Gough Barry M. Historical Dictionary of Canada

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330 • PICTOU

Parlby, temperance champion Louis Crummy McKinney, and Emily

Ferguson Murphy, first female jurist in the Commonwealth. Alber-

tans all, though not all were born there, they became known as the

Famous Five. On 18 October 2000, a cluster statue of the Famous

Five was unveiled at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill. None of the Famous

Five were either born or raised in the Canadian West. In 2009, by

legislation, they were made Honorable Senators. Cairine Wilson, not

one of the Famous Five, became the first female senator, selected by

Prime Minister Mackenzie King in 1930 to the upper chamber.

PICTOU. Pictou, Nova Scotia, is one of many towns of Atlantic

Canada and the maritime provinces with a diverse heritage. On

Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Pictou Harbor

was first occupied by the Mi’kmaq, then by French traders and mis-

sionaries. In 1762, the Philadelphia Company obtained a grant for

settlement purposes. In 1773, the brig Hector brought 200 Highland-

ers (mainly from Ross-shire) to Pictou, most of them embarking at

Ullapool in western Scotland. Their memorable departure, recorded

by oral testimony, was reminiscent of the Mayflower leaving Leiden

with Puritans aboard. It was a nightmare voyage: crowded hold, dys-

entery, hurricane, bad food and water; 18 died on the passage. The

Hector arrived at Pictou on 15 September 1773. Too late to plant

crops, the immigrants were dependent on settlers living there and in

nearby villages such as Truro. They gathered clams, fished, hunted,

and developed farms.

In the early 19th century, Pictou exported lumber and timber to

Great Britain. The town had sawmills, foundries, biscuit-making

establishments, and flour mills. Railways and highways bypassed the

town. In the late 20th century, the town had fewer than 5,000 inhabit-

ants. This traditional center of Highland settlement became a locus

for tourism based on its Scottish heritage.

PIERCE, WILLIAM HENRY (1856–1948). A missionary and

author, Pierce was born at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to a

woman of the Port Simpson tribe and a Scottish father in the service

of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). Pierce was brought up by

the Port Simpson peoples. He was much influenced by the zeal of

the Anglican lay minister Father William Duncan and by the kind-

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PLAINS CREE • 331

ness of Captain Lewis of the HBC steamer Otter, on which he served

as a sailor for more than two years. Pierce became an interpreter to

Anglican missionaries. He was a strong temperance supporter and

founder of many such societies for the Methodists. He went to the

new station at Fort Wrangel, Alaska, in 1877. He also worked at Port

Essington, then at a Nisga’a mission station, at Bella Bella, and at

Bella Coola. In 1895, he was appointed to Rev. Thomas Crosby’s

steamboat Glad Tidings mission. He worked on the Upper Skeena

River for a time. He recounted his experiences in his memoir From

Potlatch to Pulpit (1933), a vital source for the study of the history

of these early missions.

PITCHER, HARRIET BROOKS (1876–1933). A nuclear physicist

born in Exeter, Ontario, Pitcher attended McGill University in 1894

and won a number of scholarships and awards. She graduated with an

honors degree in mathematics and natural philosophy. While study-

ing under the direction of Ernest Rutherford, she concentrated her

research on radioactivity. Her work proved to be very important as it

assisted Rutherford and Frederick Soddy, who discovered the secret

to radioactivity in 1902. Although not receiving the recognition she

deserves, Pitcher was one of the pioneers of modern nuclear science.

PLACENTIA BAY CONFERENCE. On 9 to 12 August 1941, Brit-

ish Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D.

Roosevelt, and their respective advisors, met aboard the U.S. cruiser

Augusta and the British battleship Prince of Wales in Placentia Bay,

Newfoundland. The Atlantic Charter (subsequently the basis of the

United Nations Charter) was agreed on at the conference, and a note

was drafted that threatened Japan with joint action if it continued to

act aggressively (a watered-down version sent to the Japanese am-

bassador in Washington, D.C., was practically meaningless). A joint

telegram was sent to Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suggesting the

Three-Power Conference.

PLAINS CREE. Prior to European contact, the Plains Cree comprised

a few small bands in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. After

contact with Europeans, first the French and later the British traders,

the Cree population swelled as bands with firearms and horses joined

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332 • PLANTERS

the Cree. The expansion of the fur trade increased their wealth but

had devastating social effects. Many traders took Cree women as

wives. From these unions were born Métis. They allied themselves

with the Assiniboine against the Blackfoot Confederacy and the

Sarcee. Plains Cree spread over northern Alberta to the Peace River.

Smallpox in the 18th century, notably 1781 and 1782, drastically re-

duced the population of Cree, as did a further outbreak in the 1830s.

The decline of buffalo, the source for pemmican, further reduced

their food supplies and their numbers. See also INDIANS.

PLANTERS. Between 1759 and 1774, some 8,000 planters—an Eng-

lish term for colonists—arrived in Nova Scotia from the colonies of

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. The

year 1760 is regarded as particularly significant. Their purpose was

to establish an English Protestant community. The British had begun

deporting Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1755 and encouraged the

settlement of Nova Scotia with loyal subjects. At that time, France

was the most likely enemy, and subsequently the Seven Years War

(1756–63) was fought, in part for control of Nova Scotia. Planters

settled much of the Annapolis Valley—Liverpool, Yarmouth, Cum-

berland, and also places in New Brunswick. The planters replaced

the Acadians and shaped the cultural history of the area in a differ-

ent way. Settlers also arrived from other jurisdictions: for instance,

in 1772–75, over 20 ships carrying more than 1,000 settlers from

Yorkshire reached Nova Scotia. Most settled in the Chignecto region,

soon to be the border counties straddling Nova Scotia and the newly

formed New Brunswick.

Acadian culture did not disappear altogether, and the relationships

between Acadians and planters is a subject for important historical

inquiry. Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, beginning in

1993, developed a curriculum in Planter Studies; the leader for this

was John Victor Duncanson (1919–1999), foremost expert on the

documentation of planter history. The Friends of Planter Studies,

headquartered at Acadia University, has a newsletter, Planter Notes,

and a society for the promotion of these matters.

PONTIAC’S WAR. Chief Pontiac (1720?–69) of the Ottawa nation

at the close of the Seven Years War (1756–63) led a series of dev-

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PRESS • 333

astating attacks against fur trading posts and British garrisons. He

organized the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwa into an alliance in

1763 and led these people to attack Fort Detroit, killing 46 British

soldiers. As the alliance grew, British settlers and additional posts

were attacked. Within a short period of time, 2,000 settlers had been

killed and eight garrisons captured. As French assistance failed to

materialize, the alliances disintegrated, and Pontiac signed a number

of treaties in the summer of 1766. His actions led to strong reactions

and penalties from the British commander in chief, Gen. Jeffrey

Amherst.

POUNDMAKER (1826–1886). A Stoney native, Poundmaker was the

adopted son of Crowfoot, a Blackfoot chief. In 1878, Poundmaker

became a band chief of the Cree and was instrumental in signing

Treaty Six. In the Northwest Rebellion, he attempted to restrain his

band from violence. He was ignored and his band raided Battleford,

Northwest Territories. Although seen as an agitator by police,

Poundmaker prevented the massacre of Col. William Otter’s troops

on Cut Knife Hill by allowing the force to retreat. Poundmaker was

forced to surrender and served a three-year sentence. The sentence

was due to a fear by the Canadian government of native uprisings in

the west.

POWLESS, ROSS (1926–2003). Possibly Canada’s greatest lacrosse

legend, Powless, a Mohawk, was born on the Six Nations Reserve

of the Grand River territory in southwestern Ontario. He played

for many Mann Cup champions, including the Peterborough Tim-

bermen. He coached and promoted All-Indian Nations Lacrosse

Tournaments in Canada. He endured racism, reacting stoically. He

was much admired for his work to reinstate native government at

Ohswekan, Six Nations Reserve. After some 30 years in lacrosse, he

became a carpenter and foreman, and he worked on the Burlington

Skyway Bridge.

PRESS. The Canadian press has always been a force for Canadian de-

mocracy. Journalists have been called the watchdogs of democracy;

reporters are expected to monitor the actions of influential people

and provide unbiased reports to the public. Freedom of the press to

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334 • PRESS

report without interference has been called a fundamental cornerstone

of democracy by the United Nations. The Canadian Association of

Journalists states (2002): “Our privilege and duty as investigative

journalists is to defend free speech, inform self-governing citizens,

encourage deliberation on public policy and serve the public inter-

est.” In Canada, freedom of the press is protected under section 2 of

the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Many colonial capitals and towns had newspapers and gazettes

almost from their founding. The Halifax Gazette was Canada’s first

newspaper, appearing in 1752. In Halifax, Joseph Howe, a news-

paper proprietor, championed responsible government. La Presse

of Montréal, founded in 1844 by William-Edmond Blumhart, was

intended to counter Le Monde and has become a powerhouse in the

Canadian press, its editors Liberal oriented. Journalist Thomas

D’Arcy McGee, “the pen of Canadian confederation,” was an

Irish voice in Ottawa and elsewhere. In Toronto, the Globe rose

to prominence under the leadership of George Brown, a powerful

reformist politician and an architect of Canadian confederation who

also played a role in negotiations with the British government. Now

regarded as the national daily, the Globe and Mail has a more global

reach. The colorful Amor de Cosmos founded a newspaper, the Brit-

ish Colonist, in 1860 to oppose Governor James Douglas of British

Columbia and the concentrating of power in his hands. A dominat-

ing figure of the 20th century was John Wesley Dafoe, editor of the

Winnipeg Free Press, 1901–1944. He was the “editor statesman” of

Canadian affairs. He had a deep knowledge of international affairs

and was conscious of Canada’s role in the wider world. During the

interval between the two world wars, he raised his voice against the

failure of the democracies to oppose the rise of Adolph Hitler and

National Socialism. Conrad Black, who began his career as a reporter

in Québec’s Eastern Townships, bought up many newspapers and

chains. He founded the National Post as a counter to the Globe and

Mail. Like Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Thomson before him, he

went on to powerful positions in British publishing and entrance into

the House of Lords. Many families have had powerful influences in

the press, notably the Southams, Bassetts, and Aspers. The Pacific

Press is the owner of the Vancouver Province and Vancouver Sun.

An increasing number of papers are amalgams of older titles, notably

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PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND • 335

the Victoria Times Colonist, whose roots date (as the British Colo-

nist) to 1858.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, most daily newspapers had

magazine sections of importance to literature, the arts, travel, and

history. Weekly magazines sprang up, B. K. Sandwell’s Saturday

Night a noteworthy example. Maclean’s is a notable survivor of Ca-

nadian magazines. The Walrus is a recent arrival. Time and Reader’s

Digest have special editions printed in Canada for Canadians. Quill

and Quire is a noted journal for the publishing world.

The press has always been closely attached to politics in Canada

and in the debates leading up to confederation. In the colonial age

of Ontario, the giant of journalism was William Lyon Macken-

zie, a champion of reformist causes, noted rebel, and later mayor

of Toronto. Among the important and influential personages who

have influenced the course of Canadian history or have been impor-

tant commentators are George Brown, already mentioned; Henri

Bourassa, champion of Québec’s separate voice and destiny; Bruce

Hutchinson, the historian and biographer; and Stuart Keate, editor

and publisher. Canadian political affairs are covered in Ottawa by the

Parliamentary Press Association, some members of which have gone

on to other lines of work, including politics and academic life. The

press in Canada is characterized by considerable diversity, though

the large majority of papers are in the English language, a minor-

ity in French, and the remaining fragments in other languages. In

1917, the Canadian Press, a cooperative news agency, was founded,

particularly to supply news about the progress of World War I. It

partners with agencies such as Broadcast News Ltd. to provide data

to radio and television networks and stations. Each of the provinces

and territories has a parliamentary press gallery, the whole linked to

the vital centers of power and influence of the media, especially in

Ottawa and Toronto.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (PEI). Located in eastern Canada, off

the north shores of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, PEI holds

the distinction of being the smallest Canadian province. Jacques

Cartier, there on 29 June 1534, described it as “the fairest land that

may possibly be seen.” The province joined the confederation on 1

July 1873.

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336 • PROCLAMATION OF 1763

Prior to European contact, the province was inhabited by the

Mi’kmaq. The Europeans to first settle on the island were French,

who called the island Île St. Jean. Sovereignty passed to Great Brit-

ain in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris. The British changed the name

to Prince Edward Island in 1799 in honor of Prince Edward, Duke

of Kent. Charlottetown, the capital, hosted the first conference to

consider the confederation of British North America, in 1864. For

that reason, PEI has often been called “the cradle of confederation.”

The majority of the present-day inhabitants are of British origin.

The small size of the island and the economic conditions there have

resulted in few immigrants. Of the population, 56 percent are rural.

In addition to the cities of Charlottetown and Summerside, there are

seven towns.

The coast is dotted with small harbors that are suitable for inshore

fishing vessels. Deepwater ports are located at Charlottetown and

Summerside. The resources of the province are the soil and the sea.

In agriculture, the most important product is potatoes. Tourism

contributes to the economy of the province. Electricity is mostly im-

ported from New Brunswick by undersea cable. The Confederation

Bridge, linking the island to the mainland, was opened in 1987. The

island will always be associated in the literary realm with Lucy Maud

Montgomery’s endearing, best-selling novel Anne of Green Gables.

The province has a 32-member legislative assembly. The prov-

ince’s representative in Ottawa consists of four members of the

House of Commons and four senators. The population was 141,000

in 2009.

PROCLAMATION OF 1763. This statement of imperial administra-

tion and intent was issued by Britain’s King George III on 7 October

1763 after the conclusion of the Seven Years War. It is sometimes

called the Royal Proclamation of 1763. It extended British laws and

institutions to the British province of Québec and contracted the

boundaries of the colony. The proclamation established four colonial

governments for the regions of Québec, East Florida, West Florida,

and Grenada. It gave Québec its first civil government under British

rule; civil government in Québec was effected 10 August 1764. Ex-

ecutive authority was placed in the hands of a governor and council.

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PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY • 337

Legislative power was granted to the governor, acting in conjunction

with the council and assembly. Courts of Justice were to be imme-

diately established, and all cases were to be determined “as may be

agreeable to the laws of England.” In fact, though this implied ap-

parently the total abolition of French law, French civil law continued

to operate in the Province of Québec. The proclamation was silent

on the question of religion, but the 1763 Treaty of Paris granted

privilege of freedom of worship to the Roman Catholics, “as far as

the laws of Great Britain permit.” It provided some protection for

the rights of native peoples. It announced a prohibition of settlement

beyond the western “line.” The reason for this was to prevent clashes

between whites and Indians in the future. No white settlements were

to be permitted beyond the crest of the mountains—“beyond the

Heads or Sources of any of the Rivers which fall into the Atlantic

Ocean from the West.”

Of special significance in aboriginal history, the proclamation set

forth principles of treaty making, forbidding natives to sell lands

directly to any other than constituted governments, through crown

agents. The proclamation thus forms a powerful historical document

in Indian and Métis rights; it has been called the Magna Carta of

Indian Rights. It stated that aboriginal lands cannot be purchased

directly but only by agents of the crown: the crown pledged that “the

several nations or Tribes of Indians . . . who live under our Protec-

tion should not be molested or disturbed in the Possessions of such

Parts of our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to

or purchased by Us, are reserved to them.”

PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY. This right of center

and populist party emerged from the Conservatives of John A.

Macdonald, grew in power under Robert Borden, and faced dif-

ficult times during the Great Depression under R. B. Bennett. It

constantly traded power with the Liberals. In 1944, the Progressives

joined the Conservatives and the name Progressive Conservative

Party dates from that event. Prominent in later years were the prime

ministers John George Diefenbaker, Joe Clark, and Brian Mul-

roney. The reformulation of the party in the early years of the 21st

century resulted in the new name Conservative Party of Canada.

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338 • PROGRESSIVE PARTY

PROGRESSIVE PARTY. Founded in 1920 by agrarian interests, es-

pecially in the prairies and Ontario, this reform-minded movement

sought lower tariffs, reciprocity with the United States, reduced

freight rates, nationalized railways, and more accountable members

of Parliament. Canadian farmers massively turned away from the

old-line parties that were controlled by eastern business interests. The

Farmers’ Platform was originally drawn up by the Canadian Council

of Agriculture and reissued as the New National Policy in 1918. This

was the doctrinal basis of the Progressive Party, a federal party. The

provincial parties tended to be called United Farmers.

In the 1921 election, Progressives returned an astonishing 65 mem-

bers to the House of Commons, making them the second largest party

in the Commons. Agnes MacPhail was elected, the first woman

member of Parliament. Party leader Thomas Crerar, an ex-Liberal

elected as a Progressive, declined being named leader of the opposi-

tion. This hindered the party’s advancement. In subsequent years,

the Liberal Party under Mackenzie King drew away disaffected

Progressives and brought them into important positions. In conse-

quence, the numbers of Progressives in the Commons dropped in the

election of 1925 and again in 1926. Some radical members joined the

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (later the New Democratic

Party) in 1932. The remnant linked with the Conservative Party in

1942, giving it the name Progressive Conservative Party. Agrarian

discontent of this era transformed Canadian politics. It broke the two-

party mold and institutionalized western disaffection. The agrarian

discontent that enshrined itself in this political movement survives in

a muted voice in today’s Canadian Conservative Party.

– Q –

QUÉBEC. The Province of Québec is the largest province in land-

mass in Canada and second largest in population. In 1534, explorer

Jacques Cartier claimed the land for France. The area became a

frequent point of return and exchange for fur traders during the

summer months. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain built the Habita-

tion at Québec (the origin of Quebec City). The colony began to

flourish and the area became known as Nouvelle France, or New

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QUÉBEC ACT OF 1774 • 339

France. On 13 September 1759, during the Seven Years War, Qué-

bec fell to British control in the famous battle on the Plains of Abra-

ham. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 placed Great Britain in control of

Canada. The Proclamation of 1763 put in place its governmental

system. With the Constitutional Act of 1791, Québec became Lower

Canada. In 1840, it was renamed Canada East. Upon confederation

in 1867, the province reclaimed its name, Québec.

Throughout this period, military fortifications continued to be

expanded, signifying the strategic importance of the river narrows as

a key to the continent. Montréal grew in commercial significance,

in banking, and in commerce. After the War of 1812, massive new

defensive works were erected to guard against an attack from the

United States that never came. The Québec economy is based on

agriculture and forestry, but it also has strong mining and shipping

industries. Manufacturing has been traditionally strong, especially in

the textile area. The powerful rivers that drain the Canadian Shield

make Québec the largest producer of hydroelectricity in Canada.

The population of the province is predominantly French speak-

ing, but there is a large contingent of native peoples and a minority

of English-speaking people. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the

Iroquois, Naskapi, Montagnais, Cree, Huron, Algonquin, Malecite,

Mi’kmaq, and Inuit were all living within the vast area of Québec.

Today, the native population is significantly reduced, but they still

remain an important part of Québec society. In 1896, Québec’s

boundaries were enlarged to the shores of Hudson Bay.

Québec’s legal system does not follow the common law of British

tradition, unlike the rest of Canada, but that of the civil code of French

tradition. The provincial government of Québec is the 122-member

National Assembly. Federally, Québec is represented by 75 members

in the House of Commons and 24 senators. The population of Québec

was about 7.8 million in 2009. See also QUÉBEC ACT OF 1774;

REPRESENTATION BY POPULATION.

QUÉBEC ACT OF 1774. Designed to give Québec a new colonial

constitution, the Québec Act established the use of French civil law

in Québec (British criminal law applied universally elsewhere in

British colonies). It revised the oath of holders of public office so

that it was acceptable of Roman Catholics. The rights of the Catholic

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