Gough Barry M. Historical Dictionary of Canada

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270 • MEECH LAKE ACCORD

McLuhan received numerous awards and recognitions; he was

Schweitzer Chair (1967) at Fordham University, New York. Con-

troversial and ahead of his time, his understanding of the media and

its messages is now recognized as a foundation for communications

theory and communications studies.

MEECH LAKE ACCORD. A “closed door” constitutional amend-

ment of 1987 that was rejected, the Meech Lake Accord intended

to recognize Québec as a “distinct society.” Requiring unanimous

support of Canadian provinces, the measure failed in Manitoba on

a procedural technicality and was not voted on in Newfoundland.

Chiefs of northern Manitoba tribes had studied the laws of procedure

and consulted constitutional experts. They learned they could pre-

vent the Meech Lake debate in the Manitoba Legislature, and Elijah

Harper, an Ojibwa chief, blocked debate there. The measure died.

The measure was introduced by the federal government under

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as an attempt to deal with some per-

ceived unfinished business of the Constitution Act of 1982. The ac-

cord’s failure intensified Québec’s alienation and dissatisfaction, and

fueled native, Inuit, territorial, and women’s resentment concerning

exclusion in discussions leading to the accord. An attempt to broaden

the basis of constitutional reform known as the Charlottetown Agree-

ment, balancing Québécois requirements with native demands and

certain representation-by-population measures for western provinces,

was defeated by the Canadian electorate in the referendum of 26

October 1992 in a vote (overall national figures) of 44.6 percent yes,

54.4 percent no.

MEIGHEN, ARTHUR (1874–1960). Born near St. Mary’s, Ontario,

Meighen was a lawyer and politician. He was a member of Parlia-

ment in Manitoba and became solicitor general in Robert Borden’s

administration. A brilliant parliamentary speaker, Meighen had a

firm hand on policy formation. He played key roles in railway nation-

alization, conscription, and the Wartime Elections Act. He ended the

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and used the Immigration Act

and Criminal Code to deal with strikers, who would face deportation

or jail. In 1920, upon Borden’s resignation, Meighen became prime

minister. His unpopularity and his high tariff policy resulted in his

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MÉTIS • 271

government’s defeat in 1921. He became prime minister again in

1925. Deserted by the Progressive Party members in the House of

Commons during the constitutional crisis of 1926, he could not keep

power. He lost a subsequent election to his archenemy Mackenzie

King and the Liberals. He was replaced by R. B. Bennett. In 1940

and 1944, he attempted political comebacks but failed. See also

GOVERNORS GENERAL.

MERCIER, HONORÉ (1840–1894). A popular politician who de-

fended French Canadian rights, Mercier revived the Parti National in

response to Louis Riel’s execution in 1885. In 1887, as premier of

Québec, he passed the Jesuit Estates Act. He called the first Inter-

provincial Conference in 1887. Mercier was removed from office in

1891 on charges of corruption, which were never proved.

METCALFE, CHARLES THEOPHILUS (1785–1846). An experi-

enced colonial authority, Baron Metcalfe served as governor general

of Canada in 1843. Asserting the British Crown’s right to make ap-

pointments, he took measures that led Robert Baldwin and Louis

Lafontaine to resign in protest, and the assembly voted in their favor.

Metcalfe dismissed the government. In the subsequent election, he

campaigned for office and won by a slim majority. His feeble admin-

istration ended with his resignation in 1845. He was the last of his

breed: responsible government followed in 1846.

MÉTIS. A people enshrined within the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

as aboriginal. The Métis, they say, date from nine months after the

white man set foot in Canada. Proud, desperate, and independent,

they are the progeny of sexual unions of Europeans, chiefly Scots

and French, with native women. They were powerfully important in

the 18th and 19th centuries and played an important role in the fur

trade. Their culture blended French language and native skills. Many

of them lived as farmers, and they occupied river lots on the As-

siniboine and Red rivers. They lived near fur posts and also became

buffalo hunters and freighters. The Red River cart, a Métis creation,

could carry 1,000 lbs of cargo and could double as a raft for river

crossings. They had commercial links to North Dakota. In the clas-

sic era of their history (c. 1800–85), they formed a self-regulating

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272 • MI’KMAQ

community and are said to have had a utopian society organized

around the buffalo hunt. The hunting of buffalo was essential to the

making of pemmican, a staple of the fur trade. The industrial world

brought pressures: land hunger, railways, steamboats, homesteading,

urbanization, government, police, and so on.

Métis played conspicuous roles in the emergence of self-

government in Assiniboia, Manitoba, and in the Northwest Ter-

ritories. Under Louis Riel and other leaders, they resisted Canadian

authority in the Red River Rebellion (1869–70) and Saskatchewan

risings (1885). Excluded from Indian treaties, they lived dispossessed

lives, and many retreated to northern locations or Indian reserves. A

political renaissance greeted them in the late 1960s and after. They

have strong provincial, territorial, and national organizations and are

the only mixed-blood people to have distinct constitutional status in

the world, recognized in 1982. Most are English speaking, though

of French ancestry. According to the 2006 census, there are over a

million Métis living in Canada, making them the largest-growing

aboriginal population. See also DUMONT, GABRIEL.

MI’KMAQ. At the time of European contact, the Mi’kmaq (Micmac)

occupied the whole province of Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton

Island and portions of northern New Brunswick and Prince Ed-

ward Island. They were a typical migratory people who lived in the

woods in the winter and on the seashore in the warmer months. The

dialect of the Mi’kmaq was different from that of the tribes around

them, but it resembled the Algonquin dialect in the Great Lakes re-

gion. The customs of the Mi’kmaq drastically changed after contact

with Europeans. The tribe quickly adopted many of the customs of

the Europeans into their daily lives. Throughout the wars in the 17th

and 18th centuries, the Mi’kmaq were faithful allies to the French.

The Mi’kmaq also participated in the extermination of the Beothuk

in Newfoundland. See also INDIANS.

MILITIA. In Canada the militia has consisted of a part-time, volunteer,

armed citizenry that acts as a defensive unit to defend the country and

the keep peace. It has been viewed as a supplement to the regular,

professional army; militia units are trained by regulars.

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MONTGOMERY, LUCY MAUD • 273

The Canadian militia dates back to the days of New France when

a militia was organized to protect the colonists from native peoples.

After the British conquest, the militia was continued by the British,

but on a lower level, since London stationed regulars in British North

America. The militia fought along with the regulars in the War of

1812. After 1867, the Dominion of Canada continued the militia

system. Militia units were used in both the Red River Rebellion and

the Northwest Rebellion.

In the 1880s, the Canadian government attempted to develop a

professional standing army. Training schools were established and

regimented training of militia volunteers was implemented to create

a more effective and efficient militia. The militia performed well

in the South African War (Boer War), considering the equipment

problems. By World War I, the militia was in the process becoming

a regular standing army. See also CANADIAN ARMY.

MOHAWK. See IROQUOIS; OKA; POWLESS, ROSS.

MONTCALM, LOUIS-JOSEPH DE (1712–1759). A professional

soldier of skill and distinction, Montcalm (Marquis de Montcalm de

Saint-Véran) was assigned to North America in 1756 to take com-

mand of all French troops there at the outbreak of the Seven Years

War. Although the French forces were outnumbered and outgunned,

Montcalm managed to hold the British in check by striking along

Lake Champlain and denying access to the St. Lawrence Valley.

His victory at Fort Carillon, later named Ticonderoga, was a notable

achievement in defensive strategy and tactics, also in wilderness

warfare. In 1759, the British, led by Gen. James Wolfe, laid siege

to Québec City. Wolfe led his troops to the Plains of Abraham,

where they were met by Montcalm, who had decided to deploy from

his fortified positions. On the field of battle, Montcalm ordered his

forces to attack, and in the face of withering fire by the enemy, the

battle was lost. He died on the Plains of Abraham, later lamented by

friend and foe alike.

MONTGOMERY, LUCY MAUD (1874–1942). A best-selling author

and educator, Montgomery was born in Clifton, Prince Edward

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274 • MONTRÉAL

Island. In 1906, she wrote her most famous novel, Anne of Green

Gables. The heroine, Anne, has eternal, engaging, and endearing

qualities. The book was published in 1908 by an American company

and was an instant best-seller. She eventually wrote 22 books and in

1923 became the first Canadian woman to become a fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts in England. In 1935, she was invested with the

Order of the British Empire. Lucy Maud Montgomery remains one of

the most famous Canadian writers. See also LITERATURE.

MONTRÉAL. Prominent in the history of Canada owing to its strate-

gic situation where the Ottawa River joins the St. Lawrence River

and where the Richelieu River drains from Lake Champlain, Mon-

tréal was an important seaport for ocean-going vessels. Co-founders

of the settlement were soldier-administrator Paul Maisonneuve and

nurse and treasurer Jeanne Mance.

The financial and business center of New France and later Lower

Canada and the Province of Québec, it grew on the basis of the fur

trade, banking, and brewing. Later it became an industrial and com-

munications headquarters and a railway and shipping nexus of world

prominence. It was the immigration entry point of millions of Brit-

ish and other Europeans. In its early days it was the subject of Indian

and American military raids. It was headquarters of the fur trade of

the North West Company until 1821, when the company merged

with the Hudson’s Bay Company and the trade flowed more so

through Hudson Bay. By 1825, Montréal’s population was 22,540,

making it Québec’s largest city.

In 1849, riots led to the burning of the parliament buildings of

the United Province of Canada; rioters were furious at the passing

of the Rebellion Losses Bill. The riot lasted two days and involved

thousands of people. The destruction of Canadian archival records

was huge.

The age of steam and railways changed the face of the city, making

it the vital center of overland as well as oceanic commerce. In 1859,

Robert Stephenson’s tubular Victoria Bridge across the St. Lawrence

River was completed, linking the south shore to the Island of Mon-

tréal and enabling railway traffic to travel directly from Halifax with

links west to Toronto and farther west.

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MONTRÉAL MASSACRE • 275

A predominant feature of the city’s architecture is St. Joseph’s

Oratory, a church built into the mountain slope overlooking Mon-

tréal. It was built by Brother André, a Holy Cross brother, as a shrine

to honor God. He was made a saint in 2010.

Corporations made Montréal their headquarters. Railways and

communications were key to the city’s development and to that

of the nation. Air Canada is headquartered here, and the region is

important in the history of aviation. The International World Ex-

position EXPO 67 brought world attention to Montréal. Before the

opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway (1959), Montréal was trans-

shipment point for all goods coming into the Great Lakes, but ship-

ping technology bypassed the city, leading to a decline in oceanic

and railway commerce.

The Roman Catholic Church played a prominent role in the history

of Montréal, especially in higher education. A number of schools,

colleges, and universities are located in Montréal, including Univer-

sité de Montréal and Loyola College, now part of Concordia Uni-

versity. McGill University, one of Canada’s greats, was established

here. Prominent architectural and cultural wonders include the Musée

d’Art Contemporain, McCord Museum of Canadian History, and

Molson Center, home ice to the world-famous Montréal Canadiens.

The election of the Parti Québécois in 1976 made the city an even

greater battleground for French language primacy. It also resulted

in the migration of many Montréalers to Toronto and elsewhere

in protest to the French primacy language policies of the Province

of Québec, even the proscription of English on commercial signs.

Prominent banks, including the Bank of Montréal, shifted their cor-

porate headquarters to Toronto. The population of greater Montréal

is 2.8 million. See also MONTRÉAL MASSACRE.

MONTRÉAL MASSACRE. On 6 December 1989, Marc Lepine,

armed with a gun, entered the engineering wing of L’École Polytech-

nique in Montréal and ordered female students to segregate them-

selves from the males. He then shot 14 of the women dead, injured

eight more as well as four men when they attempted to intervene,

and then turned the gun on himself. A letter found on his person

contained a hit list of 15 high-profile women. Lepine’s rage was

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276 • MOODIE, SUSANNA

against women seeking nontraditional careers and women leaders in

society. The anniversary of this event has since become a national

day of awareness and remembrance. Tighter gun controls were a

consequence of political action taken by citizens concerned that such

an event must have no repetition.

MOODIE, SUSANNA (1803–1885). Born in England, the writer Su-

sanna Strickland Moodie came from a literary family. She wrote a

number of children’s works early in her career and published a book

of poetry in 1831. She and her husband, British army officer J. W.

Dunbar Moodie, emigrated to Canada in 1832, settling briefly on a

farm near Port Hope, Lake Ontario. They then removed to 400 acres

of backwoods near Peterborough and cleared land for their farm.

Major Moodie was called for active military duty to suppress the

Rebellions of 1837. In 1839, he was appointed sheriff of Hastings

County, and the family moved to Belleville, the county seat.

Susanna Moodie became an active contributor to the journals Lit-

erary Garland and Canadian Literary Magazine. She wrote a num-

ber of popular novels, poetry, and memoirs. Her personal trials and

experiences mark her out as a major early novelist of Canada. Most

noteworthy among her writings is Roughing It in the Bush (1852),

which has given her a secure place in literary history for the colonial

era; it is a vigorous, authentic, and humorous account of frontier

conditions in Upper Canada. She also wrote Life in the Clearings

(1853). Her sister Catharine Parr Traill, who likewise had immi-

grated to Canada, was also a popular Canadian writer.

MOSAIC, CANADA AS A. This concept or theory of ethnicity re-

ceived currency in the 1960s as a contradistinction to the melting-pot

concept thought to exist in the United States. Dating from the 1920s,

this pluralism of Canadian society attracted many writers, especially

sociologists. For a time, it was a special point of pride, one marking

Canada’s uniqueness in cultural diversity. Sociologist John Porter’s

Vertical Mosaic (1965) suggested, however, that the mosaic impeded

upward mobility of ethnicities other than French and English and

thereby promoted conservative traits. Of late, the concept has less

support than before, the intention of immigration regulations and

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MULRONEY, BRIAN • 277

plans being an enhanced Canadian citizenship as a focal point of

ethnicities, religions, sects, and creeds.

MOWAT, FARLEY (1921– ). A much-loved storyteller, impish

in manner and gnome-like in appearance, Farley Mowat has used

Canadian themes and episodes to weave new threads in literary

nonfiction. He has also created a personal literary following of

extraordinary proportions, with sales in excess of 14 million in

25 languages. A student of the environment and wildlife, he has

covered many literary subjects. People of the Dear (1952) blamed

government officials and missionaries for the hunger and depriva-

tion suffered by caribou-hunting Ihalmuit Inuit. And No Birds

Sang (1979) recounts his army experiences in World War II.

No Man’s River (2004) recounts his northern canoe trips in the

1940s. Mowat has many critics who attack his work on grounds

of inauthenticity. Equally significant, some Newfoundlanders

have abused him for his exposé of the seal hunt, Sea of Slaughter

(1984). See also LITERATURE.

MULRONEY, BRIAN (1939– ). The son of Irish immigrants, Martin

Brian Mulroney studied law and became a labor lawyer in Mon-

tréal. He contested unsuccessfully Joe Clark’s leadership of the

Progressive Conservative Party in 1976. President of the Iron Ore

Company, he closed down plant operations in Shefferville, Québec.

In 1983, he replaced Clark and shortly afterward entered Parliament

as an MP. In 1984, he won a majority electoral victory and became

prime minister. He was reelected in 1988, but he resigned abruptly

in 1993.

Mulroney brought forth two unsuccessful attempts at constitu-

tional change: the Meech Lake Accord (1987) and Charlottetown

Agreement (1992). He brought Canada into the North American

Free Trade Agreement with the United States. His government

introduced the Goods and Services Tax. Largely discredited for

patronage appointments and massive deficits, he left his party virtu-

ally in tatters. After being named in an Airbus kickback scheme, he

received an official apology from the minister of justice, Alan Rock,

and damages.

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278 • MURPHY, EMILY FERGUSON

MURPHY, EMILY FERGUSON (1868–1933). A politician and writer

born in Cookstown, Ontario, Murphy wrote a variety of books about

her adventures in Europe and Western Canada. The character Janey

Canuck, an allusion to the common Canadian nickname Johnny Ca-

nuck, was created by Murphy. She moved to Alberta with her husband

and began a career of lobbying the government for social reforms. She

worked to pass the Dower Act, allowing a wife to retain one-third of

her husband’s estate during his life and after his death, and the Chil-

dren’s Protection Act, to shelter abused children. With her in-depth

knowledge of the law, Murphy in 1916 was appointed the first woman

magistrate in the British Empire to preside over women’s court.

One of Murphy’s most important contributions was the Persons

Case, her challenge of the British North America Act (Constitution

Act of 1867) pertaining to the meaning of the word person, which

was then interpreted as not including women. With Nellie Mooney

McClung, Irene Marryat Parlby, Louis Crummy McKinney, and

Henrietta Muir Edwards, Murphy took the case to the Supreme Court

of Canada. The court decided against the women, who then appealed

to the Privy Council in England. The Privy Council announced that

women were persons. Murphy dedicated her life to the improvement

of the status of women in Canada, with great success. See also SO-

CIAL GOSPEL; WOMEN IN CANADIAN HISTORY.

MURRAY, JAMES (1721–1794). Murray succeeded James Wolfe as

commander of the British Army during the invasion of New France

in 1759. He was made military governor of Québec in 1760 and in

1763 became civil governor of the province, serving until 1768. He

modified the policy of Anglicization imposed by the Proclamation

of 1763, allowing retention of the French language and law and the

tithing rights of the Roman Catholic Church.

MUSIC. The music of Canada reflects diverse influences, ones influ-

ential in the shaping of the country: aboriginal, French, British, and

American. The music is naturally heavily influenced by U.S. culture

because of proximity and cross-border migration. The aboriginal

tradition in music is deep, and its legacies survive in some places of

Canada. Religious orders dominating the educational institutions of

Québec included music as part of the curriculum. Organs were intro-

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MUSIC • 279

duced in 1657, and since that time organ construction in Canada has

achieved worldwide recognition for quality. Many figures prominent

in Canada’s history were practicing musicians—explorer Louis Jol-

liet (1645–1700), for instance, was a master of several instruments.

British military bands made a different kind of contribution, broaden-

ing popular understanding of their repertoire. Concert halls and later

opera houses were built in colonial cities.

The first published music was by New France composer, poet,

and playwright Joseph Quesnel (1746–1809). Celtic music came

with new immigrants. Folk music flourished: “The Canadian Boat

Song,” composed by Thomas Moore, was a notable triumph. Choirs

and musical societies enlarged musical activities. In 1844, Samuel

Nordheimer opened a store in Toronto, selling pianos and sheet

music. In the 1870s, conservatories were opened, providing string,

woodwind, and brass instruction. The national anthem “O Canada”

was written by Calixa Lavallée, becoming popular. Robert Nathaniel

Dett (1882–1943), among the first African Canadian composers,

performed at Carnegie Hall. World War I introduced many popular

songs, some of imperial and martial sentiment.

Arguably the beginning of modern Canadian music and composi-

tion can be traced to Toronto-born Murray Adaskin (1906–2002),

a violinist, composer, conductor, and teacher at the University of

Saskatchewan. For many years, he was an orchestral and chamber

musician with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, but he became a

composer-in-residence at the University of Saskatchewan, the first

appointment of its type.

In popular music, many notable individuals and groups made their

appearance, among them Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians,

a noted dance band that sold millions of records; Oscar Peterson

(1925–2007), considered among the greatest of jazz pianists (and a

champion of racial equality); Hank Snow, a regular Nashville per-

former; Portia White (1911–1968), of African descent, a contralto;

Paul Shaffer, music director of comedian David Letterman’s Late

Show; Paul Anka, a rock and teen idol famous for “Diana”; and other

notable performers and groups such as Neil Young, k.d. lang, Rush,

Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, and Celine Dion.

In classical music performance, a similar long list could be com-

piled, including Jon Vickers (tenor), Edward Johnson (singer and

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