Presentation Transcript

1. Chapter 7 Confederation

2. Canada became a country in 1867 when the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick joined together
3. Many people were against confederation and wanted things to remain as they were
4. People in the Province of Canada voted for confederation because it meant that Canada East and Canada West would be separated
5. In the 1860's the colonies of BNA were of less interest to Britain and thus did not receive the same protection as before. The United States was also growing stronger
6. The people of the colonies had to decide whether they would have more political and economic power if they remained independent or would they be better off working together.
7. Maritime Colonies At first the premiers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island decided to meet to discuss uniting their provinces
8. Province of Canada Leaders of the Province of Canada heard about the meeting of the maritime colonies and requested permission to attend
9. The people in this colony felt that the joining of English and French speaking people had not worked.
10. There were so many differences of opinion between government members that government could not govern very well
11. They hoped that if they joined confederation they would be separate provinces and still benefit by being part of a larger country
12. The colony had built up large debts from building railroads and canals and hoped to share the costs with the other colonies
13. Newfoundland People from the other colonies did not think Newfoundland would be interested in joining the other colonies
14. When the Newfoundland government heard about the conference they asked if they could attend
15. The other colonies agreed but it turned out that it was too late for them to attend
16. The Charlottetown Conference - September 1864 The premier of Canada, John A. Macdonald, gave some very persuasive speeches about the benefits of confederation
17. By the end of the conference most of the delegates were convinced confederation would be best for the future
18. They decided to have another conference in Quebec to discuss how the new federation would work
19. The Quebec Conference The Quebec conference was attended by Newfoundland as well as the other colonies
20. The main disagreements at this conference were over how power would be shared
21. After two weeks they came up with an agreement that was called the Seventy-Two Resolutions that described how confederation would work
22. A resolution is a formal agreement reached by a group
23. The next step was to convince the voters of the colonies to vote for confederation
24. Read the main ideas of the Seventy-Two Resolutions on page 122
25. Reasons for Confederation Defence People in the colonies were afraid the United States would take over British Columbia and the Prairies and maybe invade the other colonies
26. They felt they could defend themselves better if they were united
27. Trade Britain had a reciprocity treaty with the United States which allowed goods to be traded between the colonies and the United States without being taxed
28. The colonies taxed each other’s goods, however, and had different currencies so trade was complicated
29. They felt that having free trade among themselves and having the same currency would benefit everyone
30. Railways Railways were seen as a transportation necessity in the late 1800s
31. There was a major railway in the Province of Canada and another in the Maritimes but they were not joined together
32. In summer goods were transported between the colonies on the St. Lawrence River but it was frozen and inaccessible in winter stopping the shipping of goods
33. Railways were expensive and people felt that united colonies could share the costs.
34. The railway would also be useful to move troops if they were invaded
35. Land Although many aboriginal groups lived in Rupert’s Land the British felt it was owned by the Hudson Bay Company
36. They felt if they had a railway from the Province of Canada to British Columbia they could open up the prairies for farming
37. By settling this area they could also protect it from being taken over by the Americans
38. Homework Assignment
39. Editorial Cartoon(p.130)
40. On July 1st, 1867 the Queen of England signed the British North America Act creating the Dominion of Canada consisting of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
41. New Brunswick New Brunswick had elected an anti-Confederate government but changed their mind and joined Canada for several reasons
42. An economic reason was that the U.S. had ended the reciprocity treaty with BNA and it was now more economical for New Brunswick to trade with the other colonies than the U.S.
43. In 1866 a band of Fenians(Irish-Americans )fighting to free Ireland from British control almost attacked New Brunswick and later attacked the Province of Canada. The U.S. did nothing to stop them and New Brunswickers were scared of being attacked
44. Opinions about Confederation changed in New Brunswick and the governor encouraged a new election which elected a pro-Confederation government.
45. They hoped Confederation would improve defense and the economy
46. Nova Scotia Joseph Howe tried to get Britain to stop Confederation but Britain had decided Confederation of the colonies would be a good thing
47. The Nova Scotian government decided to join Canada without holding an election to get the opinion of the voters
48. British North America Act(BNA) The British North America Act(BNA) of 1867 was a set of rules, based on the 72 Resolutions, under which Canada would be run. In 1982 it was renamed the Constitution Act(Look at key points of the BNA Act on page 132)
49. First Nations people were included in the BNA but the Inuit and Metis were not(The Inuit were included in 1939)
50. The Indians and their lands were the responsibility of the federal government
51. The First Nations did not have the same rights of the citizens but were expected to follow the laws
52. Participating in Government The main arguments in Canada today concern how power is shared
53. Power must be shared by three levels of government federal provincial or territorial municipal
54. Different political parties try to form the government to run the country as they think it should be run
55. Sharing of Power and Responsibilities In a federation power is shared
56. In Canada the federal government has power over some aspects of government, the provincial and territorial governments have power over other aspects and some power is shared
57. Each level of government must raise taxes to provide services in the areas for which they are responsible
58. Check the chart on page 133 for the expansion of Confederation
59. Check diagram on page government responsibilities
60. Both levels of government must hold elections at regular intervals with 5 years between elections being the maximum amount of time but usually no more than 4 years
61. Newfoundland and Labrador now has a set election time with elections every 4 years
62. Canada is divided into ridings for election purposes with areas with larger populations having more ridings. A riding is a particular area of land that includes certain communities
63. There are different ridings for federal and provincial elections
64. Each political party puts a candidate( a person the party hopes will be elected) in each riding. The candidate with the most votes gets to represent the riding
65. The political party which elects the most candidates forms the government. The party which places second forms the Official Opposition
66. The governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories do not have political parties and govern by consensus - all elected members discuss an issue until they reach an agreement
67. Candidates elected in federal elections are called Members of Parliament ( MP’s)
68. Candidates elected in provincial and territorial elections have a variety of titles
69. Today in Canada all Canadian citizens over the age of 18 can vote in federal elections and all potential voters must be given the chance to vote if at all possible.