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Period: to
Pre-Confederation
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Stepping onto North American Soil
The summer of 1820 was the first time that Sir John A Macdonald and his family stepped foot in Quebec City as a poor immigrant family from Scotland. They had sailed for 42 days over the Atlantic Ocean along with many other immigrants searching for new life in North America. -
THE BEGINNING!!!
John's family took over a mill in west of Kingston and decided to settle there. However, the mill they took over was not successful. Even though they were poor, John's mother was determined to give her son the best education possible, so the family worked hard to gather money and eventually sent John to a boarding school in Kingston. -
John's Education
There wasnt enough money to send John to University. Instead, at the age of 15, John started his career in a lawyers office. He would work during the day and study law at night. -
Starting his own law office
At the age of 21, John had opened his own law office in Kingston in the brick building. Now owning a thriving buisiness, John was not only known for his excellent knowledge of the law but was also admired by the public because of his friendly manner and good sense of humor -
Upper and Lower Canada united
Upper and Lower Canada has now been united into the nation of Canada. Canada East and Canada West have been given the same number of seats in the parliament. One of the groups were called the Conservatives or Tories and the other the Reform party or the Cear Grits. Sir John A MacDonald was a young leader of the Conservatives in Canada West. The leader of the Reform Party was George Brown, an editor of a Toronto Newspaper. -
Choosing the Capitol City
Since Canada East and Canada West had been united, they have met many times in Kingston, Quebec City, Montreal, and Toronto. However, they thought it might be time to choose a capitol for Canada. Canada West said for it to be in Toronto or London but Canada East disagreed. They thought that perhaps Montreal or Quebec City would be better. In the end, they decided to have Queen Victoria decide. The Queen chose Ottawa as the capitol since it was the only city between Canada East and West. -
The People's Response
The Conseratives voted for Ottawa to become the capitol of Canada because MacDonald claimed it to be an insult to the queen if not. However, The Grits as well as the french speaking conservatives were against the decision of the Queen. The Conservatives government was defeated. -
The Double Shuffle
George Brown's Clear Grits now became the government, however, the conservatives sent a non-confidence vote. The vote was passed on and George Brown's government were forced to resign. During the next voting, the french speaking conservatives votes along with the english speaking ones. MacDonald and his conservative government returned to power. -
John's Personal Life
While John's career was progressing rapidly, his personal life took a turn for the worst. John and his wife Isabella, were separated most of the time due to her sickness and her need to go travel to warmer places. The MacDonalds' first baby, John, was born in 1847. Unfortunately, he died 14 months later. -
John's second son Hugh John
Hugh John was born soon a few years after his late brother John. After he was born, his mother was left even more ill. -
Isabella's Death
After Hugh John's birth, Isabella's sickness worsened, and she died soon afterwards. -
The Construction of the Parliament
Work began on the Parliment building high on the cliffs overlooking the Ottawa river. They built the building with grey limestone. There were broad lawns streching down the street for parades. -
Political Deadlock
In the early 1860's, there were an even number of seats in the assembly. However, now Canada East has a greater population of people, therefore, declaring for more seats in the assembly. -
The First meeting in Parliment
The assembly met at the Parliment buldings for the first time soon after its construction. Even George Brown admited that the it was a beautiful building worthy of a great province.
