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The Road to Confederation Upper and Lower Canada: The Roots of Discontent

The Road to Confederation Upper and Lower Canada: The Roots of Discontent. In the wake of the Constitution Act of 1791, people in Upper and Lower Canada were unhappy that elected assemblies were controlled by appointed councils

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The Road to Confederation Upper and Lower Canada: The Roots of Discontent

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  1. The Road to ConfederationUpper and Lower Canada: The Roots of Discontent • In the wake of the Constitution Act of 1791, people in Upper and Lower Canada were unhappy that elected assemblies were controlled by appointed councils • This meant that the British administrators, who were out of touch with the needs of the people, were making all of the decisions • It was especially bad in Lower Canada, where the elected members were French and the appointed members were English

  2. The Road to ConfederationUpper and Lower Canada: The Roots of Discontent • In both Upper and Lower Canada, then, people were politically divided as being either: • conservatives(if they supported the colonial governors) or; • reformers(if they opposed the colonial governors)

  3. The Road to ConfederationUpper and Lower Canada: The Roots of Discontent • In Upper Canada, the ruling elite was the Family Compact • In Lower Canada, the ruling elite was the Chateau Clique

  4. The Road to ConfederationRebellion in Lower Canada • In Lower Canada, the reformers were led by Louis-Joseph Papineau • Even though he was a colonial aristocrat, he still wanted to see change in the system of government and to get rid of the Chateau Clique • He petitioned Britain for change, but Britain only responded by giving even more power to Lower Canada’s governor

  5. The Road to ConfederationRebellion in Lower Canada • Papineau, who was a great orator, rallied the people of Lower Canada to rebellion in the winter of 1837-38 • The rebellion was brief and the reformers were defeated by the British

  6. The Road to ConfederationRebellion in Upper Canada • Meanwhile, in Upper Canada, the reformers were led by William Lyon Mackenzie, who repeatedly challenged the Family Compact

  7. The Road to ConfederationRebellion in Upper Canada • During the election of 1836, Mackenzie and his reformers became infuriated when the ruling elite used bribery and intimidation to secure the result • Mackenzie led the reformers of Upper Canada in a revolution, but, like Papineau’s reformers in Lower Canada, they were also quickly defeated by the British

  8. The Road to ConfederationThe British Response • The British responded to the rebellions by sending a prominent political reformer name Lord Durham to be governor-general of its North American colonies

  9. The Road to ConfederationThe British Response • After investigating the situation, Lord Durham recommended to his British superiors that: • Colonists in North America be given the same rights as British citizens (ie. that they be granted responsible government) • Upper and Lower Canada be united under one government • French-Canadians be assimilated into English culture

  10. The Road to ConfederationThe Act of Union • Britain rejected Durham’s recommendations for responsible government. They did, however: • unite Upper and Lower Canada (now called Canada West and Canada East) under a single parliament • make English the only official language • give equal representation to both sides, even though there were far more French-speaking Canadians than English-speaking Canadians

  11. The Road to ConfederationThe Act of Union • In 1848, however, two reformers – Robert Baldwin and Louis Hippolyte Lafontaine – were elected. They made way for responsible government and lifted the ban on the French language

  12. The Road to ConfederationThe Act of Union • Initially, English-speaking Canadians were in favour of equal representation • There were more French-speaking Canadians than there were English-speaking Canadians, so it was to English Canada’s advantage • But over time, English-speaking Canadians began to outnumber the French-speaking Canadians • They began to demand representation by population so that they could have more elected representatives • As a result, Canada West (English) and Canada East (French) were always at odds, and the Act of Union became a failure

  13. The Road to ConfederationThe Great Coalition • After Baldwin and Lafontaine retired in 1851, reformers and conservatives were unable to get along. Consequently, very little was accomplished over the next few years.

  14. The Road to ConfederationThe Great Coalition • In 1864, however, three influential leaders – George Brown(English reformer), John A. Macdonald(English conservative) and George-Etienne Cartier(French conservative) formed a coalition • Their goal was to unite all of the British North American colonies

  15. The Road to ConfederationMaritime Union and the Charlottetown Conference • Meanwhile, the Maritime colonies (NB, PEI, NS) were talking about forming a union separate from Canada. They decided to meet in Charlottetown to discuss it.

  16. The Road to ConfederationMaritime Union and the Charlottetown Conference • The leaders of the Great Coalition heard about this, and they came to Charlottetown to try to convince the Maritimes to join them. This was the Charlottetown Conference. • Thus, Charlottetown is considered to be the birthplace of Confederation.

  17. The Road to ConfederationMaritime Union and the Charlottetown Conference • At the Charlottetown Conference, the leaders agreed to meet again a month later in Quebec to negotiate the details (called the Quebec Resolutions) of union

  18. The Road to ConfederationOpposition to Confederation • At first, the leaders of the Atlantic colonies found little support for Confederation. • In Nova Scotia, Premier Charles Tupper was pro-Confederation, while a man named Joseph Howe led a campaign against Confederation. In the end, Nova Scotia joined without seeking public approval.

  19. The Road to ConfederationThe Dominion of Canada • From 1866 to 1867, the leaders from Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick met with Britain to go over the details of the Quebec Resolutions

  20. The Road to ConfederationThe Dominion of Canada • In March 1867, the British North America (BNA) Act was passed into law, and on July 1, 1867, the Dominion of Canada officially came to be.

  21. The Road to ConfederationProvinces and Territories in order of entering Confederation • 1 July 1867 Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick • 15 July 1870 Manitoba, Northwest Territories • 20 July 1871 British Columbia • 1 July 1873 Prince Edward Island • 13 June 1898 Yukon Territory • 1 Sept 1905 Saskatchewan, Alberta • 31 March 1949 Newfoundland and Labrador • 1 April 1999 Nunavut Territory

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