Query: The industrialization of Canada can be traced back several decades that can be regarded as significant in the country’s history. Canadian industrialization in the historical perspective originated from early 1800’s when Canada started changing from an agricultural and trading country to industry-based economy. The industrialization process in Canada occurred in several phases with technological developments, the availability of natural resources, the immigration of people, and the policies of the government as the determinants. In this essay, the historical advancements and general milestones defining the industrialization journey in Canada will be outlined.
The First Wave of Industrialization (1945 – 1975)
Canada’s industrial development started right from when it became a nation in 1867 through Confederation that led to the establishment of the Dominion of Canada. It was during this time that the country was more or less an agrarian society with not much commercial and industrial development or advancement in scientific or technological sectors. However, the National Policy of 1879 signaled the dawn of the first phase of industrialization of the economy within Canada. The Canadian Tariffs which were formulated as a National Policy meant to protect industries from foreign competition increased manufacturing and economic diversification. This policy saw the development of the railway system for the nation and development of industries in manufacturing, mining, and forestry.
This phase was characterized by development of infrastructures and the most major one was the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) from 1881 to 1885. The railway marked the division of east and west of the country and extended accessibility to the otherwise uninhabited territories for colonization and exploitation. They carried out a large workforce which summated thousands of immigrants from Europe particularly from the British Isles which in turn accelerated population and industrial advancement.
While contributing to the flow of people and commodities across the country the CPR was instrumental in the process of exploitation of natural resources in Canada. It extended into the Prairie provinces thereby playing a significant role in the development of the wheat as well as the cattle industries and into the resourceful regions of British Columbia thereby contributing to the development of the lumber and mining industries. The First World War in 1914 exposed Canada to globalization and industrialization since the country offered products such as resources and weapons to the Allied countries. Canadian companies also built up their businesses and new industries like automobile industry, chemical industry etc was established.
The Second Industrial Revolution (1919-1960s)
Post-war and during the interwar years, Canada experienced a steady but slow rate of industrialization and was still predominantly an agricultural country. While the Great Depression of the 1930s set back the industrialization process, the Second World War (1939-1945) brought industrialization back in full force due to Canada’s involvement in the war effort for the Allies. The postwar period is generally considered the starting point for the second phase of industrialization in Canada. Other factors that include natural resource endowment, a growing consumer market and skilled workforce helped the country to industrialize further and build more diversified economy.
	
Among the drives that facilitated the advancement of this phase of industrialization was the expansion of the car manufacturing industry. Business entities like Ford and GM invested in motor manufacturing industries which created employment opportunities in Canada. The development of this industry also created demand for steel and other materials, positively impacting the performance of mining companies and steel manufacturers. The 1950s and 1960s also marked the beginning of the development of new industries in Canada, especially electronics and aerospace. Businesses like Bell Canada and Nortel were in a position to contribute to the industrialization of the nation as they grew to become international telecoms giants.
The Third Wave of Industrialization (1970s To Present)
Canada entered the third phase of industrialization in the 1970s which is associated with the rise of post-industrialism. This wave was due to several reasons such as conventional natural resources depletion factor, increased energy costs, transition to a more educated skilled human resource. In this phase, Canada has experienced the growth of sectors like IT, bio tech and finance sectors among others. These sectors have experienced further development due to government incentives on innovation and entrepreneurship, in addition to trade liberalization which has paved way for globalization enabling Canadian companies to export products to various international markets. A rapid expansion of the service sector has taken place in Canada especially the business and technical services, and financial services starting from 1980s. Recent shifts to the knowledge economy have led to the development of Sci-Tech communities in metropolitan cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver where most of the technology, research and education hubs exist.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has shown that the advancement of industrialization in Canada was a display of the country’s strength and capability in capturing the natural endowment with a view of enhancing the nation’s wealth. Based on existing literature, the process of industrialization has been observed to take a long time and it takes several phases where each phase has different factors influencing it, different technologies and different policies. The industrialization process of Canada has had fluctuations that include the construction of the Canada Pacific Railway in the 1880s up to the development of information and technology-based industries in the current society. Nevertheless, throughout this period the state has been able to sustain a robust and developed economy that has allowed this country to withstand the impact of globalization and continue to play an active role in the global economy.

Subject: social sciences
Intent: Other