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A Long Process
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The Beginning
Joseph-Charles Tache proposes the idea of a federation in a series of articles published in the Courrier du Canada. -
Proposing an Idea
George Cartier, John Ross and Alexander Galt travel to Great Britain to present the idea of confederation of the British colonies to the British Parliament -
Charlottetown Conference
The Charlottetown Conference is held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The conference was originally created in order for the leaders of the Maritime Provinces to gather and discuss creating a Maritime Union. The Province of Canada requested that it be allowed to attend as well, as it wished to join a potential union with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. All parties were convinced that this union would be beneficial to all. -
Quebec Conference
The Quebec Conference was the second formal meeting to discuss the possibility of Canadian Confederation. One of the main obstacles in discussions was the idea of a strong central government vs. stronger provincial rights. John a. Macdonald supported the idea of a strong central government, but those from the Maritimes and Quebec feared the loss of their cultural identity and distinctiveness without provincial powers. Both sides compromised and settled on a division of powers. -
London Conference
The London Conference was held in the United Kingdom between representatives from the British colonies involved in the previous two confederation conferences, as well as British officials. The plan was to create a draft of the British North American Act, but compromise was needed once again on the issue of education, specifically the separate school system in Ontario and Quebec for Catholic schools. -
The BNA Act
The British North American Act (now referred to as the Constitution Act, 1867) was passed when Queen Victoria approved of the bill. This represented the official creation of the dominion of Canada as the Queen stated, “We do ordain, declare, and command that on and after the First day of July, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixty-seven, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, shall form and be One Dominion, under the name of Canada." -
Canada Day!
The Province of Canada was split-up into two Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. July 1st has since been a federal statutory holiday within the country and is known as “Canada Day” or “Canada’s birthday”. John a Macdonald became the first Prime Minister of Canada, leading the Conservative Party. -
Entrance of Manitoba and North-West Territories
Manitoba and the North-West Territories were established by Acts of Parliament and officially joined the initial four Canadian Provinces. -
Welcoming British Columbia
The Province of British Columbia joined Canada by Act of Parliament, partially due to the promise of a transcontinental railway by John A. Macdonald. -
P.E.I. Finally Joins
The Province of Prince Edward Island finally agrees to join the Confederation, after refusing for 6 years based on unfavourable terms and conditions. -
Creation of the Yukon Territory
The Yukon Territory was established and entered into Confederation. -
2 More New Provinces
Saskatchewan and Alberta were established and joined as Acts of Parliament. -
Newfoundland Joins at Last!
Newfoundland finally joined Canada with the guarantee of a ferry-link. -
The Creation of Nunavut
The third Territory known as Nunavut was created out of the North-West Territories and officially joined Canada. This is how we know our country today.
