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6Confederation has two meanings to it. It could be an organization that consists
of a number of parties or groups united in an alliance or league. And, it could be a
more or less permanent union of countries with some or most political power
vested in a central authority. Both are similar and in Canadas case, it is the same.
In 1867, Canada West, Canada East (also Known as the British North American
colonies of the United Province of Canada) New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
decided to join together in a federal union. They joined in confederation as four
provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. And, of course
anyone who had anything to do with this union gained power over their own affairs
and turned some of their power to a central government. Canadas federal
government happens to be this central government and is located in Ottaw.But, it
didnt stop there. It extended and here is how it went
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Reasons forConfederationThere were six reasons for confederation at the time and
here they are
There was a political deadlock that led to the Great Coalition.
The United Province of Canada (also known as Canada West and Canada
East) decided to have a Legislative assembly. Canada West sent the Liberal-
Conservative party and the Reform party. Canada East sent le parti bleuand le parti
rouge. The coalition government currently in power had a hard time getting a strongamount of people on agreeing to pass legislation which caused a political deadlock.
This eventually led to the Great Coalition. All the parties involved formed a
political alliance and began to co-operate with each other.
Coalition: a temporary joining together of two or more political parties.
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A railway was needed to trade and move troops.
There always seemed to be some difficulty from getting to the United Province
of Canada to the Atlantic colonies, especially in winter when the St. Lawrence
River would freeze. It separated them. The idea of making an intercolonial railway
to join the colonies formed. With an intercolonial railway transporting goods,
troops, and people to and from the colonies would be that much easier.
The Reciprocity Treaty ended the free trade between British North American
colonies and the United States.
From 1854 to 1865, there was low-taxed trade between the British North
American colonies and the United States. The colonies traded more with the
United States then they did with each other. In 1865, The United States ended the
Reciprocity Treaty they were under with the colonies. The colonies began to think
that if they traded amongst themselves without any taxes that it would help their
economy.
Reciprocity Treaty: a treaty concluded between two countries, conferring equal
privileges as regards, customs or charges on imports, or in other respects.
There was a threat of American expansion into British North American.
With the American Civil War going on and the Manifest Destiny policy,
people feared the worst. The Colony of British North America not only feared that
but worried that the United States would try to take control of their land because ofthe gold rush they had between the 1850s and the 1860s.Their were also some
Americans settled in the Red River Settlement that wanted to join with the United
States and there was already a great deal of trading between them. Let us also not
forget the Fenians that wanted to end British rule over Ireland.
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Manifest Destiny: a policy of expansion based on the belief that all of the North
American continent should belong to the United States of America.
The Fenians: it was a group of Irish Catholics in the United States.
Great Britain wanted her colonies to be more self-sufficient.
The people of Great Britain began to change their opinions about the British
North American colonies, would it be beneficial or just a burden. The British North
American colonies were aware of their concern and began to prepare for the
outcome. For whatever result came out of it, the colonies remained intensely loyal
to their mother land, Great Britain.
The expansion of the settlement.
The land at Canada West was decreasing so they looked to the lands to the
west as areas to settle in. But of course, they had competition because the
Americans also wanted that land. The colonies thought that if they were to join
together, they would settle their before the Americans.
ONTARIO QUEBEC
NEW BRUNSWICK
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NOVA SCOTIA MANITOBA
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES BRITISH COLUMBIA
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND YUKON TERRITORY
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SASKATCHEWAN ALBERTA
NEWFOUNDLAND &
LABRADOR
NUNAVUT
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Confederation did not happen overnight, of course. It took a long time
debating the advantages and disadvantages. People had different opinions on
whether it was a good idea or not. They were divided, either with or against
confederation. Some were not even interested. There were a number of
conferences between the provinces discussing this situation.
1. Charlottetown conference2. Quebec conference3. London conference
Charlottetown:
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island met in 1864 to
discuss the Maritime Union. The United Province of Canada asked to attend
and tried to persuade the people into joining a larger union with the British
colonies. A decision could not be made so they decided to meet later on in
Qubec.
Maritime Union: a proposed political union of the three maritime provinces
of Canada to form a single new province.
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Qubec:
All of them returned after a while to Quebec to continue where they left
off. A large amount of people from the Province of Canada and New
Brunswick with confederation, although there were some people in CanadaEast who feared this would cause them to lose their French language and
culture. For the people in Nova Scotia, it was different. The people who
were with confederation were those who lived near the future railway
because it would really benefit them, but those who live farther away were
not interested. In Prince Edward Island, there were those who feared losing
their power because most of their income comes from the tariffs on trade. If
there would be confederation, there would be no tariffs and hence the people
were against confederation. And last but not least, Newfoundland. The
people there had so little in common with the United Province in Canada so
they couldve cared less. In the end, only three provinces were interested of
confederation at the time: the United Province of Canada, New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia. The outcome of the delegates debates and conclusions
was put in 72 resolutions.
Tariffs: a tax of duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports.
72 Resolutions: they were a set of proposals drafted at the 1864 Quebec
conference.
Delegate: a person sent or authorized to represent others, in particular, an
elected representative sent to a conference.
London:
This is where all the representatives met for one last final time to
present the 72 resolutions to Great Britain. The 72 resolutions became theBritish North America Act. Queen Victoria signed this act and it went into
effect. On May 22, 1867, the Dominion of Canada was created.
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ConferencesGovernments:
Although the provinces became one, the people still had different
opinions about the level of government they should have. Some wanted a
national government while others wanted a provincial government. It came
down to the decision where the Dominion of Canada would have two levels
of government: federal (which included national and central government)
and provincial. The government system is now one of federalism.
National Government: any political organization that is put in a place to
maintain control of a nation.
Provincial Government: belonging or peculiar to some particular province.
Federalism: a system of government in which power is divided between a
central authority and constituent political units.
After Confederation
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There were some difficulties along the way, of course. There were still
some people in Nova Scotia who were against confederation and there were
some protests. The fear that the United States would still try to take over
remained, but there is an upside. Inventions increased, education became
universal and compulsory and the leisure activities were magnificent. Someworking conditions were very poor, but it got better with time.
And with time, more provinces in North America formed and
joined confederation and became Canada in all. THE END.
1867 1905
1870 1949
1871 1999
1873
1898
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