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'Canadian Confederation', or the 'Confederation of Canada', was the process by which the federal dominion of Canada was formed beginning 1 July 1867 from the provinces, colonies, and territories of British North America.

Contents

Usage

History and process

Colonial organization

Early projects

British North America Act, 1867

Fathers of Confederation

Table of participation

Joining Confederation

List of provinces and territories in order of entering Confederation

Note

External links

Usage

In terms of political structure, Canada is a federal state and not a confederate association of sovereign states. However, Canada is commonly reckoned—in addition to Switzerland, whose official name in English is the ''Swiss Confederation''—among the world's most decentralized federations.
In a Canadian context, ''Confederation'' generally describes the political process that united the colonies in the 1860s and related events, and the subsequent incorporation of other colonies and territories. The term ''Confederation'' is now often used to describe Canada in an abstract way, "the Fathers of Confederation" itself being one such usage. Provinces and territories that became part of Canada after 1867 are also said to have joined, or entered into, Confederation (but not ''the Confederation''). The term is also used to divide Canadian history into pre-Confederation and post-Confederation periods, the latter of which includes current events.

History and process

Colonial organization

Before 1867, British North America was a collection of six separate colonies: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the Province of Canada (now Quebec and Ontario), Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia. Only the first three listed here entered into Confederation at first, but all did eventually, the last being Newfoundland in 1949. The remainder of modern-day Canada was made up of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory, which were owned by the Hudson's Bay Company and ceded to Canada in 1870, and the Arctic Islands, which were under direct British control and became part of Canada in 1880. Note: Quebec and Ontario were known as Lower Canada and Upper Canada respectively.

Early projects

The idea of a legislative union of all British colonies in America goes back to at least 1754, when the Albany Congress was held, preceding the Continental Congress of 1774. At least twelve other projects followed. These, however, did not include the colonies that were located in the territory of present-day Canada.
The idea was revived in 1839 by Lord Durham in his Report on the Affairs of British North America.
In 1857, Joseph-Charles Taché proposed a federation in the ''Courrier du Canada''.
In 1858, Alexander Tilloch Galt, George-Étienne Cartier and John Ross travelled to Great Britain to present the British Parliament with a project for federation of the British colonies. The proposal was received by the London authorities with polite indifference.
By 1864, it was clear that continued governance of the Province of Canada under the terms of the 1840 Act of Union had become impracticable. Therefore, a Great Coalition of parties formed in order to reform the political system.

British North America Act, 1867

Confederation was accomplished when Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the British North America Act (BNA Act) on March 29, 1867. That act, which united the Province of Canada with the colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, came into effect on July 1 that year. The act replaced the Act of Union (1840) which had previously unified Upper Canada and Lower Canada into the united Province of Canada. Separate provinces were re-established under their current names of Ontario and Quebec. July 1 is now celebrated as Canada Day.
Soon to be Prime Minister of United Canada John A. Macdonald and others encouraged New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island to come to talks on creating self-government in the form of one united dominion. Some of the political leaders of the maritime colonies worried about being dominated by the population centres of Ontario and Quebec through the electoral system proposed for a central government.
The Fathers of Confederation elected to call the new country the Dominion of Canada, after "kingdom" and "confederation", among other options, were rejected for various reasons. The term "dominion" originates from Psalm 72:8 (KJV) and was (allegedly) suggested by Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley.
The original "confederation" gathering was by delegates of the four Atlantic region colonies at Charlottetown in September 1864, with the agenda being a discussion of a Maritime Union (or Atlantic Union). On behalf of Canada, Macdonald asked that delegates from that colony be allowed to attend. During the conference, Macdonald suggested a union of all British colonies in North America.
At a second conference in Quebec City in October, further details were worked out. The Quebec Conference was originally used to show the Maritimers hospitality and to explain the idea of Confederation, and it worked. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia requested completion of a railway, the Intercolonial, to connect them with Quebec. At this point, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland opted to stay out of the proposed union. A further conference was held in London, England in December 1866. Queen Victoria proclaimed on March 29, 1867, that the new dominion would come into being July 1. Dominion elections were held in August and September to elect the first Parliament, and the four new provinces' governments recommended the 72 individuals (24 each for Quebec and Ontario, 12 each for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) who would sit in the Senate.
There were several factors that influenced Confederation, both caused from internal sources and pressures from external sources.
Internal causes that influenced Confederation:

★ political deadlock resulting from the current political structure

★ demographic pressure

★ economic nationalism and the promise of economic development
External pressures that influenced Confederation:

★ the U.S. doctrine of Manifest destiny, the constant threat of intervention from the US

★ the U.S. Civil war, British actions and American reactions

★ the Fenian raids

★ the creation of a new British colonial policy, Britain no longer wanted to maintain troops in its colonies.
The form of the country's government was also influenced by the American republic to the south. Noting the flaws perceived in the American system, the Fathers of Confederation opted to retain a monarchical form of government. John A. Macdonald, speaking in 1865 about the proposals for the upcoming confederation of Canada, said:
:"By adhering to the monarchical principle we avoid one defect inherent in the Constitution of the United States. By the election of the president by a majority and for a short period, he never is the sovereign and chief of the nation. He is never looked up to by the whole people as the head and front of the nation. He is at best but the successful leader of a party. This defect is all the greater on account of the practice of reelection. During his first term of office he is employed in taking steps to secure his own reelection, and for his party a continuance of power. We avoid this by adhering to the monarchical principle - the sovereign whom you respect and love. I believe that it is of the utmost importance to have that principle recognized so that we shall have a sovereign who is placed above the region of party — to whom all parties look up; who is not elevated by the action of one party nor depressed by the action of another; who is the common head and sovereign of all."^[1]
While the BNA Act gave Canada more autonomy than it had before, it was far from full independence from the United Kingdom. Foreign policy remained in British hands, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council remained Canada's highest court of appeal, and the constitution could be amended only in Britain. Gradually, Canada gained more autonomy, and in 1931, obtained almost full autonomy within the British Commonwealth with the Statute of Westminster. Because the provinces of Canada were unable to agree on a constitutional amending formula, this power remained with the British Parliament. In 1982, the constitution was patriated when Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal assent to the Canada Act 1982. The Constitution of Canada is made up of a number of codified acts and uncodified traditions; one of the principal documents is the Constitution Act, 1982, which renamed the BNA Act 1867 to Constitution Act, 1867.

Fathers of Confederation

The following lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at each stage. They are known as the 'Fathers of Confederation'.
There were 36 original Fathers of Confederation. Harry Bernard, who was the Recording Secretary at the Charlottetown conference, is considered by some to be a Father of Confederation. The later "Fathers" who brought the other provinces into Confederation after 1867 are also referred to as "Fathers of Confederation." In this way, Amor De Cosmos who was both instrumental in bringing democracy to British Columbia, and bringing his province into Confederation, is considered by many to be a Father of Confederation. As well, Joey Smallwood is popularly referred to as "the Last Father of Confederation", due to his successful effort in having Newfoundland join the Canadian Confederation in 1949.
There is also a modern trend, by no means universally supported, to regard Louis Riel as a Father of Confederation for his role in bringing Manitoba into confederation following the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870, despite his having been executed for treason following the North-West Rebellion of 1885.

Table of participation

Participant	Province(Current)	Charlottetown	Quebec City	London
Sir Adams George Archibald	Nova Scotia	Yes	Yes	Yes
George Brown	Ontario	Yes	Yes	No
Sir Alexander Campbell	Ontario	Yes	Yes	No
Sir Frederick Bowker T. Carter	Newfoundland	No	Yes	No
Sir George-Étienne Cartier	Quebec	Yes	Yes	Yes
Edward Barron Chandler	New Brunswick	Yes	Yes	No
Jean-Charles Chapais	Quebec	No	Yes	No
James Cockburn	Ontario	No	Yes	No
George Coles	Prince Edward Island	Yes	Yes	No
Robert B. Dickey	Nova Scotia	Yes	Yes	No
Charles Fisher	New Brunswick	No	Yes	Yes
Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt	Quebec	Yes	Yes	Yes
John Hamilton Gray	Prince Edward Island	Yes	Yes	No
John Hamilton Gray	New Brunswick	Yes	Yes	No
Thomas Heath Haviland	Prince Edward Island	No	Yes	No
William Alexander Henry	Nova Scotia	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sir William Pearce Howland	Ontario	No	No	Yes
John Mercer Johnson	New Brunswick	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sir Hector-Louis Langevin	Quebec	Yes	Yes	Yes
Andrew Archibald Macdonald	Prince Edward Island	Yes	Yes	No
Sir John A. Macdonald	Ontario	Yes	Yes	Yes
Jonathan McCully	Nova Scotia	Yes	Yes	Yes
William McDougall	Ontario	Yes	Yes	Yes
Thomas D'Arcy McGee	Quebec	Yes	Yes	No
Peter Mitchell	New Brunswick	No	Yes	Yes
Sir Oliver Mowat	Ontario	No	Yes	No
Edward Palmer	Prince Edward Island	Yes	Yes	No
William Henry Pope	Prince Edward Island	Yes	Yes	No
John William Ritchie	Nova Scotia	No	No	Yes
Sir Ambrose Shea	Newfoundland	No	Yes	No
William H. Steeves	New Brunswick	Yes	Yes	No
Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché	Quebec	No	Yes	No
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley	New Brunswick	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sir Charles Tupper	Nova Scotia	Yes	Yes	Yes
Edward Whelan	Prince Edward Island	No	Yes	No
Robert Duncan Wilmot	New Brunswick	No	No	Yes

Joining Confederation

:''See also: History of Canada''
After the initial act of union in 1867, Manitoba was established by an act of Parliament on July 15, 1870, originally as an area much smaller than the current province. British Columbia joined Canada July 20, 1871, by act of Parliament (and encouraged to join by Sir John A. MacDonald's promise of a railway within 10 years). Prince Edward Island joined July 1, 1873 (and, as part of the terms of union, was guaranteed a ferry link, a term which was deleted upon completion of the Confederation Bridge in 1997). Alberta and Saskatchewan were established September 1, 1905, by acts of Parliament. Newfoundland joined on March 31, 1949, also with a ferry link guaranteed.
Canada acquired Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay Company and the British-claimed North-Western Territory in 1869, and took ownership in July 15, 1870, merging them and naming them North-West Territories. In 1880, the British assigned all North American Arctic islands to Canada, right up to Ellesmere Island. From this vast swath of territory were created three provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta) and two territories (Yukon and Nunavut), and two extensions each to Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba.

List of provinces and territories in order of entering Confederation

Below is a list of Canadian provinces and territories in the order in which they entered Confederation; territories are italicized. At formal events, representatives of the provinces and territories take precedence according to this ordering, except that provinces always supersede territories. For provinces that entered on the same date, the order of precedence is based on the provinces' populations at the time they entered Confederation.

Order	Date	Name
1	1 July 1867	Ontario
		Quebec
		Nova Scotia
		New Brunswick
5	15 July 1870	Manitoba ★
		'' Northwest Territories''
7	20 July 1871	British Columbia
8	1 July 1873	Prince Edward Island
9	13 June 1898	'' Yukon'' ★
10	1 September 1905	Saskatchewan ★
		Alberta ★
12	31 March 1949	Newfoundland (later renamed Newfoundland and Labrador)
13	1 April 1999	'' Nunavut'' ★

Note

^★ In 1870 the Hudson's Bay Company-controlled Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory were transferred to the Dominion of Canada. Most of these lands were formed into a new territory named Northwest Territories, but the region around Fort Garry was simultaneously established as the province of Manitoba by the Manitoba Act of 1870. Manitoba later received additional land from the Northwest Territories, and Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nunavut were later created out of the Northwest Territories. The remaining provinces joined Canada as separate and previously independent colonies.

External links

★ Library and Archives Canada

★ Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

★ Library Search, Library and Archives Canada - '"Confederation"'

★ Online Archives Search, Library and Archives Canada - '"Confederation"'

★ Website Search, Library and Archives Canada - '"Confederation"'

★ Résultat de documents de bibliothèques, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada - '"Pères de la Confédération"'

★ Résultats du site Web, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada - '"Pères de la Confédération"'

★ Conference at Québec in 1864, to settle the basics of a union of the British North American Provinces. Copy of a painting by Robert Harris, 1885 - Archives, Library and Archives Canada

★ Conférence à Québec, en 1864, pour établir les bases d'une union des provinces de l'Amérique du Nord britannique. Copie d'une peinture de Robert Harris, 1885. - Pièce (reliée) - d’archives, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada