Canadian Confederation
Three British colonies became the Dominion of Canada on 1 July 1867 and the constitution was an act of the British parliament. The pressures were several and mostly external. The union of Upper and Lower Canada was politically deadlocked, with governments falling every few months because a majority required support in both halves; the American civil war had raised the possibility of an invasion and the Fenian raids from 1866 made it concrete; Britain wanted the defence costs shared; and the reciprocity treaty with the United States was cancelled in 1866. A railway to the Maritimes was the practical inducement. The conferences at Charlottetown and Quebec in 1864 produced seventy-two resolutions, and the delegates arrived at the first uninvited — the Maritime colonies had been meeting to discuss a union of their own. The system agreed was federal, with the residual powers given to the centre rather than the provinces, which was a deliberate reaction to what the framers took to be the American mistake; the provinces got education, property and civil rights, and a section guaranteeing French and English in Parliament and the Quebec legislature. Nova Scotia's assembly voted against and was overruled by Westminster, and its representatives spent two years trying to get out. New Brunswick joined, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland stayed out for the moment. The country acquired the north-west from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870, and British Columbia joined in 1871 on the promise of a railway. The name was a compromise as well. Macdonald wanted a kingdom of Canada and Britain objected that it would irritate the Americans, so the delegates took dominion from a psalm about dominion from sea to sea, which is now on the coat of arms.
- Year: 1867 CE
- Category: Political
