Effects of the Industrial Revolution on Canadian Workers

The Industrial Revolution was driven by great advances in technology in machinery that completely reorganized the framework of production, dramatically altering the lives of urban and rural workers of Canada. The advent of new machinery saw production become more centralized, and in the meantime more regimented. While the industrial revolution saw a great boost of Canada’s economy, it brought great wealth to few, and great poverty to many- leaving many workers on the farms and in the cities in turmoil. Undoubtedly, the advances in manufacturing technologies and that led to the rapid industrialization of Canada forever transformed the economic and social environment of Canada forever. Technology brought about the birth the Industrial Revolution in Canada, influenced by its boom in other European nations. Many workers across Canada lost their way of life after machinery began manufacturing articles that were previously handmade by skilled trades-people. In the beginning, this shift in were largely brought about by the invention of the steam engine, by iron making, and textile spinning technologies. Factory machines powered by coal replaced skilled traders, with workers required to carry out small, repetitive operations that anyone with a pair of hands could perform. The textile industry saw a huge uplift with the advent of power looms that could weave large quantities of cloth and required little labour to operate. The Threshing machine, which quickly made its way across Canadian farms, could process more grain in one day than the average worker could by hand in a year. Mechanical mowers, seed drills, and gasoline powered tractors all meant fewer hands were required on the farm. All of these advancements would bring see the goods being pushed out into the market in mass quantities at lower costs. As manufactured products created greater revenue than raw materials, in which the economy was previously dependent on, Canada was gaining a greater advantage in trade