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Charlottetown Conference 1864Quebec Conference 1864London Conference 1867

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Charlottetown Conference 1864

• For representatives from the colonies of British North America (BNA) to discuss Canadian confederation

• Planning began in 1864. It was originally planned to be a meeting between representatives from the maritime provinces (except for Newfoundland as it had no interest in confederation

• Britain encouraged confederation so that they could have military power in that region during the American Civil War

• Province of Canada (now Quebec and Ontario) wanted to be included in the meeting so they asked for it to be expanded

• Newfoundland also requested to attend the conference in August 1864 but it was too late

• The meeting took place in Prince Edward Island

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• Representatives from Province of Canada dominated the conference by ignoring most of the Maritime concerns and trying to benefit themselves

• 4/5 days were spent outlining the Province of Canada’s position; Maritime representatives did not discuss their plans until September 6th and 7th

• Canadian delegate George Brown spent two days discussing the details of the proposed constitution which would keep them in the British empire but would have none of the problems that would lead to civil war (i.e. American Civil War)

• Concluded on Sept. 7th; ball held on Sept. 8th

• They agreed to meet the next month in Quebec

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Important People Involved• Sir Alexander Tilloch

Galt (Canadian statesman)

• Sir John A Macdonald (Prime Minister of Canada)

• William McDougall (Canadian Politician)

Possible Solutions

Economic Union of British North America : creating their own market for their own goods

Build an Inter-Colonial Railway: linking existing colonies

A Federal Union: self-governing states united by a central government

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Charlottetown Conference Delegates – September 1864

Delegates at Conference

New BrunswickEdward Barron ChandlerJohn Hamilton GraySamuel Leonard TilleyWilliam H. SteevesJohn Mercer Johnson

Nova ScotiaAdams George ArchibaldRobert B. DickeyWilliam Alexander HenryJonathan McCullyCharles Tupper

Prince Edward IslandGeorge ColesJohn Hamilton GrayEdward PalmerAndrew Archibald MacdonaldWilliam Henry PopeEdward Whelan

Province of CanadaGeorge BrownAlexander CampbellGeorge-Étienne CartierAlexander Tilloch GaltJohn A. MacdonaldHector-Louis LangevinWilliam McDougallThomas D'Arcy McGee

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Quebec Conference – October 1864 • Delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New

Brunswick and PEI

• Major conflict was between people who wanted a central government (like John A MacDonald who thought that with more powers, more conflict would ensue as seen in the American Civil War) and others who wanted individual provincial rights (representatives from Canada East (now Quebec) and the Maritimes) for fear that they would lose their cultural identity

• They eventually decided to divide the powers between federal and provincial governments

• An offered structure was written in the form of the 72 Resolutions was made

• Afterwards, the delegates returned to their provinces to submit the plan to their provincial legislatures

• In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Joseph Howe and A.J. Smith (respectively) led the opposition to Confederation but both provinces did end up joining

• Only PEI rejected the resolutions

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Delegates at Quebec Conference – October 1864

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72 Resolutions

• Each colony would become a province of Canada (Canada West was renamed Ontario; Canada East, Quebec)

• A strong central government (as apposed to multiple governments which could lead to civil war)

• As a country it would be easier to defend themselves from attack• Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes were to have 24 members each

in the new Senate – Upper House• The elected House of Commons/Lower House was to have

Representation by Population• The new federal government would control the debts of the

colonies• A new economic market with no tariffs was created

• Expanding of railroads to better commerce Newfoundland and PEI took themselves out of the talks as they were

too isolated and they saw no need for rail roads

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London Conference 1866• Final conference that led to Canadian Confederation

• Representatives from the four BNA colonies (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) met to make final arrangements

• Resulted in the official name (Dominion of Canada) and the capital in Ottawa

• New provinces were to get more money from the new federal government

• Division of Powers (defining the powers of federal and provincial government) were settled (sections 91 and 92 in the British North America Act)

• British North America Act passed in the British Parliament on March 29, 1867• Canada official declared a country on July 1, 1867

• Dominion Status - limited independence

• Result: Constitutional Monarchy, Responsible Government, Two Founding Nations

•A Federal System: Central Government with Provincial Governments

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"The Happy Pair" (John A. Macdonald and Joseph Howe).

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Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:QuebecConvention1864.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventy-two_resolutionshttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/107555/Charlottetown-Conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlottetown_Conferencehttp://collectionscanada.gc.cahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Conference_of_1866http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federalism#Distribution_of_Legislative_Powers_in_the_Constitution_Act.2C_1867http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Conference,_1864http://data2collection.gc.ca/ap/c/c078568.jpghttp://data2collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/023001/f1/1867-v5-e.jpghttp://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/index-e.html