-
Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada
-many people wanted an American-style democracy and ultimately better government
-they wanted reform and to adopt a repsonsible and representative governement
-they wanted to get away from oligarchy
-Louis Joseph Papineau, Lower Canada, wanted the Anglican church to have less power
-William Lyon Mackenzie, Upper Canada, disliked the great power that the Family Compact held -
Lord Durham issues report
-Lord Durham was sent by Britain to investigate the causes of the rebellion
-he made many recommendations including:
-British and North American colonies should join together
-assimilation of the French culture
-Upper and Lower Canada should become a union and implement responsible government
-Responsible government was declined by the British government, but the proposal of a union was accepted -
United Province of Canada is formed
-the Act of Union was passed thanks to Lord Durham's recommendations, and allowed the new province to have its own government and legislature
-Upper Canada and Lower Canada ceased to exist in 1841 and then became the province of Canada (Montreal was the capital)
-caused problems because it was passed without the say of the French-Canadian people
-many of the problems are still being resolved today -
Corn Laws Repealed
-designed to regulate the import and export of grain from/to Britain and other colonies
-it helped with Confederation because it encouraged trade between the colonies and benefited their economies
-the colonies would need to rely less on Britain then they had previously and gave them more independance to make Confederation a reality -
Rebellion Losses Bill signed by Lord Elgin
-designed to compensate people in Canada East who were affected or were at loss due to the Rebellion in 1837 (property)
-poeple in Canada West took it as the government was rewarding them for their treason
-English-speaking citizens in Montreal were very angry
-when he was leaving the parliment, a mob attacked Lord
Elgin's carriage and then burned down parliment buildings 2 days later
-Enlgand supported Elgin's decision even and it became one of first big tests of Responsible government -
Charlottetown Conference
-the intention was to allow the Maritime colonies to discuss the Maritime Union
-instead, Politicians came from the Province of Canada and requested to join their meeting and talk about greater union
-they discussed for about nine days until the delegates form Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI started sway in the direction of a Canadian union
-they all agreed to meet again in Quebec to try and work out the terms of a union -
Quebec Conference
-the delegates discussed more of the conditions and terms of a union which lasted for almost three weeks
-they made many decisions and they were named the "Quebec Resolutions"
-some of the decisions were that they would keep a responsible government, keep some of the ties with Britain and that they would have an Upper and Lower House, in the end making 72 resolutions
-Newfoundland and PEI both backed out of Confederation even though they attended the conferences -
The American Civil War Ended
-when the American Civil War ended, it was a great relief to Canada because the Northern United States being very strong was a threat to Canada
-the United States believed greatly in Manifest Destiny, that it was their fate to control all of North America
-the amount of soldiers that the United States had exceeded the population of Canada because of the Civil War
-the British supported the Southern States during the war, causing anger from the Nothern States towards the British -
Fenain Raids
-after the Civil War Ended the Fenians, an Irish organization, planned to attack the British Empire
-they did not succeed in their plans of punishing the British Empire
-in the end, John A. Macdonald used the raids to even greater strengthen the support for Confederation by scaring the people more of the reality of the American threat -
London Conference
-the lead representatives from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada set off to London, England to present the Quebec Resolutions
-this showing was made possible by the hardwork put out by John A. Macdonald
-a final agreenment dubbed the British North America Act was passed by British Parliment and was given Royal Assent
-the date for union was decided to be July 1st, 1867 -
New Brunswick Joined Confederation
New Brunswick joined Confederation for many solid reasons, even though many were skeptical because of the fact that they were doing very well, but they decided to go ahead with it for the following reasons:
-they feared, like many colonies, that they would be taken over by the United States, especially after the Fenian Raids
-they wanted greater access to markets in the rest of Canada
-the completion of the CPR would help their economy greatly with broader access to goods and services -
Ontario Joined Confederation
Ontario joined Confederation because:
-they could make their own decisions through an elected provincial government
-they could relieve the fear of a takeover by the United States
-they could share the cost of building a railway with all of the other provinces, making it affordable
-they would be represented by elected officials rather than those appointed by Britain -
Quebec Joined Confederation
Quebec joined confederation because:
-they were allowed to make their own decisions as a result of their own government
-their economy would be greatly helped by the ability to trade with the rest of the provinces
-they could join together with the otehr provinces through a federal government to build the railway and give them access to other markets -they had fears of a takeover by the United States -
Nova Scotia Joined Confederation
-the people of Nova Scotia were split in to two groups, one for Confederation and one not
-Charles Tupper was the representative for the pro-Confederation group and shared his ideas
-the biggest factor for them joining was to build an intercolonial railway
-Joseph Howe was against Nova Scotia joining Confederation and shared his opinions, but then resigned and decided to be a Cabinet Minister, which would be more beneficial to the government than someone against Confederation -
Manitoba Joined Confederation
-the Metis wanted Manitoba to join Confederation after the government purchased Rupert's Land from the Hudsons Bay Company
-they were scared that the government would diminish their rights
-Louis Riel helped the Metis with building a government and sent delegates to Ottawa where it was decided to make Manitoba a province to maintain the rights of the Metis -
Northwest Territories Joined Confederation
-the Northwest Territories joined Confederation after being purchased by Canada from the Hudsons Bay Company
-it was and still is inhabited by many Aboriginal people
-it was not given as much control as the provinces were because it remained a territory, despite being a very large piece of land -
British Columbia Joined Confederation
-they thought that by joining they would recieve finacial help from the Federal government to relieve their great debt, they were in great economic distress after the gold rush had ended
-they wanted to be able to vote for their own leaders rather than them being appointed by England
-the railway would bring new market and business to BC
-they feared being annexed by the United States -
Prince Edward Island Joined Confederation
Prince Edward Island joined Confederation because:
-a large part of their land was owned by Absentee Landlords in England and it made it very hard for people wanting to own their own farmland, Canada promised to buy this land and then re-sell it to settlers at an affordable price
-they had a very large debt trying to build railways, Canada promised to build the railways and pay off their debts
-they had a fear of being taken over by the United States -
Yukon Joined Confederation
The Yukon was made into a territory because:
-they thought that the United States was going to take them over since so many Americans had moved there during the Klondike gold rush
-the land was also part of the deal when Canada bought Rupert's land and the Northwest territories from the Hudson's Bay Company
-people thought that the area seemed much more attractive with the increased population from the gold rush -
Alberta and Saskatchewan Joined Confederation
The two provinces joined Confederation for the same main reasons, those being:
-they were both originally part of the Northwest Territories, and with the changing economy, they wanted a better style of government like the other provinces
-they would be given more control of their decisions regarding cities, roads, schools and laws and could tax to pay for them
-it allowed the CPR to be built through their land and improve access to larger markets -
Newfoundland and Labrador Joined Confederation
Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation because:
-England did not want to support them anymore and they wanted them to join, also fearing that it would become part of the United States
-they needed the economic help, as well as the building of roads and the railways that were promised by Canada
-they liked the system of government that Canada was using
-the vote that took place was very close -
Nunavut Joined Confederation
Nunavut joined Confederation because:
-the poeple wanted to be able to make their own decisions through elected government
-Inuit people wanted control of thier resources and land because they were previosuly being used without their permission
-they previously did not have a say in the government
