Lesson 13 — Activity 2: Working Conditions for Settlers in Canada

As you have learned previously, Europeans came to Canada for several reasons, most of which involved money and the economy.

Settlers from England and France and other European countries moved to Canada because they usually did not have much money or worked very low-paying jobs and felt that Canada would offer them a new chance in life.

In this activity, you will learn about working conditions for settlers who came to Canada.

Settlers to Canada were given land to farm and the chance to earn more money than they had in Europe. Other reasons settlers were willing to leave their home countries include the following:

• They wished to have freedom of religion.
• Cities they came from were overcrowded and polluted.
• The government of their home countries had great control over them.

Most settlers did not work for an employer. They worked for themselves, clearing the land, building a house, growing crops, and raising animals for food. Few settlers had enough money to hire help, so family members did most of the work. The little money these people did have went toward buying basic supplies like sugar, tea, flour, and cloth for making clothes.

The settlers were free and did not have to work in unsafe factories or mines. They also had a chance to make money if they were able to build up a successful farm. However, working conditions were still hard and the hours were long.

In western Canada, as soon as the settlers arrived at their homestead, they needed to build somewhere to live. Some people slept in tents and kept their food, clothing, and other belongings in the tents until a house could be built.

The first homes were built of logs, lumber, or sod. On the prairies, there weren't many trees and lumber was expensive, so houses were small with only one or two rooms.

Courtesy of Frank Thomson Photos, flickr

Most of these first homes were constructed of sod. Later in the year, a stable was built to house the farm animals. In eastern Canada, there were more trees, so most of the homes were built of logs.

Homesteaders had to produce their own food. They planted gardens and picked wild berries. Fruits and vegetables were preserved by pickling or drying to make jams and jellies. Food was stored in root cellars. Fruits and vegetables were also sold to the general store in exchange for other goods, such as basic supplies.

After they had settled, they had to clear the land. Trees were chopped down and stumps were pulled out with teams of oxen. Hand tools were used to clear the land, plant seeds, and then harvest the crops.

Later a plow (or plough) was used to work the land. The plow was pulled by oxen or horses. It took a great deal of hard work to produce a small crop. Wheat, barley, rye, and oats were the usual crops planted.

As the railway was built across the prairies, more and more settlers arrived in Canada. Communities sprang up along the train tracks and crossroads to provide services for these people.

 Some of the businesses and services in these towns might have included: the railway station, a general store, a blacksmith shop, grain elevators, an inn (hotel), a bank, churches, the local school, and even a barber shop.

Digging Deeper!