The Charlottetown Conference on September 1, 1864, had a big impact on how Canada's history was written. The conditions needed to bring about unity among the North American colonies were among the topics discussed at this meeting. This was followed by the Quebec Conference, which carried on with the same plan but was now focused on formulating the British North American Act, a piece of legislation whose purpose was to provide ample settlement options for the affected members of the North American colonies.(Martin 2014). While a number of conferences were held during these times to locate the colonies' needed settlements in North America, they are considered to be the greatest causes of the Canadian security threat. The Fenians; a clique of Irish- Americans who were established in New York in their move to oppose the presence of the people of Britain in Ireland are considered to be the greatest external threats to the security of Canada. Studies in Canadian security issues have indicated that the interventions of the Fenians led to the start of the Battle of Ridgeway. The start of World War I in 1914 in which the Briton government declared war against Germany on the behalf of Canada also goes to History as one of the external threats to the security status of Canada. This is attributed to the decisions made by the Canadian parliament such as passing the War Measures Act which allowed for the suspension of civil rights during emergencies (Strange and Tina 1997). This paper looks at the roles played by Fenians as external sources of security wrangles and the British government’s decision to declare war against Germany as the greatest internal threat to Canadian security and the roles played by the intelligence service in curbing the effects of these threats.
The Battle of Ridgeway
Canada was faced with a great tension after the end of the American Civil War. This is attributed to the fact that the end of this war left hundreds of thousands of men who were initially involved in this war without employment. With many of these men coming from the Irish Fenian Brotherhood, they believed that their invasion of Canada would force the British government to send its troops abroad. Further, they got a lot of support from selected unofficial authorities in the United States of America. With their initial military experience as the greatest tool to rely on, the Fenians staged the first attack against Canada at Campobello Island in 1866 in New Brunswick. However, this was followed by an intervention from the forces of the United States of America (Beed 2013). Despite this, a clique of Fenians managed to cross the Niagara River at Buffalo and begun their attacks through taking Fort Erie into its control. This led to the troops’ commandeering food stores and horses which played an essential role in fulfilling the needs of the Canadian military. Further, they disconnected this town from its neighborhoods by cutting all telephone communication lines. Despite this, many of the local residents had the opportunity of escaping through early access to telegraph services. On the other hand, the Canadian government responded by mobilizing its 13th Battalion which was based in Hamilton. Further, other sections of the army such as the queen’s Own riffles, the militia companies who were located in York and Caledonia, Niagara’s 19th and 20th Battalions, the British Regulars who were under the command of Colonel George Peacock, and the Danville Naval Brigade were assembled as a way of responding to the Fenian raid (Cook 634).
However, the dwindling Fenians forces moved inland and set up a camp in the present Ridgeway ON the 13th Battalion in its interception by rail and ferry. However, the Canadian forces were poorly equipped and lacked essential needs like food and water. This was the greatest cause of the Fenians’ defeat against Canadian army men in Ridgeway. Upon this defeat, the Fenian militia under Major general John O’Neill moved back to Fort Erie where they met more Canadian forces and captured the occupants of this area (Martin 2014). Despite this, the Fenian army men did not stop. They proceeded to Quebec in 1866 and to Manitoba in 1871. Despite O’Neill’s arrest in Manitoba, the Fenian militia continued with their invasion and proceeded to British Columbia in the 1890s. Despite the fact that the Canadian army had a lot of support from the government, the Fenians acted as a great threat to the stability of this nation. As a matter of fact, their presence in Canada had long lasting effect based on the fact that they scared the Canadian government and its efforts. However, Britain played a significant role in availing the required equipment and support to the Canadian government. On the other hand, the lassaiz-faire ways of operation of the American government acted as strength on the Fenian side (Pastias and Dany 95). However, it played a significant role in the consolidation of Canada and creation of a united country.
Red River Rebellion
Canada was faced with an uncertain time particularly in the immediate post- Confederation period. The Red River Rebellion led to heightened divisions among the citizens of this country in their pre-existing linguistic, geographic and cultural lines. Further, the event led to aggravated fears of Canada being annexed by the United States of America. The Red River Rebellion was as a result of initial agreements in which the Hudson’s Bay Company transferred Rupert’s land to the Dominion of Canada. It is important to note that the Red River settlement was included in the land that had been transferred. Despite this, the inhabitants of Red River were not well prepared to tackle these sudden changes. They had fears of the new form of administration, levels of control of this administration and lack of consultation before the decision was arrived at. A part from this, there was an increasing population of the people of America moving in to occupy this land. However, the Canadian government and the Hudson’s Bay Company did not do anything to ensure that these fears were settled (Cook 638). The fears would be attributed to the fact that most of the inhabitants of this place were Metis settlers and originated from aboriginal and French ancestries. For this people, the issue of preservation of rights had a great weight since they thought that their mixed heritages were the greatest reason for being targeted and discriminated.
With heightened levels of dissent in the population of Red River in 1869, a clique of Metis led by Louis Riel denied a delegation from Canada to access their territory. The Red River Rebellion had its official beginning after Riel and his team denied Canadian surveyors the access of Rupert Island. This led to the formation of a provisional government under the Metis in December 1869. At this moment, Louis issued a declaration of the people of Rupert’s Land in the northwest. Following the resignation of President John Bruce, Riel assumed leadership since he had acted as a secretary of the Métis Movement. Despite this, the reign of Riel did not last for a long time because of the error he made in 1870; only months after he had assumed this position. Riel ordered the killing of Thomas Scott; a prisoner and a settler from Ontario who was considered to be a great supporter of Canadian invasion into Red River. Riel’s step was as a result of the high levels of rebellion and resistance against his rule. With the influence of anger, English speaking Canadians called for immediate execution of Riel in response to Scott’s death. Riel did not find support even from those people who sympathized with him since they did not (Beed 2013) comprehend on the reasons that led to the killing of Scott who was guilty of profanity and insolence; a crime whose remedy does not amount to death. Thomas Scott’s death acted as the pivot point of the Red River Rebellion. This is attributed to the fact that Riel’s administration together with his supporters were faced with a lot of resentment and high levels of hostility in their move to negotiate for settlement with the Canadian government. Only a few days after this event, Riel’s administration was forced to release the remaining prisoners as a way of ensuring that they acquired the promised rights of Red River settlers for protection. Further, Fort Garry was released to the control of Hudson’s Bay Company until the time when a formal transfer of this land to the Canadian government was arrived at. The province of Manitoba was then created in 1870 after the provision government of the Red River formally accepted to enter into the Confederation. In all these proceedings, Riel was hopeful of being granted amnesty after instructing the killing of Thomas Scott. However, this was not the case since the approach of a military expedition from the East made it clear that they were going to avenge the death of Thomas Scott. This would be attributed to the fact that they were proceeding with the support they got from the English speakers of Ontario. However, Riel evaded this arrest by escaping due to the arrival of the expedition. 15 years later, Riel staged another rebellion but was arrested and hung (Beed 2013).
World War I
The history of Canada marks the First World War as one of the bloodiest events attributed to the fact that it claimed the lives of about 60,000 citizens of Canada. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia of history, the First World War “erased the romantic notions of war, introducing slaughter on massive scale, and instilled a fear of foreign military involvement that would last until the Second World War” (Marsh 1999). While this war acted as an ignition of some senses of pride in the confidence of the Canadian army, most historians look at the First World War as the greatest cause for a deepened division between the French and English speaking inhabitants of Canada. Further, this war acted as the first step towards the widespread interstate interventions in the Canadian economy and its societies.
The Canadian decision to go to this war was not well thought of. This is attributed to the economic effects it had on Canada. Further, the issue was squarely left to the country’s foreign affairs department with parliament not choosing to let the Canadian army men to go to this battle in 1914. Upon Britain’s expiry of ultimatum on the German government to withdraw its troops from Germany in 1914 the British Empire which included Canada was engaged in a war with France, Serbia and Russia being considered as allies. In this case, the allied nations fought against the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires. At first, the First World War was considered as a source of unity for Canada. This was evident from the support the Conservative’s government got from the opposition to take advantage of the country’s War Measures Act, leading to the summoning of about 25,000 volunteer soldiers to undertake training at the Val Cartier Camp in Quebec (Pastias and Dany 110). In this case, the Canadian efforts in this war were officially launched by volunteers. In response to the efforts of the volunteers, Canada initiated the Canadian Patriotic Fund held fundraising sessions to collect the moneys needed to support the families of the volunteer soldiers who were at war. As a move of patriotism towards the Canadian soldiers, citizens of Canada demanded for immediate dismissal of Germen and Austrian citizens who had secured employment opportunities in their country through internment.
The First World War had devastating effects on the economic position of Canada. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, “the war hurt a troubled economy, increasing unemployment and making it hard for Canada’s new, debt ridden transcontinental railways, the Canadian Northern and the Grand Trunk Pacific, to find credit. By 1915, however, military spending equaled the entire government expenditure of 1913. Minister of Finance Thomas white opposed raising taxes. Since Britain could not afford to lend to Canada, White turned to the United States of America” (Beed 2013). From 1915, the Canadian government only supported its expenditure through borrowed finances. This led to the country’s debt experiencing a significant rise from about $ 460 million to $2.4 billion between 1913 and 1918 (Cook 662). Historians argue that the Canadian debt would have been worse it lacked the massive exports of wheat, munitions and timber. Further, the bumper harvests experienced in 1915 acted as a cushion to the government. However, there was an outcry among farmers since most of the laborers in the wheat field were forced to join the army.
The Role Played by the Canadian Intelligence
Despite the failures of the Canadian army and other security forces, the Canadian intelligence played critical roles in ensuring successful end in the Battle of Ridgeway, Red River Rebellion and World War I. For instance, the success of the Canadian army in the Battle of Ridgeways owed credit to the intelligence of this nation (Marsh 1999). With the Fenian army being fully equipped with over a thousand men in their efforts of crossing the Niagara River, the intelligence played a critical role in ensuring that the Canadian forces were well equipped with the desired information to capture the Fenians. The troop of 850 soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Booker heavily relied on intelligence information to capture the Fenians. Despite the Canadian troops lacking experience in such battles, the intelligence played a significant role in staging the first winning battle which was fought and led by Canada in exclusive ways (Strange and Tina 1997).
In World War II, Canada enjoyed high levels of intelligence information. The Canadian Encyclopedia explains that “Despite initial innovations, Canada enjoyed genuine intelligence system when the First World War broke out in 1914” (Pestias and Dany 95). Despite this, the First World War acted as a stage of creating some level of impetus to the extents to which the intelligence skills enjoyed by the Canadian army underwent strengthening. This is particularly in the areas of tactical military intelligence know how developed by its army on the Western front and its domestic counter intelligence systems. Such intelligence efforts played critical roles in unraveling the fact that the German government was staging a campaign to sabotage the economic position of the country. This was later revealed by the appointment of Captain Franz von Papen as a cabinet minister and later in an ambassadorial position who initiated the efforts of coming up with the necessary plans of sabotaging Canada (Marsh 1999). The Canadian intelligence revealed this after the 1916 bomb attack that took place on the Canadian railway bridge located near the border of Maine.
In the Red River Rebellion, the Canadian intelligence was very significant in acquiring the information it required to take this territory into the possession of the Canadian government and to defeat Riel’s regime. Red River’s de facto government created groups to protect its interests in their land. However, the Canadian intelligence was keen to make use of a faction in its support to gather the information it needed to execute its roles. This led to massive arrests of the pro Canadians and the execution of Thomas Scott. With the trickle of events, the Canadian government called for joint negotiations with Riel’s government. This negotiation was driven by intelligence directives of amnesty. However, the Canadian government had sought the efforts of the army through Colonel Garnet Wolseley and his joint Anglo-Canadian military force to attack Riel’s government. The Canadian military heavily relied on intelligence information to ambush the less informed provisional Government which was hoping for an extension of amnesty. However, Riel and members of his government managed to escape. Despite this, Riel was later arrested and hung after his attempts of leading another protest.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the end of the American Civil War saw the beginning of war and rebellion in Canada. Despite the fact that the Canadian army had a lot of support from the government, the Fenians acted as a great threat to the stability of this nation. This led to the beginning of the Battle of Ridgeway. As a matter of fact, their presence in Canada had long lasting effect based on the fact that they scared the Canadian government and its efforts. However, Britain played a significant role in availing the required equipment and support to the Canadian government. The Red River Rebellion led to heightened divisions among the citizens of this country in their pre-existing linguistic, geographic and cultural lines. Further, the event led to aggravated fears of Canada being annexed by the United States of America. The Red River Rebellion was as a result of initial agreements in which the Hudson’s Bay Company transferred Rupert’s land to the Dominion of Canada. The First World War acted as one of the bloodiest events attributed to the fact that it claimed the lives of about 60,000 citizens of Canada (Beed 2013). Despite the fact that this war acted as an ignition of some senses of pride in the confidence of the Canadian army the First World War is looked at as the greatest cause for a deepened division between the French and English speaking inhabitants of Canada. Further, this war acted as the first step towards the widespread interstate interventions in the Canadian economy and its societies. However, the Canadian intelligence played critical roles in ensuring successful end in the Battle of Ridgeway, Red River Rebellion and World War I.
Works Cited
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Cook, Tim. "The politics of surrender: Canadian soldiers and the killing of prisoners in the Great War." The Journal of Military History 70.3 (2006): 637-665.
Marsh, James H. The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 1999.
Martin, David C. "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea? Union Prospects and Deliberative Debate in Nova Scotia’s Public Sphere, 1863-1864." (2014).
Patsias, Caroline, and Dany Deschênes. "Unsociable sociability: The paradox of Canadian-American friendship." International Politics 48.1 (2011): 92-111.
Strange, Carolyn, and Tina Merrill Loo. Making good: Law and moral regulation in Canada, 1867-1939. Vol. 2. University of Toronto Press, 1997.
