Confederation of Canada

It was the first meeting regarding the Canadian Confederation and the idea of uniting the provinces - It was made to determine whether or not to create the Dominion of Canada.

The regions that were involved in this meeting: Province of Canada (Canada East & Canada West), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island

The representatives that attended from these regions:
Province of Canada - John A. Macdonald, George Brown, and George Etienne Cartier
Nova Scotia - Charles Tupper, William Alexander Henry, Robert Barry Dickey, Adams George Archibald
New Brunswick - Samuel Leonard Tilley, John Mercer Johnson, William Henry Steeves, Edward Barron Chandler.
Prince Edward Island - John Hamilton Gray, William Henry Pope, Edward Palmer, George Coles and Andrew A. Macdonald.

And their opinions were represented; especially of Samuel Leonard Tilley, who had dreamed since his youth of a great nation.

Groups whose opinions were NOT represented:
-Female citizens
-Many different races (other than white)
-The Irish immigrants
-Indigenous and First Nations people
-The Black Canadians

The Maritime regions demanded a railway connecting to Canada West in this conference as well.

It was a follow up conference held after a month from the Charlottetown conference, with the same representatives

The representatives that attended from these regions:
Canada East - George-Étienne Cartier, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, and Étienne-Paschal Taché
Canada West - John A. Macdonald and George Brown
New Brunswick - John Hamilton Gray and Samuel Leonard Tilley
Nova Scotia - Adams George Archibald and Charles Tupper
Prince Edward Island - George Cole and William Henry Pope

The British North American colonies were well represented.

British Columbia also was willing to join so they can pay off their debt (from the gold rush downfall).

Groups whose opinions were NOT represented:
-Female citizens
-Many different races (other than white)
-The Irish immigrants
-Indigenous and First Nations people
-The Black Canadians
(all the same groups as the previous conference)

the representatives agreed that a new Federal government will help fund and and help finish the construction of the Intercolonial Railway in Quebec city to the Maritimes.

The provincial government was now in control of schooling, municipalities, and language. Meanwhile the federal government controlled currency, international trade, and criminal laws.

It was the last conference that led to the Canadian confederation.

Politicians from the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia gathered to meet with the British government in London.

The representatives that attended:
Nova Scotia, Canada West, and New Brunswick - John A. Macdonald, George Étienne Cartier, Alexander Galt and George Brown, and Samuel L Tilley

George Brown and John A Macdonald were not agreeing over French people’s rights. They created the confederation to uphold the rights of the French and protect their equal representation in the government.

The Maritimes wanted security, and independence in education and religion. Samuel L Tilley believed the unification of Canada would bring prosperity to New Brunswick.

The same groups as the previous 2 conferences were still excluded from this meeting.

The British North American Act was drafted and passed at this meeting.

They also chose and approved the name Canada, Québec, and Ontario in this meeting.

They also wanted to review the 72 resolutions that were made in the Quebec conference.

The Roman Catholic bishops were demanding guarantees protecting the separate Catholic schools in this conference.
However, this idea was opposed by the Nova Scotian and New Brunswick representatives. What ended up happening as a compromise was that Catholic schools would be guaranteed in Ontario and Quebec, but not in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.

Alexander Galt also demanded protection for the rights of the English minority living in Quebec, and Samuel Tilly and Charles Tupper added more federal subsidies in the Maritime regions.

New Brunswick got assurances that a railway would be built in this conference too.

On July 1st, 1867, Canada finally became its own nation after all these conferences.

Did you know that the representatives in the London conference wished to name our country the “Kingdom of Canada”, but the British feared that such a title would anger the United States, so they settled on the title as “Dominion of Canada” and not “Kingdom”.