c onfederation a united canada. u nited c anada in the 1860s, the british colonies in north american...
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CONFEDERATIONA United Canada
UNITED CANADA
In the 1860s, the British colonies in North American faced many problems
Confederation was a solution to their problems
Think about it: How could Confederation solve the problems the colonies were facing?
CONFEDERATION
Confederation: the joining together of the colonies to form one country
CONFEDERATION TIME LINE1858 Galt, Cartier, Ross go to Britain to
present idea of Confederation1864 Great Coalition
1864 Charlottetown Conference
1865 Quebec Conference (72 Resolutions)
1866 Annexation Bill
1866-1867 London Conference
July 1, 1867 British North America passed ! Canada created
1870 Manitoba & N.W.T. join
1871 B.C. joins
1873 P.E.I. joins
1898 Yukon joins
1905 Alberta and Saskatchewan join
1949 Newfoundland joins
1999 Nunavut joins
1860S
British colonies faced many problems that they hoped would be solved with a union, or confederation
Problems: 1. Deadlock
2. American invasion3. Trade
4. British attitude towards the colony5. Railway
6. Lack of farm land
1861-1864 REASON 1: CONFLICT & DEADLOCK Canada East and Canada West were not
getting along The two colonies were split by language and
religion By 1861 Canada West had 500 000 more
people than Canada East but each had equal power in government
Rep by Pop became a slogan. This meant that the number of seats and
therefore power was determined by size of population
Think about it: Who had the most to lose if government representation was by population?
POLITICAL DIVISIONS
John A. Macdonald(Liberal –
Conservative Party)
George Brown(Reform Party
George-Etienne Cartier
(Parti Bleu)
Antoine Aime Dorion(Parti Rouge)
Canada West Canada East
THE GREAT COALITIONGeorge Brown (centre) offered to set aside differences to form a Coalition Government to bring about confederationHe joined John A. Macdonald’s government
REASON 2: INVASION The threat of annexation by the USA worried
many people Relations between the colonies and the USA had
been poor since the USA won its independence from Britain
It got worse when Britain supported the south in the civil war
It was made worse again when the USA passed a bill known as the Annexation Bill*, this bill allowed for Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada East and West to become part of the USA
It was never made into law but it made Canadians uneasy
*Annexation is when a country expands to include a new area
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The militia grew as Canadian became aware of the need to defend themselves against the USA
FENIAN RAIDS The Fenians were Irish
Americans who invaded Canada in 1866
They invaded Canada to put pressure on the British to leave Ireland
They were never a real threat but made it clear that Canada needed a united army
Think about it: what would a united army provide?
REASON 3: TRADE
In the early 1800s Canada was given certain bonuses to trade with Britain since it was a colony
In 1846 Britain stopped giving Canada this support
Canada now had to sign a trade deal with the USA
In 1865 this deal expired and since the two countries weren’t getting along it was not likely it would be renewed
Because the USA wouldn’t renew the deal Canada had to look to trade with each other
REASON 4:
Britain’s attitude towards Canada had changed
Britain wanted to make money having Canada as a colony not to spend money on Canada
Britain decided that it was time to cut many of their ties with Britain and cut Canada free
REASON 5: RAILWAY
Before Confederation all the colonies had started their own railway
Some such as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had gone bankrupt before it was done
Confederation would mean that the government would provide the money to finish railways and construct a railway coast to coast
Railways also improved trade and transportation
REASON 6: FARM LAND
Canada West needed to expand Good farm land that could support successful
farming was necessary Canadians were looking to Rupert’s land
(Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) Unfortunately, so were the Americans!
TALKING POINTS: CHARLOTTETOWN
In the early 1860s Nova Scotia, P.E.I and New Brunswick had decided to form their own union
Canada East and Canada West decided to attend one of their meetings and present the idea of Confederation
In September, 1864 they all meet in Charlottetown, P.E.I and the idea of Confederation is met with enthusiasm
A second conference is planned for the next month in Quebec
TALKING POINTS: QUEBEC
Delegates meet in Quebec and come up with the 72 Resolutions
The 72 Resolutions specifies what Confederation would look like
The list of 72 Resolutions was brought back to their colonies for review and discussion
72 RESOLUTIONS: THE KEY 7
1. Strong central government to handle common matters such as defence and economic development
2. The central government made laws relating to “peace, order and good government”
3. Provinces had defined powers to handle local matters, social and cultural issues
4. Ontario and Quebec would be created5. Parliament would be made up of House of
Commons and Senate6. Representation by Population7. Senate appointed by Governor General
LONDON CONFERENCE
Queen Victoria signed the British North America Act and Canada was created
The new Canada had four provinces Ontario (formerly Canada West) Quebec (formerly Canada East) Nova Scotia New BrunswickSir John A. Macdonald passed a Canadian
Constitution and he actually wrote most of it himself
GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES AFTER CONFEDERATION
Banking and money Navigation and
shipping First Nations Defence Criminal law
Education Health and medicine Forestry and other
resources Property right (laws
relating to land) Roads
Federal Provincial
FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION
John A. Macdonald Emigrated from
Scotland Lawyer & politician Leading role in
Confederation Author of the 72
Resolutions and our Constitution
George Etienne-Cartier Travelled to London
to meet with Queen about possibility of Confederation
Became Macdonald’s most senior member
TEN QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD
http://sirjohnaday.com/#videos
MORE….
Born in Ireland Lived in the USA
before returning to Canada
At first supported US annexation of Canada but changed mind
Poet and politician Assassinated by a
Fenian
Born in Scotland Started The Globe
paper in Toronto Force behind the
Great Coalition Shot and killed by a
former employee
Thomas D’Arcy McGee George Brown
AND MORE…
Born in England Minister of Finance Strong supporter of
Confederation
Born in Nova Scotia Doctor Premier of Nova
Scotia Most Nova Scotians
did not like the 72 Resolutions but he got them passed
Prime Minister in 1896 for 69 days
Alexander Galt Charles Tupper
AND YET ONE MORE…
Born in New Brunswick
Pharmacist He suggested the
name the Dominion of Canada
Samuel Tilley The Fathers of Confederation
A CONVERSATION WITH MACDONALD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtxoXxjskOg&feature=related