Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.
Ontario and Quebec were the Canadian leaders in manufacturing at the time of Confederation and they maintained their dominance well into the 20th century. In this lesson, students will determine the accuracy of this premise by examining selected data from the Canada Year Book.
Secondary
Social Studies, History, Language
15 minutes for the introduction (steps 1 and 2)
50 to 60 minutes to complete the student worksheets (steps 3 and 4)
Capital – goods or money available to be invested to increase production and wealth.
Capital investment – amount of money or goods available to a business for everyday activity or expansion.
Establishments – businesses.
Gross domestic product – a method by which a government measures the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year, excluding price changes. It is calculated using prices from a base year.
Manufacturing – making goods using machinery and workers, usually in a factory—e.g., skates, t-shirts, chocolates.
Net value of products – the amount of income a business realizes after all expenses are paid.
Per capita – for each person. For example, ‘income per capita' is the average income per person in a given population.
Regional disparities – differences seen in different sections of the country in gross domestic product, per capita income and per capita productivity levels.
In the Canada Year Book 1927/1928 (pages 410 to 412) and the Canada Year Book 1947 (pages 513 to 514), students can find data on the development of individual industries. Students can follow one industry to see if its development pattern was consistent or if it was a growing or declining industry.
Students can examine the Canada Year Book 1967 (page 688) to determine whether Ontario and Quebec continued to dominate the manufacturing field.
Students can use current data on the Statistics Canada website to continue the examination of manufacturing and find out whether Ontario and Quebec still dominate the manufacturing field.
Students can predict, based on extrapolations from the data they have examined, the future of manufacturing in Canada. They can investigate manufacturing in the global community using the following questions: