To celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, we thought it might be fun to take a look back at the way things were in 1867 (it might just make you appreciate the modern age!).

Back then, men made up 88% of the Canadian workforce, which totaled 837,718 workers. The country, however, was still considered a nation of farmers, with 342,649 people working in the agricultural sector. This made farmer the most common profession of the era (accounting for 40% of the Canadian job market), with general labourer and fisherman coming in at number two and three, respectively. The shipbuilding and lumber industries were growing fast, though, with the former playing a key role in the economy of the Maritimes.

Manufacturing was also starting to make its presence felt in Canadian life. Over the next thirty years, a sharp increase in factories and factory work would dramatically change the makeup and population of the country’s largest cities (Montreal was the most populous).

Here’s what the Canadian Encyclopedia has to say about that period:

“From the countryside, and from Britain and Europe, hundreds of thousands of people moved to Canada’s booming cities and tramped through Canada’s industrial frontiers. Most workers remained poor, their lives dominated by a struggle for the economic security of food, clothing and shelter.”

Ever wonder what life would have been like for you?

Take our quiz to find out what job you would have had in Canada in 1867.

[interact-quiz id=”59b8280453114b0012ae56fd” w=”600″ h=”500″]