Quote:
Originally Posted by densa44
What got us to this cycle of depopulation were the immigration policies of the last 2 centuries, while the Americans had an open immigration policy so that they could move from a 3 rd world status to the colossus that it has become. .
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Canada and the US had similar immigration policies in the past, which is why the mix of immigrants were so similar at least until the late 20th century, so that can't be the reason they thrived while Canada and it's prospects withered. I would suggest the U.S. advanced beyond a 1st stage resource based economy by having a very different view towards the lands they conquered and acquired.
This is clearly seen in Western Canada where the new lands, taken by force as did the USA were seen as colonies of Canada, not part of Canada. This is why Canada had, and still has, many different laws and practices that apply to Western Canada and not "Central" Canada in the East.
It can also been seen in how Canada treated their colonists businesses and how Canada controlled growth in their newly acquired colonies. Some areas had thriving businesses.
For example today's Manitoba had their own colony, complete with many of European descent, including Riel whose parents were white catholic farmers. These people had many businesses and supplied much of the food for Hudson Bay and their many outposts.
Before Canada took control they had 18 or more Windmills grinding wheat into flour and more than a half dozen waterwheels and multiple steam powered mills with their advanced technology. I mentioned Riel because his family also had a mill. There was an established industry to grow but that growth ground (pun) to a halt with the arrival of Canada which I think can best be seen in how Canada controlled funding to businesses in Western Canada.
Canada's financial institutions were few, basically just the Family Compact, Chateau Clique and the Maritime Establishment and their offshoots of which we can still see today. They did not see their role as that of Nation building. Their investments were for their profit, safety and security, to ensure they remained dominate.
And the Canadian government adopted their attitudes, listened to and still does listen to them when it comes to economic policies and as a result saw their new colonies as little more than cash cows to advance their already established interests. For them it was easier to strip off the countries natural resources and export them raw.
The U.S. on the other hand developed a diversified economy that poured available capital back into that development.
By 1910 the U.S. had 25,000 different banks headquarters and ownership spread across the country. They collected capital and then used that capital to support regional growth in their own area. One bank for every 3600 Americans, banks that reinvested locally.
By 1910 Canada had only 11 banks, one for every 63,000 Canadians, all headquartered in Eastern Canada, with the rest of the country serviced by branches that had little discretion when it came to loans and no mandate to service or advance local interests. Canadian savings, which were high at the time, were funneled back to the Eastern based banks who used them to advance their own local interests.
Worst yet the lack of funding for Canadian businesses, even in Eastern Canada, created a vacuum into which Americans stepped with American funding. Funding that ensured investment advanced American and not Canadian interests.
Even today Canadian interests, our industries, answer to foreign masters and Western Canada is still treated by Canada, the real Canada, Central Canada in the east, as a colony that should be quiet and send cash.
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