MORE ON CONFEDERATION!

REPRESENTATION BY POPULATIONRep-by-pop:

Who was in favour of this? Clear Grits

# of representatives in the Legislative Assembly depends on the # of people who live in a particular area (a riding) French extremely opposed

DOUBLE MAJORITYDouble majority: for a bill to be passed in

the Legislative Assembly, there had to be a majority vote in both Canada East and Canada WestMakes it very inefficient

French and English working against eachother

CONFEDERATION: YES OR NO?The colonies would only join if they got a

good deal out of it.How would they benefit?

Up until then, the colonies were the responsibility of the British Well-being Defence

The colonies were on friendly terms economically and socially

Had separate legislatures (the part of the government where laws are made)

MacDonald wanted a strong national (central) governmentLimited power for provincial governments

Few people in the colonies outside of central Canada liked the idea

The Maritimes’ position: CONSMature, independent coloniesCommon identity different from the province

of CanadaResponsible governmentIndependent trading relationships with the

British and US

Newfoundland did not trade with Canada at allWhy join?

Railway was a selling point but…Wouldn’t benefit Newfoundland or PEI

Why not? Islands

The Maritimes position: PROSUS to end of the Reciprocity Treaty (1866):

Allowed goods to be sent to the US duty freeRemoval of Corn LawsDevelopment of steel and steam technology

was not good for the shipbuilding industry

MacDonald had to convince them that these problems could be solved with Confederation

THE CONFERENCESMost of the colonies were facing difficulties:

The northern US states were winning the Civil War Not on good terms with Britain

Maritimes were losing trade opportunities with Britain and the US Economic problems

Canada East and West were almost bankrupt Depression (Corn Laws) Bad government (Canadian Union)

12 different governments between 1849 and 1864

Representatives from the colonies agreed to meet to discuss the idea of joining together (Confederation)

The Maritime colonies had already planned to meet to join together to discuss a Maritime unionRepresentatives from Canada ask if they can

go to introduce the idea of all of the colonies joining together

WHO WAS THERE?From Canada

MacDonaldBrownCartier

From New BrunswickSamuel Tilley

From Nova ScotiaCharles Tupper

From PEIEdward Whelan

A Newfoundland representative

The ConferencesMany leaders saw Confederation as the only

solution to their problemsThe “Great Coalition”: even George Brown,

agreed to work with MacDonald and Cartier to save the government of Canada and then unite the colonies

Charlottetown Conference (1864)Discussed the details of a new unionInitially just for the Maritime provinces

The Great Coalition and railway builder Alexander Tilloch Gauld ask to attend Very convincing to the representatives of the

Maritimes colonies Samuel Tilley (New Brunswick), and Charles Tupper

(Nova Scotia), and Edward Whelan (PEI) agreed to meet them again in Quebec

The Quebec Conference (1864)Made the formal decisions as to how to

create the new nationHow they would divide powers between the

provincial and federal governments The provinces would have more power than

MacDonald expectedCame up with 72 resolutions (statements on

government) and a plan for Confederation

Each representative had to go back and debate the every proposal in the legislatureA lot of opposition in each colony

Strong opposersA.A. Dorion (Quebec)Joseph Howe (Nova Scotia)

One of the biggest supporters was Thomas D’Arcy McGee

All of the delegates (representatives) were menAccompanied by families

Huge parties and banquetsNo native people were included

The London Conference 1866In the end, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and

Canada decided to join together They needed permission from Britain to do so

Each colony sent representatives to London, England

British pass the British North American Act, creating the Dominion of Canada

THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN ACT (BNA):Had to get permission from Britain to join

togetherVery different from the US who fought a

revolution for its independence

The BNA was based on the Quebec ResolutionsMostly written by CanadiansBecame the constitution of the dominion

Constitution: the laws that set forth the powers and responsibilities of the government and guarantee the rights of the people

Dominion: a self-governing nation that is still part of the British Empire

Canada then had two types of government:federal, or national, government: the

ParliamentProvincial government: the provincial

legislaturesEach had specific powers outlined in the

constitution

The powersFederal Provincial•Military defence•Currency•Postage•Criminal law•Immigration•Indian affairs•Interprovincial and overseas transportation/projects

•Education•Hospitals•Civil law•Local issues/projects

O CANADA!O Canada!

Our home and native land!True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.