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Confederation & Treaty-Making in the West

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In 1869, two years after Confederation, the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to sell its territory of Rupert's Land, from Manitoba to the Rockies, to the new Government of Canada in Ottawa. This would open the way for settlement of the west.

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Confederation & Treaty-Making in the West

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In 1869, two years after Confederation, the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to sell its territory of Rupert's Land, from Manitoba to the Rockies, to the new Government of Canada in Ottawa. This would open the way for settlement of the west.

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What were women's lives like in pre-Confederation Canada? Although Canada was slowly starting to become an urban society, most women who lived in Canada in the early 1800s lived in rural environments. They lived in towns and on farms, and their lives were tied to house and home.

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History, politics, arts, science & more: the Canadian Encyclopedia is your reference on Canada. Articles, timelines & resources for teachers, students & public.

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Canada's First Peoples developed complex cultures and lived in harmony with their environment. Everything they had was made from the land around them and its plants and animals - food, clothes, shelter, wood, tools, weapons, dyes, decoration, musical instruments, and ceremonial artifacts.

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https://www.pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/settling-the-west-immigration-to-the-prairies-from-1867-to-1914

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Canadian Confederation (French: Confédération canadienne) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion of Canada, on July 1, 1867. Upon Confederation, Canada consisted of four provinces: Ontario and Quebec, which had been split out from the Province of Canada, and the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Over the years since Confederation, Canada has seen numerous territorial changes and expansions, resulting in the current number of ten provinces and three territories.

Canada is a federation and not a confederate association of sovereign states, which is what " confederation" means in contemporary political theory. It is nevertheless often considered to be among the world's more decentralized federations. The use of the term confederation arose in the Province of Canada to refer to proposals beginning in the 1850s to federate all of the British North American colonies, as opposed to only Canada West (Ontario) and Canada East (Quebec). To contemporaries of Confederation, the con- prefix indicated a strengthening of the centrist principle compared to the American federation.

In this Canadian context, confederation here describes the political process that united the colonies in the 1860s, events related to that process, and the subsequent incorporation of other colonies and territories. The term is now often used to describe Canada in an abstract way, such as in "the Fathers of Confederation". Provinces and territories that became part of Canada after 1867 are also said to have joined, or entered into, confederation (but not the Confederation). The term is also used to divide Canadian history into pre-Confederation (i.e. pre-1867) and post-Confederation (i.e. post-1867) periods.

All the former colonies and territories that became involved in the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, were initially part of New France, and were once ruled by France. Nova Scotia was granted in 1621 to Sir William Alexander under charter by James VI. This claim overlapped the French claims to Acadia, and although the Scottish colony of Nova Scotia was short-lived, for political reasons, the conflicting imperial interests of France and the 18th century Great Britain led to a long and bitter struggle for control. The British acquired present-day mainland Nova Scotia by the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 and the Acadian population was expelled by the British in 1755. They renamed Acadia "Nova Scotia", which included present-day New Brunswick. The rest of New France was acquired by the British as the result of its defeat of New France in the Seven Years' War, which ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. From 1763 to 1791, most of New France became the Province of Quebec. However, in 1769 the present-day Prince Edward Island, which had been part of Acadia, was renamed "St John's Island" and organized as a separate colony. It was renamed "Prince Edward Island" in 1798 in honour of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn.

The first English attempt at settlement had been in Newfoundland, which would not join Confederation until 1949. The Society of Merchant Venturers of Bristol began to settle Newfoundland and Labrador at Cuper's Cove as far back as 1610, and Newfoundland had also been the subject of a French colonial enterprise.

In the wake of the American Revolution, an estimated 50,000 United Empire Loyalists fled to British North America. The British created the separate province of New Brunswick in 1784 for the Loyalists who settled in the western part of Nova Scotia. While Nova Scotia (including New Brunswick) received slightly more than half of this influx, many Loyalists also settled in the Province of Quebec, which by the Constitutional Act 1791 was separated into a predominantly English Upper Canada and a predominantly French Lower Canada. The War of 1812 and Treaty of 1818 established the 49th parallel as the border with the United States from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains in Western Canada.

Following the Rebellions of 1837, Lord Durham in his Durham Report, recommended Upper and Lower Canada be joined as the Province of Canada and the new province should have a responsible government. As a result of Durham's report, the British Parliament passed the Act of Union 1840, and the Province of Canada was formed in 1841. The new province was divided into two parts: Canada West (the former Upper Canada) and Canada East (the former Lower Canada). Governor General Lord Elgin granted ministerial responsibility in 1848, first to Nova Scotia and then to Canada. In the following years, the British would extend responsible government to Prince Edward Island (1851), New Brunswick (1854), and Newfoundland (1855).

The area which constitutes modern-day British Columbia is the remnants of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia District and New Caledonia District following the Oregon Treaty. Before joining Canada in 1871, British Columbia consisted of the separate Colony of British Columbia (formed in 1858, in an area where the Crown had granted a monopoly to the Hudson's Bay Company), and the Colony of Vancouver Island (formed in 1849) constituting a separate crown colony until it was united with the colony of British Columbia in 1866.

The remainder of modern-day Canada was made up of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory (both of which were controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company and sold to Canada in 1870) and the Arctic Islands, which were under direct British control and became a part of Canada in 1880.

The idea of unification was presented in 1839 by Lord Durham in his Report on the Affairs of British North America, which resulted in the Act of Union 1840. Beginning in 1857, Joseph-Charles Taché proposed a federation in a series of 33 articles published in the Courrier du Canada.

In 1859, Alexander Tilloch Galt, George-Étienne Cartier and John Ross travelled to Great Britain to present the British Parliament with a project for confederation of the British colonies. The proposal was received by the London authorities with polite indifference. By 1864, it was clear that continued governance of the Province of Canada under the terms of the 1840 Act of Union had become impracticable. Therefore, a Great Coalition of parties formed in order to reform the political system.

Internal causes that influenced Confederation

political deadlock resulting from the current political structure

demographic pressure (population expansion)

economic nationalism and the promise of economic development

distrust between English Protestants and French Catholics

an inter-colony railroad which would improve trade, military movement, and transportation in general

External pressures that influenced Confederation

cancellation of the Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty (a free trade policy whereby products were allowed into the United States without taxes or tariffs starting in 1854, which was then considered to be beneficial for Canada), in 1865 by the United States, partly as revenge against Great Britain for unofficial support of the South in the American Civil War

the U.S. doctrine of "manifest destiny", the possible threat of invasion from the U.S.-Canadians had fended off American invasions during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812-increased by the Alaska Purchase of March 30, 1867, which was supported on the floor of the U.S. Senate (by Charles Sumner, among others) precisely in terms of taking over the remainder of North America from the British

the American Civil War, which horrified Canadians and drove many away from any thought of republicanism, along with British actions during the war, and American reactions to Canada

the Fenian raids

the Little Englander philosophy, whereby Britain no longer wanted to maintain troops in its colonies.

The St. Alban's Raid led to distrust with the United States, increasing the desire for stronger border security which Confederation would bring.

political pressure from British financiers who had invested money in the loss-making Grand Trunk Railway

There is extensive scholarly debate on the role of political ideas in Canadian Confederation. Traditionally, historians regarded Canadian Confederation an exercise in political pragmatism that was essentially non-ideological. In the 1960s, historian Peter Waite derided the references to political philosophers in the legislative debates on Confederation as "hot air". In Waite's view, Confederation was driven by pragmatic brokerage politics and competing interest groups.

In 1987, political scientist Peter J. Smith challenged the view Canadian Confederation was non-ideological. Smith argued Confederation was motivated by new political ideologies as much as the American and French Revolutions and Canadian Confederation was driven by a Court Party ideology. Smith traces the origins of this ideology to eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain, where political life was polarized between defenders of classical republican values of the Country Party and proponents of a new pro-capitalist ideology of the Court Party, which believed in centralizing political power. In British North America in the late 1860s, the Court Party tradition was represented by the supporters of Confederation, whereas the anti-capitalist and agrarian Country Party tradition was embodied by the Anti-Confederates.

In a 2000 journal article, historian Ian McKay argued Canadian Confederation was motivated by the ideology of liberalism and the belief in the supremacy of individual rights. McKay described Confederation as part of the classical liberal project of creating a "liberal order" in northern North America. Many Canadian historians have adopted McKay's liberal order framework as a paradigm for understanding Canadian history.

In 2008, historian Andrew Smith advanced a very different view of Confederation's ideological origins. He argues that in the four original Canadian provinces, the politics of taxation were a central issue in the debate about Confederation. Taxation was also central to the debate in Newfoundland, the tax-averse colony that rejected it. Smith argued Confederation was supported by many colonists who were sympathetic to a relatively interventionist, or statist, approach to capitalist development. Most classical liberals, who believed in free trade and low taxes, opposed Confederation because they feared it would result in Big Government. The struggle over Confederation involved a battle between a staunch individualist economic philosophy and a comparatively collectivist view of the state's proper role in the economy. According to Smith, the victory of the statist supporters of Confederation over their anti-statist opponents prepared the way for John A. Macdonald's government to enact the protectionist National Policy and to subsidize major infrastructure projects such as the Intercolonial and Pacific Railways.

In 2007, political scientist Janet Ajzenstat connected Canadian Confederation to the individualist ideology of John Locke. She argued that the union of the British North American colonies was motivated by a desire to protect individual rights, especially the rights to life, liberty, and property. She contends the Fathers of Confederation were motivated by the values of the Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She argues their intellectual debts to Locke are most evident when one looks at the 1865 debates in the Province of Canada's legislature on whether or not union with the other British North American colonies would be desirable.

In the spring of 1864, New Brunswick premier Samuel Leonard Tilley, Nova Scotia premier Charles Tupper, and Prince Edward Island premier John Hamilton Gray were contemplating the idea of a Maritime Union which would join their three colonies together.

The government of the Province of Canada surprised the Maritime governments by asking if the Province of Canada could be included in the negotiations. The request was channelled through the Governor-General, Monck, to London and accepted by the Colonial Office. After several years of legislative paralysis in the Province of Canada caused by the need to maintain a double legislative majority (a majority of both the Canada East and Canada West delegates in the Province of Canada's legislature), Macdonald had led his Liberal-Conservative Party into the Great Coalition with Cartier's Parti bleu and George Brown's Clear Grits. Macdonald, Cartier, and Brown felt union with the other British colonies might be a way to solve the political problems of the Province of Canada.

The Charlottetown Conference began on September 1, 1864. Since the agenda for the meeting had already been set, the delegation from the Province of Canada was initially not an official part of the Conference. The issue of Maritime Union was deferred and the Canadians were formally allowed to join and address the Conference.

1. preservation of ties with Great Britain;

2. residual jurisdiction left to a central authority;

3. a bicameral system including a Lower House with representation by population (rep by pop) and an Upper House with representation based on regional, rather than provincial, equality;

4. responsible government at the federal and provincial levels;

5. the appointment of a Canadian governor general by the British Crown.

Other proposals attractive to the politicians from the Maritime colonies were:

1. assumption of provincial debt by the central government;

2. revenues from the central government apportioned to the provinces on the basis of population;

3. the building of an intercolonial railway to link Montreal and Halifax, giving Canada access to an ice-free winter port and the Maritimes easy access to Canada and Rupert's Land.

By September 7, 1864, the delegates from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island gave a positive answer to the Canadian delegation, expressing the view the federation of all of the provinces was considered desirable if the terms of union could be made satisfactory and the question of Maritime Union was waived.

After the Conference adjourned on September 9, there were further meetings between delegates held at Halifax, Saint John, and Fredericton. These meetings evinced enough interest that the delegates decided to hold a second Conference.

Delegates' reactions

One of the most important purposes of the Charlottetown Conference was the introduction of Canadians to the leaders from the Maritime Provinces and vice versa. At this point, there was no railway link from Quebec City to Halifax, and the people of each region had little to do with one another. Thomas D'Arcy McGee was one of the few Canadian delegates who had been to the Maritimes, when he had gone down earlier that summer with a trade mission of Canadian businessmen, journalists and politicians.

George Brown remarked in a letter to his wife Anne that at a party given by the premier of PEI, Colonel John Hamilton Gray, he met a woman who had never been off the island in her entire life. Nevertheless, he found Prince Edward Islanders to be "amazingly civilized".

Press and popular reaction

Reaction to the Charlottetown Conference varied among the different newspapers. In the Maritimes, there was concern that the smooth Canadians with their sparkling champagne and charming speeches were outsmarting the delegates of the smaller provinces. "From all accounts it looks as if these [Canadian] gentlemen had it all their own way; ... and that, what with their arguments and what with their blandishments, (they gave a champagne lunch on board the Victoria where Mr. McGee's wit sparkled brightly as the wine), they carried the Lower Province delegates a little off their feet."

The delegates from the Quebec conference considered if the resolutions would be better suited for acceptance if a popular vote were held on them. However, due to the divide amongst religious groups and general mistrust between areas in Canada, they believed that such a vote would be defeated. Thus, they went ahead with the resolutions on their own volition.

After returning home from the Charlottetown Conference, Macdonald asked Viscount Monck, the Governor-General of the Province of Canada to invite delegates from the three Maritime provinces and Newfoundland to a conference with United Canada delegates. At the opening of the conference, a total of 33 delegates were included from the British North American Colonies, including Newfoundland, which had not participated in prior meetings. Monck obliged and the Conference went ahead at Quebec City in October 1864.

The Conference began on October 10, 1864, on the site of present-day Montmorency Park. The Conference elected Étienne-Paschal Taché as its chairman, but it was dominated by Macdonald. Despite differences in the positions of some of the delegates on some issues, the Quebec Conference, following so swiftly on the success of the Charlottetown Conference, was infused with a determinative sense of purpose and nationalism. For the Reformers of Canada West, led by George Brown, the end of what they perceived as French-Canadian interference in local affairs was in sight. For Maritimers such as Tupper of Nova Scotia or Tilley of New Brunswick, horizons were suddenly broadened to take in much larger possibilities for trade and growth.

The delegates from the Maritimes also raised an issue with respect to the level of government-federal or provincial-that would be given the powers not otherwise specifically defined. Macdonald, who was aiming for the strongest central government possible, insisted this was to be the central government, and in this, he was supported by, among others, Tupper.

At the end of the Conference, it adopted the Seventy-two Resolutions which would form the basis of a scheduled future conference. The Conference adjourned on October 27.

Prince Edward Island emerged disappointed from the Quebec Conference. It did not receive support for a guarantee of six members in the proposed House of Commons, and was denied an appropriation of $200,000 it felt had been offered at Charlottetown to assist in buying out the holdings of absentee landlords.

Press and popular reaction

"Never was there such an opportunity as now for the birth of a nation" proclaimed a pamphlet written by S. E. Dawson and reprinted in a Quebec City newspaper during the Conference.

Again, reaction to the Quebec Conference varied depending on the political views of the critic.

Constitutional scheme discussed in London

Following the Quebec Conference, the Province of Canada's legislature passed a bill approving the union. The union proved more controversial in the Maritime provinces, however, and it was not until 1866 that New Brunswick and Nova Scotia passed union resolutions, while Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland continued to opt against joining.

In December 1866, sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia travelled to London, where the 4th Earl of Carnarvon presented each to Queen Victoria in private audience, as well as holding court for their wives and daughters. At meetings held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, the delegates reviewed and approved the 72 resolutions; although Charles Tupper had promised anti-union forces in Nova Scotia he would push for amendments, he was unsuccessful in getting any passed. Now known as the London Resolutions, the conference's decisions were forwarded to the Colonial Office.

After breaking for Christmas, the delegates reconvened in January 1867 and began drafting the British North America Act. The 4th Earl of Carnarvon continued to have a central role in drafting the act at Highclere Castle alongside the first prime minister of Canada Macdonald, Cartier and Galt, who signed the visitor book in 1866. After suggestions of 'Franklin' and 'Guelfenland', they agreed the new country should be called Canada, Canada East should be renamed Quebec and Canada West should be renamed Ontario. There was, however, heated debate about how the new country should be designated. Ultimately, the delegates elected to call the new country the Dominion of Canada, after "kingdom" and "confederation", among other options, were rejected. The term dominion was allegedly suggested by Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley.

The delegates had completed their draft of the British North America Act by February 1867. The act was presented to Queen Victoria on February 11, 1867. The bill was introduced in the House of Lords the next day. The bill was quickly approved by the House of Lords, and then also quickly approved by the British House of Commons. (The Conservative Lord Derby was prime minister of the United Kingdom at the time.) The act received royal assent on March 29, 1867, and set July 1, 1867, as the date for union.

Confederation was accomplished when the Queen gave royal assent to the British North America Act (BNA Act) on March 29, 1867, followed by a royal proclamation stating: "We do ordain, declare, and command that on and after the First day of July, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-seven, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, shall form and be One Dominion, under the name of Canada." That act, which united the Province of Canada with the colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, came into effect on July 1 that year. The act replaced the Act of Union 1840 which had unified Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the united Province of Canada. Separate provinces were re-established under their current names of Ontario and Quebec. July 1 is now celebrated as a public holiday, Canada Day, the country's official National Day.

The form of the country's government was influenced by the American republic to the south. Noting the flaws perceived in the American system, the Fathers of Confederation opted to retain a monarchical form of government. Macdonald, speaking in 1865 about the proposals for the upcoming Confederation of Canada, said:

By adhering to the monarchical principle we avoid one defect inherent in the Constitution of the United States. By the election of the president by a majority and for a short period, he never is the sovereign and chief of the nation. He is never looked up to by the whole people as the head and front of the nation. He is at best but the successful leader of a party. This defect is all the greater on account of the practice of reelection. During his first term of office he is employed in taking steps to secure his own reelection and for his party a continuance of power. We avoid this by adhering to the monarchical principle-the sovereign whom you respect and love. I believe that it is of the utmost importance to have that principle recognized so that we shall have a sovereign who is placed above the region of party-to whom all parties look up; who is not elevated by the action of one party nor depressed by the action of another; who is the common head and sovereign of all.

The form of government chosen is regarded as having created a federation that is a kingdom in its own right. Macdonald had spoken of "founding a great British monarchy" and wanted the newly created country to be called the "Kingdom of Canada". Although it had its monarch in London, the Colonial Office opposed as "premature" and "pretentious" the term "kingdom", as it was felt it might antagonize the United States. The term was chosen to indicate Canada's status as a self-governing polity of the British Empire, the first time it was used in reference to a country.[citation needed ]

While the BNA Act eventually resulted in Canada having more autonomy than it had before, it was far from full independence from the United Kingdom. According to the Supreme Court of Canada, Canadian "sovereignty was acquired in the period between its separate signature of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and the Statute of Westminster, 1931" long after Confederation in 1867. Defence of British North America became a Canadian responsibility. Foreign policy remained in British hands, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remained Canada's highest court of appeal, and the constitution could be amended only in Britain. Gradually, Canada gained more autonomy, and in 1931, obtained almost full autonomy within the British Commonwealth with the Statute of Westminster. Because the federal and provincial governments were unable to agree on a constitutional amending formula, this power remained with the British Parliament. In 1982, the constitution was patriated when Elizabeth II gave her royal assent to the Canada Act 1982. The Constitution of Canada is made up of a number of codified acts and uncodified traditions; one of the principal documents is the Constitution Act, 1982, which renamed the BNA Act 1867 to Constitution Act, 1867.

The act also detailed how power would be distributed at both the provincial and federal levels. Two of the most important sections were 91 and 92. Section 91 gave Parliament jurisdiction over banking, interest rates, criminal law, the postal system, and the armed forces. Section 92 gave the provinces jurisdiction over property, contracts and torts, local works, and general business. However, sometimes Parliament and Provincial law may interfere with each other, in this case federal law would prevail.

Dominion elections were held in August and September to elect the first Parliament, and the four new provinces' governments recommended the 72 individuals (24 each for Quebec and Ontario, 12 each for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) who would sit in the Senate.

The Anti-Confederation Party won 18 out of 19 federal Nova Scotia seats in September 1867, and in the Nova Scotia provincial election of 1868, 36 out of 38 seats in the legislature. For seven years, William Annand and Joseph Howe led the ultimately unsuccessful fight to convince British imperial authorities to release Nova Scotia from Confederation. The government was vocally against Confederation, contending it was no more than the annexation of the province to the pre-existing province of Canada.

Prior to the coming into effect of the Constitution Act, 1867 there had been some concern regarding a potential "legislative vacuum" that would occur over the 15-month period between the prorogation of the Province of Canada's final Parliament in August 1866 and the opening of the now Dominion of Canada's first Parliament in November 1867.[citation needed ] To prevent this, the Constitution Act, 1867 provided for "continuance of existing laws" from the three colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick until new laws could be established in the Dominion. Thus, the "Dominion's financial systems, structures and actors were able to operate under the provisions of the old Province of Canada Acts" following confederation, and many institutions and organizations were continued and assumed "the same responsibilities for the new federal government that it had held as a provincial organization".

The original Fathers of Confederation are those delegates who attended any of the conferences held at Charlottetown and Quebec in 1864, or in London, United Kingdom, in 1866, leading to Confederation.

There were 36 original Fathers of Confederation. Hewitt Bernard, who was the recording secretary at the Charlottetown Conference, is considered by some to be a Father of Confederation. The later "Fathers" who brought the other provinces into Confederation after 1867 are also referred to as "Fathers of Confederation". In this way, Amor De Cosmos who was instrumental both in bringing democracy to British Columbia and in bringing his province into Confederation, is considered by many to be a Father of Confederation. As well, Joey Smallwood referred to himself as "the Last Father of Confederation", because he helped lead Newfoundland into Confederation in 1949.

After the initial BNA Act in 1867, Manitoba was established by an act of the Canadian Parliament on July 15, 1870, originally as an area of land much smaller than the current province. British Columbia joined Canada July 20, 1871, by an Imperial order-in-council enacted under the authority of the British North America Act. The order-in-council incorporated the Terms of Union negotiated by the governments of Canada and British Columbia, including a commitment by the federal government to build a railway connecting British Columbia to the railway system of Canada within 10 years of union. Prince Edward Island (PEI) joined July 1, 1873, also by an Imperial order-in-council. One reason for joining was financial: PEI's economy was performing poorly and union would bring monetary benefits that would assist the province in avoiding bankruptcy. One of the Prince Edward Island Terms of Union was a guarantee by the federal government to operate a ferry link, a term deleted upon completion of the Confederation Bridge in 1997. Alberta and Saskatchewan were established September 1, 1905, by acts of the Canadian Parliament. Newfoundland joined on March 31, 1949, by an act of the Imperial Parliament, also with a ferry link guaranteed.

The Crown acquired Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869 (though final payment to the Hudson's Bay Company did not occur until 1870), and then transferred jurisdiction to the Dominion on July 15, 1870, merging them and naming them North-West Territories. In 1880, the British assigned all North American Arctic islands to Canada, right up to Ellesmere Island. From this vast swath of territory were created three provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta) and two territories ( Yukon Territory and North-West Territories, now Yukon and Northwest Territories), and two extensions each to Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. Later, the third territory of Nunavut was carved from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999. The Yukon territory was formed during the Klondike gold rush. People from all around Canada and the United States flocked to the area due to rumours of an easy way to get rich. The Canadian government sought to regulate this migration and tax gold findings, whether American or Canadian.

Below is a list of Canadian provinces and territories in the order in which they entered Confederation; territories are italicized. At formal events, representatives of the provinces and territories take precedence according to this ordering, except that provinces always precede territories. For provinces that entered on the same date, the order of precedence is based on the provinces' populations at the time they entered Confederation.

The term Confederation has entered into Canadian parlance both as a metaphor for the country and for the historical events that created it. It has therefore become one of the most common names for Canadian landmarks. Examples include Mount Confederation, Confederation Square, Confederation Building, Confederation Park, Confederation Station, Confederation Heights, Confederation Bridge, and so on. This is similar to the American practices of naming things "Union" and likewise the Australians with "Federation".[opinion ]

Indigenous communities were absent or ignored in the process of Canadian confederation. As a result of Confederation, the Government of Canada assumed the responsibility of the British Crown in treaty dealings with the First Nations. One result of this was the of 1873, which has governed relations ever since. It was not until 1960 that Indigenous peoples were able to vote in federal elections. Prior to this, they were able to vote only if they gave up their status under the Indian Act. Canada was no longer a colony of the United Kingdom, but Canadian Confederation continued the conditions of colonialism - including resource grabbing, broken treaties, forced assimilation, culture loss, ecological destruction, heteropatriarchy, and intergenerational trauma inflicted by the hegemony of the Canadian state - on Indigenous nations that had been self-governing.

As the 20th century progressed, attention to the conditions of Indigenous peoples in Canada increased, which included the granting of full voting rights. Prior to 1960, Status Indians were generally not eligible to vote in federal elections. The Diefenbaker government amended the Canada Elections Act to remove those restrictions and recognise full voting rights for Status Indians in federal elections, effective July 1, 1960. Treaty rights were enshrined in the Canadian Constitution in 1982. Recognizing the principle of aboriginal title, a process of land claims settlements is ongoing to settle un-extinguished aboriginal title between the federal government and various bands.[citation needed ] Created to resolve the effects and after-effects of the residential school system, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was struck to identify further measures to improve conditions.[citation needed ]

1863 to 1864

July-September 1863

Lieutenant Governor Gordon encourages Maritime union

Arthur Gordon, newly appointed British lieutenant governor of New Brunswick, encourages Samuel Leonard Tilley, premier of New Brunswick, and Charles Tupper, premier of Nova Scotia, to consider the possibility of a union of the three Maritime provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island

March 28, 1864

Nova Scotia resolution for Maritime union conference

Premier Tupper introduces resolution in Nova Scotia House of Assembly to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; union only to occur if approved by statutes passed by each of the three provinces and the Queen; resolution passes with all-party support

April 9, 1864

New Brunswick resolution for Maritime union conference

Premier Tilley introduces resolution in New Brunswick House of Assembly to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; union only to occur if approved by statutes passed by each of the three provinces and the Queen; resolution passes with all-party support

April 18, 1864

Prince Edward Island resolution for Maritime union conference

John Hamilton Gray, premier of Prince Edward Island, introduces resolution in Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; no further action to be taken until report of the Conference be laid before the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly; resolution passes on party lines

June 14, 1864

Report on constitutional reform in Province of Canada

George Brown, member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, presents committee report addressing flaws in the constitutional system of the Province of Canada; report favours a federal system of government, either for the two sections of the Province of Canada alone, or for a union of the British North American provinces

June 14-16, 1864

Brown initiates discussions with John A. Macdonald

Political overtures by Brown to John A. Macdonald, George-Étienne Cartier and Alexander T. Galt to seek constitutional changes; Macdonald responds; Brown favours federal constitution for Province of Canada; Macdonald, Cartier and Galt propose seeking union of all eastern British North American provinces

June 17-30, 1864

Great Coalition formed

Coalition government of Liberal-Conservatives from Canada West (led by Macdonald); Reformers from Canada West (led by Brown); from Canada East (led by Cartier); and Liberal-Conservatives from Canada East (led by Galt); Coalition agrees to pursue union of eastern British North American provinces; failing that, will seek a federal constitution for the Province of Canada

June 30, 1864

Canadians ask to attend conference on Maritime Union

Governor General Monck sends letters to the Maritime lieutenant governors, requesting that the Province of Canada be permitted to send a delegation to the upcoming conference on Maritime union

September 1-9, 1864

Charlottetown Conference, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Meeting of delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island; no real discussion of Maritime union; Province of Canada proposal for a union of the British North American provinces gains general support; Conference delegates agree to continue discussions at Quebec; Maritime Union shelved

October 10-27, 1864

Quebec Conference, Quebec City, Province of Canada

Delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland meet in Quebec to discuss the Confederation proposal in more detail; Conference passes the Quebec Resolutions, which outline a detailed proposal for Confederation of the British North American provinces

October 19, 1864
St. Albans Raid
Group of Confederate soldiers travel to Canada and conduct a cross-border raid to St. Albans, Vermont; captured by Canadian authorities; judge in Montreal rejects extradition application and releases them; episode creates considerable tension with the United States government

June 24, 1865

Pressure from Britain

The Colonial Secretary, Edward Cardwell, sends a dispatch to the three Maritime provinces, urging them to accept Confederation to aid imperial defence

November 6, 1865

York by‑election, New Brunswick

Vacancy in the New Brunswick Assembly forces Anti-Confederation government to call by-election in York riding; Charles Fisher, former premier, delegate to Quebec, and strong supporter of Confederation, wins by-election

April 6, 1866

Legislative Council of New Brunswick supports Confederation

The Legislative Council of New Brunswick votes in favour of Confederation and the Quebec Resolutions

April 10, 1866

Nova Scotia proposal for London Conference

Premier Tupper introduces resolution stating that Confederation is desirable, and therefore the Assembly authorises the lieutenant governor "to appoint delegates to arrange with the Imperial Government a scheme of union which will effectually ensure just provision for the rights and interest of this Province..."

April 17, 1866

Tupper's resolution passes

Nova Scotia Assembly passes Tupper's resolution proposing a conference in London, by a vote of 31 to 19

May-June 1866
New Brunswick election
Lieutenant Governor Gordon dissolves the Assembly on advice of the new government; Pro-Confederation group wins elections, with majority of 33 seats compared to 8 seats for Anti-Confederation group

December 4-23, 1866

London Conference begins

Delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick meet in London to review and revise the Quebec Resolutions; revisions include guarantee of the inter-colonial railway and strengthening provisions for denominational and separate schools

February-March, 1867

Bill passed by British Parliament

Lord Carnarvon introduces the British North America Act, 1867 in the House of Lords; Lord Monck speaks in support; Cardwell, now in opposition, speaks in support in the Commons; bill proceeds through the Lords and the Commons without incident

March 29, 1867

Queen Victoria grants Royal Assent

British North America Act, 1867 enacted as Imperial statute

July 1, 1867

Proclamation of British North America Act, 1867

Canada is created

July 1, 1867

Continuation of New Brunswick government

Premier Mitchell continues in office as the first post-Confederation premier of New Brunswick

July 4, 1867

Continuation of Nova Scotia government

Lieutenant Governor Williams appoints Hiram Blanchard as first post-Confederation premier of Nova Scotia, after Premier Tupper resigns to stand for election to the federal House of Commons

July 15, 1867

Creation of first Quebec government

Lieutenant Governor Belleau appoints Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau as first premier of Quebec

July 16, 1867

Creation of first Ontario government

Lieutenant Governor Stisted appoints John Sandfield Macdonald as first premier of Ontario

August-September 1867

First elections under the British North America Act, 1867

Elections for federal Parliament, Legislative Assemblies of Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia (no election in New Brunswick since there had been an election the previous year)

Bousfield, Arthur; Toffoli, Garry (1991). . Toronto: Dundurn Press Ltd. ISBN 978-1-55002-076-2. toffoli.

Dorin, Jacques; Kaltemback, Michèle; Rahal, Sheryl (2007). Canadian Civilization. Presses Univ. du Mirail. ISBN 978-2-85816-888-0.

Mackenzie, Alexander (1892). The Life and Speeches of Hon. George Brown. The Globe Printing Company.

Waite, Peter B. (1962). The life and times of Confederation, 1864-1867: politics, newspapers, and the union of British North America. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-896941-23-3..

Careless, J.M.C. "George Brown and Confederation," Manitoba Historical Society Transactions, Series 3, Number 26, 1969-70 online

Creighton, Donald Grant. The road to confederation: The emergence of Canada, 1863-1867 (1965) a standard history

Creighton, Donald Grant. The young politician. Vol. 1 (1952) vol 1 of biography of Macdonald

Gwyn, Richard. John A: The Man Who Made Us (2008) vol 1 of biography of Macdonald

Knox, Bruce A. "Conservative Imperialism 1858-1874: Bulwer Lytton, Lord Carnarvon, and Canadian Confederation." International History Review (1984) 6#3 pp: 333-357.

Martin, Ged. Britain and the origins of Canadian confederation, 1837-67 (UBC Press, 1995).

Martin, Ged, ed. The Causes of Canadian confederation (Acadiensis Press, 1990).

Moore, Christopher. 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal (McClelland & Stewart, 2011)

Morton, William Lewis. The critical years: the union of British North America, 1857-1873 (McClelland & Stewart, 1964) a standard history

Smith, Andrew. British Businessmen and Canadian Confederation Constitution-Making in an Era of Anglo-Globalization (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008)

Smith, Andrew. "Toryism, Classical Liberalism, and Capitalism: The Politics of Taxation and the Struggle for Canadian Confederation." Canadian Historical Review 89#1 (2008): 1-25.

Smith, Jennifer. "Canadian confederation and the influence of American federalism." Canadian Journal of Political Science 21#3 (1988): 443-464.

Smith, Peter J. "The Ideological Origins of Canadian Confederation". Canadian Journal of Political Science 1987. 20#1 pp : 3-29.

Vronsky, Peter. Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada (Penguin Canada, 2011)

Waite, Peter B. The life and times of Confederation, 1864-1867: politics, newspapers, and the union of British North America (Robin Brass Studio, 2001).

White, Walter Leroy, and W. C. Soderlund. Canadian Confederation: A Decision-making Analysis (McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 1979)

Wilson, David A. Thomas D'Arcy McGee: The Extreme Moderate, 1857-1868. Vol. 2 (McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2011)

Bailey, Alfred G. "The basis and persistence of opposition to confederation in New Brunswick." Canadian Historical Review 23#4 (1942): 374-397.

Bailey, Alfred G. "Railways and the Confederation Issue in New Brunswick, 1863-1865." Canadian Historical Review 21#4 (1940): 367-383.

Bolger, Francis. "Prince Edward Island and Confederation" CCHA, Report, 28 (1961) pp: 25-30 online

Bonenfant, Jean-Charles. The French Canadians and the birth of Confederation (Canadian Historical Association, 1966)

Buckner, Phillip. "CHR Dialogue: The Maritimes and Confederation: A Reassessment." Canadian Historical Review 71#1 (1990) pp: 1-45.

Hiller, James. Confederation Defeated: The Newfoundland Election of 1869 (Newfoundland Historical Society, 1976)

Pryke, Kenneth G. Nova Scotia and Confederation, 1864-74 (1979)

Shelton, W. George, ed. British Columbia and Confederation (1967)

Silver, Arthur I. The French-Canadian idea of confederation, 1864-1900 (University of Toronto Press, 1997)

Wilson, George E. "New Brunswick's entrance into confederation." Canadian Historical Review 9#1 (1928): 4-24.

Waite, Peter B., ed. The Confederation Debates in the Province of Canada, 1865 A Selection (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006)

Quebec and London Conferences. Report of resolutions adopted at a conference of delegates from the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the colonies of Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island ..., London: s.n., 1867? [Resolutions of the Quebec Conference of October 10, 1864, and those of the London Conference of December 4, 1866, side by side]

Nova Scotia. House of Assembly (1867). Debate on the union of the provinces, in the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia, March 16th, 18th and 19th, 1867.

Howe, Joseph; Annand, William; McDonald, Hugh; Great Britain. Foreign Office (1867). Letter addressed to the Earl of Carnarvon by Mr. Joseph Howe, Mr. William Annand, and Mr. Hugh McDonald, stating their objections to the proposed scheme of union of the British North American provinces. Printed by G.E. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode, for H.M. Stationery Off. p. 36.

Canada. Parliament; Lapin, Murray A.; Canada. Archives branch; J. S. Patrick (1865). Parliamentary debates on the subject of the Confederation of the British North American provinces, 3rd session, 8th provincial Parliament of Canada. Hunter, Rose & co., parliamentary printers.

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Canadian Confederation (French: Confédération canadienne) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion of Canada, on July 1, 1867.

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​Québec became one of the founding members of the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867 when it joined New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario in Confederation.

Québec became one of the founding members of the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867 when it joined New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario in Confederation.

Province of Canada

Québec's entry into Confederation is deeply tied to that of Ontario's. Together, the two were united into the Province of Canada in 1840, in response to the rebellions in Lower and Upper Canada, and the Durham Report of 1839.

The Act of Union established a single colony made up of Canada East (Québec) and Canada West (Ontario) governed by a single legislature. The British government, and English-speaking elites in both Canada East and West, hoped that the large French Canadian community would be submerged, and assimilated, within a single colony.

However, the common political system and the tensions it created between the French and English communities - along with a collection of sharply divided political parties in each region - created years of political deadlock that made the united colony difficult to govern. By the 1860s, leaders in both regions were pressing for change.

Case for Confederation

By 1858, George-Étienne Cartier, co-prime minister of the Province of Canada (along with Canada West's John A. Macdonald), favoured splitting up the two Canadas into separate provinces, and joining each one in a federal union with the other British North American colonies ( New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador). Cartier and pro-Confederation forces in Canada East focused on four arguments:

Political deadlock had made the Province of Canada almost impossible to govern. Proponents believed Confederation would allow a new federal government to make national decisions, while letting individual provinces find local solutions. As a self-governing province, Québec could safeguard French Canadian interests.

Confederation would strengthen the wider economy.

Britain had supported the losing South in the American Civil War, and some Canadians feared the victorious North would attack Canada in revenge. They believed creating a new country would blunt the desire for revenge.

A federal government would be able to build a transcontinental railroad that would boost the economy and tie the colonies together.

Additionally, Canada's Reciprocity Agreement with the United States expired in 1866, meaning Québec would soon lose access to that market. Supporters of Confederation argued that a merger with the other British North America colonies would provide better access to their markets.

Cartier and another Conservative, Alexander Tilloch Galt, agreed that Canada's government would study the idea of a federal union of British North America. In 1864, Cartier represented Canada East at the Charlottetown Conference, where Confederation was agreed to. He also attended the Québec Conference, where the details of the new country were ironed out.

Confederation Foes

Jean-Baptiste-Éric Dorion led French Canadian resistance to Confederation. He founded the newspaper L'Avenir, and used it as a pulpit from which to attack Confederation.

"I oppose Confederation because I foresee innumerable difficulties with the joint powers given to the local and general governments in several areas. These conflicts will always be resolved in favour of the general government and to the detriment of the often legitimate claims of the provinces," he wrote.

Antoine-Aimé Dorion, the Liberal leader in Canada East, opposed Confederation on the grounds that including the Maritime colonies would increase the financial burden on the Province of Canada, and that it could jeopardize the independence of each province. He wanted citizens with the franchise to vote on the issue.

Pro-Confederation forces led by Cartier, Galt and Hector-Louis Langevin won the support of the Catholic Church, and some of the public, by arguing that Confederation (and the division of the two Canadas into separate provinces) would give French Canadians back their provincial identity and a provincial capital.

Dominion of Canada Emerges

The British Parliament passed the British North America Act in March 1867. Canada East left the Province of Canada and joined the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867. The change drew little public reaction inside Québec, and newspapers merely reported on the few events organized to mark the day.

Québec's " Fathers of Confederation" are the men who attended one or more of the conferences at Charlottetown, Québec City and London. The list includes Sir George-Étienne Cartier, Jean-Charles Chapais, Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, Sir Hector-Louis Langevin, Thomas D'Arcy McGee and Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché.

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​Québec became one of the founding members of the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867 when it joined New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario in Confederation. Québec became one of the founding members of the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867 when it joined New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario in Confederation.

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The Lower Canada Rebellion ( French: La rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War (French: la Guerre des patriotes) by Quebecers, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837-38 between the rebels of Lower Canada (now Quebec) and the British colonial power of that province.

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The Legislative Assembly having no real power, the political situation degenerated into the Lower Canada Rebellions of 1837–1838, after which Lower Canada and Upper Canada were unified. Some of the motivations for the union was to limit French-Canadian political power and at the same time transferring a large part of the Upper Canadian debt to the debt-free Lower Canada. After many decades of British immigration, the Canadiens became a minority in the Province of Canada in the 1850s.

French-Canadian contributions were essential in securing responsible government for The Canadas and in undertaking Canadian Confederation. However, over the course of the late 19th and 20th centuries, French Canadians' discontent grew with their place in Canada because of a series of events, including the execution of Louis Riel, the elimination of official bilingualism in Manitoba, Canada's participation in the Second Boer War, Regulation 17 which banned French-language schools in Ontario, the Conscription Crisis of 1917and the Conscription Crisis of 1944.

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http://www.pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/the-chinese-immigration-act-1885

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The wife of merchant Kwong Lee arrived in Victoria, BC. She was Canada's first female Chinese citizen.

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Shortly after arriving in Victoria in 1858, Mifflin Gibbs established a business. In 1861, he won public praise for helping to organize a Black militia and decided to run for public office. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1862, Gibbs was elected to the Victoria Town Council in 1866, the first Black politician in Canada.

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In 1860, the Province of Canada passed the Indian Lands Act. An important element of this Act was the centralization of control over Aboriginal affairs for the colony. The Act created the office of the Chief Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and transferred all authority for Aboriginals and their lands in the Province of Canada to this single official. Moreover, the Chief Superintendent was given very broad discretionary powers over reserve Aboriginals. This centralization continued in 1867, when the Province of Canada was united with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to create the new nation of the Dominion of Canada. Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, gave legislative authority over Aboriginals and their lands to the federal Parliament, removing it from the provincial legislatures.

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The Dominion of Canada wasn't born out of revolution, or a sweeping outburst of nationalism. Rather, it was created in a series of conferences and orderly negotiations, culminating in the terms of Confederation on 1 July 1867. The union of the British North American colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada was the first step in a slow but steady nation-building exercise that would come to encompass other territories, and eventually fulfill the dream of a country a mari usque ad mare (from sea to sea).

The Case for a Country

By the 1860s, the union of British North America (BNA) had been a long-simmering idea, the subject of occasional dinner speeches. It was inspired in part by fears of United States domination and even annexation, following the American Civil War, and the belief that Britain was becoming increasingly reluctant to defend its North American colonies against possible US aggression.

The violence and chaos of the Civil War had shocked many in British North America. They saw the war as partly the result of a weak central United States government, and this inspired ideas about the need for a strong central government among the BNA colonies.

After emerging victorious from the war, the American North was also left with a large and powerful army. There was talk in US newspapers of invading and annexing Canada - partly to avenge Britain's collaboration with the American South during the war. Several US politicians also favoured annexing Rupert's Land, the vast territory that would eventually become Canada's western provinces. The American appetite for expansionism was made clear with the US purchase of Alaska in 1867.

Anger at British support for the American South also led, at the end of the Civil War, to the US cancellation or abrogation of the Reciprocity treaty that had allowed free trade on many items between the US and British North America. Suddenly, Confederation offered the colonies a chance to create a new, free-trade market, north of the American border.

The combination of protectionist US trade policy, fears of American aggression and expansion, and Britain's increasing reluctance to maintain the expense of defending British North America, fueled the idea of uniting the BNA colonies in a single country. Confederation offered Britain an honourable means of easing its economic and military burden in North America, while giving its colonies there strength through unity.

Political Conference Planned

Confederation had become a serious question in the Province of Canada (formerly Lower Canada and Upper Canada) by 1864. In the Atlantic colonies, however, a great deal of pressure would still be necessary to convert romantic ideas of a single northern nation spanning the continent into political reality.

A series of fortuitous events helped. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had some interest in reuniting as a single colony following their division in 1784; they were helped by the British Colonial Office, which felt that a political union of all three Maritime colonies was desirable, including Prince Edward Island. Maritime union would abolish three colonial legislatures and replace them with one.

In the spring of 1864 all three legislatures passed resolutions declaring lukewarm interest in having a conference on the subject. But nothing was done; it was only when the Province of Canada announced its interest in being asked to attend such a meeting that the Maritime governments woke up. If the Province of Canada was going to attend, then there had to be a conference for them to come to. Charlottetown was appointed as the place - Prince Edward Island would not attend otherwise - and 1 September 1864 was chosen as the date.

Change in the Two Canadas

As the Province of Canada grew more prosperous and developed politically, socially and industrially, so grew its internal rivalries, and the job of governing Canada West ( Ontario) and Canada East ( Québec) from a single, fractious legislature became difficult.

After achieving responsible government, politicians in Canada West began agitating for true representation by population. In the 1840s, Canada West benefitted from having a disproportionately large number of seats in the legislature, thanks to a smaller population than Canada East. By the 1850s its population was the bigger of the two, and reformers supported the campaign for representation by population - in other words, more seats for the West.

This and other divisive issues - such as government funding for Catholic schools throughout the colony - created suspicions among English-Protestants in Canada West of unchecked French Catholic power. By 1859 the rift between English and French, as well as a growing divide between conservatives and reformers within Canada West, created years of unstable government and political deadlock, which made solving the colony's needs and problems nearly impossible. Structural change was required to break the political paralysis.

Confederation - which would include division of the two Canadas - was posed as a solution to these problems. In 1864, after four short-lived governments had fought to stay in power, a coalition was formed promising union with the Atlantic colonies.

With support from three of the Province of Canada's four major political groups, the coalition gave Confederation a driving force that it never lost. The alliance of Canada West's two principal groups, led by John A. Macdonald ( Conservatives) and George Brown ( Clear Grits), meant that Confederation proceeded with support from British North America's most populous region.

In Canada East, although Confederation was opposed by A.A. Dorion's Parti Rouge, it was supported by the dominant political group, the Conservatives under George-Étienne Cartier, Hector Langevin and Alexander Tilloch Galt. By 1867 they had the necessary support of the Catholic Church. Confederation was justified in public by the arguments that French Canadians would get back their provincial identity and their capital would once more be Québec; the Anglophone domination of Ottawa feared by French Canadians would be mitigated by the presence of strong French Canadian representation in the federal cabinet; and Confederation was the least undesirable of the changes proposed.

Charlottetown and Québec Conferences

The "Canadians" sailed to the Charlottetown Conference on 29 August 1864, aboard the Canadian government steamer Queen Victoria. The conference was already underway and discussions for Maritime union were not making much progress. So the Canadians were invited to submit their own proposals for a union of all the British North American colonies. The idea swept the board, and the glittering idea of a united country took over.

A month later the colonies called a second meeting to discuss Confederation. At the Québec Conference, the delegates passed 72 Resolutions, which explicitly laid out the fundamental decisions made at Charlottetown, including a constitutional framework for a new country. The Resolutions were legalistic and contractual in tone, deliberately different from the revolutionary nature of the American Constitution drafted a century earlier.

The Canadian Resolutions outlined the concept of federalism - with powers and responsibilities strictly divided between the provinces and the federal government. Cartier pushed hard for provincial powers and rights, while Macdonald, keen to avoid the mistakes that had led to the US Civil War, advocated for a strong central government. Between these two ideas a semblance of balance was reached.

The Resolutions also outlined the shape of a national Parliament, with an elected House of Commons based on representation by population, and an appointed Senate whose seats would be equally split between three regions: Canada West, Canada East and the Atlantic colonies, for the purpose of providing each region with an equal voice in the appointed chamber.

The resolutions also included specific financial commitments, including the construction by the new federal government of the Intercolonial Railway from Québec to the Maritimes. The colonies recognized they needed to improve communications and grow economically. Railways between the colonies would boost economic opportunity through increased trade. The memory of the United States invading British North America during the War of 1812 also provided support: railways would make borders more defensible by enabling the quick movement of troops and weaponry.

Some Maritime delegates declared that the building of an intercolonial rail line was a precondition of their joining Canada. It was this key undertaking that secured the decision of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to join Confederation.

also Ontario and Confederation and Quebéc and Confederation.)

The Atlantic View

None of the Atlantic colonies of Newfoundland, PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was as dissatisfied with the status quo as was Canada West. All except Newfoundland enjoyed prosperous economies and felt comfortable as they were. The bulk of the population, especially in Nova Scotia and PEI, saw no reason to change their constitution just because Canada was finding it had outgrown its own.

Even Newfoundland, despite economic difficulties in the 1860s, postponed a decision on Confederation in 1865, and in an 1869 election decisively rejected it.

The more prosperous PEI resisted almost from the start. A small, dedicated group of Confederationists made little headway until early in the 1870s when PEI, badly indebted by the construction of an Island railway, joined Confederation in return for Canada taking over its loan payments.

Nova Scotians were divided. Confederation was popular in the northern areas of the mainland and in Cape Breton, but along the south shore and in the Annapolis Valley - the prosperous world of shipping, shipbuilding, potatoes and apples - the idea seemed unattractive or even dangerous. Conservative Premier Charles Tupper, ambitious, aggressive and confident, went ahead with Confederation anyway, convinced that in the long run it would be best for Nova Scotia, and perhaps also for himself. His government did not need to go to the polls until after Confederation was finalized. By that time it was too late for the 65 per cent of Nova Scotians who opposed the idea ( see Repeal Movement).

New Brunswick was only a little more enthusiastic. In 1865 the anti-Confederation government of heir A.J. Smith was elected. It collapsed the following year and was replaced by a new pro-Confederation government, whose support for a British North America union was helped by the Fenian invasions of that spring, which badly weakened anti-Confederation positions. T raids revealed shortfalls in the leadership, structure and training of the Canadian militia, which led to a number of reforms and improvements in the years to come. More importantly, the threat the irregular Fenian armies posed to British North America, along with growing concerns over American military and economic might, led to increased support among British and Canadian officials towards Confederation.

( See also New Brunswick and Confederation, PEI and Confederation, Nova Scotia and Confederation, Newfoundland and Labrador and Confederation.)

Indigenous Perspectives

Indigenous peoples were not invited to or represented at the Charlottetown and Québec Conferences, even though they had established what they believed to be bilateral (nation-to-nation) relationships and commitments with the Crown through historic treaties ( see Indigenous Peoples: Treaties). Paternalistic views about Indigenous peoples effectively left Canada's first peoples out of the formal discussions about unifying the nation.

Despite their exclusion, Confederation still had a significant impact on Indigenous communities. In 1867, the federal government assumed responsibility over Indigenous affairs from the colonies. With the purchase of Rupert's Land in 1869, the Dominion of Canada extended its influence over the Indigenous peoples living in that region. Seeking to develop, settle and claim these lands, as well as those in the surrounding area, the Dominion signed a series of 11 treaties from 1871 to 1921 with various Indigenous peoples, promising them money, certain rights to the land and other concessions in exchange for the cession (surrender) of their traditional territories. Most of these promises went unfulfilled or were misunderstood by the signatories ( see Numbered Treaties). The years following Confederation saw increased government systems of assimilation, including reserves, the and residential schools.

The View in London

Worried about the cost of defending Britain's North American colonies against potential US aggression, British Colonial Secretary Edward Cardwell was a strong supporter of Confederation. He instructed his governors in North America in the strongest language possible, to promote the idea, which they did. Confederation meant Canada would have to pay for its own defense against any American aggression, rather than relying on colonial funds.

The London Conference, from December 1866 to February 1867, was the final stage of translating the 72 Resolutions of 1864 into legislation. The result was the British North America Act of 1867 (now called the Constitution Act, 1867) which passed through the British Parliament and was signed by Queen Victoria on 29 March 1867. It was proclaimed into law on 1 July 1867.

The Dominion Grows

British policy favoring the union of all of British North America continued under Cardwell's successors. The Hudson's Bay Company sold Rupert's Land to Canada in 1870, and the young country expanded with the addition of Manitoba and the North-West Territory that same year. British Columbia was brought into Confederation in 1871 and PEI in 1873. The Yukon territory was created in 1898 and the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905.

Having rejected Confederation in 1869, Newfoundland and Labrador finally joined in 1949. Nunavut was carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1999.

( See also Manitoba and Confederation, Saskatchewan and Confederation, Alberta and Confederation, British Columbia and Confederation, Yukon and Confederation, NWT and Confederation, Nunavut and Confederation.)

Macdonald's Vision

Although Confederation was the product, in the 1860s, of three conferences and delegates from five colonies, the practical ideas of how it might actually be achieved came from John A. Macdonald (who became the new country's first prime minister) with help from Alexander Tilloch Galt, and with George-Étienne Cartier's insistence on a certain essential minimum of provincial rights. Confederation had not been originally Macdonald's idea, but he was finally the one who took hold of it and made the running. Thus, it is to Macdonald and his ideas that Canadians should look to understand the character of that 1867 union.

( See also Fathers of Confederation, Macdonald: The Man Who Made Us, Cartier: Kingpin of Confederation, Political Partnership: Macdonald and Cartier's Quest Toward Confederation and Sir John A. Macdonald.)

A Country in 13 Parts

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The Dominion of Canada wasn't born out of revolution, or a sweeping outburst of nationalism. Rather, it was created in a series of conferences and orderly negotiations, culminating in the terms of Confederation on 1 July 1867.

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Lithium Ion Cordless Hair Clipper Review Demo

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Missing voices All pictures and graphics used in the video are from: Arnold, P.A., Clark, P. & Westerlund, K. (2000). Canada revisited 8: Confederation, the development of western canada, a changing society. Scarborough: Arnold Publishing Ltd.

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