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The Rebellions of 1837
Both Upper and Lower Canada demand that they are given a better and more responsible government. After their demand is rejected, the people begin rebelling and rebellions are led throughout the towns and cities. These events are important because they cause the government to look at different options of leadership and how to control the land and people in Upper and Lower Canada in beneficial ways. -
The Durham Report
After the rebellions were over, the British governemnt realized that they were losing control of both Upper and Lower Canada, so they sent Lord Durham to interview the people and to figure out solutions to fix the problems. After interviewing people for 5 months, Durham came to the conclusion that Upper and Lower Canada should be united. This is important because it led to the beginning of Canada becoming a united country with a Confederation. -
The Act of Union
After Durhams report, the British government agreed that both Upper and Lower Canada were to be united as one. The Act of Union united the two Canada's into one colony, the Province of Canada. From there, the idea that a responsible governement should be set in place became popular in the minds of politicians and the people. The Act of Union helped the people and government begin to work towards the Confederation of Canada. -
The Baldwin-La Fontaine Governments
Occuring in 1841, the Baldwin-La Fontaine Governments was a government that promised to have both parties work together and to follow the Act of Union rules to control the country. -
American Civil War
During the American Civil War, there was fear the the Americans would try to obtain Canadian land. This caused the Canadians to begin meeting together to figure out how they could protect the land from Americans. This tension helped the beginning of forming the Confederation. -
The Great Coalition
When co-premiers Macdonald and Cartier realized that the only way to govern Canada was to get out of the political deadlock, they went to their biggest rival, George Brown. After setting aside personal feelings and agreeing that they all ideas that would help better govern Canada, the three men formed the Great Coalitian. This was the first step into seriously forming the Confederation of Canada. -
The Charlottetown Conference
The Maritime leaders decided to meet September 1st, 1864, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island to discuss the benefits and downsides of joing the Province of Canada as a Confederation. When the Province of Canada leaders hear about the meeting, they joined the meeting and convinced the Maritime leaders that it was a good idea to join. This led to the Maritimes joining the Confederation permanently. -
The Quebec Conference
On October 1st, 1864, the leaders from the Maritimes and the Province of Canada gathered together in Quebec City to discuss the specific details about the Confederation. They began writing a constitution for the Confederation, using the ideas discussed in Charlottetown. From the meeting came the conclusion that the Confederation would a federation. With this conference, the Confederation was almost complete. -
The London Conference
Once the draft for the constitution was complete, the delegates from each colony in Canada travelled to Britain to present their draft to the court to be approved upon. Both the British Houses of Parliment approved the consitution. -
The British North America Act
After months of planning, Queen Victoria signed the constitution of the Confederation of the Dominion of Canada on March 29th, 1867 and Canada became an officia country on July 1st, 1867. Canada consisted of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.