout the early 1860s. Another concern was the rising threat of Fenian
raids on border communities in New Brunswick
by those seeking to end British rule of Ireland
. This combination of events, coupled with an ongoing decline in British military and economic support to the region as the Home Office favoured newer colonial endeavours in Africa and elsewhere, led to a call among Maritime politicians for a conference on Maritime Union
, to be held in early September 1864 in Charlottetown - chosen in part because of Prince Edward Island's reluctance to give up its jurisdictional sovereignty in favour of uniting with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into a single colony. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia felt that if the union conference were held in Charlottetown, they might be able to convince Island politicians to support the proposal.
The Charlottetown Conference
, as it came to be called, was also attended by a slew of visiting delegates from the neighbouring colony of Canada, who had largely arrived at their own invitation with their own agenda. This agenda saw the conference dominated by discussions of creating an even larger union of the entire territory of British North America
into a united colony. The Charlottetown Conference ended with an agreement to meet the following month in Quebec City
, where more formal discussions ensued, culminating with meetings in London
and the signing of the British North America Act. Of the Maritime provinces, only Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were initially party to the BNA Act, Prince Edward Island's reluctance, combined with a booming agricultural and fishing export economy having led to that colony opting not to sign on.
, Fredericton and Moncton in New Brunswick, and Charlottetown
in Prince Edward Island.
Maritime society is based upon a mixture of traditions and class backgrounds. Predominantly rural until recent decades, the region traces many of its cultural activities to those rural resource-based economies of fishing
, agriculture
, forestry
, and coal mining
.
While Maritimers are predominantly of west European heritage (Scottish
, Irish
, English
, and Acadian), immigration to Industrial Cape Breton
during the heyday of coal mining and steel manufacturing brought people from eastern Europe as well as from Newfoundland. The Maritimes also have a black population who are cultural descendants of The West Indies or are former African American
runaway slaves and loyalists, largely concentrated in Nova Scotia
but also in various communities throughout southern New Brunswick, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island. The Mi'kmaq Nation's reserves throughout Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and eastern New Brunswick dominate aboriginal culture in the region, compared to the much smaller population of the Maliseet Nation in western New Brunswick.
Cultural activities are fairly diverse throughout the region, with the music, dance, theatre, and literary art forms tending to follow the particular cultural heritage of specific locales. Notable Nova Scotian folklorist and cultural historian Helen Creighton
spent the majority of her lifetime recording the various Celtic music
al and folk traditions of rural Nova Scotia during the mid-20th century, prior to this knowledge being wiped out by mass media assimilation with the rest of North America. A fragment of Gaelic culture remains in Nova Scotia but primarily on Cape Breton Island.
Canada has witnessed a "Celtic revival" in which many Maritime musicians and songs have risen to prominence in recent decades. Some companies, particularly breweries such as Alexander Keith's
and Moosehead
have played up a connection between folklore with alcohol consumption during their marketing campaigns. The Maritimes were among the strongest supporters of prohibition
(Prince Edward Island lasting until 1949), and some predominantly rural communities maintain "dry" status, banning the retail sale of alcohol to this day as a vestige of the original temperance movement in the region.
Given the small population of the region (compared with the Central Canadian provinces or the New England states), the regional economy is a net exporter of natural resources, manufactured goods, and services. The regional economy has long been tied to natural resources such as fishing, logging, farming, and mining activities. Significant industrialisation in second half of the 19th century brought steel to Trenton, Nova Scotia
, and subsequent creation of a widespread industrial base to take advantage of the region's large underground coal deposits. After Confederation, however, this industrial base withered with technological change, and trading links to Europe and the U.S. were reduced in favour of those with Ontario and Quebec. In recent years, however, the Maritime regional economy has begun increased contributions from manufacturing again and the steady transition to a service economy.
Important manufacturing centres in the region include Pictou County
, Truro
, the Annapolis Valley
and the South Shore
, and the Strait of Canso
area in Nova Scotia, as well as Summerside
in Prince Edward Island, and the Miramichi
area, the North Shore and the upper Saint John River valley of New Brunswick.
Some predominantly coastal areas have become major tourist centres, such as parts of Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island, the South Shore of Nova Scotia and the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Bay of Fundy
coasts of New Brunswick. Additional service-related industries in information technology
, pharmaceuticals, insurance
and financial
sectors—as well as research
-related spin-offs from the region's numerous universities and colleges—are significant economic contributors.
Another important contribution to Nova Scotia's provincial economy is through spin-offs and royalties relating to off-shore petroleum
exploration and development. Mostly concentrated on the continental shelf of the province's Atlantic coast in the vicinity of Sable Island, exploration activities began in the 1960s and resulted in the first commercial production field for oil beginning in the 1980s. Natural gas
was also discovered in the 1980s during exploration work, and this is being commercially recovered, beginning in the late 1990s. Initial optimism in Nova Scotia about the potential of off-shore resources appears to have diminished with the lack of new discoveries, although exploration work continues and is moving farther off-shore into waters on the continental margin
.
Regional transportation networks have also changed significantly in recent decades with port modernizations, with new expressways and ongoing arterial highway construction, the abandonment of various low-capacity railway branchlines (including the entire railway system of Prince Edward Island and southwestern Nova Scotia), and the construction of the Canso Causeway
and the Confederation Bridge
. There have been airport improvements at various centres providing improved connections to markets and destinations in the rest of North America and overseas.
Improvements in infrastructure and the regional economy notwithstanding, the three provinces remain one of the poorer regions of Canada. While urban areas are growing and thriving, economic adjustments have been harsh in rural and resource-dependent communities, and emigration has been an ongoing phenomenon for some parts of the region. Another problem is seen in the lower average wages and family incomes within the region. Property values are depressed, resulting in a smaller tax base for these three provinces, particularly when compared with the national average which benefits from central and western Canadian economic growth.
This has been particularly problematic with the growth of the welfare state
in Canada since the 1950s, resulting in the need to draw upon equalization payments
to provide nationally-mandated social services. Since the 1990s the region has experienced an exceptionally tumultuous period in its regional economy with the collapse of large portions of the ground fishery throughout Atlantic Canada, the closing of coal mines and a steel mill on Cape Breton Island
, and the closure of military bases in all three provinces.
While the economic underperformance of the Maritime economy has been long lasting, it has not always been present. The mid-19th century, especially the 1850s and 1860s, has long been seen as a "Golden Age" in the Maritimes. Growth was strong, and the region had one of British North America
's most extensive manufacturing sectors. The question of why the Maritimes fell from being a centre of Canadian manufacturing to being an economic hinterland is thus a central one to the study of the region's pecuniary difficulties. The period in which the decline occurred had a great many potential culprits. In 1867 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick merged with the Canadas in Confederation
, with Prince Edward Island joining them six years later in 1873. Canada was formed only a year after free trade
with the United States (in the form of the Reciprocity Agreement) had ended. In the 1870s John A. Macdonald
's National Policy
was implemented, creating a system of protective tariffs around the new nation. Throughout the period there was also significant technological change both in the production and transportation of goods.
, the population grew steadily from 277,000 in 1851 to 388,000 in 1871, mostly from natural increase since immigration was slight. The era has been called a golden age, but that was a myth created in the 1930s to lure tourists to a romantic era of tall ships and antiques. Recent historians using census data have shown that is a fallacy. In 1851-1871 there was an overall increase in per capita wealth holding. However most of the gains went to the urban elite class, especially businessmen and financiers living in Halifax. The wealth held by the top 10% rose considerably over the two decades, but there was little improvement in the wealth levels in rural areas, which comprised the great majority of the population. Likewise Gwyn reports that gentlemen, merchants, bankers, colliery owners, shipowners, shipbuilders, and master mariners flourished. However the great majority of families were headed by farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and laborers. Most of them-and many widows as well--lived in poverty. Out migration became an increasingly necessary option. Thus the era was indeed a golden age but only for a small but powerful and highly visible elite.
The exact date that the Maritimes began to fall behind the rest of Canada is difficult to determine. Historian Kris Inwood places the date very early, at least in Nova Scotia, finding clear signs that the Maritimes "Golden Age" of the mid-nineteenth century was over by 1870, before Confederation or the National Policy could have had any significant impact. Richard Caves places the date closer to 1885. T.W. Acheson takes a similar view and provides considerable evidence that the early 1880s were in fact a booming period in Nova Scotia and this growth was only undermined towards the end of that decade. David Alexander argues that any earlier declines were simply part of the global Long Depression
, and that the Maritimes first fell behind the rest of Canada when the great boom period of the early twentieth century had little effect on the region. E.R. Forbes, however, emphasizes that the precipitous decline did not occur until after the First World War
during the 1920s when new railway policies were implemented. Forbes also contends that significant Canadian defence spending during the Second World War
favoured powerful political interests in Central Canada such as C.D. Howe, when major Maritime shipyards and factories, as well as Canada's largest steel mill, located in Cape Breton Island, fared poorly.
One of the most important changes, and one that almost certainly had an effect, was the revolution in transportation that occurred at this time. The Maritimes were connected to central Canada by the Intercolonial Railway in the 1870s, removing a longstanding barrier to trade. For the first time this placed the Maritime manufacturers in direct competition with those of Central Canada. Maritime trading patterns shifted considerably from mainly trading with New England
, Britain
, and the Caribbean
, to being focused on commerce with the Canadian interior, enforced by the federal government's tariff policies.
Simultaneous with the construction of railways in the region, the age of the wooden sailing ship began to come to an end, being replaced by larger and faster steel steam ships. The Maritimes had long been a centre for shipbuilding
, and this industry was hurt by the change. The larger ships were also less likely to call on the smaller population centres such as Saint John and Halifax, preferring to travel to cities like New York
and Montreal
. Even the Cunard Line
, founded by Haligonian Samuel Cunard
, stopped making more than a single ceremonial voyage to Halifax each year.
More controversial than the role of technology is the argument over the role of politics in the origins of the region's decline. Confederation and the tariff and railway freight policies that followed have often been blamed for having a deleterious effect on the Maritime economies. Arguments have been made that the Maritimes' poverty was caused by control over policy by Central Canada which used the national structures for its own enrichment. This was the central view of the Maritime Rights Movement
of the 1920s, which advocated greater local control over the region's finances. T.W. Acheson is one of the main proponents of this theory. He notes the growth that was occurring during the early years of the National Policy in Nova Scotia demonstrates how the effects of railway fares and the tariff structure helped undermine this growth. Capitalists from Central Canada purchased the factories and industries of the Maritimes from their bankrupt local owners and proceeded to close down many of them, consolidating the industry in Central Canada.
The policies in the early years of Confederation were designed by Central Canadian interests, and they reflected the needs of that region. The unified Canadian market and the introduction of railroads created a relative weakness in the Maritime economies. Central to this concept, according to Acheson, was the lack of metropolises in the Maritimes.
Montreal and Toronto
were well suited to benefit from the development of large-scale manufacturing and extensive railway systems in Quebec
and Ontario
, these being the goals of the Macdonald and Laurier governments. In the Maritimes the situation was very different. Today New Brunswick has several mid-sized centres in Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton but no significant population centre. Nova Scotia has a growing metropolitan area surrounding Halifax, but a contracting population in industrial Cape Breton
, and several smaller centres in Bridgewater
, Kentville
, Yarmouth
, and Pictou County
. Prince Edward Island's only significant population centres are in Charlottetown and Summerside
. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, just the opposite was the case with little to no population concentration in major industrial centres as the predominantly rural resource-dependent Maritime economy continued on the same path as it had since European settlement on the region's shores.
Despite the region's absence of economic growth on the same scale as other parts of the nation, the Maritimes has changed markedly throughout the 20th century, partly as a result of global and national economic trends, and partly as a result of government intervention. Each sub-region within the Maritimes has developed over time to exploit different resources and expertise. Saint John became a centre of the timber trade and shipbuilding and is currently a centre for oil refining and some manufacturing. The northern New Brunswick communities of Edmundston, Campbellton
, Dalhousie
, Bathurst
, and Miramichi
are focused on the pulp and paper industry and some mining activity. Moncton was a centre for railways and has changed its focus to becoming a multi-modal transportation centre with associated manufacturing and retail interests. The Halifax metropolitan area has come to dominate peninsular Nova Scotia as a retail and service centre, but that province's industries were spread out from the coal and steel industries of industrial Cape Breton
and Pictou
counties, the mixed farming of the North Shore and Annapolis Valley, and the fishing industry was primarily focused on the South Shore and Eastern Shore
. Prince Edward Island is largely dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism.
Given the geographic diversity of the various sub-regions within the Maritimes, policies to centralize the population and economy were not initially successful, thus Maritime factories closed while those in Ontario and Quebec prospered.
The traditional staples thesis
, advocated by scholars such as S.A. Saunders, looks at the resource endowments of the Maritimes and argues that it was the decline of the traditional industries of shipbuilding and fishing that led to Maritime poverty, since these processes were rooted in geography, and thus all but inevitable. Kris Inwood has revived the staples approach and looks at a number of geographic weaknesses relative to Central Canada. He repeats Acheson's argument that the region lacks major urban centres, but adds that the Maritimes were also lacking the great rivers that led to the cheap and abundant hydro-electric power, key to Quebec and Ontario's urban and manufacturing development, that the extraction costs of Maritime resources were higher (particularly in the case of Cape Breton coal), and that the soils of the region were poorer and thus the agricultural sector weaker.
The Maritimes are the only provinces in Canada which entered Confederation in the 19th century and have kept their original colonial boundaries. All three provinces have the smallest land base in the country and have been forced to make do with resources within. By comparison, the former colony of the United Province of Canada (divided into the District of Canada East
, and the District of Canada West) and the western provinces were dozens of times larger and in some cases were expanded to take in territory formerly held in British Crown grants to companies such as the Hudson's Bay Company
; in particular the November 19, 1869 sale of Rupert's Land
to the Government of Canada under the Rupert's Land Act 1868 was facilitated in part by Maritime taxpayers. The economic riches of energy and natural resources held within this larger land base were only realized by other provinces during the 20th century.
One comparison made with the wealthier areas of Canada is that of the region's political and/or work culture. Today few academics make such a claim, but it still a common explanation in other circles. Some writers have also alleged that Maritime business people were unwilling to take risks or invest in manufacturing, a thesis Acheson devotes much attention to debunking.
In recent years dependency theory
has been used to examine the situation of the Maritimes, and while it rejects most traditional economic models it does correspond with the evidence.
tradition, key influences being former Premier of Nova Scotia
and federal Progressive Conservative Party
leader Robert Stanfield
and New Brunswick Tory strategist Dalton Camp
.
In recent years, the social democratic
New Democratic Party
(NDP) has made significant inroads both federally and provincially in the region. The NDP has elected Members of Parliament
(MPs) from New Brunswick, but most of the focus of the party at the federal and provincial levels is currently in the Halifax area of Nova Scotia. Industrial Cape Breton has historically been a region of labour activism, electing Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
(and later NDP) MPs, and even produced many early members of the Communist Party of Canada
in the pre-World War II
era. In the 2004 federal election
, the NDP captured 28.45% of the vote in Nova Scotia, more than any other province. In the 2009 provincial election the NDP formed a majority government, the first in the region.
The Maritimes are generally socially conservative
but unlike Alberta
, they also have fiscally socialist
tendencies. It is because of the lack of support for fiscal conservatism
that federal parties such as the Canadian Alliance
never had much success in the region, and the level of support for the new Conservative Party of Canada
in the region is uncertain. In the 2004 federal election, the Conservatives had one of the worst showings in the region for a right-wing party, going back to Confederation, with the possible exception of the 1993 election
.
An area within the region where both fiscal and social conservatism do coincide and where the federal Reform Party
and Canadian Alliance have met success is in the central-western part of New Brunswick, in the St. John River valley north of Saint John and south of Grand Falls
. Contributing demographics include a predominantly Anglophone
population residing in a largely rural agrarian setting. One influence might be proximity to the International Boundary and the state of Maine
. The valley is also settled by descendants of United Empire Loyalists
, some of whom established fundamentalist Christian
congregations in the area which continue to influence certain segments of society. There are also a large number of active and retired military personnel located in the Fredericton and Oromocto
area as a result of the large military base at CFB Gagetown
. Another area in the region with smatterings of coinciding fiscal and social conservatism is the Annapolis Valley
of Nova Scotia.
The Liberal Party of Canada
has done well in the Maritimes in the past because of its interventionist
policies. The Acadian Peninsula region of New Brunswick, long dependent upon seasonal employment in the Gulf of St. Lawrence fishery, tends to vote for the Liberals or NDP for this reason. In the 1997 federal election
, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
's Liberals endured a bitter defeat to the PCs and NDP in many ridings as a result of unpopular cuts to unemployment benefit
s for seasonal workers, as well as closures of several Canadian Forces Base
s, the refusal to honour a promise to rescind the Goods and Services Tax
, cutbacks to provincial equalization payments
, health care
, post-secondary education and regional transportation infrastructure such as airports, fishing harbours, seaports, and railways
. The Liberals held onto seats in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, while being shut out of Nova Scotia entirely, the second time in history (the only other time being the Diefenbaker sweep
).
The Maritimes is currently represented in the Canadian Parliament by 25 Members of the House of Commons (Nova Scotia - 11, New Brunswick - 10, Prince Edward Island - 4) and 24 Senators (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick - 10 each, Prince Edward Island - 4). This level of representation was established at the time of Confederation when the Maritimes had a much larger proportion of the national population. The comparatively large population growth of western and central Canada during the immigration boom of the 20th century has reduced the Maritimes' proportion of the national population to less than 10%, resulting in an over-representation in Parliament, with some federal ridings having fewer than 35,000 people, compared to central and western Canada where ridings typically contain 100,000-120,000 people.
The Canadian Senate
is structured along regional lines, giving an equal number of seats (24) to the Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec, and western Canada, in addition to the later entry of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the three territories. Enshrined in the Constitution, this model was developed to ensure that no area of the country is able to exert undue influence in the Senate. The Maritimes, with its much smaller proportion of the national population (compared to the time of Confederation) also have an over-representation in the Senate, particularly compared to the population growth of Ontario and the western provinces. This has led to calls to reform the Senate
; however, such a move would entail constitutional changes.
Another factor related to the number of Senate seats is that a constitutional amendment in the early 20th century mandated that no province can have fewer Members of Parliament than it has senators. This court decision resulted from a complaint by the Government of Prince Edward Island after that province's number of MPs was proposed to change from 4 to 3, accounting for its declining proportion of the national population at that time. When PEI entered Confederation in 1873, it was accorded 6 MPs and 4 Senators; however this was reduced to 4 MPs by the early twentieth century. Senators being appointed for life at this time, these coveted seats rarely went unfilled for a long period of time anywhere in Canada. As a result, PEI's challenge was accepted by the federal government, and its level of federal representation was secured. In the aftermath of the 1989 budget, which saw a fillibuster by Liberal Senators in attempt to kill legislation creating the Goods and Services Tax
, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
"stacked" the Senate by creating additional seats in several provinces across Canada, including New Brunswick; however, there was no attempt by these provinces to increase the number of MPs to reflect this change in Senate representation.
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
consisting of three provinces
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, and Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
. On the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
, which also includes the northeastern province of Newfoundland & Labrador. The population of the Maritime provinces was 1,826,896 in 2008.
The Maritimes front the Atlantic Ocean and its various sub-basins such as the Gulf of Maine
Gulf of Maine
The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America.It is delineated by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and Cape Sable at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast. It includes the entire coastlines of the U.S...
and Gulf of St. Lawrence systems. The region is located northeast of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, southeast of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's Gaspé Peninsula
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, and southwest of the island of Newfoundland.
There was talk of a Maritime Union
Maritime Union
Maritime Union is a proposed political union of the three Maritime provinces of Canada to form a single new province which would be the fifth-largest in Canada by population...
of the three provinces to have greater political power; however, the first discussions on the subject in 1864 at the Charlottetown Conference
Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation...
led to the process of Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
which formed the larger Dominion of Canada instead.
Passamaquoddy
The Passamaquoddy are the First Nations people who live in northeastern North America, primarily in Maine and New Brunswick....
people and have an extensive history of French and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
settlement dating back to the seventeenth century, forming a unique culture that predates Canada.
Name
The word maritime is an adjective that simply means "of the sea", thus any land associated with the sea can be considered a maritime state or province (e.g. All the provinces of Canada except Alberta and Saskatchewan border water). The term "Maritimes" has historically been collectively applied to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.History
Following the northerly retreat of glaciers at the end of the Wisconsin glaciationWisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
over ten thousand years ago, human settlement by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
or First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
began in the Maritimes with Paleo-Indians during the Early Period, ending around six thousand years ago.
The Middle Period, starting six thousand years ago, and ending three thousand years ago, was dominated by rising sea levels from the melting glaciers in polar regions. This is also when what is called the Laurentian tradition started among Archaic Indians, existing First Nations peoples of the time. Evidence of Archaic Indian burial mounds and other ceremonial sites existing in the St. John River valley has been uncovered.
The Late Period extended from three thousand years ago until first contact with European settlers and was dominated by the organization of First Nations peoples into the Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
-influenced Abenaki Nation which existed largely in present-day interior Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, and the Mi'kmaq Nation which inhabited all of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, eastern New Brunswick and the southern Gaspé. The primarily agrarian Maliseet Nation settled throughout the St. John River and Allagash River
Allagash River
The Allagash River is a tributary of the St. John River, approximately long, in northern Maine in the United States. It drains a remote and scenic area of wilderness in the Maine North Woods north of Mount Katahdin...
valleys of present-day New Brunswick and Maine. The Passamaquoddy
Passamaquoddy
The Passamaquoddy are the First Nations people who live in northeastern North America, primarily in Maine and New Brunswick....
Nation inhabited the northwestern coastal regions of the present-day Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
. The Mi'kmaq Nation is also assumed to have crossed the present-day Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...
at around this time to settle on the south coast of Newfoundland but were in a minority position compared to the Beothuk
Beothuk
The Beothuk were one of the aboriginal peoples in Canada. They lived on the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries...
Nation.
European contact
The Maritimes was the first area in Canada to be settled by Europeans. There is speculation that VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
explorers discovered and settled in the Vinland region
Vinland
Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
around 1000 AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
, which is when the L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse or Viking village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland...
settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
has been dated, and it is possible that further exploration was made into the present-day Maritimes and northeastern United States.
Both Giovanni Caboto
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
(John Cabot) and Giovanni da Verrazzano are reported to have sailed in or near Maritime waters during their voyages of discovery for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
respectively. Several Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
explorers/cartographers have also documented various parts of the Maritimes, namely Diogo Homem
Diogo Homem
Diogo Homem was a Portuguese cartographer, son of Lopo Homem and member of a family of cartographers. Due to a crime of murder, in which he was connivent, he was forced to exile from Portugal, first in England, and then in Venice. It was there that he produced numerous manuscript atlases and...
. However, it was French explorer Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
who made the first detailed reconnaissance of the region for a European power, and in so doing, claimed the region for the King of France. Cartier was followed by nobleman Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
Pierre Du Gua de Monts, was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Protestant, he was born in Royan, France and had a great influence over the first two decades of the 17th century...
who was accompanied by explorer/cartographer Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
in a 1604 expedition where they established the second permanent European settlement in North America, following Spain's
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
settlement at St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
. Champlain's settlement at Saint Croix Island, later moved to Port-Royal
Habitation at Port-Royal
The Habitation at Port-Royal was the first successful French settlement of New France in North America, and is presently known as Port-Royal National Historic Site, a National Historic Site located on the northern side of the Annapolis Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada...
, survived where the ill-fated English settlement at Roanoke
Roanoke Colony
The Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island in Dare County, present-day North Carolina, United States was a late 16th-century attempt to establish a permanent English settlement in what later became the Virginia Colony. The enterprise was financed and organized by Sir Walter Raleigh and carried out by...
did not, and pre-dated the more successful English settlement at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
by three years. Champlain went on to greater fame as the founder of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
's province of Canada which comprises much of the present-day lower St. Lawrence River valley in the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
Acadia
Champlain's success in the region, which came to be called AcadieAcadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
, led to the fertile tidal marshes surrounding the southeastern and northeastern reaches of the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
being populated by French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
immigrants who called themselves Acadien. Acadians eventually built small settlements throughout what is today mainland Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, as well as Île-Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
), Île-Royale (Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
), and other shorelines of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
, and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Acadian settlements had primarily agrarian economies, although there were many early examples of Acadian fishing settlements in southwestern Nova Scotia and in Île-Royale, as well as along the south and west coasts of Newfoundland, the Gaspé Peninsula
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, and the present-day Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord is the second largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec...
region of Quebec. Most Acadian fishing activities were overshadowed by the comparatively enormous seasonal European fishing fleets based out of Newfoundland which took advantage of proximity to the Grand Banks
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...
.
The growing English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
colonies along the American seaboard to the south and various European wars between England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the 17th and 18th centuries brought Acadia to the centre of world-scale geopolitical forces. In 1613, Virginian raiders captured Port Royale, and in 1621 Acadia was ceded to Scotland's
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Sir William Alexander who renamed it Nova Scotia. By 1632, Acadia was returned from Scotland to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1632)
The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on March 29, 1632. It returned New France to French control after the English had seized it in 1629. It also provided France with compensation for goods seized during the capture of New France....
, and the Port Royale settlement was moved to the site of nearby present-day Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
. More French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
settlers, primarily from the Vienne
Vienne
Vienne is the northernmost département of the Poitou-Charentes region of France, named after the river Vienne.- Viennese history :Vienne is one of the original 83 departments, established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou,...
, Normandie
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, and Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
regions of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, continued to populate the colony of Acadia during the latter part of the 17th and early part of the 18th centuries. Important settlements also began in the Beaubassin
Tantramar Marshes
The Tantramar Marshes is a National Wildlife Area on the southern part of the Isthmus of Chignecto, which joins Nova Scotia to New Brunswick and the Canadian mainland. It is the site of the historic Battle of Fort Beauséjour, the final chapter in the long battle for Acadia by the British and French...
region of the present-day Isthmus of Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
, and in the St. John River valley, and settlers began to establish communities on Île-Saint-Jean and Île-Royale as well.
In 1654, New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
raiders attacked Acadian settlements on the Annapolis Basin
Annapolis Basin
The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the southwestern shores of the bay, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley....
, starting a period of uncertainty for Acadians throughout the English constitutional crises under Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, and only being properly resolved under the Treaty of Breda in 1667 when France's claim to the region was reaffirmed. Colonial administration by France throughout the history of Acadia was contemptuous at best. France's priorities were in settling and strengthening its claim on New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
and the exploration and settlement of interior North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
valley.
British and French control
Further French-English conflict resulted in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 which saw France formally relinquish Acadia to BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Confusion over the boundaries between Acadia, New France, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
left Britain in possession of what is the present-day Nova Scotia peninsula
Nova Scotia peninsula
The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America.-Location:The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through the Isthmus of Chignecto...
. The early British capital of the Colony of Nova Scotia (sometimes referred to as the 14th Colony) was established at Annapolis Royal, where Fort Anne
Fort Anne
For a similarly named fort in New York City see: Fort AmsterdamFort Anne is a typical star fort built to protect the harbour of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The fort repelled all French attacks during the early stages of King George's War....
was constructed.
France still maintained control over much of present-day New Brunswick and northern Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Île-Saint-Jean
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, and Île-Royale
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
. In 1719, to further protect strategic interests in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River, France began the 20-year construction of a large fortress at Louisbourg on Île-Royale. Massachusetts was increasingly concerned over reports of the capabilities of this fortress, and of privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s staging out of its harbour to raid New England fishermen on the Grand Banks. The War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
saw Britain and France in conflict with each other, and in 1745 several warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s and a small contingent of troops were sent from Boston, first to the Nova Scotian fishing port of Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
, and on to Louisbourg where they laid siege to the fortress until the French surrendered and were evacuated.
The British returned control of Île-Royale to France with the fortress virtually intact three years later under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession following a congress assembled at the Imperial Free City of Aachen—Aix-la-Chapelle in French—in the west of the Holy Roman Empire, on 24 April 1748...
and the French reestablished their forces there. In 1749, to counter the rising threat of Louisbourg, Halifax was founded and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
established a major naval base and citadel.
The Seven Years' War
The forth and final colonial war was the Seven Years' War. During the war, military conflicts in Nova Scotia included: Battle of Fort BeauséjourBattle of Fort Beauséjour
The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre’s War andthe opening of a British offensive in the French and Indian War, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America...
; Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
; the Battle of Petitcodiac
Battle of Petitcodiac
The Battle of Petitcodiac was fought during the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the French and Indian War. The battle was fought between the British colonial troops and Acadian resistance fighters led by French Officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert on September 4, 1755 at the Acadian village of...
; the Raid on Lunenburg (1756)
Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1756)
The Raid on Lunenburg occurred during the French and Indian War when a French-allied Mi'kmaw and Maliseet militia attacked a British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on May 8, 1756. The native militia raided two islands on the northern outskirts of the fortified Township of Lunenburg, [John]...
; the Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
Louisbourg Expedition (1757)
The Louisbourg Expedition was a failed British attempt to capture the French fortress of Louisbourg on Île Royale during the Seven Years' War ....
; Battle of Bloody Creek (1757); Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 which ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year.-Background:The British government realized that with the...
, Petitcodiac River Campaign
Petitcodiac River Campaign
The Petitcodiac River Campaign was a series of British military operations from June to November 1758, during the French and Indian War, to deport the Acadians that either lived along the Petitcodiac River or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations, such as the Ile Saint-Jean...
, Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
The Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when British forces raided villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe were in command of the naval and...
, St. John River Campaign
St. John River Campaign
The St. John River Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas in February 1759...
, and Battle of Restigouche
Battle of Restigouche
The Battle of Restigouche was a naval battle fought during the French and Indian War on the Restigouche River between the British Royal Navy and the small flotilla of French Navy vessels. The French vessels had been sent to relieve New France after the fall of Quebec...
.
The British Conquest of Acadia
Siege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour.
During the Seven Years' War, the British sought to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The British began the Expulsion of the Acadians with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
. Over the next nine years over 12,000 Acadians were removed from Nova Scotia.
In 1758, the fortress of Louisbourg was laid siege for a second time within 15 years, this time by more than 27,000 British soldiers and sailors with over 150 warships. After the French surrender, Louisbourg was thoroughly destroyed by British engineers to ensure it would never be reclaimed. With the fall of Louisbourg, French resistance in the region crumbled. British forces seized remaining French control over Acadia in the coming months, with Île-Saint-Jean falling in 1759 to British forces on their way to Quebec City for the Siege of Quebec and ensuing Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
The war ended and Britain had gained control over the entire Maritime region.
American Revolution
Following the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, empty Acadian lands were settled first by New England Planters
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Acadian Expulsion...
and then by immigrants brought from Yorkshire
Yorkshire Emigration to Nova Scotia
Migration from Yorkshire to Nova Scotia occurred between 1772 and 1775 and involved an approximate one thousand migrants from mainly Yorkshire, England arriving in Nova Scotia to settle the colony some years following the expulsion of its Acadian population....
. Île-Royale was renamed to Cape Breton Island and incorporated into the Colony of Nova Scotia.
Both the colonies of Nova Scotia (present-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) and St. John's Island (Prince Edward Island) were affected by the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, largely by privateering against American shipping, but several coastal communities were also the targets of American raiders. Charlottetown, the capital of the new colony of St. John's Island, was ransacked in 1775 with the provincial secretary kidnapped and the Great Seal stolen. The largest military action in the Maritimes during the revolutionary war was the attack on Fort Cumberland
Battle of Fort Cumberland
The Battle of Fort Cumberland was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776...
(the renamed Fort Beausejour
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour, was built during Father Le Loutre's War from 1751-1755; it is located at the Isthmus of Chignecto in present-day Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada...
) in 1776 by a force of American sympathizers led by Jonathan Eddy
Jonathan Eddy
Jonathan Eddy served for the British in the French and Indian War and for the American Patriots in the American Revolution. After the French and Indian War he settled in Nova Scotia as a New England Planter, becoming a member of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia. During the American...
. The fort was partially overrun after a month-long siege, but the attackers were ultimately repelled after the arrival of British reinforcements from Halifax.
The most significant impact from this war was the settling of large numbers of Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
refugees in the region, especially in Shelburne and Parrtown (Saint John). Following the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
in 1783, Loyalist settlers in what would become New Brunswick persuaded British administrators to split the Colony of Nova Scotia to create the new colony of New Brunswick in 1784. At the same time, another part of the Colony of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, was split off to become the Colony of Cape Breton Island.
The Colony of St. John's Island was renamed to Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
on November 29, 1798.
The War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
had some affect on the shipping industry in the Maritime colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton Island; however, the significant Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
presence in Halifax and other ports in the region prevented any serious attempts by American raiders. Maritime and American privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s targeted unprotected shipping of both the United States and Britain respectively, further reducing trade. The American border with New Brunswick did not have any significant action during this conflict, although British forces did occupy a portion of coastal Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
at one point. The most significant incident from this war which occurred in the Maritimes was the British capture and detention of the American frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
USS Chesapeake
USS Chesapeake (1799)
USS Chesapeake was a 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships...
in Halifax.
19th century
In 1820, the Colony of Cape Breton IslandCape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
was merged back into the Colony of Nova Scotia for the second time by the British government.
British settlement of the Maritimes, as the colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island came to be known, accelerated throughout the late 18th century and into the 19th century with significant immigration to the region as a result of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
migrants displaced by the Highland Clearances
Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
and Irish
Irish diaspora
thumb|Night Train with Reaper by London Irish artist [[Brian Whelan]] from the book Myth of Return, 2007The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa,...
escaping the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849). As a result, significant portions of the three provinces are influenced by Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic heritages, with Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
having been widely spoken, particularly in Cape Breton, although it is less prevalent today.
During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, some Maritimers emigrated to the United States to volunteer for the armies of the Union or the Confederacy. However, the majority of the conflict's impact was felt in the shipping industry since diplomatic tensions between Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Unionist North had deteriorated after Britain expressed support for the secessionist Confederate South
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. The Union navy, although much smaller than the Royal Navy, did posture off Maritime coasts at times. Although an amphibious invasion was never in question, blockading by Union naval forces was common, particularly at Halifax, where Confederate navy ships sought refuge and reprovisioning.
The immense size of the Union army (the largest on the planet toward the end of the Civil War), however, was viewed with increasing concern by Maritimers throughout the early 1860s. Another concern was the rising threat of Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
raids on border communities in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
by those seeking to end British rule of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. This combination of events, coupled with an ongoing decline in British military and economic support to the region as the Home Office favoured newer colonial endeavours in Africa and elsewhere, led to a call among Maritime politicians for a conference on Maritime Union
Maritime Union
Maritime Union is a proposed political union of the three Maritime provinces of Canada to form a single new province which would be the fifth-largest in Canada by population...
, to be held in early September 1864 in Charlottetown - chosen in part because of Prince Edward Island's reluctance to give up its jurisdictional sovereignty in favour of uniting with New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into a single colony. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia felt that if the union conference were held in Charlottetown, they might be able to convince Island politicians to support the proposal.
The Charlottetown Conference
Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation...
, as it came to be called, was also attended by a slew of visiting delegates from the neighbouring colony of Canada, who had largely arrived at their own invitation with their own agenda. This agenda saw the conference dominated by discussions of creating an even larger union of the entire territory of British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
into a united colony. The Charlottetown Conference ended with an agreement to meet the following month in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, where more formal discussions ensued, culminating with meetings in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the signing of the British North America Act. Of the Maritime provinces, only Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were initially party to the BNA Act, Prince Edward Island's reluctance, combined with a booming agricultural and fishing export economy having led to that colony opting not to sign on.
Major communities
The major communities of the region include Halifax and Sydney in Nova Scotia, Saint JohnSaint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, Fredericton and Moncton in New Brunswick, and Charlottetown
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
in Prince Edward Island.
Society and culture
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, and coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
.
While Maritimers are predominantly of west European heritage (Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and Acadian), immigration to Industrial Cape Breton
Industrial Cape Breton
Industrial Cape Breton is a geographic region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It refers to the eastern portion of Cape Breton County fronting the Atlantic Ocean on the southeastern part of Cape Breton Island.-Geography:...
during the heyday of coal mining and steel manufacturing brought people from eastern Europe as well as from Newfoundland. The Maritimes also have a black population who are cultural descendants of The West Indies or are former African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
runaway slaves and loyalists, largely concentrated in Nova Scotia
Black Nova Scotians
Black Nova Scotians are people of Black African descent whose ancestors fled Colonial America as slaves or freemen to settle in Nova Scotia, Canada during the 18th and 19th centuries. According to the 2006 Census of Canada, there are 19,230 black people currently living in Nova Scotia, most of whom...
but also in various communities throughout southern New Brunswick, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island. The Mi'kmaq Nation's reserves throughout Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and eastern New Brunswick dominate aboriginal culture in the region, compared to the much smaller population of the Maliseet Nation in western New Brunswick.
Helen Creighton
Mary Helen Creighton, CM was a prominent Canadian folklorist. She collected over 4,000 traditional songs, stories, and myths in a career that spanned several decades, and she published many books and articles on Nova Scotia folk songs and folklore...
spent the majority of her lifetime recording the various Celtic music
Celtic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
al and folk traditions of rural Nova Scotia during the mid-20th century, prior to this knowledge being wiped out by mass media assimilation with the rest of North America. A fragment of Gaelic culture remains in Nova Scotia but primarily on Cape Breton Island.
Alexander Keith's
Alexander Keith's is a Canadian brewery founded in 1820 in Halifax, Nova Scotia making it one of the oldest commercial breweries in all of North America. It was founded by Alexander Keith who emigrated from Scotland in 1817. Today, the brewery is under the control of Labatt, a subsidiary of...
and Moosehead
Moosehead
Moosehead is Canada's oldest independent brewery, located in Saint John, New Brunswick. The brewery was founded in 1867 by Susannah Oland and is still operated by the Oland family, now in the sixth generation of ownership under Derek Oland...
have played up a connection between folklore with alcohol consumption during their marketing campaigns. The Maritimes were among the strongest supporters of prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
(Prince Edward Island lasting until 1949), and some predominantly rural communities maintain "dry" status, banning the retail sale of alcohol to this day as a vestige of the original temperance movement in the region.
Present status
Trenton, Nova Scotia
Trenton is a town located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.Trenton is situated on the east bank of the East River of Pictou, adjacent to and immediately north of the larger town of New Glasgow.- Economy :...
, and subsequent creation of a widespread industrial base to take advantage of the region's large underground coal deposits. After Confederation, however, this industrial base withered with technological change, and trading links to Europe and the U.S. were reduced in favour of those with Ontario and Quebec. In recent years, however, the Maritime regional economy has begun increased contributions from manufacturing again and the steady transition to a service economy.
Important manufacturing centres in the region include Pictou County
Pictou County, Nova Scotia
Pictou County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 46,513 people in 2006, which represents a decline of 6.3 percent from 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova...
, Truro
Truro, Nova Scotia
-Education:Truro has one high school, Cobequid Educational Centre. Post-secondary options include a campus of the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in the neighboring town of Bible Hill.- Sports :...
, the Annapolis Valley
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...
and the South Shore
South Shore (Nova Scotia)
The South Shore is a region of Nova Scotia, Canada. Although it has no formal identity and is variously defined by geographic, county and other political boundaries, it is generally understood as the Atlantic coast running southwest from Halifax Harbour to the end of Shelburne County...
, and the Strait of Canso
Strait of Canso
The Strait of Canso , is a strait located in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It divides the Nova Scotia peninsula from Cape Breton Island....
area in Nova Scotia, as well as Summerside
Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the principal municipality for the western part of the island.- History :...
in Prince Edward Island, and the Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
area, the North Shore and the upper Saint John River valley of New Brunswick.
Some predominantly coastal areas have become major tourist centres, such as parts of Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton Island, the South Shore of Nova Scotia and the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
coasts of New Brunswick. Additional service-related industries in information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, pharmaceuticals, insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
and financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
sectors—as well as research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
-related spin-offs from the region's numerous universities and colleges—are significant economic contributors.
Another important contribution to Nova Scotia's provincial economy is through spin-offs and royalties relating to off-shore petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
exploration and development. Mostly concentrated on the continental shelf of the province's Atlantic coast in the vicinity of Sable Island, exploration activities began in the 1960s and resulted in the first commercial production field for oil beginning in the 1980s. Natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
was also discovered in the 1980s during exploration work, and this is being commercially recovered, beginning in the late 1990s. Initial optimism in Nova Scotia about the potential of off-shore resources appears to have diminished with the lack of new discoveries, although exploration work continues and is moving farther off-shore into waters on the continental margin
Continental margin
The continental margin is the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust. Continental margins constitute about 28% of the oceanic area....
.
Canso Causeway
The Canso Causeway is a rock-fill causeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.The causeway crosses the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula...
and the Confederation Bridge
Confederation Bridge
The Confederation Bridge is a bridge spanning the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada. It was commonly referred to as the "Fixed Link" by residents of Prince Edward Island prior to its official naming. Construction took place...
. There have been airport improvements at various centres providing improved connections to markets and destinations in the rest of North America and overseas.
Improvements in infrastructure and the regional economy notwithstanding, the three provinces remain one of the poorer regions of Canada. While urban areas are growing and thriving, economic adjustments have been harsh in rural and resource-dependent communities, and emigration has been an ongoing phenomenon for some parts of the region. Another problem is seen in the lower average wages and family incomes within the region. Property values are depressed, resulting in a smaller tax base for these three provinces, particularly when compared with the national average which benefits from central and western Canadian economic growth.
This has been particularly problematic with the growth of the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
in Canada since the 1950s, resulting in the need to draw upon equalization payments
Equalization payments
Equalization payments are cash payments made in some federal systems of government from the federal government to subnational governments with the objective of offsetting differences in available revenue or in the cost of providing services....
to provide nationally-mandated social services. Since the 1990s the region has experienced an exceptionally tumultuous period in its regional economy with the collapse of large portions of the ground fishery throughout Atlantic Canada, the closing of coal mines and a steel mill on Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, and the closure of military bases in all three provinces.
Growth
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
's most extensive manufacturing sectors. The question of why the Maritimes fell from being a centre of Canadian manufacturing to being an economic hinterland is thus a central one to the study of the region's pecuniary difficulties. The period in which the decline occurred had a great many potential culprits. In 1867 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick merged with the Canadas in Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
, with Prince Edward Island joining them six years later in 1873. Canada was formed only a year after free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
with the United States (in the form of the Reciprocity Agreement) had ended. In the 1870s John A. Macdonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
's National Policy
National Policy
The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876 and put into action in 1879. It called for high tariffs on imported manufactured items to protect the manufacturing industry...
was implemented, creating a system of protective tariffs around the new nation. Throughout the period there was also significant technological change both in the production and transportation of goods.
Was there a Golden Age?
Several scholars have explored the so-called "golden age" of the Maritimes in the years just before Confederation. In Nova ScotiaHistory of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the colony was primarily made up of Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq...
, the population grew steadily from 277,000 in 1851 to 388,000 in 1871, mostly from natural increase since immigration was slight. The era has been called a golden age, but that was a myth created in the 1930s to lure tourists to a romantic era of tall ships and antiques. Recent historians using census data have shown that is a fallacy. In 1851-1871 there was an overall increase in per capita wealth holding. However most of the gains went to the urban elite class, especially businessmen and financiers living in Halifax. The wealth held by the top 10% rose considerably over the two decades, but there was little improvement in the wealth levels in rural areas, which comprised the great majority of the population. Likewise Gwyn reports that gentlemen, merchants, bankers, colliery owners, shipowners, shipbuilders, and master mariners flourished. However the great majority of families were headed by farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and laborers. Most of them-and many widows as well--lived in poverty. Out migration became an increasingly necessary option. Thus the era was indeed a golden age but only for a small but powerful and highly visible elite.
Decline
The cause of economic malaise in the Maritimes is an issue of great debate and controversy among historians, economists, and geographers. The differing opinions can approximately be divided into the "structuralists," who argue that poor policy decisions are to blame, and the others, who argue that unavoidable technological and geographical factors caused the decline.Long Depression
The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, felt most heavily in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing strong economic growth fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution in the decade following the American Civil War. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great...
, and that the Maritimes first fell behind the rest of Canada when the great boom period of the early twentieth century had little effect on the region. E.R. Forbes, however, emphasizes that the precipitous decline did not occur until after the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
during the 1920s when new railway policies were implemented. Forbes also contends that significant Canadian defence spending during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
favoured powerful political interests in Central Canada such as C.D. Howe, when major Maritime shipyards and factories, as well as Canada's largest steel mill, located in Cape Breton Island, fared poorly.
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, to being focused on commerce with the Canadian interior, enforced by the federal government's tariff policies.
Simultaneous with the construction of railways in the region, the age of the wooden sailing ship began to come to an end, being replaced by larger and faster steel steam ships. The Maritimes had long been a centre for shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
, and this industry was hurt by the change. The larger ships were also less likely to call on the smaller population centres such as Saint John and Halifax, preferring to travel to cities like New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Even the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
, founded by Haligonian Samuel Cunard
Samuel Cunard
Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet was a British shipping magnate, born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line...
, stopped making more than a single ceremonial voyage to Halifax each year.
More controversial than the role of technology is the argument over the role of politics in the origins of the region's decline. Confederation and the tariff and railway freight policies that followed have often been blamed for having a deleterious effect on the Maritime economies. Arguments have been made that the Maritimes' poverty was caused by control over policy by Central Canada which used the national structures for its own enrichment. This was the central view of the Maritime Rights Movement
Maritime Rights Movement
The Maritime Rights Movement arose in the 1920s in response to perceived unfair economic policies in Canada that were affecting the economies of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. At a time of rural protest in Canada from Ontario to the Prairies, the Movement was...
of the 1920s, which advocated greater local control over the region's finances. T.W. Acheson is one of the main proponents of this theory. He notes the growth that was occurring during the early years of the National Policy in Nova Scotia demonstrates how the effects of railway fares and the tariff structure helped undermine this growth. Capitalists from Central Canada purchased the factories and industries of the Maritimes from their bankrupt local owners and proceeded to close down many of them, consolidating the industry in Central Canada.
Montreal and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
were well suited to benefit from the development of large-scale manufacturing and extensive railway systems in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, these being the goals of the Macdonald and Laurier governments. In the Maritimes the situation was very different. Today New Brunswick has several mid-sized centres in Saint John, Moncton, and Fredericton but no significant population centre. Nova Scotia has a growing metropolitan area surrounding Halifax, but a contracting population in industrial Cape Breton
Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton County, officially, County Cape Breton, is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island.Taking its name from Cape Breton, the most easterly point of the island which was called after the Bretons of Brittany, this municipality has what is probably the oldest...
, and several smaller centres in Bridgewater
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Bridgewater is a town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the navigable limit of the LaHave River. It is the largest town in the South Shore region. While the majority of the South Shore's economy is based upon the tourist trade, Bridgewater is more a commercial and industrial centre and...
, Kentville
Kentville, Nova Scotia
Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....
, Yarmouth
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia
Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
, and Pictou County
Pictou County, Nova Scotia
Pictou County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 46,513 people in 2006, which represents a decline of 6.3 percent from 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova...
. Prince Edward Island's only significant population centres are in Charlottetown and Summerside
Summerside, Prince Edward Island
Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the principal municipality for the western part of the island.- History :...
. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, just the opposite was the case with little to no population concentration in major industrial centres as the predominantly rural resource-dependent Maritime economy continued on the same path as it had since European settlement on the region's shores.
Despite the region's absence of economic growth on the same scale as other parts of the nation, the Maritimes has changed markedly throughout the 20th century, partly as a result of global and national economic trends, and partly as a result of government intervention. Each sub-region within the Maritimes has developed over time to exploit different resources and expertise. Saint John became a centre of the timber trade and shipbuilding and is currently a centre for oil refining and some manufacturing. The northern New Brunswick communities of Edmundston, Campbellton
Campbellton, New Brunswick
Campbellton is a Canadian city in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.Situated on the south bank of the Restigouche River opposite Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Campbellton was officially incorporated in 1889 and achieved city status in 1958.Forestry and tourism are major industries in the regional...
, Dalhousie
Dalhousie, New Brunswick
Dalhousie is a Canadian town located in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.- History :Dalhousie is the shire town of Restigouche County and dates European settlement to 1800. The Town of Dalhousie has been through some very distinct periods between its founding in 1825 and today...
, Bathurst
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....
, and Miramichi
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
are focused on the pulp and paper industry and some mining activity. Moncton was a centre for railways and has changed its focus to becoming a multi-modal transportation centre with associated manufacturing and retail interests. The Halifax metropolitan area has come to dominate peninsular Nova Scotia as a retail and service centre, but that province's industries were spread out from the coal and steel industries of industrial Cape Breton
Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton County, officially, County Cape Breton, is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island.Taking its name from Cape Breton, the most easterly point of the island which was called after the Bretons of Brittany, this municipality has what is probably the oldest...
and Pictou
Pictou County, Nova Scotia
Pictou County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 46,513 people in 2006, which represents a decline of 6.3 percent from 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova...
counties, the mixed farming of the North Shore and Annapolis Valley, and the fishing industry was primarily focused on the South Shore and Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia)
The Eastern Shore is a region of Nova Scotia Canada. It is the Atlantic coast running northeast from Halifax Harbour to the eastern end of the peninsula at the Strait of Canso....
. Prince Edward Island is largely dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism.
Given the geographic diversity of the various sub-regions within the Maritimes, policies to centralize the population and economy were not initially successful, thus Maritime factories closed while those in Ontario and Quebec prospered.
The traditional staples thesis
Staples thesis
The staples thesis is a theory of Canadian economic development. The theory “has its origins in research into Canadian social, political, and economic history carried out in Canadian universities…by members of what were then known as departments of political economy.” From these groups of...
, advocated by scholars such as S.A. Saunders, looks at the resource endowments of the Maritimes and argues that it was the decline of the traditional industries of shipbuilding and fishing that led to Maritime poverty, since these processes were rooted in geography, and thus all but inevitable. Kris Inwood has revived the staples approach and looks at a number of geographic weaknesses relative to Central Canada. He repeats Acheson's argument that the region lacks major urban centres, but adds that the Maritimes were also lacking the great rivers that led to the cheap and abundant hydro-electric power, key to Quebec and Ontario's urban and manufacturing development, that the extraction costs of Maritime resources were higher (particularly in the case of Cape Breton coal), and that the soils of the region were poorer and thus the agricultural sector weaker.
The Maritimes are the only provinces in Canada which entered Confederation in the 19th century and have kept their original colonial boundaries. All three provinces have the smallest land base in the country and have been forced to make do with resources within. By comparison, the former colony of the United Province of Canada (divided into the District of Canada East
Canada East
Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....
, and the District of Canada West) and the western provinces were dozens of times larger and in some cases were expanded to take in territory formerly held in British Crown grants to companies such as the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
; in particular the November 19, 1869 sale of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
to the Government of Canada under the Rupert's Land Act 1868 was facilitated in part by Maritime taxpayers. The economic riches of energy and natural resources held within this larger land base were only realized by other provinces during the 20th century.
One comparison made with the wealthier areas of Canada is that of the region's political and/or work culture. Today few academics make such a claim, but it still a common explanation in other circles. Some writers have also alleged that Maritime business people were unwilling to take risks or invest in manufacturing, a thesis Acheson devotes much attention to debunking.
In recent years dependency theory
Dependency theory
Dependency theory or dependencia theory is a body of social science theories predicated on the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former...
has been used to examine the situation of the Maritimes, and while it rejects most traditional economic models it does correspond with the evidence.
Politics
Maritime conservatism since the Second World War has been very much part of the Red ToryRed Tory
A red Tory is an adherent of a particular political philosophy, tradition, and disposition in Canada somewhat similar to the High Tory tradition in the United Kingdom; it is contrasted with "blue Tory". In Canada, the phenomenon of "red toryism" has fundamentally, if not exclusively, been found in...
tradition, key influences being former Premier of Nova Scotia
Premier of Nova Scotia
The Premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister for the Canadian province of Nova Scotia who presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of the political party which has the most seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly...
and federal Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
leader Robert Stanfield
Robert Stanfield
Robert Lorne Stanfield, PC, QC was the 17th Premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. He is sometimes referred to as "the greatest prime minister Canada never had", and earned the nickname "Honest Bob"...
and New Brunswick Tory strategist Dalton Camp
Dalton Camp
Dalton Kingsley Camp, PC, OC was a Canadian journalist, politician, political strategist and commentator and supporter of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Despite having never been elected to a seat in the House of Commons, he was a prominent and influential politician and a popular...
.
In recent years, the social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP) has made significant inroads both federally and provincially in the region. The NDP has elected Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) from New Brunswick, but most of the focus of the party at the federal and provincial levels is currently in the Halifax area of Nova Scotia. Industrial Cape Breton has historically been a region of labour activism, electing Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
(and later NDP) MPs, and even produced many early members of the Communist Party of Canada
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
in the pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era. In the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, the NDP captured 28.45% of the vote in Nova Scotia, more than any other province. In the 2009 provincial election the NDP formed a majority government, the first in the region.
The Maritimes are generally socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
but unlike Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, they also have fiscally socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
tendencies. It is because of the lack of support for fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...
that federal parties such as the Canadian Alliance
Canadian Alliance
The Canadian Alliance , formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance , was a Canadian conservative political party that existed from 2000 to 2003. The party was the successor to the Reform Party of Canada and inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held...
never had much success in the region, and the level of support for the new Conservative Party of Canada
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
in the region is uncertain. In the 2004 federal election, the Conservatives had one of the worst showings in the region for a right-wing party, going back to Confederation, with the possible exception of the 1993 election
Canadian federal election, 1993
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...
.
An area within the region where both fiscal and social conservatism do coincide and where the federal Reform Party
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
and Canadian Alliance have met success is in the central-western part of New Brunswick, in the St. John River valley north of Saint John and south of Grand Falls
Grand Falls, New Brunswick
Grand Falls is a Canadian town located in Victoria County, New Brunswick.Situated on the Saint John River, the town derives its name from a waterfall created by a series of rock ledges over which the river drops 23 metres.-Geography:Grand Falls is located in the valley of the St...
. Contributing demographics include a predominantly Anglophone
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
population residing in a largely rural agrarian setting. One influence might be proximity to the International Boundary and the state of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. The valley is also settled by descendants of United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
, some of whom established fundamentalist Christian
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
congregations in the area which continue to influence certain segments of society. There are also a large number of active and retired military personnel located in the Fredericton and Oromocto
Oromocto, New Brunswick
Oromocto is a Canadian town in Sunbury County, New Brunswick.The town is located on the west bank of the St. John River at the mouth of the Oromocto River, approximately 20 kilometres southeast of Fredericton...
area as a result of the large military base at CFB Gagetown
CFB Gagetown
Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, referred to as CFB Gagetown is a large Canadian Forces Base located in southwestern New Brunswick.- Construction of the base :...
. Another area in the region with smatterings of coinciding fiscal and social conservatism is the Annapolis Valley
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...
of Nova Scotia.
The Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
has done well in the Maritimes in the past because of its interventionist
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics is a school of macroeconomic thought based on the ideas of 20th-century English economist John Maynard Keynes.Keynesian economics argues that private sector decisions sometimes lead to inefficient macroeconomic outcomes and, therefore, advocates active policy responses by the...
policies. The Acadian Peninsula region of New Brunswick, long dependent upon seasonal employment in the Gulf of St. Lawrence fishery, tends to vote for the Liberals or NDP for this reason. In the 1997 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1997
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...
, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
's Liberals endured a bitter defeat to the PCs and NDP in many ridings as a result of unpopular cuts to unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefit
Unemployment benefits are payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system...
s for seasonal workers, as well as closures of several Canadian Forces Base
Canadian Forces base
A Canadian Forces Base or CFB is a military installation of the Canadian Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces Base, it must station one or more major units .Minor installations are named Canadian Forces Station or CFS A Canadian Forces Base or CFB (French Base des forces...
s, the refusal to honour a promise to rescind the Goods and Services Tax
Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
The Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
, cutbacks to provincial equalization payments
Equalization payments
Equalization payments are cash payments made in some federal systems of government from the federal government to subnational governments with the objective of offsetting differences in available revenue or in the cost of providing services....
, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, post-secondary education and regional transportation infrastructure such as airports, fishing harbours, seaports, and railways
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
. The Liberals held onto seats in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, while being shut out of Nova Scotia entirely, the second time in history (the only other time being the Diefenbaker sweep
Canadian federal election, 1958
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
).
The Maritimes is currently represented in the Canadian Parliament by 25 Members of the House of Commons (Nova Scotia - 11, New Brunswick - 10, Prince Edward Island - 4) and 24 Senators (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick - 10 each, Prince Edward Island - 4). This level of representation was established at the time of Confederation when the Maritimes had a much larger proportion of the national population. The comparatively large population growth of western and central Canada during the immigration boom of the 20th century has reduced the Maritimes' proportion of the national population to less than 10%, resulting in an over-representation in Parliament, with some federal ridings having fewer than 35,000 people, compared to central and western Canada where ridings typically contain 100,000-120,000 people.
The Canadian Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
is structured along regional lines, giving an equal number of seats (24) to the Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec, and western Canada, in addition to the later entry of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the three territories. Enshrined in the Constitution, this model was developed to ensure that no area of the country is able to exert undue influence in the Senate. The Maritimes, with its much smaller proportion of the national population (compared to the time of Confederation) also have an over-representation in the Senate, particularly compared to the population growth of Ontario and the western provinces. This has led to calls to reform the Senate
Triple-E Senate
The Triple-E Senate is a proposed variation of reform to the current Canadian Senate, calling for senators to be elected to exercise effective powers in numbers equally representative of each province; this is in contrast to the present arrangement wherein individuals are appointed to the Senate...
; however, such a move would entail constitutional changes.
Another factor related to the number of Senate seats is that a constitutional amendment in the early 20th century mandated that no province can have fewer Members of Parliament than it has senators. This court decision resulted from a complaint by the Government of Prince Edward Island after that province's number of MPs was proposed to change from 4 to 3, accounting for its declining proportion of the national population at that time. When PEI entered Confederation in 1873, it was accorded 6 MPs and 4 Senators; however this was reduced to 4 MPs by the early twentieth century. Senators being appointed for life at this time, these coveted seats rarely went unfilled for a long period of time anywhere in Canada. As a result, PEI's challenge was accepted by the federal government, and its level of federal representation was secured. In the aftermath of the 1989 budget, which saw a fillibuster by Liberal Senators in attempt to kill legislation creating the Goods and Services Tax
Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
The Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
"stacked" the Senate by creating additional seats in several provinces across Canada, including New Brunswick; however, there was no attempt by these provinces to increase the number of MPs to reflect this change in Senate representation.
See also
- Atlantic CanadaAtlantic CanadaAtlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
- Central CanadaCentral CanadaCentral Canada is a region consisting of Canada's two largest and most populous provinces: Ontario and Quebec. Due to their high populations, Ontario and Quebec have traditionally held a significant amount of political power in Canada, leading to some amount of resentment from other regions of the...
- List of regions of Canada
- Maritime Film Classification BoardMaritime Film Classification BoardThe Maritime Film Classification Board is a government organization responsible for reviewing films and granting film ratings in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island ....
- Maritime UnionMaritime UnionMaritime Union is a proposed political union of the three Maritime provinces of Canada to form a single new province which would be the fifth-largest in Canada by population...
External links
- The Maritime Provinces, the Maritime Rights Movement and Canadian Federalism
- Weather, travel, newspapers and radio links
- Atlantic Provinces Economic Council
- Atlantic Institute of Market Studies
- Genuine Progress Indicator Atlantic
- Atlantic Provinces Communities: Towns & Cities. Basic Information, Facts, Figures, Pictures
- Atlantic Canada Portal/Portail du Canada Atlantique
- Maritime Series - The State of the Regions. From the Canadian Institute for Research on Public Policy and Public Administration