June
9
British Columbia and Confederation
- Since the end of the Gold Rush the population and economy of British Columbia has been declining.
- They did not want to pay the huge debts accumulated by Governor Douglas and the colony. Also the British government felt they could not protect the colony being so far away because of the prohibitive costs.
- The nearest settlement was miles away and BC was divided from the rest of Canada by the rocky mountains. The mountains alsomade transportation and communication extremely difficult. Because B.C. developed lumber and fishing industries, joining Canada was seen as being counter-productive, as industries would be competing against one another instead of complementing one another.
- They thought joining joining with BC would help American expansion. They wanted to build a British Empire in North America. They eventually joined promising to build the Transcontinental Railway.
Good job.