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in this video they talk about Charles tuppers life and what his role was in the nova Scotia confederation.

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CBC News "The Future Of Nova Scotia"-Confederation

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Not everyone was on board with Nova Scotia joining Confederation

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Anti-Confederation was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Liberal-Conservative parties.

In 1867 in Nova Scotia, Anti-Confederates won 36 out of 38 seats in the provincial legislature, and formed a government under William Annand (See 24th General Assembly of Nova Scotia). The Anti-Confederation Party was opposed by the Confederation Party of Charles Tupper. Prominent Anti-confederates included the noted shipbuilder William D. Lawrence, Alfred William Savary and the wealthy merchant Enos Collins.

Federally, in the 1867 federal election, the Anti-Confederate party won 18 of Nova Scotia's 19 seats in the House of Commons of Canada. Howe won the federal seat in Hants County, Nova Scotia, while William D. Lawrence won the Hants County provincial seat. Britain, however, refused to allow Nova Scotia to secede.

While many anti-confederationists threatened to secede and join the United States, Howe was a pragmatist and ultimately accepted Confederation as a fact. He was soon persuaded to join the Cabinet of Sir John A. Macdonald, leading to the movement's collapse (1869).

"...the scheme [confederation with Canada] by them assented to would, if adopted, deprive the people [of Nova Scotia] of the inestimable privilege of self-government, and of their rights, liberty and independence, rob them of their revenue, take from them the regulation of trade and taxation, expose them to arbitrary taxation by a legislature over which they have no control, and in which they would possess but a nominal and entirely ineffective representation; deprive them of their invaluable fisheries, railways, and other property, and reduce this hitherto free, happy, and self-governed province to a degraded condition of a servile dependency of Canada."

-  from Address to the Crown by the Government (Journal of the House of Assembly, Province of Nova Scotia, 1868)

There was also an Anti-Confederation Party in New Brunswick led by Albert J. Smith, whose coalition of Conservatives and Reformers won the 1865 election. It was, however, soundly defeated in the 1866 election by the Confederation Party led by Peter Mitchell. The legislature that resulted from that election approved Confederation by a margin of 38 to 1. Accordingly, in the 1867 federal election the Anti-Confederates did not win any of New Brunswick's fifteen seats in the House of Commons of Canada.

While in Nova Scotia and elsewhere, opponents of confederation were predominantly Liberals and supporters were predominantly Tories, in New Brunswick the debate blurred party lines. Anti-Confederate leader Albert Smith and Confederate Peter Mitchell were both Conservatives, while one of the most prominent leaders of the pro-Confederation forces, Samuel Leonard Tilley, was a Liberal. Tilley later joined the government of Sir John A. Macdonald. Both Anti-Confederate and Confederate forces were mixtures of Tories and Reformers (Liberals).

By 1870, the Confederate and Anti-Confederate parties had dissolved and were replaced by the old Liberal and Tory parties.

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Anti-Confederation was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Liberal-Conservative parties. In 1867 in Nova Scotia, Anti-Confederates won 36 out of 38 seats in the provincial legislature, and formed a government under William Annand (See 24th General Assembly of Nova Scotia).

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About Jonathan McCully

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Jonathan McCully, senator, politician, journalist, lawyer, teacher (born 25 July 1809 in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia; died 2 January 1877 in Halifax, NS). Jonathan McCully was a strong advocate of Confederation in the Nova Scotia press from 1864 to 1867, writing pro-Confederation editorials for the Halifax Morning Chronicle and Unionist and Halifax Journal. He attended the Charlottetown Conference and the Québec Conference as part of the Liberal delegation from Nova Scotia. After Confederation, McCully became a senator and a judge of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Early Life and Family

Jonathan McCully was born on his family's 60-hectare farm in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, the fifth of nine children for Samuel McCully and Esther Pipes. He attended a local one-room schoolhouse, teaching there between 1828 and 1830 to earn the necessary funds to study law. One of McCully's students was Charles Tupper, the future premier of Nova Scotia (1864-1867). Following a five-year apprenticeship, McCully was called to the Bar in 1837 and opened a law office in Amherst, Nova Scotia.

In 1842, McCully married Elizabeth "Eliza" Creed, a Haligonian woman almost 10 years his junior, at St. George's Anglican Church in Halifax. They had three children: a son, Clarence, and two daughters. The family settled in Halifax in 1849.

Jonathan McCully became a political journalist and supporter of the Liberal party from 1837 and, in addition to his legal career, was a prolific writer and editor. He began to write for the Acadian Recorder and became editor of the Halifax Morning Chronicle by 1857. After he was fired from the Morning Chronicle for his pro-Confederation views in 1865, he bought the Morning Journal and Commercial Advertiser, renamed it the Unionist and Halifax Journal, and continued to write in support of Confederation.

Political Career

In 1848, Nova Scotia premier Joseph Howe appointed Jonathan McCully to the Legislative Council, a position he held until 1867. Over the course of his political career, he held a variety of offices related to the building of railways in the province. In 1853, he was appointed probate judge and, in this position, supported Howe's railway projects, including the building of a line from Halifax to Truro, Nova Scotia. He served as railway commissioner from 1854 to 1857 and ran the Nova Scotia Railway from 1860 to 1863. His blunt opinions, overbearing nature and reputation as a social climber made him unpopular with his colleagues. A satirical verse about his management of the Nova Scotia Railway stated:

I am monarch of all I survey,My will there is none to dispute,Trains run when I want 'em to run.

And toot when I tell 'em to toot.

Confederation

Jonathan McCully was persuaded of the merits of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, a conversion that was received with some cynicism by his colleagues in the Nova Scotia Legislative Council. McCully wasn't supposed to be part of the Charlottetown Conference, but he was chosen by Charles Tupper as a replacement when one of the other delegates withdrew at the last minute. McCully recognized the social and economic benefits of Nova Scotia becoming part of a larger nation. In 1865, he wrote: "Local politics have become a farce, nothing more or less [...] the only politics to divide parties [...] who shall be high constable of the parish, first footman in a governor's hall, or master of ceremonies at a political picnic. [...] Small countries make small men."

As premier of Nova Scotia, Tupper valued the support of McCully, his former teacher, in the face of opposition to Confederation from Nova Scotia's business elite. Upon his return from the Québec Conference, he wrote to John A. Macdonald, stating: "We have had hard work here. A great body of the leading men, comprising the most wealthy merchants in the city, are exerting themselves to the utmost to defeat the scheme. [Adams George] Archibald and McCully have stood by me like trumps, and I hope we will carry the day."

See also Nova Scotia and Confederation.

Later Life

Sir John A. Macdonald rewarded Jonathan McCully for his support of Confederation with an appointment to the Senate, which he held from 1867 to 1870. While in the Senate, McCully was Chair of the Select Committee on Rupert's Land, Red River and the Northwest Territory during the Red River Resistance in 1869. In 1870, McCully was appointed puisne judge on the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, which brought him favourable public opinion for his role in clearing the backlog of cases efficiently. He died in 1877, at the age of 67, leaving a substantial estate of $100,000.

Legacy

Jonathan McCully's career demonstrates the influence of political journalism on Confederation. His editorials and standing within Nova Scotia 's legal community contributed to a shift in public opinion in favour of Confederation.

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Jonathan McCully, senator, politician, journalist, lawyer, teacher (born 25 July 1809 in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia; died 2 January 1877 in Halifax, NS). Jonathan McCully was a strong advocate of Confederation in the Nova Scotia press from 1864 to 1867, writing pro-Confederation editorials for the Halifax Morning Chronicle and Unionist and Halifax Journal.

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This is about NS after confederation

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Nova Scotia was, of course, one of the original parties to the federal union. From the outset, however, there were political and economic leaders in the colony who had qualms. Nova Scotia would have been the leading third in the proposed Maritime Union with New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Halifax was easily the largest city and one of the most industrially advanced. Even if it didn't become the political capital of the "United Maritimes," it would emerge almost certainly as the economic capital of this new configuration. The 1864 Maritime Union plan was put aside to make way for Confederation, and many Nova Scotians continued to think that was a mistake.

The most prominent and highly appealing opponent of Confederation was Joseph Howe. A journalist and writer, his political speeches and editorials were of an exceptional calibre. His initial opposition to Confederation stemmed from a belief in a broader British imperial federation that might include the West Indian islands with which Nova Scotia had deep and vital links. Unable to stop the union between Nova Scotia and the other British North Americans, he sought to reverse it as early as the autumn of 1867.

In elections that season, Nova Scotia's pro-confederate candidates were routed provincially and federally. The anti-confederates (led by Howe) won 36 of 38 seats in Nova Scotia and 18 of 19 seats in Ottawa. Their winning rhetoric underscored the colony's orientation toward the Atlantic and not toward the heart of North America. Repeatedly, the image was invoked of a once-proud colony being reduced to poverty by avaricious Canadians obsessed with over-ambitious railways and colonization of the West.

Howe led a repeal delegation to London to have the British North America Act overturned; the best he could obtain, however, was a commitment to have Ottawa re-examine proposed tariff and fisheries policies. This failure was compounded in 1868 when the new British government confirmed its commitment to the Dominion model. Howe, a strident loyalist, was deeply disappointed by Westminster, and his sentiments were probably shared by many others in the province. Certainly there were elements among the anti-confederates who considered annexation to the United States a preferable option, and still others who preferred outright independence. Howe was speaking for that last position when he said that, were it not for his continued loyalty to Britain, "I would take every son I have and die on the frontier before I would submit to this outrage" - meaning Confederation.

Be that as it may, Howe and his followers acquiesced. He was able to negotiate better terms for Nova Scotia and agreed to give the federation his backing by standing for a federal seat. He won, but it cost him his health and much of his reputation for integrity in Nova Scotia. It is perhaps one of the great ironies of early post-Confederation history that Howe, in his capacity as Secretary of State for the Provinces, was instrumental in persuading the Manitobans that federal union was a deal worth pursuing.

Howe's vision of an imperial federation would find an echo in the last decades before the Great War (World War I). "Imperialists" in English-Canada would articulate an ambition and a model that was first brought to public attention by Howe (see Section 4.5). Before then, the Nova Scotian Repeal Movement would take a last stab at secession.

The Dominion of Canada was not two decades old when Nova Scotians would again reconsider their place in Canada. The Maritime economy had slowed and a structural decline was underway. Ship construction had plummeted from a high point in 1864 of 73,000 tons to 21,000 in 1886, and 14,000 tons in 1887. Population growth slowed severely to only 2% in the 1880s. Natural increases (more births than deaths) were offset by out-migration - mostly to the western reaches of the new Dominion and to New England. Rural Nova Scotia was changing at a particularly rapid rate, as the industrializing centres of Cape Breton's collieries (coal mines), Halifax, Lunenburg, and a half-dozen other port towns attracted young women and men from the countryside. Lobster exports from Halifax to American ports fell by 75% in 1885 alone, and other trade with the United States was similarly affected. In this context, the pre-Confederation era of Reciprocity with the Americans, robust population growth (of around 15%), powerful shipyard industries in the major ports, and thriving rural communities - including their proud churches, energetic civic organizations, and densely networked families - seemed like a golden age in Nova Scotia's recent history. What had changed? Confederation.

Party politics in Nova Scotia increasingly coalesced around Conservative and Liberal parties. If the former was in power federally, the latter stood a better chance of holding power provincially. This was certainly the case in 1886 when William S. Fielding (1848-1929) - a self-described anti-confederate - led the Liberal Party to victory with a simultaneous call for secession and better subsidies from Ottawa. The two options reflected divisions between unionists and secessionists within the Liberal Party. If the subsidies were not forthcoming, Fielding insisted that Nova Scotia's legislature would vote for a repeal of the BNA Act. He was also inclined to take Nova Scotia, with New Brunswick and PEI, out of Confederation and into a revived version of Maritime Union. This was a project in which neither of the other two colonies showed much interest.

In the end it was a combination of internal disagreement within the provincial Liberal Party and the federal election of 1887 that defeated the movement. Insofar as the campaign against Canada could be personalized, it was an attack on the policies and practices of the Conservative Party's John A. Macdonald, effectively the face of federal rule. When Fielding's Liberals took to the polls in 1887's federal election, they found it difficult-to-impossible to campaign for the federal Liberal Party and against remaining in Confederation. Conservative candidates held 14 of the 21 federal seats and showed special strength in areas where industrialization was speeding ahead. In those areas, the National Policy (see Section 3.3) appeared to be working. As a measure of popular support for secession, the federal election results were the exact opposite of what was suggested in the provincial elections a year earlier. This would not be the last election in which specific issues (like separation) would become confused with voter decisions about who might constitute the better government. Nor would it prove to be the last time the country looked likely to come undone.

Key Points

The anti-Confederation movement in Nova Scotia was a significant political force from the 1860s-1880s.

Britain's support for Confederation was critical in undermining the anti-Confederation movement under Joseph Howe.

Support for repeal and secession reflected substantial and rapid social and economic change in Nova Scotia.

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Nova Scotia was, of course, one of the original parties to the federal union. From the outset, however, there were political and economic leaders in the colony who had qualms. Nova Scotia would have been the leading third in the proposed Maritime Union with New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

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He was instrumental in helping Nova Scotia become the first British colony to win responsible government in 1848. He served as premier of Nova Scotia from 1860 to 1863

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About Joesph Howe and Sir Charles Tupper

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Flourishing Colony

Nova Scotia entered Confederation reluctantly. Through thousands of years of Mi'kmaq rule, and then European settlement beginning in the early 1600s, the people of the area had always had a strong sense of independence. In 1848, Nova Scotia became the first colony in British North America (BNA) to achieve responsible government, a form of democratic self-rule. ( See Nova Scotia: The Cradle of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy.)

By the 1860s, the coastal settlements of the colony were flourishing. This was thanks to shipbuilding, fishing, farming and trade. But Nova Scotia faced a crossroads: Should it join the proposed Dominion of Canada, or should it remain a separate British colony?

Against Confederation

Joseph Howe, a journalist and politician, had led the drive for responsible government. But he opposed joining Canada. He felt that Nova Scotia would continue to flourish on its own but would be neglected in a larger country. He also argued that the 331,000 people of the colony should decide the matter.

Howe emphasized Nova Scotia's geographic and cultural distance from Canada West (present-day Ontario) and Canada East (present-day Quebec). "Did anybody ever propose to unite Scotland with Poland or Hungary?" he asked in the Halifax Chronicle. "Inland countries 800 miles off in the very heart of Europe." To Howe, the situation in British North America was similar.

Most Nova Scotians lived in prosperous shipping, shipbuilding and farming communities. They saw little benefit in uniting with the other BNA colonies. Most felt closer family and economic ties to the New England states than to the distant Province of Canada.

The Nova Scotian patriot par excellence, Howe could use his oratorical powers to influence his compatriots as no other man has ever done.

Tupper and Confederation

The Nova Scotia delegates to the 1864 Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences were committed to making the colony part of Confederation, despite popular opposition. ( See Confederation's Opponents.) Advocates for Confederation argued that joining the new country would provide greater security against possible American expansionism. There would be a wider domestic market for Nova Scotia trade goods. And, most importantly, a national railway linking the Atlantic colonies to Ontario and Quebec would be built and largely paid for by the new federal government. ( See Intercolonial Railway.)

Premier Charles Tupper had led the Nova Scotia delegates at the 1864 conferences. In 1866, at the end of his electoral mandate, he used his government's majority in the colonial legislature to pass the terms of Confederation agreed to in Quebec City. ( See also Quebec Resolutions.)

When Nova Scotia officially became a Canadian province in 1867, two newspapers summed up the opposing views. The British Colonist declared: "The days of isolation and dwarf-hood are past; henceforth we are a united people, and the greatness of each goes to swell the greatness of the whole." One the other hand, the Morning Chronicle mourned: "Died! Last night at 12 o'clock, the free and enlightened Province of Nova Scotia."

On the Halifax waterfront, protesters burned Tupper in effigy, along with a live rat. In the town of Yarmouth, some buildings were draped in black cloth in protest.

Intercolonial Railway. Red Pine Bridge. Section 16.

Repeal Movement

Although Tupper had forced Confederation through the legislature, the citizens who could vote rejected it. In the joint 1867 provincial and federal election, Howe's Anti-Confederation League and others opposed to Confederation won 36 of 38 seats in the provincial legislature. They also took 18 of 19 seats federally. Tupper was the only supporter of Confederation elected to the new federal Parliament.

Led by Howe, anti-Confederation Nova Scotians fought unsuccessfully for two years to repeal the union. ( See Repeal Movement.) In 1868, Tupper and Howe worked out a common way forward. Having failed at every turn to take Nova Scotia out of Canada, Howe decided he could do more to help his province by working inside the federal government. In 1869, at the invitation of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, Howe joined the federal Cabinet. He would later play an important role in bringing Manitoba into Confederation. ( See Manitoba and Confederation.)

Fathers of Confederation

Nova Scotia's Fathers of Confederation - those men who attended one or more of the Charlottetown, Quebec and London Conferences - include Charles Tupper, Adams G. Archibald, R.B. Dickey, W.A. Henry and Jonathan McCully.

See also: Mothers of Confederation; Confederation: Collection; Confederation: Timeline.

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Nova Scotia entered Confederation reluctantly. Through thousands of years of Mi'kmaq rule, and then European settlement beginning in the early 1600s, the people of the area had always had a strong sense of independence. In 1848, Nova Scotia became the first colony in British North America (BNA) to achieve responsible government, a form of democratic self-rule.

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Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian father of Confederation:[1] as the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He went on to serve as the sixth prime minister of Canada, sworn into office on May 1, 1896, seven days after parliament had been dissolved. He lost the June 23 election and resigned on July 8, 1896. His 69-day term as prime minister is the shortest in Canadian history

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This is about the oppostion to confederation

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Maritime Opposition

In October 1864, delegates from across British North America developed the terms for Confederation at a three-week conference in Quebec City. After the Quebec Conference, there remained the task of selling Confederation to the citizens. Nowhere was the task more daunting than in the Atlantic provinces -Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
The Atlantic colonies were booming as the American Civil War brought prosperity to every port. And there was a surge in worldwide demand for ships and lumber. The Maritimes had little to do with geographically and economically distant Upper and Lower Canada. The East Coast colonies felt more affinity to Boston or Liverpool.

In Nova Scotia, a defeated but revered politician, Joseph Howe, felt the prosperous colony of 330,857 citizens could stand alone.

"Did anybody ever propose to unite Scotland with Poland or Hungary?" Howe wrote in the Halifax Chronicle. "Inland countries 800 miles off in the very heart of Europe."

Howe continued his anti-Confederation attacks dashing the hopes of union supporters such as Charles Tupper that the Quebec deal would sail quietly through the Legislature in Halifax.

In New Brunswick, Premier Samuel Leonard Tilley was a supporter of union and the railway that would result. He was confident of backing from his electorate. But when he held an ill-advised snap election, he was soundly beaten and his government replaced by an anti-Confederation administration.

In London, William Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer, favoured Confederation and was furious at the voters of New Brunswick. "...there is something almost ridiculous in the idea of their standing upon an opinion of their own in such a matter against ours, and against that of Canada with five or six times the population."

Orders were dispatched from Britain to set things straight. The Queen's representative in New Brunswick arranged for the upstart government to be brought down. The recently defeated Samuel Tilley turned to his new friend John A. Macdonald for re-election money.

"My dear Macdonald... I think we can with good management and means carry a majority in the province. It will require some 40,000 or $50,000 to do the work in all the counties," wrote Tilley.

In Montreal, a company with deep pockets heeded the call. The Grand Trunk Railway was deeply interested in the idea of linking Canada with the Maritimes by rail. C.J. Brydges, the railway's general manager, promised utter discretion in the campaign to re-elect Tilley.

In the end, pro-Confederationists were re-elected in New Brunswick, partly as a result of bribes to the electorate. And in Nova Scotia, Charles Tupper arranged it so that no vote was taken on the actual Quebec deal - instead a resolution was passed embracing the principle of Confederation.

Both Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland rejected the Quebec Resolutions outright. But Macdonald and his colleagues still had an effective blueprint for a country

Halifax, Nova Scotia, was capital of a prosperous colony in the 1860s. Many of its citizens opposed Confederation. (Courtesy of the National Archives of Canada)

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Maritime Opposition In October 1864, delegates from across British North America developed the terms for Confederation at a three-week conference in Quebec City. After the Quebec Conference, there remained the task of selling Confederation to the citizens. Nowhere was the task more daunting than in the Atlantic provinces -Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.

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the Story's of Confederation

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Teachers' Zone | Canadian Museum of History

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Teachers’ Zone | Canadian Museum of History

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Canadian-history-themed packages full of museum objects, archival documents, short interviews, activity suggestions and more.

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About NS confederation and the lead up to it

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Pre-Confederation Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia before the time of the Confederation debates was a prosperous colony of approximately 350,000 people, spread around the coastline and throughout the Annapolis Valley. The population included people of British, Irish, Scottish, German, Mi'kmaq and Acadian descent. The largest community was the city of Halifax; other major centres included Yarmouth and Truro.

The economy was based on the traditional industries of fishing, shipping and shipbuilding, agriculture, and natural resources such as timber. However, the newer industries of manufacturing and the railway were beginning to make an appearance. The region had a close trading relationship with New England, aided by proximity and the Reciprocity Treaty. The sea-based economy of the region, combined with Halifax's function as a garrison city and its relative isolation from the Canadas, helped to forge a close relationship with Great Britain.

The colony was one of the first to be given responsible government, in 1848. While men had almost universal suffrage, no women had the vote. The major political parties were the Conservatives and Liberals; their leaders were Charles Tupper and Adams George Archibald, respectively. Other major figures in Nova Scotia's political and public life included Joseph Howe, Jonathan McCully and William Annand.

Maritime Union

The spring and summer of 1864 saw discussion of a possible union of the Maritime colonies. In fact, Charles Tupper based part of his 1863 election platform on the promise to call a conference on the matter. The collapse of negotiations with the Province of Canada for an extension of the Intercolonial Railway (ICR) has been suggested as a factor in the issue's prominence -- it was felt that the region would have more influence bargaining as one large group instead of three small ones. During its spring session, the Nova Scotia legislature considered a resolution calling for the appointment of delegates to a Maritime union conference. However, interest then languished, possibly because of renewed Canadian interest in the ICR.

It was not until the summer of 1864, when the Canadians expressed interest in the proposed conference, and requested permission to attend in order to make a presentation regarding a full British North American union, that discussion of the matter was renewed. The colonies were forced to actually organize a conference for the Canadians to attend, and to appoint delegates. It was decided (after much deliberation) to hold the discussions at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, beginning September 1, 1864.

Canadian Visit, 1864

In the interest of promoting closer relations amongst the colonies of British North America, D'Arcy McGee organized a visit to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick by a delegation of Canadian politicians and journalists for the late summer of 1864. In Nova Scotia the visitors, after landing at Windsor, proceeded to Halifax, where they stopped for several days. For entertainment, there were picnics, banquets, and excursions. A warm disposition toward each other, and toward the idea of a union of the colonies, prevailed. Newspapers of the time were particularly amused by the "Hodge Podge dinner" held for the delegates. Even Joseph Howe, who later became a vehement anti-Confederationist, gave a speech supporting union after one of the banquets in Halifax.

The Charlottetown Conference, September 1864

The delegates from Nova Scotia were appointed from all levels of the government, and included government and opposition members. They included Premier Charles Tupper, Opposition Leader Adams George Archibald, Opposition Upper House Member Jonathan McCully, Government Upper House Member Robert Dickey, and Attorney General William Henry. Dickey arrived in Charlottetown on August 30 and his fellow delegates joined him the following evening.

Official proceedings began on the afternoon of September 1 -- after the arrival of the Canadian delegates -- with the appointment of officers. After deciding that discussion of Maritime Union could wait, it was agreed to hear the Canadian proposals regarding a larger union. While there are no official records of the closed proceedings, the Halifax Morning Chronicle of September 10, 1864 gives an account of what was said, in an article attributed to Jonathan McCully. Nova Scotians, like the other delegates, took part in the whirl of social activities accompanying the official proceedings. After the official meetings at Charlottetown were over, the delegates continued on a tour of the Maritime colonies. In Nova Scotia, they stopped at Halifax.

The Québec Conference, October 1864

At the Québec Conference -- where a union in the spirit of the discussions held at Charlottetown was to be formed -- the Nova Scotia delegates were the same gentlemen who had attended the first conference. The Québec negotiations took a different tone and direction from the presentations at Charlottetown, however. The delegates now needed to agree on the actual terms of the proposed union. The first difficulty encountered was the composition of the Senate, and the desire of the Maritime colonies for equal representation in the proposed government. More pressing were the financial arrangements that would allow the provinces to cover the costs of new and existing services. Charles Tupper put forward an agreement, which, while it suited the Canadians, was insufficient to meet Nova Scotia's needs.

As at Charlottetown, there were many social activities for the delegates to attend when negotiations were through for the day. For this gathering, however, many delegates were accompanied by wives and daughters, and though Québec did not offer the warm summer weather of Charlottetown, the setting and the people did much to charm the delegates and their families. Even more so than at Charlottetown, these occasions were important in wooing delegates who might have been unsure about supporting the terms of the union.

After long hours of deliberation and debate, the delegates at last produced the Québec Resolutions, the guidelines for what would become the British North America Act. The Resolutions covered all aspects of the formation of the proposed new country and its government. Nova Scotian response was varied, ranging from wholehearted support to harsh criticism.

After the conference, delegates took a tour of the Canadas, stopping at Montréal, Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville and Toronto.

Reactions to the Québec Resolutions

Charles Tupper, as leader of the Nova Scotia delegation, was surprised to meet opposition to the Québec Resolutions when he and the other delegates returned home. The delegates were all supporters of the proposed agreement. Tupper's government also had a comfortable majority in the legislature that would vote on the proposals; he anticipated no difficulty in passing them. Once the Resolutions were made public, however, many prominent figures expressed their opposition. As Christopher Moore states, Nova Scotians felt no particular compulsion for constitutional reform; many others found the financial parts of the agreement completely unacceptable.

Chief among the protesters was Joseph Howe. At first, while acting as Imperial Fisheries Commissioner, he was obliged to denounce the resolutions anonymously in a series of newspaper articles called the "Botheration Letters." Later, when he no longer held any imperial responsibilities, he was more overt in his criticism. Another prominent detractor was William Annand, who would become the first Nova Scotian premier of the Confederation era.

The battle over Confederation was fought in the newspapers as well as in the legislature. The Halifax Morning Chronicle was a prominent supporter of union until William Annand resumed control of the paper from Jonathan McCully, after which time it became one of Confederation's strongest critics. McCully continued publishing his pro-union opinions in the Halifax Unionist. Another supporter of the idea was the Halifax British Colonist, for which Charles Tupper wrote frequently.

After the Québec proposal's disastrous showing in New Brunswick's 1865 election, Tupper wished to keep Confederation as far away from the polls as possible. An unpopular school tax he had recently created also promised to make the passage of a union resolution difficult. With his legislative majority, he was able to ignore the increasing agitation to put the matter to a vote before trying to pass it. Tupper reintroduced the concept of Maritime Union in the legislature to divert attention away from Confederation.

On April 18, 1866, just as his mandate was about to end, Tupper passed the Québec Resolutions through the legislature. When the general population heard of the government's actions, they protested loudly in print. Although it was too late to reverse the decision, Tupper promised the electorate that he would attempt to make modifications to the act during the London Conference, where the British North America Act was to be finalized.

The London Conference, December 1866

The British North American contingent that travelled to London, England to draft what would become the official version of the British North America Act was smaller than the ones sent to the previous two conferences. The Nova Scotia members were the same, except that John William Ritchie replaced Robert Dickey -- who had expressed last-minute doubts about the Québec agreement's financial terms. The delegates worked hard at creating a final draft out of the Resolutions. They also worried over such details as how to refer to the new union; they eventually settled on "Dominion," from a passage in the Bible reputedly found by Samuel Leonard Tilley.

At the same time, those against union had sent their own small delegation, consisting of Howe and Annand, to London to protest Nova Scotia's method of ratification. They wished for a renegotiation for what they called "better terms" within the proposed union. Tupper and the other supporters managed to anticipate every opposition move, while trying to persuade the two delegates that modifications could be made to the document before it reached its final form. Despite his best efforts, however, Tupper was unable to introduce any changes before the agreement received royal assent.

Confederation: July 1, 1867

In contrast to the pages-long editorial written by George Brown for the Globe, the Eastern Chronicle & Pictou County Advocate featured mocking birth, marriage and death notices in protest of Confederation. While there were celebrations around the province, such as those described in a Lunenburg resident's diary, in Yarmouth there were buildings draped in black crepe in protest. Effigies of Tupper and other union supporters were burned at Halifax, and at other communities around the province. Some people welcomed union, while others were resentful at being forced into it. The newspaper coverage of the time reflects these varying opinions.

Anti-Confederation feeling in Nova Scotia also influenced that fall's federal and provincial elections. Thirty-six of the thirty-eight provincial seats went to anti-Confederation candidates. Eighteen of the nineteen available federal seats went the same route -- the only Confederation supporter elected was Charles Tupper, in the riding of Cumberland.

It was feared that the federal members, led by Joseph Howe, would not even attend the first sitting of the new nation's Parliament. (They did appear, although Howe made a speech about his feelings regarding union.) William Annand became Nova Scotia's premier. He and Howe continued to push for the removal of Nova Scotia from Canada. When that failed, they moved to a campaign for so-called "better terms." In this effort they were moderately successful. Eventually, Howe was integrated into the new government, persuaded that there he could better fight for his province's interests. Annand had a falling-out with Howe over this point, and continued to fight Confederation until 1869.

The political fate of the delegates varied. Tupper sat in the first Parliament of the new federal government, but did not receive a Cabinet post because of regional representation concerns. Archibald was made the new Secretary of State. McCully, Dickey, and Ritchie were all named as senators. Henry, who lost his seat in the 1867 election, remained active in Nova Scotia politics and was eventually named as one of the first judges to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1875.

Interestingly, the repeal movement in Nova Scotia resurfaced in 1886, under Liberal leader William Fielding. He won 26 of the 38 seats that year, on a campaign of repeal and increased subsidies. The short-lived resurgence collapsed, however, when the Conservatives won 14 of 21 seats in the federal election of 1887.

Sources

The Atlantic provinces in Confederation. -- Ed. E. R. Forbes and D. A. Muise. -- Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1993. -- 628 p.

The Atlantic region to Confederation : a history. -- Ed. Philip A. Buckner and John G. Reid. -- Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1994. -- 491 p.

Canadian encyclopedia : year 2000 edition. -- Ed. James H. Marsh. -- 3rd print ed. -- Toronto : McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1999. -- 2573 p.

Creighton, Donald. -- The road to Confederation : the emergence of Canada, 1863-1867. -- Toronto : Macmillan of Canada, 1964. -- 489 p.

Moore, Christopher. -- 1867 : how the Fathers made a deal. -- Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 1997. -- 279 p.

Morton, W. L. -- The critical years : the union of British North America, 1857-1873. -- Toronto : McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 1964. -- 322 p.

Waite, P. B. -- The life and times of Confederation, 1864-1867 : politics, newspapers, and the union of British North America. -- 2nd ed., with corrections. -- Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 1962. -- 379 p.

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Nova Scotia (1867) - Library and Archives Canada

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Nova Scotia before the time of the Confederation debates was a prosperous colony of approximately 350,000 people, spread around the coastline and throughout the Annapolis Valley. The population included people of British, Irish, Scottish, German, Mi'kmaq and Acadian descent. The largest community was the city of Halifax; other major centres included Yarmouth and Truro.

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talks about the different people that started Canada's
Confederation