Technological and industrial history of Canada
The technological and industrial history of Canada encompasses the country's development in the areas of transportation, communication, energy, materials, public works, public services, domestic/consumer and defense technologies. Most technologies diffused in Canada came from other places; only a small number actually originated in Canada. For more about those with a Canadian origin, see Invention in Canada.
The terms chosen for the "age" described below are both literal and metaphorical. They describe the technology that dominated the period in question but are also representative of a large number of other technologies introduced during the same period. Also of note is the fact that the period of diffusion of a technology can begin modestly and can extend well beyond the "age" of its introduction. To maintain continuity, the treatment of its diffusion is dealt with in the context of its dominant "age". For example, the "Steam Age" here is defined as being from 1840 to 1880. However, steam-powered boats were introduced in 1809, the CPR was completed in 1885 and railway construction in Canada continued well into the 20th century. To preserve continuity, the development of steam, in the early and later years, is therefore considered within the "Steam Age".
Technology is a major cultural determinant, no less important in shaping human lives than philosophy, religion, social organization, or political systems. In the broadest sense, these forces are also aspects of technology. The French sociologist Jacques Ellul defined "la technique" as the totality of all rational methods in every field of human activity so that, for example, education, law, sports, propaganda, and the social sciences are all technologies in that sense. At the other end of the scale, common parlance limits the term's meaning to specific industrial arts.
Stone Age: Fire (14,000 BC – AD 1600)
The diffusion of technology in what is now Canada began with the arrival of the first humans about 14,000 BC.These people brought with them stone and bone tools. These took the form of arrowheads, axes, blades, scrappers, needles, harpoon heads and fishhooks used mostly to kill animals and fish for food and skins. They also brought fire, which they used for heating their dwellings and for cooking which was done on open fires. There were no clay pots or ovens.
In the Arctic, the Innu used stick frames covered with animal skins for shelter during the summer months, while they built houses made of snow or igloos during the harsh winter. On the plains, native peoples used the well known teepee. This consisted of a number of poles arranged to form a conical structure which was in turn covered with animal skins. In central Canada, the long house was popular. This large structure was built from interwoven branches and could house 70 to 80 people. Several of these structures would be built together to form a village which was often surrounded by a palisade of logs stuck vertically into the ground as protection from hostile tribes. On the west coast, native peoples constructed dwellings made from heavy timber. These structures were built near the water's edge and were often decorated with elaborate and elegant carved images.
Transportation techniques were simple. The aboriginal peoples did not have the wheel, horses or the sail. The paddle powered canoe was the most common means of transport and was especially practical during the summer, considering the large number of lakes and rivers that characterized the topography. The dugout was favoured in the waters off the west coast. Summer travel also saw use of the travois, a simple type of sled that was pulled over the ground by a dog and used to transport a light load. In the winter snow shoes made walking in the deep snow practical. Winter transport in the Arctic made use of dog teams, and in warmer summer months, use of kayaks was common.
Clothing was made of animal skins, which were cut with stone and bone tools and sewn with bone needles and animal sinews. Native peoples did not have textiles.
For the most part native peoples were hunters and gatherers, chasing large animals, and fishing for a source of protein. Wild plants and fruits were also an important food source. A common, easily stored and readily transportable food was pemmican, dried powdered meat mixed with fat, berries and "vegetables". In central Canada, there was limited agriculture which allowed the storage of some food during times of privation. Of note was that they did not have the plough or draught animals.
The first peoples had techniques for dealing with disease. Medicines included those made from high bush cranberries, oil of wintergreen and bloodroot. A type of tea made from the bark of the spruce or hemlock could prevent or cure scurvy.
The first peoples did not have a written language. Their extensive knowledge of the natural world and information relating to their customs and traditions was passed orally.
Weapons of war were made by hand from wood and stone. The long range weapon of these times was the bow and arrow with an effective range of up to 100 metres. Close in fighting was conducted with a range of simple armaments including stone-tipped spears, stone axes, stone blades used as knives and stone and wooden clubs of various types. Because there was no knowledge of metalworking with the exception of some small items of jewelry made from copper, weapons such as swords and metal knives were not part of this early arsenal.
Age of Sail (1600–1830)
The arrival of white explorers and colonists in the 16th century introduced those technologies popular in Europe at the time, such as iron making, the wheel, writing, paper, printing, books, newspapers, long range navigation, large ship construction, stone and brick and mortar construction, surgery, firearms, new crops, livestock, the knife fork and spoon, china plates and cups, cotton and linen cloth, horses and livestock.Transportation: shipbuilding and the wheel
The use of wind and water as sources of power were major developments in the technological history of the new colonies. Ships with large masts and huge canvas sails maintained the link between the colonies. Jean Talon established the Royal Dockyard on the St. Charles River in Quebec City and the first 120-ton vessel was launched there in 1666. Three other ships, including a 450-ton "galiotte", were built before Talon's departure for France in 1672 and four more were built in Quebec between 1704 and 1712 followed by another nine between 1714 and 1717. Work at the Royal Dockyard recommenced in 1739 and by 1744, twelve vessels had been constructed there, including the Canada, a 500-ton merchantman. Demand for ships was such that a second Royal Dockyard was established in 1746, on the St. Lawrence at the foot of Cap Diamante, where the largest vessel of the French Regime, a 72-gun, 800-ton war ship was built. The fall of New France to the British in 1759 put an end to these activities.However, the beginning of the 19th century witnessed a revival. The British loss of the American colonies with their associated shipbuilding industry, the subsequent British loss of Baltic sources of timber, as well as Canada's abundant supply of wood along with the tradition of shipbuilding established in New France made British North America an ideal location for a renewed shipbuilding industry. Quebec City and Saint John, New Brunswick, both centres of timber export also became dominant centres for this activity not only in Canada but worldwide. The ships intended for trade, mostly with Britain and common designs, included the two-masted brig and brigantine, and the popular barque, with three masts or more. Designs of between 500 and 1000 tons, which sacrificed speed in favour of a voluminous hold, were well-suited to the carriage of timber and therefore preferred. The Californian and Australian gold rushes of 1848 and 1851 respectively further fed the demand for Canada's large ocean vessels. However, the arrival of the iron and steel-hulled steamship associated with the Canadian inability to adapt to this new technology eventually bankrupted the industry in the latter years of the century.
Inland travel by the coureurs de bois was by way of an Indian invention, the canoe. The York boat and bateau were also popular for travel on inland waters. The York boat was used by traders working for the Hudson's Bay Company and was named after the fur trading post at York Factory on Hudson Bay. The York boat was larger, more stable, and had a greater carrying capacity than the canoe. The first was built in 1794 and numbers of these craft navigated the rivers of the northern prairie region as far west as Fort Chipewyan until replaced by the steamboat in the 19th century. The flat-bottomed bateau was another craft used on Canada's inland waters by both British and French colonists in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Within settlements, transport was often simply a matter of walking around town. The horse, introduced by the new arrivals in 1665, also provided a new and convenient mode of transport. The wooden cart, wagon and carriage, made possible by the introduction of the wheel in combination with the horse, dramatically improved the transport of people and goods. The first graded road in Canada was built by Samuel de Champlain in 1606 and linked the settlement at Port Royal to Digby Cape, 16 kilometres away. By 1734 Quebec City and Montreal were connected by a road, Le chemin du roi, along the north shore of the St. Lawrence. The 267 km distance could be traversed with great difficulty and discomfort by horse-drawn carriage in four to five days. Most roads were of very poor quality especially in wet weather. To overcome this problem logs were often placed side by side crosswise to cover ruts, puddles and mud holes. The result was a more solid but very bumpy surface that was referred to as a corduroy road. Work on what would be called the, "longest street in the world", formally known as Yonge Street, began in York, in 1795 under the direction of Deputy Surveyor General Augustus Jones. Initially a trail, it ran from Eglinton Avenue to St. Albans and later much further north. The task of widening the path into a road fell to local farmers. The period also saw the construction a number of important canals, including the Rideau Canal, Ottawa–Kingston, 1820, the Lachine Canal, Montreal, 1825, the Ottawa River Canals at Grenville and Carillon, Quebec, 1834 and the Chambly Canal, Chambly, Quebec, 1843.