Confederation In Canada

"We must cherish our inheritance. We must preserve our nationality for the youth of our future. The story should be written down to pass on." (Louis Riel, 1884). Louis Riel, a man of great nature and abiding love for his western Métis heritage, is proven to be one of the most revolutionary men looked upon in the chronicles of the Dominion of Canada. In spite of this, he remains as one of the most controversial and cryptic figures throughout the course of Canadian history, leading to the question, is he recognized as the Father of Confederation or a treasonous rebel? A period of revolution lasting from the 1870’s to the late 1880’s was condemned with constant revolts justified as an intervening year for those involved; initiated by Riel.

Furthermore, Canada remaining under the archaic British North America Act and not drafting its own constitution meant that the composition of the nation and the government was in the hands of the British Parliament, which denies the Canadians the luxury of dictating the structure and make-up of their own country. Now, one may say that Canada weakened its economic ties with Britain and was therefore no longer economically dependent on them, but the fact of the matter is that all we did was shift our dependence onto another nation, the United States. By 1926, America’s yearly investment in the Canadian economy had risen up to $3400 million (as opposed to $2000 million in 1920) mainly in the exporting of Canadian resources to the United States. In addition to that, American companies built “branch plants”, which were made to avoid having to pay trade tariffs, making this a pretty one-sided trade

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

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.

Brothers, sisters, fellow members of reform, I, Antoine Aime Dorion would like to share my opinion on a rather controversial event. Our culture is rich, the land is plentiful and we have worked tirelessly to gain what we currently have. However, the abomination you all know by the name of confederation plots to rob us of these great gifts!

Canada was rushed into Confederation way too soon and has had problems due to this. Although through these past hundred fifty years, Canada has survived and is still going strong. Confederation started on July 1st, 1867 when three British Colonies came together to become four provinces. Although Canada went through Confederation, it is not a confederate association; it is a federal state which is not the supposed meaning of Confederation. Canada has evolved majorly since Confederation back in 1867.

British Columbia is a rich and fertile land located next to the Northwest Territories. We believe that joining confederation will bring a great benefit to not only our province but to all of the others. Our deciding factors of joining the confederation are the Transcontinental Railroad, defence and allies from the provinces, and more settlement which will eventually arrive (due to the railroad) in our province. There are mountains blocking British Columbia, which is preventing us from fulfilling our full potential as a colony. British Columbia is very remote for now but if we join confederation we can offer British Columbia’s gold, fur trade, fish and lastly lumber to our country. Our confederation will be a union under the British monarchy which will create a new and successful dominion under the name of Hi’quim’inum. We would

A decision had to be made. Newfoundland was in a position to make a choice for their future as a self-governing dominion, a british-governing dominion, or a maritime province as a part of Canada. Newfoundland chose to join the confederation of Canada, and it was quite necessary to do so. Newfoundland was already a dominion that stood outside of Canada, however could not exist on its own because of its lack of sustainability and ability to grow. Therefore, it was very necessary for Newfoundland to join the confederation of Canada.

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,

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

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.

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

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.

The focus of this investigation will be “To what extend did the conflict between cultures and all they contain (languages, traditions, races) fuel the formation of the Canadian Confederation?” and will analyze how the different cultures, races, languages, and traditions fueled the formation of the Canadian confederation. There are a variety of reasons why the Canadian confederation formed, but I believe the conflict between the different cultures in Canada was a very large cause in the formation of the Confederation. I will research the specific conflicts in culture that were occurring in Canada pre-Confederation. How these conflicts affected the current government and life in Canada. Why Canadian leaders saw these conflicts as a reason to

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