European missions brought schools, a new government, administrators, teachers and doctors to native communities. Coal was discovered by a native of Fort Victoria leading to the tons of coal mined from what was known as the "Douglas Vein". Disease (measles) and war afflicted northern British Columbia.

From 1848 to 1851, The Great Ministry of Robert Baldwin and Louis-H. Lafontaine outlines the principles of responsible government in the Canadas. Britain transfers control of the colonial postal system to Canada. Responsible Government introduced into PEI. A Census of the population is conducted. Trinity College is founded by Bishop Strachan. Canada’s first postage stamp is issued. This three cent stamp features a beaver. A native woman discovers gold in the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Laval’s Seminaire du Quebec founds Universite Laval, the oldest French Language university in North America.

The Grand Trunk Railway receives its charter. Legislative Session begins in August, 1852 and lasts until June 1853. Quebec witnesses the arrival of Genova, the first transatlantic steam vessel to ascend the St. Lawrence as far up as Montreal. Railway opens between Portland and Montreal. British boats leave the Queen Charlotte Islands after bad experiences with the Haida natives. Smallpox was introduced into coastal locations along the Northwest Coast of British Columbia which caused a decline in the native population.

Reciprocity (free trade) begins between British North America and the United States. Institution of township system established. Reciprocity Treaty signed by Canada and the U.S. Between 1850-1854, Chief Factor James Douglas of the Hudson’s Bay Company made 14 treaties with the natives in Nanaimo, Victoria and Fort Rupert.

Responsible Government introduced into Newfoundland. The Rogue River War occured between 1854 and 1855. Native massacre of Qualicums by Haidas.

The Grand Trunk Railway opens its Toronto-Montreal line. Expand in trade demands could be attributed to the Crimean War (1854-1856) and the American Revolution. Timothy Eaton opens his first general store in Kirkton Ontario. Thirteen years later, he opens a store at the corner of Queen and Yonge in Toronto.

Ottawa designated the capitol of the Province of Canada by Queen Victoria. This was now the permanent meeting place for the legislature. Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as the new capital of the United Province of Canada.

Chinese immigrants from California arrive in British Columbia, drawn by the Fraser River Gold Rush. The Halifax-Truro line begins rail service. British Columbia created a colony. Alexander Tilloch Galt made minister of finance in the Liberal-Conservative Party. Gold is discovered in the sandbars of the Fraser River. Some 20,000 miners rush to the area. Eventually, the land comes under British rule and is known as the colony of British Columbia. The end of the gold rush in British Columbia resulted in a great increase of the non-native population.

Galt Tariffs placed on goods entering Canada to protect new industries. French acrobat Blondin, crosses the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. On later tightrope walks, he crosses the falls on stilts, blindfolded and with his feet in a sack.

Events that occured in the 1850's

Red River’s isolation slowly diminished as a result of an influx of people in search of new lands and wealth. Reservations began to be set up in native communities. Native populations drastically declined as a result of disease (smallpox). Native labour used in B.C. (Nanaimo) to mine coal. Many First Nations women were taken advantage of as prostitutes by settlers in British Columbia as hoards of men flocked into B.C. in search of gold during the gold rush.