Tried searching on this but nothing answered it exact enough.
When did people start referring to the prairies and West Coast as Canada? Did they ever refer to the lands as Canada before they were officially federalized?
Was it strictly a word for the country or was it ever used in a larger sense?
I know there were provinces with "Canada" in the name and am aware of the early French history of the word but I am not sure if areas like Rubert's Land would be referred to as Canada at all before they were federalized. Thanks.
Canadian who learned Canadian History in University here. The prairies were still apart of the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) until 1869-1870. It was purchased and became Canada's territory in 1870. Manitoba became a province around this time, but the rest of the prairies were usually described as the North West. In the early 20th century the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created (I believe 1902, if you need to know the exact date, I can check). But yes, before they became official provinces, they were referred to as Canadian lands when they were purchased. British Columbia became a province in 1871, but only if a trans-continental railway would be created. Before that, it was solely a British Colony, but many people living their had come from Upper and Lower Canada before confederation so their was a sense of being Canadian. Hope this answers, anything else you need to know let me know.
There is a Canadian Heritage Moment that suggests how areas would be labelled 1864... Take it for what it is...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBGNEJpznNE&list=PL1848FF9428CA9A4A
In any case federalization is a sticky point. Basically the country only went to the rockies in early colonization until at least the passing of the Indian Act. So in short When land was decalred as "Canadian" or even subject to Britain, anything past the rockies was not included. That is why BC has very different rules about their natives. (They can claim that BC was not really a part of the legislation).
The other part of this... "Provinces with the word "Canada" in them"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYi3O0ywY6k&list=PL1848FF9428CA9A4A&index=9
Sorry for the Canadian propaganda videos, but let me know what I can clarify for you. The point is two fold, 1) Canadian colonies were present and the Indian Act forced natives to be loyal to the Crown, The French, or fight. 2) Early Canada did have ways to reference places however they followed waterways that cut off the Americans to the South who had been hostel to the crown, however also this was a game of appeasement and paternalism by the Crown to help their cause. Now toss in the French who would be in Lower Canada and then how they would act in the USA (both in the interest and against the crown. Again, my apologies for the Canadian take on things, however this is something for you to work off of I suppose.