1. Confederation: The Making of a Nation
BIG QUESTION:
Was Confederation Inevitable?

2. Where did we leave BNA?

3. Who were ‘The People’ in BNA ?

4. Who were ‘The People’ ?
The origin of people varied from region to region
Canada East – French
Canada West and Maritimes- British
Prairies- First Nations and Metis, British and French fur traders
British Columbia- British and Amercian
Who were ‘The People’?
The origin of people varied from region to region
Canada East – French
Canada West and Maritimes- British
Prairies- First Nations and Metis, British and French fur traders
British Columbia- British and Amercian

5. How did they get here?
People emigrated into various regions for different reasons
EMIGRATE: leave one’s country to settle elsewhere

6. 1) Gold Rush
Def’n: a mass movement to an area where gold has been discovered
When gold was found in British Columbia, many British and American descendents moved into the area
Gold Rush
Def’n: a mass movement to an area where gold has been discovered
When gold was found in British Columbia, many British and American descendents moved into the area

9. 2) The Great Migration
Between the 1830s and 1840s, there was a great emigration of people from Europe
This increased the ethnic diversity of British North America to include Dutch, German and Irish peoples

10. The Irish Potato Famine
When disease destroyed most of the country’s main crop, potatoes, many Irishmen and their families were forced to migrate to Canada

11. 3) The Underground Railroad
In 1833, slavery was made illegal in British North America
Heritage
In order to escape imprisonment south of the border, about American slaves escaped to Canada West and Nova Scotia through the Underground Railroad
In general, life was better for escaped slaves in BNA, but they were not always welcomed
Many lived in separate communities rather than in the villages

12. First Nations Peoples
It is uncertain how many First Nations peoples were living in the colonies during this time
They mostly lived on the fringes of settlements
Were not included in census takings until later, and even then their numbers were uncertain
WHY WAS THIS??

13. First Nations Peoples con’t
First Nations leaders soon realized they were no longer respected or treated as friends and allies

14. Political Features of BNA
The British North American colonies had similar government structures
Remember, colonies are:
Canada West
Canada East
Maritimes
British Columbia

15. The political system of the Canadas in the 1850s

16. The political system was fairly simple
The CROWN (king/queen) appointed the governor
The GOVERNOR appointed members of the legislative council and executive council
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL: decided what bills would be introduced into the legislature
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY: chosen by voters
VOTERS: consisted of male property owners
For a Bill to become a Law, it had to be approved by the legislative assembly, the legislative council and the governor

18. Even though the legislative assembly was elected by the voters, the Crown still held power because it elected the Governor (WHO ALWAYS GOT THE FINAL SAY!!!)
Crown generally chose a member of British nobility to be Governor
The Governor then tended to choose CONSERVATIVE men to be members of the legislative council

19. Political Deadlock
The two colonies, Canada West and Canada East, had the same number of seats in the legislative assembly
This could lead to POLITICAL DEADLOCK, because the two sides could not agree on a way to solve the economic challenges faced by BNA
Political deadlock: a situation where progress cannot be made b/c the parties involved do not agree

21. Two main issues ‘Deadlocked’ the Canadas
1) Transportation
Canada West: wanted to expand transportation facilities to increase trade and wealth
Canada East: did not want to change their existing way of life
: They felt that better links with Canada West would threaten their identity and they did not want to tax their people to just spend the money on transportation

22. 2) Representation THINK BACK TO GRADE 7!!!
Canada West supported Representation by Population (Rep by Pop), while Canada East wanted to keep Equal Representation

23. But what about the Maritimes???
Government in the Maritimes
Before 1784, there were only two colonies int eh Maritime region: Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island
1784: Nova Scotia divides into 3 colonies to include New Brunswick and Cape Breton
Cape Breton would later join with New Brunswick

24. But by the 1850s…
Many were talking about joining Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into one colony, with more control… so why not include P.E.I.?
The British gov’t liked the idea because it would be less expensive to have one gov’t than two
By 1864, the Maritime colonies had scheduled a conference in Charlottetown, P.E.I. to talk about a Maritime union

25. WORK WITH THE EVIDENCE P.E.I.’s Absentee Landlord problem
Read provided handout
Discuss with a small group:
Why would the farmers of P.E.I. want to own their own land, rather than rent it from absentee landlords?

26. Other Distant Colonies
There were other colonies in BNA, but they were too far away to have close relations with the Canadas and the Maritimes
East= Newfoundland
Sea crossing was dangerous/unpredictable and the colony tended to mind its own business, but watched the Maritimes closely

27. West= British Columbia
United into a single colony in 1866
Traditionalist British gov’t system (Like the Canadas)
Greatly affected by American influence
Some in B.C. felt that the rest of BNA was too far away
They felt that if the colony wanted to improve its status, it should join the U.S.