Events Leading to

Confederation
Chapter 3: Building A Nation
Read p. 100-104

I. Background Information
A. Confederation
1. The coming together of the
colonies in British North
America
2. Three colonies were made
into four provinces.
a. Ontario,
b. Quebec,
c. Nova Scotia and
d. New Brunswick.
3. They became the Dominion
of Canada on July 1, 1867. The
other provinces and
territories joined later.
B. Why Confederation?
1. In the 1860s the British colonies were facing many
different kinds of problems.
2. These problems could be considered as either
internal or external forces which resulted in
confederation.
3. One solution for all of these was for the colonies to
come together to form one country. The
problems/forces that led to Confederation were:
a. Economic
b. Political
c. Military
4. These notes will cover these 3 forces in detail.
II. Economic Reasons for Confederation
A. Background: The End of Mercantilism
1. Definition: an economic philosophy whereby the government
controlled colonial trade & commerce for the benefit of the
Crown.
2. Under mercantilism, the role of Britains colonies was to provide
wealth for the mother country
3. BNA colonies had to buy most of their imported goods from
Britain. In return colonies had markets for their grain, lumber &
other staples
4. Ex. of Mercantilism: The Corn Laws/Canada Corn Act
a. 1843, British govt approved this law which set a
duty/tax on wheat imported into Britain from
Canada as of what was charged on wheat
imported from the US or France
b. This made Canadian wheat cheaper for British
merchants to buy & ensured the colony of Canada a
market for their grain.
B. Britains changing Relationship with the
Colonies
1. In 1846, the British Conservative
government repealed the Corn Law
because of political pressure
2. Britain wanted to move towards free
trade - it wanted to buy wheat and
other products at the lowest prices
and from any country.
a. Purpose: to feed Britains growing
population
C. Impact: After the Corn Laws were
repealed
1. Canadian wheat farmers got half the
profit from their grain
2. Many trading companies were forced
into bankruptcy
3. Canada's economy went into a
depression
Bentley, Nicolas. The Victorian Scene:
1837-1901. London: Spring Books, 1971.
Signing an Anti-Corn-Law Petition
Economic reasons for Confederation continued
D. To Promote Trade:
1. In order for their
economies to do well, the
colonies needed to be
able to sell their goods to
other markets.
2. At this time there were
very few places that they
could sell to. One solution
was to bring all the
colonies together. In this
way they could more
easily sell their goods to
each other.
III. Political Reasons for Confederation
A. The government of the provinces of Canada was greatly
inefficient. The Act of Union (1 840 Upper and Lower
Canada joined) had given Canada East and Canada West
an ineffective system saddled with numerous elections.
B. In addition, there was little
structure. The government of the
Canada's was filled with
independent members of the
Legislative Assembly. These
members could topple a
government by voting against one
of its bills. Members from the
French and English provinces rarely
agreed on an issue. In order for a
bill to pass in the Legislative
Assembly, there had to be a
majority vote in both the Canada
East and Canada West sections of
the assembly, rather than just a
simple majority ("double
majority").
C. Moreover without having their own
provincial governments to legislate
matters of provincial interest, both
groups were forced to conduct
themselves as a single government.

British Government
Appointed the
Governor General
in the Canadas
Legislative
Council
(appointed)
Executive
Council
(appointed)
Legislative Assembly
(elected by voters)
Voters in
Canada East
Voters in
Canada West
IV. Military Reasons for Confederation
A. Background: Since America had fought Britain to
gain its independence the relationship between
British North America and the United States had
never been stable. The relationship became even
worse when Britain supported the South in the
American Civil War. The North won the war and
was angry at Britain for helping the South. Many
Americans wanted to take over all of what is now
Canada.
A. Background continued
1. Many British North Americans believed that a
victorious and perhaps vengeful North posed a threat
to the weak and disunited British Colonies.
2. Britain, requiring southern cotton for its textile industry,
supported the confederate cause, this lead to hostility
between America and Britain. Many wondered if the
Americans would retaliate by invading Canada.

B. The danger of an American
attack after the American Civil
War drew the British North
American colonies together.
C. Meanwhile, Britain didn't want
to have to pay for the cost of
defending its colonies. It
decided to encourage the
colonies to join together,
because the United States
would be less likely to attack
Canada if it were a self-
governing country rather than
separate colonies of Britain.
The fear of the United States
helped to strengthen the call
for Confederation.
The image shows a Canadian dashing to rescue
the Canadian fawn from the talons of the
American eagle
Assignment:
A. In pairs, complete the
worksheet entitled,
Analysis: Lord Elgin As
Decision Maker
B. Make sure you use the
hand out entitled,
Colonial Policy in Great
Britain in addition to p.
102 of your Horizons
textbook.