The Path to Canadian Confederation and Colonial Unrest

Upper Canada

• Government officials belonged to the upper class.
• The needs of the lower class were ignored.
• Land was overpriced due to speculators and absentee landlords.
• Reserve lands blocked roads that could connect communities to markets.
• The British government refused to listen to citizens.
• William Lyon Mackenzie established a newspaper to criticize the government, leading to his office being trashed.
• Robert Gourlay was banished from Canada for his petitions against the government.
• The Family Compact held all power as an oligarchy.

Lower Canada

• The ruling class was English, while the majority population was French (Château Clique).
• The French were unhappy with English rule.
• The English held the majority of the wealth.
• Population growth led to limited land availability.
• Britain promoted English-speaking immigrants.
• A trade deficit existed because wheat had to be imported.
• High taxes were controlled by unelected officials.
• The government suppressed newspapers that criticized its actions.
• The farming economy was failing with no surplus.

Charlottetown Conference

The Charlottetown Conference was a meeting between the maritime colonies in Atlantic Canada and the United Province of Canada from September 1–9, 1864. The meeting discussed and finalized the plan to create a Confederation out of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. This Confederation, enacted in 1867, became the Dominion of Canada.

Quebec

When the Canadian Confederation was established in 1867, provisions were made for the creation of a provincial government in Québec, the only region with a majority French-speaking population. This distinctive identity has exerted a profound influence on all facets of Québec’s history and continues to fuel debate about the province’s future.

Nova Scotia

Charles Tupper was the only person elected to the House of Commons who supported Confederation. The other eighteen elected representatives, including Joseph Howe, were against it and wanted Nova Scotia to leave Canada. During the 1867 provincial election, the public also supported leaving Canada due to a crashing economy.

British North America

British North America is the term applied to the British colonies and territories in North America after the United States became independent in 1783 until Confederation in 1867.