Canada in 1815

The first unit in my Socials 10 course (after review) is called "Canada in 1815". 

The key questions for the unit are:

1)   What was Canada like in 1815? Who was here and what were they thinking and doing?

2)   What were the problems with government?

My lessons go like this: 

1) Economy in 1815

2) Government in 1815

3) Immigration in 1815

4) Big Ideas in 1815

5) First Nations Relations: 1815-1840

6) Rebellions of 1837-1838

7) Government in 1840

Of course, "Canada in 1815" wasn't quite the same Canada as today. We are just talking about Upper and Lower Canada, or the very southern portions of Ontario and Quebec. 

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)