The Canadian Shield

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Between 1760 and Confederation, settlement in Lower and Upper Canada expanded into the Canadian Shield. In Lower Canada, the Saguenay River, St. Maurice Valley, and the area north of Montreal were the primary areas of settlement. In Upper Canada, settlement was attempted in the Ottawa-Huron Tract, which extended eastward from Lake Huron into the Ottawa Valley. The Canadian Shield presented a challenge to settlement until population growth pushed the boundaries. In the early nineteenth century, the Shield provided a solution to the ideological and economic dilemmas in the Canadian colonies, and settlement was encouraged. The settlement that developed in the Canadian Shield was based on resource extraction and shaped the region's landscape. However, settlement in the Shield ultimately declined due to poor conditions, and new settlement solutions were found. The Canadian Shield influenced settlement in Lower and Upper Canada because it was a temporary solution during a difficult period of demographic and economic transition. The Shield highlighted the limitations of settlement in the Canadian colonies and compelled settlers to establish settlements in the Northwest Interior. Settlement in the Canadian Shield provided an outlet for the growing population. In the early nineteenth century, Lower Canada experienced a surge of labor, pioneer families, and capital from transatlantic and eastern North America. Settlement began to expand northward; however, according to Geography professor Cole Harris, settlement "hesitated at the edge of the Canadian Shield" and "neither settlers nor capital touched the Canadian Shield until the early 1850s." Although the Shield was not effectively settled, it staved off emigration until alternative solutions were found and allowed for further resource exploitation. Because the margins of the Canadian Shield were pushed, settlers realized that Canada was narrowly confined and sought solutions elsewhere. It could be said that the failed settlement of the Shield contributed to westward expansion.
Works Cited:
Galois, Robert M. "Rural Quebec: After the Conquest." Lecture, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, November 3, 2011.
Galois, Robert M. "Upper Canada: Agriculture and Rural Settlement." Lecture, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, November 10, 2011.
Harris, R. Cole. The Reluctant Land: Society, Space, and Environment in Canada before Confederation. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2008.

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