Canadian Economic History

Book excerpt: Through three centuries of development, the history of the Canadian economy reflects the shifting roles of natural resources, industrializations, and international trade. This volume, a standard in the field since its initial publication in 1958, presents a comprehensive account of these and other factors in the growth of the Canadian economy from the time of the earliest European expansion into the Americas. The authors consider economic organization both on the level of the national economy and on that of the individual business unit. Among the subjects examined are the growth of the fur, fishing, and timber trades; the impact of successive wars; money and banking; the development of railway and canal systems; the wheat economy; the growth of organized labour; and twentieth-century patterns of investment and trade. The focus throughout is on the role played by business organizations, large and small, working with government, in creating a national economy in Canada.