CHAPTER 5
LIFE IN
CANADA:
EARLY 1800s
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WHY DID PEOGES IN EARLY CANADA?
CHALLEN
LEARNING GOALS
As you work through this chapter, you will
• identify the factors that affected how a variety of people lived in the
early 1800s and the challenges they faced
• examine the significance of people, events, and developments from
the early 1800s
• explore historical perspectives on debtors’ prison
• analyze and contextualize text sources
How does who you are and where you live affect your daily life? Like
Canadians today, the people who lived in Canada in the 1800s all had
different life experiences and faced different challenges. The people
who lived in early Canada were mostly First Nations, French, and
British. They were Catholic and Protestant, male and female, young and
old, rich and poor. Some lived in towns, while others lived on farms they
created from forested areas.
This watercolour painting, entitled York, Upper Canada, was painted by
Elizabeth Hale in 1804. It shows the town of York, which became the
city of Toronto in 1834. Look closely, and you will see four people: a
First Nations couple with a baby and a seated British soldier. We do not
know the details of these individuals’ lives. We do know, however, that
their experiences of life in this town were likely quite different.
As you explore this chapter, think about who was able to adapt to life in
a new home and who was not, who benefited and who did not, and how
people found ways to get along with others in their communities.
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