pathway to confederation charlottetown conference
TRANSCRIPT
Pathway to ConfederationCharlottetown Conference
Charlottetown Conference
• The colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were considering uniting under a central government
• They agreed to meet in Charlottetown to discuss a Maritime union
• Newfoundland was thought not to be interested in the union, so they were not invited to attend
Charlottetown Conference
• The United Province of Canada (Canada East and West) heard about the meeting and asked to join the conference
• They hoped to convince the Atlantic colonies to join with them in an even larger union
• The official representative of Great Britain, Governor General Lord Monck, had to approve the meeting
Charlottetown Conference
• The meeting took place on September 1, 1864• Eight representatives from the United Province of Canada
attended, and John A. MacDonald and George Etienne-Cartier acted as leaders
• All representatives from the United Province of Canada argued that the Maritime union should become a British North American union
Charlottetown Conference
• The representatives from the Atlantic colonies had mixed feelings about Confederation
• The representatives from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick wanted to discuss Confederation, but were divided
• Representatives from Prince Edward Island were opposed
Charlottetown Conference
• The United Province of Canada promised that a new railway would be built joining Canada and the Atlantic colonies if a union was agreed upon
• The conference ended with an agreement to consider a larger union, and another meeting would be held in a month in Quebec to work out the terms