|
Fathers of Confederation |
Maritime Union | George Brown
| Pan-Federalism |
US Civil War |
Canada's Proposals |
River Cruise |
Charlottetown | The Quebec
Conference |
The London Conference
| July 1, 1867
In the spring of 1865 the Canadian
delegation departed for Britain to obtain approval for
the plan of Canadian Confederation. The battle to get
final approval from the legislature of the Union of the
Canada's was a hard fought one. Many French Canadian
politicians felt that they were being swallowed up in a
sea of English power and population and that it might be
a plan to eliminate the French culture. The argument
against that was that the only true protection for the
French Canadian culture was in placing various rights
and powers into provincial hands where they could be
protected and nurtured so that the culture of the region
or province would survive.
In December of 1866
the London Conference began and under the stewardship of
John A. Macdonald, the various points of contention that
were still outstanding were resolved and a compromise
found. The two Canada's, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
became the first members of the new union and the name
Canada was officially chosen.
The British government which had many
concerns about the situation in North America viewed
this process as a stepping stone to solidifying British
North America in the form of Canada. The other
accelerant that helped push the process along in the mix
of British politics was the ending of the American Civil
War. The U.S. had the largest and probably strongest
standing army in the world at that point and shaky
relationships during the war had produced nervous
anticipation concerning the safety of the British
Colonies in North America. Many felt that the U.S. would
be much less likely to threaten an independent country
then British Colonies.
The London Conference
settled the issues and the British North American Act
was ushered through the British Parliament in March of
1867 by Lord Darby with only a few changes including one
which changed the name of the new country from the
Kingdom of Canada to the Dominion of Canada. |
