Canadian Confederation Why did Canada become a country

Canadian Confederation Why did Canada become a country? CHC 2 DI 1

Canadian Confederation • Canada became a country on July 1, 1867 when parliament passed the British North American Act (BNA Act). • At the time, Canada was only made up of four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. • Sir John A. Macdonald was the Prime Minister in 1867 and he said that Canada had been “carpentered together, ” meaning that it had been pulled together to create a country 2

Canada in 1867 (Confederation) 3

Why Confederation? This presentation will address some of the main reasons for confederation: 1. French-English relations 2. Canadian-American relations 3. Economic reasons 4. Aboriginal relations 4

REASONS FOR CONFEDERATION… 5

Canada’s First Prime Minister Sir. John A. Macdonald "There may be obstructions, local differences may intervene, but it matters not — the wheel is now revolving, and we are only the fly on the wheel, we cannot delay it. The union of the colonies of British America under one sovereign is a fixed fact. " -1864 6

1. French Canadian Relations -from 1840 -1867, the French and English were joined into one union in British North America -French feared for their language and culture - Confederation was supposed to address this 7

2. Canadian American Relations -in the U. S. , there was a belief that the U. S. was “destined” to eventually control all of North America -this was called “Manifest Destiny” -there was a fear in British North America that the U. S. would try to “annex” or take over the colonies of British North America 8

-Confederation created a federal system of government -a central government would take care of things that mattered to the entire country and the provinces would take care of interests unique to their province i. e. Quebec could have its own French school system 9

3. Economic Reasons -after the American Civil War, Americans cancelled free trade with Canada -so, Prime Minister Macdonald developed the “National Policy” -we will learn more about this in a few slides… 10

4. Aboriginal Relations -when the BNA Act was passed, it put the federal government in charge of “Indians and land reserved for Indians” -having a unified country gave the federal government more power to assimilate the natives and force them to adopt English. Canadian culture and language 11

Back to Sir John A. Macdonald • Was a “Nationalist” -was willing to always put the country first -great Canadian pride • In order to strengthen Canada after 1867, Macdonald came up with the “National Policy” • This policy has three (3) main parts: 12

a) Protective Tariffs • A tax on the border on products coming into Canada from the United States • Makes American products more expensive than Canadian products What does this mean for Canadians? ? ? 13

b) Build a National Railroad • To connect eastern and western Canada • The Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) is built and finished in 1885 • Helps transport goods and people • Creates a greater sense of unity within the country 14

c) Fill Western Canada with Immigrants • 1872: Dominion Land Act passed -made it very easy for settlers to buy land out west -a person could buy 64 acres for $10. 00! • Why did Macdonald want to fill the west? -so there is no dispute with the U. S. as to who owns the land (Manifest Destiny stuff again) 15

Final Result • Not many people immigrated to the west -winters long and cold -summers hot and dry -drought -isolation • Macdonald successfully completed the first two part of his National Policy but died before he could complete third 16