8M Alternatives to Suspension

In Stuffed by Eric Walters, Ian informs the reader that he was suspended for two days for "Disrespectful Conduct" towards a teacher. His father said that they would have fought the suspension but did not because Ian swore at the teacher and called him an idiot. So, let's imagine that his parents had fought the suspension but decided that there still would have needed to be some sort of consequence for his actions that did not require him to miss any instructional time. During our discussion we talked about whether or not suspensions were effective at changing the behaviour of the student being punished. Explain what you believe would be an appropriate and more effective alternative to suspension? *Consider whether or not your alternative would have the desired effect in rehabilitating a student. Remember to explain *clearly* why you feel that this consequence is more effective than suspension.

Read the following responses. Did the response answer the question asked? Does the response clearly explain why the alternative would be more effective than suspension? What proof does the response offer? What's missing?

REMEMBER TO DISCUSS RESPECTFULLY. Curb your logorrhea(incessant or compulsive talkativeness)!

In my opinion at home suspension is more of a reward than a punishment depending on how strict the parents are. In the book Ian's parents sound like they agreed with him, but still had to act profesionally because he had sworn at the teacher. If they had fought the suspension, a more suitable punishment could be taking away his technology privileges, and making him write an apology letter to the teacher.

I think is punishment should be to apologize in front of the class because he insulted the teacher in front of the class or he gets one thing (or luxury ex: phone) taking away and can not do (or use) that for 2 days

I think that the parents should put themself in the teachers shoes meaning that if your child were to call you and "IDIOT" what would his/her consequence/punishment be. If I were the parent I would take there facilities away or even if I was the teachers instead of giving them an award of not coming to school or doing work that won't be getting marked maybe take away there privilege of technologies or maybe even signing them out of extra circular activities ex;sports, clubs. Maybe there privilege of eating with classmates during lunch time. Because once a child is in a out of school suspension they still have access to there technologie ex; Instagram, Snapchat. They will probably apologize but that doesn't mean there taking action of there work so I believe the biggest punishment you can ever give to kids in the 21st century are facilities=TECHNOLOGY. And there can be a consequence to everything but they don't know what the reality is meaning If you break a glass at your house instead of your mom not asking you to clean up or do something behalf she takes you out for ice cream. Then you won't have a fear of doing something your bit suppose to like breaking things around the house.

Take 20% off his finale marke becauce that would really make him regret what he did with out missing any classe time

First of all, for some students suspensions are more rewards. Sometimes parents don't care or maybe they have work. Other parents may just take away electonics and the students end up doing nothing for the whole while missing their education. Other students may just read a book for the whole day, with no physical exercise or fresh air in which school has to offer. But punishments on the other hand, are sometimes always more effective than a regular suspension because the students actually feel they did something wrong and it has really affected them in some shape or form. An appropriate and more effective alternative than a suspension in my opinion would be to clean classrooms every day for 1 week instead of break time. This way he gets his exercise but also does something useful. I would also make him write what he did wrong and what not to do next time. I think these two punishments will have a very good effect because for a kid all he wants to is play and have fun but cleaning classrooms would not be his type of fun. Another thing is by writing what he did wrong and what not to do next time will probably make him realise that what he did was terribly rude.

I strongly believe that suspending him wasn't the right thing to do as it was more of a reward then a punishment, as he was technically missing class time and likely having more of a break from school. I believe that he should've had to minimize the "special privileges" at school such as technology use and sitting with classmates at lunch for about a month. That way he can understand that disrespecting a teacher is not appropriate at all. And he should help out the garbage crew for about 2-3 weeks. Another consequence should be that the law teacher should have the right to assign him an extra assignment or extra homework as another way to receive the message to never disrespect a teacher. As teachers go through a lot everyday to prepare their day and classes.

Students should be "punished", for lack of a better term, by being given community service time. The student's age (Kindergarten-high school) would determine which type of service (ex. Kindergarten students-pick up litter/high schoolers- help set up and clean up community events such as the Y Dances). This consequence would be done during a recess time, free time during class, or after school. Community work teaches students responsibility/collaboration. Finally, community work is more effective than pulling children out of school, and certainly less destructive to learning habits than pulling them out of classes and less dehumanizing than alienating a student in an un-social and new "learning" (if we can even call it that) environment.

Suspensions are effective for some people, if you don't like being home alone then it would be a punishment but most of the time suspensions could act as a reward. Instead of having one punishment fit all, you should have an array of punishments to best fit the offender. Ex. If the offender doesn't like writing then you make you make most of the work written work for them.

Personally, I think that he shouldn't be punished at all for simply pointing out a mistake a teacher made (no matter how major it was). As for the swearing... I think that simply talking to the principal and your parents, apologizing to Mr. Philips, and just generally making sure it won't happen again would be enough. Maybe even taking away special privileges like going on trips would teach him not to disrespect an adult. Swearing isn't a good thing and I'm not encouraging it in any way, but I think people our age could be mature enough to let it pass.

An appropriate and more effective alternative than suspension can be in many other ways way different, so that way you won't have to take time out of the students after/before school time, or the teachers. For example, at recess the student will stay in to make up for it. But what if your homeroom teacher is busy? You can easily find another staff member who is in need of help of organizing or cleaning the classroom. Sometimes even if there's a homework club, the students will be supervised and at the same time be required to be assigned some worksheets. This punishment comes with embarrassment, as well as their free time outside being taken away from them for the week/day(duration of the consequence depending on the punishment).Little things can be consequences as well, such as not having the privilege to sit with friends or listen to music. I always find that those little punishments and privileges being taken away from me will either embarrass me or help me learn to not do my mistake again because I'm missing out on things that i'd want to be doing. These little consequences take awhile to learn from, so a week without privileges is a good duration as for a punishment like Ian's.

Maybe make them doing something they may not enjoy. For example if you told me that for every thing that I did wrong I would have to draw something for the english and français notebook, that would be all you have to say because I HATE art.

I think instead of being suspended they should have made Ian do community work on the weekends when they have free time, or make Ian sit at the office at nutrition break and stay with the teacher on duty outside so Ian still gets to go outside, or make Ian help with the janitors after school Ian has nothing going on that night, so he doesn't have to miss class time but he still gets a punishment.

I think that Ian should still have a punishment but not as big of a punishment as he was given. I think Ian should have to talk with his teacher about why he did that and maybe instead of suspension he will have a punishment of not being able to sit with his friends at break when everyone else is sitting with a friend. For a consequence that might happen is that the teacher won't really respect him.

I feel that the student should get most (if not all) of their privileges taken away, for example, Not getting to use technology in class, no extensions on due dates, etc. I feel this is a good course of action because, it'll teach the student not to do wrong again, and how it affects their life as a student.

I think one of the consequences should be that he has to do extra work at home, after school and also he would have to make it up to the teacher by maybe helping out around the class by cleaning and organizing it during his free time, another consequence is that made he would have to join more clubs such as math club, also maybe have to stay in for homework clubs and take part in more school sports plus activities!

-forfeiting extraclassroom activity privileges
-having nutrition breaks spent in the school office rather than with classmates
-additional homework/time at home used educationally
-limited technology use
-a written apologie to the teacher
-extra chores at home/less after-school activities
During school, no troubling schooling, saves parents from much need to discipline their child when busy, working, etc. In any case, these suggestions are what could meet the standards of a suitable substitute for a suspension.

I think that a punishment other than suspension should be helping the janitor. It would be easier for the janitor if a student who is being punished cleans up instead of the janitor doing it. So the student who is being punished should clean his class. That way he's still in class and he can still hear everything the teacher says, but he's also in the middle of his punishment, which is cleaning the class. By cleaning the class, the student could be maybe organizing book shelves or sweeping the floor, or wiping dust off of every countertop.

i think that suspension is more of an enjoyment to the kid then a punishment because they can do whatever they want if their parents don't care so i think that he shouldn't be able to use his technology as much as the other kids and not be able to play so of the school sports or make him do a little bit more work so he doesn't miss out on any classes

In my point of view suspensions are a decent form of punishment but it varies with every student, in some cases the student takes it as a mini vacation/award more than anything else because they get to stay away from school and away from the problem but there are other students with whom this punishment would work very well with considering that they would stress over missing school and having loads of homework. In this case I can easily observed that suspension wasn't really necessary considering the other options such as doing handiwork around the school during breaks as and some examples of that are cleaning gum off of desks , helping the teacher with work around the class and or helping put away GYM supplies etc. also another reasonable punishment could have been detention during breaks and or after school but even then I feel like a suspension was a total waste with this student since afterwards he still did not feel any form of guilt or accountable for his actions(also personally I feel that a suspension was way too big of a punishment for this act considering all the other possibilities)

The clear answer to the question is a traditional form of punishment from back in the 20th century...wash his mouth out with soap. He doesn't have to miss class, he still is learning and- okay. I'm clearly joking. However I still do have an answer. I'm not completely sure with this and there are a few flaws however I'm sure to think of a solution soon if you have any problems. Because Ian didn't do anything too bad there could be some sort of club during the lunch time. It would sort of be character building and to help with negative energy. Kinda like therapy but not really. They would teach you how to better handle yourself, work with others etc. A couple of ways this could work is that it's during the eating part, therefore they can still go outside and get some fresh air. As well as they can also eat during the "club". This could be done by using a teacher such as the school councillor or anyone who volunteers. As well as it's optional if any other students from the school want to go. Say for example person 1, didn't get in trouble however they just want to work on character building and cooperation. But person 2 might've done something 'wrong' and therefore are required to go. Hope this works and if there are any problems with it message me back.

I think instead of getting suspended, he should stay in the class and continue working but he can work alone and he can't talk or sit with friends, and he loses all the privileges (ex, puma pride tickets, listening to music) and for recess instead of hanging out with his friends, he could stay on the wall, and walk around a little bit if he wants. He should repent on what he did, but I think there are different ways to repent depending on the person, but all of them should get their privileges taken away at least.

Maybe since most people seem to care more about punishments at their home because it involves their parents they would be at their house banned from electronics (if theirs parents are okay with it) and they could do work on the weekend and write a letter writing how they got suspended, why they did it and what they can do from preventing it by happening again. They would have to hand their work or letter in to their teacher by Monday and if they didn't finish they would have to do the same thing the next weekend.

I would give the student a set amount of work for a set amount of time depending on how bad of a thing they did. They MUST complete (may have some exceptions exe- must attend a family emergency. Also they must tell you before hand so you can work something out) if they get it wrong it's ok but if they don't complete it you could start to deduct grades if done repetitive. I think this would work because it makes them do more school work and learn more but it's still a punishment because it's something particularly everyone hates doing. Also if they attempt to skip it of like I said before an even worse punishment.

This alternative has the desired effect in rehabilitating a student: brief after school parent-teacher conferences. During the conference, the parent(s) and teacher can think of an appropriate at-home punishment for the student. The student can serve their punishment and not miss class time. If an in-person conference is not possible, it can be done over the phone or email.

Every Child Deserves a Champion

I PROMISE TO...

• Work hard, be flexible, reflect on my teaching, and work at getting better throughout the year
• Care about you, listen to you, be patient, fair, and supportive.
• Value you and treat you with the highest respect deserved by all.
• Provide assignments that are reasonable and doable.
• Maintain a positive attitude about you and about our school.
• Forgive and ask forgiveness.
• Do all I can to make being in our classroom and having me as a teacher a fun, valuable, and effective experience for you.

In summary, I promise to take my job as a teacher very seriously and work to the best of my ability. I make these promises to you because you are important to me. I love teaching and I am fortunate to be able to work with people like you. Let me be YOUR champion.Madame McGovern

What's Going on in this Picture?

Think About: What's going on in this picture?
Stop and Jot: your ideas about what's going on in this picture. 
What do you see that makes you think that? (evidence from the picture) 
Is there anything else you can add to support your ideas? (information from your schema) 

Who will you be sharing with? THE CLASS. Everyone must share something.

Carefully "read" the image and use your stickies!

You have 5 minutes before we come to the centre to share.

Write long! Write down your inference based on the evidence from the text and your schema.

NOW

Come to the front with your stickies and share your ideas about what is going on in this picture. Your stickies are there to support you. Use them!

Want to know if you were close?

GO: What's really going on in this picture.

Popcorn read the article.
Finally, on a separate sticky note, make a connection to what you read in the article (including the picture). It could be a text-self, text-text and/or a text-world connection. Make sure your connection is clearly explained.

Triple stuffed OREOS

In reviewing the evidence paragraphs for the following prompt: Meditation should/shouldn't be a part of daily classroom routines, I found that we seem to be missing some of the creamy goodness.

So, you've picked your side and come up with some reasons to support your claim. Have you provided enough evidence (this is the creamy goodness I'm looking for) to convince even the most stubborn reader? Or have you just given them the cookie layer with a bit of the cream leftover.

Consider the following criteria when reviewing your paragraphs:

Opinion:

4-Opinion or point of view is clearly and convincingly expressed in response to the prompt.
3-Opinion is clearly expressed in response to the prompt.
2-Opinion is somewhat clearly expressed in response to the prompt.
1-Opinion in response to the prompt is unclear.

Reasoning:
4-Valid and accurate reasoning are skillfully used to support assertions
3-Evidence of valid and accurate reasoning is used to support assertions
2-Some evidence of valid and accurate reasoning is used to support assertions
1-Limited evidence, or simplistic, or flawed reasoning is used to support assertions

Evidence:
4-Use of evidence is skillful, relevant, and sufficient to accurately support text.
3-Use of evidence is relevant and sufficient to support text
2-Use of evidence is relevant to support text but lacks sufficient evidence and/or accuracy
1-Use of evidence is not relevant or sufficient to support text

Organization:
4-Claims are exceptionally well-developed within relevant body paragraphs that build effectively.
3-Claims are thoroughly developed within relevant body paragraphs that build coherently.
2-Claims are somewhat developed using body paragraphs that attempt to build up the assertions.
1-Claims are underdeveloped using body paragraphs that do little to build up the assertions.

So, what are relevant body paragraphs that build effectively? They are paragraphs that introduce your reason in the topic sentence. They provide several detailed examples in various sentences as evidence to support your reason. They end with a concluding sentence. Colour-coding your work can help you to see if you have all of the parts of the paragraph.

TOPIC SENTENCE

EXPLANATION SENTENCE

EXAMPLES SENTENCES

CONCLUDING SENTENCE

Meditation helps focus your mind. There are hundreds of things that happen before you get to school and getting down to work is often the last thing on your mind.There are four kids in my family and each one of us has to shower, eat breakfast, and get ready for school each morning. My mom works nights and my dad isn't much help with the little ones, so I have to get my brothers ready for school. Sometimes I barely have time to get myself ready before I am running to catch the bus. By the time I get to school I am already stressed out and my mind is racing. Instead of slapping a test on my desk the moment I get into class, my teacher turns out the lights, we close our eyes, and listen to a guided meditation or nature sounds for ten minutes. The stress just melts away and I am ready to learn. So, just taking 5-10 minutes during first period to meditate will help you to relax and be ready to focus on the work ahead.

Is it clear what my opinion is?

Have I used appropriate reasoning to support my opinion?

Have I accurately supported my reason with sufficient evidence? Is the evidence relevant? Do you know how I am feeling when you read my examples?

Is my paragraph well-developed and does it build effectively?

*Disclaimer: I borrowed some of the above paragraph from Sheila. Thanks for your contribution!

Une pièce de monnaie commémorative

But d’apprentissage: Nous allons concevoir une pièce de monnaie commémorative pour l’un des événements  historiques sélectionnés de notre liste de TOP 3 et présenter notre échantillon à la classe.

Critères de succès:

L'échantillon de la pièce de monnaie commémorative-

• présente des motifs clairement identifiables (c’est-à-dire des images suffisamment grandes pour être visibles lorsque réduites à la taille d’une pièce d’un dollar);

• met en valeur des éléments importants propres à l’événement (c’est- à-dire des détails clés relatifs à l’événement ou à son impact);

• est visuellement agréable (c’est-à-dire équilibrée, pas trop chargée);

• évoque des sentiments forts liés à l’événement (c’est-à-dire qui suscite des images emblématiques et saisissantes de l’événement et de son impact à long terme au Canada).

La Monnaie Royale Canadienne collection 150e anniversaire du Canada

What's Going on in this Picture?

What do you want to write on your sticky?

Think About: What's going on in this picture?
Stop and Jot:

• your ideas about what's going on in this picture.
• What do you see that makes you think that? (evidence from the picture)
• Is there anything else you can add to support your ideas? (information from your schema)

Write long! Write down your inference based on the evidence from the text and your schema.

Who will you be sharing with? 

The class

Carefully "read" the image and use your stickies!

You have 5 minutes before we come to the centre to share.

NOW
Come to the front with your stickies and share your ideas about what is going on in this picture.  Your stickies are there to support you. Use them!

Want to know if you were close?
GO: What's really going on in the picture.

Popcorn read the article.

Once you've finished reading, take out your writer's notebook, go back to your desk, and write your opinion about what is going on in the picture. 

Remember to organize your writing as follows:

Topic Sentence:  Responds briefly to the prompt and states main idea of the entire paragraph.  

Explanation Sentence: Elaborates on your main idea.

Examples: This is where you provide strong evidence and details that support your topic sentence. Convince the reader by sharing statistics, facts, quotes, anecdotes, or illustrations. 

Concluding Sentence:  This sentence should summarize what the entire paragraph was about. You should not simply repeat the topic sentence.

L’histoire depuis la Confédération

L’histoire du Canada depuis 1867 est, à bien des égards, une réussite. Pendant un siècle et demi, des gens de langues, de cultures et de milieux différents, se sont retrouvés dans les vastes étendues septentrionales du continent et ont bâti une société libre dans laquelle les communautés régionales peuvent croître et prospérer, tout ceci lié par un même fil conducteur : une identité nationale émergente. Des faux pas ont été commis en cours de route, dont la lutte des Autochtones pour leur survie et les tensions omniprésentes en ce qui concerne l’unité fédérale. Néanmoins, le Canada est devenu pour le reste du monde, un exemple d’un État-nation moderne et réalisable.

(1867-1913) Immigration et industrialisation

Le nouvel État de 1867, qui a commencé avec la Nouvelle-Écosse, le Nouveau-Brunswick, le Québec et l’Ontario, s’élargit de façon extraordinaire en moins de 10 ans, pour se déployer d’un océan à l’autre. La Terre de Rupert, qui s’étend du nord-ouest du Québec aux Rocheuses et à l’Arctique, est achetée à la Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson en 1869 et 1870. Une partie de ce territoire devient le Manitoba et les Territoires du Nord-Ouest en 1870. Un an plus tard, sur la côte du Pacifique, la Colombie-Britannique entre dans la Confédération à la condition que l’on construise un chemin de fer transcontinental. L’Île-du-Prince-Édouard s’y joint en 1873. En 1905, à la suite d’une immigration massive vers les Prairies occidentales, l’Alberta et la Saskatchewan obtiennent le statut de province (voir Évolution territoriale).

Le rêve de sir John. A Macdonald

Sous la direction du premier ministre du Canada, sir John A. Macdonald, et de son principal collègue du Québec, sir George-Étienne Cartier, le Parti conservateur, qui restera au pouvoir presque sans interruption jusqu’en 1896, s’engage à poursuivre la Politique nationale expansionniste. Il accorde au Chemin de fer du Canadien Pacifique (CFCP) subventions et concessions, et le réseau ferroviaire est parachevé en 1885. Le gouvernement érige aussi une barrière douanière afin de protéger l’industrie canadienne de toute concurrence étrangère, surtout américaine. L’autre objectif, le peuplement massif de l’Ouest, ne sera atteint que sous le règne du libéral, après 1896. Durant toute cette période, plusieurs critiques s’opposent au monopole du CP et maintiennent, comme la plupart des habitants de l’Ouest, que les tarifs douaniers élevés profitent surtout au centre du Canada. Pourtant, ces tarifs bénéficient d’un appui solide dans certaines régions des Maritimes.

L’éveil du nationalisme radical

Dès les premières années de la Confédération, émergent deux mouvements importants qui défendent avec passion leur conception du nationalisme. Au Canada anglais, la majesté même du pays, les ambitions et l’idéalisme d’une jeunesse intellectuelle et le risque d’absorption par les États-Unis activent la progression du mouvement Canada First tant en littérature qu’en politique qui fait la promotion de la race et de la culture anglo-protestante au pays et une féroce volonté d’indépendance vis-à-vis des États-Unis. Cependant, il manque quelque chose à la vision nationaliste-impérialiste des partisans du mouvement : ils n’admettent pas le caractère distinctif de la culture française et catholique romaine qui a pourtant participé à la formation du pays.

Leurs équivalents au Québec, les ultramontains (voir Ultramontanisme), croient en la suprématie du pape, en l’Église catholique et en la domination du clergé sur la société. Le mouvement, qui tire ses origines de la contre-révolution européenne du milieu du XIXe siècle, trouve un terrain favorable au Canada français, irrité par la reconquête britannique après l’échec des rébellions de 1837 et peu disposé à accepter une démocratie laïque en Amérique du Nord. En 1850, l’avènement du gouvernement responsable en Nouvelle-Écosse et dans la Province du Canada, et du fédéralisme de la nouvelle Confédération, encourage ces partisans du cléricalisme dans leur tentative de « purifier » la politique et la société québécoises par une pensée catholique et conservatrice. Le rempart du catholicisme et de l’identité du « Canadien » reste la langue française; la Confédération est un mal nécessaire, l’association non catholique qui met le moins en péril leur identité culturelle. Le séparatisme, jugé impensable et impraticable devant la menace que constituent la laïcité et le matérialisme des Américains, est rejeté. Mais une vision nationale pancanadienne ne fait pas partie de leur doctrine.

Ces deux points de vue extrêmes et antagonistes vont coexister tant que les populations anglophone et francophone demeureront séparées et que les échanges sociaux et économiques seront restreints. Mais avec le peuplement des zones frontalières de l’Ontario et de l’Ouest et l’industrialisation progressive du Québec, les conflits se multiplient. Les cinglantes attaques des ultramontains contre le catholicisme libéral et la libre pensée au Québec suscitent l’inquiétude chez les protestants du Canada anglais, tandis que l’intolérance envers la minorité catholique francophone à l’extérieur du Québec, qui réclame des écoles françaises, soulève l’ire des Québécois (voir Question des écoles du Manitoba). La prépondérance sociale et économique des anglophones de la classe affaires canadienne au Québec ne fait qu’aviver ce sentiment.

Prospérité et croissance

Au début, la croissance économique est lente et varie considérablement d’une région à l’autre. Le développement industriel profite toujours au sud de l’Ontario, à la vallée du haut Saint-Laurent et à certaines régions des Maritimes. Mais les techniques agricoles modernes, l’épuisement des sols et la hausse excessive des tarifs douaniers américains sur les produits agricoles provoquent l’exode des populations rurales ontariennes qui vivent à l’ouest de Toronto et dans les campagnes québécoises, où de moins en moins de fermiers arrivent à vivre de la terre. Dans les Maritimes, le déclin des industries traditionnelles du bois et de la construction navale déclenche aussi un mouvement d’émigration. L’économie des Maritimes est aussi touchée par le dépérissement des liens commerciaux bilatéraux avec les États de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, en bonne partie à cause de la politique nationale protectionniste d’Ottawa. Dans l’ensemble, entre 1870 et 1890, 1,5 million de Canadiens quittent le pays, la plupart pour les États-Unis (voir Population).

Heureusement, des jours meilleurs s’annoncent avec une vague d’immigration : les immigrants, d’un peu plus de 50 000 en 1901, sont 8 fois plus nombreux 12 ans plus tard. Entre 1891 et 1911, la population du pays passe de 4,8 millions d’habitants à 7,2 millions. Le « boom du blé » des Prairies contribue pour une large part à la prospérité nationale. La production de blé fait un bond de 8 millions (1896) à 231 millions de boisseaux (1911). La population des Prairies s’accroît de façon spectaculaire, nécessitant la création des provinces de l’Alberta et de la Saskatchewan en 1905 et le parachèvement de deux réseaux ferroviaires transcanadiens, le Grand Trunk Pacific Railway et le Canadian Northern Railway. Les villes de l’Ouest, Winnipeg et Vancouver surtout, connaissent un développement indépendant comme centres de commercialisation et d’expédition. L’Ontario accueille près de 30 % de la nouvelle immigration, Toronto se taillant la part du lion grâce à ses manufactures, son industrie d’élevage, ses magasins et ses chantiers de construction. Du tournant du siècle jusqu’en 1914, Toronto et Montréal vont plus que doubler leurs populations respectives.

Changements sociaux, expansion gouvernementale

À mesure que le Canada fait place à une société industrielle et urbaine, les réseaux privés et familiaux d’entraide et d’assistance sociale tombent en désuétude. L’engagement actif du mouvement Social Gospel chez les protestants et la multiplication des activités d’assistance sociale du clergé et des associations catholiques constitue une solution appréciable, mais elle n’est plus vraiment adaptée aux besoins de la population. Les gouvernements, surtout à l’échelle provinciale, accroissent leur rôle dans les domaines de l’éducation, du travail et du bien-être social. Les femmes s’engagent de plus en plus activement dans les réformes sociales et commencent à exercer des pressions pour obtenir le droit de vote.

Avec l’immigration, le Canada devient une société multiculturelle, du moins dans l’Ouest et dans les principales villes industrielles. Presque le tiers des immigrants sont originaires de pays européens non anglophones. Ukrainiens, Juifsrusses, Polonais, Allemands, Italiens, Hollandais et Scandinaves constituent les groupes les plus importants. En Colombie-Britannique, de petites communautés chinoises, japonaises et indiennes orientales croissent. Les Canadiens anglais comme les Canadiens français éprouvent un certain malaise face à la présence de tant d’« étrangers », mais l’ancien modèle social du Canada se trouve à jamais modifié.

Rébellion dans l’Ouest

Autochtones est réduite et leur degré d’autonomie amoindri. Si les Inuits de l’Arctique ne sont guère touchés par ces changements, la plupart des Amérindiens et des Métis de l’Ouest doivent abandonner leur mode de vie lorsque les colons blancs, l’agriculture et le transport ferroviaire empiètent sur leurs territoires de chasse. En 1869 et en 1870, dans la région de la rivière Rouge, puis en 1885 à Batoche (Saskatchewan), des Métis menés par Louis Riel se rebellent, mais en vain (voir Rébellion de la rivière Rouge; Rébellion du Nord-Ouest). Un certain nombre d’Amérindiens participent directement au deuxième soulèvement. Ailleurs, la colonisation de l’Ouest se déroule sans incident, par l’achat de terres en échange de traités et de droits de réserves pour les Amérindiens, et par des concessions territoriales pour les Métis. La nouvelle police à cheval du Nord-Ouest s’occupe d’y maintenir l’ordre.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

En 1896, sir Wilfrid Laurier, un Québécois catholique libéral, prend la tête d’un pays qui connaît une prospérité sans précédent. Ses 15 années de pouvoir seront toutefois marquées par le tumulte et se termineront par la détérioration des relations avec la Grande-Bretagne et les États-Unis. À l’époque, la Grande-Bretagne s’emploie à unifier et à renforcer son Empire. Bon nombre de Canadiens anglais endossent ce sentiment impérial tout en favorisant les ambitions nationalistes canadiennes, et réclament l’accroissement du rôle du Canada dans l’Empire. Ils pressent le gouvernement Laurier de soutenir les Britanniques dans la guerre des Boers (1899-1902) et de constituer une marine canadienne en 1910. C’est dans cet esprit que le Canada contribue massivement en effectifs et en dollars à la cause britannique durant le cataclysme de la Première Guerre mondiale.

Le gouvernement Laurier subit la défaite aux élections générales de 1911 : les impérialistes canadiens-anglais ne le trouvent « pas assez britannique », alors que le mouvement nationaliste québécois, mené par Henri Bourassa, le considère « trop britannique » et craint qu’il n’engage les jeunes Québécois dans des guerres qui ne concernent pas vraiment le Canada. Mais la cause principale de la défaite de Laurier demeure sa proposition d’accord de réciprocité commerciale ou son accord de libre-échange avec les États-Unis, qui aurait mené à l’abolition ou à la réduction réciproque des droits de douane sur les produits « naturels » de la ferme, des forêts et des pêches.

Les magnats de la finance, de l’industrie et du transport canadiens ont éveillé la forte méfiance des Canadiens à l’égard des intentions économiques des États-Unis, et, grâce à leur soutien, l’opposition conservatrice de Robert Borden réussit à convaincre l’électorat que l’autonomie de l’économie canadienne et les possibilités de commerce avec l’Empire sont sur le point d’être abandonnées au profit d’une absorption économique, peut-être même politique, par les États-Unis.
Article tire de: http://www.encyclopediecanadienne.ca/fr/article/lhistoire-depuis-la-confederation/