|
A New Nation |
Nova Scotia Balks |
The Northwest Territories |
Manitoba & Riel |
Federal Provincial Relations |
British Columbia |
Prince Edward Island |
The Washington Treaty |
Scandal
| Liberal Interlude |
The National Policy |
The Railroad |
Immigration |
Rebellion |
Transition
The 1872 election was a hard fought
affairs which revolved around the issues of Louis Riel's
escape from authorities, the Fenian raids and the
Washington Treaty. Macdoanld was viewed to have handled
both poorly but he had expanded the country to the
Pacific and Arctic Oceans. The loss of support that the
Liberal-Conservatives (the name of Macdonald's part
until the Liberal was dropped) experienced in Ontario
and Quebec was somewhat made up for by support in the
two new provinces of Manitoba and British Columbia.
Support in Ontario and
Quebec might have eroded even further, perhaps to the
point where Macdonald might have lost his majority, if
not for a cash infusion of about 3.5 million in Quebec
and 1.2 million in Ontario. The question which arose
after the election was where that money had come from.
There were two
companies competing for the contract to build the new
transcontinental railway to British Columbia. One of the
companies was led by
David Lewis Macpherson's Inter-Oceanic Railway Company which may
have had connections with George McMullen of the
American Northern Pacific Railway Company. Neither
Canadians nor Macdonald would let an American Company be
involved in the building of the Canadian Railway so they
and their partners were excluded very quickly form the
competition. Sir Hugh Allan a influential businessman
and supporter of Macdonald, led the consortium that was
the granted the Charter to from a company to build the
railway. The Government would not pay directly for the
building of the railway but would vote a $30 million
subsidy, issues large land grants worth another $20
million and support for the company in forms of tax
exclusions and preferential treatment. Allan was tapped
as the source of cash for the funding of the
Conservative's election campaign and in April of 1873
L.S. Huntington, a Liberal MP from Quebec rose in the
House of Commons and accused the Conservatives of taking
$325,000 from Allan for the election campaign.
Macdonald claimed that the money was
merely campaign contributions and nothing irregular had
been done but, the cat was out of the bag and as more
and more evidence of the activities emerged and the
expanded scale of the relationship became clearer, a
reaction of outrage spread across the country and in the
House of Commons. When it was revealed that some of the
money may have come from McMullen and the Northern
Pacific Railway Company, all hell broke loose and
general opinion abandoned Macdonald. Macdonald was
forced into a corner and in the House claimed
....I
have fought the battle of Confederation, the battle of
the union, the battle of the Dominion of Canada, I throw
myself upon this house; I through myself upon this
country; I through myself upon posterity, and I believe
that I know that, not withstanding the many failings in
my life, I shall have the voice of this country and this
House rallying round me. And, sir if I am mistaken in
that, I can confidently appeal to a higher court - to
the court of my conscience, and to the court of
posterity. I leave it with this House with every
confidence...I know, and it is no vain boast for me to
say so, for even my enemies will admit that I am
no boaster - that there does not exist in Canada a man
who has given more of his time, more of his heart, more
of his wealth, or more of his intellect and power, such
as they may be, for the good of this Dominion of Canada.
Sir John A. Macdonald to
the House of Commons - November 3rd, 1873
Macdonald was mistaken in his estimate of
support from country and party and as a vote was being
prepared for a censure of Macdonald, he decided to
resign. The result was that the Governor General, Lord
Dufferin asked Alexander Mackenzie and the Liberal Party
to form a government. |
