An outline, era by era

Canada

Confederation (1867)

Late Modern Era / 19th Century · ~1800 – 1914

Canada's Confederation took place on 1 July 1867, when the British North America Act joined the colonies of the Province of Canada (split into Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a single federal dominion within the British Empire. It was the result of negotiations among colonial politicians in the 1860s, finally approved by the British Parliament.

Confederation was a beginning rather than a finished act. Over the following years Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and later other provinces joined, and the new country took over a vast northwestern territory from the Hudson's Bay Company. It grew out of fears of American expansion, political deadlock in the Province of Canada, and hopes for a transcontinental railway. Canada gained self-government in its internal affairs but stayed tied to Britain in foreign policy, and it moved to full legal independence only gradually over the following century.

Things happened, and the rest is history

  1. The Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 and the Durham Report

    Event

    What happened

    In 1837 and 1838 rebels rise against colonial governments in Lower Canada and Upper Canada, demanding more accountable government. British troops and militia put the risings down. Britain then sends Lord Durham to investigate, and his report appears in 1839.

    The rest is history

    Durham recommended responsible government, where ministers answer to the elected assembly, and the union of the two Canadas. The Act of Union joined them in 1841 as the Province of Canada. Responsible government was achieved in the late 1840s, beginning with Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada in 1848. This created the political habits and the shared institution on which Confederation was later built.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryLambton, John George, Earl of Durham. Report on the Affairs of British North America. Report to the British government, 1839.
    2. BookBuckner, Phillip, ed. Canada and the British Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

  2. Responsible government and the Reciprocity Treaty

    Event

    What happened

    In 1848 Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada become the first British colonies to win responsible government. In 1854 the colonies and the United States sign a Reciprocity Treaty that allows free trade in natural products. The United States ends the treaty in 1866.

    The rest is history

    The treaty's end pushed colonial leaders to look for new markets and weakened the case for trade ties confined to the south. Together with growing political self-rule, it encouraged interest in a larger internal market among the British North American colonies. Historians debate how much the loss of reciprocity drove Confederation, but it is usually counted as one of several pressures.

    Sources

    1. BookMartin, Ged. Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837-67. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1995.

  3. The political deadlock in the Province of Canada

    Event

    What happened

    By the early 1860s the Province of Canada is hard to govern. Ministries rise and fall in quick succession, and Canada East and Canada West have equal seats in the assembly although their populations differ. In 1864 the leaders George Brown, John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier form a Great Coalition to seek a federal solution.

    The rest is history

    The coalition made a federation of the British North American colonies its aim. Brown, Macdonald and Cartier brought together reformers and conservatives from both halves of the province. Their agreement opened the way to the conferences of 1864. Without this political shift the wider negotiations would probably not have begun.

    Sources

    1. BookWaite, Peter B. The Life and Times of Confederation, 1864-1867. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962.

  4. The Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences, 1864

    Event

    What happened

    In September 1864 delegates from the Province of Canada join a meeting in Charlottetown that was planned to discuss a union of the Maritime colonies. They persuade the Maritime delegates to consider a wider union. In October the delegates meet again at Quebec City and agree on 72 resolutions.

    The rest is history

    The Quebec Resolutions became the blueprint for the new federation, with a strong central government and provinces responsible for local matters. They were debated in the colonial legislatures in 1865. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland chose to stay out, while New Brunswick and Nova Scotia eventually joined. The resolutions shaped the final text of the British North America Act.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryQuebec Resolutions. Resolutions adopted by the Quebec Conference, October 1864.
    2. BookWaite, Peter B. The Life and Times of Confederation, 1864-1867. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962.

  5. The American Civil War and the Fenian raids

    Event

    What happened

    During the American Civil War (1861 to 1865), tensions between Britain and the Union rise, notably over the Trent affair of 1861. After the war, Irish-American Fenians launch raids across the border into Canada in 1866 and 1870. Colonial militia face them.

    The rest is history

    These events raised fears in the colonies about their security and about American military power. Many historians see defence concerns as one of the reasons colonial leaders were willing to unite. The Fenian raids also helped stir a sense of shared cause among the colonies. Cause and weight are debated, since economic and political arguments mattered as well.

    Sources

    1. BookStacey, C. P. Canada and the British Army, 1846-1871. London: Longmans, Green, 1936.

  6. The London Conference and the British North America Act

    Event

    What happened

    In late 1866 and early 1867 delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick meet in London to finalize the terms of union. The British Parliament passes the British North America Act, which receives royal assent on 29 March 1867. It takes effect on 1 July 1867.

    The rest is history

    The Act created the Dominion of Canada with four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It set out a federal system with a parliament at Ottawa and provincial legislatures. John A. Macdonald became the first prime minister. The Act remained the core of Canada's constitution until it was patriated and renamed the Constitution Act, 1867, in 1982.

    Sources

    1. PrimaryBritish North America Act, 1867. Act of the United Kingdom Parliament, 30 & 31 Victoria, c. 3.
    2. BookMartin, Ged. Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837-67. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1995.

  7. Rupert's Land and the Red River Resistance

    Event

    What happened

    In 1869 Canada arranges to buy Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company. Métis residents of the Red River settlement, led by Louis Riel, feel left out of the talks and set up a provisional government. Negotiations follow.

    The rest is history

    These led to the Manitoba Act of 1870, which created the province of Manitoba and guaranteed certain rights for the Métis. The Resistance also brought the execution of Thomas Scott, which caused lasting anger in Ontario. Many Métis later felt that promises about land were not kept. The affair shows how Confederation expanded westward and the costs of that expansion for Indigenous and Métis peoples.

    Sources

    1. BookStanley, George F. G. The Birth of Western Canada: A History of the Riel Rebellions. London: Longmans, Green, 1936.

  8. The Pacific Railway and British Columbia

    Event

    What happened

    British Columbia joins Canada in 1871 after Ottawa promises a railway link to the Pacific within ten years. Prince Edward Island joins in 1873. Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway is finally completed in 1885.

    The rest is history

    The railway tied the distant provinces to the centre and carried settlers west. Its construction used large numbers of Chinese labourers, many of whom faced harsh conditions and later discriminatory laws. The Pacific Scandal of 1873 forced Macdonald to resign for a time over railway funding. The last spike was driven on 7 November 1885 at Craigellachie.

    Sources

    1. BookBerton, Pierre. The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871-1881. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1970.

  9. Confederation as a deal made by 'Fathers' in one room

    Popular belief

    The legend

    Canada is often said to have been created by a handful of wise 'Fathers of Confederation' who agreed on a country at Charlottetown in 1864, as in a famous painting of the Quebec Conference.

    The rest is history

    The famous painting, by Robert Harris, was made in 1884 and shows a meeting that never happened in that form. The union was negotiated at several conferences and needed approval from legislatures and Britain. The delegates were all men and did not include Indigenous peoples or women, who had no say. Public opinion was divided, and Nova Scotia had an anti-Confederation movement under Joseph Howe. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland first refused to join.

    Sources

    1. BookMartin, Ged. Britain and the Origins of Canadian Confederation, 1837-67. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1995.
    2. BookWaite, Peter B. The Life and Times of Confederation, 1864-1867. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962.

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