Analysis of my Poster

The poster I chose has many values that many settlers would look at. You can see the sun rising and the beatiful golden grass, with the cows grazing in the land or pasture, and the nice barn and brown, nitritious soil. Seeing this many people will get excited and think that when they come to Canada they will have exacally what is drawn on the picture. I used the colors red a lot because it is the color of Canada. It looks bright with the golden grass to attract peoples eyes. I also quoted at the bottom "160 acres free!" ...This will automatically make the settlers think about coming to Canada because of what would be provided for them already when they arrive. You can see that there is success in this poster, with nice weather; the sun shining in the blue sky which would help the crop grow and harvest to make profit. Also if you can see that you can raise cows in pastures and make profit like that also. I made the poster pop out as much as I could to make sure that whoever looks at it will be a attracted to what it says. I also quoted, "Claim your land now!" Meaning that at any time you can get land and make much profit off of it. It also says, "Property of your Dreams!" Meaning when you get a property everything will most likely suceed and you will get your 'dream' and go far in life with what you get.

My Canada West Poster

The Truth In Advertising

Studying the Chapter about Western Canada we can learn that the posters that were made to attract settlers to Western Canada were not always correct and honest. People were bribed into buying things and 'going along with the flow.' ....These advertisements attracted tons of settlers and worked very well, but it was not a way of showing a Christian attitude towards honesty and the truth. They used things to bribe many settlers to come, they added fake things on the posters to get more people and to make more money. So basically they were lying on a piece of paper.

Analysis of the Poster I chose

In the poster I chose you can already see that the maple leafs surrounding the photograph of the farmer in its field represent Canada and its symbol of Canada. The colors of red and white also represent the colors of Canada. And how there is red colored in the phrase, "The Last Best West." Right when you look at this poster you can already see that it is from Canada just by looking at its colors and the design and picture. The image of the farmer plowing and working on his field shows that there is much land that you can produce off of and make good profit from. You can also see that the sun is setting in the picture showing that the weather is really good and treats your crop with the nutrients from the sun and the water that it needs to grow. Also you can see large amounts of massive piles of wheat/crop and ready harvested crop. It quotes on the bottom of the poster that you can do a variety of different things that you can make a lot of profit off of like, Ranching, Dairying, Grain raising, Fruit raising, mixed farming. Saying these things attracts many people since they know that they can have many opportunities to make a living off of what is provided in Western Canada. It also quotes "Home for Millions" saying that there is a lot of room for many settlers that decide to move there. Meaning Canada is willing to provide land and make sure that they have a home to get. It also has a little symbol at the bottom showing that the poster was made in Ottawa Canada, Minister of Agriculture and issued by direction of Mon. Sydney Fisher etc. People can see this and think to themselves that this poster was made by people who know what there doing. etc. You can also see in small font, "Farms Western Canada Free" ...And we know for a fact that when people read this they will be attracted immediately to Western Canada. 

History of the posters used in Western Canada

   

Historical Context: 'The last best west' was a phrase that had a notable past. It was an advertising slogan used to attract immigration to Western Canada between the years 1896-1914. Millions of settlers flooded Canada during these 18 years.

Example: A man named Guy Weadick, used the phrase, "That last Best West" to sell the first Calgary Stampede to his financial backers.

Using the posters worked very well back in the days, the Canadian Government encouraged many new immigrants to come to Canada West.

It was known as the Dorchester Hoard, having been discovered in a floor hole during renovations to the former land and immigration office of Sercombe & Hayes in Dorchester, England.

These posters were designed for Canadian Pacific, Canadian National Railways and steamship lines, and intended mainly at low income British farmers and laborers that attracted thousands of immigrants as settlers. The promise of a better future proved to be an effective attraction. It caused rough times for the settlers back then. Many Sicknesses and diseases caused losses and hardships for many people. Things happened that were not expected.  And the settlers did not think twice. A decision is a decision and you can not change that decision.



Western Canada Poster