Canadian Confederation Overview July 1, 1867

Was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed beginning 1 July 1867 from the provinces, colonies and territories of British North America.

Colonial organization American Revolution, approximately 50,000 United Empire Loyalists fled to British North America Unwelcome in Nova Scotia, so the British created the separate colony of New Brunswick for them in 1784 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 remainder of modern-day Canada was made up of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory Modern-day British Columbia was the separate Colony of British Columbia (formed in 1858

The Great Coalition 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 Formed to stop the political deadlock between Upper and Lower Canada The main problem with this was that the French and English voted against each other on just about everything out of distrust The three men who formed the Great Coalition were George Brown (clear brits), George-Étienne Cartier (parti bleu), John A Macdonald (Liberal-Conservatives)

Internal causes that influenced Confederation: Between 1854 and 1865 the United States followed a policy of free trade (the Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty) where products were allowed into their country without taxes or tariffs; in 1865, the United States canceled reciprocity Political deadlock resulting from the current political structure Demographic pressure Economic nationalism and the promise of economic development

External pressures that influenced Confederation: The U.S. doctrine of Manifest destiny, the real and constant threat of intervention from the US The American Civil War, British actions and American reactions The Fenian raids The Underground Railroad The creation of a new British colonial policy, whereby Britain no longer wanted to maintain troops in its colonies.

The Charlottetown Conference, September 1–9, 1864 No minutes from the Charlottetown Conference survived The Canadian delegation’s proposal for the governmental system involved themes: 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; and 5. The appointment of a governor general by the British Crown.

The Quebec Conference, October 10–27, 1864 After Charlottetown John A. 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 end of the Conference, it adopted the Seventy-two Resolutions which would form the basis of a scheduled future conference

The London Conference, December 1866–March 1867 Following the Quebec Conference, the Province of Canada’s legislature passed a bill approving the union and in 1866 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia approved the bill as well Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia traveled to London in December 1866. Meetings were held at the Westminster Palace Hotel and the delegates reviewed the Seventy-two Resolutions January 1867 they began drafting the British North America Act Agreed that the new country should be called “Canada” Canada East should be renamed “Quebec” and that Canada West should be renamed “Ontario.”

British North America Act, 1867 Confederation was accomplished when Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the British North America Act (BNA Act) on March 29, 1867 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 While the BNA Act gave Canada more autonomy than it had before, it was far from full independence from the United Kingdom.

“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”

Review Questions 1. List and explain four reasons as to why there was a need to form a new kind of government in British North America 2. Out of the three Conferences that were discussed, which one do you think was the most important. Explain. 3. Do you believe a Canadian Confederation would still have happened even without the Great Coalition? Explain.