Economic history of Canada
History of Canada
This article is part of a series
Pre-Columbian era
New France
Canada under British Imperial control (1764-1867)
Post-Confederation Canada (1867-1914)
Canada in the World Wars and Interwar Years
(1945-1960)
(1960-1981)
(1982-1992)
(1992-Present)
Military history
Economic history
Constitutional history
History of the monarchy
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Canadian historians until the 1960s tended to focus on
economic history, including labour history. In part this
is because Canada has had far fewer political upheavals
or military conflicts than other societies. This was espe-
cially true in the first half of the twentieth century when
economic history was overwhelmingly dominant. Many
of the most prominent English Canadian historians from
this period were economic historians, such as Harold In-
nis, Donald Creighton and Arthur R. M. Lower.
Scholars of Canadian history were heirs to the tradi-
tions that developed in Europe and the United States,
but frameworks that worked well elsewhere often failed
in Canada. The heavily Marxist influenced economic his-
tory that dominates Europe has little relevance to most
of Canadian history. A focus on class, urban areas, and
industry fails to address Canada’s rural and resource
based economy. Similarly, the monetarist school that is
dominant in the United States also has been difficult to
transfer north of the border.
The study of economic history in Canada became
highly focused on economic geography, and for many
years the dominant school of thought has been the
staples thesis. This school of thought bases the study of
the Canadian economy on the study of natural re-
sources. This approach has since also become used out-
side of Canada in Australia and in many developing
nations.
Before the arrival of Europeans, the First Nations of
what would become Canada had a large and vibrant
trade network. Furs, tools, decorative items, and other
goods were often transported thousands of kilometres,
mostly by canoe throughout the many rivers and lakes
of