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National Policy Questions

  1. Why did MacDonald develop the National Policy?
    • Macdonald developed the National Policy because he needed a political platform to convince the Canadians of his ideas. It later become the basis of the Conservative election platform.
  2. List and explain each of the three parts of the National Policy.  In each case, state why MacDonald thought it was important for the future of Canada.
    • The three parts of the National Policy, CPR, and increased immigration. The tariffs raised the taxes from 15% up to 17.5 – 35%. This was because of MacDonald as he wanted the Canadians to but less goods from America and instead more from Canada. MacDonald also wanted to build the CPR as it would provide a quicker and more efficient way of transporting both army troops and goods throughout Canada. Lastly, he tried to increase the immigration as well, as it will benefit the economy because it has more farmers to farm the produce. 

  3. Who did MacDonald get to invest in the CPR and what were their backgrounds?
    • MacDonald got George Stephen, president of the Bank of Montreal, Donald Smith of HBC James J Hill. They came out with a profit of 17 million.
  4. What did MacDonald promise the Syndicate?
    • MacDonald an offer of $25 million in cash, a land grant of 25 million acres and a monopoly West of Lake Superior for 20 years
  5. In order to get the benefits from the Government, what did the Syndicate have to do?
    • The CPR Syndicate had to compete  the railway in 10 years
  6. What did the Syndicate do immediately upon being given the railway contract and why?
    • They immediately changed the planned route of the railway as they wanted full control of the railroad and the new route was 300 km south from the former route, which gave them  freedom from the the speculators and homesteaders.
  7. Why was William Van Horne hired as the new manager of the CPR in 1881?
    • The Syndicate needed a general manager with more energy and drive.
  8. Describe the achievements of Van Horne’s management.
    • Van Horne arrival brought more energy and drive to the project and had 1600 km put down in under 2 years. They were able to complete the railway in the given time/
  9. What problem did the railway face in 1883 and what was the solution?
    • They started to run out of money  and had to get the Canadian government to pass a bill that provided them with $22.5 million more to work with.
  10. Where did the CPR enter into BC?
    • Kicking horse pass
  11. In 1867, why do you think the coast of BC required fewer days to get to from Ottawa than the interior of BC?
    •   You were able to travel by sea which was a lot faster than over land
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