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C. The Path to Union and Expansion, 1864-1873
From HCO Jr
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Introduction
Contents |
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. 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
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 many 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 (free trade) 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.
Other problems also faced the Atlantic colonies: the end of the great wooden shipbuilding era, and growing government debt. Maritime politicians hoped that Maritime Union would save their region.
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.
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.
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 of talking to the Canadian delegates the Maritime leaders 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.
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
Almost exactly one month later, the Canadian and Maritime delegates were meeting in Quebec City. They needed to go over the terms they had agreed to in Charlottetown. In Prince Edward Island the delegates had created a general agreement. Now, in Quebec City, they had to work out all the specific details about how the new country of Canada would work.
John A. Macdonald worked very hard during the conference. He also spent a lot of time doodling on his papers when other delegates were talking! Eventually the delegates came up with a complete deal. It is called the Seventy-two Resolutions. This agreement formed the basis of Canada’s first constitution.
These resolutions had many of the same ideas the delegates had agreed to in Charlottetown. Canada would remain part of the British Empire, and the Queen (it was Queen Victoria at this time) would be Canada’s head of state. None of the delegates wanted Canada to be a republic, like the United States. Instead our government would be a constitutional monarchy. The federal government would have power over national affairs, and the provinces would have control over local affairs.
Debate about the division of powers between the federal government the provincial governments was very heated. The delegates could not agree on what was a “local affair.” Some delegates could not agree on what level of government should be the most powerful. Could the federal government tell provincial governments what they could or could not do? What was a “national affair?” Some of the delegates did not like the idea of the federal government having too much power. Some of the delegates wanted the federal government to have a lot of power.
A compromise was worked out. The federal government was given power over 37 areas. The provinces were given power over 15. Cartier obtained some important powers for the provincial. The areas the provinces had control over were important for the cultural survival of French-Canadians. For example, the provinces had control over education, civil law, language and religious institution.
Another important issue was what the government of Canada would look like. All of the delegates agreed that the House of Commons would be elected. Each province would send MPs to the House of Commons. The number of MPs a province sent would be based on its population. This, however, created problems for the small Maritime provinces. They did not have large populations. They would not send many MPs to the House of Commons. Maritime delegates worried that their concerns would not be heard in the House of Commons because MPs from Ontario and Quebec would control the House.
The Senate was created to deal with this problem. Each region of Canada received the same number of Senate seats. Ontario and Quebec both had 24 Senate seats. The Maritimes also received 24 Senate seats. When a law passed through the House of Commons it had to go to the Senate for approval. In the Senate the Maritime Senators could raise concerns about any proposed law or government policy.
Maritime delegates received one more important promise. All of them had taken on a lot of debt in the 1850s and 1860s building railways. Railways were an important form of transportation at that time, but they were also very expensive to build. Alexander Galt found a compromise. The new government of Canada would take over all of the Maritime railway debt. Another important part of this new deal was building a railway to link all the provinces of Canada together. The federal government needed to make sure none of the railways would go bankrupt and stop running.
Agreeing to Confederation
Once the Seventy-Two Resolutions were created, all of the delegates returned to their provinces. They had to get the government in their colony to agree to the new deal. Some of the governments agreed fairly quickly. The Province of Canada said yes to the deal. However, in the Maritimes some people and politicians were opposed to the new idea of Confederation. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland both refused to sign on to Confederation. Newfoundland did not attend the Charlottetown Conference. It only sent two people to the Quebec Conference, and they only went to observe. Newfoundland’s leaders did not think Canada would help them very much. Newfoundland is far away from the other provinces. It relied on fishing and trade with Britain for its economy. Newfoundland believed it was better to stay a colony in the British Empire. It also thought that Newfoundland would have to pay high Canadian taxes if it joined Confederation.
Some political leaders in Prince Edward Island did not support Confederation. They did not like the fact that the new federal government would be able to tax people living on PEI. Some politicians thought this tax money would be spent on projects that did not help PEI. Other politicians worried if Canada ever went to war with the United States and Islanders had to fight in a Canadian army.
The London Conference
The London Conference, begun in December 1866, was the final step in the creation of Canada. This conference was fairly easy compared to the other two meetings. All of the major work had been done. In London the delegates were only working out minor details.
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.
Nova Scotia has Second Thoughts
The new Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. Politicians were unsure what to call the new country. Some of them wanted to call it the Kingdom of Canada, but thought this name might offend the United States. The word “dominion” was taken from the Bible. Canada was known as the Dominion of Canada until the 1950s when it became known simply as Canada.
Almost immediately after Canada was created it had to deal with the possibility of a province leaving Confederation. Many people in Nova Scotia believed that their government, led by Charles Tupper, had signed a bad deal. Nova Scotians thought that the new Canadian taxes would hurt their trade with the United States.
Joseph Howe’s government in Nova Scotia started a petition to leave Confederation. In total, 31,000 of Nova Scotia’s 48,000 voters said they wanted to leave Confederation. This meant 65% of Nova Scotians wanted out of Canada.
Joseph Howe was one of the MPs who was elected to the House of Commons. On the opening day of the first Parliament, Canada’s Governor-General, Lord Monck, gave the Speech from the Throne. This speech outlines what the government will do that year. After Monck finished, Joseph Howe stood up and made a speech against Canada.
Howe said that the law creating Canada was not passed with the support of the people of Nova Scotia. Howe referred to this petition, and said that 31,000 Nova Scotians were opposed to Confederation. Nova Scotians were afraid that Canada might go to war with the United States, and they might have to fight in a war for something that only affected Ontario or Quebec.
In 1868, Howe traveled to Britain to ask Queen Victoria to allow Nova Scotia to leave Confederation. Queen Victoria refused to see him. No important British politician would talk to Joseph Howe. The British government wanted Canada to be a success.
Howe’s only chance now was for Nova Scotia to leave Canada on its own, and maybe join the United States. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald could not allow this to continue. He traveled to Halifax to meet with Joseph Howe in the summer of 1868. They held secret talks. Macdonald offered Nova Scotia more money every year to stay in Confederation. Macdonald also told Howe that he would be made a cabinet minister in Macdonald’s government. Joseph Howe agreed with these terms, and he publicly said that he now supported Confederation. Over the next few years the separatist movement in Nova Scotia ended.
Building the Territory
Within two years of its creation, Canada expanded into the west and into the Maritimes. Canada’s size grew 600%. These changes did not come without problems.
Prince Edward Island, 1873
Although it happened after Canada’s western expansion, it is easier to learn about Prince Edward Island. In 1873, PEI joined Canada. The government of PEI had a lot of debt. In the late 1860s it started building railways on the island. These railways were very expensive to build. PEI also had another problem: absentee landlords. During the 1700s and 1800s the British government gave large pieces of land to people that supported Britain. Army officers and wealthy British subjects were given land in PEI. They rented this land out to people who lived on the island, but these landlords rarely lived on PEI.
People in PEI resented these landlords. They did not live on the island. Sometimes the rents that were charged were very high. Riots broke out in PEI in 1868 because islanders were so angry about these landlords.
In 1873 the Canadian government agreed to buy back all of the land owned by the landlords. This land would be given to the government of PEI, and the government would then sell that land to islanders. The Canadian government also agreed to take over all of PEI’s government debt. Lastly, the Canadian government agreed to build and operate a steamship service between PEI and the mainland in New Brunswick. This would link PEI to the rest of Canada, and the railways that joined the provinces together. With this new deal in place, the government of Prince Edward Island agreed to join Canada.
British Columbia, 1873
The following year, 1871, Canada's western-most province, British Columbia, seeking to revive its lagging economic fortunes, became the sixth province. Part of the inducement to win British Columbia's acceptance was a physical link with the rest of Canada. Initially, the B.C. delegates were prepared to accept as little as a wagon road. However, the Canadian negotiators decided to leave nothing to chance and in an act of unbridled generosity promised that a transcontinental railway would be started within two years of British Columbia's entrance into Confederation and completed within ten years of that date. Although a worldwide depression intervened to delay both dates, once construction did begin, the work proceeded with amazing speed resulting in the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway before the end of 1885.
Rupert’s Land, 1869
Canada gained a vast amount of land in 1869 when it purchased Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). When the HBC was formed it was given a vast amount of land by King Charles II in 1670. For hundreds of years the HBC ran its fur trading posts in this land. It was called Rupert’s Land because the King’s son, Prince Rupert, was a supporter of the HBC and helped convince his father to give the HBC this land.
Big changes had already taken place in the western portion of Canada. The 1869 Rupert Land's Act, negotiated on behalf of Canada by Britain, transferred much of the land that was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company to the new Dominion. In return for about $1.5 million and one-twentieth of all the land, Canada had, with the stroke of a pen, increased its physical size by more than six times.
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 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. |
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