Towards Confederation 1850-1867 Building a Nation Towards Confederation 1850-1867

What will become of the BNA colonies? All 5 colonies had earned responsible government, yet they still had political problems Add in growing economic concerns and people were looking toward a new future for BNA

How did the idea come about? Remember back: Lord Elgin had proposed this as a solution to the rebellions 25 years prior! Politicians in the Province of Canada took the lead “The scheme as a whole was met with almost universal approval” – John A. Macdonald Not so fast John A! Everyone except Canada West was fine to leave things the way they were – Britain was administering government affairs and weren’t interested in taking on more responsibilities and governance

Reasons against Confederation Loss of independence by joining a great entity No attachment/connection between the 5 colonies Loss of power for minorities Cost Trust in politicians Didn’t want to assume others’ problems Different needs/wants in each colony Each colony would now be tied to others and would be impacted by decisions; would need to consider others in all future decisions Atlantic colonies had closer ties to Britain and US than CE/CW French were concerned about their culture; Atlantic colonies wouldn’t have power in government due to domination of Prov of Canada based on population; Acadians and First Nations would not be part of the Confederation process yet will be directly impacted by it Big projects proposed will cost money = TAXES!; not all colonies will benefit from proposals (i.e. NFLD and PEI can’t use the railway) This is their idea – how will we know it will work? Was proposed 25 yrs ago and people didn’t want it then…what has changed? Take on the debt of other colonies and assume their issues (i.e. Fr Canadien concerns will now be everyone’s concern) Not everyone had the same needs/wants (i.e. needed to reform gov’t in Prov of Canada, but gov’t worked well in the Maritime provinces)

But… the BNA colonies couldn’t dismiss the idea altogether. They had political, social, geographic, and economic challenges There were internal and external threats that were endangering the existence of BNA.

1ST REASON FOR CONFEDERATION POLITICAL DEADLOCK IN THE PROVINCE OF CANADA

These 2 conditions led to political deadlock As per the Act of Union 1841, government members were elected based on equal representation For a bill to become law in the Province of Canada, it had to be passed by both Canada West and Canada East: this was called double majority These 2 conditions led to political deadlock Equal representation was chosen b/c at the time of the Act of Union, there were more Canadiens than British, so rep by pop would have elected more Canadien to government. However, by 1851, the population of CW was 952,000 compared to 890,000 in CE; so they could have moved to electing members based on “rep by pop” and this would have allowed the British and CW to dominate government and would have ended deadlock. The Province of Canada also had two leaders: one from CW and one from CE The government rotated between Toronto and Quebec City; in 1857, Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as the site of government

Key government players in Canada West John A. Macdonald – leader of the Conservative Party George Brown – leader of the Clear Grits Conservative Party “Tories” -most popular party in CW -believed in a British system of government -opposed to change Clear Grits “Liberals” -defended English Canada interests -disliked French and Catholics -wanted more democracy = “rep by pop” -wanted reform (change) You can see how even within each region, there would be deadlock amongst members (parties had differing ideas)

Key government players in Canada East George Etienne Cartier – leader of the Parti Bleus A.A. Dorion – leader of the Parti Rouge Parti Bleus -most powerful political group in CE -favoured co-operation between English and Canadiens -wanted economic development of CE, protection of French rights, culture, and religion Parti Rouge -supported the rights of French Canadiens -opposed English commercial interests in CE -wanted reform (change)

Another key government player – "Loose Fish" There were also a large number of “loose fish”, politicians who sat as Independents and were not affiliated with a political party They held the balance of power in the Legislative Assembly: they would ‘throw’ their vote to the party that could win Alexander Galt was an influential Independent (aka “loose fish”)

The 4 political parties had to form coalitions with each other and with “loose fish” in order to gain power in government. These coalitions were unstable and could quickly change from day to day. Between 1862 and 1864, 5 governments attempted to govern the Province of Canada. During this time, one such government was only in power for 24 hours! Most did not last longer than a few months. The people of the Province of Canada were tired of having elections: it was becoming costly and no laws were being passed.

The Deadlock is Broken In 1864, a solution was found to political deadlock within the government of the Province of Canada Brown (Clear Grits), Macdonald (Conservatives), Cartier (Parti Bleus), and Galt (Independent) joined forces to create the Great Coalition The Great Coalition was committed to making government work in the Province of Canada They were also interested in forming a federal union with the Maritime colonies A federal union includes a strong, central government and weaker provincial governments If the Great Coalition couldn’t form a union with Maritime colonies, they would form a union within the Province of Canada

2nd Reason for Confederation RAILWAY

Yet everyone would benefit from it: A railway was a costly project that no colony could afford to build on their own Yet everyone would benefit from it: Provide a link between the colonies Faster mail delivery Get goods to and from market faster Alternate transportation route when the St. Lawrence River is frozen Move troops quickly to defend the territory

3rd Reason for Confederation THE END OF FREE TRADE

End of free trade with Britain In the past, Britain had trade agreements with their colonies: 1) low to no tariffs (taxes) on goods 2) guaranteed market to sell products By the 1860s, Britain was realizing this benefitted the colonies more than them Britain decided they would purchase items at the lowest price, regardless of where the goods came from In 1864, Britain repealed the Corn Laws which had a direct impact on the economy of BNA No longer would BNA grain be guaranteed to enter British markets with low tariffs Had to compete with the prices of other countries Lost guaranteed markets to sell corn Corn Laws: guaranteed BNA grain entered British markets with low tariffs; guaranteed market for our grain because it was cheaper than grain from other countries (that would have tariffs added on top)

End of free trade with the US In 1854, BNA signed a Reciprocity Treaty with the US: free trade of natural products This agreement ended in 1865 and the BNA colonies lost another market to sell their goods in America was hoping that by ending free trade, the economies of BNA would collapse and they would want to join with the US If the colonies joined together, they could establish free trade amongst themselves (at this time there were tariffs between the colonies)

4th Reason for Confederation THREAT OF AMERICAN EXPANSION and INVASION

“Manifest Destiny” Fenian Raids 1866-1871 Belief that America should control the continent Concerns of annexation of Rupert’s Land, Colony of Vancouver Island, and the Colony of BC Fenian Raids 1866-1871 American Irish Catholics wanted an end to British control over Ireland Since they couldn’t attack Britain directly, they attacked BNA America had invaded twice before: American Revolution and War of 1812; by uniting, the 5 colonies could better protect themselves from American invasion Manifest Destiny – idea that the destiny of the US was to include all of BNA Scattered colonies had no defence against American invasion; America would be less likely to invade a united, sovereign country

5th Reason for Confederation CHANGING BRITISH ATTITUDES

Britain encouraged BNA to create a union It was becoming too expensive for Britain to govern, finance, and defend its colonies Colonialism was no longer providing the same economic benefit to Britain Britain encouraged BNA to create a union By taking more responsibility for governing themselves, the colonies would incur the costs of government and defense This change of attitude from Britain would actually help the pro-Confederation side: BNA colonists were intensely loyal to Britain – if Britain wanted confederation, then many people would be inclined to favour it for that reason alone! With the Fenian Raids, Britain definitely wanted BNA to unite so they could provide soldiers and cover the costs of defense instead of Britain footing the bill

Socials 9 Riverside Secondary Updated November 2016 Created by Ms. Ross Socials 9 Riverside Secondary Updated November 2016