The last few millennia have seen the landscape in Vancouver, Canada, change quite significantly. From the period when glaciers retreated, ending the ice age, the geography left behind made a huge impact on Canadian history. Since I live in Vancouver, I can pinpoint geographical features that can only be understood by examining Canada’s environmental history. Some of the well-known subjects that can portray a clear picture of Canada’s environmental history include the Aboriginal people, their first contact with Europeans, the settling of the land, the fur trade, the creation of transportation routes and infrastructure, and the growth of various cities like Vancouver.[1]. These subjects emphasize how people interact with the Canadian environment, hence playing a huge role in today’s transformation.

A different look into Canadian history illustrates that although sustainable development plays a huge role in the current society, it does not play a large part in Canadian history. For instance, although the Aboriginal people’s lives were intimately linked to elements like plants, animals, and landscapes, most were relegated to the reserves when the Europeans arrived. The European settlers saw the environment as an opportunity that they could conquer for survival, and as an opportunity they could use to make profits. However, in the 19^th century, things began to slightly change as citizens supported politicians with the intent of ensuring that the nation was both prosperous and powerful to compete in the global market. During this period, some of Canada’s developments were in agriculture, industry, and resource exploitation.[2]. Therefore, from Canada’s history, it is clear that sustained economic growth has been the driving force of the nation rather than sustainable development. Moreover, as consumerism continued to increase in the 20^th century, Canadians became less intertwined and desensitized to their environment despite their dependence on it for survival.

The fact that sustained economic growth has been the driving force of Canada, historians in the past, have questioned whether or not its bountifulness is inexhaustible as suggested by the different developmental ethos. Over the years, citizens from various factions have come forward to either oppose or support the continuous exploitation of the land for inexhaustible resources. For instance, in the late 19^th century, Canadian naturalists, scientists, and intellectuals were at the forefront of various conservation movements that aimed to attend to the continuous exploitation of Canada’s natural resources. The belief of these individuals within the Canadian society is that exploitation should be balanced out by legislation that aims to bring about the conversation of these various resources. If the government passes such legislation, it will regulate the activities of hunters and other resources extractors. Such an effort will go a long way in preserving forests, watersheds, and wildlife.[3]. However, since most citizens, including the government, are motivated by commercial gain, such legislation has been somewhat a dream. The above scenarios are evidenced by the fact that resources like national parks become sites of multiple commercial activities like tourism, recreation, and logging, which continue to devastate and destabilize the land’s ecosystem.

However, even though these commercial activities on natural resources continue, history suggests that conservationists have tried to fight a good fight to protect the environment. For instance, in the 1960s and 19770s, Canadians saw renewed protests from conservationists against the destruction and degradation of the environment.[4].  Initiatives by conservationists were further depicted in 1962, when Carson, an American writer, made the public aware that chemical pollutants released by factories were further degrading the land. The above scenario made various environmental activists form the first-ever conservation movement known as Greenpeace. Similar organizations were also formed to the same effect and encouraged aspects of human stewardship rather than the domination and destruction of nature. As the growing awareness of climate change continues various, history suggests the response of the Canadian government to various issues adversely impacting the environment continues to be lax.

One of the major factors that have led to the above situations is that most Canadians are disconnected from nature. The continuance of overreliance on technology as the solution to all of our problems makes us complacent to the changes in our environments. An example that illustrates the above scenario is the collapse of the Newfoundland cod fishery in 1992[5]. The collapse shows that Canada has not changed from its earlier models of sustaining economic growth through quick-fix solutions rather than making decisions that will lead to sustainable development. As a result, the message of conversation articulated in the 19^th century remains a mystery to most Canadians.[6]. The only way that sustainability can be achieved is to limit the human imprint on the environment. In this 20^th century, the only way to achieve the above scenario was by reusing resources rather than depleting them, finding alternative sources of energy, and educating the public on the benefits of protecting the environment. From the above environmental history, it is apparent that the state of Canada today is attributed to the development ethos that has been playing out throughout its history. Bringing these facts to light is not t aimed at condemning the past but rather shedding light on it so that we as Canadians can start to develop strategies that will ensure we live in a sustainable environment in the future.

[1] Crosby, Alfred W. “Virgin soil epidemics as a factor in the aboriginal depopulation in America.” The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History (1976): 289-299.

[2] KRECH III, S. H. E. P. A. R. D. “Reflections on conservation, sustainability, and environmentalism in indigenous North America.” American anthropologist 107, no. 1 (2005): 78-86.

[3] KRECH III, S. H. E. P. A. R. D. “Reflections on conservation, sustainability, and environmentalism in indigenous North America.” American anthropologist 107, no. 1 (2005): 78-86.

[4] MacDowell, Laurel Sefton. An environmental history of Canada. UBC Press, 2012.

[5] Turner, N. J., and S. Peacock. “Solving the perennial paradox: ethnobotanical evidence for plant resource management on the Northwest Coast: management of plant species and habitats on the Northwest Coast.” (2005): 101-141.

[6] MacDowell, Laurel Sefton. An environmental history of Canada. UBC Press, 2012.