Drive to Nationhood Virtual Tour (1854 - 1868)

1. Canadian History Tours Association Drive to Nationhood Virtual Tour(1854 - 1868) “As fragments we shall be lost but let us be united and we shall be as a rock.” Thomas D’Arcy McGee Group 3: 8-26

2. Canadian History Tours Association Sights to See (Table of Contents) • Glossary • Rep by Pop - Why Canada West loved it, and Canada East hated it • What is the reciprocity Treaty? Why is it important? • Expansion of the United States, and the threat to the Canadian Colonies. • American Expansion and the Colonies desire for Union (Confederation) • American Expansion and Great Britain's desire for Union (Confederation) • The Atlantic Colonies (1854 – 64) • Charlottetown Conference, 1864 • Who are the Father's of Confederation? • A brief rundown of the Confederation debate • PEI and Newfoundland • The Constitution Act of 1867 • Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first Prime Minister • British North America Act and Canada's system of Federalism • When did Canada finally do away with the BNA Act? • Why were some events in Canada’s history key in allowing us to become a nation? (2 slides) • Bibliography

3. Canadian History Tours Association Glossary Please get yourself familiar with these terms before we start our tour. Please ask questions during the tour if you do not understand anything. • 72 Resolutions- A list of guidelines or rules that are to be followed as a basis for ruling a group of people. • Anti-Confederation- Those people against Confederation or the idea for union. • Canada East- Former name for Quebec; also called Lower Canada. • Canada West- Former name for Ontario; also called Lower Canada. • Confederation- The federal union of British North American Colonies. The members would retain some power over their own affairs and turn some powers over to a central government. • Dominion of Canada- region consisting of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. • Fenains- A group of Irish Catholics in the United States, whom wanted to end the British rule over Ireland • Free Trade- Trade between countries where taxes or tariffs are not involved. • Great Coalition- formed in June of 1864. It was when the parties joined together in a new political party to that they called a Confederation Party • Tariffs- A tax on money paid to the government of a country when products are brought into a country. Definitions are from Canada Revisited Textbook.

4. Canadian History Tours Association Rep By Pop • Representation by population is the number of elected members of the legislative assembly is based on the number of voters. • Canada West followed George Brown and his reformers (Clear Grit) party they had wanted representation by population • This meant Canada West would have more representatives since population was higher then the East • Representatives for Canada East followed George Etienne Cartier and he was against it because they would lose power.

5. Canadian History Tours Association Reciprocity Treaty • The Reciprocity Treaty occurred from 1854 to 1865 in which the colonies of British North America lost their status and lost most of their markets,this resulted in economic hard times. • Reciprocity meant that there would be free trade in natural products, and it would improve the economic situation between the United States and British North America. • Reciprocity Treaty was meant to let the British North America colonies sell their products to USA without paying tariffs whenever products entered or left • Over time an idea spread among the colonies of British North America which stated that if the colonies were to become united (eliminate tariffs) then economic prosperity would proceed.

6. Canadian History Tours Association Expansion of the United States and the Threat to the Canadian Colonies • The Fenains were a group of Irish people trying to take back Ireland from Britain but they weren’t going to attack directly so they attacked the North American colonies. • The good western farm land was hard to obtain due to the American occupation. • Canadians looked to the west, present day; Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, for a place to settle. However the American had their eye on them. • The colonies of British North America were concerned about the threat but if they were to annex they would get the land before the Americans were able too. • British Columbia and Vancouver island were in threat because the British Colonies traded with San Francisco, and the gold rush also drew many American citizens into the Northern Colonies.

7. Canadian History Tours Association American Expansion and the Colonies desire for Union • Colonies were concerned that the Americans would try to buy land in British North America from Britain and that they would be invaded. • Good farmland in Canada West was getting more difficult to keep but the Americans were also thinking about moving to the western lands. • If the colonies of British North America were to join together and annex these western lands they would get the land before the Americans did. • They would also be able to defend themselves better against the united states. • The union of the colonies was known as confederation.

8. Canadian History Tours Association American Expansion and Great Britain's desire for Union • Britain encouraged unity between the colonies so that they could have a stronger nation (defense) and governors were instructed to encourage unity. • From time of the American revolution the US had expressed an interest in taking away the British empire (failed in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812) • If Britain wanted confederation then many people would have to favor it in that reason alone • Britain’s change in attitude towards her British North American colonies meant Britain was in favor of the colonists taking on more responsibility for governing themselves, this influenced the decision of a few people.

9. Canadian History Tours Association The Atlantic Colonies (1854 – 64) • In the early 1860’s Atlantic Colonies of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick faced serious problems. • There had been little industrial development in the region because the United States had plans to end the special treaty (Reciprocity Treaty) by 1866. • Atlantic colonies began to look at the idea of maritime union (maritime provinces), which resulted in a conference scheduled on September 1864, in Charlottetown, PEI to discuss possible union of Atlantic Colonies.

10. Canadian History Tours Association Charlottetown Conference, 1864 • Colonies of Nova Scotia, PEI, and New Brunswick decided to meet in Charlottetown, PEI on September 1st 1864. • Discussed the idea of the union of Atlantic Colonies. • Province of Canada decided to take advantage of this and tried to convince the Atlantic colonies to join with them in a larger union (Confederation) and also promised to build a railway connecting Canada and the Atlantic Colonies (Trans-Canada). • John A McDonald, George Brown, George Etienne Cartier, Alexander Galt, and Thomas D’Arcy McGee went in order to state why they thought there should be a British North American Union. • By the end of the Charlottetown Conference a decision had been made to work toward a confederation of all the British North American Colonies and another conference was scheduled to be held at Quebec in a month’s time.

11. Canadian History Tours Association Who are the Father's of Confederation? • There were many people who played an important role in the conferences that led up to the Confederation of Canada. • Some people played more influential roles than other, these people were known as the Father’s of Confederation, • They included John A. Macdonald, George Brown, George-Etienne Cartier, Alexander Tilloch, Charles Tupper, Thomas D’Arcy McGee, and Hector-Louis Langevin. • These people believed that the division of powers between the Federal and Provincial governments were not to be a cause of tension, this became an issue in the Maritimes region.

12. Canadian History Tours Association A brief rundown of the Confederation debate • In the province of Canada debate continued for 6 weeks but in the end Great Coalition (the political party formed that was called the Confederation Party) had an overwhelming majority on its side. • The positives of the confederation were that if they were united with the Atlantic provinces then they would be able to defend their country, the trade would improve, and the possibility of building a trans-continental railway would also arise. • The negatives of the confederation were that more people were interested in protecting the Canadian way of life, this way of life would be threatened, and uniting with the other is not necessary for trade. • In the Atlantic Colonies there was strong opposition in the Atlantic Colonies to the 72 resolutions and thus to Confederation, many thought that they were doing fine on their own and could see no reason to join Canada and take its problems.

13. Canadian History Tours Association A brief rundown of the Confederation Debates Contd. • In 1865 Premier Tilley’s pro-confederation fought an election on the issue of Confederation unfortunately they had lost • The opponents of the Premier Tilley’s pro-confederation stressed that New Brunswick would lose control over its own affairs in confederation and people believed them • There were some circumstances that changed the 2 elections for confederation they are as follows: the fear of American Invasion opened again by Fenain raids, Great Britain announced that they supported the idea of union, and that people had time to think about the possible economic benefits of union. Finally they were convinced that union would mean more money for railway construction • People in Nova Scotia were quite interested in a union of Maritime colonies • Premier Charles Tupper watched the 1865 election loss & decided not to call an election until Joseph Howe lost some of his support. Finally in 1866 pro-confederation Premier Tilly was back in office.

14. Canadian History Tours Association PEI and Newfoundland • In PEI there was a widespread opposition to the idea of Confederation, because people were concerned that the islands 5 representatives in the House of Commons would have little power or influence. • The Islanders saw no advantage in the proposed customs union because the islands government operating revenues almost entirely from duties on trade with other colonies. • The people of Newfoundland were really not interested in confederation partly because they felt that they had little in common with the people of the united province of Canada • When they heard about the anti-confederation events in the other Atlantic Colonies they lost interest all together.

15. Canadian History Tours Association The Constitution Act of 1867 • The aim of the Constitution Act was to create a federal union (Confederation) of the colonies of British North America associated with the Great Britain. • The proclamation of the Dominion of Canada was announced at Windsor castle in Great Britain in May 1867. • The Dominion of Canada was to consist of the provinces New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. • The most important question that the writers of the Constitution Act had to decide was whether there should be both national and provincial levels of government, or just national level.

16. Canadian History Tours Association Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's First Prime Minister (1867) • Helped to create the Liberal Conservative Party in Canada West in 1854. • Many believed he was the prime force behind the Confederation. • Macdonald’s vision as prime minister was to enlarge the country and unify it. • He was responsible of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. • Sir John A. Macdonald and his party were forced to resign in 1873 due to the Pacific Scandal.

17. Canadian History Tours Association British North America Act and Canada's system of Federalism • The British North America Act created the Dominion of Canada in 1867. • The Dominion of Canada in 1867 stated powers of the provincial and federal government, outlined the ways in which the government would be structured and guaranteed protection for minority groups . • Many people in the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were anxious to have their own provincial governments which resulted in a system of Federalism. • The System of Federalism meant that the Dominion of Canada would have two levels of government national or federal and provincial. • Canada’s system of federalism would be a system with a central government and provincial governments and the central government would have no more power than the provincial governments would have little power and few rights.

18. Canadian History Tours Association When did Canada finally do away with the BNA Act? • In the 1970s, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau took up the cause and eventually all the provinces except Québec accepted a new agreement, which became the Constitution Act of 1982. • This act established a correcting formula and added a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. • Prime Minister Brian Mulroney attempted to secure Québec's approval of the new constitution in 1987 with the Meech Lake Accord, which required the unanimous agreement of all provinces within a three-year period. As a result of a new language argument and concerns from English-speaking Canadians over identification of Québec as a “distinct society,” however, the agreement was never passed. • The constitutional crisis continued, even after Mulroney forged another compromise among all the parties, when the Charlottetown agreement was defeated in a national voting in October 1992.

19. Why were some events in Canada’s history key in allowing us to become a nation? • The key events in Canada’s history in our segment or portion included the British North American Act (Constitution Act), Sir John A. Macdonald’s efforts to build the Canadian Pacific Railway, American Expansion and the Colonies desire for Union/ Great Britain's desire for Union, Confederation, and the Confederation debates. • The British North American Act created the Dominion of Canada in 1867, without this crucial step it could have been possible that all the colonies in the Maritimes region could have been a part of a separate country (Atlantic Colonies Union) or it could have been possible that our country wouldn’t have been based on the separate powers of the provincial and federal governments. • It could have also been possible that Canada didn’t exist at all (part of United States of America) or Canada’s country map wouldn’t have included the Maritimes provinces. It also could have resulted in a different form system of government than the present system with the legislative assembly, the representatives from the provinces, and the powers listing the various requirements for both the provincial and federal governments. Thus, this was important to Canada, but it was the first step to having a united country with many provinces. • Sir John A. Macdonald’s efforts during his presidency included the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway which connected the Atlantic Colonies to the western provinces of Canada such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Colombia and Manitoba.

20. Why were some events in Canada’s history key in allowing us to become a nation? (Contd.) • Without this crucial step, it could have been possible that Canada would either have not been connected to the western provinces or the western provinces would have been poorer compared to the “eastern” riches. This is obviously because the eastern provinces were developed first, due to their closeness to Europe (where people first came from). • This step was crucial in allowing us to become a nation, because this allowed the connection between the two areas, and allowed the government to plan for development in the western region. Without it, it could have resulted in many revolutions on the western side because many people in that region would not have received as much attention from the government, leading to the possible formation of two countries. • The confederation and the confederation debates were obviously very crucial because they combined the Atlantic colonies and the province of Canada to form the Dominion of Canada. Without this step, it could have been that our country would have been formed later, or it could have been possible that it wouldn’t have been formed at all! There is also a chance that the country would have had a different geography (map), without the Maritimes provinces being involved with Canada. • American Expansion and the Colonies desire for Union/ Great Britain's desire for Union were what caused the Confederation. Without these key points it could have been possible that Confederation was not selected by the people and thus our nation couldn’t have been formed. These points influenced the decision for many voters and caused them to vote for Confederation. It was important because this caused a majority of the people to go for Confederation and developed the Canada that we know today (in terms of both physical geography as well as political system).

21. Canadian History Tours Association Bibliography • Retrieved on June 6th 2007http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia/default.asp?Language=E&Page=federation&Sub=WhoWeretheFathersofConfe • Retrieved on June 6th 2007 http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572476/British_North_America_Act.html

22. Canadian History Tours Association Thank you for participating in this tour. We hope you learned new things and we hope you enjoyed it. THE END “Federalism is a great principle that speaks to the very foundation of human nature." -Thomas D'Arcy McGee