A 1By the mid-1870s, most of Canada's population was in the eastern part of the country. The western part of the country was sparsely populated, with no major cities or rural settlement areas. 2As a result, the federal government implemented a plan to encourage agricultural settlement in the West. 3Western rural settlement was desired, as the eastern agricultural land was already nearly filled to capacity and the large expanses of available land in the West offered great agricultural opportunities, including opportunities for Canada to grow its economy.
B In an effort to get people to settle in the West and to increase the country's agricultural output, the Canadian government took measures to secure land there. 4The Dominion of Canada purchased Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870. Soon after in 1872, the federal government enacted the Dominion Lands Act, 5an act that enabled settlers to acquire 160 acres of free land as long as they remained on the land for a minimum of three years, made specific minor improvements to the land, and paid a $10 registration fee at the beginning. The government also created a Mounted Police Force in 1873 and then sent the Mounties west to secure areas for the future settlers. The initiatives implemented by the government worked, attracting settlers not only from Eastern Canada, but also from Europe and the US. 6The area of Manitoba was an area that particularly attracted an influx of people with the desire to start a new life.
C The Canadian government had decided that the sure-fire way to protect the Canadian territory and to eventually achieve the goal of joining British Columbia with the rest of the country was to get large numbers of people to settle in the West. The settling of the West would then make the construction of a transcontinental railway a necessity； once that was established, the West could ship its agricultural products to feed the burgeoning urban industrial areas of the East. In turn, the East could ship its manufactured products to the West, creating a vibrant East-West economy.
D 7During this immigration period, Winnipeg became the metropolis of the West. Its growth resulted from land speculation, a growth in housing, and the federal government's decision in 1881 to make Winnipeg a major stop along the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). With this decision, Winnipeg stood at the junction of three transcontinental railway lines which subsequently employed thousands of workers. With its access to transportation, Winnipeg also became the major processor of agricultural products for the surrounding areas.
E Most of the people who settled in and around Winnipeg during this period were Protestant English-speaking settlers from Ontario and the British Isles. These settlers established a culture that was based on the British-Ontarian ethos from which they had come. 8The ethnic homogeneity of the area did not last very long, however, as increasing numbers of foreign immigrants, especially from Austria-Hungary and Ukraine, soon added a new ethnic element to the region. Settling the West with Eastern Canadians and British immigrants provided Canada with a safeguard from the threat of an American takeover, especially after the Minnesota legislature in the US passed a resolution which provided for the annexation of the fertile Red River area, at the time the most important settlement on the Canadian prairies.
F Not all of those who settled in Western Canada in the 1880s wished to remain there， especially after the economic depression of the 1870s and 1880s. This depression kept the value of Canada's main exports low, including agriculture, at a time when many other countries were competing for immigrant settlement. 9Countries including the US, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand were all open to immigrants and were competing with Canada for those immigrants. As a result, many immigrants opted instead to settle the American frontier in the US. These American settlers included many Canadians. 12Before 1891，Canada was described as "a huge demographic railway station", in which large numbers of people came and went, with departures often outnumbering arrivals.
G By 1891, Eastern Canada had its share of large urban areas and the problems associated with large urban areas. Although the wealthy areas of Toronto and Montreal were wired for electricity and telephones, there were also areas in those cities that had slum conditions where livestock ran on the streets and human waste spilled into public areas. 10Social reformers were quick to encourage some of these impoverished city dwellers to move to the rural areas, where they could enjoy the fresh air and the open spaces, becoming “true Canadians”. Agriculture played an integral role in the Canadian economy in 1891, as one-third of the workforce worked on farms.
H 13In its attempt to get overseas immigrants to settle in Canada, the Canadian government used a number of incentives, including free or cheap land to potential farmers. Through government agencies, Canada offered assisted passage plans, with bonuses and commissions to both agents and settlers. Also, letters sent overseas from settlers already in Canada to friends and family members often served as successful recruiting tools. Many of these letters painted a rosy picture of the new world, as many settlers already in Canada did not want to disappoint or worry family or friends from their homeland. 11So, embellished tales of wonder, good fortune, and happiness often succeeded in encouraging others to immigrate from their home countries to Canada.
