1. Free Trade
1.1. Reciprocity Treaty
1.1.1. It is a trade agreement signed between the United States and Canada. This means that all imported good coming into both countries will be significantly cost less because of the treaty. Duties and tariffs will go down due to the treaty. This makes trade between Canada and the United States a must.
1.2. Railway
1.2.1. A railway that would cover from sea to sea would have the most economic benefits in Canada. Trade between provinces will be easier and transportation would not take as long, but would also benefit for our southern counterpart. With the increased trade between US and Canada, it would also make sense to build a intercolonial railway.
1.3. Expansion to the West
1.3.1. With fears that the Americans will take all the free land west of us, Canada immediately got people to claim it for Canada. This eventually lead to the gold rush in British Columbia and in the Klondike.
1.4. Defense
1.4.1. With more money coming into Canada, we can utilize that to help increase our defense. With money, we can start enhancing our troops and weapons and rely less on Great Britain.
2. Fathers of Confederation
2.1. The Great Coalition
2.1.1. These men brought the idea of uniting together to create a government that is not only responsible but also fair for everyone.
2.1.2. John A. Mcdonald
2.1.2.1. He was the leader of the conservative party. He was loyal to Queen Victoria and Britain. He strongly supported and worked towards the confederation of the British North American colonies.
2.1.3. George Brown
2.1.3.1. George Brown led to clear grits. He wanted more people to have a voice in government. He was a strong supporter of the representation by population government system. He supported the rural population and the idea of Confederation for British North American colonies.
2.1.4. George-Cartier
2.1.4.1. He led Parti Bleu. He supported Confederation only if Canada east would maintain its religion and family law systems. He wanted cooperation between French and English.
2.2. Joseph Howe
2.2.1. He is a journalist, premier, and lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. He was from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
2.3. Charles Tupper
2.3.1. He is a doctor and politician from Amherst, Nova Scotia. He was the leader of the Nova Scotia delegates in all three conferences. Tupper is well known as being Canada's shortest serving prime minister.
2.4. Leonard Tilley
2.4.1. He is a pharmacist, politician and lieutenant governor from Gagetown, New Brunswick. He attended all conferences and suggested of adding dominion into the naming Canada. Tilled also served as the premier of New Brunswick in two separate occasions and held the posts of minister of customs and minister of finance in the federal government.
3. BNA ACT
3.1. The BNA Act was the act that created the Dominion of Canada. This came to be by:
3.1.1. British Attitude
3.1.1.1. The British thought that if the British North American colonies were to join, then they would not have to spend so much money protecting something so far away from them. The support of Britain also meant Britain was in favor of its colonies governing themselves with responsible government, playing an important role in Canada's self-government.
3.1.2. Charlottetown Conference
3.1.2.1. The Charlottetown conference consisted of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. They were thinking of creating a maritime Union. When the leaders of Canada East and Canada West found out about this, they invited themselves to attend. They were interested in creating a union much larger than just Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
3.1.3. Quebec Conference
3.1.3.1. The Quebec conference was held on October 10th to 27, 1864. During this conference, they discussed how the new country would be governed. Some ideas include the "lower house being an elected body using representation by population and the upper house being an appointed body of government representing regional interest." They wanted to keep ties with Britain by having a governor general who would represent the British Monarchy. These ideas were written in a document called the 72 Revolutions or the Quebec Resolutions.
3.1.4. London Conference
3.1.4.1. The London conference was when politicians Canada East-West New Brunswick and Nova Scotia left for London to meet with British officials. This conference finalized the details of Confederation and created the British North America Act which outlines the guidelines for the new country." One of the most important guidelines was that Canada was responsible for its Internal Affairs. All external Affairs was still to be handled by Britain. This was signed on March 29th, 1867. The Dominion of Canada came into existence on July 1st, 1867. The first provinces include Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
4. Why did they join confederation?
4.1. Ontario
4.1.1. They joined in 1867. They are one of the original people to create the Dominion of Canada.
4.2. Quebec
4.2.1. They joined in 1867. They are one of the original people to create the Dominion of Canada.
4.3. New Brunswick
4.3.1. They joined in 1867. They are one of the original people to create the Dominion of Canada.
4.4. Nova Scotia
4.4.1. They joined in 1867. They are one of the original people to create the Dominion of Canada.
4.5. Manitoba
4.5.1. Manitoba joined in 1870
4.6. Northwest Territories
4.6.1. Northwest Territories joined in 1870.
4.7. British Columbia
4.7.1. British Columbia joined in 1871. They feared that the US will take over the land so they joined with Canada. The railroad was also another factor that would help with their economy.
4.8. Prince Edward Island
4.8.1. Prince Edward Island in 1873. After the War of 1812, Canada has strong connections with Canada. With PEI by the ocean, they can take advantage of that opportunity. Canada also invited them to join again because of they may have joined the US.
4.9. Yukon
4.9.1. Yukon joined in 1898. There was the Klondike Rush around that time, and Canada did not want the US to take over. The North West Mounted Police went to that region to show that they control that area.
4.10. Alberta
4.10.1. Alberta joined in 1905. The land was fertile and was good for farming. They can also log, mine and the railway was going to pass through them.
4.11. Saskatchewan
4.11.1. Saskatchewan joined in 1905. The land was fertile and was good for farming. They can also log, mine and the railway was going to pass through them.
4.12. Newfoundland
4.12.1. Newfoundland joined in 1949. Many wanted to remain as a colony and some want to be with Canada. Britain had enough and did not want to support them, so Canada offered to help pay for roads and the development of the province.
4.13. Nunavut
4.13.1. The Inuit people wanted full control of the land up north. Without their consent, they decided for them to join confederation. They later negotiated to keep the control for their land and joined Canada after.
5. Manifest Destiny
5.1. Manifest Destiny is the belief of the Americans throughout the 1840s. They believe that God has placed upon themselves the power to expand and occupy all of North America. One of the people running for president, James Polk, campaigned fifty forty or fight. They wanted the territory of Oregon to be extended North, all the way up to 54° 40° parallel.
5.2. American Threat
5.2.1. There are multiple occasions when the Americans attacked Canada for their personal gains.
5.2.2. The Fenian Raids
5.2.2.1. The Fenians were a New York based Irish immigrants that attacked Canada on multiple occasions. They were attacking Canada because we were associated with England. As of right now, Ireland is fighting against England to gain independence. They think that fighting with Canada will create a difficult situation with England, because they have to help us as well.
5.2.3. US Civil War
5.2.3.1. The American Civil War was a war fought between the north and southern states. The southern states were all for white wealthy men owning slaves, while the northern states want to prohibit slaves in all states that have not.
5.2.3.1.1. The St. Albans Raid
5.2.3.1.2. Trent Affair
6. Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada
6.1. Upper Canada Rebellion
6.1.1. Lead by William Lyon Mackenzie, he would constantly criticizes the Family Compact. He is fierce with his words and would publish it on his newspaper. With all his antics, he eventually fled to the United States.
6.2. Lower Canada Rebellion
6.2.1. Battle of Saint-Charles
6.2.1.1. In 1867 there was a conflict between the British and Lower Canada patriots. There were 15 patriots and left a lasting impact on the rebels of Lower Canada.
6.2.2. Battle of Saint-Denis
6.2.2.1. This was fought in November 23, 1837. The patriots were up to no good again and Lieutenant-Colonel Gore fought against them.
6.2.3. Battle of Saint-Eutasche
6.2.3.1. This a defensive battle for the patriots of Lower Canada. The British force defeated the rest of the patriots camps on December 14, 2837.
6.2.4. Their leader was Louis-Joseph Papineau. He was a politician and a lawyer . He lead the reformist patriot movement n Lower Canada from 1837-1838. Like Mackenzie, he also fled to the United States.
6.3. Political Deadlock
6.3.1. Political deadlock is when the government cannot work together to pass bills. When Upper and Lower Canada united to become one colony, they were each given equal seats in parliament. In order for them to pass any bills, they must work together in the legislative assembly. With the same amount of seats for both sides, they always end up having an equal number of “yes” and “no”. Both sides cannot get the majority vote. The political deadlock has cultivated the idea of a coalition government in Canada, where two parties set aside their different political views and work together to become a responsible government and get the majority vote.
6.4. Rep By Pop
6.4.1. Representation by population is a way of distributing the seats of parliament by population of an area. This was used to fix the political deadlock that occured when both Canada East and West both had an equal number of seats. The higher the population, the more seats they will be able to get in the parliament. The issue began when Upper and Lower Canada become one whole province. Ontario or Canada West had a higher population than Quebec or Canada East, so they will eventually have more seats in parliament. This will leave the French people of Quebec powerless and can’t pass bills because they do not have the majority vote.
6.5. Tories
6.5.1. The believe that the wealthy elite should control the government because they are more educated.
6.6. Reformers
6.6.1. They believe that a representative government that answers to the needs of people is what Canada needs.