Confederation Unit

Ms. Garcha
Social Studies 10
Confederation Conferences
Now imagine the concerns that the colonies had to
address when thinking about confederation
Confederation Conferences -
Charlottetown
Held in 1864
Purpose of meeting Maritime Union Conference
already started. Rest of Canada wanted to join in the
union.
Delegates (representatives) Canada West & East,
Maritimes
Decision reached Maritimes convinced a larger union
is good
Confederation Conferences Quebec
Held in 1864
Purpose of meeting talk business (details) of union
Ex. How many reps would each province have in the central govt? Where would the
money come from to run the central govt? What powers would the governor have? Etc.
Quebec was chosen to make French feel wanted
Delegates all 6 colonies (Canada West, Canada East, New
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, PEI)
Decision reached no one colony could break union & 72
resolutions (these provided a plan for the new partnership
of the British North American colonies)
London, England
Held 1866 1867
Purpose of meetings draft a bill for confederation and
go over final details
Delegates from Canada West, Canada East, New
Brunswick, & Nova Scotia
Decision reached Britains approval
 Passed by British
Parliament 1867
BNA Act (1867) Created Canadian
Confederation
BNA Act sets legal
ground rules for Canada
Divides powers b/w
provincial & federal govt
S. 91 federal
parliament powers
S. 92 - provincial powers
John A. MacDonald wants
to divide powers b/c in
U.S. states given more
power over some things
than fed govt ex. slavery
Which colonies signed the BNA Act?
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Ontario (Canada West)
Quebec (Canada East)

Meaning PEI & Newfoundland did not sign.

6 provinces added to Canada later..

1) Manitoba (1870)
2) BC (1871)
3) PEI (1873)
Alberta & Saskatchewan (1905)
Newfoundland (1949)
Canadas Current Govt Structure
http://
www.lop.parl.gc.ca/About/Parliament/GuideToHoC/index
-e.htm
Trudeaus Cabinet
Cabinet comparison
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-trudea
u-cabinet-read-the-full-list-ofministers/article2709596
5
/
The premiers/ leaders who fought
for their colonies entry into
Confederation
New Brunswick Leonard Tilley
Nova Scotia Charles Tupper
Canada West George Brown & John A.
McDonald

Canada East George Cartier & DArcy McGee

New Brunswick Leonard Tilley
1858 - became premier of NB
Called an election and Confederation was the main issue. Those who
opposed Confederation made fun of the whole thing. 1865 election
came & NB voted no
Another election held a year later & this time people voted yes because:
1) Americans ended free trade with BNA colonies
2) British govt sent a message encouraging NB to join Confederation
3) Fenians attacked NB in 1866
Although these 3 reasons convinced the people of NB, it was Tilley who
had led them into Confederation.
Nova Scotia Charles Tupper

He arranged the
Charlottetown
Conference
He was excited
about
Confederation
Premier of Nova
Scotia from
1864 1867
Canada West George Brown & John
A. McDonald
George Brown & McDonald were
respected in Canada
People listened to them
At the time of Confederation, Brown
left politics and became the editor of a
newspaper called the Globe
His life ended very sadly. Brown fired
an employee for being drunk. In 1880
that employee burst into the Globes
offices and shot Brown
Brown never recovered from the injury
and died a couple months later
Canada East George Cartier
Like John A. McDonald, Cartier became the leader of the
Conservative party. He was a well liked man in Montreal.
Many French Canadians were scared of being outnumbered in
Confederation because of the rep by pop system
Cartier went around and convinced people that in Confederation,
the French and English would be equal partners
He promised the people that they wouldnt lose their language or
religion
Cartier also warned the French speaking Canadians, that if they did
not join the union, they may be taken over by the United States
Aboriginals &
democracy
Confederation Unit
Ms. Garcha
 Wab Kinew Heros
As youre listening, think of 1 word to describe the song
Definitions to refer to while summarizing your
section
Band: The term "band" means any tribe, band or body of
Indians who own or are interested in a reserve or in Indian
lands in common

Reserve: The term "reserve" means any tract or tracts of

land set apart by treaty or otherwise for the use or benefit of
or granted to a particular band of Indians, of which the legal
title is in the Crown

The term "Indian" means

Any male person of Indian blood reputed to belong to a
particular band ;
- Any child of such person
- Any woman who is or was lawfully married to such person

Person: The term "person" means an individual other than

an Indian, unless the context clearly requires another
construction.
The gradual civilization act 1857
Sought to assimilate Indian people into Canadian
settler society by encouraging enfranchisement.

Act was a failure, as only one person voluntarily

enfranchised.
The gradual enfranchisement act
1869
The act established a Superintendent
who had the power to determine who
was of good moral character&
deserving of benefits
Ex. He could decide if the widow of an
enfranchised Indian lives
respectably & could thus keep her
children in the event of the fathers
death.
The Act also severely restricted the
governing powers of band councils,
regulated alcohol consumption and
determined who would be eligible for
band & treaty benefits.
The Indian act 1876
Systems of control that had
been established in prior
legislation were now newly
defined under one act, the
Indian Act of 1876.
Indian act governed all aspects
of Aboriginals lives
Status determined by Act
Only access to treaty rights is
through status
Every reserve had an Indian
agent
Discussion question
Why were Aboriginals left out of important decisions
relating to the confederation of Canada?
 Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced
the doctrine that the original American, the Indian,
was an inferior race. Even before there were large
numbers of Negroes on our shore, the scar of racial
hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From
the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in
battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the
only nation which tried as a matter of national
policy to wipe out its indigenous population.
Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a
noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not
permitted ourselves to reject or feel remorse for
this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our
drama, our folklore all exalt it. Our children are still
taught to respect the violence which reduced a red-
skinned people of an earlier culture into a few
fragmented groups herded into impoverished
reservations.
Martin Luther King Jr.