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Unit

1ConfederationConfederation

Canada became a country in 1867, over 130 years ago.

That may seem like a long time ago, but Canada is a

young country compared to many other nations in

the world. In 1867, four provinces joined to form the new

Dominion of Canada—Ontario, Québec, Nova Scotia, and

New Brunswick. The country was much smaller than it is

today. Since 1867, it has grown and changed tremendously.

Today, it is still growing and changing.

Before 1867, what we know as Canada today was just a

scattering of colonies and territories known as British

North America. The colonies and territories were part of

the vast British empire under British rule.

Many factors eventually brought the colonies together

and led to the birth of the nation. The path was not

without conflict, delay, and upheaval. But Canada was a

country forged peacefully, without major bloodshed. July 1,

1867 was a day of celebration.

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Unit

11841 -

1866 -

Timeline

1864 -

1867 -

1868 -

Focusing In!

After studying this unit, you will be able to answer the following questions:

1. What were the main reasons for Confederation?2. Who were some of the key people involved in making Confederation happen?3. Why did some people favour Confederation? Why did others strongly oppose it?4. What were the advantages and disadvantages of Confederation for each colony?5. What type of government is a confederation? Why was it chosen for Canada?6. How did Confederation eventually grow to include more provinces and territories?7. What are some of the recent changes in Confederation?8. How does each region of Canada contribute to Confederation today?

2

1869 -

1870 -

1871 -

1873 -

1880 -

Union of Upper and Lower Canada into the new province of Canada

Coalition Government is formed in CanadaCharlottetown Conference on Confederation is heldQuébec Conference drafts the Seventy-Two Resolutions forConfederation

Fenians invade British North AmericaColonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia uniteLondon Conference drafts the British North America Act

British North America Act is signed Confederation is won; Canada becomes a nation

Assassination of D’Arcy McGee by a Fenian

Canada gains the North-West Territories from Britain and Rupert’sLand from the Hudson’s Bay Company

Manitoba joins Confederation

British Columbia joins Confederation

Prince Edward Island joins Confederation

Britain transfers the Arctic Islands to Canada

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In the summer of 1820 at Québec City, a five-year-old boy ran down the gangplank of a sail-ing ship and stepped onto North Americansoil. The ship had been on the Atlantic Oceanfor 42 days. It was carrying new immigrants toCanada. Among them was a poor family fromScotland hoping to find a better life for them-selves in the New World. The young boy wasJohn Alexander Macdonald.

John A. Macdonald was only one of manyimmigrants who came to British North Amer-ica in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Manyimmigrants were from Great Britain. Otherswere Loyalists from the United States whocame after the American Revolution. Theywere of English, Irish, Scottish, German,Dutch, French, and African origin. BritishNorth America was also populated withAboriginal peoples who had lived on the landfor thousands of years.

The mid 1800s were a time of great changein British North America. Confederation

(the union of the colonies under a central gov-ernment) was on the horizon. Many individu-als stepped forward to play an important roleduring this period. John A. Macdonald wasone of them. Who could have known that thiscurly-haired boy from Glasgow would one daylead Britain’s North American colonies into aunion called the Dominion ofCanada?

In 1861, Macdonald gavean important speech. He wastalking about the unitedprovince of Canada, but hiswords also spoke to thedream of a much larger newnation.

We are a great country, and shallbecome one of the greatest in theuniverse if we preserve it;

We shall sink into insignificance andadversity if we suffer it to be broken.

Chapter

1

Predicting1. What advantages do you think the British North

American colonies would gain by uniting into onecountry?

2. What problems do you think they might face as theytry to unite?

3. What qualities do you think leaders like John A.Macdonald would have to have during this periodbefore Confederation?

3

Just Before ConfederationA Time of Change

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Unit 1: Confederation4

British North America in the 1860s—A Snapshot

Fort Garry is the centre ofthe fur trade in the RedRiver Settlement.

In 1858, British North America was acollection of scattered colonies andterritories.The word “Canada” referred

only to the united province of Canada Westand Canada East, formed in 1841.

N

Montréal

Québec

KingstonToronto

RED RIVERSETTLEMENT

Victoria

BRITISHCOLUMBIA

VANCOUVERISLAND

NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY

RUSSIANTERRITORY

Ottawa

CANADA WEST

CAN

ADA

EAST

PEI

NEW BRUNSWICK

NOVA SCOTIA

NEWFOUNDLAND

PacificOcean

Atlantic Ocean

Hudson Bay

RUPERT'S LAND

BRITISHNORTH AMERICA, 1858

OTHER BRITISHTERRITORIES

CROWN COLONIES

5000 250 750 km

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Chapter 1: Just Before Confederation 5

Aboriginal Peoples• population numbers about 100 000• include a wide variety of different

cultures• some live on reserves; others espe-

cially in Rupert’s Land and theNorth-Western Territory hunt, fish,or are involved in the fur trade

Vancouver Island andBritish Columbia• Vancouver Island (population about

800) is made a British crown colonyin 1849

• British Columbia becomes a colonyin 1858 after the discovery of goldand the arrival of thousands of goldseekers

• Vancouver Island and BritishColumbia join in 1866 and becomethe united colony of BritishColumbia

The North-Western Territory• largely a vast wilderness region inhabited by

Aboriginal peoples• visited by fur traders and explorers seeking a

northwest passage across the continent sincethe 16th century

Newfoundland• a loyal colony of Britain with a population of

about 122 000• people live in tiny fishing villages along the

coast and travel by boat along the coastline• over one-fifth of the population lives in the

city of St. John’s

The Maritimes • about 331 000 colonists live in small farming

communities in Nova Scotia; Halifax is themost important port and commercial centre

• New Brunswick’s 252 000 people live in townsalong the Saint John River and in the port cityof Saint John; the colony is mostly forest

• Prince Edward Island has 80 000 people whoare farmers and fishers

Rupert’s Land• Hudson’s Bay Company land (granted by

royal charter in 1670), in which theCompany has the right to trade

• inhabited mostly by Aboriginal peoples andfur traders

The Red River Settlement• established in 1811 by Lord Selkirk and

settled by Scottish immigrants• by the 1860s has a population of almost

12 000, 87% of whom are Métis (of mixedAboriginal and European heritage)

Canada• largest colony in British North America

divided into Canada East and Canada West• most settlers in Canada West are English-

speaking and Protestant• majority of population in Canada East is

French-speaking and Roman Catholic• united province of Canada is very much

divided by language and religion

James Douglas is made governor of the new colonyof British Columbia in 1858.

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CultureLink

Picture GalleryLife on the Eve of Confederation

In the mid 1800s,Montréal is abustling port citywith a population of100 000. It is thelargest city in BritishNorth America.

The “ironhorse” hasarrived. In themid 1800s,there is a rail-way buildingboom.

Towns and cities are growing rapidly,though most people still live on farmsor in villages. King Street East inToronto is a hub of activity.

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1. Choose one picture.Write a brief one-paragraph description or give a shorttalk about what you see in the picture.

2. What does the picture tell you aboutlife in the mid 1800s?

Lumbering is one of the mostimportant industries in thecolonies.

Farms are no longerjust little patcheshacked out of the forest as they were in the pioneer days.

Enormous gaps separate the rich fromthe poor in society.A few families likethis one make fortunes in railwaybuilding or other businesses.

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Politics in Canada The push toward Confederation began inCanada and the Maritimes. Politics in Canadain the mid 1800s was a stormy affair. The prov-ince was divided by language, religion, and different opinions on the direction the newprovince should take. In 1841 when the prov-ince was formed, Canada East and CanadaWest were given an equal number of seats inthe government Assembly or Parliament. There were two main political groups in theAssembly: the Conservatives or Tories and theReform Party or Clear Grits. In Canada East,the Conservatives were known as the Parti

Bleu and the Clear Grits were known as theParti Rouge.

Choosing a Capital In 1857, the issue of choosing a capital for theprovince created a major crisis in the govern-

ment. Since 1841, the Assembly had met at different times in Kingston, Québec City,Montréal, and Toronto. It was time for the government of Canada to have a permanentcapital. In 1857, the government decided toleave the decision up to Queen Victoria.

When the Queen announced that her choicewas Ottawa, other cities were in an uproar!They sneered that Ottawa was nothing morethan “a sub-Arctic lumber village.” However,there were good reasons for the Queen’s choice.

• Ottawa is far from the United States’ borderand could be protected in an attack.

• It had good water transportation routes formoving troops in case of war with theUnited States.

• Ottawa was right on the border betweenCanada East and Canada West and so mightsatisfy both parts of the province.

Party Leader Beliefs

Conservatives John A. Macdonald proud of Canada’s connection or Tories with Britain and loyal to

Queen Victoria who is officially the head ofgovernment during this period

Reform Party George Brown want change and more say for or Clear Grits ordinary people in

government; have a great deal of support from rural people

Parti Bleu George-Étienne support co-operation Cartier between French and

English-speaking Canadians

Parti Rouge A. A. Dorion support rights of French-speaking Canadians

Canada West

Canada East

Political Parties in Canada, 1860

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Not everyone in the Assembly was pleasedwith Queen Victoria’s decision. When the votewas taken to move the capital to Ottawa,English-speaking Conservatives voted in favourof the move. Macdonald said that to ignore theQueen’s advice would be an insult. But the Gritsvoted against having Ottawa as the capital. Theywere joined by French-speaking Conservativeswho preferred Montréal or Québec. Even thoughJohn A. Macdonald’s Conservatives had themajority in the Assembly at the time, the votetoppled John A’s government.

When the Conservatives went down todefeat, George Brown’s Grits became the

government. Just two days later, there wasanother dramatic shift. The Conservativesmoved a vote of non-confidence in Brown’snew government. A non-confidence vote

means that the Assembly is saying to the government “we no longer support you.” If thevote passes, the government must resign.

This is exactly what happened to GeorgeBrown and the Grits. This time the French-speaking Conservatives voted with the English-speaking Conservatives. Brown was primeminister for a little over 48 hours. Macdonaldand his Conservative government returned topower and joked about the double shuffle.

The location of the new capital was the topic of conversation in barber shops, newspapers,taverns, and churches all over Canada. People in Toronto said that Montréal should not bechosen because riots had occurred there in 1849. People of Québec City felt that the capitalshould be in Canada East.Toronto or London were too far west.The people of Kingstonthought that Québec City was too far east to suit them. Ottawa was the surprise choice.This painting shows Ottawa in 1857.What key features do you notice?

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John A. Macdonald arrived inCanada from Scotland with

his family in 1820. The familyeventually settled at Glenora inUpper Canada, west ofKingston. John’s mother was

determined that her sonwould get a good education.Though poor, the familymanaged to scrape togetherenough money to sendJohn to a boarding schoolin Kingston.

In those days a youngman could work in alawyer’s office during the

day and study law at night.So at age 15, John went to

work for a prominent Kingstonlawyer. In 1836, at the age of 21,he opened his own law office inKingston and became a success-ful and well-respected lawyer.

While his social and profes-sional life were successful andhappy, Macdonald’s personallife was often sad. His wife,Isabella, was frequently sickand confined to bed. Their firstbaby, John Macdonald, wasborn in 1847 but died 13months later. A second son,Hugh John, was born in 1850.After his birth, IsabellaMacdonald was never strongagain. Her illness becameworse, and in 1857 she died.

Overworked and sick withworry about his wife, his child,and mounting medical debts,John began to drink heavily.

Later there were times asprime minister when his drink-ing habits and behaviour werescandalous to the country.Everyone knew whenMacdonald was drinking heav-ily because some newspapersreported sarcastically that“John A. is sick again.”

In spite of this weakness, thepeople of Kingston recognizedqualities in the successful younglawyer that made him a goodpolitician. Perhaps becauseMacdonald’s own life was filled with tragedy, he was sensitive to the problems ofthe people he represented. Hewas intelligent, charming, andwitty, though occasionally hot-tempered.

Macdonald’s impressiveskills as a politician were put touse as an elected member ofKingston’s City Council, then asa member of Parliament, andeventually in 1867 as the firstprime minister of the Dominionof Canada.

1. If you were a supporter ofJohn A. Macdonald during thetime he was prime minister,which of his qualities wouldyou emphasize? How wouldyou present his faults?

2. Why might training as alawyer be good preparationfor a politician?

ProfileJohn A. Macdonald

Once, a member of theOpposition gave out along list of Macdonald’smistakes, misdeeds, andbad habits.When he satdown Sir John rose and,with a grin, replied,“Ain’tI the old devil, though?”

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Political DeadlockThe double shuffle was a sign of how govern-ment was working in Canada in the 1860s.Getting any bills (new laws) passed through theAssembly was almost impossible. Members ofthe government and the Opposition in theCanadian Assembly were nearly even in num-ber. Since they naturally voted against eachother, neither side could win. It was like twoevenly matched teams playing tug-of-war. Soduring the early 1860s, the machinery of gov-ernment gradually ground to a halt. The wheelssimply stopped turning. The engine sputteredand stalled. It was political deadlock.

George Brown and his Reform Partywanted representation by population or“rep by pop.” They pointed out that CanadaWest was larger than Canada East by almost300 000 people. Therefore, Canada West shouldhave more seats in the Assembly in proportionto its larger population. The people of CanadaEast would not agree to that because theywould be outnumbered in the Assembly!

And besides, when the province had beenunited in 1841, Canada East had had the largerpopulation but had not received more seats inthe Assembly. The two parts of the provincehad been given an equal number of seats.

So, political deadlock continued. In thethree years before 1864, four governments inthe Province of Canada resigned and therewere two general elections. Neither the Toriesnor the Grits could get enough votes to carryon the work of government. John A. Macdonaldwas so discouraged that he talked of retiringfrom politics. However, the Conservativesbegged him to stay on as their leader and heagreed.

On 14 June 1864, Macdonald’s governmentwas once again defeated by two votes.Macdonald could call an election, but whatgood would that do? Another election wouldprobably change nothing. Neither side couldhope to win enough seats in the Assembly toget any bills passed. It was George Brown whostepped forward with a solution.

Today, John A. Macdonald’s home in Kingston,Ontario, is a National Historic Site. Known asBellevue, it was opened to visitors in 1967 andincludes furnishings from the 1840s. If you goto the Visitor’s Centre on the grounds, you cansee a video presentation on Macdonald’s pri-vate life and public career. The architect whodesigned Bellevue also most likely designed

Kingston’s City Hall, which was completed in1844. It was the seat of the provincial govern-ment when Kingston was the capital of Upperand Lower Canada from 1841 to 1844. In 1973it was renovated to celebrate Kingston’s 300thanniversary. Both Bellevue and Kingston City

Hall are unique buildings and part ofCanada’s heritage. Your community or region

may also have National Historic Sites.

Fast Forward

National Historic Sites

For information on other National Historic Sites, visitthis web site

http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/parks/main_e.htm

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Today, Canada has several federal politicalparties. The Conservative Party led by John A.

Macdonald in the 1860s evolved into theProgressive Conservative Party we have today.

Members of this party are often still called“Tories.” The Reform Party led by George

Brown in the 1860s evolved into our modernLiberal Party. Other major federal politicalparties today include the New Democratic

Party formed in 1961, the Reform Partyformed in 1987, and the Bloc Québécois

founded in 1990. There are also a number ofsmaller federal parties including the Green

Party and the Christian Heritage Party. Eachprovince and territory has its own politicalparties, separate from the federal parties.

Fast Forward

Political Parties Today

You can find out more about the major federalpolitical parties by visiting their web sites:

www.liberal.cawww.pcparty.ca

www.blocquebecois.orgwww.ndp.ca

www.reform.ca

Skill Building: Learning from Graphs and Charts

You have probably seen charts and graphs inbooks, magazines, newspapers, on television newsreports, and on the Internet.You may even havecreated them on a computer. A graph is a visualpresentation or summary of information. Itshows how two sets of information are related.

A bar graph is one type of graph. It usesdifferent length bars to illustrate variousamounts. Bar graphs are set up on a grid.Thismakes it easy to compare one thing to another.How can you read a bar graph? Follow the stepson the next page.Then complete the questionsbelow to find out what you can learn.

What Can You Learn?1. a) Notice how the bars for both provincesincrease in every year shown.What does thismean?

b) Which province had the larger populationin 1806 and 1840? Which had the larger population in 1851 and 1861? How does this helpto explain why Canada East wanted representa-tion by population in 1841 and Canada Westwanted representation by population in 1861?

2. In 1867, the year of Confederation, the population of Canada West was 1 525 000.Thepopulation for Canada East was 1 123 000.Copy the bar graph in your notebook and addthe information for 1867.

3. Brainstorm other types of charts and graphsyou have seen. Could the populations of CanadaEast and Canada West be shown using differenttypes of graphs or charts? How?

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0

100 000

200 000

300 000

400 000

500 000

600 000

700 000

800 000

900 000

1 000 000

1 100 000

1 200 000

1 300 000

1 400 000

Canada EastCanada West

1861185118401806

Year

Size ofpopulation

COMPARISON OF POPULATIONS FOR CANADA EAST AND CANADA WEST, 1806–1861

1 396 000

1 112 000

890 000942 000

717 000

432 000

250 000

71 000

Reading a Graph

5 Examine the bars for 1806.The bar forCanada West is almost three quarters of the waybetween 0 and 100 000.The population ofCanada West in 1806 was 71 000.The bar forCanada East in the same year is half waybetween the 200 000 and 300 000 line.Thisshows that the population in 1806 in CanadaEast was 250 000.

1 Read the title. It tells you that this graph com-pares the populations in Canada East and CanadaWest over a number of years.

2 Find the legend. It tells what thecolours and symbols used in the graphmean. In this graph, the blue bars standfor Canada West and the red bars standfor Canada East.

3 Read the numbers along the bottom ofthe graph. They tell you that the populationsof the two provinces are compared at fourdifferent years—1806, 1840, 1851, and 1861.

4 Examine the numbersalong the side of the graph.These represent the sizeof the population.Thenumbers go from 0 to 1 400 000. Each line on thegrid stands for 100 000people.

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Coalition GovernmentAs leader of the Grits, George Brown opposedthe beliefs of the Conservative party. He wasJohn A. Macdonald’s political rival. For years,the two men had hurled bitter remarks at eachother across the floor of the Assembly. If theypassed each other on the street, neither onewould speak.

But the future of the province meant moreto George Brown than his personal feelings orhis political party. He suggested that the answerto political deadlock was a coalition govern-ment. A coalition government is the joiningof different political parties into one govern-ment in the time of an emergency. Togetherthey could do what no one party could do byitself. George Brown persuaded many other

members of his own party to support the coali-tion. Of the 130 members in the Assembly, atleast 100 would vote together.

The coalition government had two plans.The first was to try to form a union or confed-eration of all the British colonies in NorthAmerica. If this first plan failed, the secondplan was to split Canada again into twoprovinces (Ontario and Québec). Each provincewould run its own local affairs, but there wouldbe a central government based on representa-tion by population to look after matters of con-cern to both provinces. Other colonies couldcome in later if they desired. The idea ofConfederation was beginning to gain momen-tum in Canada.

On the subject of a coalition govern-ment for Canada in 1861, GeorgeBrown said in a speech:

For ten years I have stoodopposed to the honourable gentlemen opposite. . . . But Ithink the House will admit that,if a crisis has ever arisen in thepolitical affairs of any countrythat would justify such a coalition,such a crisis has now arrived inthe history of Canada . . . I do say,that if by any means we can find asolution to the difficulties, everyman who has the slightest inter-est in the country will be gratefulto those who accomplish it . . .I desire no greater honour for mychildren to remember than that I had a hand, however humble, inbringing about that great work.

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ActivitiesUnderstanding Concepts

1. Start your own Factfile of key words and concepts. Set aside a section of yournotebook for your Factfile or create it on computer.You will be able to add toyour file throughout your study.a) Divide a page in your notebook or on your computer into three columns.

Make the middle column the widest.b) In the left column, write the key words. In the middle column, write the

meaning of the words.Try to write the definitions in your own words.c) In the third column, give an example. Use the words correctly in a sentence

or draw a sketch to show the meaning.

Start your Factfile with these terms.

Confederation double shuffle graphTories political deadlock bar graphClear Grits representation by population legendnon-confidence vote coalition government

Key Words Definitions Example

Confederation

2. a) Explain why Ottawa was chosen as the capital of Canada.b) What problems did the vote over the choice of capital cause in the

government?

3. Why did the government of Canada face political deadlock in the 1860s? Howwas the deadlock broken?

4. What were the two plans of the coalition government?

Digging Deeper

5. ROLE PLAY Work in groups. Each group member chooses one role below andexplains which city he or she would support for Canada’s capital in 1857—Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa, Kingston, or Toronto? Refer to the map onpage 4 for help.a) a farmer in Canada East living near the border with New Brunswickb) a business owner in Torontoc) a member of the Parti Rouge in the Assemblyd) a Tory from Canada Weste) the governor general of Canada

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6. WRITE Why would people in Canada East object to George Brown’s demandfor representation by population? What reasons would they give? Write a let-ter to the editor of a major newspaper in Canada West expressing your viewsas a citizen of Canada East.

7. MEDIA/CREATE Political deadlock in Canada has finally been broken.There willbe a coalition government. Create a radio news bulletin announcing the eventand outlining various reactions from politicians in Canada and people on thestreet.

Making New Connections

8. THINK/PRESENT Assume that Ottawa is not the capital of Canada today. Ourpoliticians have asked for suggestions for a new capital. Draw up a list of thecriteria you think should be used for selecting a capital. Consult an atlas forhelp. Suggest a town or city in Canada that best meets your criteria and pre-sent your ideas.

9. COMPARE/THINK In the period 1854-64, there were ten different govern-ments in the Province of Canada. Compare these figures with the last tenyears in Canada and in your province.What effects would so many changeshave on the running of a government?

10. INVESTIGATE Today, Canada is divided into areas called ridings or constituen-cies for federal election purposes. People in each riding elect one representa-tive, their Member of Parliament (MP), to the House of Commons in Ottawa.The ridings are designed for “rep by pop” since each is meant to have roughlythe same population. Given the size and settlement patterns in Canada, how-ever, this is not always possible.

Prepare a “mini profile” of your federal riding. Include the following facts:• the boundaries of your riding (include a mini map)• how many people live in your riding• the name and party of your MP• when your MP was first elected (i.e., how long he or she has served your

riding as MP)

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