But how did this country come together? And why do we celebrate our country on July 1st? The Fathers of Confederation — these are the delegates from each colony that met to write up the request for the union of Canada. In the s, explorers from Europe came to North America and began living in colonies. A colony is a group of people who leave the country they were born in to make a home in a new land. These new colonies still follow the rules of the countries they left behind.
The two main countries that came here were Britiain and France. Many people from these colonies realized that they could be much stronger if they worked together. People from each colony went to conferences meetings. There, they talked about how best to work together. In , they wrote a request to bring together some of the colonies.
It was called the British North America Act. They presented it to Parliament and the House of Lords in England. The Queen and the British government approved the agreement. Finally, on 31 March , Newfoundlanders became Canadian citizens. How that happened has been debated ever since.
William V. Whiteway, ca. Photo by Lafayette Ltd. Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections Coll. John's, NL. Alfred B. Morine , n. See also: Charlottetown Conference. The Province of Canada was growing more prosperous and populous. It was rapidly developing politically, socially and industrially. As it did, its internal rivalries also grew. As a result, the job of governing Canada West now Ontario and Canada East now Quebec from a single legislature became difficult.
See also: Act of Union. After achieving responsible government , politicians in Canada West began calling for true representation by population. In the s, Canada West benefitted from having a disproportionately large number of seats in the legislature. It had a smaller population than Canada East, but the same number of seats. By the s, the population of Canada West was the bigger of the two.
This and other divisive issues — such as government funding for Catholic schools throughout the colony — made English Protestants in Canada West suspicious of French Catholic power in Canada East. By , the rift between English and French had created years of unstable government and political deadlock. It was worsened by a growing divide between conservatives and reformers within Canada West.
Structural change was required to break the political paralysis. Confederation would separate the two Canadas and give each its own legislature. This was posed as the solution to these problems. By , four short-lived governments had fought to stay in power in the Province of Canada.
Macdonald and Clear Grits led by George Brown — formed an alliance. It was known as the Great Coalition. It sought a union with the Atlantic colonies. This gave Confederation a driving force that it never lost. In Canada East, Confederation was opposed by A. But it was supported by the dominant political group, the conservative Parti bleu. By , they had the necessary support of the Catholic Church. Confederation was justified on the grounds that French Canadians would get back their provincial identity.
Their capital would once more be Quebec City. French Canadians feared anglophone domination of government. But Confederation would grant French Canadians their own legislature and a strong presence in the federal Cabinet. Of all the proposed changes, Confederation was the least undesirable for French Canadians. The conference was already underway. Discussions for Maritime union were not making much progress.
The Canadians were invited to submit their own proposals for a union of the BNA colonies. The idea of a united country quickly took over.
A month later, the colonies called a second meeting to discuss Confederation. At the Quebec Conference , the delegates passed 72 Resolutions. These explicitly laid out the fundamental decisions made at Charlottetown , including a constitutional framework for a new country. The Resolutions were legalistic and contractual in tone.
They were deliberately different from the revolutionary tone of the American Constitution, which had been drafted a century earlier. See also: Quebec Conference of ; Constitutional History. The Canadian Resolutions outlined the concept of federalism. Powers and responsibilities would be divided between the provinces and the federal government.
See also: Distribution of Powers. Cartier pushed hard for provincial powers and rights. Macdonald was keen to avoid the mistakes that had led to the US Civil War. He advocated for a strong central government. A semblance of balance was reached between these two ideas. The Resolutions also outlined the shape of a national Parliament. There would be an elected House of Commons based on representation by population , and an appointed Senate.
Each region would have an equal voice in the appointed chamber. The resolutions also included specific financial commitments. These included the construction by the new federal government of the Intercolonial Railway from Quebec to the Maritimes. The colonies recognized they needed to improve communications and grow economically. Railways between the colonies would boost economic opportunity through increased trade. They would also make borders more defensible by enabling the quick movement of troops and weaponry.
See also: Railway History. Some Maritime delegates declared that the building of a rail line was a precondition of their joining Canada. All except Newfoundland enjoyed prosperous economies.
They felt comfortable as they were. The bulk of the population, especially in Nova Scotia and PEI, saw no reason to change their constitution just because Canada had outgrown its own.
Even Newfoundland, despite economic difficulties in the s, postponed a decision on Confederation in In an election in , they decisively rejected it. See also: Newfoundland and Labrador and Confederation. The more prosperous PEI resisted almost from the start. A small, dedicated group of Confederationists made little headway until early in the s. At that time, PEI was badly indebted by the construction of a railway. It joined Confederation in in return for Canada taking over its loan payments.
See also: PEI and Confederation. Nova Scotians were divided. Confederation was popular in the northern areas of the mainland and in Cape Breton. But along the south shore and in the Annapolis Valley — the prosperous world of shipping , shipbuilding , potatoes and apples — the idea seemed unattractive or even dangerous. Conservative Premier Charles Tupper was ambitious, aggressive and confident. He went ahead with Confederation anyway. He was convinced that in the long run it would be best for Nova Scotia, and perhaps also for himself.
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