The sterling area (or sterling bloc , legally scheduled territories ) was a group of countries that either adopted or pegged their currencies to the pound sterling .
158-475: The area began to appear informally during the early 1930s, after sterling had left the gold standard in 1931, with the result that a number of currencies of countries that historically had performed a large amount of their trade in sterling were pegged to sterling instead of to gold. A large number of these countries were part of the British Empire ; however, a significant minority were not. Early in
316-659: A $ 10 gold eagle was also approved, containing 247.5 grains (16.0377 g) fine gold. Hamilton therefore put the U.S. dollar on a bimetallic standard with a gold–silver ratio of 15.0. American-issued dollars and cents remained less common in circulation than Spanish dollars and reales (1/8th dollar) for the next six decades until foreign currency was demonetized in 1857. $ 10 gold eagles were exported to Europe where it could fetch over ten Spanish dollars due to their higher gold ratio of 15.5. American silver dollars also compared favorably with Spanish dollars and were easily used for overseas purchases. In 1806 President Jefferson suspended
474-412: A fixed exchange rate , governments were hamstrung in engaging in expansionary policies to, for example, reduce unemployment during economic recessions . According to a 2012 survey of 39 economists, the vast majority (92 percent) agreed that a return to the gold standard would not improve price-stability and employment outcomes, and two-thirds of economic historians surveyed in the mid-1990s rejected
632-476: A gold bullion standard whenever gold bars are offered, or a gold exchange standard whenever other gold-convertible currencies are offered. John Maynard Keynes referred to both standards above as simply the gold exchange standard in his 1913 book Indian Currency and Finance . He described this as the predominant form of the international gold standard before the First World War, that a gold standard
790-481: A gold exchange standard , where the government guarantees a fixed exchange rate, not to a specified amount of gold, but rather to the currency of another country that is under a gold standard. This became the predominant international standard under the Bretton Woods Agreement from 1945 to 1971 by the fixing of world currencies to the U.S. dollar , the only currency after World War II to be on
948-403: A middle power , Canada's strong support for multilateralism and internationalism has been closely related to its foreign relations policies of peacekeeping and aid for developing countries . Canada is part of multiple international organizations and forums . While a variety of theories have been postulated for the etymological origins of Canada , the name is now accepted as coming from
1106-498: A parallel bimetallic standard (where gold circulates at a floating exchange rate to silver) or reverted to a mono-metallic standard. France was the most important country which maintained a bimetallic standard during most of the 19th century. The English pound sterling introduced c. 800 CE was initially a silver standard unit worth 20 shillings or 240 silver pennies. The latter initially contained 1.35 g fine silver, reduced by 1601 to 0.464 g (hence giving way to
1264-467: A parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy —the monarchy of Canada being the foundation of the executive, legislative , and judicial branches. The reigning monarch is also monarch of 14 other sovereign Commonwealth countries and Canada's 10 provinces . The monarch appoints a representative, the governor general , on the advice of the prime minister , to carry out most of their ceremonial royal duties. The monarchy
1422-716: A 1% premium, and by the German Reichsbank partially suspending free payment in gold, though "covertly and with shame". Some countries had limited success in implementing the gold standard even while disregarding such "rules of the game" in its pursuit of other monetary policy objectives. Inside the Latin Monetary Union , the Italian lira and the Spanish peseta traded outside typical gold-standard levels of 25.02–25.42F/£ for extended periods of time: In
1580-671: A consequence of European colonization, the Indigenous population declined by forty to eighty percent. The decline is attributed to several causes, including the transfer of European diseases , to which they had no natural immunity, conflicts over the fur trade, conflicts with the colonial authorities and settlers, and the loss of Indigenous lands to settlers and the subsequent collapse of several nations' self-sufficiency. Although not without conflict, European Canadians ' early interactions with First Nations and Inuit populations were relatively peaceful. First Nations and Métis peoples played
1738-567: A constitutional amending formula and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . The Charter guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be overridden by any government; a notwithstanding clause allows Parliament and the provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter for a period of five years. Canada's judiciary interprets laws and has the power to strike down acts of Parliament that violate
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#17327650202721896-519: A critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada , particularly for their role in assisting European coureurs des bois and voyageurs in their explorations of the continent during the North American fur trade . These early European interactions with First Nations would change from friendship and peace treaties to the dispossession of Indigenous lands through treaties . From
2054-506: A distinguishing element of Canada's political culture. Peace, order, and good government , alongside an Implied Bill of Rights , are founding principles of Canadian federalism . At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two relatively centrist parties practising "brokerage politics": the centre-left leaning Liberal Party of Canada and the centre-right leaning Conservative Party of Canada (or its predecessors ). The historically predominant Liberals position themselves at
2212-486: A fixed maximum rate in terms of the local currency, the reserves necessary to provide these remittances being kept to a considerable extent abroad. Its theoretical advantages were first set forth by Ricardo (i.e. David Ricardo , 1824) at the time of the Bullionist Controversy. He laid it down that a currency is in its most perfect state when it consists of a cheap material, but having an equal value with
2370-478: A fixed price. First emerging in the late 18th century to regulate exchange between London and Edinburgh, Keynes (1913) noted how such a standard became the predominant means of implementing the gold standard internationally in the 1870s. Restricting the free circulation of gold under the Classical Gold Standard period from the 1870s to 1914 was also needed in countries which decided to implement
2528-546: A fixed rate to sterling, as did many foreign countries outside the Empire. When Britain left the gold standard in 1931, many countries that had pegged their currencies to gold pegged their currencies to sterling instead; this group of countries became known as the "sterling bloc", though the term "sterling area" was used officially from at least 1935. When the Second World War broke out, the sterling bloc countries within
2686-534: A gold–silver ratio of 15.2, higher than prevailing ratios in Continental Europe. Great Britain was therefore de jure under a bimetallic standard with gold serving as the cheaper and more reliable currency compared to clipped silver (full-weight silver coins did not circulate and went to Europe where 21 shillings fetched over a guinea in gold). Several factors helped extend the British gold standard into
2844-704: A process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This increased sovereignty was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster, 1931 , and culminating in the Canada Act 1982 , which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition . The country's head of government
3002-883: A separate colony in 1769. To avert conflict in Quebec , the British Parliament passed the Quebec Act 1774, expanding Quebec's territory to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley . More importantly, the Quebec Act afforded Quebec special autonomy and rights of self-administration at a time when the Thirteen Colonies were increasingly agitating against British rule. It re-established the French language, Catholic faith, and French civil law there, staving off
3160-495: A standard of this type was made by Holland. The free coinage of silver was suspended in 1877. But the currency continued to consist mainly of silver and paper. It has been maintained since that date at a constant value in terms of gold by the Bank's regularly providing gold when it is required for export and by its using its authority at the same time for restricting so far as possible the use of gold at home. To make this policy possible,
3318-417: A sterling peg and staying in the sterling area, rather than maintaining a direct dollar peg. Despite this, sterling did not regain anything like its place in international commerce that it had had before the war, and a devastated and financially exhausted Britain could not defend the international value of sterling to maintain confidence in the system, resulting in its devaluation of the pound sterling against
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#17327650202723476-580: A switch to gold by several European countries in the 1870s and led as well to the suspension of the unlimited minting of silver 5-franc coins in the Latin Monetary Union in 1873. The following countries switched from silver or bimetallic currencies to gold in the following years (Britain is included for completeness): The gold standard became the basis for the international monetary system after 1873. According to economic historian Barry Eichengreen , "only then did countries settle on gold as
3634-431: A temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 °C (104 °F). Much of Northern Canada is covered by ice and permafrost . The future of
3792-554: Is divided into 15 terrestrial and five marine ecozones . These ecozones encompass over 80,000 classified species of Canadian wildlife , with an equal number yet to be formally recognized or discovered. Although Canada has a low percentage of endemic species compared to other countries , due to human activities, invasive species , and environmental issues in the country , there are currently more than 800 species at risk of being lost . About 65 percent of Canada's resident species are considered "Secure". Over half of Canada's landscape
3950-1026: Is intact and relatively free of human development. The boreal forest of Canada is considered to be the largest intact forest on Earth, with approximately 3,000,000 km (1,200,000 sq mi) undisturbed by roads, cities or industry. Since the end of the last glacial period , Canada has consisted of eight distinct forest regions . Approximately 12.1 percent of the nation's landmass and freshwater are conservation areas , including 11.4 percent designated as protected areas . Approximately 13.8 percent of its territorial waters are conserved, including 8.9 percent designated as protected areas. Canada's first National Park , Banff National Park established in 1885 spans 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi). Canada's oldest provincial park, Algonquin Provincial Park , established in 1893, covers an area of 7,653.45 square kilometres (2,955.01 sq mi). Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
4108-597: Is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration . Canada's long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its history , economy , and culture . A developed country , Canada has a high nominal per capita income globally and its advanced economy ranks among the largest in the world by nominal GDP , relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade networks . Recognized as
4266-634: Is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada. Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is officially a provincial responsibility, conducted by provincial and municipal police forces. In most rural and some urban areas, policing responsibilities are contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police . Canadian Aboriginal law provides certain constitutionally recognized rights to land and traditional practices for Indigenous groups in Canada. Various treaties and case laws were established to mediate relations between Europeans and many Indigenous peoples. The role of Aboriginal law and
4424-533: Is the prime minister , who holds office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons and is appointed by the governor general , representing the monarch of Canada , the ceremonial head of state . The country is a Commonwealth realm and is officially bilingual (English and French) in the federal jurisdiction. It is very highly ranked in international measurements of government transparency, quality of life, economic competitiveness, innovation, education and human rights. It
4582-584: Is the second-largest country . By land area alone, Canada ranks fourth , due to having the world's largest area of fresh water lakes . Stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the east, along the Arctic Ocean to the north, and to the Pacific Ocean in the west, the country encompasses 9,984,670 km (3,855,100 sq mi) of territory. Canada also has vast maritime terrain, with
4740-407: Is the only possible means of bringing China onto a gold basis ... The classical gold standard of the late 19th century was therefore not merely a superficial switch from circulating silver to circulating gold. The bulk of silver currency was actually replaced by banknotes and token currency whose gold value was guaranteed by gold bullion and other reserve assets held inside central banks. In turn,
4898-521: Is the source of sovereignty and authority in Canada. However, while the governor general or monarch may exercise their power without ministerial advice in rare crisis situations , the use of the executive powers (or royal prerogative ) is otherwise directed by the Cabinet , a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the elected House of Commons and chosen and headed by the prime minister,
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5056-562: Is the world's largest freshwater protected area, spanning roughly 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi). Canada's largest national wildlife region is the Scott Islands Marine National Wildlife Area which spans 11,570.65 square kilometres (4,467.45 sq mi). Canada is described as a " full democracy ", with a tradition of liberalism , and an egalitarian , moderate political ideology. An emphasis on social justice has been
5214-666: The Canada Elections Act limits this to four years with a "fixed" election date in October; general elections still must be called by the governor general and can be triggered by either the advice of the prime minister or a lost confidence vote in the House. The 105 members of the Senate, whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75. Canadian federalism divides government responsibilities between
5372-705: The Dominion Lands Act to regulate settlement and established the North-West Mounted Police to assert authority over the territory. This period of westward expansion and nation building resulted in the displacement of many Indigenous peoples of the Canadian Prairies to " Indian reserves ", clearing the way for ethnic European block settlements . This caused the collapse of the Plains Bison in western Canada and
5530-470: The Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean , making it the world's second-largest country by total area , with the world's longest coastline . Its border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of just over 41 million people, it has widely varying population densities, with
5688-775: The Battle of the Scheldt in 1944. Canada provided asylum for the Dutch monarchy while that country was occupied and is credited by the Netherlands for major contributions to its liberation from Nazi Germany . The Canadian economy boomed during the war as its industries manufactured military materiel for Canada, Britain, China , and the Soviet Union . Despite another Conscription Crisis in Quebec in 1944, Canada finished
5846-612: The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada began on January 27, 2020, with widespread social and economic disruption. In 2021, the possible graves of hundreds of Indigenous people were discovered near the former sites of Canadian Indian residential schools . Administered by various Christian churches and funded by the Canadian government from 1828 to 1997, these boarding schools attempted to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture . By total area (including its waters), Canada
6004-585: The Canada Act 1982 , the patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Canada had established complete sovereignty as an independent country under its own monarchy . In 1999, Nunavut became Canada's third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government. At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through
6162-826: The Canadian Shield , the interior plains , the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands , the Appalachian region , the Western Cordillera , Hudson Bay Lowlands , and the Arctic Archipelago . Boreal forests prevail throughout the country, ice is prominent in northern Arctic regions and through the Rocky Mountains , and the relatively flat Canadian Prairies in the southwest facilitate productive agriculture. The Great Lakes feed
6320-564: The Constitution of Canada fully under Canadian control, referred only to Canada . Later that year, the name of the national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day . The first inhabitants of North America are generally hypothesized to have migrated from Siberia by way of the Bering land bridge and arrived at least 14,000 years ago. The Paleo-Indian archeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of
6478-643: The European Economic Community (EEC) in 1961 and 1967 were blocked by the French, but eventually, on 1 January 1973, the United Kingdom became a European Communities member state after France formally lifted its veto on UK membership . One of the issues covered in the negotiations about the United Kingdom's entry to the EEC was the problem of "sterling balances", balances held in sterling in London by governments of countries which were members of
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6636-506: The First Nations , Inuit , and Métis , the last being of mixed descent who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations people married European settlers and subsequently developed their own identity. The Indigenous population at the time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000 and two million, with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples . As
6794-769: The Meech Lake Accord failed in 1990. This led to the formation of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec and the invigoration of the Reform Party of Canada in the West. A second referendum followed in 1995, in which sovereignty was rejected by a slimmer margin of 50.6 to 49.4 percent. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled unilateral secession by a province would be unconstitutional, and the Clarity Act
6952-696: The Oka Crisis of 1990, the first of a number of violent confrontations between provincial governments and Indigenous groups. Canada joined the Gulf War in 1990 and was active in several peacekeeping missions in the 1990s, including operations in the Balkans during and after the Yugoslav Wars , and in Somalia , resulting in an incident that has been described as " the darkest era in the history of
7110-562: The Parliament of Canada and the commissioners represent the King in his federal Council , rather than the monarch directly. The powers flowing from the Constitution Act, 1867 , are divided between the federal government and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively and any changes to that arrangement require a constitutional amendment , while changes to the roles and powers of the territories may be performed unilaterally by
7268-554: The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a secular nationalist movement. The radical Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ignited the October Crisis with a series of bombings and kidnappings in 1970, and the sovereigntist Parti Québécois was elected in 1976, organizing an unsuccessful referendum on sovereignty-association in 1980. Attempts to accommodate Quebec nationalism constitutionally through
7426-638: The Saint Lawrence River as Canada . From the 16th to the early 18th century, Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the Saint Lawrence River. Following the British conquest of New France , this area was known as the British Province of Quebec from 1763 to 1791. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada . These two colonies were collectively named
7584-647: The Second World War , emergency legislation united the sterling bloc countries and territories (except Hong Kong) of the British Empire in a single exchange control area to protect the external value of sterling, among other aims. Canada and Newfoundland were already linked to the US dollar and did not join the sterling bloc. The Bank of England in London guided co-ordination of monetary policy in
7742-526: The St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata , meaning "village" or "settlement". In 1535, Indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona . Cartier later used the word Canada to refer not only to that particular village but to the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this small region along
7900-781: The St. Lawrence River (in the southeast) where the lowlands host much of Canada's economic output. Canada has over 2,000,000 lakes—563 of which are larger than 100 km (39 sq mi)—containing much of the world's fresh water . There are also fresh-water glaciers in the Canadian Rockies , the Coast Mountains , and the Arctic Cordillera . Canada is geologically active , having many earthquakes and potentially active volcanoes . Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of
8058-637: The Straits dollar of 24.26 g silver was fixed at 28 pence (or £1 = 8 4 ⁄ 7 dollars; ratio 28.4). Nearly similar gold standards were implemented in Japan in 1897, in the Philippines in 1903, and in Mexico in 1905 when the previous yen or peso of 24.26 g silver was redefined to approximately 0.75 g gold or half a U.S. dollar (ratio 32.3). Japan gained the needed gold reserves after
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#17327650202728216-443: The US dollar . On 22 June 1972, Britain imposed exchange controls between Britain and other members of the sterling area, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands ). At the same time, Britain floated the pound sterling. According to the Chancellor of the Exchequer , Anthony Barber , this was to halt a recent increase in capital outflow to other parts of
8374-441: The head of government . To ensure the stability of government, the governor general will usually appoint as prime minister the individual who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a majority of members in the House. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is one of the most powerful institutions in government, initiating most legislation for parliamentary approval and selecting for appointment by
8532-511: The "gold points" (in the example above, cases existed of the pound climbing above 25.42 francs or falling below 25.02 francs). Central banks were found to pursue other objectives other than fixed exchange rates to gold (like e.g., lower domestic prices, or stopping huge gold outflows), though such behavior is limited by public credibility on their adherence to the gold standard. Keynes described such violations occurring before 1913 by French banks limiting gold payouts to 200 francs per head and charging
8690-482: The "rules" actually observed during the classical gold standard era from 1873 to 1914, however, reveal how much more powerful national central banks actually are in influencing price levels and specie flows, compared to the "self-correcting" flows predicted by the price-specie flow mechanism. Keynes premised the "rules of the game" on best practices of central banks to implement the pre-1914 international gold standard, namely: Central banks were also expected to maintain
8848-406: The 1780s, Thomas Jefferson , Robert Morris and Alexander Hamilton recommended to Congress that a decimal currency system be adopted by the United States. The initial recommendation in 1785 was a silver standard based on the Spanish milled dollar (finalized at 371.25 grains or 24.0566 g fine silver), but in the final version of the Coinage Act of 1792 Hamilton's recommendation to include
9006-465: The 19th century, namely: A proclamation from Queen Anne in 1704 introduced the British West Indies to the gold standard; however, it did not result in the wide use of gold currency and the gold standard, given Britain's mercantilist policy of hoarding gold and silver from its colonies for use at home. Prices were quoted de jure in gold pounds sterling but were rarely paid in gold; the colonists' de facto daily medium of exchange and unit of account
9164-453: The 19th century. Gold functioned as a medium for international trade and high-value transactions, but it generally fluctuated in price versus everyday silver money. A bimetallic standard emerged under a silver standard in the process of giving popular gold coins like ducats a fixed value in terms of silver. In light of fluctuating gold–silver ratios in other countries, bimetallic standards were rather unstable and de facto transformed into
9322-418: The Atlantic coast. In general, early settlements during the Age of Discovery appear to have been short-lived due to a combination of the harsh climate, problems with navigating trade routes and competing outputs in Scandinavia. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert , by the royal prerogative of Queen Elizabeth I , founded St John's, Newfoundland , as the first North American English seasonal camp . In 1600,
9480-409: The Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts , France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation , Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories resulting in the displacement of Indigenous populations , and
9638-420: The Bank of Holland has kept a reserve, of a moderate and economical amount, partly in gold, partly in foreign bills. Since the Indian system (gold exchange standard implemented in 1893) has been perfected and its provisions generally known, it has been widely imitated both in Asia and elsewhere ... Something similar has existed in Java under Dutch influences for many years ... The Gold-Exchange Standard
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#17327650202729796-454: The British Empire shared a desire to protect the external value of sterling; legislation was therefore passed throughout the Empire formalising the British sterling bloc countries into a single exchange control area. The sterling area was continued in the postwar era in an attempt to preserve the British Empire's superpower status during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union . Canada and Newfoundland did not join
9954-442: The Canadas until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867 , Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country at the London Conference and the word dominion was conferred as the country's title. By the 1950s, the term Dominion of Canada was no longer used by the United Kingdom, which considered Canada a "realm of the Commonwealth". The Canada Act 1982 , which brought
10112-466: The Canadian military ". Canada sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001 , resulting in the largest amount of Canadian deaths for any single military mission since the Korean War in the early 1950s. In 2011, Canadian forces participated in the NATO-led intervention into the Libyan Civil War and also became involved in battling the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq in the mid-2010s. The country celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2017, three years before
10270-402: The Commonwealth nations had with the United Kingdom, and ended their privileged access to UK markets. Most members of the sterling area left the bloc to peg their currencies with the United States dollar. Gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold . The gold standard was the basis for
10428-423: The Crown the governor general, lieutenant governors , senators, federal court judges, and heads of Crown corporations and government agencies. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the leader of the Official Opposition and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check. The Parliament of Canada passes all federal statute laws. It comprises
10586-439: The First Nations to education, government and legal rights. Because Britain still maintained control of Canada's foreign affairs under the British North America Act, 1867, its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into the First World War . Volunteers sent to the Western Front later became part of the Canadian Corps , which played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other major engagements of
10744-400: The French established their first seasonal trading post at Tadoussac along the Saint Lawrence. French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent year-round European settlements at Port Royal (in 1605) and Quebec City (in 1608). Among the colonists of New France, Canadiens extensively settled the Saint Lawrence River valley and Acadians settled
10902-411: The Métis' grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion and the creation of the province of Manitoba in July 1870. British Columbia and Vancouver Island (which had been united in 1866) joined the confederation in 1871 on the promise of a transcontinental railway extending to Victoria in the province within 10 years, while Prince Edward Island joined in 1873. In 1898, during the Klondike Gold Rush in
11060-414: The Northwest Territories, Parliament created the Yukon Territory. Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces in 1905. Between 1871 and 1896, almost one quarter of the Canadian population emigrated south to the US. To open the West and encourage European immigration, the Government of Canada sponsored the construction of three transcontinental railways (including the Canadian Pacific Railway ), passed
11218-426: The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. For Japan, moving to gold was considered vital for gaining access to Western capital markets. In the 1920s John Maynard Keynes retrospectively developed the phrase "rules of the game" to describe how central banks would ideally implement a gold standard during the prewar classical era, assuming international trade flows followed the ideal price–specie flow mechanism . Violations of
11376-564: The US dollar. So Canada and Newfoundland did not stand to gain by joining an exchange control bloc intended to protect the external value of sterling. The absence of Canada and Newfoundland from the sterling area was beneficial to Britain, as it curtailed capital flight to the North American mainland. Canada nevertheless introduced its own exchange controls at the outbreak of war; these were maintained until 1953. Canada's exchange controls were 'sterling area-friendly', in that their purpose
11534-643: The United Kingdom. The delay underscored Canada's independence. The first Canadian Army units arrived in Britain in December 1939. In all, over a million Canadians served in the armed forces during the Second World War . Canadian troops played important roles in many key battles of the war, including the failed 1942 Dieppe Raid , the Allied invasion of Italy , the Normandy landings , the Battle of Normandy , and
11692-642: The United States in 1846 ended the Oregon boundary dispute , extending the border westward along the 49th parallel . This paved the way for British colonies on Vancouver Island (1849) and in British Columbia (1858) . The Anglo-Russian Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1825) established the border along the Pacific coast, but, even after the US Alaska Purchase of 1867, disputes continued about
11850-419: The ability to defy exchange controls by operating a dual system with the sterling area and a free exchange market principally with the US dollar, which was technically illegal from 1949 to 1967. In the 1967 sterling crisis , Hong Kong only partially followed Britain in devaluing its currency. In 1972, Hong Kong finally ended the currency peg with sterling. At the end of the war in 1945 the sterling area remained
12008-528: The abortive Rebellions of 1837 . The Durham Report subsequently recommended responsible government and the assimilation of French Canadians into English culture. The Act of Union 1840 merged the Canadas into a united Province of Canada and responsible government was established for all provinces of British North America east of Lake Superior by 1855. The signing of the Oregon Treaty by Britain and
12166-466: The area. Gibraltar was re-included into the new miniature sterling area on 1 January 1973, and the other sterling area countries responded as they chose – in fact, some of these countries had already taken similar measures throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Following the British government's decision in June 1972, some countries immediately copied the British government, and others did so over
12324-401: The basis for their money supplies. Only then were pegged exchange rates based on the gold standard firmly established." Adopting and maintaining a singular monetary arrangement encouraged international trade and investment by stabilizing international price relationships and facilitating foreign borrowing. The gold standard was not firmly established in non-industrial countries. As feared by
12482-802: The centre of the political scale. Five parties had representatives elected to the Parliament in the 2021 election —the Liberals, who formed a minority government; the Conservatives, who became the Official Opposition ; the New Democratic Party (occupying the left ); the Bloc Québécois ; and the Green Party . Far-right and far-left politics have never been a prominent force in Canadian society. Canada has
12640-555: The constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court, final arbiter, and has been led since 2017 by Richard Wagner , the Chief Justice of Canada . The governor general appoints the court's nine members on the advice of the prime minister and minister of justice . The federal Cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts in the provincial and territorial jurisdictions. Common law prevails everywhere except Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law
12798-510: The country and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act, 1867 (known as the British North America Act, 1867 prior to 1982), affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments. The Statute of Westminster, 1931 , granted full autonomy, and the Constitution Act, 1982 , ended all legislative ties to Britain, as well as adding
12956-421: The country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate , where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F ), but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severe wind chills . In non-coastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has
13114-553: The currency area. Member countries with their own currency held a large portion of their foreign currency reserves as sterling balances in London . After the Second World War, the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates to the US dollar (convertible to gold ) gave the sterling area a second lease of life as Commonwealth of Nations kinship and trading loyalties were maintained after Britain's withdrawal from Empire by keeping
13272-526: The decline of the Byzantine Empire's economic influence. However, economic systems using gold as the sole currency and unit of account never emerged before the 18th century. For millennia it was silver, not gold, which was the real basis of the domestic economies: the foundation for most money-of-account systems, for payment of wages and salaries, and for most local retail trade. Gold functioning as currency and unit of account for daily transactions
13430-417: The developing international financial system. Due to the inflationary finance measures undertaken to help pay for the U.S. Civil War , the government found it difficult to pay its obligations in gold or silver and suspended payments of obligations not legally specified in specie (gold bonds); this led banks to suspend the conversion of bank liabilities (bank notes and deposits) into specie. In 1862 paper money
13588-433: The dollar in 1967 that was not reflected in other sterling area currencies. In the end the US dollar's inability to hold to the Bretton Woods gold standard precipitated the end of the era of fixed exchange rates : with all major currencies including the pound floating against the US dollar, the sterling area had lost its final raison d'être . In June 1972, the British government unilaterally applied exchange controls to
13746-597: The early 1930s saw an economic downturn, leading to hardship across the country. In response to the downturn, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in Saskatchewan introduced many elements of a welfare state (as pioneered by Tommy Douglas ) in the 1940s and 1950s. On the advice of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King , war with Germany was declared effective September 10, 1939, by King George VI , seven days after
13904-633: The emergence of a new Canadian identity , marked by the adoption of the maple leaf flag in 1965, the implementation of official bilingualism (English and French) in 1969, and the institution of official multiculturalism in 1971. Socially democratic programs were also instituted, such as Medicare , the Canada Pension Plan , and Canada Student Loans ; though, provincial governments, particularly Quebec and Alberta, opposed many of these as incursions into their jurisdictions. Finally, another series of constitutional conferences resulted in
14062-693: The exact demarcation of the Alaska–Yukon and Alaska–BC border. Following three constitutional conferences, the British North America Act, 1867 officially proclaimed Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, initially with four provinces: Ontario , Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to form the Northwest Territories , where
14220-416: The federal government and the 10 provinces. Provincial legislatures are unicameral and operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the House of Commons. Canada's three territories also have legislatures, but these are not sovereign, have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces, and differ structurally from their provincial counterparts. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of
14378-400: The form of circulating gold sovereigns as well as banknotes that were convertible at par into sovereigns or Bank of England banknotes. Canada introduced its own gold dollar in 1867 at par with the U.S. gold dollar and with a fixed exchange rate to the gold sovereign. Up until 1850 only Britain and a few of its colonies were on the gold standard, with the majority of other countries being on
14536-606: The gold bullion standard. The use of gold as money began around 600 BCE in Asia Minor and has been widely accepted ever since, together with various other commodities used as money , with those that lose the least value over time becoming the accepted form. In the early and high Middle Ages , the Byzantine gold solidus or bezant was used widely throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, but its use waned with
14694-468: The gold exchange standard was just one step away from modern fiat currency with banknotes issued by central banks, and whose value is secured by the bank's reserve assets, but whose exchange value is determined by the central bank's monetary policy objectives on its purchasing power in lieu of a fixed equivalence to gold. The final chapter of the classical gold standard ending in 1914 saw the gold exchange standard extended to many Asian countries by fixing
14852-408: The gold it professes to represent; and he suggested that convertibility for the purposes of the foreign exchanges should be ensured by the tendering on demand of gold bars (not coin) in exchange for notes, so that gold might be available for purposes of export only, and would be prevented from entering into the internal circulation of the country. The first crude attempt in recent times at establishing
15010-582: The gold price relative to silver; this drove silver money from circulation because it was worth more in the market than as money. Passage of the Independent Treasury Act of 1848 placed the U.S. on a strict hard-money standard. Doing business with the American government required gold or silver coins. Government accounts were legally separated from the banking system. However, the mint ratio (the fixed exchange rate between gold and silver at
15168-544: The gold standard has three benefits that made its use popular during certain historical periods: "its record as a stable nominal anchor; its automaticity; and its role as a credible commitment mechanism." The gold standard is supported by many followers of the Austrian School , free-market libertarians , and some supply-siders . The United Kingdom slipped into a gold specie standard in 1717 by over-valuing gold at 15 + 1 ⁄ 5 times its weight in silver. It
15326-708: The gold standard on the ideal assumption of international trade operating under the price–specie flow mechanism proposed by economist David Hume wherein: In practice, however, specie flows during the classical gold standard era failed to exhibit the self-corrective behavior described above. Gold finding its way back from surplus to deficit countries to exploit price differences was a painfully slow process, and central banks found it far more effective to raise or lower domestic price levels by lowering or raising domestic interest rates. High price level countries may raise interest rates to lower domestic demand and prices, but it may also trigger gold inflows from investors – contradicting
15484-608: The gold standard while guaranteeing the exchangeability of huge amounts of legacy silver coins into gold at the fixed rate (rather than valuing publicly held silver at its depreciated value). The term limping standard is often used in countries maintaining significant amounts of silver coin at par with gold, thus an additional element of uncertainty with the currency's value versus gold. The most common silver coins kept at limping standard parity included French 5-franc coins , German 3-mark thalers , Dutch guilders , Indian rupees , and U.S. Morgan dollars . Lastly, countries may implement
15642-468: The gold standard. The shift to an international monetary system based on a gold standard reflected accident, network externalities , and path dependence . Great Britain accidentally adopted a de facto gold standard in 1717 when Isaac Newton , then-master of the Royal Mint , set the exchange rate of silver to gold too low, thus causing silver coins to go out of circulation. As Great Britain became
15800-482: The growth of an independence movement in contrast to the Thirteen Colonies. The Proclamation and the Quebec Act in turn angered many residents of the Thirteen Colonies, further fuelling anti-British sentiment in the years prior to the American Revolution . After the successful American War of Independence, the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the newly formed United States and set
15958-497: The idea that the gold standard "was effective in stabilizing prices and moderating business-cycle fluctuations during the nineteenth century." The consensus view among economists is that the gold standard helped prolong and deepen the Great Depression . Historically, banking crises were more common during periods under the gold standard while currency crises were less common. According to economist Michael D. Bordo ,
16116-415: The international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the late 1920s to 1932 as well as from 1944 until 1971 when the United States unilaterally terminated convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system . Many states nonetheless hold substantial gold reserves . Historically, the silver standard and bimetallism have been more common than
16274-462: The introduction of European cattle farms and wheat fields dominating the land. The Indigenous peoples saw widespread famine and disease due to the loss of the bison and their traditional hunting lands. The federal government did provide emergency relief, on condition of the Indigenous peoples moving to the reserves. During this time, Canada introduced the Indian Act extending its control over
16432-498: The largest and most coherent currency bloc in the world, and it provided its members with freedom to settle payments in sterling anywhere within the area without exchange controls. Members enjoyed the benefits of stable exchange rates and permanent access to the financial resources of the City of London. Meanwhile, the British government was able to use the pooled reserves of the entire area's membership to back sterling at times when there
16590-521: The late 18th century, European Canadians forced Indigenous peoples to assimilate into a western Canadian society. Settler colonialism reached a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A period of redress began with the formation of a reconciliation commission by the Government of Canada in 2008. This included acknowledgment of cultural genocide , settlement agreements , and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing
16748-675: The later wars of the period constituted the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War . Mainland Nova Scotia came under British rule with the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and Canada and most of New France came under British rule in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established First Nation treaty rights, created the Province of Quebec out of New France, and annexed Cape Breton Island to Nova Scotia. St John's Island (now Prince Edward Island ) became
16906-530: The limping standard of freely circulating legacy silver coins in order to prevent the further deterioration of the gold–silver ratio which reached 20 in the 1880s. After 1890 however, silver's price decline could not be prevented further and the gold–silver ratio rose sharply above 30. In 1893 the Indian rupee of 10.69 g fine silver was fixed at 16 British pence (or £1 = 15 rupees; gold–silver ratio 21.9), with legacy silver rupees remaining legal tender. In 1906
17064-788: The main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom . Peace came in 1815; no boundaries were changed. Immigration resumed at a higher level, with over 960,000 arrivals from Britain between 1815 and 1850. New arrivals included refugees escaping the Great Irish Famine as well as Gaelic -speaking Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances . Infectious diseases killed between 25 and 33 percent of Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891. The desire for responsible government resulted in
17222-404: The majority residing in urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto , Montreal , and Vancouver . Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along
17380-429: The mint) continued to overvalue gold. In 1853, silver coins 50 cents and below were reduced in silver content and cannot be requested for minting by the general public (only the U.S. government can request for it). In 1857 the legal tender status of Spanish dollars and other foreign coinage was repealed. In 1857 the final crisis of the free banking era began as American banks suspended payment in silver, with ripples through
17538-749: The minting of exportable gold coins and silver dollars in order to divert the United States Mint 's limited resources into fractional coins which stayed in circulation. The United States also embarked on establishing a national bank with the First Bank of the United States in 1791 and the Second Bank of the United States in 1816. In 1836, President Andrew Jackson failed to extend the Second Bank's charter, reflecting his sentiments against banking institutions as well as his preference for
17696-633: The monarch, the House of Commons, and the Senate . While Canada inherited the British concept of parliamentary supremacy , this was later, with the enactment of the Constitution Act, 1982, all but completely superseded by the American notion of the supremacy of the law . Each of the 338 members of Parliament in the House of Commons is elected by simple plurality in an electoral district or riding. The Constitution Act, 1982 , requires that no more than five years pass between elections, although
17854-632: The name of Henry VII of England . In 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Gulf of Saint Lawrence where, on July 24, he planted a 10-metre (33 ft) cross bearing the words, "long live the King of France", and took possession of the territory New France in the name of King Francis I . The early 16th century saw European mariners with navigational techniques pioneered by the Basque and Portuguese establish seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along
18012-471: The national currency, it is a matter of comparative indifference whether it actually forms the national currency ... The Gold-Exchange Standard may be said to exist when gold does not circulate in a country to an appreciable extent, when the local currency is not necessarily redeemable in gold, but when the Government or Central Bank makes arrangements for the provision of foreign remittances in gold at
18170-518: The next few months. Singapore continued operating sterling area exchange controls until as late as 1978, and Brunei did not alter its sterling area exchange controls until the year 2001. After 1972 the sterling area was no longer what it had been, but the United Kingdom still recognised the existence of the 'overseas sterling area' as a distinct group of countries for the purposes of exchange control policy. In 1979, due to an improving economic situation and changed patterns of trade between Britain and
18328-430: The oldest sites of human habitation in Canada. The characteristics of Indigenous societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks. Some of these cultures had collapsed by the time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have only been discovered through archeological investigations. Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada include
18486-625: The onset of the silver rush from the Comstock Lode in the 1870s. Political agitation over the inability of silver miners to monetize their produce resulted in the Bland–Allison Act of 1878 and Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 which made compulsory the minting of significant quantities of the silver Morgan dollar . Canada Canada is a country in North America . Its ten provinces and three territories extend from
18644-653: The other sterling area countries, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland , the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . This arguably marked the end of the sterling area. During the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, the remaining sterling balances were wound down to a level that represented the significance of Britain in contemporary world trade. Before the First World War , the British pound sterling
18802-565: The permafrost is uncertain because the Arctic has been warming at three times the global average as a result of climate change in Canada . Canada's annual average temperature over land has risen by 1.7 °C (3.1 °F), with changes ranging from 1.1 to 2.3 °C (2.0 to 4.1 °F) in various regions, since 1948. The rate of warming has been higher across the North and in the Prairies. In
18960-552: The plight of missing and murdered Indigenous women . It is believed that the first documented European to explore the east coast of Canada was Norse explorer Leif Erikson . In approximately 1000 AD, the Norse built a small short-lived encampment that was occupied sporadically for perhaps 20 years at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland . No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when seafarer John Cabot explored and claimed Canada's Atlantic coast in
19118-457: The pound sterling in November 1967 from £1 = $ 2.80 to £1 = $ 2.40. This was not welcomed in many parts of the sterling area, and, unlike in the 1949 devaluation , many sterling area countries did not devalue their currencies at the same time. This was the beginning of the end for the sterling area. The Basel agreements of 1968 were designed to minimise flight from sterling to
19276-426: The premise that gold will flow out of countries with high price levels. Developed economies deciding to buy or sell domestic assets to international investors also turned out to be more effective in influencing gold flows than the self-correcting mechanism predicted by Hume. Another set of violations to the "rules of the game" involved central banks not intervening in a timely manner even as exchange rates went outside
19434-730: The present-day Maritimes , while fur traders and Catholic missionaries explored the Great Lakes , Hudson Bay , and the Mississippi watershed to Louisiana . The Beaver Wars broke out in the mid-17th century over control of the North American fur trade. The English established additional settlements in Newfoundland in 1610 along with settlements in the Thirteen Colonies to the south. A series of four wars erupted in colonial North America between 1689 and 1763;
19592-488: The provinces collect more revenue than the federal government, equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their sovereignty from the Crown and power and authority from the Constitution Act, 1867 , whereas territorial governments have powers delegated to them by
19750-403: The ratio is below 15.5, and silver 5-franc coins whenever the ratio is above 15.5. The United States dollar was also bimetallic de jure until 1900, worth either 24.0566 g fine silver, or 1.60377 g fine gold (ratio 15.0); the latter revised to 1.50463 g fine gold (ratio 15.99) from 1837 to 1934. The silver dollar was generally the cheaper currency before 1837, while the gold dollar
19908-463: The rest of the Commonwealth, Britain removed all its exchange controls: the sterling area had effectively ceased to exist. The United Kingdom's efforts to join the EEC, from 1961 until its attainment of EEC membership in 1973, slowly phased out the privileged commercial ties of the rest of the Commonwealth with the United Kingdom. A period after 1973 saw further decline to the special trade links
20066-819: The rights they support were reaffirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 . These rights may include provision of services, such as healthcare through the Indian Health Transfer Policy , and exemption from taxation. Canada is a federation composed of 10 federated states , called provinces, and three federal territories . These may be grouped into four main regions : Western Canada , Central Canada , Atlantic Canada , and Northern Canada ( Eastern Canada refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together). Provinces and territories have responsibility for social programs such as healthcare , education , and social programs , as well as administration of justice (but not criminal law). Although
20224-413: The shilling [12 pence] of 5.57 g fine silver). Hence the pound sterling was originally 324 g fine silver reduced to 111.36 g by 1601. The problem of clipped, underweight silver pennies and shillings was a persistent, unresolved issue from the late 17th century to the early 19th century. In 1717 the value of the gold guinea (of 7.6885 g fine gold) was fixed at 21 shillings, resulting in
20382-548: The silver North German thaler and South German gulden to the German gold mark , reflecting the sentiment of the first international monetary conference in 1867, and utilizing the 5 billion gold francs (worth 4.05 billion marks or 1,451 metric tons ) in indemnity demanded from France at the end of the Franco-Prussian War . This transition done by a large, centrally located European economy also triggered
20540-499: The silver standard. France and the United States were two of the more notable countries on the bimetallic standard . France's actions in maintaining the French franc at either 4.5 g fine silver or 0.29032 g fine gold stabilized world gold–silver price ratios close to the French ratio of 15.5 in the first three quarters of the 19th century by offering to mint the cheaper metal in unlimited quantities – gold 20-franc coins whenever
20698-756: The southeast. Canada is also home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert , on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island —latitude 82.5°N—which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole. In latitude, Canada's most northerly point of land is Cape Columbia in Nunavut at 83°6′41″N, with its southern extreme at Middle Island in Lake Erie at 41°40′53″N. In longitude, Canada's land extends from Cape Spear , Newfoundland, at 52°37'W, to Mount St. Elias , Yukon Territory, at 141°W. Canada can be divided into seven physiographic regions:
20856-485: The southern regions of Canada, air pollution from both Canada and the United States—caused by metal smelting, burning coal to power utilities, and vehicle emissions—has resulted in acid rain , which has severely impacted waterways, forest growth, and agricultural productivity. Canada is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters globally , with emissions increased by 16.5 percent between 1990 and 2022. Canada
21014-412: The sterling area because their dollar currencies had effectively been linked to the US dollar (since 1858). In 1931, Britain and its Dominions abandoned the gold standard during the Great Depression . But while Australia , New Zealand , and South Africa all responded to the end of the gold standard by pegging their pounds to the pound sterling, Canada and Newfoundland instead pegged their dollars to
21172-401: The sterling area, in many cases the result of debts incurred by Britain during the war. France argued that these obligations were potentially a threat to the stability of the pound, and that this could cause turbulence for the whole of the EEC. Agreement on winding down these balances was thus a necessary part of the agreement for Britain to join the EEC, and removed the main reason for continuing
21330-473: The sterling area. Opponents of these changes argued that the real reason for them was Britain's impending entry to the EEC , and that France was concerned about Britain's close economic ties with the Commonwealth and the sterling area, even though France continued to have special economic relations with its less successful former colonies in the CFA and CFP franc zones. The attempts by the United Kingdom to join
21488-506: The terms of peace, ceding British North American territories south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River to the new country. The American war of independence also caused a large out-migration of Loyalists , the settlers who had fought against American independence. Many moved to Canada, particularly Atlantic Canada, where their arrival changed the demographic distribution of the existing territories. New Brunswick
21646-608: The use of gold coins for large payments rather than privately issued banknotes. The return of gold could only be possible by reducing the dollar's gold equivalence, and in the Coinage Act of 1834 the gold–silver ratio was increased to 16.0 (ratio finalized in 1837 to 15.99 when the fine gold content of the $ 10 eagle was set at 232.2 grains or 15.0463 g). Gold discoveries in California in 1848 and later in Australia lowered
21804-404: The value of local currencies to gold or to the gold standard currency of a Western colonial power. The Netherlands East Indies guilder was the first Asian currency pegged to gold in 1875 via a gold exchange standard which maintained its parity with the gold Dutch guilder . Various international monetary conferences were called up until 1892, with various countries actually pledging to maintain
21962-574: The various international monetary conferences, the switch to gold, combined with record U.S. silver output from the Comstock Lode , plunged the price of silver after 1873 with the gold–silver ratio climbing to historic highs of 18 by 1880. Most of continental Europe made the conscious decision to move to the gold standard while leaving the mass of legacy (and erstwhile depreciated) silver coins remaining unlimited legal tender and convertible at face value for new gold currency. The term limping standard
22120-545: The war with a large army and strong economy. The financial crisis of the Great Depression led the Dominion of Newfoundland to relinquish responsible government in 1934 and become a Crown colony ruled by a British governor. After two referendums , Newfoundlanders voted to join Canada in 1949 as a province. Canada's post-war economic growth, combined with the policies of successive Liberal governments, led to
22278-546: The war. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when the Unionist Cabinet's proposal to augment the military's dwindling number of active members with conscription was met with vehement objections from French-speaking Quebecers. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain, and the Statute of Westminster, 1931 , affirmed Canada's independence. The Great Depression in Canada during
22436-451: The world's leading financial and commercial power in the 19th century, other states increasingly adopted Britain's monetary system. The gold standard was largely abandoned during the Great Depression before being re-instated in a limited form as part of the post- World War II Bretton Woods system . The gold standard was abandoned due to its propensity for volatility, as well as the constraints it imposed on governments: by retaining
22594-505: The world's leading financial and industrial powers of the 19th century while the United States was an emerging power. By the time the gold–silver ratio reverted to 15.5 in the 1860s, this bloc of gold-utilizing countries grew further and provided momentum to an international gold standard before the end of the 19th century: The international classical gold standard commenced in 1873 after the German Empire decided to transition from
22752-464: The world's longest coastline of 243,042 kilometres (151,019 mi). In addition to sharing the world's largest land border with the United States —spanning 8,891 km (5,525 mi) —Canada shares a land border with Greenland (and hence the Kingdom of Denmark ) to the northeast, on Hans Island , and a maritime boundary with France 's overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon to
22910-619: Was a US dollar shortage. Towards the end of the 1950s, with the British Empire in decline, political opinion rapidly shifted towards the view that trade with Europe was more important to the future of the United Kingdom than the historical preferential trading with the Commonwealth nations. This resulted in the UK attempting to join the European Communities (E.C) (the Common Market), formed in 1957. The UK government devalued
23068-537: Was accomplished by growing the stock of money less rapidly than real output. By 1879 the market price of the greenback matched the mint price of gold, and according to Barry Eichengreen, the United States was effectively on the gold standard that year. The Coinage Act of 1873 (also known as the Crime of ‘73) suspended the minting of the standard silver dollar (of 412.5 grains, 90% fine), the only fully legal tender coin that individuals could convert silver bullion into in unlimited (or Free silver ) quantities, and right at
23226-472: Was cheaper between 1837 and 1873. The nearly coincidental California gold rush of 1849 and the Australian gold rushes of 1851 significantly increased world gold supplies and the minting of gold francs and dollars as the gold–silver ratio went below 15.5, pushing France and the United States into the gold standard with Great Britain during the 1850s. The benefits of the gold standard were first felt by this larger bloc of countries, with Britain and France being
23384-496: Was generally impossible to implement before the 19th century due to the absence of recently developed tools (like central banking institutions, banknotes, and token currencies), and that a gold exchange standard was even superior to Britain's gold specie standard with gold in circulation. As discussed by Keynes: The Gold-Exchange Standard arises out of the discovery that, so long as gold is available for payments of international indebtedness at an approximately constant rate in terms of
23542-507: Was in turn split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes, which led to the incorporation of Saint John, New Brunswick , as Canada's first city. To accommodate the influx of English-speaking Loyalists in Central Canada, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province of Canada into French-speaking Lower Canada (later Quebec ) and English-speaking Upper Canada (later Ontario ), granting each its own elected legislative assembly. The Canadas were
23700-399: Was made legal tender. It was a fiat money (not convertible on demand at a fixed rate into specie). These notes came to be called " greenbacks ". After the Civil War, Congress wanted to reestablish the metallic standard at pre-war rates. The market price of gold in greenbacks was above the pre-war fixed price ($ 20.67 per ounce of gold) requiring deflation to achieve the pre-war price. This
23858-402: Was more to prevent capital flight to the US than to prevent flight to the sterling area. Hong Kong originally declined to join the sterling area, due to its traditional use of the Spanish dollar . After the end of the Second World War, the Hong Kong dollar was re-pegged to sterling at a fixed rate identical to the pre-war level. Nevertheless, its unique geo-economic position afforded Hong Kong
24016-428: Was not possible due to various hindrances which were only solved by tools that emerged in the 19th century, among them: The earliest European currency standards were therefore based on the silver standard , from the denarius of the Roman Empire to the penny (denier) introduced by Charlemagne throughout Western Europe, to the Spanish dollar and the German Reichsthaler and Conventionsthaler which survived well into
24174-410: Was only resolved by national central banks taking over the replacement of silver with national bank notes and token coins, centralizing the nation's supply of scarce gold, providing for reserve assets to guarantee convertibility of legacy silver coins, and allowing the conversion of banknotes into gold bullion or other gold-standard currencies solely for external purchases. This system is known as either
24332-430: Was passed by Parliament, outlining the terms of a negotiated departure from Confederation. In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history; the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students; and
24490-408: Was predominantly the Spanish silver dollar . (Also explained in the history of the Trinidad and Tobago dollar .) Following the Napoleonic Wars, Britain legally moved from the bimetallic to the gold standard in the 19th century in several steps, namely: From the second half of the 19th century Britain then introduced its gold standard to Australia, New Zealand, and the British West Indies in
24648-449: Was the most important international currency , and the City of London was the world's most important financial centre. More than 60 per cent of global trade was financed, invoiced, and settled in sterling, and the largest proportion of official reserves, apart from gold, was held in sterling. Although not all the territories of the British Empire used sterling as their local currency, most of those that did not pegged their local currency at
24806-468: Was unique among nations to use gold in conjunction with clipped, underweight silver shillings, addressed only before the end of the 18th century by the acceptance of gold proxies like token silver coins and banknotes. From the more widespread acceptance of paper money in the 19th century emerged the gold bullion standard , a system where gold coins do not circulate, but authorities like central banks agree to exchange circulating currency for gold bullion at
24964-498: Was used to describe currencies whose nations' commitment to the gold standard was put into doubt by the huge mass of silver coins still tendered for payment, the most numerous of which were French 5-franc coins , German 3-mark Vereinsthalers , Dutch guilders and American Morgan dollars . Britain's original gold specie standard with gold in circulation was not feasible anymore with the rest of Continental Europe also switching to gold. The problem of scarce gold and legacy silver coins
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