Canadian history has wars and revolutions, but also a lot of politics and economics. The country wasn’t created to be a home for any particular race or religious group, but instead a project to create a peaceful, orderly, well-governed society amid harsh geography and a diverse population.
The key date in Canadian history is July 1, 1867 — also known as Confederation Day — in which Canada adopted its current constitution and thus, in the minds of most Canadians, officially “became a country.” So-called “pre-Confederation” history describes the country’s colonization and settlement by European migrants, while post-Confederation history centres around the country’s slow process of securing independence from Britain and basically becoming the modern, rich, industrialized democracy it is today.
