Prime Ministers of Canada

This website entitled "First Among Equals" is a government of Canada website with information about the office of Prime Minister. It starts with a headline saying "this document is no longer in effect. It has been archived online and is kept purely for historical purposes."

However, it is a great source of information if you want to clarify for students what the Prime Minister really is and does. Many students do not understand the difference between a Prime Minister and a President and what power the office really holds. It is not simply a chronology of Prime Ministers who have held the office, but does include information and quotes about specific leaders.

I usually include these types of facts (how our government works) right after the section on confederation. 

Diamond Jubilee Stamps

  

The stamps from my album pictured here (catalogue values of $155, $13, $21, $4, $51, $172) are part of a series of sixteen stamps (catalogue numbers 50-65) that were all issued in the year 1897.  Denominations included 1/2 cent, 1 cent, 2 cents, 3 cents, 5 cents, 6 cents, 8 cents, 10 cents, 15 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, 2 dollars, 3 dollars, 4 dollars, and 5 dollars. (A mint 2,3,4 or 5 dollar stamp from this series all have a catalogue value over $6000)


These are the first commemorative stamps that Canada ever issued. A commemorative stamp is typically larger, and "commemorates" some sort of event, in this case the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. These types of stamps are much more interesting historically, but also somewhat annoying for collectors because they weren't really necessary. In one year (1897), Canada produced almost as many stamps as in the previous 30 years combined. 


1897 was one year after Wilfred Laurier and liberals were elected to office in Canada, and the contract for these stamps was given to a U.S. company called the American Bank Note Company. The company built an office in Ottawa, and this picture was taken in 1897.

Of course, it is also telling that the first event Canada decided to "commemorate" was the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign. The creativity of these stamps extended to having two pictures of the Queen on the stamp instead of just one. Of course 1897 also coincided with 30 years since Confederation, but Confederation and John A MacDonald would have to wait 50 years to be commemorated on our postal history. 

First Postage Stamps After Confederation

The stamps pictured here (catalogue values of $169, $100, and $42) are part of a series (stamp numbers 21-33) that were issued between 1868 and 1875. The stamps have different values and colours but are all the same image. The new Dominion of Canada chose this bust of Queen Victoria as the symbol for its first postage stamps. This is normal - most countries pictured the current Head of State on both coins and postage stamps. It's just not quite as interesting as the beaver image used in 1851. Since Prince Albert passed away in 1861, it was no longer necessary to put his image on a stamp.

Postage Stamps 1851-1867

Between 1851 and 1867, Canadian stamps just continued to alternate through four different images that I have previously posted about: The Beaver, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, and Jacques Cartier. The only stamps that I have in my personal collection are #14,#15,#17(incorrectly labelled in picture), and #19 pictured above. The catalogue values of stamps in this condition are about $100, $40, $160,and $330 respectively, which means that you could realistically sell them for about 10% of that listed price
The real question is why was Canada making postage stamps at all before 1867... Isn't that when we became a country? Perhaps this is one more piece of evidence that our emergence as an independent country was (and still is?) a gradual process. When did our country really start anyways?
1534 - Jacques Cartier dubbed the region "canada"
1763 - Treaty of Paris after England gained possession of the region
1791 - Upper and Lower Canada formed as colonies
1812 - Canadians united in anti-American resolve
1840 - The Act of Union between Upper and Lower Canada
1851 - Canada issues its first postage stamp with an image of a beaver instead of the Queen
1867 - Confederation (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia)
1871 - Canada added Rupert's Land and British Columbia (sea to sea)
1912 - Provincial borders become essentially what they are today
1980 - Pierre Trudeau repatriated constitution
2??? - Canada becomes a republic



1 - Beaver              (mint $62 094.25, used $1688.30)
2 - Prince Albert     (mint $66 175.60, used $2611.05)
3 - Queen Victoria   (mint $159 958.50, used $231 677.00)
4 - Beaver              (mint $2139.55, used $326.50)
5 - Prince Albert     (mint $36047.70, used $2149.70)
6 - Queen Victoria          n/c
7 - Jacques Cartier   (mint $13055.25, used $2661.75)
8 - Queen Victoria   (mint $1409.45, used $953.13)
9 - Queen Victoria   (mint $12421.50, used $4629.35)
10 - Prince Albert    (mint $26211.90, used $8365.50)
11 - Queen Victoria  (mint $5196.75, used $2626.75)
12 - Beaver             (mint $19189.09, used $1597.95)
13 - Prince Albert    (mint $31053.71, $10672.35)
14 - Queen Victoria  (mint $630.45, used $133.35)
15 - Beaver             (mint $775.20, used $53.50)
16 - Prince Albert    (mint $18970.50, used $8264.10)
17 - Prince Albert    (mint $1583.35, used $236.00)
18 - Queen Victoria  (mint $1315,65, used $220.55)
19 - Jacques Cartier  (mint $1869.60, used $332.35)
20 - Queen Victoria  (mint $1072.30, used $439.55)

Glory movie

The Socials 10 curriculum for whatever reason does not mention the American Civil War. I guess the writers do not want a course on Canadian history hijacked by American history. However, the learning outcomes do mention learning "factors leading to confederation", of which the American Civil War is in many ways the most important. Or at least the most interesting...
In the absence of textbook material I have resorted to watching clips from a movie to show images of the American Civil War. This particular movie is my favorite one set in the civil war, and one that has an engaging story as well as a historical feel. There is some pejorative language to avoid, but you can pre-select scenes that will lead to good discussion. It won't teach the students many important historical facts, but it may get them interested and engaged about history.. In fact, it is engaging enough that many students will go home and rent the whole movie.
The movie is available in different formats, so check it out... Glory (Special Edition)

Fathers of Confederation

This book says "grades 4-8" and the front cover looks like it is for children, but it is one of the most useful teaching resources that I ever bought for Socials 10. The book is 76 pages of resources on Canadian confederation. It consists of good overview notes on confederation with a simple worksheet, and then a picture and description of every "father of confederation".  I don't think it is at all useful or important for students in Socials 10 to memorize names or details about the Fathers of Confederation, but there are lots of other interesting activities you can do with this. I use this resource in class by cutting up the descriptions and then organizing a 'mock conference'. They each read a summary of their character, we do a "human bingo" with it and then each person writes a very short speech to communicate their character's opinion on confederation.
I did a quick search online, and found an updated version of the resource for a decent price here. It even has a link to the table of contents and first few pages of the book. Check it out.