Happy Dominion Day to all of our Canadian Friends
July 1, 2000
Confederation 1867
[May 22 1867]
Whereas the provinces
of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have expressed their desire to
be federally united
into one dominion...
Sir Charles Tupper,
1865
Henceforth we shall rank
among the nations.
Preamble, British North
America Act, 1867
We shall like to remember,
when Confederation has stood the test of time, how beautiful was the day
when it began.
Editorial, Le Journal
des Trois-Rivières, 1867
A conference was held
in London, England, in December 1866 chaired by Sir John A. Macdonald and
attended by some of
the leading Fathers of Confederation. No doubt some of the Mothers of Confederation
accompanied their husbands
to the conference or were happy to welcome them home when the job was done.
At London, Confederation
was given its final form and the name "Dominion of Canada" was chosen for
the new
nation. The British
North America Act received Royal Assent March 29, 1867. It was to come
into effect on
July 1. Sir John A.
was to become the prime minister. He was to choose four cabinet members
from Canada
West (Ontario), four
from Canada East (Quebec), and two each from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Canada could
now proceed to build its continent-wide future. On July 1 the new Dominion
was busy
Celebrating Confederation
-- church bells pealed, 21-gun salutes were fired, and steamer cruises,
picnics and
fireworks continued
well into the night.
For a clear picture of
the motives underlying our federal system, please see John A. Macdonald
on the Federal
System.
Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1995-09-22)
30,000-10,000 B.C.- Natives immigrated to N.A.
10,000B.C.- Natives spread over Canada's 4,000,000
square miles
500 - Natives have developed extensive social
and economic trade links
986- Herjolfsson sights Labrador
992- Leif Ericsson explores Newfoundland
1003- Karsefni started a colony to trade with
"skraelings"
1492- Colombus rediscovers America
1497- Cabot sights Newfoundland
1534- Cartier discovers St. Lawrence
1603- Champlain explores the Great Lakes
1632- Champlain appointed first governor of
Canada
1644- Wheat first sewn in Canada
1649- Final defeat of Hurons by the Iroquios
1697- Treaty of Ryswick(N.A. given to French)
1713- Treaty of Utrecht(N.A. given to English)
1743- La Verendrye brothers find the Rockies
1748- Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle(French gain
back territory)
1755- Expulsion of the Acadians
1758- Fall of Louisbourg(The French Superfortress)
1759- Battle of Plains of Abraham
1760- Fall of Montreal
1763- Treaty of Paris(Canada given to England)
1763- Royal Proclamation
1774- Quebec Act
1783- Influx of Loyalists to Canada
1791- Constitution Act(Upper and Lower Canada)
1812- War between Canada and U.S.
1821- Hudson Bay and Northwest Company join
1838- Rebellions start in Upper and Lower
Canada
1839- Durham Report
1841- Act of Union(Canada East and West)
1858- Ottawa chosen as capital
1867- Confederation
1870- Manitoba joins Canada
1871- Washington Treaty(Canada-U.S. relations)
1871- B.C. joins Canada
1873- P.E.I. joins Canada
1873- Formation of the North West Mounted
Police
1885- Riel Rebellion
1885- C.P.R. completed at Craigellachie
1890- Manitoba Schools Question
1897- Imperial Preference
1897- Colonial Conference(To strengthen the
Empire)
1898- Alaskan Boundary Dispute(U.S. given
Alaskan Panhandle)
1899- Start of Boer War(Canada offers transport
for troops)
1905- Alberta and Saskatchewan join Canada
1910- Naval Issue(Laurier builds a Canadian
Navy)
1914- Start of WWI.(Canada automatically at
war)
1915- Battle of Ypres
1917- Battle of Vimy Ridge
1917- Conscription Crisis
1917- Suffragette Movement
1918- War is over(Treaty of Paris)
1919- Winnipeg General Strike
1920- Canada joins League of Nations
1922- Chanak Affair
1930's- Great Depression
1933- Creation of the C.C.F.
1939- Start of WWII.
1942- Dieppe
1945- War ends
1945- Canada joins U.N.
1947- Supreme court created
1949- Newfoundland joins Canada
1949- Canada joins N.A.T.O.
1950- Start of Korean War
1959- St. Lawrence Seaway opened
1960- Native Canadians given the right to
vote
1965- Maple Leaf becomes Canada's flag
1968- Integration of the Armed Forces
1970- F.L.Q. Crisis
1976- Olympic Games in Montreal
1982- Patriation of the Constitution
1987- Meech Lake Accord
1988- Winter Olympics in Calgary
1992- Charlottetown Accord
1993- Canadian Relief Effort in Somalia
1995- Quebec Referendum
1999- Canadian Forces in Kosavo
Confederation was
the response of British North America (BNA) to a vast range of challenges
and
opportunities above and beyond the influence
of the American Civil War. However, such Civil War-related incidents as
the Trent Affair, the Chesapeake Incident, the St. Albans Raid, abrogation
of the Reciprocity
Treaty, the Alabama Claims, the Fenian War,
and the ever-present Fear of Annexation all contributed to the
ultimate union. The most concrete BNA steps
on the path to Confederation were the Charlottetown
Conference and the Quebec Conference of 1864.
The Charlottetown Conference, September 1-9, 1864
In the summer of 1864
British North America, which had been stirred up by the Chesapeake affair,
was
heartened by the seeming advance of the Confederacy
(Sherman's march through Georgia). Influential factions in Britain
and BNA were sympathetic to the Confederate cause although officially neutral.
The British colonies believed that Imperial aid and the victory of the
South were the best guarantees of their independence. London was in favour
of BNA union. The defence of British North America and the importance of
interprovincial
communication and cooperation were on many
leaders' minds in both Britain and the colonies. Sentiments
against Confederation included the potential
horrors of the breakdown of federalism as witnessed in the Civil War to
the south. French Canadians also feared union would bring loss of autonomy.
In this atmosphere the
Charlottetown Conference took place September
1-9.
In March-April of
1864 New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island passed resolutions
that a
conference take place to discuss the long-considered
possibility of union of the Maritime provinces. In June the
Province of Canada, to the surprise of the
Maritimes, asked to attend to propose a union of all BNA. At the secret
conference (all reports were banned) the prospect of Maritime union was
dropped and in its place a scheme for a broader union was born. A further
conference was planned for Quebec in October.
In a lively account
in a letter to his wife, George Brown describes the Charlottetown Conference.
Compilation painting
of the Fathers of Confederation who attended the Charlottetown and Quebec
conferences. By Robert Harris.
First Row: (front
-- left to right) Edward Whalen, Samuel L. Tilley, George Brown, Charles
Tupper
Second Row: W.H.
Steeves, John Hamilton Gray, Alexander Campbell, Hector L. Langevin, Oliver
Mowat, Thomas D'Arcy
McGee
Third Row: Charles
Fisher, George Coles, J.C. Chapais, Étienne-Paschal Taché,
Alexander T. Galt, J.
Cockburn, William
McDougall, J. McCully
Fourth Row: W.A.
Henry, E.B. Chandler, Adams G. Archibald, George-É. Cartier, Thomas
H. Haviland,
J.H. Gray, A. Macdonald
Fifth Row: Hewitt
Bernard (secy.), Ambrose Shea, John A. Macdonald, Peter Mitchell, W.H.
Pope, J.M.
Johnson
Sixth Row: (back)
E. Palmer, F.B.T. Carter, R.B. Dickey
The Quebec Conference, October 10-27, 1864
At the Charlottetown
Conference earlier in the year, the delegates from the three Maritime provinces
and Canada had resolved upon a scheme for the confederation of BNA. Attending
the Quebec Conference were 33 delegates from the above provinces
and Newfoundland. The purpose was to discuss and develop a detailed
plan for union. The Canadian delegation set
the agenda and proposed the resolutions. The biggest controversy concerned
the composition of Parliament, proposed to be based on representation by
population, a move
strongly opposed by Prince Edward Island.
The 72 resolutions
became the basis of the Confederation Debates. The resolutions were officially
adopted only by the Province of Canada but became the basis of the British
North America Act, which created Canada.
Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1995-09-22)
O Canada...
O Canada! Our home and native
land
True patriot love in all thy
sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee
rise
The true north, strong and free
From far and wide, O Canada
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and
free
O Canada! We stand on guard for
thee
O Canada! We stand on guard for
thee.
Pour mes amies qui parlent le francais:
O Canada! Terre de nos aieux
Ton front est ceint de fleurons
glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brilliants exploix.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée
Protégera nos foyers et
nos droits
Protégera nos foyers et
nos droits.