Gough Barry M. Historical Dictionary of Canada

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70 • ARGENTIA CONFERENCE

Roman architectural forms, many with porticos consisting of clas-

sical pediments supported by Doric columns. Others looked like

respectable London banking houses or residences. Italian Renais-

sance revival styles flourished, as did neoclassical ones, particularly

in Winnipeg. Branch banks were conspicuous in their appearance

during the growth of the Canadian economy during the 20th century,

but with the evolution of suburbs and shopping malls the recently

built branch banks are frequently understated buildings. By contrast,

the great steel and glass towers in Toronto of the Canadian Imperial

Bank of Commerce, TD Bank, Scotiabank, RBC Royal Bank, and

others represent some of the “crown jewels” of Canadian business

architecture, closely clustered together in intimate neighborly secu-

rity with the Toronto Stock Exchange, brokerage houses, insurance

companies, and law firms.

The coming of glass, ferro concrete, steel I-beams, and elevators

allowed for the evolution of high-rise buildings. Montréal, Toronto,

and Vancouver are examples of cities that in the 1960s began to

grow upward as well as outward. The harsh winters resulted in

architects and engineers designing subterranean passages between

buildings. University buildings in, say, Winnipeg and Calgary fol-

lowed the same requirement of keeping warm between or on the way

to classes. The suburbanization of all Canadian cities led to planned

communities on the margins of “downtown.” This led to suburban

malls, new school designs, and outlying police stations and fire halls.

Older downtown structures fell into disrepair or were closed.

Heritage conservancy exists in most Canadian jurisdictions, and

hallmark or architectural heritage associations exist to identify and,

in some cases, designate properties of historical significance. The

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada designated locations

of national significance.

ARGENTIA CONFERENCE. Also termed the Atlantic Conference,

this meeting of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British

Prime Minister Winston Churchill took place aboard warships an-

chored off Argentia, Newfoundland, 9–12 August 1941. The meet-

ing produced the Atlantic Charter of war aims and sped the process

of coordinating the still-neutral United States with the Allies’ war

effort. Canada was not separately represented at this meeting.

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AROOSTOOK WAR • 71

ARMED FORCES. See CANADIAN AIR FORCE; CANADIAN

ARMY; CANADIAN COAST GUARD; CANADIAN NAVY;

MILITIA.

ARMS OF CANADA. The Coat of Arms of Canada contains the Arms

of England, Scotland, and Ireland and the Arms of Royalist France

in the first and second divisions of the shield. These emblems show

that the arms are derived from ancient kingdoms and also exemplify

the fact that men, women, and children of these countries contributed

to the settlement and early development of Canada. The emblem of

Canada in the third division—three joined maple leaves—symbol-

izes Canada’s national sovereignty as a monarchy. To the left of the

shield, the lion rampant embraces the Union flag; on the right, the

unicorn does likewise with a flag of France containing three fleur de

lis. Below is the statement A Mari Usque ad Mare—From Sea to Sea.

AROOSTOOK WAR. Disputes in the Aroostook River region of the

ill-defined Maine-New Brunswick border area led to the Aroos-

took War in 1839, also known as the Bloodless War because not a

single shot was fired. In March 1839, a compromise was reached

before serious conflict could occur. The main issues involved timber

rights and the communication lines between the British provinces.

Aroostook County in northern Maine was incorporated 16 March

1839. The northern and eastern border is the St. John River, which

separates Maine from Canada. The western boundary is a lengthy

stretch of timberland that shares a border with Québec. The area

was mapped by Samuel de Champlain in 1612, using information

supplied by Maliseets and Mi’kmaq, two Native American tribes oc-

cupying the land. The first European settlers were French Acadian

refugees who settled in the area around present-day Madawaska in

1785. The first American settlers came in 1805 from Massachusetts

to what is now the town of Houlton, which along with Fort Fairfield

and Fort Kent would play integral roles in the war.

The northern and eastern border along the St. John River was

the source of spirited dispute between the United States and Great

Britain. Ardent debate over lumbering rights and river access led

the United States to establish military posts and blockhouses in

Houlton, Soldier Pond, Fort Fairfield, and Fort Kent. These troops

built military roads. The Aroostook War officially ended with the

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72 • ART

Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842, which left the Aroostook and

Fish River regions to Maine. Fort Fairfield’s original 1839 block-

house was dismantled in 1862, but a wooden replica constructed in

1972 contains artifacts and memorabilia from the period. The town’s

boom and cannon also can be visited. Houlton’s Hancock Barracks,

originally built in 1828, have since been reconstructed, and Fort

Kent’s 1840 blockhouse still stands in its original condition.

ART. The colonial eras exhibited mainly European modes and styles

of art. Among prominent early artists was Paul Kane, a 19th-century

painter whose work is now in much demand. Cornelius Kreighoff is

another. Art development since 1945 has mirrored the development

of the nation. A slow break with the traditions that had been set up

in previous decades occurred; Canadian art started to look inward

and reflected a far more impulsive and introspective style. As self-

conscious Canadians began to search for their own uniqueness in

a much larger world, so did Canadian artists begin to express their

own understanding of the visual world in bolder and more individual

representations. Canadian art emerged from distinctive French and

English styles.

That Canadian art remained conservative and well “behind” the

trends and activities of Europe is not surprising. A predominantly

conservative public sensibility was mirrored and enforced by the

art schools of Canada’s major metropolitan areas. The Ontario Col-

lege of Art, the Vancouver School of Design and Applied Arts, and

L’École des Beaux-Arts in Montréal all prescribed a methodology

that reinforced the traditional mode of representation in painting,

sculpture, and drawing. Traditional methods of copying the Old

Masters and drawing directly from models were still strictly sup-

ported as the best way of acquiring artistic schooling. Arthur Lismer

(1885–1969) resigned from the Ontario College of Art over a dispute

regarding the nature of creative expression and a broadening of tech-

nique. Fred Varley (1885–1969) and Jock MacDonald (1897–1960)

met similar resistance to change in Vancouver. In Montréal, Alfred

Pellan (1906–?) came into direct conflict with the director of the

school as he tried to counsel a program of experimentation, mod-

ernism, and the rejection of old, tired methodologies of instruction.

One skirmish in the revolution for a new understanding of Canadian

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ART • 73

artistic expression was won by Pellan when his students shouted out

the director, forcing his eventual resignation.

The real birthplace of Canadian contemporary art must be from

Montréal in general and from Paul-Emile Bourduas (1905–60) more

specifically. As an instructor at L’École du Meuble in Montréal,

Bourduas spread his ideas of the nature of painting and the impor-

tance of self-expression in art. Supremely interested in the works of

children, he included his students in an ongoing dialogue surrounding

the development of a new artistic revolution in Québec. The uninhib-

ited nature of his work with his students enabled Bourduas to grow

significantly as an artist, allowing him to develop a style that focused

on abstraction, imagination, and the subconscious. His influence

on the development of Canadian painting cannot be underplayed;

his was the leading voice that gave rise to the artistic freedom that

emerged in Montréal under Les Automatistes.

Les Automatistes began as a group of six painters who exhibited

at the 1946 exhibition of the Contemporary Arts Society in Montréal

and went on to include several artists in varying capacities. Of the

original six, the most important to the development of Canadian

painting was Jean-Paul Riopelle (1923–?). As one of Canada’s most

internationally recognized painters, Riopelle exemplified the Surreal-

ist tendencies of the group and their fascination with the impulsive,

subconscious nature of expression. Riopelle traveled widely and was

influenced no doubt by works by Vincent van Gogh and Jackson

Pollock. Riopelle painted very large canvases with broad expressive

swaths of color applied with a palette knife. His 1954 work Pavene

is an example of this abstract expressionism, engaging the viewer

through a nonrepresentational expression of feelings. Riopelle con-

tinued to develop his own style of representation, and his work is so

personal in nature that few if any have sought to emulate it.

While Pellan, Bourduas, and Riopelle were busy furthering their

artistic revolution in Montréal, Toronto—and English Canada more

generally—lagged behind for several different reasons. Whereas the

bulk of Les Automatistes had been too young to fight in the war, To-

ronto’s art scene was not spared the same blessings. Many of its art-

ists had served overseas as war artists for the government and did not

share the French-Canadian fascination with the European modernist

tradition. A. Y Jackson (1882–1974) wrote a weekly column in the

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74 • ART

Toronto News from 1942 through 1946, and coupled with the return

of his Group of Seven contemporary Fred Varley (1881–1969), the

two remained the driving impulse of the artistic direction of much

of English-speaking Canada. The influence of the Group of Seven

on Emily Carr was considerable, but other forces shaped her work,

notably study in Europe and the United States.

The Toronto-based Painters Eleven held no methodological or sty-

listic adherence to each other. Rather their formation as a collective

group was one of convenience and perhaps in protest to the strong

hold on tradition that many young artists felt in the city in the decade

after the war. In 1954, the group, having been influenced by the ac-

tivities in Montréal, New York, and to a certain extent Europe, held

their first exhibition at the Roberts Gallery. Hortense Gordon, Jack

Bush, Jock MacDonald (then teaching at the Ontario College of Art),

Harold Town, Walter Yarwood, Tom Hodgson, William Ronald, Ka-

zuo Nakamura, Ray Mead, and Oscar Cahen had all exhibited else-

where across the nation but now worked together organizing abstract,

nonobjective shows throughout Ontario and, in 1956, New York.

The two groups eventually showed together, presenting a united

front against the tradition and conservatism of Canadian art, thus es-

tablishing a burgeoning appreciation for what Canadian artists were

capable of. The Canada Council for the Arts, formed in 1957, imme-

diately began patronizing the arts, providing travel and study grants.

Artistic centers grew wherever Canadian universities had developed

strong art departments. The coming of the centennial celebrations

and the Montréal Expo 67 further enhanced government spending on

culture, and unprecedented amounts were allocated to the visual arts.

What had begun with the formation of abstract groups in Montréal and

Toronto had spread through the encouragement of the public and the

government to include artists of all types and abilities. Jack Chambers,

from London, Ontario, exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada;

his work 401 Towards London No. 1 remains an excellent example of

realism and emotion. Norval Morrisseau, Ojibwa, retold the legends

of his people in words and pictures, preserving an elegant culture for

posterity. In Atlantic Canada, Alex Colville emerged as Canada’s

most internationally acclaimed artist. A figurative painter working at

Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, he believed

in the importance of subject matter in the visual arts. His high realism

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ASBESTOS STRIKE • 75

style was new to Canadian art and no doubt owes much to his time

spent as a war artist. Paintings of familiar subjects, animals, people on

the beach, a girl in a field, resonated with viewers, while his composi-

tion placed his subjects at an intoxicating distance, creating a fascina-

tion for his work that has established him on an international scale

unequalled by any of his forbears.

The popularity of gallery shows and national exhibitions reveals

an appreciation of art in Canada that goes well beyond a small per-

centage of its population. Though many still connect “Canadian Art”

singularly with the Group of Seven, it is apparent that Canadian art-

ists, if not a specific style of Canadian art, are gaining appreciation

and value throughout the world. In addition to the art colleges listed

above, the following are prominent: Nova Scotia College of Art and

Design University, Halifax; Banff School of Fine Arts, Banff, Al-

berta; Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary; and Emily Carr

University of Art and Design, Vancouver. Many of these institutes

have programs in design, a student gateway to architecture. See also

CANADA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS; TIPPETT, MARIA; WAR

ARTISTS.

ASBESTOS STRIKE. In the early 20th century, foreign companies

were mining the rich asbestos deposits of Québec’s Eastern Town-

ships. Québec was world leader in production of asbestos. In the

town of Asbestos in 1949, certain workers refused to await the report

of grievances being prepared by a government-appointed board of ar-

bitration. The intent of the wildcat strike was to prevent the company

stockpiling reserves before the inevitable walkout. The company

hired replacement workers, and a large force of provincial police ar-

rived to protect them. The strike lasted for five months and was bitter

in its rhetoric and brutal in its action: many strikers were arrested

and beaten by police. Behind the state-dominated suppression of the

workers lay the power of the Union Nationale and the heavy-handed

tactics of the premier of Québec, Maurice Duplessis. One of the few

public champions of the strikers was Archbishop Charbonneau of

Montréal, who was soon transferred out of the province by his supe-

riors. The Roman Catholic Church’s role as mediator in labor matters

in the province ended with the asbestos strike, its legitimacy in that

function having become bankrupt.

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76 • ASSINIBOINE

The strike had an important side effect: liberal-minded national-

ists, including young labor lawyer Pierre Elliott Trudeau, became

convinced of the need to defeat Duplessis and protect workers’ in-

terests. When he visited the asbestos workers on strike, he found a

Québec he did not really know: workers exploited by management,

denounced by government, brutalized by police, yet burning with

militancy. This event, then, was an important watershed in employer-

employee relations, and a turning point in the religious, political, so-

cial, and economic affairs of the province. One end result, painfully

achieved, was to strengthen union interests in Québec.

ASSINIBOINE. The Assiniboine (“the people that cook with hot

stones”), a Plains tribe, inhabited the area that is now southern

Alberta. The Assiniboine were enemies of the Blackfoot Confed-

eracy. They fought many battles for control of the prairies. After

the introduction of European firearms, battles and hunting expedi-

tions occurred more frequently. As well, a steady decline in buffalo

resulted due to gun-carrying Assiniboine. In 1836, the Assiniboine

were inflicted with smallpox. The population of the Assiniboine

continued to decline after 1836, and many were later confined to

reserves. See also INDIANS.

ATWOOD, MARGARET ELEANOR (1939– ). Novelist, short story

writer, poet, and critic, Margaret Atwood is best known for her nov-

els, which have global reach. Born in Ottawa, Atwood graduated

from the University of Toronto and was a student at Radcliffe Col-

lege, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her first published work in 1966,

The Circle, won the Governor General’s Award. The Edible Woman

(1969), dealing with emotional cannibalism, provoked considerable

controversy. Though many of her works have a futuristic theme, she

bolts at the suggestion that it is in the genre of science fiction. A

commentator on the rise of English Canadian literature, she is an avid

champion of Canadian arts and letters and an active participant in

lobbying governments and agencies. In 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale

was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, as was The Cat’s Eye in

1989. The Blind Assassin (2000) won the Booker Prize. Among her

other works are Alias Grace (1997), Murder in the Dark (1998), Oryx

and Crake (2003), and The Year of the Flood (2009).

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AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY • 77

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY. Canada has a long history of auto

manufacturing, but the star early attraction is the 1916 production by

R. L. McLaughlin of Oshawa, Ontario, whose McLaughlin-Buick

was one of the great automobiles of the 1930s. General Motors made

Oshawa its Canadian base. Ford Motors and Chrysler all established

auto assembly plants and parts manufacturing plants in Ontario and

Québec. Windsor, St. Thomas, St. Catharines, Oakville, and other

urban places of Ontario benefited from the growth of the auto sector

in the Canadian economy, but they were also prone to the downward

cycles and shifts that came with depression and recession. Auto parts

manufacturing developed in Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, Toronto,

London, and Hamilton. This formed the heartland of the Canadian

automobile industry, though various places in the Province of Qué-

bec fared well by the growth of this sector.

Beginning in the 1960s, Ontario became the site of branch plants

of all Japanese automakers. Magna International (a nonunion shop)

and Linamar Corporation became large-scale producers of parts and

engines. Toyota and Honda established plants in Cambridge and Al-

liston, respectively. Mazda, affiliated with Ford Motor Company, had

a share of the Japanese auto business in Canada. Mitsubishi began

selling cars in Canada in the late 1990s. KIA, the Korean company,

began its business in Canada in the 1980s. The effect of this produc-

tion and importation meant that North American built and designed

vehicles faced stiff competition. The English car market in Canada

almost disappeared after 1970, though it was never a commanding

presence; it became focused on the Jaguar and, for a time, the Austin

Mini. The MG, Austin Healey, Triumph, and Morgan sports cars had

a small market share, but this was along sentimental lines rather than

due to performance standards and capabilities.

These structural shifts were basic to the evolution of the 1965 Au-

topact, the Canada/USA Automotive Products Trading Agreement.

This allowed free trade in North American built automobiles and

auto parts. (It was later extended to include Mexico.) The conditions

allowed for a rapid expansion of Canada’s auto industry. The condi-

tions specified that a company had to produce 50 percent or more of

its vehicles in North America. Companies had to assemble one car

here for each one sold here. A huge expansion of Canadian auto parts

manufacturing and vehicle assembly capacity followed. The rubber

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78 • AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

manufacturing sector was one beneficiary, with increased demand

for tires, tubes, and rubber automobile components by the auto as-

semblers. The initial surge, in the mid-1960s, gave way to Canadian

plants feeling the pinch, for facilities were often too small by world

standards, labor costs increased, and there were too many short pro-

duction runs. Higher prices for petrochemical products following the

OPEC crisis led to high prices for tires. New fuel efficient vehicle

standards required better rolling resistance from tires, and the radial

tire was introduced. The Government of Canada introduced a regres-

sive tax on air conditioners for vehicles at time of first sale, strangely

limiting production in that sector and hurting the consumer.

The early 1980s witnessed a major recession, leading to industry

mergers and free trade talks. In 1989, the North America Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented. Another recession in the

1990s damaged the auto sector, but by the mid-1990s the industry

had bounced back resoundingly with record output but lower em-

ployment. Increasing use of robots and tool machinery cut into the la-

bor market. The Canadian Autoworkers Union led by Buzz Hargrove

was engaged in many fights with auto producers; this is the largest

private sector union in Canada.

The Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario have

been mighty investors in the rebuilding of the auto sector, especially

in capital expenditures for new plants, refurbishment of old, and re-

design of engine and frame production facilities. From its inception,

the auto sector of Canada depended on rail and truck communication

on a “just in time” delivery basis. Shipping in and out of Montréal,

Halifax, Saint John, and especially Vancouver increased with the

rise of the automobile industry and consumer demands in North

America. The increased efficiencies of the 1990s and 2000s led to

a new capital investment by the companies themselves, and further

strengthening of a smaller, though now world-class, domestic indus-

try. Despite encroachments from offshore Asian and European car

importers, the domestic manufacturing and parts business is North

American and Canadian centered, even if the Big Three (Ford, GM,

and Chrysler) appear besieged; they still command a large market

share, though that may be diminishing. Many “Japanese” automo-

biles are made in North America, many of them in Canada. Ontario

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BAGOT, CHARLES • 79

produces more vehicles today than does neighboring Michigan, the

heart of the U.S. auto industry.

-B-

BAFFIN, WILLIAM (1584–1622). An English navigator and ex-

plorer, Baffin sailed to Greenland with an expedition in 1612. In

1615, he led another expedition seeking the Northwest Passage to

Asia. His name was given to Baffin Bay, which he explored in 1616,

and to Baffin Island. In 1616, he became the first European to reach

Ellesmere Island. Clements R. Markham edited accounts of Baffin’s

expeditions and published them as The Voyages of William Baffin

(1881).

BAFFIN ISLAND, NUNAVUT. Named for William Baffin, English

explorer, Baffin Island earlier appears in the historical record as Meta

Incognita (“unknown limits”). Britain’s title to this eastern Arctic

island and adjacent lands was inscribed by Michael Lok in the “title

Royal” after Martin Frobisher’s return to England from his second

voyage to Baffin Island (fall 1577). A colony was to have been es-

tablished there in 1578 on Frobisher’s third voyage, but Frobisher

opposed colonization on grounds of difficulty of survival in northern

latitudes. Frobisher’s explorations extended Britain’s knowledge of

Baffin Island and the nearby approaches to the fabled Northwest Pas-

sage. The notorious nonsuccess of mineral extraction set back British

enthusiasm for polar discoveries in these waters for some time. Sub-

sequent discoveries by private and Royal Navy personnel completed

the general European appraisal of the land form of Baffin Island.

Frobisher Bay, now Iqaluit, was built as a U.S. Air Force base for the

airlift of personnel and equipment to Europe during World War II.

BAGOT, CHARLES (1781–1843). Governor general of British North

America from 1841 to 1843, Sir Charles Bagot followed Lord Syden-

ham in that post. Because of poor health, Bagot allowed the leader-

ship of the cabinet created by Sydenham to pass out of control. In

1842, he invited Robert Baldwin and Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine

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