Confederation Of Canada Essay

Canadian confederation was a process in which the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into one government of Canada, on July 1 1867. However Canadian confederation did not just happen like that there were causes that lead to confederation. The causes which lead to confederation are; political deadlock, American civil war, the railway, cancellation of reciprocity treaty, and Britain creating her colonies self-sufficient. So today in this essay I will be discussing about the causes of confederation.

The most important aspect of this proposal deals with the aftermath of the Canadian insurrections. This will be of extreme to significance to the reader as the aftermath of the rebellion would change the destiny of Canada. After learning of the uprisings in the Canadian colonies the British parliament sent a commission to study the causes. Lord Durham was named governor on May of 1839 and was in placed in charge of establishing an inquiry into the rebellions. From this inquiry came a list of recommendations submitted to the parliament in London (Outlett, 275). Two recommendations in this report became extremely significant to Canadian history.

In the year of 1867 the nation we know as Canada came into being. The Confederation in this year only came about after things had been overcome. Many political and economic pressures were exerted on the colonies and a federal union of the colonies seemed to be the most practical method of dealing with these pressures and conflicts. While Confederation was a solution to many of the problems, it was not a popular one for all the colonies involved. In the Maritime colonies views differed widely on the topic. Some were doubtful, some were pleased, others were annoyed and many were hopeful for a prosperous future.1

First and foremost, the idea of having a railway built throughout Canada was already in existence long before 1881. However, it was not until Confederation was passed on July 1, 1867 when “[The railway’s] realization was found to be a political necessity” (Leary, 5). In other words, Confederation did not just mark the date in history where the federal Dominion of Canada was born, but, it had also opened the doors necessary to make the project a reality. Clearly, there was much more to Confederation than met the eye, and “as part of the deal, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were promised a railway to link them with the two Central Canadian provinces – Quebec and Ontario” (Canadian Pacific). By 1871, Manitoba and British Columbia had also joined the Confederation. At this point,

The act of applying conscription during the First and Second World Wars have nearly torn Canada apart. The conscription crisis of 1917 was a treacherous event that occurred during the First World War. During this time the relations between Quebec and the rest of Canada were in an all time low in our Canadian history. The Québécois thought conscription was merely unnecessary no matter what circumstance; while all other Canadians did essentially want conscription occur. The contrast was inevitably high on the issue of conscription between the Québécois and the rest of Canada thus creating a solution when conscription was indeed needed was impossible. However while William Lyon Mackenzie King was the Prime Minister during the Second World

Canada was founded on 1st July, 1867. Before that it was just a colony for France and Britain. It became a country after being undercontrolled for years. The independence of Canada relates to the novel, The Wars, written by a Canadian novelist, Timothy Findley. In the novel, innocence was a major theme. As a colony, Canada was a symbol of innocence. It was forced to join many wars and went through trade between other countries. In the novel, innocents were also being affected by the outside world. Timothy Findley tried to teach us that being innocent will only create chaos around us. We should acknowledge the dangers of the world and grow up.

     With the American offences being stopped, and heroic men coming forth, Canadian nationalism was on the rise. Since most of the war had been fought in Upper Canada, retaining of the vast majority was as much a moral victory as a material one. The end of the war brought significant immigration from the United States into Upper and Lower Canada. Canadians resented this because they still regarded Americans as the enemy. Being banded together in the War of 1812 forced the people of the Canadas to feel as though they were a unified nation. The English-speaking Canadians could better understand the French-speaking Canadians and vice

“I believe, from all that I can learn that the Provinces will, ere long, be one great country or nation, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Never before was there such an important meeting as this held in the history of British America; and it may yet be said that here, in little Prince Edward Island, was that Union formed which has produced one of the greatest nations on the face of God’s earth.” However the conference went undecided on a conclusion which led to the Quebec

Secondly, closer ties to America helped us form a culture we know to this day. American media was playing through Canadian televisions and radios. In the late 1950s after Canadian’s pride and joy was aggravated by the “Avro Arrow”, Canadian aviation talent went to America and helped with the man landing on the moon. This influenced Hollywood to dedicate movies and T.V shows. Some of Canadian actresses and actors stared in the playing of Hollywood shows and movies, along with American actors and actresses. Canadians started watching more television which influenced Canadian buying behaviours, clothes, behaviours, food etc. American culture had slightly influenced Canadian culture through media. Also America has always been Canada’s number one trading partner. Gordon Morton McGregor, who was head of the Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd., set up the largest automotive car company in Candaians. This car company gave many Canadians jobs since they were manufactured by Canadians however the parts that came in for the automobiles were from America. American goods were being transferred to Canada so they can manufacture cars. The Americans have a culture that is recognized as being luxuries and rich. By America trading valuable goods with Canada we gained recognition as Canada being a wealthy and luxuries country. Canada and America

Confederation itself was an incredible display of Canadian compromise and tolerance. George Brown (1867) congratulated Canada on confederation, impressed with the Canadian's ability to compromise between two separate peoples, the French and English, who have vastly different religions, cultures, laws, and languages, something European countries like Holland and Belgium, Austria and Hungary, and Russia and Poland have been historically unable to accomplish successfully. The Constitution specifically protects important French aspects including freedom of religion, language guarantees in Quebec, and French civil law.

Due to the bitter rivalries of their mother countries, the two sides also had a strong feels of animosity against one another. This animosity was furthered when the French surrendered New France. This cession of French territory to the British occurred after the French and Indian Wars of the mid 18th century; specifically after the treaty of Paris in February 20th of 1763. The essential annexation brought about much anger within the French. This was illustrated during the highlights of the Patriote movement (the rebellions of 1837 and 1838) and the secession of New France to become British. These events, along with prior rivalry with Britain and its colonies brought forth a substantial amount of Francophone nationalism. Though the rebellion was also caused by famine and poverty on some level, it was the strong French nationalism was the spark that brought about Canada’s first “civil war.”

The history of Canada is one with tales of war, fights for freedom and the coexistence of men and women from all walks of life. The European explorer, John Cabot led

The time for Confederation in Canada was a very crucial time in Canadian history. Prior to this, Canada had been a member of the British Crown for hundreds of years, but for the first time it was seen as independent, and therefore allowed Canada to become its own people and be in charge of itself. Confederation allowed for the Canadian people to lead themselves and become their own country, making it the most important thing in Canadian history. Prior to Confederation in Canada, the country was considered of colony of Great Britain. In George Brown’s speech given in 1865, he says “Hithero we have have been paying a vast proportion of the taxes, with little or no control over the expenditure” (Brown, 1865).

Second, the United States possesses a greater number of men and material which could cross the border and soon be in control of the land of maple syrup and hockey. Geographically speaking, Canada is a good deal closer to our borders than many other possible sites of invasion. This would speed up the invasion process in a way that isn't negligible. Finally, with Canada as a part of the American Empire, only one country would stand in the way of realizing the full extent of Manifest Destiny. With two-thirds of its countries unified, mainland, North America would be well on its way to being ruled by a single government for the first

The first major event that impacted Canada’s legacy, as a whole, was the sacrificial battle of Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge was proven to be essential to the foundation of Canada as it signified the birth of a new nation and it was considered to be the greatest battle fought, in World War One. Firstly, the Battle of Vimy Ridge established Canada’s emergence as a newly born nation from under the shadow of Britain and gave a verification of Canada’s prominence on the international level. For instance, after successfully regaining the ridge, it displayed to the British superpower, that Canada are worthy of independence, that must be granted upon as a reward for a significant victory (Fonseca). As a result, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, marked the end of British soldiers commanding Canadian troops, as Canada showed tremendous resilience internationally, and also proved that we are independently, capable of leading a well-organized attack against other countries (Fonseca). This milestone was a huge accomplishment for Canadians, as eventually this was the catalyst for total autonomy of Britain (“History Now”). Secondly, the Battle of Vimy Ridge gave Canada justified independence on the international stage. As a result of winning the complicated battle, Canada was deservedly permitted to their own independent seat and signature at the peace talks after the war. This then allowed Canada, to participate in voicing their thoughts, and plans as a newly independent country. This was seen to be,