CONFEDERATION Pages 170 -193 IMPORTANT CONFEDERATION DETAILS

CONFEDERATION Pages 170 -193

IMPORTANT CONFEDERATION DETAILS Canada East – Formerly Lower Canada - Francophone Canada West – Formerly Upper Canada - Anglophone These two places made up what was known as the Province of Canada

ACT OF THE UNION- 1840 -41 This was designed to join these two provinces However, it created a political deadlock (*one major cause of Confederation*) This is the inability to reach a decision because of disagreement between equally powerful decision makers. (French-English conflict which often lead to short-lived governments- see p. 180 The “Great Coalition”) Each province had 42 seats in government which created the deadlock

CONFEDERATION LEADERSTHE “GREAT COALITION” Read page 172 for background info on each George-Étienne Cartier John A. Mac. Donald George Brown

WHAT THEY WANTED The Canadiens wanted their language and religion to remain protected Joining Confederation was seen as a chance to protect their rights by some and others saw confederation as a bad decision (joining Canada West and East)

THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island were British colonies, but they governed themselves They thought they would lose their independence by joining Canada East and West They also thought becoming part of a new country would be expensive Would the Canada’s try to convince them to join into Confederation?

CAUSES OF CONFEDERATION P. 179 EXTERNAL CAUSES AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, FENIAN RAIDS AND ANNEXATION US Civil War- South (Southern Confederate States of America) vs. North (Union States). Largely over slavery & control for economic and political. Britain claimed to be neutral, however its textile industry relied on cotton from the South…. BNA was worried that the North would retaliate against us for our trade with the South…. Trent Affair and St. Alban’s Raid- read p. 175 *---both held consequences/threat of possible American attack – which made BNA realize that, as separate entities, they had little to no means to defend themselves. *

CAUSES OF CONFEDERATION P. 179 EXTERNAL CAUSES AMERICAN EXPANSION/ANNEXATIONMANIFEST DESTINY Annexation – takeover of a territory by another country BNA, and later Canada, worried about American Annexation. Manifest Destiny- belief that the US was destined by God, to control all of NA. George Brown wanted to expand further west into Rupert’s Land, but worried that America might try to claim Rupert’s Land

CAUSES OF CONFEDERATION P. 179 EXTERNAL CAUSES AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, FENIAN RAIDS AND ANNEXATION Fenian 1859 -a ‘brotherhood’ of Irishmen in the USA Raids (p. 177 Read the Fenian marching song in the Voices box) Promoted the liberation of Ireland from British Control. Believed that if they could capture some of BNA they could use it for ransom in return for Irelands freedom. 1866 there were many raids. Ex: NB, Niagra River, and almost into MB. *The Fenian raids helped promote a desire for a union among the BNA colonies, which began to believe they need a united defence. *

CAUSES OF CONFEDERATION: ECONOMIC CHALLENGES TRADE B/W BNA AND THE UNITED STATES Many people made their leaving from the lumber industry Until 1840 Britain was still under the rules of Mercantilism Britain was getting rich from the work and resources of the colonies

CAUSES OF CONFEDERATION: ECONOMIC CHALLENGES TRADE B/W BNA AND THE UNITED STATES In the mid 1840’s Britain attempted to end Mercantilism giving BNA more independence in trade 1854 - Reciprocity Treaty - a special trading relationship with the US allowed BNA to sell their goods to US at a good price. 1866 US cancelled it. (in hopes to cripple BNA economy so they would join with the USA) The US put tariffs on BNA goods – an extra charge added to items *BNA leaders realized that economic connections were imperative for survival…. thus seeing the benefits of closer economic and political cooperation with one another in BNA!*

THE RAILROAD Railroads became an important part of Confederation – because they were open all year, unlike rivers Linking the West (raw goods) to the East (manufacturing hub) Open up new settlement opportunities and establish a stronger British presence in the West *NS, NB and the Province of Canada all had their own at the time but costs were staggering and each were struggling to cope with the debt …if there were to expand they would need to work together (UNITE!)*

WHY ARE RAILROADS AND CONNECTIONS IMPORTANT? Think of a heavy snowfall that leaves your yard full of snow. Do you attempt to dig out the whole yard or do you on clear a path to important things? Garage, car, front door etc…… This is how things were with the formation of the railroad in BNA. Brainstorm Question: *Why do you think that it is or isn’t important for a country to be connected? *

FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION

CHARLOTTETOWN CONFERENCE Reps from Atlantic colonies met and heard what Canada had to say before discussing the possibility of joining. JAM reminded them of the Civil War threat and the ability to defend themselves if united. They also promised a centralized Govt. and would assume all of the debts of the colony if they joined! By the end of this conference there was a general agreement that a Federal union could benefit their colonies and that another conference was needed.

THE QUEBEC CONFERENCE Oct. 1864, 33 delegates discuss in Quebec City Begin drafting a constitution for the proposed new nation. Agreed –that ties with Britain would be kept and our constitution would resemble Britain's as much as possible. The union would be a Federation (more than one level of Govt. (National/Federal and Provincial) The Central/Federal Govt would be made up of a House of Commons and a Senate. The disagreement was how the power would be shared amongst the two levels of Govt…. in the end they reached an agreement with 72 resolutions on how to run the new country. From here, each delegate would have to return to their colony and get support for the plan…. The hardest work was yet to come….

LONDON CONFERENCE-NOVEMBER 1866 Delegates from Canada West, Canada East, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick met in London, England to discuss the final details of the British North America Act. Queen Victoria signed the BNA Act into law on March 29, 1867 and agreed it would become effective on the first day of July. The NEW name was the “Dominion of Canada” and consisted of Ontario, Quebec, NS and NB

PROS AND CONS OF JOINING CONFEDERATION P. 182 (READ TABLE 6 -12) At a standstill after Quebec conference. Canada was the only one to strongly support it. (and even then French Canada was divided) March 1865 vote- 91 FOR/33 AGAINST. Of 48 politicians in Canada East, 26 voted FOR and 22 against. In each of the Atlantic colonies , there were more anti-Confederation arguments than there were support for Federal Union

BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT-JULY 1 1867 The BNA Act was written by John A. Macdonald and George-Etienne Cartier This created division of power b/w federal (govern all of Canada) and provincial (only govern one province) powers BNA Act made Federal and Provincial Government divisions This created the Dominion of Canada

WHY DIDN’T THE MARITIMES JOIN CONFEDERATION The Maritimes had strong economic connections with Britain They had very little connection with Canada East and West The people of Nova Scotia did not want to join Confederation The leader of Nova Scotia, Charles Tupper, decided to join Confederation against the voters will

What was Nova Scotia offered to join Confederation? They were promised money for roads, bridges and railway connections to connect the Maritimes with Canada East and West This was called the Intercolonial Railway Railroads are N. B. because: transport people transport goods connect the country

FIRST NATION’S AT CONFEDERATION During the Confederation process BNA did not work with FN at all Their idea of citizenship excluded FN BNA passed the Gradual Enfranchisement Act in 1857 (**read page 187) This required FN to give up their ways of life before they could become citizens with the right to vote

In 1867, the British North America act established Confederation FN were made the responsibility of Canada’s Federal Gov’t Until 1960, Canada’s gov’t did not allow people with legal status as “Indians” to vote – only people who gave up their status could vote Read “First Nations Join Confederation” on pg 255

Dominion of Canada Included: Canada East, Canada West, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick PEI and Newfoundland did not join the Confederation They were worried about increased taxes See some Key Points of BNA Act on pg 185

CANADA AT CONFEDERATION Canada became a country in 1867 it was called the Dominion of Canada The main goal was to create a government which gave each region the right to make its own decisions. – Democracy – Provincial style government Canada Day is July 1 st of every year In 1867 Canada only consisted of four provinces Ontario – formerly named Canada West Quebec – formerly named Canada East Nova Scotia New Brunswick

You may stop taking notes here…………. .

I AM CANADIAN SPEECH Hey. I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader, and I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dog sled, and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really, really nice. I have a Prime Minister, not a President. I speak English and French, not American, and I pronounce it 'about', not 'a boot'. I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping, not policing; diversity, not assimilation; and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal. A tuque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it is pronounced zed: not zee – zed!! Canada is the second largest land mass! The first nation of hockey! And the best part of North America! My name is Joe!! And I am Canadian!. . . Thank you.

I AM CANADIAN Video Link

YOUR TURN If you had to make a speech about Canada what would you include? How would you want us to be seen and viewed by other countries? In your opinion what makes us such a great country to live in? It is now your turn to write a short speech – “I am Canadian”

THE CONFEDERATION RAP Video Link

WATCH ELIJAH Read page 255

COLONIES AND PROVINCES British Columbia, PEI and Newfoundland Colonies had British settlements Colonies had governments elected by colonists. Democratic The colonies joined Canada by becoming provinces – this was decided upon by the colonists They had their own provincial government to make their own decisions

TERRITORIES Territories had very few British settlers Territories had governments appointed by British officials – Colonial The territories were transferred to Canada through an agreement b/w Britain and Canada The Canadian government controlled the territories – without having elected assemblies Manitoba refused to transferred to Canada as a territory Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces as population of settlers in territories grew

BRITISH COLUMBIA

BC BC joined Canada as a province in 1871 BC was a British settlement explored by George Vancouver The economy was mostly reliant on the fur trade The gold rush in 1857 hurt BC’s economy as it did not last long BC had a great deal of debt They were encouraged to join confederation – Canada agreed to pay off their loans and build a railroad linking BC to the other provinces in the East

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND PEI joined Canada as a province in 1873 The colony of PEI had economic trouble Many farmers on the island did not own their own farms – they were owned by people who lived in Britain Canada wanted PEI to join confederation, rather than joining the US Canada agreed to pay for PEI’s railroad, purchase the islands farmland from Britain and provide year round ferry service to the mainland

NEWFOUNDLAND Nfld joined confederation in 1949 Nfld was a colony of Britain which had its own gov’t that the colonists elected Nfld had a strong economy based on trade in fish and timber The Great Depression in the 1930’s hurt Nfld’s economy In 1934 Britain took direct control of Nfld – this lasted until the end of WW II – 1945 Britain then told Nfld they would no longer help them in the future In 1948 they voted to join Canada The Canadian government would pay most of Nfld’s debts, provide money to help the economy, and provide ferry service