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Canadian Confederation (French:Confédération canadienne) was the process by which threeBritish North American provinces—theProvince of Canada,Nova Scotia, andNew Brunswick—were united into onefederation, called theDominion ofCanada, on July 1, 1867.[1][2] This process occurred with the rising tide ofCanadian nationalism that was then beginning to swell within these provinces and others. It reached fruition through theBritish North America Act, 1867 (today known as theConstitution Act, 1867) which had been based on resolutions agreed to by colonial delegates in the1864 Quebec Conference, later finalized in the1866 London Conference.
Upon Confederation, Canada consisted of four provinces:Ontario andQuebec, which had been split out from the Province of Canada, and the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.[3] The province ofPrince Edward Island, which had hosted the first meeting to consider Confederation, theCharlottetown Conference, did not join Confederation until 1873. Over the years since Confederation, Canada has seen numerous territorial changes and expansions, resulting in the current collection often provinces and three territories.
Political impasse in the Province of Canada and the loss of preferential access to U.S. markets after Washington cancelled theCanadian–American Reciprocity Treaty in 1866 sharpened the colonies' sense of economic vulnerability and motivated the desire for federal unification and market integration. The leaders of theMaritime colonies pressed for Ottawa's assumption of their public debts and for anintercolonial railway that would bind the trade of theSt. Lawrence to an ice-free Atlantic port, while politicians acrossCanada West andCanada East saw federation as the only way to break legislative deadlock and finance large-scale infrastructure. At the same time, lingering fears of the U.S. concept ofmanifest destiny, memories of theFenian raids, andBritain's desire to off-load defence costs persuaded many that a larger fiscal and military union offered the surest bulwark against American pressure and metropolitan indifference. The motto "peace, order, and good government" arose as an expression of a distinctly Canadian formulation of constitutional government in North America.
While historians have often portrayed Confederation as having emerged from pragmatic and administrative rationales, recent scholarship has uncovered a rich contest of ideas beneath the politicking, involving competing conceptions oforder,power,liberty,rights,national development, andimperial autonomy. Confederation's legacy remains debated, celebrated as the moment Canada's people assumed control ofits own development and started on the course tosovereignty, questioned for the limited place it leftIndigenous peoples, and continually reinterpreted as constitutional debates over such things as thenature of Canadian federalism orthe character of the founding compact reshape the understanding of its impact and significance.
Canada is afederation,[4] rather than a confederate association of sovereign states, which is whatconfederation means in contemporary political theory. The country, though, is often considered to be among the world's moredecentralized federations.[5] Use of the termconfederation arose in the Province of Canada to refer to proposals beginning in the 1850s to federate all of the British North American colonies, as opposed to only Canada West (now Ontario) and Canada East (now Quebec). To contemporaries of Confederation, thecon- prefix indicated a strengthening of the centrist principle compared to the American federation.[6]
In this Canadian context,confederation describes the political process that united the colonies in 1867, events related to that process, and the subsequent incorporation of other colonies and territories.[7] The word is now often used to describe Canada in an abstract way, such as in "the Fathers of Confederation"; provinces that became part of Canada after 1867 are also said to havejoined, or entered into, Confederation (but notthe Confederation).[8] The term is also used to divideCanadian history into pre-Confederation and post-Confederation periods.[9]
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The original Fathers of Confederation are those delegates who attended any of the conferences held at Charlottetown and Quebec in 1864 or in London, United Kingdom, in 1866, leading to Confederation.[10] There were 36 original Fathers of Confederation;Hewitt Bernard, who was the recording secretary at theCharlottetown Conference, is considered by some to be among them.[11]
The individuals who brought the other provinces into Confederation after 1867 are also referred to asFathers of Confederation. In this way,Amor De Cosmos, who was instrumental both in bringing democracy to British Columbia and in bringing the province into Confederation, is considered to be a Father of Confederation.[12] As well,Joey Smallwood referred to himself as "the Last Father of Confederation" because he helped leadNewfoundland into the union in 1949.[13]
All theformer colonies and territories that became involved in the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, were initially part ofNew France, and were once ruled byFrance.[14]Nova Scotia was granted in 1621 toSir William Alexander undercharter byJames I.[14] This claim overlapped the French claims toAcadia, and although theScottish colony of Nova Scotia was short-lived, for political reasons, the conflicting imperial interests of France and the 18th centuryGreat Britain led to a long and bitter struggle for control. The British acquired present-day mainland Nova Scotia by theTreaty of Utrecht of 1713 and theAcadian population was expelled by the British in 1755. They renamed Acadia "Nova Scotia", which included present-dayNew Brunswick.[14] The rest of New France was acquired by the British as the result of its defeat of New France in theSeven Years' War, which ended with theTreaty of Paris in 1763. From 1763 to 1791, most of New France became theProvince of Quebec.[14] However, in 1769 the present-dayPrince Edward Island, which had been part of Acadia, was renamed "St John's Island" and organized as a separate colony.[15] It was renamed "Prince Edward Island" in 1798 in honour ofPrince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn.[15]
The firstEnglish attempt at settlement on that part of the continent that would become modern Canada had been inNewfoundland which would not join Confederation until 1949.[16] TheSociety of Merchant Venturers ofBristol began to settleNewfoundland and Labrador atCuper's Cove as far back as 1610, and Newfoundland had also been the subject ofa French colonial enterprise.[17]
During and after theU.S. War of Independence, an estimated 50,000United Empire Loyalists fled toBritish North America.[14] The British created the separate province of New Brunswick in 1784 for Loyalists who settled in the western part of Nova Scotia.[18] Nova Scotia (including New Brunswick) received slightly more than half of this influx, and many Loyalists settled in the province of Quebec, which later by theConstitutional Act 1791 was separated into a predominantly EnglishUpper Canada and a predominantly FrenchLower Canada.[19] TheWar of 1812 andTreaty of 1818 established the border between British North America and the United States at the49th parallel from theGreat Lakes to theRocky Mountains in Western Canada.[20]
Following theRebellions of 1837,Lord Durham in hisDurham Report, recommended Upper and Lower Canada be joined as theProvince of Canada and the new province should have aresponsible government.[21] As a result of Durham's report, the British Parliament passed theAct of Union 1840, and the Province of Canada was formed in 1841.[22] The new province had two parts:Canada West (the former Upper Canada, today's Ontario) andCanada East (the former Lower Canada, today's Quebec).[22] Governor GeneralLord Elgin granted ministerial responsibility in 1848, first to Nova Scotia and then to the Province of Canada. Later, the British parliament extended responsible government to Prince Edward Island (1851), New Brunswick (1854), and Newfoundland (1855).[23]
The area constituting modern-dayBritish Columbia is the remnants of theHudson's Bay Company'sColumbia District andNew Caledonia District following theOregon Treaty. Before joining Canada in 1871, British Columbia consisted of the separateColony of British Columbia (formed in 1858, in an area where the Crown had granted a monopoly to the Hudson's Bay Company), and theColony of Vancouver Island (formed in 1849) constituting a separatecrown colony until it was united with the colony of British Columbia in 1866.[24]
The remainder of modern-day Canada was made up ofRupert's Land and theNorth-Western Territory (both of which were controlled by theHudson's Bay Company and sold to Canada in 1870) and theArctic Islands, which were under direct British control and became a part of Canada in 1880.[25] Plus, Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949.
The idea of joining the various colonies in North America was being floated as early as 1814. That year,Chief Justice of Lower CanadaJonathan Sewell sent a copy of his report,A Plan for the federal Union of British Provinces in North America, toPrince Edward (both a son of KingGeorge III and the father ofQueen Victoria), whom Sewell had befriended when they both resided inQuebec City. Edward replied, "nothing can be better arranged than the whole thing is, or more perfectly", going on to suggest a unified Canada consisting of two provinces—one formed from Upper and Lower Canada and the other from the Maritime colonies—each with a lieutenant governor and executive council, one located inMontreal and the other in eitherAnnapolis Royal orWindsor.[26] Edward said he would pass the report on tothe Earl Bathurst, the then-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies; the Prince's comments and critiques were later cited by both the Earl of Durham and participants of theCharlottetown andQuebec Conferences.
Lord Durham presented his idea of unification in 1839Report on the Affairs of British North America,[27] which resulted in the Act of Union 1840. Beginning in 1857,Joseph-Charles Taché proposed a federation in a series of 33 articles published in theCourrier du Canada.[28] Two years later,Alexander Tilloch Galt,George-Étienne Cartier, andJohn Ross travelled to the United Kingdom to present the British Parliament with a project for confederation of the British colonies. The proposal was received by the London authorities with polite indifference.
Theroyal tour of British North America undertaken by Queen Victoria's son, Prince Albert Edward (later KingEdward VII) in 1860, however, helped lead to the unification of the colonies by confirming a common bond between their inhabitants;[29] indeed, the monarchy played a "pivotal legal and symbolic role [...] in cementing the new Canadian union".[30] Further, by 1864, it was clear that continued governance of the Province of Canada under the terms of the 1840 Act of Union had become impracticable. Therefore, agrand coalition of parties, theGreat Coalition, formed in order to reform the political system.[31] Queen Victoria remarked on "the impossibility of our being able to hold Canada; but, we must struggle for it; and by far the best solution would be to let it go as an independent kingdom under an English prince."[32]
Several factors influenced Confederation, caused both by internal sources and pressures from external sources.[36]
Internally, there was political deadlock resulting from the contemporary governmental structure in the Province of Canada and distrust between English Protestants and French Catholics.[37] Further, demographic pressure from an expanding population and economic nationalism wanting economic development butted against a lack of an inter-colonial railroad, which hampered trade, military movement, and transportation in general.[38]
Externally, theCanadian–American Reciprocity Treaty (a free trade policy, starting in 1854, whereby products were allowed into the United States without taxes or tariffs, which was then considered to be beneficial for Canada) was cancelled by the United States in 1865, partly as revenge against Britain for unofficial support of the south in theAmerican Civil War. Additionally, the U.S. doctrine of "manifest destiny" raised fears of another American invasion (Canadians had fended off American incursions during the Revolutionary War, War of 1812,Fenian raids, andSt. Albans Raid[39]), only further inflamed by theAlaska Purchase of March 30, 1867, which had been supported in the U.S. Senate (byCharles Sumner among others) precisely in terms of taking the remainder of North America from the British. The American Civil War had also horrified Canadians and turned many from the thought of republicanism.[40] In Britain, political pressure came from financiers who had lost money by investing in the failedGrand Trunk Railway and thelittle Englander philosophy fed a desire to withdraw troops from Britain's colonies.
There is extensive scholarly debate on the role of political ideas in Canadian Confederation. Traditionally, historians regarded Canadian Confederation an exercise in political pragmatism that was essentially non-ideological. In the 1960s, historianPeter Waite derided the references to political philosophers in the legislative debates on Confederation as "hot air". In Waite's view, Confederation was driven by pragmatic brokerage politics and competing interest groups.[41]
In 1987, political scientist Peter J. Smith challenged the view Canadian Confederation was non-ideological. Smith argued Confederation was motivated by new political ideologies as much as the American and French Revolutions and Canadian Confederation was driven by aCourt Party ideology. Smith traces the origins of this ideology to eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain, where political life was polarized between defenders ofclassical republican values of theCountry Party and proponents of a new pro-capitalist ideology of the Court Party, which believed in centralizing political power. In British North America in the late 1860s, the Court Party tradition was represented by the supporters of Confederation, whereas the anti-capitalist and agrarian Country Party tradition was embodied by the Anti-Confederates.[42]
In a 2000 journal article, historianIan McKay argued Canadian Confederation was motivated by the ideology of liberalism and the belief in the supremacy of individual rights. McKay described Confederation as part of the classical liberal project of creating a "liberal order" in northern North America.[43] Many Canadian historians have adopted McKay's liberal order framework as a paradigm for understanding Canadian history.[44]
In 2008, historian Andrew Smith advanced a very different view of Confederation's ideological origins. He argues that in the four original Canadian provinces, the politics of taxation were a central issue in the debate about Confederation. Taxation was also central to the debate in Newfoundland, the tax-averse colony that rejected it. Smith argued Confederation was supported by many colonists who were sympathetic to a relatively interventionist, or statist, approach to capitalist development. Most classical liberals, who believed in free trade and low taxes, opposed Confederation because they feared it would result in Big Government. The struggle over Confederation involved a battle between a staunch individualist economic philosophy and a comparatively collectivist view of the state's proper role in the economy. According to Smith, the victory of thestatist supporters of Confederation over theiranti-statist opponents prepared the way forJohn A. Macdonald's government to enact the protectionist National Policy and to subsidize major infrastructure projects such as theIntercolonial andPacific Railways.[45]
In 2007, political scientistJanet Ajzenstat connected Canadian Confederation to the individualist ideology ofJohn Locke. She argued that the union of the British North American colonies was motivated by a desire to protect individual rights, especially the rights to life, liberty, and property. She contends the Fathers of Confederation were motivated by the values of theEnlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She argues their intellectual debts to Locke are most evident when one looks at the 1865 debates in the Province of Canada's legislature on whether or not union with the other British North American colonies would be desirable.[46]
In the spring of 1864,New Brunswick premierSamuel Leonard Tilley,Nova Scotia premierCharles Tupper, andPrince Edward Island premierJohn Hamilton Gray were contemplating the idea of aMaritime Union which would join their three colonies together.[47]
The government of the Province of Canada surprised the Maritime governments by asking if the Province of Canada could be included in the negotiations. The request was channelled through the governor general, Monck, to London and accepted by the Colonial Office.[48] After several years of legislative paralysis in the Province of Canada caused by the need to maintain a double legislative majority (a majority of both the Canada East and Canada West delegates in the Province of Canada's legislature), Macdonald had led hisLiberal-Conservative Party into the Great Coalition with Cartier'sParti bleu andGeorge Brown'sClear Grits.[49] Macdonald, Cartier, and Brown felt union with the other British colonies might be a way to solve the political problems of the Province of Canada.[49]
TheCharlottetown Conference began on September 1, 1864. Since the agenda for the meeting had already been set, the delegation from the Province of Canada was initially not an official part of the Conference. The issue of Maritime Union was deferred and the Canadians were formally allowed to join and address the Conference.[50]
No minutes from the Charlottetown Conference survive, but it is known Cartier and Macdonald presented arguments in favour of a union of the three colonies,[51] Alexander Tilloch Galt presented the Province of Canada's proposals on the financial arrangements of such a union,[51] and George Brown presented a proposal for what form a united government might take.[52] The Canadian delegation's proposal for the governmental system involved:
Other proposals attractive to the politicians from the Maritime colonies were:
By September 7, 1864, the delegates from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island gave a positive answer to the Canadian delegation, expressing the view the federation of all of the provinces was considered desirable if the terms of union could be made satisfactory[55] and the question of Maritime Union was waived.[52]
After the Conference adjourned on September 9, there were further meetings between delegates held atHalifax,Saint John, andFredericton.[56][57] These meetings evinced enough interest that the delegates decided to hold a second Conference.
One of the most important purposes of the Charlottetown Conference was the introduction of Canadians to the leaders from the Maritime Provinces and vice versa. At this point, there was no railway link from Quebec City to Halifax, and the people of each region had little to do with one another.Thomas D'Arcy McGee was one of the few Canadian delegates who had been to the Maritimes, when he had gone down earlier that summer with a trade mission of Canadian businessmen, journalists and politicians.[57]
George Brown remarked in a letter to his wife Anne that at a party given by the premier of PEI, Colonel John Hamilton Gray, he met a woman who had never been off the island in her entire life. Nevertheless, he found Prince Edward Islanders to be "amazingly civilized".[55]
Reaction to the Charlottetown Conference varied among the different newspapers. In the Maritimes, there was concern that the smooth Canadians with their sparkling champagne and charming speeches were outsmarting the delegates of the smaller provinces. "From all accounts it looks as if these [Canadian] gentlemen had it all their own way; ... and that, what with their arguments and what with their blandishments, (they gave a champagne lunch on board theVictoria where Mr. McGee's wit sparkled brightly as the wine), they carried the Lower Province delegates a little off their feet."[58]
The delegates from the Quebec conference considered if the resolutions would be better suited for acceptance if a popular vote were held on them. However, due to the divide amongst religious groups and general mistrust between areas in Canada, they believed that such a vote would be defeated. Thus, they went ahead with the resolutions on their own volition.[59]
After returning home from the Charlottetown Conference, Macdonald askedViscount Monck, thegovernor general of the Province of Canada to invite delegates from the three Maritime provinces and Newfoundland to a conference with United Canada delegates. At the opening of the conference, a total of 33 delegates were included from the British North American Colonies, including Newfoundland, which had not participated in prior meetings.[60] Monck obliged and the Conference went ahead atQuebec City in October 1864.
The Conference began on October 10, 1864, on the site of present-day Montmorency Park.[61] The Conference electedÉtienne-Paschal Taché as its chairman, but it was dominated by Macdonald. Despite differences in the positions of some of the delegates on some issues, the Quebec Conference, following so swiftly on the success of the Charlottetown Conference, was infused with a determinative sense of purpose andnationalism.[62] For the Reformers of Canada West, led by George Brown, the end of what they perceived as French-Canadian interference in local affairs was in sight.[63] For Maritimers such as Tupper of Nova Scotia or Tilley of New Brunswick, horizons were suddenly broadened to take in much larger possibilities for trade and growth.[63]
On the issue of the Senate, the Maritime Provinces pressed for as much equality as possible. With the addition of Newfoundland to the Conference, the three Maritime colonies did not wish to see the strength of their provinces in the upper chamber diluted by simply adding Newfoundland to the Atlantic category.[64] It was the matter of the Senate that threatened to derail the entire proceedings.[65] It was Macdonald who came up with the acceptable compromise of giving Newfoundland four senators of its own when it joined.[65]
The delegates from the Maritimes also raised an issue with respect to the level of government—federal or provincial—that would be given the powers not otherwise specifically defined. Macdonald, who was aiming for the strongest central government possible, insisted this was to be the central government, and in this, he was supported by, among others, Tupper.[66]
At the end of the Conference, it adopted the "seventy-two resolutions" which would form the basis of a scheduled future conference. The Conference adjourned on October 27.
Prince Edward Island emerged disappointed from the Quebec Conference. It did not receive support for a guarantee of six members in the proposed House of Commons, and was denied an appropriation of $200,000 it felt had been offered at Charlottetown to assist inbuying out the holdings of absentee landlords.[67]
"Never was there such an opportunity as now for the birth of a nation" proclaimed a pamphlet written by S. E. Dawson and reprinted in a Quebec City newspaper during the Conference.[65]
Again, reaction to the Quebec Conference varied depending on the political views of the critic.
George Brown was the first, in December 1864, to carry the constitutional proposals to the British government in London, where Brown received "a most gracious answer to our constitutional scheme".[68] He also met with William Gladstone—who was then Chancellor of the Exchequer and, later, Prime Minister—"who agreed in almost everything".[68] In April 1865, Brown, Macdonald, Cartier and Galt met with the government and found "the project of a federal union of the colonies was highly approved of by the imperial authorities".[69]
On the form of the proposed system of governance for Canada, the Fathers of Confederation were influenced by the American republic. Macdonald said in 1865:
By adhering to the monarchical principle, we avoid one defect inherent in theconstitution of the United States. By the election of the president by a majority and for a short period, he never is the sovereign and chief of the nation. He is never looked up to by the whole people as the head and front of the nation. He is, at best, but the successful leader of a party. This defect is all the greater on account of the practice of reelection. During his first term of office, he is employed in taking steps to secure his own reelection and, for his party, a continuance of power. We avoid this by adhering to the monarchical principle—the sovereign, whom you respect and love. I believe that it is of the utmost importance to have that principle recognized so that we shall have a sovereign who is placed above the region of party—to whom all parties look up; who is not elevated by the action of one party nor depressed by the action of another; who is the common head and sovereign of all.[70]
Following the Quebec Conference, the Province of Canada's legislature passed a bill approving the union. The union proved more controversial in the Maritime provinces, however, and it was not until 1866 that New Brunswick and Nova Scotia passed union resolutions, while Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland continued to opt against joining.
In December 1866, sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia travelled to London, wherethe Earl of Carnarvon presented each toQueen Victoria in privateaudience,[71] as well as holding court for their wives and daughters.[72] To the Nova Scotian delegates, the Queen said, "I take the deepest interest in [Confederation], for I believe it will make [the provinces] great and prosperous."[73]
At meetings held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, the delegates reviewed and approved the 72 resolutions; although Charles Tupper had promised to anti-union forces in Nova Scotia that he would push for amendments, he was unsuccessful in getting any passed. Now known as theLondon Resolutions, the conference's decisions were forwarded to theColonial Office.
After breaking for Christmas, the delegates reconvened in January 1867 and began drafting theBritish North America Act. The 4th Earl of Carnarvon continued to have a central role in drafting the act atHighclere Castle alongside the firstprime minister of Canada Macdonald, Cartier and Galt, who signed the visitor book in 1866.[74] After suggestions of 'Franklin' and 'Guelfenland',[71] they agreed the new country should be calledCanada, Canada East should be renamedQuebec and Canada West should be renamedOntario.[75] There was, however, heated debate about how the new country should be designated. Ultimately, the delegates elected to call the new country the Dominion of Canada, after "kingdom" and "confederation", among other options, were rejected. The termdominion was allegedly suggested by Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley.[76]
The delegates had completed their draft of theBritish North America Act by February 1867. The act was presented to Queen Victoria on February 11, 1867. The bill was introduced in theHouse of Lords the next day. The bill was quickly approved by the House of Lords, and then also quickly approved by theBritish House of Commons. (TheConservativeLord Derby wasprime minister of the United Kingdom at the time.) The act receivedroyal assent on March 29, 1867, and set July 1, 1867, as the date for union.[77]
Confederation was accomplished when the Queen gave royal assent to theBritish North America Act (BNA Act) on March 29, 1867, followed by a royal proclamation stating, "we do ordain, declare, and command that, on and after the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick shall form and be One Dominion, under the name of Canada."[78] The act replaced the Act of Union 1840, which had unified Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the united Province of Canada; separate provinces were established under their current names of Ontario and Quebec, respectively. July 1 is now celebrated asCanada Day, the country's officialnational day.
Confederation is regarded as the creation of a kingdom in its own right[82] and to have "successfully reconciled the physical absence of a geographically distant monarch with a continuing and pervasive presence through the medium of formal representatives and the manner and forms of legal and conventional rules and behaviour associated with British parliamentary and monarchical governance".[83] Macdonald had spoken of "founding a great British monarchy" and wanted the newly created country to be called theKingdom of Canada.[84] TheColonial Office opposed the termkingdom as "premature" and "pretentious" and felt it might antagonize the United States. The termdominion was chosen, instead, to indicate Canada's status as a self-governing polity of the British Empire, the first time it was used in reference to a country.[85] When theBritish North America Act, 1867, was passed in the Parliament inWestminster, the Queen said to Macdonald, "I am very glad to see you on this mission [...] It is a very important measure and you have all exhibited so much loyalty."[32]
While theBNA Act eventually resulted in Canada having more autonomy than it had before, the country was still far from fully independent of the United Kingdom. Foreign policy remained in British hands, theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council remained Canada's highest court of appeal, and the constitution could be amended only in Britain. Gradually, Canada gained more autonomy; defence of British North America became a Canadian responsibility.[86] According to the Supreme Court of Canada, Canadian "sovereignty was acquired in the period between its separate signature of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and the Statute of Westminster, 1931",[87] which gave the country nearly full independence. It was only because the federal and provincial governments were unable to agree on a formula for amending the constitution that the power to do so remained with the British Parliament. Once that issue was resolved, the constitution waspatriated whenElizabeth II gave royal assent to theCanada Act, 1982.
Theconstitution of Canada is made up of a number of codified acts and uncodified conventions; one of the principal documents is theConstitution Act, 1982, which renamed theBritish North America Act, 1867, to theConstitution Act, 1867.[88][89] The act also details how power is distributed in both the provincial and federal jurisdictions. Two of the most important sections are 91 and 92. Section 91 gives Parliament jurisdiction over banking, interest rates, criminal law, the postal system, and the armed forces. Section 92 gives the provinces jurisdiction over property, contracts and torts, local works, and general business. Still, federal and provincial law may occasionally interfere with each other, in which case federal law prevails.[90]
Dominion elections were held in August and September, 1867, to elect the firstParliament. The governments of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick nominated the seventy-two individuals who would be named to theSenate, who were listed in theproclamation of Confederation (twenty-four each for Quebec and Ontario, twelve each for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). They were called to the Senate by the governor general for the opening of the first Parliament.[91][92]
The Anti-Confederation Party won 18 out of 19 federal Nova Scotia seats in September 1867, and in the Nova Scotia provincial election of 1868, 36 out of 38 seats in the legislature. For seven years, William Annand and Joseph Howe led the ultimately unsuccessful fight to convince British imperial authorities to release Nova Scotia from Confederation. The government was vocally against Confederation, contending it was no more than the annexation of the province to the pre-existing province of Canada.[93]
Prior to the coming into effect of theConstitution Act, 1867, there had been some concern regarding a potential "legislative vacuum" that would occur over the 15-month period between the prorogation of the Province of Canada's final Parliament in August 1866 and the opening of the now Dominion of Canada's first Parliament in November 1867.[94] To prevent this, theConstitution Act, 1867, provided for "continuance of existing laws" from the three colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick until new laws could be established in the Dominion.[95] Thus, the "Dominion's financial systems, structures and actors were able to operate under the provisions of the old Province of Canada Acts" following confederation, and many institutions and organizations were continued and assumed "the same responsibilities for the new federal government that it had held as a provincial organization".[96]
After the initialBNA Act in 1867,Manitoba was established by an act of the Canadian Parliament on July 15, 1870, originally as an area of land much smaller than the current province.[97] British Columbia joined Canada July 20, 1871, by an Imperial order-in-council enacted under the authority of theBritish North America Act.[98][99][100] The order-in-council incorporated the Terms of Union negotiated by the governments of Canada and British Columbia, including a commitment by the federal government to build a railway connecting British Columbia to the railway system of Canada within 10 years of union.[101] Prince Edward Island (PEI) joined July 1, 1873, also by an Imperial order-in-council.[102] One reason for joining was financial: PEI's economy was performing poorly and union would bring monetary benefits that would assist the province in avoiding bankruptcy.[103] One of the Prince Edward Island Terms of Union was a guarantee by the federal government to operate aferry link, a term deleted upon completion of theConfederation Bridge in 1997.[98]Alberta andSaskatchewan were established September 1, 1905, by acts of the Canadian Parliament. Newfoundland joined on March 31, 1949, by an act of the Imperial Parliament, also with a ferry link guaranteed.[98][104]
The Crown acquired Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1869 (though final payment to the Hudson's Bay Company did not occur until 1870), and then transferred jurisdiction to the Dominion on July 15, 1870, merging them and naming themNorth-West Territories.[105] In 1880, the British assigned allNorth American Arctic islands to Canada, right up toEllesmere Island.[106] From this vast swath of territory were created three provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta) and two territories (Yukon Territory and North-West Territories, now Yukon and Northwest Territories), and two extensions each to Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. Later, the third territory ofNunavut was carved from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999.[107] The Yukon territory was formed during the Klondike gold rush. People from all around Canada and the United States flocked to the area due to rumours of an easy way to get rich. The Canadian government sought to regulate this migration and tax gold findings, whether American or Canadian.[103]
Below is a list ofCanadian provinces and territories in the order in which they entered Confederation; territories are italicized. At formal events, representatives of the provinces and territories takeprecedence according to this ordering, except that provinces always precede territories. For provinces that entered on the same date, the order of precedence is based on the provinces' populations at the time they entered Confederation.
| Date | Name | Previously |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 1867 | Ontario | Canada West region of the Province of Canada[n 1] |
| Quebec | Canada East region of the Province of Canada[n 1] | |
| Nova Scotia | Province of Nova Scotia | |
| New Brunswick | Province of New Brunswick | |
| July 15, 1870 | Manitoba | Part ofRupert's Land[n 1][n 2] |
| Northwest Territories (North-West Territories) | All ofRupert's Land and the North-Western Territory except for the part which became Manitoba[n 2] | |
| July 20, 1871 | British Columbia | United Colony of British Columbia |
| July 1, 1873 | Prince Edward Island | Colony of Prince Edward Island |
| June 13, 1898 | Yukon Territory[n 3] | Part of the North-West Territories[n 2] |
| September 1, 1905 | Saskatchewan | Part of the North-West Territories |
| Alberta | Part of the North-West Territories | |
| March 31, 1949 | Newfoundland[n 4] | Dominion of Newfoundland |
| April 1, 1999 | Nunavut | Part of the Northwest Territories |
Notes
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The termconfederation has entered into Canadian parlance both as a metaphor for the country and for the historical events that created it. It has therefore become one of the most common names for Canadian landmarks. Examples includeMount Confederation,Confederation Square, theConfederation Building,Confederation Park,Confederation Station,Confederation Heights, Confederation Bridge, and so on. This is similar to the American practices of naming thingsunion and likewise the Australians withfederation.[opinion]
Indigenous communities were ignored in the process of Canadian confederation.[109] As a result of Confederation, the Parliament and government of Canada assumed the responsibilities of their British counterparts in treaty dealings with the First Nations. The federal Parliament subsequently passed theIndian Act in 1876, which, in amended form, continues to govern Indigenous peoples. Confederation created conditions of colonialism, including resource grabbing, broken treaties, forced assimilation, patriarchy, and intergenerational trauma inflicted by the hegemony of the Canadian state on Indigenous nations that had been self-governing.[114]
As the 20th century progressed, attention to the conditions of Indigenous peoples in Canada increased, which included the granting of full voting rights in 1960. Treaty rights were enshrined in the Canadian constitution in 1982 and,[115][116] inSparrow v. The Queen,[117] the Supreme Court determined there exists afiduciaryaffiliation between the Canadian Crown and Indigenous peoples in which the Crown is constitutionally charged with providing certain guarantees to the First Nations.[121] Recognizing the principle ofaboriginal title, a process of land claims settlements is ongoing.[citation needed] Created to resolve the effects of the residential school system, aTruth and Reconciliation Commission was struck to identify further measures to improve conditions.[122]
| 1863 to 1864 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Result |
| July–September 1863 | Lieutenant Governor Gordon encourages Maritime union | Arthur Gordon, newly appointed Britishlieutenant governor ofNew Brunswick, encouragesSamuel Leonard Tilley,premier of New Brunswick, andCharles Tupper,premier of Nova Scotia, to consider the possibility of a union of the three Maritime provinces: New Brunswick,Nova Scotia, andPrince Edward Island[123] |
| March 28, 1864 | Nova Scotia resolution for Maritime union conference | Premier Tupper introduces resolution inNova Scotia House of Assembly to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; union only to occur if approved by statutes passed by each of the three provinces and the Queen; resolution passes with all-party support[124][125] |
| April 9, 1864 | New Brunswick resolution for Maritime union conference | Premier Tilley introduces resolution inNew Brunswick House of Assembly to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; union only to occur if approved by statutes passed by each of the three provinces and the Queen; resolution passes with all-party support[126][127] |
| April 18, 1864 | Prince Edward Island resolution for Maritime union conference | John Hamilton Gray,premier of Prince Edward Island, introduces resolution inLegislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island to appoint delegates to a conference of the three Maritime provinces to consider the possibility of Maritime union; no further action to be taken until report of the Conference be laid before the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly; resolution passes on party lines[128][129] |
| June 14, 1864 | Report on constitutional reform inProvince of Canada | George Brown, member of theLegislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, presents committee report addressing flaws in the constitutional system of the Province of Canada; report favours a federal system of government, either for the two sections of the Province of Canada alone, or for a union of the British North American provinces[130][131] |
| June 14, 1864 | Government of the Province of Canada falls | The same day Brown presents the report, the government falls on anon-confidence motion; stark illustration of the political instability of the Province of Canada; second government to fall in 1864, after only two and a half months in office[132] |
| June 14–16, 1864 | Brown initiates discussions withJohn A. Macdonald | Political overtures by Brown toJohn A. Macdonald,George-Étienne Cartier andAlexander T. Galt to seek constitutional changes; Macdonald responds; Brown favours federal constitution for Province of Canada; Macdonald, Cartier and Galt propose seeking union of all eastern British North American provinces[133] |
| June 17–30, 1864 | Great Coalition formed | Coalition government ofLiberal-Conservatives from Canada West (led by Macdonald);Reformers from Canada West (led by Brown);Bleus from Canada East (led by Cartier); and Liberal-Conservatives from Canada East (led by Galt); Coalition agrees to pursue union of eastern British North American provinces; failing that, will seek a federal constitution for the Province of Canada[134] |
| June 30, 1864 | Canadians ask to attend conference on Maritime Union | Governor GeneralMonck sends letters to the Maritime lieutenant governors, requesting that the Province of Canada be permitted to send a delegation to the upcoming conference on Maritime union[135] |
| September 1–9, 1864 | Charlottetown Conference,Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Meeting of delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island; no real discussion of Maritime union; Province of Canada proposal for a union of the British North American provinces gains general support; Conference delegates agree to continue discussions at Quebec; Maritime Union shelved[136][137] |
| October 10–27, 1864 | Quebec Conference, Quebec City, Province of Canada | Delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island andNewfoundland meet in Quebec to discuss the Confederation proposal in more detail; Conference passes theQuebec Resolutions, which outline a detailed proposal for Confederation of the British North American provinces[138][139][140] |
| October 19, 1864 | St. Albans Raid | Group of Confederate soldiers travel to Canada and conduct a cross-border raid to St. Albans, Vermont; captured by Canadian authorities; judge in Montreal rejects extradition application and releases them; episode creates considerable tension with the United States government |
| October–December 1864 | Cabinet crisis in Prince Edward Island | Prince Edward Island cabinet splits over the Quebec Resolutions and Confederation; Attorney GeneralEdward Palmer, delegate to both the conferences, challenges the proposals; Premier Gray, who supports Confederation, resigns[141] |
| 1865 | ||
| Date | Event | Result |
| January 7–9, 1865 | New premier in Prince Edward Island | James Colledge Pope, opposed to Confederation, becomes premier of Prince Edward Island[142] |
| February 3, 1865 | Confederation Debates begin in Province of Canada | Lengthy debates begin in the Parliament of the Province of Canada on the merits of the Confederation project[143] |
| February 6, 1865 | Confederation discussed in Newfoundland | Newfoundland premierHugh Hoyles states in debates that Confederation would not be rushed through the Legislative Assembly[144] |
| February–March 1865 | New Brunswick election | Pro-Confederation government of Premier Tilley defeated by Anti-Confederation group; Anti-Confederation leader,Albert James Smith, becomes premier[145] |
| February 20, 1865 | Confederation Debates in Province of Canada | Quebec Resolutions approved by Legislative Council by vote of 45 to 15[146] |
| March 2, 1865 | Confederation discussed in Prince Edward Island | Premier Pope states in the Legislative Assembly that any Confederation plan would be put to the voters, and that his government does not support Confederation[147] |
| March 6, 1865 | Newfoundland postpones decision | Premier Hoyles proposes to the Legislative Assembly that no decision be taken on the Quebec Resolutions until after the upcoming Newfoundland election[148] |
| March 10, 1865 | Conclusion of Confederation Debates in Province of Canada | Quebec resolutions approved by Legislative Assembly by vote of 91 to 33[149] |
| March 24–31, 1865 | Confederation debates in Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island | Premier J.C. Pope leads the Anti-Confederation position in the debates; his brother,William Henry Pope, leads the Pro-Confederation position; Assembly rejects Confederation by vote of 23 to 5[150] |
| April 10, 1865 | Maritime union raised again in Nova Scotia | Considerable opposition to Confederation in Nova Scotia; Premier Tupper introduces motion for re-consideration of Maritime union as a stopgap measure[151] |
| May 1865 | Canadian delegation to Britain | Macdonald, Cartier, Galt and Brown travel to Britain to discuss defence of the Province of Canada, now that the US Civil War is over; no firm commitment from British government[152] |
| June 24, 1865 | Pressure from Britain | TheColonial Secretary,Edward Cardwell, sends a dispatch to the three Maritime provinces, urging them to accept Confederation to aid imperial defence[153] |
| July 1865 | Britain urges Confederation | Anti-Confederation premier Smith of New Brunswick andWilliam Annand, a member of the Anti-Confederation group in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, travel separately to London to express dissatisfaction with the Confederation proposal; they each meet with Cardwell, the Colonial Secretary; Cardwell advises them that the British government strongly favours Confederation along the lines of the Quebec Resolutions, and will do everything in its power to achieve Confederation[154] |
| November 6, 1865 | York by‑election, New Brunswick | Vacancy in the New Brunswick Assembly forces Anti-Confederation government to callby-election in Yorkriding;Charles Fisher, former premier, delegate to Quebec, and strong supporter of Confederation, wins by-election[155] |
| November 7, 1865 | Newfoundland election | The leaders of the two parties in the Newfoundland election,Frederick Carter and Ambrose Shea, had both been delegates to Quebec and support Confederation; Carter wins the election, but overall, the majority of the members of the Assembly do not support Confederation[156] |
| 1866 | ||
| Date | Event | Result |
| February 20, 1866 | Newfoundland postpones decision | In first session after the 1865 election, the Newfoundland Legislative Assembly votes to delay any decision on Confederation[157] |
| March 12, 1866 | Governor General Monck intervenes | Monck sends a telegram to Lieutenant Governor Williams, suggesting that Williams make overtures to leader of the Anti-Confederates[158] |
| March 13, 1866 | Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia suggests conference | Lieutenant Governor Williams summons Annand, leader of the Anti-Confederates in the Assembly, and suggests that Annand propose a new conference, in London, under the supervision of the Imperial government[159] |
| April 4, 1866 | Anti-Confederation proposal for London Conference | William Miller, a leading Anti-Confederate in the Nova Scotia Assembly, proposes that there be another conference, in London[160] |
| April 6, 1866 | Legislative Council of New Brunswick supports Confederation | The Legislative Council of New Brunswick votes in favour of Confederation and the Quebec Resolutions[161][162] |
| April 10, 1866 | Nova Scotia proposal for London Conference | Premier Tupper introduces resolution stating that Confederation is desirable, and therefore the Assembly authorises the lieutenant governor "to appoint delegates to arrange with the Imperial Government a scheme of union which will effectually ensure just provision for the rights and interest of this Province..."[163][164] |
| April 12–13, 1866 | Resignation of Anti-Confederation government of New Brunswick | Premier Smith and his government resign as a result of Lieutenant Governor Gordon accepting the resolution of the Legislative Council, approving of Confederation; Lieutenant Governor Gordon appointsPeter Mitchell, a supporter of Confederation and delegate to the Quebec Conference, as premier[165] |
| April 17, 1866 | Tupper's resolution passes | Nova Scotia Assembly passes Tupper's resolution proposing a conference in London, by a vote of 31 to 19[166][167] |
| May 7–8, 1866 | Prince Edward Island rejects Confederation | Further debate in the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly; clear rejection of Confederation[168] |
| May–June 1866 | New Brunswick election | Lieutenant Governor Gordon dissolves the Assembly on advice of the new government; Pro-Confederation group wins elections, with majority of 33 seats compared to 8 seats for Anti-Confederation group[169] |
| June 30, 1866 | New Brunswick supports London Conference | The New Brunswick Legislative Assembly passes a Resolution to appoint delegates for the London Conference to discuss the union of the colonies, under the auspices of the Imperial government, "upon such terms as will secure the just rights and interests of New Brunswick", including a guarantee for the inter-colonial railway[170] |
| 1866 | Last session of Parliament of Province of Canada | Legislative Assembly of Province of Canada passes resolutions setting out proposed constitutions for Ontario and Quebec[171] |
| December 4–23, 1866 | London Conference begins | Delegates from Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick meet in London to review and revise the Quebec Resolutions; revisions include guarantee of the inter-colonial railway and strengthening provisions for denominational and separate schools[172] |
| December 24, 1866 | London Conference concludes | Delegates unanimously approve modified resolutions; Macdonald transmits them to the new Colonial Secretary,Lord Carnarvon, for consideration[173] |
| 1867 | ||
| Date | Event | Result |
| January–February 1867 | Drafting of the bill | Committee of the delegates begin the drafting process to implement the London Resolutions; extensive consultations with Lord Carnarvon and British drafter; bill goes through several drafts[174] |
| February–March 1867 | Bill passed by British Parliament | Lord Carnarvon introduces theBritish North America Act, 1867 in the House of Lords; Lord Monck speaks in support; Cardwell, now in opposition, speaks in support in the Commons; bill proceeds through the Lords and the Commons without incident[175] |
| March 29, 1867 | Queen Victoria grantsRoyal Assent | British North America Act, 1867 enacted as Imperial statute |
| July 1, 1867 | Proclamation ofBritish North America Act, 1867 | Canada is created |
| July 1, 1867 | Macdonald appointed first prime minister of Canada | Governor General Monck appoints Macdonald as first prime minister of Canada; Macdonald then sets up the first federal government, appointing the federal Cabinet and the lieutenant governors of the four provinces.[176] |
| July 1, 1867 | Continuation of New Brunswick government | Premier Mitchell continues in office as the first post-Confederation premier of New Brunswick |
| July 4, 1867 | Continuation of Nova Scotia government | Lieutenant Governor Williams appointsHiram Blanchard as first post-Confederation premier of Nova Scotia, after Premier Tupper resigns to stand for election to the federalHouse of Commons |
| July 15, 1867 | Creation of first Quebec government | Lieutenant Governor Belleau appointsPierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau as first premier of Quebec |
| July 16, 1867 | Creation of first Ontario government | Lieutenant Governor Stisted appointsJohn Sandfield Macdonald as first premier of Ontario |
| August–September 1867 | First elections under theBritish North America Act, 1867 | Elections forfederal Parliament, Legislative Assemblies ofOntario,Quebec andNova Scotia (no election in New Brunswick since there had been an election the previous year) |
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