B. Causes of Confederation 1861-66

From HCO Jr

Part 6. The Road to Confederation → A. Growth & Change in B.N.A. → B. Causes of Confederation 1861-66 → The Path to Union and Expansion, 1864-1873 → D. Building the New Nation → E. Confederation Today

Introduction

Canada became a country on July 1, 1867. It all started with the Charlottetown Conference in August, 1864. During these three years there was a great deal of diplomacy and compromise from all of the different political leaders. However, in the end they were successful. Canada formed a federal union known as Confederation. Many problems emerged over these three years. Sometimes it seemed as if Canada would never be formed. If you were alive at this time, and following the story of Confederation in the newspapers, you might have thought that Confederation would never happen. If you lived in Toronto or Montreal perhaps you would have thought that Confederation would only be Canada East and Canada West. Some of the Maritime Provinces were not eager to join the new union. In fact, some of the Maritime colonies did not join in 1867. They waited a few years, or even decades, before joining Canada.

Charlottetown Conference

Province House, Charlottetown

In August, the three members of the Great Coalition, George Brown, George-Étienne Cartier and John A. Macdonald, asked the Maritime premiers if they could attend their conference in Charlottetown. Political leaders from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland were meeting to discuss an economic union of the Maritime colonies. Brown, Cartier and Macdonald were allowed to attend this conference as observers. However, the three Canadian leaders hoped to convince the other premiers that a federal union of all the colonies would benefit all the colonies.

The Maritime colonies were facing their own problems. Britain’s move towards free trade in the 1840s meant that the Maritimes lost an important market for their natural resources. In 1865 the United States ended its reciprocity treaty with Canada. Another important market was now lost for the Maritimes. Some of the Maritime colonies thought joining together would help them overcome these problems faster by working together. The Atlantic colonies faced a number of problems - the end of the great wooden shipbuilding era, diminished trade with New England, and growing debts. The old panacea of Maritime Union was held out as their salvation. However, the scheme had little chance of acceptance. Newfoundland refused to send delegates and it was felt wise, given Prince Edward Island's indifference, to convene the meeting in Charlottetown.

Conference at Charlottetown

In late August, 1864, Canada’s delegation (i.e.: people representing Canada) left Quebec City for Charlottetown. They travelled on the steamship Queen Victoria. In total eleven men were on the steamship. Alexander Galt, a politician from Canada West, was one of those men. He was the finance minister for the government of the Province of Canada. The men also brought their wives with them. In some ways the trip to Prince Edward Island was also a vacation Each member of the Great Coalition wanted something different, but each of them realized that a federal union was the best way to achieve what they wanted. Brown liked the idea of representation by population in the proposed federal government. Cartier liked the idea of a more independent Quebec within the union. Cartier believed this would help protect French language and culture. Macdonald wanted to create a federal government with strong powers to keep all the provinces together. Brown was not good friends with either Cartier or Macdonald. Brown did not like French-Canadians. He also did not trust politicians like Cartier and Macdonald. Brown thought that they were too close to the powerful businessmen in Canada who used government money to build railways. Cartier did not like Brown very much. Cartier was a powerful business person in addition to being a politician. He did not like the attacks Brown made on him in politics, or in the newspaper Brown controlled the Toronto Globe.

Slaymaker and Nichols Olympic Circus

Macdonald and Cartier were political allies. They had worked together in coalition governments. Macdonald was deeply involved with railway companies and banks just as Cartier was. However, these men put aside their personal differences. They all realized that creating a new federal union was the best chance for all of the colonies.

William Pope Rows Out to the Queen Victoria

People today consider the Charlottetown Conference to be one of the most important events in Canadian history. However, when the delegates from Canada arrived in Charlottetown it is likely that few people noticed. Most people were far more interested in the Slaymaker and Nichols Circus that was on the island. A local cabinet minister, William Pope, rowed out to the steamship in a small boat to greet the Canadian politicians.

Negotiating at Charlottetown

A dinner party was held for the eleven Canadian delegates and the fifteen delegates from the Maritimes. When the dinner ended, the business of negotiating a deal began. Very quickly, the original reason for the meeting was forgotten by everyone. Maritime union was never discussed at the Charlottetown Conference. Macdonald and Cartier quickly gave speeches to all the politicians, and the Canadian idea of a federal union became the focus of the meetings. The Canadian delegation gave many speeches outlining what the federal union would be like. Macdonald gave very detailed speeches. He outlined what the federation would be, and how political power would be divided between the provinces and the federal government. Cartier gave speeches that were emotional. He spoke about the powers that the provinces would keep, and the independence they would have. Alexander Galt talked about the money that the federal government would give to the Maritime colonies each year if they joined the union. At first the Maritime delegates were reluctant to agree. Over a few days, however, they found the idea of a federal union very good. They could join the federation of Canada and keep control over many things within their colony (or province). They would receive money from the federal government. By the end of the Charlottetown Conference all of the delegates had agreed that a federal union was the best choice for all of the colonies.

Charlottetown Delegates

Confederation Room, Province House, Charlottetown

On September 5, 1864, George Brown made an all-day presentation to the delegates to explain the proposed deal. This was an important presentation. George Brown was outlining what would be in the new Canadian constitution. A constitution is the supreme law of a country. It outlines the powers of government, and how government will operate. The new Canadian government would be based on the British model. It would be bi-cameral. This means it would have a House of Commons and a Senate (in Britain it is called the House of Lords). The House of Commons would be elected by the people, and each province would send Members of Parliament (MPs) The Senate would be unelected. The federal government would appoint people to the Senate, but each region and province would have a certain number of senators. Lastly, Canada would keep the British monarch as the head of state. The Maritime delegates were convinced. Canada would be a federal union. All of the delegates agreed to meet again, in Quebec City, in a year to go over the details of the new constitution. It seemed, however, that Canada would be created, provinces would come into existence, and a new country would emerge.

Conference at Quebec

See: Delegates Meet at Québec Conference to Plan Confederation

Quebec Assembly Building

Almost exactly one month later, thirty-three delegates met in Quebec City to hammer out, in private, as in Charlottetown, acceptable terms. Étienne-Paschal Taché, the Premier of the Province of Canada, was nominated conference chairman but it would prove to be Macdonald who would be the real power. A sense of urgency was added to their deliberations as the St. Albans Raid occurred only nine days after the Conference opened. That once more raised the specter of an American invasion against the weak and scattered defenses of British North America. Yet again, there was considerable wining and dining throughout the conference as five wives and nine daughters had come along with their husbands. Whereas the Charlottetown Conference had achieved agreement on the concept of a federal union, the Quebec Conference would work out the specific details.

Resource: Montreal Gazette on the St. Albans Raid, Oct. 20, 1864

Brown & Macdonald Discuss Union

Using Brown's closing speech at Charlottetown as the basis, the delegates worked mightily to fashion a constitution and a new nation. Macdonald, much of the while doodling in his notes, directed much of the proceedings. Not only did he lead most of the daily discussions and debates, but he spent much of his evenings crafting the actual language of the document that came to be known as the 72 Resolutions that in turn would become the backbone of Canada's first constitution, the British North America Act.

Resource: Macdonald's Speech at Quebec

Consensus on some fundamentals was fairly easily achieved. All agreed that ties to Britain and the monarchy would be retained. The new dominion would have a parliamentary, not a republican, system. That parliament would be bicameral, having a lower house, the House of Commons, and an upper chamber, the Senate. (The American name, rather than the British, was adopted.) Finally, again much in keeping with Brown's Charlottetown outline, it would be a federal system, with a central government looking after national concerns and provincial governments having jurisdiction over local affairs.

Resource: Macdonald on the Federal System

Beyond that, the debate was long and sometimes acrimonious. Everyone had their own idea about precisely how power should be divided up between the two levels of government. Not only was there the general question as to which level should be overall more powerful, but as well, there were great debates as to which level of government had jurisdiction over many different areas. There were heated debates as the method of representation in the bicameral legislature. The issues of federal appointments as well as the final financial terms of the new union both took considerable time to resolve.

The Fathers of Confederation in the Hotel St-Louis

Most matters were resolved by compromise. In terms of the allocation of powers within the federal system, Macdonald basically won the day. Convincing the delegates of the absolute necessity to avoid the disasters of an American-style Civil War, which in part was the result of allocating too much power to the state governments, the new central government received the bulk of the power. It received 37 enumerated (or specified) powers, whereas the provincial government only received 15. Not only did the national government obtain more than twice as many powers, but the powers it was allocated, such as defense, criminal law, external affairs, etc., were more important. The central government also received the significant "peace, order, and good government" power which enabled it to have control of all residual areas. The national government was the only level of government that was permitted to levy both direct and indirect taxes. Finally, the national government held the right of disallowance, which permitted it to cancel any provincial statute that was deemed to be in violation of a federal law.

Resource: George Brown on Reciprocity and the Dangers of US Military Might

However, Cartier obtained some important powers for the provincial. Although the areas they were allocated, while fewer in number, were nonetheless crucial for cultural survival. Provinces received control over such vital areas as education, religion, civil law, and language. That satisfied both the "la survivance" tradition in his home province of Quebec as well as the desire of Maritimers to protect their identity.

The representational issue in the legislature, particularly composition of the Senate, was also resolved through compromise. It was agreed that House of Commons would be elected on the basis of representation. That pleased George Brown. However, Cartier and the French Canadians - as well as the smaller provinces - received some assurances. First, the Senate would be appointed on an equal basis with a total of 72 members, 24 from each of Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. In addition, Quebec was guaranteed 65 seats in the lower house and all other provinces would have their number of representatives determined by the proportion of their population compared to that of Quebec.

The Fathers of Confederation, by Rex Woods (Confederation LIfe)

Alexander Galt devised a complicated economic arrangement whereby the central government would assume the debt of all joining provinces as well as paying an annual per capita subsidy. The promise of increased intra-provincial trade augured well for expansion of the Intercolonial and Grand Trunk Railways.

The Bases of Union

In short, the Quebec Conference's 72 Resolutions were those acceptable terms that the delegates sought. In a little more than two weeks they had united Canada and the Maritimes and had laid the basis for an enduring constitution. However, the chief difficulty at this point was that the delegates had no legal standing. They had to return to their provincial legislatures and obtain approval for what they had worked out. Only one province, Canada, supported the proposals, and even then the French-Canadian segment was deeply divided. (Overall, the united province of Canada had voted 91 to 33 in favour of Confederation. However, the vote among French-Canadian members was much closer, 27 for and 21 against.) The only province that had allowed his citizens to vote on it, New Brunswick, had seen it defeated. In fact, all the Atlantic colonies either opposed the plan or were hugely indifferent to it.

London Conference

However, it was at this point that some of the external causes of Confederation that we have seen earlier came to the fore. The Fenian raids and the American cancellation of the Reciprocity Treaty turned many in favour of union, especially in New Brunswick where a 1866 election returned the pro-Confederation party of Samuel Tilley to office. In Nova Scotia, Charles Tupper and his pro-union party won the election in June 1866. British willingness to both enact the necessary legislation to bring about union as well as to host a final conference to bring it about, also turned more in favour of the plan. So did the appointment of pro-Confederation Lieutenant Governors who were instructed to promote the idea of union.

London Conference Stamp

The London Conference, begun in December 1866, was the final step. This time, befitting the leading role he played up to that point, Macdonald was chosen conference chairman. The work was fairly easily accomplished and involved minor polishing, tinkering, and adjustments. The greatest excitement occurred outside the conference halls when Macdonald, reading late one night, set his clothes and bed on fire. Nova Scotian Joseph Howe's efforts to break up the discussion came to naught.

Resource: Langevin Describes the Delegates at the London Conference

When it came to selecting a name for the new nation, the delegates thought that the "Kingdom of Canada" might be offensive to the United States. Instead, on Samuel Tilley's suggestion, they took a line from Psalm 72 and choose the "Dominion of Canada." Cartier translated the word as "Puissance".

The London Resolutions were adopted by the delegates on December 4, and the British North America Act breezed through both houses of the British Parliament with virtually no major changes. It was signed on March 29, 1867 by Queen Victoria and was to become effective on July 1st.

Sidelight: Alexander Muir Writes "The Maple Leaf Forever"

In 1867, Alexander Muir wrote a Canadian patriotic song he called The Maple Leaf Forever as an entry in a Confederation poem contest in Montreal. He won second prize.

Muir was inspired by a huge silver maple that stood in front of his home, Maple Cottage, at Memory Lane and Laing Street in Toronto, Ontario. While he and a friend, George Leslie, were taking a walk, a leaf from the tree fell on his friend's coat and stayed there for a time despite his efforts to brush it off. Leslie suggested the idea of the permanence of the maple leaf to Muir, who wrote the lyrics and sent them off at the last minute.

Muir tried to find a suitable piece of music, but had to write his own, which he published without copyright in 1868 In 1871 a copyrighted edition was published. The song grew popular in English Canada and became the regimental march of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and The Royal Westminster Regiment. But because of its British imperial perspective it was not popular with French Canadians.

Alexander Muir's The Maple Leaf Forever