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The Rate of Settlement of the Canadian Prairies, 1870–1911

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  • Norrie, K. H.

Abstract

An issue of continuing interest in Canadian economic history is the lag between the formulation of policies directed toward settling the prairies and the appearance of any significant agricultural population. Proposals to develop the region preceded the union of the British North American colonies in 1867. By 1872 the first Homestead Act had been passed and a commitment made to construct a transcontinental railway linking the western provinces to Central Canada. Yet except for a brief speculative boom in the early 1880's, occasioned by the CPR reaching Winnipeg, the rate of settlement remained well below expectations. Homestead entries averaged under 3,000 from 1874 to 1896, and in many years there were nearly as many cancellations as new entries. In the same period adjacent American lands were filling up, in large part with emigrant Canadians. Settlement of the Dakotas, beginning in 1870 but depressed from 1873 to 1878, boomed from 1879 to 1886. Over the thirty years from 1870 to 1900 an estimated 120,000 Canadians chose the American prairies over the Canadian.

Suggested Citation

  • Norrie, K. H., 1975. "The Rate of Settlement of the Canadian Prairies, 1870–1911," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(2), pages 410-427, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:35:y:1975:i:02:p:410-427_07
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    Cited by:

    1. Vincent Geloso & Peter Lindert, 2020. "Relative costs of living, for richer and poorer, 1688–1914," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(3), pages 417-442, September.
    2. Green, Alan G. & Sparks, Gordon R., 1999. "Population Growth and the Dynamics of Canadian Development: A Multivariate Time Series Approach," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 56-71, January.
    3. Livio Di Matteo & Robert Petrunia, 2022. "Does economic inequality breed murder? An empirical investigation of the relationship between economic inequality and homicide rates in Canadian provinces and CMAs," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(6), pages 2951-2988, June.
    4. Di Matteo, Livio, 2013. "Women, wealth and economic change: An assessment of the impact of women's property law in Wentworth County, Ontario, 1872–1927," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 285-307.
    5. Alan L. Olmstead & Paul W. Rhode, 2011. "Responding to Climatic Challenges: Lessons from U.S. Agricultural Development," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Climate Change: Adaptations Past and Present, pages 169-194, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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