BNA Act (1)
Conferences & Debates

Confederation Project proposed... a federal system, with ties to Britain

Now that the Confederation project was on the agenda, it was up to the delegates to convince their maritimer counterparts to help them found a larger, new country. The Canadian delegation had proposed the following:

• Preservation of ties with Great Britain;

• Residual jurisdiction left to a central authority;

• A bicameral system* including a Lower House with representation by population and an Upper House with representation based on regional, rather than provincial, equality;

• Responsible government at the federal and provincial levels;

• The appointment of a governor general by the British Crown.

Source: Québec Conference October 10 - 27, 1864. Archived now at https://web.archive.org/

*Note that a bicameral system would mean that the federal legislature would have two “houses” or “chambers”: i.e. an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house, the House of Commons.

Macdonald proposes legaslative union

John A. Macdonald favoured a legislative union, where important decisions should be made by a single, central government, but obviously the other colonies were involved. What was proposed was a federalist model of government.

At the Québec Conference, "The key concept of federalism - the idea that the central government would be granted certain powers while the provinces retained others - was molded into shape. However one man, almost single-handedly ensured that the balance of power would lean toward the federal government. John A. Macdonald played a large role in shaping the Québec Resolutions. The Upper Canadian politician was the only one at the conference with a background in constitutional law. Macdonald drafted 50 of the 72 resolutions and his desire for a strong central government was reflected in the document."

Source: Canada - People's History: Quebec Resolutions

The 72 resolutions adopted at the Québec Conference

The 72 resolutions outlined a federal parliament composed of two chambers: a House of Commons and a Senate to manage matters common to the whole country (e.g. defence of the country). The parliaments of each of the colonies became provincial parliaments to deal with local matters (e.g. education):

"The representatives expanded on the Charlottetown discussions, forming their conclusions into a series of resolutions known as The Québec Resolutions or the 72 Resolutions. These principles continue to define Canada today: a federal government system, an appointed upper chamber (Senate), an elected lower chamber, elected by proportional representation (House of Commons), and continuing ties to the British monarchy.”

The resolutions also helped the delegates agree on major financial issues. Canadian federation was only possible with the construction of a railway between Quebec and the Maritimes. The delegates from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia made this a condition of their membership in the Canadian federation, with the Canadian delegates in agreement.

"While the Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island representatives withdrew from the project, those from the three other colonies agreed to submit the resolutions to their assemblies for approval.”

Texts and translations by P. Rombough + RECITUS. Quotes from Parks Canada (See also curated documents and visit sources here.)

In the Maritimes: Not liking centralization. Representation by Population is not ideal.

At both conferences Macdonald argued for a legislative union, however the Maritime representatives were opposed to that degree of centralization.

"The result was a compromise - a federal system, in which each province would have its own legislature, and powers were divided between the federal and provincial governments. There was also the problem of adequate representation for smaller provinces in the federal parliament. The House of Commons, with 194 members, was to be based on representation by population. This meant that Upper and Lower Canada would dominate the House, with 75 percent of the seats. Prince Edward Island was annoyed at only being allotted six MPs. Newfoundland did somewhat better with eight MPs. Theoretically, this imbalance was to be corrected by a regional basis of representation in the Senate. However, the delegates from the Atlantic colonies failed to push for equal provincial representation on the United States model, and accepted sectional equality instead. Upper and Lower Canada would each get 24 members, and the three Maritime provinces together 24 members, with an additional four Senate members for Newfoundland. This once again meant domination by central Canada."

Source: Heritage NFLD & Labrador: The Quebec Conference, October 1864

In the Maritimes: Joseph Howe opposed to Nova Scotia becoming a second-class partner.

"Charles Tupper, as leader of the Nova Scotia delegation, was surprised to meet opposition to the Québec Resolutions when he and the other delegates returned home. [...] Nova Scotians felt no particular compulsion for constitutional reform; many others found the financial parts of the agreement completely unacceptable....

Chief among the protesters was Joseph Howe. At first, while acting as Imperial Fisheries Commissioner, he was obliged to denounce the resolutions anonymously in a series of newspaper articles called the 'Botheration Letters.' Later, when he no longer held any imperial responsibilities, he was more overt in his criticism."

"Joseph Howe opposed the idea of joining Confederation because he thought Nova Scotia would just become a second-class partner in the larger union and lose its special identity. He also thought the voters should be consulted before such a major step was taken. Howe had a lot of support for this view and the premier of the day, Charles Tupper, pushed to have Confederation passed before he had to face an election in 1867."

Sources, respectively: Canadian Confederation: Provinces and Territories Nova Scotia Map: Canada, 1867 Source Entered Confederation: 1867 Archived at https://web.archive.org/. And, Joseph Howe's Opposition https://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/

Québec reasons to hesitate, the vigourous opposition of the Parti rouge, the Catholics support les Bleus

“Confederation was never as enthusiastically embraced in Quebec as it evidently was in Ontario. [...] On the surface, Confederation would seem to have the effect of making Québec’s position weaker, as the province would now become one partner out of four (instead of one out of two), would constitute only 30% of the population of the new country (instead of 40%), there would be no requirement for dual prime ministership (governments such as Lafontaine-Baldwin or Macdonald-Cartier) and Quebec would have to concede 'Representation according to Population' to Ontario," which now had more people than Québec!

Antoine-Aimé Dorion and the Parti rouge were completly against Confederation. “They argued that Quebec would have little autonomy in Confederation and that the Québec people should be consulted on a decision as momentous as Confederation. Other French Canadian leaders, like Dorion, saw federalism as a means by which English Canada would increase its hold on Quebec.”

The "parti bleu" under George-Étienne Cartier retorted that the Confederation project drafted in Québec adequately recognized and protected the rights of Francophones as a distinct cultural and ethnic group, as well as the rights of Quebec as a province. Confederation was an object of debate in Quebec. But the well-oiled political machine of the "parti bleu", supported by the persuasive power of the Catholic clergy, assured that such debate did not impede the Confederation project."

Sources, respectively:
-Quebec and the Confederation project (1864-1867) - Readings
-Hon. Antoine-Aimé Dorion, Montreal, QC, 1863 Photography Studio William Notman Studio (1863-1877) at mccord-museum.qc.ca/ Text now only in archived version at https://web.archive.org/
-Canadian Confederation: Provinces and Territories Quebec Map: Canada, 1867 Source Entered Confederation: 1867
Archived at https://web.archive.org/

Indigenous Peoples and Confederation?

Note: "Indigenous peoples were not invited to or represented at the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences. This despite the fact they had established what they believed to be bilateral (nation-to-nation) relationships and commitments with the Crown through historic treaties. [...]

From 1871 to 1921, the federal government signed a series of 11 treaties (the “numbered treaties”) with various Indigenous peoples. The government promised them money, certain rights to the land and other concessions. In exchange, the First Nations in all colonies except British Columbia ceded (surrendered) their traditional territories.

Most of the promises in these treaties went unfulfilled. The intentions expressed by the treaties, and the clarity with which they were communicated to and understood by the Indigenous people who signed them, has been the subject of considerable debate."

Source: Waite, P. (2019). Confederation. In the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/confederation

"Those opposed to Confederation in Eastern Canada found moderate, economic grounds for not joining Canada. But motivations were quite different in the West.

After Confederation, Canada extended its reach by purchasing the vast territory of Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1870. (See also North-West Territories.) In 1885, those ambitions were met with violent resistance in the form of the North-West Rebellion. The five-month revolt was led by the Métis, Cree, Siksika, Kinai, Piikani and Saulteaux. It began as Canadian expansion into their lands pushed the First Nations toward starvation. In 1880, Cree leader Big Bear and Blackfoot leader Crowfoot founded the Blackfoot Confederacy. In 1884, Louis Riel, a Métis leader of the earlier Red River Resistance, sought to unite the peoples of the North-West to stand against the Canadian government."

Source: (2021). Confederation's Opponents. In The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/confederations-opponents