The Maritime Rights Movement arose in the 1920s in response to perceived unfair economic policies in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

that were affecting the economies of the provinces of

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. At a time of rural protest in Canada from

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to the

Prairie Provinces The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

, the movement was a broad-based protest demanding better treatment of

The Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

from the federal government. It was centred at

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

, where the city's business leaders politicized the economic crisis and solidified their economic and political leadership. The movement attempted to address issues relating to interprovincial trade barriers, freight rates on railways, and various other indicators that were believed to have caused an economic decline since the early 20th century that was worsened by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The Royal Commission on Maritime Claims was established in 1926 by Canadian Prime Minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

and was chaired by the British businessman and industrialist Sir Andrew Rae Duncan (thus the nickname the "Duncan Commission"). It was provided with a mandate "to examine 'from a national standpoint... all the factors which peculiarly affect the economic position' of the Maritime provinces and to make 'recommendations to alleviate such grievances' as might exist." The Duncan Commission attempted to address the issues raised by the Maritime Rights Movement and made various recommendations to lower interprovincial and international tariffs, decrease railway freight rates, and change other federal policies to help the regional economy. The result was to consolidate the colonial relationship between Ottawa and the Maritimes, increasing centralized control and regional dependency and relegating the Maritimes to the status of " client states".This is Bélanger's conclusion in ibid.

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Further reading