Confederation in Canada means to begin with, the union of three colonies/provinces of British North America: The Province of Canada, which included Upper Canada - Ontario, and Lower Canada which was Québec; and the Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Then, subsequently other provinces/colonies and territories joined Confederation:
Northwest Territories, July 15, 1870; Manitoba, July 15, 1870; British Columbia, July 20, 1871; Prince Edward Island, July 1, 1873; Yukon Territory June 13, 1898; Saskatchewan, Sept. 1, 1905; Alberta, Sept. 1, 1905; Newfoundland, March 31, 1949; Nunavut, April 1, 1999. The Province of Newfoundland's name was officially changed to the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001.
There were three Confederation Conferences, one in Charlottetown, P.E.I., one in Québec City both in 1864, and the last one held in London, England in 1866. The Fathers of Confederation drafted the British North America Act, which received Royal Assent on March 29, 1867, officially creating Québec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as a union under a strong central government, which would maintain the British parliamentary system and institutions. The country would be called the Dominion of Canada. The conference debated over calling it the "Kingdom" of Canada, but decided the word could cause hostile reactions in the United States with having a British Kingdom as neighbor, when they had themselves fought a war (1775-1783) against the Kingdom of Great Britain, their own Mother country. One Father of Confederation suggested the word "Dominion" from the Psalm "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea..." His suggestion was adopted, although in 1867, Canada could not yet claim "sea to sea" because the land west of Ontario, up to the British colony of British Columbia boundary was Rupert's Land, governed under the Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company, until 1869.
When it came to celebrating Confederation, there was still more debate. July 1st was referred to Confederation Day, or July 1st holiday. Finally the day was made into a legal holiday in 1879, and called Dominion Day. One hundred and fifteen years later, in 1982, a private members' bill was introduced in the House of Commons, asking for July 1st to be declared "Canada Day."
The Confederation of Canada is 144 years old this year. However, the history of Canada is much older, dating back 477 years (1534), when French mariner and explorer, Jacques Cartier used the Iroquois word "Canada" (Kanata) to name the lands along the St. Lawrence River and claiming these for France. The French regime lasted until the British and French signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763, with Canada becoming a British colony.
In 1896, Yorkton surveyed a new street they named "Tupper Avenue" honouring a Father of Confederation, Sir Charles Tupper, who also was Prime Minister for ten weeks in 1896.
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton, Box 400
37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]
