Chapter 5
Pathway to Confederation

Overview

1. 1864 – some leaders in the maritime region wanted a union of three Atlantic colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island)
2. 1864 – Charlottetown Conference: In Sept. representatives from NB, NS and PEI met to discuss Maritime union.  They were joined by delegates from the UPC, who put forward the idea of union of all 4 colonies
3. 1864 – Quebec Conference (October): Seventy Resolutions (72) were adopted
4. 1866 – The British North America Act was drafted at the London Conference.
5. 1867 – July 1, the British colonies of NS, NB and UPC joined together to form the Dominion of Canada

Maritime Union (p. 118)
Charlottetown Conference
- colonies of NB, NS, PEI were considering uniting under a central gov’t
- decided to meet in Charlottetown, PEI to discuss union
- Nfld. Was thought not to be interested, so delegates were not invited to attend
- UPC decided to take advantage of this meeting to try and convince Atlantic colonies to join with them in a larger union
- official representative of Great Britain – Governor General Lord Monck – had to give approval for this meeting
- 8 representatives from the coalition gov’t of UPC attended the Sept. 1, 1864 meeting in Charlottetown
- John A. Macdonald and George-Etienne Cartier acted as leaders
- all 8 representatives argued in favour of broadening the Maritime union into a British North American union.
- Atlantic colonies had mixed feelings about Confederation
- representatives from PEI were mostly opposed to the idea
- UPC promised that the new union would build a railway connecting Canada and the Atlantic colonies.
- by the end of the conference, decision was made to spend more time considering a larger union
- a 2nd meeting would be held in a month in Quebec

Quebec Conference (p. 120)

- delegates again met in October of 1864 (1 month after Charlottetown Conference)
- representatives from UPC and all maritime provinces
- Nfld attended this conference
- lasted for over 2 weeks
- result in 72 Resolutions which would be the building blocks for the new country of Canada

* Copy highlights from p. 120

 

            Reaction to the Seventy-Two Resolutions (p. 122)
- before they got approved in Great Britain, they had to be approved by the colonial gov’ts
- job of delegates who attended was to go home and debate the ideas put forth in 72 Resolutions
- approval did not come easily
- took almost 3 years before colonies agreed in 1867 to unite as Dominion of Canada
- UPC, NS and NB formed a union
- PEI and Nfld decided to wait

                        In the UPC
- debate in Legislature continued for 6 weeks
- Great Coalition had an overwhelming majority in favour of Confederation (91 to 33)
- those in Canada East (PQ) were concerned that their French language and culture would not survive and English speaking country

* Read imaginary conversation on p. 122

                        Reaction in the Atlantic Colonies
- strong opposition in Atlantic Colonies to 72 Resolutions
- thought that their colonies were doing fine on their own
- saw no reason to join UPC and take on its problems
- felt they had nothing in common with farmers of UPC, since they were fishermen, lumbermen and shipbuilders

In New Brunswick
- 1865, Premier Tilley’s gov’t of NB was in favour of Confederation
- Tilley’s opponents stressed that NB would lose control over its own affairs in Confederation
- people believed the opposition and Tilley lost the election
- in 1866, lieutenant governor appointed by Great Britain was instructed to promote Confederation in NB
- pressured anti-Confederation gov’t into resigning
- then appointed a pro-Confederation gov’t and called another election
- Tilley was re-elected and new assembly voted for Confederation
- circumstances changed in the time between the 2 elections
a. Fenian raids reawakened fear of American invasion.  NB could better afford the cost of defense if it was shared with GB and other colonies
b. GB announced that it supported the idea of union. 
c. 1865 – USA announced that free trade would not continue.  NB would need to have a tariff free market in the other colonies of BNA (British North America)
d. people thought union would mean more $ for railway construction, which means more jobs and opening up of forested areas
e. Tilley’s campaign was supposed financially by shipping, timber and railway interests

                                    In Nova Scotia (p. 123)
- NS was largely responsible for initiating the Charlottetown Conference
- both NB and PEI were part of NS in early days
- in minds of pro-Confederates, Confederation was tied to railway building
- wanted to see Halifax linked by railway to UPC
- access to Canadian markets would greatly help industrial development in NS
- people farther away from the proposed railway were less interested in Confederation
- anti-Confederates led by Joseph Howe, were concerned that a small province like NS would have little influence
- also worried that higher taxes would be needed to support railway development
- Tupper was pro-Confederation and watched NB (Tilley) lose the election, so he decided not to call an election or to put the 72 Resolutions to a vote in NS
- new pro-Confederation lieutenant-governor was appointed in NS
- Sir Fenwick Williams was well liked since he was born in the colony
- Tupper was able to win support of the Assembly with Williams’ help

                                    In Prince Edward Island
-widespread opposition to Confederation
- concerned that representatives would have little power in new Confederation gov’t
- hoped that the new gov’t would guarantee a 200, 000 (lb) loan to buy out the absentee landlords
- this was refused and many islanders lost interest
- saw no advantage in a tariff-free union

                                    In Newfoundland (p. 124)
- not interested in confederation
- had little in common with people of UPC
- when they heard about anti-Confederation resistance in other colonies, decided to take no further part in Confederation discussions.

* Summarize all the individuals on p. 125 – 127 focusing on the confederation information (ie. role played, result, etc.)

The London Conference (p. 128)

- 16 delegates from UPC, NS and NB sailed to London in 1866 to present 72 Resolutions to British officials
- en route to London, delegates from NS and NB were able to make some changes that were to their benefit
- NB got assurances that the intercolonial railway would be built
- subsidies were increased to provincial gov’t
- Feb. 12, 1867, bill contained modified 72 Resolutions (aka. British North America Act) passed through the House of commons and House of Lords quickly (in London)
- May 22, 1867 – Queen Victoria proclaimed that the Dominion of Canada would be created

The British North American Act (p. 130)
Introduction
- BNA created the Dominion of Canada
- stated the powers of the provincial and federal gov’ts
- was the 1st Canadian constitution

           
Federalism
- had to settle whether there should be two levels of gov’t (national/provincial) or just a national level
- two levels had existed under federalism and Canadiens wanted to keep a provincial gov’t in order to keep its identity
- both NB and NS also wanted to have own provincial gov’ts
- system of federalism resulted
- federal gov’t would handle matters affecting dominion as a whole
- provincial gov’t would handle matters affecting only the people within its boundaries
- federal gov’t would have more powers than provincial gov’t until 1982 (provinces received more power)


A Strong Central Gov’t (p. 131)
- federal gov’t was to be very strong
- afraid that if provinces were too powerful, might conflict with each other instead of working together (reminder of American Civil War)
- federal gov’t was given 3 important powers
1. authority over matters of general (national) concern, including everything not specifically given to the provinces
2. the power to veto (reject) any provincial law within one year of its passage
3. the power to appoint each province’s lieutenant-governor

                        Federal Powers Specified in 1867 Constitution
- trade and commerce
- raising $ by taxation
- $ (currency and banking)
- postal services
- armed forces and defense
- fisheries
- Aboriginal people and lands reserved for them
- divorce
- criminal law
- penitentiaries

POGG – Peace, Order and Good Government – shall make laws for the peace, order and good gov’t of Canada in regard to all subjects not specifically given to the provinces

                        Provincial Government
- direct taxation within province
- management and sale of public lands and natural resources belonging to the province
- provincial prisons
- hospitals and asylums
- local works and projects
- education (with exceptions)
- administration of justice and provincial courts
- issuing licenses to shops, saloons, taverns and other businesses
- property and civil law

                        Shared Powers in BNA
- immigration
- education
- agriculture

Confederation Celebrations (p. 134)
- July 1, 1867, it was announced the BNA takes its place among the nations of the world

* Refer to images found on p. 134 -135

In 1867 (p. 138)
In the Dominion of Canada
Political Divisions
- dominion of Canada had 4 provinces
- no political identity yet as a country
- 80% rural, 20% urban
Rural
- people produced almost everything they needed
- animals provided power to make work easier
Urban
- large cities (Toronto, Montreal, Halifax) were developing services of modern cities

Social Classes
- ranged from wealthy property and business owners to well off middle class to working-class and poor

            Elsewhere in BNA
- in addition to 4 provinces, there were 3 colonies and 2 territories

In the Colonies
- life in PEI and Nfld remained same
- gold boom in BC had ended and colonies of Vancouver Island and BC were in financial crisis
- 2 colonies of Vancouver Island and BC united since it was too expensive to maintain 2 separate gov’ts.
- capital was New Westminister and Frederick Seymour was governor
- US completed its purchase of Alaska Panhandle from Russia making territory north and south of BC, American

                        In the Red River
- an active trading centre with a growing population
- colony’s political future was unclear since Metis wanted different things

Recent Developments in Confederation (p. 140)
Constitutional change
Constitution Act – 1982
- BNA of 1867 was renamed Constitution Act in 1982
- included a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- recognized that Canada had become a multi-cultural country
- also declared that the country’s provinces would receive federal grants of money for education, health and welfare
- Quebec was only province to refuse to accept Constitution Act since Quebec claimed that the Act did not recognize Quebec’s special place in Confederation
- signed during government of Trudeau

Meech Lake Accord – 1987
- proposed changes in the interpretation of provincial powers an dhow the constitution could be modified based on recognizing cultural distinctiveness
- agreement also proposed to give more power to the Senate and the Supreme Court
- only recognized Quebec’s distinctiveness and NOT the natives
- vetoed by Elijah Harper

                        Charlottetown Accord – 1992
- called for the recognition of Quebec’s distinctiveness
- also proposed to protect rights of Aboriginals
- reforming House of Commons and electing a Senate
- voters were asked to approve Accord, but it was rejected

                        Quebec Referendum – 1995
- voters in PQ elected Parti Quebecois to establish Quebec as an independent country in an economic partnership with the rest of Canada
- narrowly rejected by voters

                        Supreme Court Decision – 1998
- declared that Quebec did not have the right to become an independent country without talking to gov’ts of other provinces

TEST!!