1. Fathers of Confederation

2. Who were the Fathers of Confederation?
The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 men who created Canada
They represented the 6 different colonies
Some agreed with the idea, some did not, so each colony would have to decide for itself whether or not it would join

3. Three major players
While there were 36 men who created Canada, we will only discuss 3 of the most important ones:
John A. Macdonald (Canada West)
Georges Etienne Cartier (Canada East)
George Brown (Canada West)

4. Sir John A. Macdonald The idea for confederation was mainly his
He wrote 50 of the 72 Resolutions by himself
He was very well respected by the business people and by the other politicians
He had great skill as a diplomat
He had great skill as a speaker

5. Sir George Etienne Cartier
Was a very powerful representative for the French people in Canada
Was very good friends with Sir John A. Macdonald, so they worked very well together
They shared many of the same ideas about what Canada should look like
He had a large group of friends, many who helped him convince the people of Canada East that confederation would be good for the French

6. George Brown Loved the idea of confederation, but hated Macdonald
Supported “Rep by Pop” which is “Representation by Population”. This means that there is one person who represents a certain number of people.
Believed that the Church and the State should be separate – that no church should tell the government what laws to make or how to govern the country

7. First Prime Minister
For their work on confederation, the queen knighted both Macdonald and Cartier
When the politicians returned from London to Canada, they needed to hold an election
Sir John A. Macdonald won the election, so he and his party (the Conservatives) formed Canada’s first government