Pre-Confederation

Early projects

Hon. George-Étienne Cartier – The idea of a legislative union of all British colonies in America goes back to at least 1754, when the Albany Congress was held, preceding the Continental Congress of 1774. At least twelve other projects followed. These, however, did not include the colonies that were located in the territory of present-day Canada.

 

The idea was revived in 1839 by Lord Durham in his Report on the Affairs of British North America.

 

In 1857, Joseph-Charles Taché proposed a federation in the Courrier du Canada.

 

In 1858, Alexander Tilloch Galt, George-Étienne Cartier and John Ross travelled to Great Britain to present the British Parliament with a project for confederation of the British colonies. The proposal was received by the London authorities with polite indifference.

 

By 1864, it was clear that continued governance of the Province of Canada under the terms of the 1840 Act of Union had become impracticable. Therefore, a Great Coalition of parties formed in order to reform the political system.

 

 

Internal and external influences leading to Confederation

There were several factors that influenced Confederation, both caused from internal sources and pressures from external sources.

 

Internal causes that influenced Confederation:

 

between 1854 and 1865 the United States followed a policy of free trade (the Canadian-American Reciprocity Treaty) where products were allowed into their country without taxes or tariffs; in 1865, the United States canceled reciprocity

political deadlock resulting from the current political structure

demographic pressure

economic nationalism and the promise of economic development

External pressures that influenced Confederation:

 

the U.S. doctrine of Manifest destiny, the real and constant threat of intervention from the US

the American Civil War, British actions and American reactions

the Fenian raids

the creation of a new British colonial policy, whereby Britain no longer wanted to maintain troops in its colonies.

In 1840, the British Parliament passed the Act of Union, which saw Upper and Lower Canada form a responsible government under the title, “Province of Canada”, at the recommendation of Lord Durham.  In 1848, Governor General Lord Elgin granted Ministerial responsibility first to Nova Scotia, and then Canada.  Responsible government was given to P.E.I. (1851), New Brunswick(1854), Newfoundland(1855).