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Act of Union
Upper and Lower Canada join to become the Province of Canada (Canada West and East) -
Purchase of Wellland Canal
http://oldwellandcanals.wikidot.com/history
This website provides information on the history of the Welland Canals.
In 1841 the Welland Canal Company was beginning to have problems with maintaining the canal because repair costs relied on government subsides. That year it was thought to sell the canal to the government and it was sold. -
Montreal Becomes Capital
The capital of the Province of Canada is moved from Kingston to Montreal -
Irish Famine Begins
The Great Famine began in the late summer of 1845. The Irish were unable to grow potatoes due to the crop faliure and were forced to immigrate to Canada and the United States. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ireland_great_famine_of_1845.htm -
Oregon Treaty
Britain and the United States settle land dispute with the Oregon Treaty. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/oregon-treaty/ -
The Dred Scott Case
This was a law suit that is one of the main reasons the civil war was started. http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/dred.htm -
Responsible Government
In 1848 Nova Scotia becand the first colony to be granted responsible government. Later that year in the Province of Canada (led by Robert Baldwin and Louis LaFontaine) Lord Elgin instituted responsible government. -
Capital Returns to Toronto
The capital was moved from Montreal to Toronto and it would be capital from 1849-59 with Quebec as capital from 1851-1855. -
Calls for Confederation
Starting in the 1850s John. A. Macdonald's calls for a federal union of all the British colonies in North America began to get stronger. It was seen by many, including the British, as a way to strengthen the colonies and to deal with the many problems including attacks from the Americans and Fenians, an opportunity to regain free trade for the colonies and expansion for all colonies needing more good land. -
Railroad in Panama made
The Panama Railroad opens, and the first locomotive to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific travels on it. -
Intercolonial Railway Opens
The Intercolonial Railway was the railway that would connect the colonies together. In 1858 the first stretch, from Halifax to Truro, opened. -
Gold Rush
The Fraser River Gold Rush brings people flocking to the colony of British Columbia. -
The Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was opened in December 1859 and for a time prospered with British support but in 1860 it put the Province of Canada 72 million dollar in debt. -
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American Civil War
The United States of America spent 4 years in a bloody war that was a large part of the anit-slavery movement. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html. Many slaves fleeing conflict and slavery attempted to cross into Canada and the other British Colonies because they were the final stop of the Underground Railroad to freedom. http://www.blackhistorycanada.ca/events.php?themeid=21&id=6 -
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Charlottetown Conference
This conference took place in Charlottetown, PEI and was meant to be a discussion about Maritime Union but when the Province of Canada turned up everything changed. -
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Québec Conference
This was a follow up of the Charlottetown Conference and the Conference during which the Seventy-Two Resolutions were drafted. -
Ottawa becomes Capital
The capital is moved from Quebec 1859-65 to Ottawa in 1866 http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/museums-and-heritage/virtual-exhibit-ottawa-becomes-capital-0-6 -
Alaska Purchase
The United States purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. This marks the end of Russia on North America. -
Confederation
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Québec (Canada East) and Ontario(Canada West) unite to form the Dominion of Canada.
