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Great Britain and her Empire 543 V. THE BRITISH EMPIRE : CANADA AND AUSTRALASIA 981. Population of Canada. In the western hemisphere Can- ada is the greatest of England's possessions. When it came into the hands of the English during the Seven Years' War, it was inhabited by some sixty-five thousand French colonists. Parlia- ment permitted the people to continue to enjoy their Roman Catholic faith and their old laws. During the American Revolu- tion many people from the United States fled to Canada, and, with the addition of immigrants from England, an English-speaking population has gradually been built up, mostly outside of what is now the province of Quebec, so that Canada now has eight million inhabitants. 982. Canada granted Self-government. In Upper Canada (now Ontario) these refugees, known as United Empire Loyalists, were in control of the government. They were mostly Tories. The Liberals became exasperated at the lack of responsible gov- ernment, and a section of them took up arms in rebellion in 1837. In Lower Canada (now Quebec) rebellion broke out as well, due to irritation of the French at British rule. Both rebellions were easily crushed, but the British sent over an investigator, Lord Durham, whose report (1840), advocating self-government for the colonies, marks a turning point in the attitude of England toward the treatment of her possessions beyond the seas. From that time on it has been a matter of principle in British politics to give self-government to the colonies so far as can be done. This is one of the most important revolutions in the history of govern- ment. The British self-governing colonies even make their own treaties with other countries and are practically free nations. 983. The Dominion of Canada. In 1867 a federation of Cana- dian states was formed which included at first only Ontario, Que- bec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The great regions to the west and north were later developed by transcontinental railways and divided into provinces and territories and added to the union. So the Dominion of Canada is a federation somewhat like the United States. It is greater in area than the republic to the south