Creating a New Country

Government: the way people organize themselves and make decisions

Canada is a democracy: the people hold the power and elect their leaders

Governor General(represents the King/Queen of England)

|Cabinet

(led by Prime Minister)House of Commons

(elected by the people)|

People(citizens who elect members into the gov’t)

After the colonies achieved responsible gov’t, they started to think about how to manage themselves

They wanted to meet the needs of everyone who lived in British North America

They called the joining “Confederation”

There were 7 colonies in BNA:1.Canada West2.Canada East3.Nova Scotia4.New Brunswick5.Newfoundland6.Prince Edward Island7.British Columbia

There was 3 main reasons why these colonies thought about joining together:

Political deadlockTrade relationsDefence of BNA

In Canada East and West, the French and English members of the gov’t could not get along

The gov’t was made of many groups who would not agree with each other

There was political deadlock

One reason they disagreed: some groups wanted representation by population – the more people living in an area, the more members they get in the gov’t

this meant that some areas of Canada would have more power in the gov’t than others

For a long time, Britain made a lot of money by trading with BNA and getting taxes

BNA was only allowed to trade with BritainBritain realized that they needed to start

trading goods with other countries – the colonies would lose a lot of money

Now, Britain didn’t need the colonies to make money. The colonies were actually draining a lot of money from Britain

The colonies began trading with the U.S.They had “free trade” or “reciprocity” –

neither country charged taxes on trade goodsThe U.S. didn’t like the deal, and started

charging taxesBNA realized that if the colonies united, they

could trade freely with each other

Civil War broke out in the U.S. – the North vs. The South

Canada was worried that whoever won the war may want to take over Canada next

The U.S. believed in “Manifest Destiny”: they thought it was their God-given right to rule all of North America

The colonies knew they would be stronger if they united

This was the Maritimes’ “Golden Age”Shipbuilding made them tons of moneyP.155: chart for the Maritime coloniesThey wondered if Confederation would be a good

thing for them or not: 1.if they joined the Canadas, a lot of the money

they made would be sent away2.On the other hand, they could get resources like

coal and steel from the other provincesThey liked the idea of the railway – it would give

quick access to the rest of Canada for them

A man named George Brown had an idea: give each province it’s own gov’t to make it’s own decisions, but also have a federal gov’t to help each one

Leaders from all of the colonies decided to meet – in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island!!

This is why PEI is considered the “birthplace of Confederation”

A month later, the men met in QuebecEveryone could not get what they wanted –

the had to compromise

1. The Canadas Both the French and English had to make

sure they had their own control One major factor: education

2. New Brunswick They were promised that a railway would be

built, which convinced them to join

3. Nova Scotia Also convinced when they were promised a

railway

4. PEI Worried that, because it was small, it wouldn’t

get the same rights as the other provinces Felt isolated – wanted to have a way to travel

on/off the island. They were promised a ferry Did not join confed. Until 1873 (9 years after

the first meeting)

5. Newfoundland Felt too far away from the other provinces

to bother joining with them Didn’t join until 1949!!!

The 2 men who worked the hardest to create Confederation:

John A. MacDonald and George-Etienne CartierP.161

July 1, 1867: the “Dominion of Canada” is created. Canada became a country

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1jG58nghRo&feature=PlayList&p=9F861B57A7C8E9B5&index=37

The gov’t passed the “BNA Act”Canada was still part of the British EmpireThe Gov’t was divided between a a)House of Commons – elected membersb)Senate – people appointed from each province

Each province received a number of gov’t members based on how big it’s population was (rep. by pop.)

Bigger provinces had more power

Power was divided between the provinces and the Federal Gov’t

P.163 – the division of power

With democracy, the “people” are allowed to decide who governs them

In Canada, in order to vote:1.21 years old or older2.Had to own land3.Married women were not allowed4.Most minorities could not, because not many

of them owned land