Course

Canadian Economic History

Faculty
Commerce & Business Administration
Department
Economics
Course code
ECON 1111
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks X 4 Hours per Week = 60 Hours
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
Canada has developed from being a small number of isolated Maritime settlements into a modern economy enjoying membership in the "G-7", a group of seven industrialized democracies that includes Germany, Japan and the United States. This course examines that progression. Special attention will be paid to the relationship of Canada within the British Empire, theories of Canadian economic development and the role of government legislation since Confederation.
Course content
  1. An introduction to the economic history of the Maritimes and the rivalries among colonial powers in the North Atlantic region.
  2. The early staples:  The exploitation of renewable natural resources.
  3. The changing structure of the Canadian economy:  The National Policy.
  4. Land policy and the development of agriculture.
  5. Banking and capital markets before and after Confederation.
  6. Capital formation and the industrialization of Canada.
  7. Transportation and investment in infrastructure.
  8. Labour and the role of labour organization in the Canadian economy.
  9. Foreign investment: Its role and impact on the Canadian economy.
  10. Regional variations in economic development and growth.
  11. Recent developments in the economic analysis of Canada’s historical development.
Learning activities

Lectures and seminars.

Means of assessment
Final Examination  30% - 40%
Term Test(s)  30% - 70%
Written Assignments            0% - 30%
Class Participation    0% - 10%
Total          100%

THERE WILL BE A MINIMUM OF THREE (3) EVALUATIONS.

Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøÆØÒ»Çø¶þÇø Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

  1. Describe the economic development of Canada both before and after Confederation.
  2. Analyze how economic forces and policies have shaped the development of Canada both before and after Confederation.
  3. Identify the contributions, and limitations, of economic analysis to broadening our understanding of the process of Canadian economic development.
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

Texts and reading materials will be chosen from the following list, as determined by the instructor:

 

  1. Norrie, Kenneth Harold and D. Owram.  A History of the Canadian Economy, Latest Ed.  Toronto:  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Canada Inc.
  2. Easterbrook, W.T. and M.H. Watkins.  Approaches to Canadian Economic History, Latest Ed.  Ottawa:  Carleton University Press.
  3. Marr, William L. and Donald G. Paterson.  Canada:  An Economic History, Latest Ed.  Toronto: Gage Educational Publishing Company.
  4. Easterbrook, W.T. and H.G.J. Aitken.  Canadian Economic History, Latest Ed.  Toronto:  MacMillan of Canada.

Requisites

Prerequisites

BC Pre-Calculus 11.  One course in Economics recommended.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency courses

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see

Institution Transfer details for ECON 1111
Langara College (LANG) LANG ECON 1XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU ECON 1XX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU ECON 1XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV ECON_V 1st (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC ECON 1XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV ECON 1XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC ECON 1XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU ECON 1st (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025