CHAPTER 7 CONFEDERATION

Canada became a country in 1867 when the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick joined together

Many people were against confederation and wanted things to remain as they were

People in the Province of Canada voted for confederation because it meant that Canada East and Canada West would be separated

In the 1860's the colonies of BNA were of less interest to Britain and thus did not receive the same protection as before. The United States was also growing stronger

The people of the colonies had to decide whether they would have more political and economic power if they remained independent or would they be better off working together.

Maritime Colonies

At first the premiers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island decided to meet to discuss uniting their provinces

Province of Canada

 Leaders of the Province of Canada heard about the meeting of the maritime colonies and requested permission to attend

The people in this colony felt that the joining of English and French speaking people had not worked.

There were so many differences of opinion between government members that government could not govern very well

They hoped that if they joined confederation they would be separate provinces and still benefit by being part of a larger country

The colony had built up large debts from building railroads and canals and hoped to share the costs with the other colonies

Newfoundland

 People from the other colonies did not think Newfoundland would be interested in joining the other colonies

When the Newfoundland government heard about the conference they asked if they could attend

The other colonies agreed but it turned out that it was too late for them to attend

The Charlottetown Conference - September 1864

The premier of Canada, John A. Macdonald, gave some very persuasive speeches about the benefits of confederation

By the end of the conference most of the delegates were convinced confederation would be best for the future

They decided to have another conference in Quebec to discuss how the new federation would work

The Quebec Conference

The Quebec conference was attended by Newfoundland as well as the other colonies

The main disagreements at this conference were over how power would be shared

After two weeks they came up with an agreement that was called the Seventy-Two Resolutions that described how confederation would work

A resolution is a formal agreement reached by a group

The next step was to convince the voters of the colonies to vote for confederation

Read the main ideas of the Seventy-Two Resolutions on page 122

Reasons for Confederation

Defence 

People in the colonies were afraid the United States would take over British Columbia and the Prairies and maybe invade the other colonies

They felt they could defend themselves better if they were united

Trade 

Britain had a reciprocity treaty with the United States which allowed goods to be traded between the colonies and the United States without being taxed

The colonies taxed each other’s goods, however, and had different currencies so trade was complicated

They felt that having free trade among themselves and having the same currency would benefit everyone

Railways

Railways were seen as a transportation necessity in the late 1800s

There was a major railway in the Province of Canada and another in the Maritimes but they were not joined together

In summer goods were transported between the colonies on the St. Lawrence River but it was frozen and inaccessible in winter stopping the shipping of goods

Railways were expensive and people felt that united colonies could share the costs.

The railway would also be useful to move troops if they were invaded

Land

Although many aboriginal groups lived in Rupert’s Land the British felt it was owned by the Hudson Bay Company

They felt if they had a railway from the Province of Canada to British Columbia they could open up the prairies for farming

By settling this area they could also protect it from being taken over by the Americans

Homework Assignment

Editorial Cartoon(p.130)

On July 1st, 1867 the Queen of England signed the British North America Act creating the Dominion of Canada consisting of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

New Brunswick had elected an anti-Confederate government but changed their mind and joined Canada for several reasons

An economic reason was that the U.S. had ended the reciprocity treaty with BNA and it was now more economical for New Brunswick to trade with the other colonies than the U.S.

In 1866 a band of Fenians (Irish-Americans )fighting to free Ireland from British control almost attacked New Brunswick and later attacked the Province of Canada. The U.S. did nothing to stop them and New Brunswickers were scared of being attacked

Opinions about Confederation changed in New Brunswick and the governor encouraged a new election which elected a pro-Confederation government.

They hoped Confederation would improve defense and the economy

Nova Scotia

Joseph Howe tried to get Britain to stop Confederation but Britain had decided Confederation of the colonies would be a good thing

The Nova Scotian government decided to join Canada without holding an election to get the opinion of the voters

British North America Act(BNA)

The British North America Act(BNA) of 1867 was a set of rules, based on the 72 Resolutions, under which Canada would be run. In 1982 it was renamed the Constitution Act(Look at key points of the BNA Act on page 132)

 

First Nations people were included in the BNA but the Inuit and Metis were not(The Inuit were included in 1939)

The Indians and their lands were the responsibility of the federal government

The First Nations did not have the same rights of the citizens but were expected to follow the laws

Participating in Government

The main arguments in Canada today concern how power is shared

Power must be shared by three levels of government

  federal provincial or

territorial municipal

Different political parties try to form the government to run the country as they think it should be run

Sharing of Power and Responsibilities

In a federation power is shared

In Canada the federal government has power over some aspects of government, the provincial and territorial governments have power over other aspects and some power is shared

Each level of government must raise taxes to provide services in the areas for which they are responsible

Check the chart on page 133 for the expansion of Confederation

Check diagram on page government responsibilities

Both levels of government must hold elections at regular intervals with 5 years between elections being the maximum amount of time but usually no more than 4 years

Newfoundland and Labrador now has a set election time with elections every 4 years

Canada is divided into ridings for election purposes with areas with larger populations having more ridings. A riding is a particular area of land that includes certain communities

There are different ridings for federal and provincial elections

Each political party puts a candidate( a person the party hopes will be elected) in each riding. The candidate with the most votes gets to represent the riding

The political party which elects the most candidates forms the government. The party which places second forms the Official Opposition

The governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories do not have political parties and govern by consensus - all elected members discuss an issue until they reach an agreement

Candidates elected in federal elections are called Members of Parliament ( MP’s)

Candidates elected in provincial and territorial elections have a variety of titles

Today in Canada all Canadian citizens over the age of 18 can vote in federal elections and all potential voters must be given the chance to vote if at all possible.