Economy Review1500-Today

EconomyEconomic activity. A set of facts relating to

the production, distribution and consumption of wealth in a community.

  Source: Le nouveau Petit Robert de la langue française

2008, electronic version. [Translation]

CapitalWealth intended for the production of an

income or new goods; production means.

Supply and demandWhen there is a high demand and low

supply, sellers can charge a lot of money.

When there is a large supply, the price goes down.

First InhabitantsEuropean fishers would come to north

America in the summers to fish off the coast.

They had to dry the fish on the shores.

This led to contact with aboriginals.

Economic activity that led to contact: fishing

Trade RoutesAboriginals used their environment for all

material goods needed.

They practised subsistence economy (only what you need to survive)

They developed trade routes all across North America to get what their environment did not offer.

French Régime1608 - 1760

French Regime 1608-1760French first explored the North American

continent in search of gold and other riches.

They discovered cod fish, enough to make the journey across the ocean to fish profitable.

The need to dry the fish before returning to Europe led to contact/trade between Europeans and Aboriginals.

Fur tradeAfter fish, fur became the main economic activity.

First, monopolies were given to a company that went to New France to trade with Aboriginals to get fur.

After 1663 (Royal Government), monopolies were stopped and the congé system was used.

Congé system was permits to limit the number of traders.

The fur trade was very profitable.

The French government (the king) encouraged the establishment of trading colonies in New France.

The trading colony meant that the only goal was to develop trading posts on the territory and acquire resources to send back to the mother country.

Mercantilism“The French state followed a strict

economic policy of mercantilism, the goal of which was to enrich the mother country. The colonies were supposed to provide raw materials, which would be used to make manufactured goods in France.”

Effects of Mercantilism

The economy of New France was limited because of mercantilism.

Developing primary resources was the main goal of activities in New France.

Production of goods was to be done in France.

The colony was a market for goods from France to be sold.

Jean Talon - mercantilism

"Several initiatives undertaken by Talon and his successors, hat manufacturing in particular, were disallowed by the king and his minister."

Translated from : Cardin Le Québec : héritages et projets, p. 112

Under mercantilism, manufacturing goods was to be done in the mother country. That way they could sell finished products back to the colony.

Economy diversityThis period saw the development of new

economic activities such as hemp and flax cultivation, ship building and triangular trade.

Hemp could be used to make rope, barley to make beer…

Talon diversified agriculture

*This was discouraged on a large scale by the king, because products were mainly to be made in France and bought by the colony.

The Forges du Saint-Maurice [Saint-Maurice Ironworks], near Trois-Rivières, was the first real industrial establishment in Canada. . . . It required heavy investment and highly skilled workers.

Sébastien Brodeur-Girard et al., Le Québec, une histoire à construire: histoire et éducation à la citoyenneté, 2e cycle du secondaire, 2e année (Laval: Grand Duc, 2008), Vol. 1, 136. [Translation]

Made parts for ships, wood stoves, cooking pots, farming equipment.

Main economic activities

The main economic activities in New France were: Fishing Fur trade (main economic activity) Surbsistence agriculture -> production agriculture

(surpluses to trade, supply the cities)

Furs

Agriculture products

Fish

IronTimber

"Furs represented 70% of total exports; agricultural products, 18%; fish, 9%; iron, 1.3% and wood, 0.5%."

Translated from : D. Vaugeois et al. Canada-Québec Synthèse historique (Montréal : Éditions du Renouveau pédagogique, 1973), p. 153.

British Rule1760 - 1867

British Rule 1760-1867

After the Conquest, not much changed immediately.

Fur continued to be the main economic activity in the Province of Quebec.

Mercantilism continued to be the economic policy, colony provided resources to the mother country.

TimberTimber started to take over as the main

economic activity in the colony.The Napoleonic Blockade meant that

Britain couldn’t get lumber from other European countries.

Britain had to turn to North America for its lumber.

… Napoleon's European blockade seriously impeded the enormous trade in northern European (Baltic) wood on which Britain's expanding economy depended.

Craig Brown ed., The Illustrated History of Canada (Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys Ltd., 1987), p. 205.

Napoleon's Continental Blockade

Napoleonic blockade… Napoleon's European blockade seriously impeded the enormous trade in northern European (Baltic) wood on which Britain's expanding economy depended.

Craig Brown ed., The Illustrated History of Canada (Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys Ltd., 1987), p. 205.

Napoleon's Continental Blockade

Timber tradeCanada had a lot of

forests and the waterways to transport the timber.

Forests are the resource

Timber is the industry

Diversification of agricultural production

In 1830s and 1840s, Lower Canada (Quebec) shifted from wheat production to other options.

Wheat harvests were not as abundant, and Lower Canada had to import wheat from the West.

Dairy farms started to become popular in Quebec.

First phase of industrializationMostly unskilled labourers

Food, shoes, leather, textiles, tobaccoIron and steelWood

Canal Construction 1825

To facilitate production and distribution, canals were built linking the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes

1867-present

National PolicyJohn A. Macdonald Build railroad across country Impose protectionist policies (tariffs)Colonize the West

Document 2The National Policy

Second phase industrialization1900 – 1929

Factories and machines developed quickly because of oil and hydroelectricity.

Railway made it cheaper to produce and distribute

Dairy industry

Foreign investment brought in a lot of capital

First World War stimulated economy.

Foreign investment in Canada

Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport. Based on Paul-André LINTEAU et al., Quebec: A History, 1867-1929 (Toronto: J. Lorimier, 1983), p. 386.

Foreign investment in Canada1900-1930

Year 1900 1905 1910 1913 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1930

Millionsde $

1232 1540 2529 3746 3837 4323 4526 4870 5207 5616 6003 7614

Foreign investment in Canada, 1900‑1930Canada : Energy Production

Developement of Dairy farmsMore efficient tools, increased yieldsMany products made from dairy farms:

Milk Butter Cheese Cream

Much of these products were exported

Mechanization of agriculture

The Mechanization of Agriculture

Omer BEAUDOIN, Archives nationales du Québec, E6-7/96968.

Working conditions2nd phase of industrialization meant that you

needed a lot of workers to work in the factories

Lots of people moved to the cities looking for work.

Poor, working class neighbourhoods started to develop.

Pollution, dirty areas, badly built housing

Working ConditionsWorking conditions for unskilled workers

were harsh. A male worker earned $10 for a 60- to-72-

hour work week, while a female worker earned less than $5.

There were many young workers—14 and 15 years old—who were subjected to strict discipline. . . . the unions were illegal movements.

Working ConditionsLow wagesLONG workdays, workweeksSick or injured were firedDangerous work conditions, fatalities,

injuries

Great DepressionStock Crash in New York led to huge

economic crisisDisparities were even worse at this timeTo help with this, government got more

and more involved in the economy.

Document 2Large-scale public works projects were organized throughout the country to put the unemployed to work and boost consumption. In the Montréal area, workers on public construction sites, such as roads, playing fields and public baths, were paid between 20 and 40 cents an hour.Québec Ministry of Education.

WW2WW2 helped end the Great DepressionCanada produced all kinds of products for

the soldiers, giving people jobs.Women joined the labour force

Mass consumption after the warEconomic properity continued after the

warUnions were becoming more powerfulWorkers had:

1-2 weeks paid vacation 40 hour week Overtime pay Health insurance plan Option to contribute to a pension plan

These social benefits along with savings from the Victory Loan Bonds gave Quebeckers more money to spend

During this period people were spending a lot of money.

Car sales increased a lot, cars were the most sought-after product.

Increasing purchasing power was initially used to buy durable goods: cars, furniture and home appliances such as refrigerators… and television sets.

Paul-André Linteau et al., Québec Since 1930 (Toronto: James Lorimier and Company, 1991), p. 229.

Mass consumption

Increasing purchasing power was initially used to buy durable goods: cars, furniture and home appliances such as refrigerators… and television sets.Paul-André Linteau et al., Québec Since 1930 (Toronto: James Lorimier and Company, 1991), p. 229.

Mass consumption

Quiet Revolution1960Nationalization of electricityInvestment in a lot of hydro dams

Enabled Quebeckers to control a key sector of their economy

Becoming a welfare state

… [Minister of Natural Resources] René Lévesque felt that Quebecers should control their own economy through positive state action. His sweeping plan to nationalize all of private hydro-electric companies in Québec was a means of achieving this goal.

Document 3John A. Dickinson and Brian Young, Diverse Pasts: A History of Québec and Canada, 2nd ed. (Toronto: Copp Clark, 1995), p. 351.

Economy since the 1980s

Tertiary sector becomes the predominant sector of employment

SerivesTechnology industriesAerospace industry

Quebec has dealt with global competition by specializing its economy and by investing in training and research.