Confederation In Canada

In the year of 1867 the nation we know as Canada came into being. The Confederation in this year only came about after things had been overcome. Many political and economic pressures were exerted on the colonies and a federal union of the colonies seemed to be the most practical method of dealing with these pressures and conflicts. While Confederation was a solution to many of the problems, it was not a popular one for all the colonies involved. In the Maritime colonies views differed widely on the topic. Some were doubtful, some were pleased, others were annoyed and many were hopeful for a prosperous future.1

Canadian confederation was a process in which the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one government of Canada, on July 1 1867. However Canadian confederation did not just happen like that there were causes that lead to confederation. The causes which lead to confederation are; political deadlock, American civil war, the railway, cancellation of reciprocity treaty, and Britain creating her colonies self-sufficient. So today in this essay I will be discussing about the causes of confederation.

This historical study will examine the complex provincial affiliations related to Canadian Confederation that demanded complex political maneuvers to unify the Anti-Confederate party and the Confederate Party to support the Quebec Resolutions of 1865. The Anti-Confederate vantage point of George Etienne Cartier’s Parti Bleus was a primarily French region, which sought its own sovereign country. More so, the Atlantic/Maritime colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia rejected the idea of a Canadian federal government, which was based on the political leadership of William Annand of Nova Scotia and Albert J. Smith of New Brunswick. In contrast, the Confederate leadership of James A. MacDonald in Ontario sought to unify Canada due to the rising

Confederation itself was an incredible display of Canadian compromise and tolerance. George Brown (1867) congratulated Canada on confederation, impressed with the Canadian's ability to compromise between two separate peoples, the French and English, who have vastly different religions, cultures, laws, and languages, something European countries like Holland and Belgium, Austria and Hungary, and Russia and Poland have been historically unable to accomplish successfully. The Constitution specifically protects important French aspects including freedom of religion, language guarantees in Quebec, and French civil law.

Ever since I moved to Canada, I have constantly been taught about arguably the single most important event in the country's history - Confederation. In 1867, the Fathers of Confederation helped ratify the first British North America Act, the culminating product of a hard-fought political process which united Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The study of the Dominion of Canada's formation is typically fixated on the politicians' roles (3), and this deficient scope is a significant reason as to why Andrew Smith's monograph, British Business and Canadian Confederation, manifested itself so clearly to me. As I am studying Canadian history through a business context, this book seemed quite appropriate Instead of focusing on the usual suspects, such as the American threat or Anglophone-Francophone relations, Smith seeks to analyze the often neglected influence that British businessmen had on Confederation. As such, the piece's overriding argument is that had there not been support from prominent British investors, Canada's landmark federal unification would not have taken place, whether on July 1, 1867 or otherwise (3). By overtly and exhaustively presenting the prevailing contention in the opening paragraphs, Smith leaves no doubt in the reader's mind as to what the following chapters contain and validate.

First and foremost, the idea of having a railway built throughout Canada was already in existence long before 1881. However, it was not until Confederation was passed on July 1, 1867 when “[The railway’s] realization was found to be a political necessity” (Leary, 5). In other words, Confederation did not just mark the date in history where the federal Dominion of Canada was born, but, it had also opened the doors necessary to make the project a reality. Clearly, there was much more to Confederation than met the eye, and “as part of the deal, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were promised a railway to link them with the two Central Canadian provinces – Quebec and Ontario” (Canadian Pacific). By 1871, Manitoba and British Columbia had also joined the Confederation. At this point,

Over the course my research in class and at home I have come to conclusion that Canada west and Canada East would support confederation. Firstly, I think that Canada West would support confederation because of their current economic status. In a photo taken in 1859 of a man and woman who live in Canada West, their daily wear shows that they have clean, civilized, and expensive clothing that other colonies who aren't as wealthy can afford and or have. Their clothing shows that they have a lot of money and wealth to afford nice things such as the dress and suit they the man and woman are sporting in the photo. With great wealth comes great power which would result in a very developed, and populated town.

During the years before Confederation, there was much happening in the colonies that would eventually unite to become the Dominion of Canada in 1867. The Fathers of Confederation were the architects of the plan that resulted in the proposal that would bring the individual British American colonies together under a Federalist system. There were three main conferences which were held and to be included as a Father of Confederation. These conferences were The Charlottetown Conference - 1864, The Quebec Conference - 1864, and The London Conference - 1866.

On July 1st 1867, British colonies the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia united to form a new country. This was a very important event in history that created very important people. It is very much debatable who the real father of confederation is, for example you could argue Sir John A Macdonald was more important in uniting the provinces. Debating, who is the real father of confederation is rather pointless because Sir George Étienne Cartier is the real father of confederation.

Soon after the passing of Constitution Act of 1867, there were threats of United States expanding north. This marked the beginning of the territorial race between United States and Canada, which required urgent western expansion. British Columbia joined the Confederation in 1871 after the promise of transcontinental railway which added to urgency of western expansion. The prime minister of Canada, John A. McDonald wanted to connect the east and the west of Canada in order to occupy the west. McDonald needed to increase the population in the western Canada, which meant that large amount of farmland were needed and transcontinental railways had to be laid. This

Canadian Federalism emerged in 1867 and brought together disparate colonies under one centralized government. Initially, the colonies were opposed to the thought of federalism, as many believed they would lose their independence by giving up certain powers to a national government. The central government would control defense, foreign affairs, money, postage, and taxation; Furthermore, numerous colonists preferred dealing with London, as opposed to Canada East or Canada West. The colonies additionally did not feel a great attachment to the people of other colonies. French Canadians felt no desire to become a minority in a larger English-speaking majority country. Similarly, the maritime provinces had closer economic links to Britain and the Eastern United States than to the Canadas. The push towards federalism though took root after the threat of annexation by the United States, and the idea of Manifest Destiny; which led to the system of government that Canada utilizes today. Although, advocates of federalism argue that it promotes unity, and financial benefit, opponents believe the time-consuming process and special favoritism to Central Canada is a drawback to Federalism.

As the 20th century comes to an end, Canada is a transcontinental nation whose interests and representatives span the face of the globe and extend into every sphere of human behaviour. However this was not always the case. When the four colonies of British North America united to create Canada on July 1, 1867, the new country's future was by no means secure. Canada was a small country, with unsettled borders, vast empty spaces, and a large powerful neighbour, the United States. Confronting these challenges was difficult for the young country. Though Canada was independent in domestic matters, Britain retained control over its foreign policy. Over the next fifty or so years, Canada's leaders and its

During the mid – 1860s, British North American colonies agreed in confederation, but there were many corruptions and things were to be change. Speaking of confederation, confederation is when all colonies join in together, such as Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada East and West. My three main statements are what happened in the civil war and the Unites States expansions between the colonies and the Americans , what were the pros and cons during the trading process, and lastly Did the railways benefited the colonies?

1. There was support for confederation at the beginning, but it fizzled out. The main reason was that John Gray