Path To Confederation

1. Path To Confederation

2. Act of Union 1840 • United Upper and Lower Canada under one government • They became known as East & West Canada • Started with equal representation • As English population increased they demanded representation by population • This angered the French

3. Act of Union Cont… • It was unfair • Upper Canada had fewer people and higher debt • The French language was banned • However Louis Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin worked together to make it fairer • Tensions between French and English caused political stalemate

4. Calls for Federation • By the 1850’s there were movements within the government to unite all the BNA colonies • By 1864 a coalition government led by George Brown, John A. MacDonald and George-Etienne Cartier were pushing for Confederation • This would strengthen the colonies as a whole

5. Britain’s Support • By this time the British Empire was in decline • They wanted to get rid of financial responsibility for their colonies • Also they wanted strong colonies in light of the American Civil War which was taking place (1861-1865)

6. The Maritimes • At the same time in 1864 NS (Charles Tupper) and NB (Samuel Tilley) were trying to convince PEI (John Gray) to join a Maritime Confederation • They were geographically separate from the rest of BNA and could be stronger by joining • Tilley and Tupper suggested a conference in Charlottetown

7. The Charlottetown Conference • The coalition government of Brown, MacDonald and Cartier crashed the party • While NS and NB were arguing for a Maritime Confederation, they argued for a BNA Confederation • The Maritime provinces warmed to the idea of a larger union

8. Quebec Resolutions • Oct. 1864- 33 members from BNA met in Quebec to discuss the details of union • They tried to learn from the mistakes of France and USA • Strong central government • Rep-by-pop • Senate would have equal rep • Most of the resolutions were written by John A. MacDonald

9. Opposition • While the idea of Confederation was popular in East/West Canada, it was quite unpopular in the Maritimes • NFLD and PEI both found no support from their populations and did not pursue it

10. Opposition in NB • While Tilley wanted to join the voters of NB did not like the idea • His party lost an election in 1865 of which Confederation was the main issue • The new government fell apart in a year and a new election was called in 1866

11. NB Cont… • At the same time in 1866 a small Irish-American “terrorist” group known as the Fenians launched raids on British colonies • This caused enough fear that Tilley was able to convince NB of the need for a Union with central Canada

12. Issues in NS • Tupper was in a good position • He wanted confederation and he was in power in NS • He did not need to call an election until 1867 so he drove Confederation through despite opposition

13. NS Cont… • The loudest voice of opposition was Joseph Howe • He believed that Confederation served the purposes of Central Canada over the concerns of the smaller Maritime region • He argued that Tupper should call an election on the issue • Howe also petitioned Britain directly to stop Tupper, but no action was taken • In the end NS was dragged into the deal by Tupper

14. BNA Act • During the three years after the Charlottetown conference the leaders of Canada, NB and NS worked on drafting an agreement • In March of 1867 the BNA Act was passed into British Law • Canada became a sovereign nation on July 1, of that same year • The Act was signed by Ontario, Quebec, NS and NB